31

I spent much of this birthday thinking how nice it would be to have someone to share the day with. No, I don't mean marriage, just someone else to make me a cake. But there must be something about the timing of my birthday because every year, no matter how much reminding I do, nobody remembers.

Knowing ahead of time I would be spending my birthday alone (it's a really safe bet), I bought a tub of pecan coconut frosting when I was in Palau. And tonight I made myself a German Chocolate cake. (I just took the first bite and it's really good.. ..girls, you're missing out!)

[After reminding them it was my birthday, the teachers at Aka offered me one more eggplant than my allotment]

[Me at 31-years-old. I was required to wear a mask today at Aka, which is a story for another blog post]

Last year I listed a few facts and thoughts about myself, so I'll do the same today:

Birthday height: 181cm (5'11.25")
Birthday weight: 85kg (187 pounds), which is about a pound heavier than last year

Something I've been thinking about a lot this past year is eating less. I usually do okay at eating well, but I keep reading that eating less calories is a theme in the lives of people who live a long time. It seems to work well for the Japanese (and not so well for Americans), so I've been trying to tame back my portion sizes - or at least stop when I'm not hungry anymore. I thought that might shrink me a bit, but the 3 pints of ice cream I ate in Palau might have messed up my lower calorie intake.

I'm two years into my stay in Japan and less sure of my future now than ever. My trip to Palau tempted me to think about what's next. This isn't meant to be foreshadowing because I don't really know what's next, I just think there will be a next. I'm happy with much of my life here, but improvements could be made with my relationship status and my Japanese language skills.

I've had a good year for running (new PR at Tokyo) and fishing (seven marlin?), I was allowed to go home last fall to go on a great hunting trip with my dad and uncles. I know a lot of people in the community and my services are in demand for sporting events. Everybody likes my bread, or whatever I'm making. I have a great, cheap apartment and a pretty good life, if a bit lonely.