Hi folks,
Welcome to proper admin, the monthly rubble bucket of everything I couldn’t form into its own post.
Leftovers – The TOA Awards
The original ’10 for 10’ concept was a list of places to eat a meal for less than $10. Rising prices hinted at the end; the day the House Ramen at Sapporo hit $10 was the final whistle.
My 2020 list was fun but I think it’s a one-time gimmick, partly because it took a long time but mostly because it won’t change much this year. I’ll probably do some kind of update in 2021 but nothing like ‘ten lists of ten’.
Blog notes
The reduced volume is easier to manage from an organizing perspective while proving a refreshing challenge during writing and proofreading. The early returns are strong, one revision culled 350 words from 1400 while another lopped 250 words from an initial 1000. I’m committed to keeping a ~300 word per day running average but I may use some creative accounting for the Sunday long post (perhaps counting every other word) just so certain pieces don’t force a two-week vacation.
I’m seriously mulling a return to the early days of reading reviews (one per month) – until I make a decision, expect a slower pace of reading reviews.
Book ratings
I came up with a new book rating method. It would describe a book in the context of an annual list – among how many in a year would this book be appropriate? A ‘1’ would mean I recommend the book to a person who reads only one book per year while a ‘100’ suggests I’ll be the only reader. I would expect an average score here to be around 15, with perhaps the best books scoring around a 5.
Watered down
I’m trying to drink less water in 2020. No big problems in 2019, but in general I’m trying to listen more to my body and this was what I heard. The TB12 Method recommends drinking (in ounces) half your body weight (in pounds) so I’m aiming for 85-90 ounces daily, increasing intake after exercise (16 ounces per lost pound), drinking alcohol (4 ounces per drink), or whenever I’m feeling thirsty (as needed).
Books down
I’m also trying to read less (perhaps a unique resolution). The issue is writing, I find that reading limits my writing because I do so much analysis of each book.
I’m off to a bad start – it’s January 19 and I’ve already finished four books this month (with several others half-finished).
Breaking news
Finally, I ditched many websites I check each weekend – goodbye to The Guardian, The Japan Times, The Irish Times, and All Sides. My remaining news sources are Al-Jazeera (on weekends), the Wikipedia current events page (daily), and a morning glance at Boston.com’s 'most read' list (daily).
Why change? Simple, I thought about what I learned from each source and I kept the ones I felt were most helpful. Wikipedia gives me the big picture, Boston.com gives me the local picture, and Al-Jazeera gives me a different perspective; friends, family, colleagues, and of course, my loyal readers fill in the rest.
Next month… on True On Average:
1. Please make yourself at home.
2. Routine changes.
3. Not so fast!
