Me-me

Looking Back

My Water Heater Lasted 24 Years, and the Reason Was Where It Stood

The maker says a water heater lasts 10 years. Mine ran for 24, because it sat inside the garage. What replacing one costs in Japan, and the signs I ignored.
Continued

My Shaken Bill Doubled: What I Saw in Year Seven as a Former Mechanic

My shaken bill in Japan went from 46,000 yen to 114,950 yen in two years. I am a former mechanic in my 60s, and I still did not think it was expensive.
Looking Back

A Customer Threw the Keys at My Feet

A customer at the gas station where I worked dropped his keys at my feet on purpose. I picked them up and said nothing. I still think about it.
Chose

Digital Legacy: What I Sorted Out in My 60s, With One Handwritten Notebook

I am in my 60s. I asked myself what happens to my email, bank accounts and blogs when I die. Here is what I sorted out, and the one notebook I made.
Quit

Free Time After Retirement Did Not Scare Me. I Practiced For Years Before I Quit

Free time after retirement did not scare me. I started practicing years before my last day at work, and the day I quit felt like nothing special.
Continued

Friends After Retirement: Do Men Really Lose Them All? One Email I Sent

They say men lose their friends after retirement. In my 60s, I sent one email on my last day at the company, and I still meet three of those people today.
Chose

Becoming a Danka in Japan: I Compared 3 Temples Before My Parent Died

How do you become a danka of a Japanese temple, and what does it cost? Before my parent died, I compared three temples. The money worked differently at each.
Doubted

The Same McDonalds Coffee: 190 Yen in Japan, 490 Yen in America

McDonalds coffee is 190 yen in Japan and about 490 yen in America. I am in my 60s, and I looked up why. The coffee is the same. The pay of the workers is not.
Doubted

Japanese Baseball Ball vs American: Why MLB Pitchers Say It Slips

The ball used in Japanese baseball and the MLB ball are not the same. Uehara, Iwakuma, and Ohtani all said one word about the American ball: it slips.
Quit

Friends Drift Away in Your 60s. Is That Lonely? Six Things I Noticed.

In my 60s, my friends drifted away. Is that lonely? Six honest things I noticed about friendship, from retirement to the phone, as a man in Japan.