This is Omar’s blog

Doing your best is taking an action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite. They only take action when they expect a reward, and they don’t enjoy the action. That’s the reason they don’t do their best.

For example, most people go to work each day just thinking of payday and the money they will get for the work they are doing. They can hardly wait for Friday or Saturday, whatever day they receive their money and can take time off. They are working for the reward, and as a result they resist the work. They try to avoid the action and it becomes more difficult, and they don’t do their best.

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5 favourite dance songs (as I think of them, I think there’ll be others)

1.John B - Up all nite
2. Suv - Mine
3. Lucid - I can’t help myself
4. Green Court - Moonlight
5.Atlantis vs Avatar feat. Miriam Stockley - Fiji (Lange Edit)
6. Megamind - Taub
7. Dj Scot Project - Overdrive

(Just the tunes that go woooooooooooooooooo)

Also > Bruce Lee’s Top 7 Fundamentals for Getting Your Life in Shape

We just had a weekend at Pauline’s, which felt like Xmas because we only normally have prolonged stays then, in a kind of mum and dad leaving do. Lots of people, mum and all her cousins and their children. We had a lovely Chinese on Friday, it’s all about the starters. Then Saturday lots of people came and we sat around eating (Christine’s veggie crumble was lovely and ’so simple to make’, somehow I don’t believe her) and eating. It was just nice. More photos.

See karaoke, in this country is a big room of mostly people you don’t know and thus singing in front of is intimidating. In Japan, you hire a room and have people on call to bring you food (or, if that’s too expensive you go to the local shop and stock up on beer and crisps as we did). Then you get drunk and shout in a microphone with the people you chose to go with. It’s more fun then you think it’d be. It’s just a shame we do it differently here.

It feels like in the (just over) a week i’ve been here i’ve done and seen so much and nothing at all. I’ve seen and experienced things that have been humbling, calming, overwhelming and also somethings that felt somewhat flat (in-as-much as i’m not sure what i sure be experiencing here - seeing things is nice but… you know?).

We’ve taken in Kyoto and Tokyo in a bit of a rush. We’ve done a fair few of the touristy things and luckily a few things off the beaten track (thanks to a Japanese guide).

Anyway a few things I didn’t know a week ago…

1. The taxi door will open/close on it’s own, the taxi driver will be smart.
2. You’ll receive excellent service everywhere - be it fancy restaurant or McDonalds. The staff will be smart. It’s funny because kids will sit and do their homework, just get a coffee or a drink in the fast food joints here and spend their time over it. You get the feeling that McDonalds in Japan is what the British McDonalds wish they were.
3. You are never more then 1 minutes walk from a vending machine (this is true for the whole country, mountains included).
4. That restaurant just looks closed.
5. You just think you eat fast, you really don’t. The Japanese don’t waste time eating.

(It seems Jon has done a lot of the same things as me - generally with regards Kyoto and Tokyo (I just don’t have the inclination or patience to write as much as he has. So, his is a good starting point. Cheers Yon)