i am the prison drowned, armed with coffee.

人間失格 by 太宰治 is a great read for N2-level Japanese learners interested in classical literature. - Long run-on sentences engage your focus. - Some unfamiliar vocab & grammar but still easy to understand. - It’s short at 148 pages. I’m enjoying it a lot!

Did you ever wonder why the Japanese word 高校 doesn't follow the same pattern as 小学校 or 中学校? It's short for 高等学校, a term that was in use at least until the 1940s. Dazai Osamu used it in his classic 人間失格, published 1948.

I long for satire ridiculing the current social media circus like Bulgakov is ridiculing the Russian literary scene in The Master & Margarita.

Didn't see this coming: Writing a novel one chapter a week instead of all at once in a 2-3 month frenzy makes it so much richer!

Call me a beatnik: a writer serious about the craft but with the aesthetic & lust for life of a rock musician. Don't create out of your own echo chamber. Create from experience, interaction, remixing.

Started reading 汝、星のごとく by 凪良ゆう & the first 20 pages got me hooked! Not-so-idyllic rural island life? Male protagonist is writing manga to escape his home situation? Dreamlike writing style? Sign me up!

It's moving season! Every apartment I like is unavailable! Lesson learned: If you want to move in March-April in Japan, you start at the end of December.

Can't find an apartment because it's moving season in Japan? My real estate agent said it calms down in June-July but in the meantime, new places will become available as people move out so it's still worth looking in the meantime.

It’s still peak moving season in Japan but you can find great places if you act fast. I found an apartment in 4 DAYS because I adjusted to the state of the market: decided on the spot, only viewed online or after applying. Anyone else moving or recently moved?

Don't parrot others' opinions but think for yourself. Don't follow the herd but forge your own path. Don't work for others' dreams but build your own. Happy or sad, it's on you.

Every tourist: I want to experience authentic Japan! Also every tourist: *goes to Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka* Go to Kanazawa, Morioka & Shuzenji! It's when you leave the herd that you find Japan.

Don’t treat sightseeing as a Tripadvisor list of items to tick off. - Focus on what aligns with your interests - Get lost on purpose - Ask the locals for recommendations Most people don’t realise that travelling is a tool for self-discovery and growth.

The best relationships are personal growth accelerators.

Humans can't help but give meaning to everything. If asked to construct a building without meaning, they immediately fill it with things.

AI is a danger to creatives in that its brainstorming tools tempt us into not thinking for ourselves anymore. It’s easy to accept its ideas as is but any works of art created with AI input will be superficial at best.

When confused about what to do, ignore all success or wealth advice. Follow your own curiosity, especially if it’s the opposite of what others tell you.

I immerse myself in fear of the future now, in hopes I will be all feared-out when that future inevitably comes to pass.

Do not concern yourself with productivity. As long as body & mind are sound, achieved by exercise, meditation, fresh air, & gratitude, your heart will be light. Work will be effortless. This is flow, or mindfulness.

Networking is going to one event out of curiosity, maybe talking to one person, then doing it again & again because connecting with like-minded people is fun.