My little two questions

 

Why Americans are so surprised as they know I don't like peanut butter?

Why Australians are so surprised as they know I like Vegemite?

Jobs

Most people in modern society spend more than eight hours a day working. Some are successful in their jobs, but most of them are under stress. Workers are classified into two groups; self-employed and employees. An interesting fact is that the self-employed envy the employees, and vice versa. The reason? People tend to exaggerate the others' benefits they don't have.

Businessmen seem to have greater satisfaction from their jobs than ordinary workers do. They have the power to decide things by themselves. That's why ordinary workers are envious of them. But businessmen must take responsibility for their decisions, and if something goes wrong they could go bankrupt.

Every employee has a certain job responsibility, but if he does what he is expected to, he is usually exempt from bad consequences. He has a stable position. On the other hand, a competent worker may enjoy many promotions and raises, but still be at the mercy of the manipulation’s of corporate executives. Who is happier is not the question. The important thing is that people must decide which category they should belong in by evaluating themselves honestly.

 

Hobbies

One of the main reason people have hobbies is to kill time. Many of the great developments in science and technology have given us all a lot of time beyond that which we fill with necessary activity. But few of us use that extra time creatively, so we get bored. So we need a hobby to make the time pass enjoyably, we collect stamps or learn how to cook or just listen to our CDs. One of the problems, though, is with having expensive hobbies.

Usually they are intended to show off our wealth or our being up-to-date with some supposed trend, rather than supporting any genuine interest. Too often, we can't really afford it, but even if we can, we just feed our general discontentment because we are spending a lot of money but not relieving our boredom.

Friends

How many friends do you have? Which do you think is better, having many friends or just a few very close ones?

Do you think your friends would stay with you if you were in trouble? You know people say, "A friend can't be known in prosperity." A lot of those, who say this claim that their conclusion is based on personal experience of losing a supposed friend when they were in a difficult situation.

If so, it seems friendship is more a matter of social convenience than character or shared interest. However, others can point to unexpected support during a serious crisis from someone whom they did not expect to be a good friend.

So I guess the question of friendship can cut both ways: in some cases it is mere lip service and in others it is genuine commitment.

Special Days

Which day is the most important to you each year? Is it your birthday? Perhaps the birthday of someone you love? Or an anniversary? Many people have their own special days and want to celebrate them in some distinctive way. The celebration may be a special meal or dining out, or a gift, perhaps a trip. Maybe even a greeting card is enough to mark the occasion. But the point is that the day symbolizes some important event, and that it’s importance is recognized by other significant people as well.

Traditional holidays are also important, but they have group significance instead of a personal meaning. Usually some religious or national figure is commemorated. These occasions may be marked by community celebrations, or especially by family get-togethers. As families become more fragmented and scattered, these holidays may be ever-more important, since they provide a chance for people to share their lives with each other again.

Enjoyable and affordable vacation

As people make more money, often they think that now is the time to enjoy themselves more. Leisure becomes more important in their lives. As their psychological horizons expand beyond just earning an income, they also want to find out more about the world. So they want to travel. One problem, however, is that they don't really know where they want to go or what they want to do when they get there.

So they blindly go somewhere, just because they think it is fashionable to do so. Often they take some package tour that offers them "10 countries in 7 days." That way, they collect a lot of stamps in their passports and a lot of predictable photographs, but they don't have much fun or relaxation, and they don't really know very much about where they've been. A much better approach would be to decide where they really want to go, and why, and then plan far enough in advance in order to accomplish those goals. That way, the vacation is both more enjoyable and affordable.

What is good sleep?

It is commonly believed that everybody should get at least eight hours of sleep a day. But a lot of people try to get by on less, thinking that sleeping is just a waste of their time. Even some experts claim that it is the quality of sleep that counts rather than the quantity, and that we could live healthy lives with only three or four hours of good sleep. To them, "good sleep" is characterized by REM (Rapid-Eye Movement). It is during this phase of sleep that we dream.

Dreams and their interpretation are other interesting phenomena associated with sleeping. Throughout history, seers have tried to use them as a guide to the future. Today, psychologists are apt to see them as the acting out of the anxieties and fantasies we cannot express during our waking hours. For Sigmund Freud, they were symbolic expressions of our sexual desires.

regular meals

Eating is supposed to be one of the most pleasant things in life. Sometimes we are not sure if we eat to live or live to eat. However, these days,many people are being deprived of regular meals.

Some folks claim they are too busy to take the time, or they skip a meal because they are dieting. The meal that is most often missed is breakfast, so the eater or fixer can stay in bed longer,even though health experts usually insist this is the most important meal of all.

In some cases, this phenomenon is because wives are working outside the home, in others because husbands do not insist on breakfast.

More convenient Western ideas about breakfast are becoming popular: eggs, toast, cereal, coffee.

 

 

Later in the day, lunches are also becoming more problematic, specially for workers. The variety and quality of food seem to be declining, even as the restaurants themselves become more crowded and expensive.

After work, it is usually an informal requirement to join co-workers in meal and drinking session, so a family meal at home is out of the question for a lot of male workers.

Traffic &Transportation

In modern societies, cars have become indispensable for most people. They are needed for commuting to work, for shopping, and for leisure purposes.

However, this widespread use also poses many traffic-related problems. For example, since the roads are congested most of the day, the meaning of "rush hour" is fast disappearing. A lot of drivers complain that the police are more interested in "collecting money" from law-breaking commuters than in facilitating the traffic flow.

In addition, as more and more "demand pressure" is put on gasoline supplies, and as more taxes are added by the government to regulate usage, prices are rising dramatically.

Worldwide, the automobile is probably the number-one contributor to air pollution, and policies designed to protect the environment are expensive. So far, mass transportation systems such as subways and buses and electric or other alternatives to internal combustion engines have proved inadequate for solving the needs of conveniently moving large numbers of people from place to place.

Lifestyles

People have different attitudes toward living. Some seek self-oriented happiness, without any consideration for others. To them, "happiness" means wielding political or economic power over others. But most of these people turn out to be disappointed in their pursuit of happiness since man's desire is endless, nothing can fully satisfy their needs.

Other people believe that the first step to attaining happiness is to restrict personal desire. Priests, monks, and nuns are the most common representatives of this group. By refraining from worldly passion, they think they are happier because they live their lives in accordance with religious commands. But, can anyone without personal autonomy be genuinely happy?

A third group consists of very ordinary people. They have no great wealth or political authority. While they may have religious beliefs, they do not turn their back on the world. But they treasure their families, they value the little things of everyday life. They are happy if they have three meals a day, a car, a home, a vacation and enough money to educate their children.

Which group of people is the happiest? Who knows? If you think you are happy, then you are. Happiness is the result of how you think about the world and your place in it.

Kaiseki cuisine for dinner

I went to eat kaiseki  cuisine  for dinner with my wife. kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner.

Sakizuke : an appetizer similar to the French amuse-bouche.

Mukōzuke : a sliced dish of seasonal sashimi.

Takiawase : vegetables served with meat, fish or tofu; the ingredients are simmered separately.

Yakimono : flame-broiled food (esp. fish)

Gohan : a rice dish made with seasonal ingredients.
Tome-wan : a miso-based or vegetable soup served with rice.

Mizumono : a seasonal dessert; may be fruit, confection, ice cream, or cake.