apply for freebies

As a cheap person, I’ve vigorously applied for
online giveaways and free samples on the
Internet for three years now. I suspended it as
of today because I’m moving to my new place
and my address will soon be changed.
I take this opportunity to go over the result
of my three-year applications. The best freebie
I won for a giveaway was two dozen cans of
limited-edition beer with an antique label. It
was worth over $60. I got two dozen cans of
cheaper beer or soda for a couple of times and
a box of eye cosmetics, too. But mostly what I
got were small packets of shampoo or
cosmetics. Although it took time to fill out my
personal information and answer a survey for
the application, I was often disappointed at
what the company sent as a reward.
While they extravagantly announced that I
had won the giveaway on a letter, what they
enclosed was a teeny tiny packet. I sometimes
saw the similar packet handed out for free at a
store or on the street. I may have wasted so
much time to apply for freebies online after all.
But there’s still the even worse result. In these
three years, my eyesight has deteriorated
significantly. If it has to do with spending a
long time on the Internet to apply for freebies,
that certainly did more harm than good…

Episode From Surviving in Japan / Hidemi Woods

Audiobook : Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. Apple, Audible, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks,  43 available distributors in total

the supermarket turns into heaven

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The nearest supermarket to my apartment puts half-off stickers to the prepared foods that are left unsold at 7:30 p.m. And sometimes, they put 75% off stickers to the ones that are still unsold after the half off at 8:30 p.m. But it all depends on the unsold amount and the 75% off sale is rarely fulfilled. When it is, though, the supermarket turns into heaven to me. It’s a risky challenge worth a bet.

I decided to go for it today and convinced myself that the main purpose was not to get the 75% off foods but to take a walk. This is my fail-safe mindset to protect myself from a bitter disappointment in case nothing is left at the store. I went there, and lost the bet. Their shelf for prepared foods was completely emptied. I kept saying to myself that I came here to take a walk, not to shop. But I had to buy some other mildly discounted items to console myself. I couldn’t shake off the frustration in any way. My fail-safe plan didn’t work for my greed…

Episode From Surviving in Japan / Hidemi Woods

Audiobook: The Family in Kyoto: One Japanese Girl Got Freedom by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. Apple Books, Google Play, Audible 43 available distributors in total.

Audiobook:  Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. 
Apple Books, Google Play, Audible,   43 available distributors in total.

The pitiful thing

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I found tall wooden shelves discarded at a garbage dump of my apartment. It was as good as new and I carried it into my place. March is the end of both the fiscal and academic year in Japan, which means it’s the season of a move. The shelves seemed to be a product of someone’s movingout.

I cleaned it and made it my new shoe shelves. I felt so good seeing my shoes arranged beautifully on the shelves. The pitiful thing is, though, that almost all the shoes cost less than $20, mainly $10, and about half of them are worn out and have holes and cracks…

Episode From Surviving in Japan by Hidemi Woods

Audiobook  : Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. 
Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks,  43 available distributors in total.

my first guitar

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When I was eight, my uncle got married and left our house. He had collected small change in big jars and gave all of them to me when he left. I had always wanted him to leave soon, but I found a lot of toys that he had given me in all those years besides the small change.

 About five years later, he also gave me my first guitar. It was a white classic guitar that he won as a prize for a golf game with his friends. Although it was a cheap model, I had played it for years until it got completely tattered and I bought a new one for my first gig.

 While my uncle was a giver, his wife was very careful about money. She came to sell her homemade bread to my parents, or reaped away with her neighbors most of persimmons that my parents grew in my family’s field. Long after I left home for music, she visited my parents’ house and asked about my first white guitar. According to my mother, she wanted it back now that I had left home and hadn’t used it anymore. I was purely surprised that she remembered the guitar. It must have been her longtime grudge that my uncle gave it to me. After ten years, she retrieved the worn-out, battered guitar at long last…

Episode From An Old Tree in Kyoto /Hodemi Woods

Audiobook 1 : Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. 
Audiobook 2 : My Social Distancing and Naked Spa in Japan by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps. 
Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks,  43 available distributors in total.