Tokyo Dad

Happy Birthday Taiga!

My son is one today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone...

Still, it has been a wonderful year and I look forward to many more like it. We bought him a trike, so hopefully he'll have fun riding it.

Che Guevara, Life and Being a Father

I've just read Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's book, The Motorcycle Diaries, and a line from it really got me thinking: "Some give the impression they go on living only because it's a habit they cannot shake."

It got me thinking about life in general and my life in particular. As sporadically chronicled here, I am attempting to improve my health by running, cycling and, more recently, doing Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing). I have also stopped drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes, started drinking a lot more water and am trying to make general improvements to my overall diet. Next, I want to make some changes in my work situation so that I can spend more time with my family. I don't want to simply stumble through life anymore trapped in circumstances that I am not happy in (my job). To that end, I continue to study (law, linguistics and Japanese) and I am taking certain other steps to hopefully effect some substantial changes by the end of this year/the beginning of next year.

Basically, I want my family to be happy and content, and a big part of this is making myself happy and content. I'm not unhappy – far from it – my family is wonderful, I have a nice house and a reasonably well-paid job. I shouldn't complain? Possibly, but you only get one crack at this life (as far as I know) so why spend most of it in a job or circumstances that you don't like? My brother-in-law is suffering from depression brought on by overwork and my father-in-law is recovering from cancer, a strong contributing factor being the stress of his job (I should, however, point out that my father-in-law loves his job).

How many of us go about our daily routine without really thinking about it? Are we living out of habit? Have we become more domesticated than the animals we keep as pets? There is much more to life than getting up, going to work, going home and going to bed. I have always thought so, but I have found myself falling into this 'safe' little routine. One of the many, many wonderful things that I have learnt since becoming a father is that there is wonder in everything and that one should never just blindly accept things. Another major thing I have learnt is that things change quickly. The trick is being able to change with them.

Nearly a Year Already

How time flies… My son will be one year old next week, which is a big thing for both me and my wife and him. Watching him grow and develop is not only incredibly interesting and educational, it's also staggeringly pleasurable and emotional. Part of me looks forward to seeing him learning to walk properly, learning to ride a bike, etc. while another part of me wants to preserve those gummy smiles and his cute, chubby little body. So, what do you get a one-year-old for his first birthday?

Lipton Ice Chai

You may think that I am easily pleased after reading this, but it was wonderful news for me to find that Lipton have introduced ice chai here in Japan!

I love chai, hot or with ice, but I haven't seen it bottled before, so when I saw this in the shop yesterday (the day it was released) I had to try it. And I am happy to report that it tastes great.

Yeah, OK, I'm easily pleased...

Exercise: Keeping it Up

Throughout my life I have been the kind of person who exercises sporadically but never really keeps it up. To be honest, I think most people are similar. Basically, it's easier not to exercise. It is much easier to sit in front of the TV (or in a bar) with a beer and a few snacks than it is to go running.

I started running a while ago and was really getting into it, but then the annual nightmare of hay fever hit me and I stopped - it was simply too uncomfortable to run while sneezing incessantly and dealing with itchy eyes. And for a few weeks after the worst of it was over, I found myself slipping back into going for a beer (or five) rather than going for a run. I noticed that I was getting out of breath easier and my trousers were getting a little tighter...

So I got back into it. I had to snap myself out of my lethargy and force myself to go, and I am very thankful I did. I'm feeling much better now - my body is beginning to change shape (in a good way!), I'm sleeping better, I have more energy throughout the day and I'm feeling better. Not drinking alcohol is helping with my stamina, as is drinking lots of water, so I really hope that I can keep it up this time

Early Morning Walks in the Park

I've been getting up earlier recently, which not only means that I can enjoy a leisurely breakfast and not have to rush to get ready for work, it also means that I've got chance to go for a walk in the park. Luckily there is a nice, spacious park near to my house with nice little trails, loads of trees and some exercise equipment (which I am yet to use).

Accompanying me on these early-morning strolls is my cute little boy, who really seems to enjoy it. Whether I take him in his pushchair or his carrier, he seems to love it and so do I. It's really nice to be out and getting some fresh air early in the morning - there isn't much about in Tokyo during the day - but mainly it's nice to be able to spend a little bit more time with my son in the morning. It certainly sends me off to work with a smile on my face!

Competitive Parents

"How old is your baby now? Six months, ten months, eighteen months? Blimey, by that age my baby had mastered the trombone, was performing perfect backflips on the trampoline, reading Shakespeare and debating theology."

Well, my baby makes noises, slobbers, has trouble keeping his balance, giggles for no reason and doesn't like solid food. For some parents, this is enough to have them rushing off to a child psychologist to see if they are 'developing' properly. For me, it's called being normal.

Why do parents feel the need to be competitive about their children? I'm sure we can all remember saying crap like 'my dad does karate' at school, but we had an excuse then because we were kids. Now it's more common for me to hear the opposite; how athletic/smart/artistic/gifted/terribly attractive their progeny is. And it's weird! Even better is when you hear people who haven't got kids giving you advice. 'Ooh, no breast milk after one year old, no, no, no.' 'Not crawling yet?! Get down on all fours and show him how it's done.'

All babies – and the big, stupid people they turn into – are different. Here's what I think: my baby is wonderful and the most precious thing in my life. He'll start walking, talking and eating food in his own time. What's the rush? I love him and will not compare him to any other babies. Because I know that he's number one.

15 Reasons Why Water is Good

Everybody knows that water is good for you. Our bodies are about 60% water and if we don't get enough of it we, well…die. Humans can survive up to three weeks without food, which I can't imagine being very pleasant, but only up to three days without water. Not convinced yet? Most places will give you ten reasons why water is good. Hah! I'll give you fifteen:

1. Get healthy skin. Drinking water moisturizes your skin from the inside out. It helps to maintain elasticity and suppleness – so those wrinkles won't be quite so pronounced – and helps prevent the skin from drying out or cracking. After only a couple of weeks of increased water intake, my skin is noticeably better

2. Flush toxins. Anything that helps get rid of the crap in your body is a good thing – and water does a great job of getting rid of crap. Water lessens the burden on your kidneys and liver (beer doesn't…)

3. Lose weight. People often confuse thirst with hunger. If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water first and wait a few minutes – you may notice your hunger pangs subsiding. Also, as water is flushing you out, it helps shift fat.

4. Reduce your risk of a heart attack. All the more reason to add more water to your diet

5. Increase your energy. Being properly hydrated means that your body can work more effectively, which results in less energy being needed for essential tasks. It's only been a couple of weeks since I upped my water intake, but there has been a marked increase in my energy and stamina levels. I no longer get drowsy during the day and I can comfortably run for thirty minutes or more without feeling tired or wanting to walk.

6. Lubricate your joints and muscles. Drinking water before and after exercise – also during if you are exercising for a long time – helps to reduce muscle cramping and gets lubrication to your joints.

7. Improve digestion. Water even lubricates the places you would probably rather not think about – your guts. Getting enough water can prevent constipation by adding fluid to the colon and bulk to your bum waste, making bowel movements softer and easier to pass. Fancy a sandwich now? Being a vegetarian, I've never been one to take a newspaper into the toilet and pray for the best, but it all helps.

8. It's cheap. Tap water is practically free and buying bottled water is generally cheaper than buying soft drinks and alcohol, unless you go for those ridiculously overpriced 'designer' waters. If you do buy these very expensive brands of water, give yourself a slap. A hard slap. Then buy a cheaper version. It's still water, and it's still good for you.

9. Regulate your body temperature. When you get hot, you sweat. In order to sweat, you need some fluid in your body.

10. Stay healthy. Water can help reduce you chances of developing all sorts of horrible things, from kidney stones to bladder and urinary tract infections.

11. Recover quicker. Doctors don't just tell you to 'drink lots of fluids' for the sake of it, it's advice that works. Water can help control a fever, replace lost fluids, and stop making you feel like you have bathed in mucus.

12. You can surf in it! And surfing is a good thing. A very good thing

13. You can swim in it. If surfing isn't your thing, swimming is a wonderful form of exercise.

14. Drinking water helps to save the planet. Probably.

15. You can throw it at people. Using a water pistol or a water balloon need not lose its appeal just because you are no longer five years old. (Having kids is a great excuse to muck around with water - at least I'm hoping so…).

Crawling Babies, Scattered Goods and General Mayhem

Things change so quickly with babies – they are a wonder to behold. A month ago, our son was showing signs of interest in crawling, but seemed to consider it too much like hard work when he could be sitting, or lying, down instead. He has been standing for around two months and seems to love bouncing up and down while he holds onto something, and both my wife and I thought that he may bypass crawling and go straight for charging around on two feet.

That all changed last week. From the first few tentative gropes on all fours, he's now rocketing across the floor, generally leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. So far we have relocated a few dangerous items to keep them out of his reach and we are now learning the benefits of an obsessive neat-freak's style of living. He goes whipping around until he can find something to pull himself up onto two feet with, like the sofa, the TV shelf or the table. Whatever happens to be on one of these surfaces, and within his reach, he instantly deems to be a hindrance to his exploration and therefore consigns it to the floor. Mummy and daddy follow him, picking things up and reminding him that these things are there for a reason.

Either that or we're giggling along with him and videoing his escapades.

Flying With a Baby

I have to be honest and say that my wife and I were not exactly looking forward to a long-haul flight with our son. He doesn't like enclosed spaces much and doesn't particularly like staying still for long periods of time - both of which he would be required to do for over 11 hours. But, to our utter delight, all flights went like a dream!

A couple of tips I would give if you are taking a baby on a long-haul flight would be:

- If the baby is breastfeeding, try to feed him or her during take-off and landing as this will help with their ears popping due to the change in pressure and hopefully lull them off to sleep.

- Walk around with them when possible.

- Give them plenty of fluids - the air is very dry on planes. This is especially important if your baby suffers from any skin problems, as our son does.

- Take their favourite toys (unless of course their favourite toys are a bicycle, a drum kit and a rocking horse...)

Back in the UK

It' been nearly five years since I last went back home, so it was great to spend a couple of weeks there recently. It was wonderful to see my son taking to everybody so well. We were a little worried that he wouldn't go to my family so well as it was the first time for him to see them, but our worries were misplaced - he smiled, laughed and was great with everybody!

As always, these trips are too short, but it was still very nice to be back. My parents love books as much as me, so we came back with some books for our son and a great book for me: How to Survive Anything, Anywhere. I love these kind of books!

How to Survive Anything, Anywhere: A Handbook of Survival Skills for Every Scenario and Environment

Baby Allergies

Our son has problems with his skin and we were concerned that he has eczema or dust/pollen allergies. After a couple of blood tests, it seems that his allergies may be food-related. As he is not eating much right now – a bit of sweet potato and/or corn – he is demonstrating allergic reactions to the food my wife is eating, therefore she is the one who has to make dietary changes: eggs and other dairy products are the first to go.

Hopefully we'll see some improvement in him soon.I am also considering adding salt to the baths he takes as I have noticed that my skin is better every time I go surfing. Some people swear by saltwater baths, although I'm not sure they're suitable for babies.

Another thing that might help him is the air becoming more humid here – winter tends to be very dry – so hopefully the extra moisture will help.

Adventures in Teetotalism

I have abstained from drinking before, but I'm increasingly feeling like I want to make the abstinence permanent. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family, getting fit, working on my studies and putting more effort into my personal business endeavours.

I have tended to spend rather a lot of time in bars, therefore these four things have become somewhat neglected, which is not really acceptable.It has only been five days since I had a drink, but I am already noticing a difference in my body: my skin is looking lighter, I feel much brighter in the morning and I have more energy. If I can notice this after five days, I hope that I will notice a lot more in the coming months, particularly as I exercise more and watch my diet.

I was considering continuing to drink red wine as it is supposed to be good for you but, from what I can gather, it seems that red grape juice is just as good for you in that department (and will remove the temptation to get wasted!).I think it will be nice to be the kind of person who can say 'I don't drink or smoke.' I'll get cheaper life insurance, too…

My Son and Sakura

The sakura (cherry blossom) is almost in full bloom and my son seems to love it! He was bouncing up and down, smiling and laughing when he saw the trees and got angry when we moved away. Do we have ourselves a little samurai? That being said, he got tired after a while and was more interested in trying to take my glasses off - a seemingly endless source of amusement for him!

We will be heading out to West Tokyo today to meet some old friends, so he'll have even more chance to see the flowers.

Button Takes Pole in Malaysia

What a dream start for the Brawn GP team and how wonderful it is to see Jenson Button getting a car to match his talent. He is an incredibly smooth driver who has been vastly underrated in the past and I am very pleased to see his dedication to Honda/Brawn pay off for him.

What is there to say about the other things going on in F1 (McLaren, Hamilton, Trulli, etc)? Well, I don't really care. I supported McLaren for a long time, but no more. My support goes out to Brawn, Toyota and Williams. I would also like to see Kimi do well, as I think he is also an underrated driver.

Malaysia look to be another interesting race. I said back in October that for the first time in years we might see five or six drivers competing for the title in 2009 and it really looks like coming true!

Button Wins Australian Grand Prix

Jenson Button drove a perfect race to give Brawn GP a stunning start to the season as he won from pole position in Melbourne. Rubens Barrichello, despite a couple of shunts, topped off the celebrations by finishing second as the drivers replicated their qualifying results.

Jarno Trulli claimed third for Toyota and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth after Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW's Robert Kubica collided while running second and third with only four laps to go - ending both of their races.

For the second year running, Ferrari finished without a point in the season opener. Felipe Massa was running in third place before being forced to retire on lap 45, three laps after Kimi Raikkonen spun out.

Button on Pole in Australia

What a fantastic way to start the new season: a very different-looking qualification table with Jenson Button on pole position for a team that didn't exist only weeks ago! His Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello gave team boss Ross Brawn even more to smile about this afternoon as he lines up alongside Button in second. Not such good news for reigning champion Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren team: he and teammate Heikki Kovalainen qualified 15th and 14th respectively. It was later reported that Hamilton will be forced to start at the back of the grid for a gearbox infringement. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Qualifying:

1 22 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team
2 23 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team
3 15 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
4 5 R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team
5 16 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams
6 10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
7 3 F. Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
8 9 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
9 4 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
10 14 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
11 6 N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team
12 7 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team
13 17 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams
14 2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
15 1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
16 12 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso
17 8 N. Piquet Jr. ING Renault F1 Team
18 21 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team
19 20 A. Sutil Force India F1 Team
20 11 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso

Water Baby

My wife recently took our son to a free trial at a local swimming school, although I was unable to go due to work. Apparently, babies can start going to such pools from around four months old, although we thought that was a bit young. Originally, we were going to wait until he could walk, but a local pool was running a special offer, so we thought we'd take him along.

The good news is that, despite a shaky start, he seemed to enjoy it. All of the other children there were around two years old and rather noisy, so he was a bit intimidated at first but settled in later on. He was eventually kicking his legs and laughing, which makes me wish I could have been there. Still, if he does start going, I will be able to take him there on Saturday mornings, which will be great. Our one concern is that he seems to suffer a little bit with itchy skin, so we will have to be careful in case the chemicals in the water cause an adverse reaction.

Hopefully in a few years he will be able to go surfing with me!

Japan Defends WBC Title

Well, as a (kind of) baseball convert, I was happy to see Japan defend the WBC title against Korea, who put up a very spirited defence throughout the tournament. Best of luck to both nations in the future to show that the best baseball isn't necessarily played in the USA. Being English, I am quite used to seeing other nations wipe the floor with us in our national sport(s)... Excuse me while I cry.

Japan Beats USA in WBC: Faces Korea...Again

It's only quite recently that I have begun to like baseball - I am English after all: I'm used to bowlers, not pitchers and batsmen, not batters. And I prefer a wicket to a base. However, I am beginning to enjoy the game. I've found that knowing some of the rules helps!

Anyway, to get to the point, I was quite riveted to a live feed of today's action in the second World Baseball Classic - the semifinal between Japan and the USA (I was at work, so couldn't watch it). Japan won 9-4 and now face Korea for the fifth time in the tournament in the final tomorrow. I think it's silly that two teams should meet so often in one tournament. I'm still looking forward to, it though. What with the ongoing sumo tournament, the F1 season starting this weekend and the WBC, this week is pretty sweet sports-wise!