Life update// 1 month in Japan and my New Years Resolutions

Long time no see <3 I have been soo majorly busy since I started work! I had all these grand plans for blogging loads once I got here, but I've been waaay busier and way more overwhelmed than I expected. Working 6 days a week is intense, I'm sure I'll get used to it but I'm not there yet. Once I get back into the swing of things, I have looooads of content I want to post though, so please stay tuned!

So what have I been up to?

• I flew into Osaka and spent one blissful day walking round ura namba and umeda eating takoyaki and taking photos (I'll definitely post those photos on here when I get a minute)
• Then the next day went straight to Shizuoka, met people and got settled in, then the next day
• Started work at my first proper job! It's busy and stressful and all in Japanese because I'm not an English teacher, but everyone at work is super lovely <3 
• Caught a massive cold as soon as I got here, so the first week or so of work were a bit grim 
• Saw Mount Fuji!!
• Found *my* supermarket and *my* vegetable shop :)
• Found some cool coffee shops (blog posts to follow)
• I helped out at a film shoot, as an interpreter (?!!) 
• Bought a filter coffee pot for the first time (although tbh I think I prefer my bialetti)
• Worked on Christmas (never again omg... even though I'm surrounded by the nicest people here, Christmas without my family was a bit horrible)
• Went out and got completely drunk then did karaoke on Christmas with my friend (which was great, 10/10 would do again)
• My friend showed me a cool vintage shop here and we went to a gig/party <3
• I spent New Year in Japan! I was lucky enough to be invited to my friend's house and they had a big traditional family gathering <3 which was lovely
• My phone broke!! 

So it's been eventful! And New Year completely crept up out of nowhere for me- time is going so fast! They're pretty similar to my Japan goals ver. 2, and I still want to do the things I talked about there, but these are the things I especially want to concentrate on in 2019.

2019 New Years Resolutions// 

Look after myself more// I have a hard time saying 'no' to people and have ended up agreeing to do lots of extra work and going to loads of events and things. Which is amazing, but I've been soo burnt out! I need to prioritise my long term well being and not over- promise things. And I need to recognise that social things will come around again, so it's ok to bow out early if I'm tired. I've also been neglecting my health a bit- see below- and I have barely studied Japanese since I got here (although my whole day is in Japanese, I haven't been studying Kanji and N1 stuff. I did Kanji the other day for the first time in ages, and it really calmed me down- doing a teeny bit every day is definitely the goal for me.)

Stop eating food from the combini!// I have been super stressed and haven't had time to cook a proper lunch for myself, so I've been ending up at the combini getting super unhealthy sugary rubbish that's full of preservatives for lunch... no wonder I've been feeling rubbish health wise tbh.

Eat more vegetables!// Japanese food actually doesn't have a lot of vegetables in- at least not like at my home. I need to buy more leafy greens for myself. Because I love to cook and I love eating veg, so maybe I just need to get back into meal prepping?

Get organised// I haven't even properly unpacked everything, because I've just been in and out/crashing. This has obviously got to change

Move out// Because rent is so much cheaper here in Shizuoka than back home, and there are a lot more 1DK style apartments, it's the perfect opportunity for me to move out and live on my own, something that I definitely couldn't afford to do in London or South East England. I loove the family I'm staying with, but I don't want to miss this chance to be a properly independent grown up :)

Save money// I want to have a little fund for emergencies, such as my recent broken phone </3 and I want to save up for a deposit.

Get better at photography and filming// I love photography, but to be honest I think I'm *ok* but I want to be *good* you know? I need to think about composition and how to make my shots more interesting- and the best way to do it is to practise practise practise <3

Don't neglect my own Youtube channel and blog// I've been doing the social media at work too, as well as creating youtube content, and to be honest I think the combination of a job I'm still not completely used to, along with the stress of trying to live up to people's high expectations for content standards (people need to understand how long editing is omg) has really contributed to me feeling so burnt out. I loove blogging and I have so much to post about here, so I'm definitely going to try and get back into posting once a week at least. <3

So that's me! What are your New Years Resolutions? Are you feeling relaxed or knackered after the holidays?
-Amy xoxo

Japan goals ver. 2// 大阪パリピツアー: Things I want to do in Osaka// My emergency bleached hair care plan and mini wish list/ haul//