Kawaguchiko #2

d 











 

 

Please see below for the Japanese translation!

I hope you enjoy my recording of Burt Bacharach's classic hit, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. This is dedicated to my friend Nari, who has been fighting a bad case of food poisoning. I hope you recover quickly!

I am very pleased with these additional photos from the trip to Lake Kawaguchiko with my friend Stuart. I still cannot believe the quality of the camera in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. I did not take a single picture with my professional gear because the quality of the iPhone camera is so high, the iPhone is lighter and is easier to use and it is easier to switch to different zoom levels. Quite amazing!

The weather has turned to hot and humid in our area west of Tokyo. To help me with this ongoing challenge, I purchased a cooling vest. I had never seen these before. It is a vest with a couple of fans that can be attached to the vest. Those fans are charged by a rechargeable battery. The fans have four speeds. I think I could fly away on the 4th speed! I am really enjoying this as I would prefer to not use air conditioning. 

I recently did a thirty mile ride on my electric assist Trek Domane + SLR 7. It was so much fun! There are some short, very steep hills on that ride that are quite manageable on this bike. There are three speeds with the electric assist. If I start from a stand-still with the third speed, there is quite a jolt as the bike takes off. Pretty cool!

I am still trying to adjust to my very open and flexible schedule. I think I have settled on a balance of the following.

1) Cycling or running or walking for one hour a day.

2) Tennis and other activities with Setsuko: 5-7 times a week.

3) Weight training: 5-7 times a week.

4) Stretching: 5-7 times a week

5) Nutrition and food work: once a week (but eating every day!)

6) Studying and learning Japanese: 5-7 times a week

7) Climate change work: 1-2 times a week

8) Reading: 7 times a week 

9) Home projects: once a week

10) Photo work: 5 times a week

11) Communication and time with friends: 5-7 times a week 

12) Travel: once a month or so, but for environmental reasons, no air flights.  

13) Play piano/guitar/sing: 1-3 times a week 

I feel good about this schedule as it has a nice mix of social time, exercise, mental work, contribution/volunteer work, and hobby work. I use that "work" term loosely as these are labors of love!

The goal is for me to live to be 100 years old! One day at a time!

All the best,

Bob Reed 

 

日本語訳は以下をご覧ください！ バート・バカラックの名曲「Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head」の録音を楽しんでいただけたら嬉しいです。これは、ひどい食中毒と闘っている友人ナリに捧げます。早く回復されますように！ 友人スチュアートと河口湖に行ったときの写真がさらに気に入りました。iPhone 15 Pro Maxのカメラのクオリティに、いまだに驚いています。iPhoneのカメラのクオリティが非常に高く、軽くて使いやすく、ズームの切り替えも簡単なので、プロ仕様の機材で写真を撮ったことはありません。本当に素晴らしい！ 東京西部の私たちの地域では、最近蒸し暑くなってきました。この厳しい状況を乗り越えるために、冷却ベストを購入しました。今まで見たことがなかったものです。ベストに取り付けられるファンがいくつか付いています。ファンは充電式バッテリーで充電します。ファンは4段階のスピード調節が可能です。 4速なら飛ぶように走れそうです！エアコンは使いたくないので、この4速は本当に楽しいです。 最近、電動アシスト付きのトレック・ドマーネ + SLR 7で38キロのライドをしました。本当に楽しかったです！ライドには短くて急な坂道もいくつかありましたが、この自転車なら問題なく走れました。電動アシストは3段変速です。停止状態から3段変速で発進すると、自転車がかなり揺れます。かなりすごい！ まだ、とても自由で柔軟なスケジュールに慣れようとしています。今のところ、以下のバランスに落ち着いています。 1) 1日1時間のサイクリング、ランニング、またはウォーキング。 2) 節子とテニスやその他のアクティビティ：週5～7回。 3) ウェイトトレーニング：週5～7回。 4) ストレッチ：週5～7回 5) 栄養と食事に関する仕事：週1回（ただし、毎日食べています！） 6) 日本語の勉強と学習：週5～7回 7) 気候変動に関する仕事：週1～2回 8) 読書：週7回 9) 家のプロジェクト：週1回 10) 写真撮影：週5回 11) 友人とのコミュニケーションと時間：週5～7回 12) 旅行：月に1回程度ですが、環境保護のため飛行機は利用していません。 13) ピアノ／ギター演奏／歌：週1～3回 このスケジュールは、人との交流、運動、頭を使う仕事、社会貢献／ボランティア活動、趣味がうまくミックスされているので、満足しています。「仕事」という言葉は、愛情のこもった仕事なので、あまり厳密には使っていません！ 目標は100歳まで生きることです！一日一日を大切に！ ご多幸をお祈りいたします。 ボブ・リード
 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hikone Castle and Personal Improvement

Image
 The Japanese love their castles! These castle shots are all from Hikone Castle, one of the highlights from Lake Biwako. This is the final part of my five part series. The best for last? You decide! Those of you who know me well know that I am very committed to becoming a better and better person. This is definitely a work in progress as I will be the first to admit that I have a long ways to go! Below are the primary categories for my ongoing efforts. RELATIONSHIPS In many ways, this may be the most challenging area for me. I recently started re-reading the engaging book, Atomic Habits. The author, James Clear, has started an app that helps with the development and implementation of habits. One of the habits I am working on is keeping my cool when I get frustrated, especially when interacting with those closest to me. Sound familiar? BODY FAT PERCENTAGE With all the exercise I get, you would think I would not have to worry about what and when I eat. No such luck! I have had a tend...
Read more

A New Job!

Image
Hello again! I hope you enjoy my recording of the classic, "Leaving on A Jet Plane." That song has always had special meaning to me as it was the first song I learned on the guitar. I only wish I could match the wonderful recordings by John Denver and Peter, Paul, and Mary! These photos are from Jindai Botanical Garden, such a gorgeous place!  As I think I may have mentioned, my current job at the American School is over at the end of this year. While I could stay and work as a substitute teacher, my preference is to have a regular position, so I get the joy of working with the same students on a consistent basis.  There is a wonderful web site that lists most of the top international schools in the Tokyo area: https://www.international-schools-database.com/in/tokyo Call it luck or call it persistence, I recently hit the jackpot when I discovered an amazing gem, The Tokyo International Progressive School, or TIPS, https://www.tokyoips.com/ This is from their main page: TIPS i...
Read more

Oshima Island and the New Bike!

Image
 These are some of my favorite photos from the recent trip I took with my friend Stuart to Oshima Island. A big thanks to Stuart as he made all the arrangements. Thank heavens he speaks good Japanese! It truly was an amazing trip! Highlights included going to the top of the crater and getting the most amazing panoramic views of the water and Mt. Fuji and some gorgeous islands.  We rented electric assist bikes two days and used those to go to the Oshima Zoo and hot spots around the island. What a treat! The pictured boat is the same model as the boat we took to make the two hour trip to Oshima Island.  Although it was chilly with temperatures getting down into the 30's, it was very sunny and warmed up during the day. The last morning I got up early and was out the door by 5:45. The views from the top of the crater were out of this world!   This experience gave me an opportunity to jump into the world of electric assist bikes for the first time. The day I returned from...
Read more