Tadaima

Tadaima

After 18 years, I was finally able to go back to Japan for a family trip. Back in 2006 and 2007, I was sent to Tokyo for a business trip to my company’s headquarters. Japan left a personal impact and since then it became one of my goals to return someday.

My wife, whom I didn’t know at that time, was also sent to Tokyo for a business trip around 2007. And same as me, she also wanted to go back as a tourist in the future. But after that time, life happened, we got married, had a kid, the pandemic came and travel became impossible for 2 years, and so on. I also didn’t want to travel with a small child: not just because it makes travel more challenging, but that I also wanted the child to be old enough to appreciate the new environment. But last year, conditions were just right to finally pull the trigger. Continue Reading

Why I Write

Why I Write

Ten years ago, I published my first post in this blog titled Set up your own server. It was related to my work as a software developer. Around that time I also began my journey in self development and personal finance, and started publishing posts as well about those topics. I named my blog Technology and Financial Independence (TechAndFI) as I am working in tech.

Origins

That would have been a good origin story of this blog, but that would not be completely accurate. The main reason why I started writing is because of ads. I was thinking of a way to earn money on the internet, and Google Ads were one of the more popular choices back then. So I bought a domain, set up a simple blog (with a single post), and sent my application to Google. Continue Reading

The Most Important Job

The Most Important Job

I think women are not born with the innate ability to be mothers. But when the time comes for their motherhood, they do their best to care for their offspring. This is often done even without the benefit of prior training or education. They suddenly get thrust into this world wherein the baby that they delivered is now fully dependent on them. And because of this dependence, they had to let go of certain aspects of their lives: their free time, their career, their social life.

How to get more time

How to get more time

More than seven years ago, I wrote my experience about the mirage of free time. In that story, I thought I had all the time in the world to do the things I needed to do, but I basically did nothing in the end. It was a confounding paradox that always proved true from my experience then on.

I find that the more my day is restricted, the more I was able to do the things I needed to do. And the more the day is laid out for me like a blank canvas, the less productive I become. Continue Reading

Digital Hoarding

Digital Hoarding

If you have watched an episode of Hoarders, you may not believe that someone is capable of accumulating that much stuff, let alone live with it. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is often associated with this behavior, and so hoarding disorders are considered a mental health condition.

While we are quick to judge the people in the show who seem irrational in their quest to accumulate junk, we fail to realize that we are the same. But instead of things piling up in our homes, we have piles of digital junk everywhere. Perhaps you are one of these digital hoarders? Continue Reading