I woke up at 9:00 this morning. I had a partner meeting (MTG) for the first time in a while. It was supposed to start at 9:00, but I was so sleepy I asked to push it back 15 minutes, so it started at 9:15. It had been a while, and they greeted me with a beaming "Long time no see!!" Their smile was so wide it was almost off-putting.
I felt a little happy, wondering if they were really that glad to have a meeting with me. Or maybe it was acting. But still, I thought smiles are wonderful. Smiles make everyone happy. So I want to keep smiling and not forget it.
After the meeting I was so sleepy I lay down on the bed. Yesterday I was sending voice messages in Vietnamese with a Vietnamese friend until about 3 a.m., and because I had such a fun time I was sleep-deprived.
Your condition changes with a smile
After that I walked to a nearby shopping mall. It was as if it had been made for Japanese people — the signs were in Japanese. There were so many Japanese chain stores I thought, "No way." But I ate a curry called "Penang" at the food court on the top floor.
I originally wanted to eat Thai green curry, but they weren't making it today so they recommended Penang. The guy was very pleasant and had a lovely smile, so I smiled too. I really feel people are important. People change your condition. That's why I was reminded how good it is to be smiling.
While eating the Penang curry I was also recording French, and I was able to record boldly and loudly. Usually, just having people around makes me nervous and my voice gets quiet, but today I could do it normally. Again, I thought how much condition matters.
It really matters whether you're meeting good people and whether you receive validation from them. By validation I don't mean anything big — just having a normal conversation and being accepted is enough, or even just making the other person smile.
If you've had those kinds of experiences recently, your condition really changes. I was made aware of how important those things are and that humans really can't live alone.
"Praising" is the most powerful communication
I found a hair salon and saw the SYSTEM luxe oil and hair mask I used before, and I really wanted them. But the price was 1,500 baht (about 6,250 yen), so I thought it was too expensive and stopped myself.
The staff told me, "You're handsome," and when I said thank you and left they even blew me a kiss. He was a ladyboy. I wondered why I'm still popular with people like that. But being called handsome made me really happy. No matter who says it, praise is a good thing and it makes you happy. Being complimented alone raises your self-esteem, and that's why actively praising others to make them feel good is so important.
Being among locals opens my heart
I walked to Pepper Plane Project. From their three Signature Coffees I ordered the last one, strawberry coffee. The taste was average. Personally, the panna cotta and espresso I ordered first were the best.
Come to think of it, I drank Red Bull for the first time in a while today, so maybe that's why I'm overflowing with confidence. I kept wondering what this condition of mine is. What is influencing me? I was really curious. I even went up to people and said "Hi" loudly.
Before I knew it, the place was full of locals and there weren't many foreign tourists. I tend to feel restrained where there are foreign tourists. But when it's only locals and I'm the only foreigner, somehow I get excited and my heart opens up.
At Pepper Plane Project I finished the backlog of work. I was very tired, but I thought this place really helps me focus. Almost every table had a "Reserved" sign, so I asked what that was about and whether I could use one.
Ask honestly about things that bother you. I thought that might also affect my self-esteem.
Kinokuniya and the Fujifilm X100VI
For dinner I went to Katsuya near the station. I ordered a tonkatsu and karaage set and for the first time in a while I paid a rather high 269 baht. Then I walked all the way to Siam to go to Kinokuniya. I browsed many books. I realized that the best investment is in myself.
I was interested in a book by Richard Feynman, but even after they looked it couldn't be found. Maybe next time. I also want to read a book by Charlie Munger. But I'm still reading another book now and want to finish that first. I don't need to read everything, but there are a lot of good things written and I want to read them.
Wandering around I ended up at Fujifilm. The X100VI I've been eyeing was actually there. It was apparently for sale and amazingly cheap — 56,661 baht. That's about 250,000 yen. I thought it was a great deal, and with VAT it'd end up being around 240,000 yen. I couldn't believe it was that good a deal. But it was 9:45. It closes in 15 minutes. I thought about it a lot.
For the first time I could see and hold the actual camera and I realized it's about this weight. Honestly it's not heavy at all and very reasonable. I wondered if it would be okay at departure with all my luggage, what to do with so much stuff, whether I can take a camera when I want to focus on video, and what it's like to carry a 250,000-yen camera around the world.
But in the end I made up my mind and decided to buy it in 55 minutes! When I went back to the salesman he told me they were closing and to come tomorrow. I couldn't buy it after all. I thought this was probably a sign. Some kind of omen. I felt that not buying it was probably the right choice.
Your bike is so cool!
The bike on the way back was so cool that when I got to the hostel I said, "Your bike is so cool!" I hesitated whether to say it in my head, but expressing what I think is very important, so I wanted to say it.
You don't have to seek correctness. Because I have the belief to act from the heart, I think things turned out this way. This is a big step forward, and I was so happy I could say it.
