Friday, 1 January 2010

2010 New Years Resolutions

Happy New Years everyone! I know I've been shocking with this blog in 2009! Will hopefully be revamping it soon with a new aim and look (how many times have I said that?).

If you haven't already you should follow me on Twitter. I tweet almost daily and it's a great way to interact with me.

To get you up to speed, I'm now a certified Kids Yoga Instructor and trying to kick start a new career in Tokyo in that field! Still living in Numaburo, Tokyo and also English teaching to kids though have recently taken a 6th day (Saturday) job at an international school to earn some extra cash.

Recently went on a trip to Osaka and Kobe and will be posting about those trips in the coming days as well as the relevant Starbucks Mug purchases and Pokemon Center visits.

Anyway, 2010 is a new year and with it some new aims and goals. Here are mine. What are yours?

* Study Japanese more
* Study Mandarin more
* Get a good job with good hours and benefits
* Travel internationally at least once in 2010
* Yoga and other exercises daily
* Organise 200hr Yoga Teacher Training by end of 2010
* Start teaching Kids Yoga classes again on a regular basis
* Get a new apartment

Labels: new year

Friday, 2 May 2008

2008 New Years Resolutions (Finally!)

Yeah, I think my New Years Resolution will be 1024 x 768. Budaboom!

Sorry, bad graphic designer joke.

Seriously though I have made several New Years Resolutions but just haven't really been in the mood to write about them. Before I share though, let's reflect on my 2007 resolutions.

Get to a conversational level in Japanese. Failed though I'm getting closer!
Work out at the gym six days a week. NA I quit the gym but am kicking arse with my next resolution, Make Yoga Today a part of my daily regime. Success! Have been doing Yoga Today almost daily and my body is so different than it was when I started. Seriously I can't recommend this program enough!
Work to live. Don't live to work. 50 / 50 Had a better year. Pass-ish.
Get my sites to a point where I can make at least US$300 a month. Failed Have increased my earnings slightly, especially within the last few months but not exactly in the US$300 a month range. ;)
Relax more. SUCCESS! Just in general I feel a lot more relaxed and pleased with myself since this time last year.

Oooo... didn't do that well did I? Well let's see how I do with my New Years Resolutions for 2008!!!

Get to conversational level in Japan and learn the 2000 or so basic kanji.

Take the Level 2 Japanese Fluency Test. I don't expect to pass it but I'm determined to try to at least see what it's like.

Continue to do Yoga Today daily.

Learn how to surf! Have been wanting to do this for years but have just been putting it off! 2008 is the year!

Learn how to dance! Was really inspired by the swing dance party in Hyde Park in Sydney during the Sydney Festival in January and have decided to start taking lessons! Even found a school in Tokyo! Will start next month sometime.

Learn the shamisen! Am determined to learn how to play this Japanese guitar! Really want to learn the Okinawan sanshin but the odds of finding a teacher in Tokyo is pretty rare.

Learn capoeria! Dance and martial arts! A school near where I live! Sounds good to me!

Save money! Currently I'm aiming to save about 50,000 yen a month (about 500 dollars). I'll really need luck with this one!

More domestic travel! Am determined to get to Osaka, Fukuoka and Sendai!

Quite a few resolutions, huh? This is the year of self improvement. I wonder how I'll do?

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Labels: Capoeria in Japan, fitness, japan, Japanese, new year, Shamisen Lessons in Japan, Surfing in Japan, Swing Dance in Japan, Yoga Today

Friday, 10 August 2007

Blogging for Money is EASY!

Just read THIS POST over at Kumiko's and can't agree more. So many bloggers bitch and bitch about how hard blogging is when basically all it is is writing about whatever you want while your site brings in the money.

Recently I've been lucky enough to be getting quite a few offers from companies to write about their sites and services on my blogs and it's been great! I'm nowhere near quitting my day job but it's a start. My Adsense on several of my sites has really taken off as well and I think I'll meet my New Years Resolution by the end of the year quite easily at the rate I'm going.

Sure it takes time and effort, but it's something I enjoy and a hell of a lot easier than a "real" job. I think that's why everyone is trying to make money online in the first place, it's easy.

Anyway, speaking of my New Years Resolution, let's see how I'm going 8 months in:

Get to a conversational level in Japanese. Umm... am getting there! A lot better than this time last year. Really need to dig my heels in.

Work out at the gym six days a week. Well I don't have a gym membership at all now as I've been happy with daily Yoga in the comfort of my own home. However am thinking of picking up capoeria.

Make Yoga Today a part of my daily regime. Done!!! Sure I've missed a day or two but I've been pretty good with this and my body really feels the difference!

Work to live. Don't live to work. Working less now which is good. Am getting there.

Get my sites to a point where I can make at least US$300 a month (currently in the US$45 range) via GoogleAdsense, Revver, EmailCash.com.au and other programs. US$1000 a month would be dandy but I think US$300 is a bit more realistic. Well I'm now at about US$60 a month and it's rising monthly! Am feeling pretty good about this one!

Relax more. A lot better than I was in January. Am getting there. Work in progress.

Not bad at all!

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Labels: blog, internet, new year, Yoga Today

Sunday, 29 July 2007

Australia, Cambodia and Okinawa, oh my!

While the Obon holidays will be pretty boring with me having next to no money (thank YOU city tax and health insurance!) my end of year holidays will be packed!

As of now I'll be staying in Tokyo for another "should be white but won't be" Christmas then off to Australia for my sister's wedding in Orange on New Years Eve, then after New Years up to Cambodia to help Koky with his orphanage/ school project and then working once more in Tokyo until about June 2008 when I will hopefully move down south the the beautiful Okinawa!

That's the plan anyway.

Tokyo's grown on me but I just don't want to spend a 5th year here. It's not a terrible city but well, recently in the news there was a woman who had defected from North Korea and after a few years in Tokyo decided to return to North Korea.

Kind of says it all really.

And now enjoy this great Jpop song: Feed and Email Readers Click Here

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Labels: Australia, Cambodia, christmas, japan, new year, Okinawa

Tuesday, 2 January 2007

Resolutions

Well it's that time of year again and I think my resolutions are pretty much the same as last year's but with a few new ones thrown in.

Get to a conversational level in Japanese.

Work out at the gym six days a week.

Make Yoga Today a part of my daily regime.

Work to live. Don't live to work.

Relax more.

Labels: fitness, internet, Japanese, new year, work

Happy New Year

Was finally motivated to blog something after watching the season finale of Torchwood (it's an anagram of Doctor Who! Who knew?) and then reading the latest entry at Hoshi's blog.

Anyway, Christmas was great! I threw a pot luck Christmas lunch at my place and was blessed with the presence of Masato, Finn and his brother Beau (who we thought was called Paul), Callie and Nickie and we kind of spent the whole day and night and Boxing Day drinking and watching Christmas cartoons (I never get tired of watching the Smurfs battle Satan with singing).

Will post photos soon.

I slept in until 4pm yesterday to recover from an all night Tokyo New Years celebration which I won't forget anytime soon.
What was really wierd was how there was noone was in Tokyo! There were no crowds at all! Everyone in Japan goes to visit their family for New Years and since no families appear to be from Tokyo 90% of the population up and left!

So we started the night out at the Ruby Room in Shibuya but after being bored but the atmosphere and deafened by a sound system that was turned up way too high for it's own good we swung by some conbini's and then headed for Arty Farty in Shinjuku and managed to find it literally minutes before the countdown started!

Lots of drinking, lots of dancing and lots of things that I don't want my family to find out about. ;)

Hope everyone else had as much fun as I did ringing in the new year.

Have a good one.

Labels: blog, christmas, clubbing, new year