2018. this is the year my life is going to turn around for good (and hopefully stay that way!).

1. i'm gonna pass JLPT N1. it's 7 months away. in february i'll have officially been studying japanese for 2 full years. hopefully N1 will give me some impressive proof to show companies when i try to apply for full-time work ("impressive" as in it's actually a basic requirement for a lot of full-time jobs, but that line of thinking might only be for jobs in tokyo). what i have to think about is how exactly i'm going to study for it.

i can get japanese textbooks at the various libraries around town, but i need to find a textbook that's full of reading practice (most are just "list a word, list individual sentences using that word, multiple choice questions"). i'll keep reading harry potter and random manga. apparently N1 is almost entirely about being able to read nonfiction fast. i kinda want a high-level study-buddy... we can compare the books we're reading or something...

2. i'll try to make more and more of my own stuff to save money, ex. dried fruit. lately i'm delving into bone broth for real, as in specifically buying meat with bones, breaking up the bones to let the marrow come out. i'm also trying to use the freezer, as in actually buying extra meat when meat is on sale and then throwing it in there... in the summertime i'll experiment with a DIY sun oven.

3. finally, NOT caring about money is part of what has made me be happier and less stressed since coming to japan. i'm still poor and living on student loans, but at least i'm poor with "my own food" "my own decorations at home" "clothing that's actually warm and actually fits me". i've gone so long without stuff like that, and without a normal home environment that whenever i looked at other people i just thought "i'm not one of you, we have nothing in common", which naturally created a huge mental barrier that MADE it so i didn't/couldn't make friends. now i can think "ah we're finally the same". (of course i'm weird in various areas that other people aren't, but at least i can afford a drink at a café now, just like "everyone else"!)

self-confidence goes a long way in making other people want to befriend you/give you a job. and in general i'm still not spending as much money as basically everyone else i talk to. for example, there's a lot of barber shops here and every time i pass by one i just think "wow, that's 40-80 dollars every few months that we DON'T spend compared to everyone else!", since we cut our own hair. my wife doesn't really buy makeup and certainly doesn't wear it every day. stuff like that...