Note on productivity. And laughs.

Today is Sunday. Again. Sunday. Not Sunday night like in my last post, but still Sunday.
And here's a song.
More suitable to those who live somewhere where it's still AM time.

I am now supposed to be working on a translation. Not big. I can probably finish it, from the start to the beginning (I'm about half through it) in around 2-3-4 hours. I have this thing that I translate 50 lines at a time, and then break (in a file, there's usually 300-350 lines).

I have been noticing that, working on weekends is terribly ineffective for me. I guess I associate weekends with end of the week and therefore, rest. During the week, since the pace is much faster and have more things to do with time limits. Simple things, like catch x train, catch x bus, wait for x class, read x text until x date, meet with x person, buy x thing, etc. In short, during the week you HAVE to do it, or you won't survive (okay, you'll be embarrassed, ashamed if you don't do it).

On weekends however, all that, I guess I could call it stress, kind of vanishes. And you have more freedom to do whatever you want (unless of course you work - somewhere outside your home). I have no problem whatsoever reading academic papers - because I enjoy learning from it, but if I feel that it is mandatory work, somehow, I tend to procrastinate. I am not going to blame the "mandatory" factor alone, however.

Another factor is, the place where I work. Working at home is probably the dream job to many. As far as my so far short experience tells me, yes. It is nice to work from the comfort of your home, without having to deal with outside noises and other hindrances. But there's one problem for me. I can't properly work if I'm not in a bustling environment. I'm guessing all the years studying in groups with friends (high school, university) and having the - I guess I could call it - "culture", of going to the cafe after school to study and discuss the subjects we were studying, chit chat, spend a good time in general, has made me prone to now being able to properly work in the quietness of my home.

And please, don't automatically think I'm living a very good life here.
I'm making some effort to pay school fees for myself, I don't mind being in debt with my family, but I still feel very uncomfortable. I know I will pay somehow what my "uchi" has made for me (thanks to our family business, otherwise my parents wouldn't afford this). I have to think not only of the next ones I need to pay, but also the payments next to that one. So for example, instead of spending 300yen on lunch at the canteen, I'd rather not eat or bring myself a sandwich from home. The more I save now, the less I have to worry later. Unfortunately, this is the only way I can think now. At least until I have a stable income and am absolutely sure I will be able to pay the fees with no problems.

I think people around me, or at least those who live in the same building I do, see me as a very anti-social person. Truth is, I am not. I am average. I like my space and time, but actually what probably I enjoy the most is being with my friends (at least the portuguese ones, since I can't call anyone around here "real friend" because its hard to trust somebody). Aside the obvious cultural differences, there is also the previously stated "money factor".

I wish I could eat out, invite my friends to eat out, go to the cinema once in a while, go (way) more often to Starbucks (actually with study as a goal).
Oh how I miss my portuguese habit of going to the cafe at night, after having had classes, studied and just be with my friends, talk nonsense, laugh - we laugh so much in Portugal...genuinely. I miss laughing more freely. I sometimes find myself laughing a lot, after listening to something funny, even if not that much funny (according to my standards), since it is a feeling that comes out naturally and listening to funny things here is so rare, when I listen to something minimally funny I tend laugh a lot.
It's like I have a concentration of laughs inside me, that will explode any time I hear something funny, but since those somethings are so rare, when I explode I laugh effusively.

That's it for today's Sunday.
I'm going to try and make an effort to finish the current translation. Then I intend on reading on Chinese Economy (gonna have a presentation soon) and then finally finish reading a paper I started yesterday and finally watch some tv series and go to sleep. And I just described my regular day (only missing classes and bicycle rides/walks). And also some social media time in between to keep up with the latest news and trends.

Oh, and I turned 22 by the way.
I grew so much during my "I'm 21 years old" time span that I assure that coming to Japan is the best investment I'm making, on a personal and Curriculum Vitae level.