Have a Nice %&#?!$ Day!!

Ever have one of those days when you're sort of pissed-off from the get-go and it only gets worse throughout the course of the day?  Wednesday was that sort of day for me, starting with a frustrating 50-minute wait / conversation at 5am with the sales rep from Continental airlines to straighten out my flight reservations.  When the system crashed and the guy asked for my credit card number for the fifth time, thought I'd almost had enough.

Fortunately I channelled the frustration into a focused 8-km run while listening to my latest audio-book, Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva (starting to get interesting halfway through).  Unlike my leisurely jog from a couple days earlier, I took longer strides and ran at a much quicker pace this time around.  A healthy breakfast (below) prepared lovingly by my wife Yumi and cool-down shower was followed by an utter shreak of horror from me as I discovered my 14-month old had lifted the lid of the toilet and was splashing joyfully in the water with his hands (yes, thankfully it had been flushed).  Another quick shower with him followed by a frustrating 40-minutes in front of the PC watching my stock portfolio tank again and then off to the immigration office zoo where after another 30-minute wait, I was told I would need like three other forms to complete my visa renewal.

As teammates in my PCP group know, I'm really not much of a cook - barely managing to get the shells of my hardboiled eggs.  I owe a big thanks to my wife who has been not only a quiet source of inspiration - encouraging me to give  up my sausage eating habit and also a source of freshly steamed vegetables throughout my meals.  Coming back from vacation last week, it was therefore with added zeal that I've gotten back into my workouts and even tried my hand making a wholewheat sandwich for lunch with tuna, one cut-up pickle and some lettuce.  Feeling emboldened, I tried the same dish on Wednesday, swapping out the pickle with some cut-up plums tomatoes that are deliciously in-season now.  Probably noticing the mess I was making in the kitchen, my wife quipped, "You're making those tuna sandwiches AGAIN?  You know they're not as low-calorie as everyone says they are..."

An innocent comment but after the morning I was having, I felt a sharp white of light explode in my head and remember thinking, "Why the heck do I need this stupid PCP thing?  It's not going to make much difference in the end anyway.  It's mid-August and 90-degrees in Tokyo, I should be out drinking Coronas with cut-up limes with my friends about now."   Long-story short, I just finished my sandwiches and headed to the gym to finish up my workout.   I'm still thinking about those Coronas though....