july 4

Today we celebrate our independence from Great Britain. But since my mom has been in Japan, I feel like my dad and I are celebrating our independence from my mother. Most of the house chores shifted to my dad, but of course he forces me along.  I can't tell if I'm his son or his babysitter (I say this knowing that I owe my parents a huge debt of gratitude).

We went to LOTTE for some shopping.

When was Unagi 20 dollars?! Good gracious. Then of course, my dad uses the opportunity to buy his goodies. A lot of beer, and CALPIS (I thought they changed it to CALPICO in America?).

おとん：カルピスいくらだ
おれ：Doesn't say。欲しいなら買えばいいじゃん
おとん：別に欲しいわけじゃない
おれ：え、欲しいから買うんでしょ
おとん：まあ、そういうもんだ

?

new start

I'm officially done with my clerkship.  It feels very, very weird, but I'm done my first professional full-time job.  Honestly, I still can remember, quite vividly even, the first day of work.  I remember feeling nervous, but ready, and confident. I remember shaking hands with our court clerk, Michael, and feel frustrated everytime I failed my judge. "Always something to improve on," he would share with his responsive body language.

And that's how I've ended my time as a clerk. Always something to improve on.  I have financial issues, loads of relationship issues, and too many things on my SGI list to feel like "I got it." Yet, I'm so freaking satisfied. It's not fun, but I certainly enjoy all of my obstacles.  

Turning in my keys . . . very surreal.

Celebratory whiskey from Amanda.

As always, being consumed with so many obstacles, I felt over the past couple of weeks that I've been losing touch with myself. I'm not quite sure what it was, other than letting my environment and circumstances dictate who I was. I recently signed back onto facebook and spent a good hour looking at my photos from SUA. Seeing those pictures, I remembered that I had so many friends that believe in me, no matter what how incapable I may feel about myself.  

I also got a lot of feel-good positive reinforcement (sometimes I desperately need) looking at the messages I received from my friends. Things like "fighting eric," "challenger award," and "the one that saves the day" reminded me that I wanted to be those things again. I forgot that my parents used the word 努力 in describing me (I was also called overly-sensitive, rigid, and clumsy, lol).  At some point I forgot how important hard work was for me. 

In other news, I went to my friends' wedding. It was awesome. Check out the photobooth photos (Lian was right, Heain and Sireth need to model).

beans

The other day I was look through the Eat Right 4 Your Type book that Lauren gave me, which details the blood type diets that I've been talking about.  As I've said, it's been working. And while weight loss is not the primary objective of the diet, as the author says, for Type A's, it's a natural consequence of being on this diet.  I'd like to really become a master of my diet, but with my other priorities, it's certainly difficult to make it perfect. That said, I think I can make the effort to make a major part of my diet beans. Beans are supposed to be good for me, and it really is the main source of protein for type A's, which are considered to have developed a digestive system akin to "agrarians."

With that context, I present to you the various types of beans, provided by mayoclinic.com.

Type of legume		Common uses
	Adzuki beans Also known as field peas or red oriental beans	Soups, sweet bean paste, and Japanese and Chinese dishes
	Anasazi beans Also known as Jacob's cattle beans	Soups and Southwestern dishes; can be used in recipes that call for pinto beans
	Black beans Also known as turtle beans	Soups, stews, rice dishes and Latin American cuisines
	Black-eyed peas Also known as cowpeas	Salads, casseroles, fritters and Southern dishes
	Chickpeas Also known as garbanzo or ceci beans	Casseroles, hummus, minestrone soup, and Spanish and Indian dishes
	Edamame Also known as green soybeans	Snacks, salads, casseroles and rice dishes
	Fava beans Also known as broad or horse beans	Stews and side dishes
	Lentils	Soups, stews, salads, side dishes and Indian dishes
	Lima beans Also known as butter or Madagascar beans	Succotash, casseroles, soups and salads
	Red kidney beans	Stews, salads, chili and rice dishes
	Soy nuts Also known as roasted soybeans or soya beans	Snacks or garnish for sa