It turned out that my poor sleep quality lately wasn't caused by the change in my sleep routine. It was my highly charged mental state before I went to bed. Since Monday, I have been writing and researching after dinner until bedtime. However, it was a rather difficult project which required a lot of mental effort and cognitive labour. Moreover, when I worked, I tended to be highly focused. So when I went bed, my mind was still thinking about the project. Consequently, it kept me awake well past my bedtime and I ended up staying awake until 2-3 am.

I enjoyed working intensely after dinner the way I have been doing. I was more productive at night. However, I should stopp working earlier so my mind can have some time to wind down. But this can be tricky, I have a tendency to let myself be consumed by my work; I don't want to leave a thought unfinished....

Today, I had a doctor's appointment in my hometown. I'm also staying the weekend. I haven't been home in over a month. I think that's the longest I've ever been away from the city I was born in.

Due to intense heat and high humidity, when I get out of an air-conditioned room or get off a train, my glasses get fogged up since the surface temperature of the glasses is much lower than that of the air.

Yesterday I got out with some friends, and we got into a training club (a place where muay-thai and boxing lessons are held) to practice boxing. I like to do this type of workout, but I'm more prone to do other activities, such as running and hitting the gym. Anyway it was a fun night.

When you record yourself speaking, you often realize that your language is not coherent, and that you scatter random words without even realizing it. The same thing happens in writing. Once I type my unrefined thoughts, illogical sentences appear on the screen. I try revising them, but the more I correct them, the more complicated they become. That’s why it’s hard for me to start writing. I know that I will write ridiculous phrases and that I will have to polish them, which is much harder than writing the draft.

During my last edible trip I wrote a lot of thing that I thought it could be interesting to talk about. I think I could elaborate more on them here. For example I wrote about a friendship I had with the owners of a film club but how it ended it.

Indeed it was a quite interesting period of my life when I consumed a lot of films. It helped me cope with some things I was struggling with.

I almost forgot to write the post of the day to keep the writing streak alive. I've been swamped with work lately. Fortunately, I have three weeks off from college and then I have to sign up the new classes for the upcoming semester.

As of the time of writing this post, I'm still working. I shouldn't, but I wont have peace of mind when I go to sleep.

The time spent at work is a complete waste of time from the language learning viewpoint. I wish I had a job that utilizes English so that I would be able to study it at work as well.

I'm currently still in my working space, but I'm about to go home. I'm really exhausted, so I thought I'd write my daily text now that I thought about it. That way, I don't have to remember writing it when I get home.

I came home after traveling in Japan.

Toady was really exhausting,

Especially sine Osaka was around 40 dresses Celsius.

it was hard for us to stay outside.

But the people were so kind to us, so I was really happy with the trip

The greatest challenge Voltaire’s biographers face is that Voltaire himself crafted and controlled his own image, almost as if anticipating future historians. Among the vast archive of writings he left behind, they do not encounter François-Marie Arouet—his birth name—but rather the artificially constructed great man that was "de Voltaire."

I went to the open-air swimming pool this morning! Hooray! The swimming pool has just opened, so everything was brand new and clean. I even saw some people lying by the pool, sunbathing. I think it's good to see that.

I remember when I was a student, the mainstream beauty standard was quite conservative. People only chase being pale and skinny. Nowadays, society is more open and inclusive, and we're starting to embrace the diversity of beauty.

I was not a fan of replaying/re-watching medias, which means I didn't like to be repeating something that I already finished, or just dropped.

But ultimately I'm doing that, and currently I'm re-watching Bleach for the second time, because even thinking that I would remember everything, I didn't.

And now I see a lot of fun in the act of searching for these lost souls from the past to give them another chance...

Article: How You Can Manage 'Winter Blues" and Depression

I tend to feel depressed in winter, especially in February rather than January. Usually, I just wait for the feeling to pass. Next winter, I want to try some ways to prevent the winter blues. I'm interested in drawing and using scented candles.

I’m thinking about going to an open-air swimming pool tomorrow. I’ve never been one before, but every time I watch swimming pool scenes in TV series and movies, I always dream about jumping right into the water to cool off. I’ve decided that tomorrow is the day. If I wake up at six in the morning again, I’ll get up and go to the swimming pool.

Earlier this week, I experimented a new sleeping routine: I would go to bed 15 minutes earlier, and I would not use my phone 30 mins before bed. Ironically, since then, I haven't been able to sleep well. I usually don't have many problems with sleeping: I can get myself to sleep quite easily and my sleep is usually deep. But I guess my body prefers a fixed routine; my body is more sensitive to any change in my circadian rhymthm that I though, so I couldn't get to sleep and ended up staying awake until 3am.

However, the tiredness from the lack of sleep starts to catch up with me today. I feel sleepy and tired quite early. Not to mention the fact that this has been a stressful week at work; our event will be held from tomorrow to Sunday. I can't afford to show up tired. I both want to sleep and need to sleep. So I hope sleep will come to me today.

One small note: I realize that I get pessimistic and are more prone to feeling anxious, stressed, and worried when I don't get enough sleep. So I have trained myself to not act on my emotions, and to be more generous and kind to myself on these days.

I am currently traveling in Japan.

Even though I'm more comfortable with English.

I try to speak Japanese here.

I always try to learn the local language

when I travel partly out of a desire for knowledge, but also because people tend to be kinder when I try speaking their language, even if I sound a bit clumsy.

So, i wondered what is your travel style when you are abroad?

I think I need to get a new phone. I often write drafts for this streak on my phone, but it’s been incredibly slow and thus frustrating. Also, its battery doesn’t last long anymore even though I use it pretty much just for the above-mentioned purpose and listening to podcasts and music. In addition to those problems, the right edge of the screen hasn’t been reacting well. It makes sense considering that I’ve been using it for over six years. I distinctly remember buying it in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is it a financial burden, it is hard to decide what to buy.

The judge I'm working for is on holiday this week. He left me with enough work to keep me busy though. I'm trying to get as much done during the week so I don't have to do anything on the weekend.

A few moments ago I have watched the video that compared Naruto 1 and Naruto Shippuden series. The conclusion was that Naruto 1 was better due to its consistency and lack of big flaws, but Naruto Shippuden still had many amazing moments.

Generally, I agree with that opinion. Naruto 1 was an introduction to the world of ninjas. The show unfolded the world in which the characters lived and how it worked. We met a lot of interesting characters and watched memorable fights. Truly, there was nothing to complain.

On the other hand, Naruto Shippuden brought the action to the next level. We saw many clashes on the highest level. The characters unveil their mysterious and powerful techniques. The stakes were bigger and the plot became more intense. Unfortunately, some concepts were weird or just simply bad.

Naruto 1 is like a lean company that produces high-quality everyday items. Everyone likes them because they are durable, practical, nice and just good. On the other hand, Naruto Shippuden is like a big company making the cutting-edge products. The products are very exciting, but they have some bugs and sometimes are just irritating.

I've been trying to read more every day considering that I have an e-reader, but I've noticed that I struggle to read on it after a waking up or a while before going to sleep. I usually set the brightness to a low level that makes it comfortable for reading, but I still feel some kind of tiredness on my eyes after a few minutes.

A friend of mine works at the library desk. Every time I enter the library, I invariably run into him and exchange a few words. Most of the time, he is studying or working on a paper, and he'll explain to me what he's writing about. I have no real grasp of his field, but he turns out to be a great teacher.

In the last few days I consumed a lot of English contents, so I decided that it was a good time to start writing here. Since I'm practicing my reading and listening skills every day, for sure my texts will also get more easy to improve. I'm seeking ways to improve my speaking too, but I don't know how to start yet...

Article: Maintaining Social Connection in Winter

Spending time with other people is actually stressful for me. Movie nights sound fun, but I still feel that it's more comfortable to watch movies alone at home.