Ayustar:
I do understand about the anxiety thing! I've had anxiety (and depression) off and on my whole life - I actually had a breakdown late last year and had to work from home for a few months because I became unable to go outside for awhile. (Social anxiety) I'm finally back in the office starting about 2 weeks ago, but still part time for now! (Thankfully my company have been
super accommodating!)
And I know there's a lot of anxiety involved with travelling, particularly to unfamiliar places where they don't speak your language. All I can say is, if you really want to do it, do it.
That may sound simplistic, but all of the "scary" things I've accomplished in my life have been by fighting with my fears and just saying "screw the consequences!", and doing them. Anxiety is a beast like any other that can be battled and beaten down. Find methods to work around him that work for you and you'll be able to beat him quicker than you think!
I moved to Japan entirely on my own with maybe about $300 in my pocket - and I'll be honest with you, I was terrified. But it was something I really wanted, and I battled through all my fears and anxieties, and living here has been the best experience of my life, I can say that with absolutely certainty. Sometimes you have to take the fear and just run with him - it may be the best thing you ever do for yourself.
Sorry, I tend to get carried away sometimes with being motivational. ^^; If anything I've said doesn't work for you, feel free to ignore it, kick me for it, whatever!
You are right, the Japanese concept of "doing your best" is quite strong, and I think this is reflected in the work ethic. Something I also notice is that everyone seems to believe that no matter what they are doing, their work is important, so they need to do it well. And perhaps some of that idea that if they do it poorly, it will have ramifications on other people. In the West (Australia certainly) we often have that mindset of "I'm too good for this crap job", meaning we do our work quickly and without care. This may be part of that group mentality vs individuality idea as well? All generalisations of course, but just based on what I see!
I call it a 'cafeteria' because I don't really know what else to call it, but our workplace has a kitchen and eating area staffed by three lovely cooks who make us fresh lunch every day often with ingredients delivered fresh that morning. All of it is really, really good and mostly traditional fare and fairly healthy. There's always fresh salad, a good serving of some kind of meat (fish, beef, chicken) and various side dishes. They even regularly run polls/surveys to gauge what we do and don't like and work to improve their dishes!
Japan has this popular concept of 'kaizen', which is 'constant improvement', and although you see a lot of people just give it lip service, my company takes it pretty seriously. I like that. It's nice to work towards betterment of your self, your environment, your work, or whatever you are doing, every day. As our president often says, the moment you stop growing, you stagnate.
I'd love to go over the okonomiyaki recipe with you, too! I'm still unfamiliar with what I can change to make recipes low-carb, though I'm eager to try.
And I am familiar with shiritaki noodles as they have them sometimes at lunch - thanks for the headsup on those! I can't eat bigger types of konyaku (the texture really puts me off) but I don't mind shiritaki. I'm wondering if they might work for noodles in ramen dishes, or even as a substitute for pasta! I'll have to give them a lot more thought! Appreciate the tip.
P.S. Sorry, apparently when I don't lurk I get chatty.
abbykitty:
Hello, and thanks for popping in! You know, raw fish seems to be an acquired taste that I still haven't properly acquired!
I'm going to keep trying at it, though in the meantime you're welcome to share my servings.