Like most people I have some rather unique experiences in my life as well as thing that I think most people go through in their lives that aren't so unique. Lately, I have started to contemplate certain aspects of my life since I have started to live fully healthy for the first time in probably 30 years, as well as the fact that I am accepting certain aspects of being closer to 50 than I am to 40.
The first thing I want to do is start with something that I always talk about and I don't think ever gets boring, and that is my dog, Nadi.
A friend sent me this meme the other day and I was thinking "yeah, that's me and my dog."
I spend a lot of time at home because my "office" is there, I don't really go out during the day because the streets are the temperature of the surface of the sun, and because of one other, far-more-important reason: My dog will miss me and she doesn't like it when I am gone.
I sit on the sofa a lot with Nadi, and when I am in my office chair there is another office chair that is right next to mine (my old one) that is Nadi's office chair when I am doing my job.
If I so much as stand up to go to the bathroom or go to the fridge or to make another coffee, she springs to attention to follow me because she wants to go with me. I live in a rather small one-bedroom apartment too, so it isn't like she can't see me for a while and wonders what I am up to. I find it endearing: She just wants to do everything that I do and it kind of breaks her heart the few times a week where I go and do something that she cannot join me for.
Next up we have buffalo, which to me was something that just roamed near where people wanted to be given a home. That was before I moved to Vietnam. In Thailand, people frequently had buffalo on their farms, but these were beasts of burden and were not used for meat. It wasn't until I moved to Vietnam and happened to meet the owner of a nearly restaurant that served buffalo in lieu of steak that I had ever tried it. It's actually quite tasty. I wouldn't put it up there with the likes of sirloin or anything, but for a budget dinner this one hits the spot. I think it depends on gravy a lot more than beef does, but as I mentioned a few posts ago, the steak here in Da Nang is either extremely expensive, or downright gross.
Also, this restaurant is one of the few that makes good meals without a bunch of unhealthy ingredients so if you do end up being angry at how all food these days seems to be intentionally unhealthy, then perhaps have a go at eating some buffalo with roasted potatoes.
Lastly, we have something that is a regular part of my life that I never thought I would end up doing. I was always a night owl and have in the past seriously struggled with insomnia because of it. These days, I am always in bed by 9-10 pm and it is glorious.
Since I stopped drinking (except on Thursdays) and exercise somewhat almost every day, I find that I no longer need sleeping tablets and if I do turn on a film in my bedroom I almost never make it all the way through it. One key aspect of my new life is that I wake up at 6:00 to 6:30 every day, even though there is nobody and nothing that is making me do so.
So I'm older, I enjoy eating buffalo, and I have a dog that wants to go with me everywhere, even if it is just to the toilet.
How is your day going?