A friend of mine posed this question to me about a week ago. It really stopped me in my tracks for a moment and made my mind dust off the cobwebs. This past year I would be lying if I said my life was golden. In fact, the truth is it was be plagued with potholes the like of which I never imagined possible. But this question made me wonder…. what am I really doing?

From the moment I moved to Japan my mind went into a hibernation. I became one of those sheep counters I mentioned before in Have a Dream and Count Sheep. I got into an endless cycle of repetitiveness. When this thought crossed my mind the light bulb flickered from the slow cranking of gears that creaked from lack of use deep within the folds of my brain.

After this past week, I have come up with dozens of things I am enthralled to say I am thankful for. My sister, my newly born niece, my parents, my new friends here in Japan, for having a job, and even the difficult experiences that I have had here. I am grateful for all of them. I am even more grateful for being given the chance to live through it all and meet all the fantastic people along the way. I have found some of the challenges this year to be daunting thus far, but nothing has stopped me from moving forward but myself.

Today that changes.

My friend, to answer your question in one sentence, “I am grateful for being the one in control and for being able to have a positive impact on those around me.”

Well then give me your phone numbers! Send me a private message or e-mail (matt@mattdinofrio.com) and I’ll get back to you!

There’s a squirrel in it! Enough said.

** July 10th, 2016: Fixed!

Realizations abound, I’ve finally come to terms with this blog. At first it was for my friends, but now I find it’s more for my entertainment. I can still share all the fun things with friends, but maybe I will do a little more writing of my thoughts on travel and other things. I have recently been reading a ton of articles on travel, learning language, photography, and moving (as in changing your living location). These are goals in mind for my future. Actually, I don’t see myself settling down anywhere for an extended period of time. My dreams are slowly evolving, changing, and taking on new persona. I hope for everyone back home I can share what I experience!

Now moving on, more to the title of the post. Setting goals is something everyone does in hopes for that dream. Even the laziest of people, such as myself, will do it. It’s ever so rewarding when the goals are actually accomplished (I know what you are thinking, but yes, I really AM lazy). I sometimes wonder where these goals will take me in life, but there’s no need to dwell too much on it. As long as I know my destination and general heading, I feel at ease.

On occasion I have the opportunity of discussing other peoples’ dreams and I think, “That’s fantastic,…. but why are you here?” I think people, especially in today’s day and age, get hung up (myself included). They get into something and stay there, call it being too comfortable or just plain lazy.  The goals they have will never come to pass because they are too busy “living” life, or so they say. As every day passes them by, they count their sheep till the next moment will come. In effect, they really are sleeping because that next moment may never come. Then you hit 65 and wonder to yourself, “What happened?” So let me ask now, “Why wait?!”

Well, I myself have grown tired of counting sheep. A bit of a paradox, seeing as counting sheep should make you tired! What I’m really saying is, I’m done waiting. Risk is a part of living and it’s about time I take action and do the things I’ve always wanted. Sure moving to Japan was a huge step in the right direction, but it never got me out of my old thoughts. Finally I realize that there is much more to life and it won’t get done till I do it.

So the other day my students were getting their mid-term exams back. Before the students got them, the teacher mentioned the class average. Upon hearing it, all the students laughed. Well apparently I’m not Japanese enough to get the joke.

But I’m pretty sure a class average of 42 out of 100 points is pretty bad. Or maybe they were just trying to laugh off that test score they were about to get.

I did square dancing in highschool during those super rainy days. Man, did everyone hate it. We always tried for floor hockey or indoor soccer,… nope too violent. Time to doe-si-doe.

Here, what do they do during rainy season? Judo. That sure beats square dancing. At least you learn how to parry someone’s advance. That’s probably better than grab your offender, PROMENADE.

This is the time of year where everyone is looking to start a new page. Even though our new year has past, the new year here is still in full swing. China’s New Year is coming soon and Japan just recently celebrated what is known as the Setsubun Festival. In this festival it’s common to clean yourself of evil and start anew! A very common practice is for a family member to use a paper mask in the image of a demon to parade outside the home. That’s when the rest of the family proceeds to brutally assault them with….. soybeans. That’s right, soybeans. GET OUT DEMON, or I shall smite thee with my mighty soybean! I find it an awesome tradition! I think for kids, its even more fun. Unfortunately this tradition is slowly dying out and becoming one of those things of times passed.

Ohs Noes!

Image: Courtesy of wikipedia