3 Ways To Make Yourself Feel Good

I have been living abroad for a long time now. In the past ten years, I have spent nine of them in Asia. As a Canadian who loves Canada a lot, that is a long time to be away from home. Why do I do it? Well, I am a teacher and I teach in Japan. I also have a family here.

When I was in my 20's and unmarried, I was quite a social butterfly. I would spend my nights and weekends hanging out with groups of other single expats living in Korea (lived there for a few years).

In 2012, I find myself in Japan with a family. I am also a runner. Running was something I truly started when I first came to Japan in 2008. After some time in Canada, getting my teaching certification, I let my self go physically. In Korea, I was a fun runner (short distances) and a gym rat. Once back in Canada, I became a student and pub aficionado. I gained a lot of weight.

When I came to Japan to teach in 2008, I told my wife I was going to run a marathon. It was on the "bucket list" so to speak. Months later, I achieved my goal. I ran the Osaka Yodogawa Marathon in 4 hours 44 minutes. It was slow, painful and amazing at the same time. I couldn't wait to do it again. I was hooked. I became a runner. Two years later, I ran the same race sub-4 hours. This year I hope to run it much faster than that!

Long story short....I was an expat runner in Japan.

If you have been living the life of an expat in any country that has a very different culture or language, for some time, you can become lonely. That definitely has been something I have had to deal with from time to time. You miss being able to understand all the conversations around you. You miss the culture, good and bad of your own country. You can become homesick.

I got into podcasts in a big way years ago. Canadian and American podcasts helped me feel a little grounded while living so far from home. They gave me the feeling of still being connected with my own culture in a way.

Once I became a runner I started to listen to some running podcasts. About a year ago I came across a running podcast that honestly, made me happy in so many ways.

I was listening to a show I had been subscribed to or a long time. Dirt Dawg's Running Diatribe is a great running podcast (a GREAT show) by a host named Mike living in Detroit, USA. He had mentioned a show called the "3 Non Joggers" a few times. Eventually I became curious and went home one morning after a run and subscribed to their show on iTunes.

I was immediately hooked. The 3 Non Joggers Podcast became not just my favorite running podcast, but my favorite podcast period.





Let me give you a rundown of why I LOVE the 3 Non Joggers podcast:


1. They talk about running and I am a runner.

2. They talk about running, but that is only about 30-50% of the show. The rest of the show is three hosts having INCREDIBLY funny banter!

3.  Russ McGarry...host extraordinaire. A former professional comedian, his delivery is witty, interesting and just damn awesome! He is also an ultra marathoner. He is awesomeness and a half!

4. Gary "the Vale" ... the "Rain Man" of running (referred to that by partners in crime on more than one occasion) is a dead-panned funny co-host sort of guy. He is a sub-3 hour marathoner and 100 mile ultra marathoner. This cat LOVES running and really knows his stuff about the topic.

5. Carl The Mailman ...the other host guy who is not a runner in any way. He is a mailman and funny as HELL! He has a wicked mouth and wicked wit as well! His intelligence shines and is only enhanced by his sharp sarcasm. Oh yeah...he's a creative documentary director as well. 

6. The three hosts have an amazing synergy (to use a cliched term from the tech word of the late 90's). Their off the cuff banter leaves me laughing....often in public where the Japanese people stare at me and judge me...judge me harshly.

7. This is a running podcast, but even people who don't run would probably like it. The back and forth between the hosts is enough to leave a smile on the crotchetiest (maybe not a real word) old fart's face!

8. This show got me through some pretty hard long runs while training for one ultra marathon and 2 regular marathons last year (All in order to raise money for tsunami relief here in Japan).

9. The episodes are so funny and fresh that I have been easily able to re-listen to them time and time again.

10. I have learned a lot about ultra running and have almost soiled myself in public on many occasions because the show is so funny!

ah yeah....

11. They like to drink! I like to drink. I am the kind of runner who loves an ice cold beer or three after a 30 km long run. They do too.....yum yum... (well..Carl don't run...or jog....but that's ok).






If you like running and have a sense of humor you should definitely subscribe to the 3 Non Joggers podcast on iTunes. At this point, they have 65 great episodes.


EVEN if you DON'T run...subscribe anyway. They have such a great rapport that you won't even care!

The 3 hosts of the show!

MOI, on my way to complete the first Osaka Marathon. I'm wearing a 3 Non Joggers technical shirt!

Find these cats on TWITTER here:
3 Non Joggers (Russ)
CarlTheMailman
GaryTheVale










Shameless plug for myself....REMEMBER...you can buy my new eBook "Teaching in Asia: Tales and the Real Deal" from Amazon...NOW....SO DO IT!!!!

Teaching in Asia....the podcast?

I started playing with something new this eveing. I started to mess around with something called SoundCloud. Basically I can produce quick, on the fly podcasts using my iPhone. I recorded my first episode this evening. I talk about my book "Teaching in Asia: Tales and the Real Deal"


SoundCloud seems pretty freakin cool so far.

Take a listen and let me know what you think. if you like this mini-podcast, I will make more.

Kevin interviewed on Seoul Podcast

A very cool thing happened earlier this week. I was invited to be a panelist on the Seoul Podcast. The Seoul Podcast is a show that has been around for a few years. A panel of teachers/new media producers take a weekly look at the politics and culture of South Korea and how it effects the foreigners who live there.

I of course lived in South Korea for several years and now live in Japan. I've been a loyal listener to the show and had built somewhat of a relationship of the host Joe (ZenKimchi.com) via twitter and You Tube. A few weeks ago I listened to an episode where they had qiranger (Travel vlogger Steve Miller) and I was mentioned a few times. I of course am known by some in the Jaan/Korea blogging/vlogging community as BusanKevin. I then contacted the host and as asked to come on board.




In this episode we talk about life in Korea vs. life in Japan and many other things.

Download "SeoulPodcast #110: Is Japan Really All That Great?" featuring ME!


I vlogged about it!

Heat Waves, Starbucks and the Blackberry

We've ben suffering through a very nasty spell here in Japan. The summer was drawing to a close and good ole Mother Nature decided to give us the proverbial bitch slap with a heat wave. The temperatures all last week were in the mid 40's with the humidex. it was utter hell! Thankfully things have cooled down to the high 30's. It still sucks, but I think it is slightly better.

Japan is great, but the summers suck. i think many a person would agree!


Looks Like Canada 7: Battle of the Blackberry is now online. This is episode 7 of my new podcast series about all things Canadian. This week I look at one of the most popular smartphones in the world. I also look at the recent controversy RIM (Research in Motion) are facing in the Middle east with many countries wanting to ban the Blackberry.


On a lighter note....i have a new haircut. I'm living in the middle of a heat-wave and decided to have it taken down nice and tight. Feels good!



I saw this sign outside of a Starbucks in Sannomiya. I had a brief chance to head downtown today. These days, with the new baby, leaving the house is something I don't have many chances to do!


I used to drink Starbucks 5 pr 6 times a week. I don't have so many chances these days. this was my first "Bucks" in more than 2 weeks. I really enjoyed my tall latte!

A new look

As of this weekend, when episode 6 of Looks Like Canada (my podcast) comes out, there will be new album art.


Hope you like it!

Fireworks Tonight in Kobe

Summer fireworks season is sweeping Japan. Tis hot, humid and time to sit outside with friends, beer, and pyrotechnics! Across Japan, every summer, people enjoy "hanabi" はなび which means fireworks. What is so great about hanabi is the fact that even small cities have very elaborate displays. Another great thing about the firework displays in Japan is the party atmosphere that goes with them. Many folks go with the school of though, "Why should I enjoy fireworks alone when I can enjoy them with booze!?"

During the previous two summers, my wife and I enjoyed the Kobe Fireworks from in front of Kobe Gakuin University 神戸学院大学 on Port Island in Kobe 神戸. This year however, we have a newborn baby. We will be watching the fireworks from our balcony and should have a good view. I will take some video later this evening to show all you folks out there. I have to admit that I am very excited to be watching fireworks for the first time with my son!

I am also pretty pleased today because I posted Episode 4 of my new podcast "Looks Like Canada." In episode 4 I looks at Popular and Weird Canadian Summer Festivals!


You can listen to/download the episode on the website (Looks Like Canada) or subscribe to the podcast directly on iTunes.



Although I will have new footage of this year's Kobe fireworks up online tomorrow, here is some footage from last year's fireworks for all of you to enjoy. I think this was before I bought my HD camera so bear with the quality!

The weekend is here!

Another hot weekend. Check out my latest video. Last weekend there was a motorcycle show on Port Island in Kobe. I am honestly not into motorcycles very much, but I do appreciate a beautiful machine when I see one. I took some footage with my iPhone.



Also, my new podcast, "Looks Like Canada" is now available in the iTunes store. Subscribing on iTunes is the easiest way to get the newest episodes. Episode 3 should be out tomorrow evening.

Looks Like Canada Episode Two is worth a listen

Hey folks. Hope everyone is well out there. Kobe is hot. Kobe is very hot. When I say hot, I don't mean sexy hot. I mean, sweat your ass off hot. This summer is especially muggy and nasty! The cicadas are ear-piercing, the sweat towels are out in full force and every Japanese woman is packin their parasol!

I just wanted everyone to know that episode two of "Looks Like Canada" is online.

My new podcast takes a look at the AMAZING Canadian food....poutine!

Check out the latest episode of my podcast here!


Thanks a bunch folks.

Expect another great You Tube video coming this weekend. I accidentally stumbled across a custom motorcycle show last weekend while out for a walk. I filmed some of it with my iPhone.

Looks Like Canada: the Podcast

It is finally up and online. My latest project and one I will continue post-Japan (not leaving soon).


Looks Like Canada is a podcast about all things Canadian. It will be about Canadian history, food and culture. Looks Like Canada will be hosted by myself and sometimes I may conduct interviews or have guests. I will upload a new episode weekly and once the summer is over, I will upload on a strict schedule (of course with a newborn at home now it is hard to follow any schedule!).



Episode One is about the Canadian running icon, Johnny Miles. You can download the show or listen to it in your browser with Quicktime.

Looks Like Canada will be up on the iTunes store soon I hope.

Take car and check out my latest media project.

Things coming together

Hello one and all. Things in Kobe, Japan are sweaty and hot. That's right! We are in the midst of a heat wave here in japan and apparently it has already sent many folks to the hospital and a few to the grave!

As for good ole Kevin, i am busy with my newborn son. My little fella was born almost two weeks ago at Kobe General Hospital. he is very handsome, healthy and happy. He is also quite a handful for my wife and I! I suppose that is normal for any newborn baby and two first-time parents. It is a learning process that books and websites didn't prepare me for. I am learning though and enjoying it. I am also appreciating how much of a commodity time is. It is hard to get work done on my many media projects, but I am finding the time somehow.

I talk about that in my latest little video blog.

The project I am trying to get up and moving is something that I have been wanting to pursue for several years. I have put together a podcast. I put a lot of thought into the topic and I wanted it to be something I could do for a long time. I also wanted to create a podcast that would be relevant to me long after I had left Japan and moved either back to Canada or elsewhere.

This year marks more than eight years living abroad for me in Asia. With so much time living in other countries and being surrounded by other cultures, it has made me long for, appreciate and want to learn more about my own country. That's why my podcast will be about Canadian history, culture and food. No matter where I am in the world, I know that the topics will remain relevant to me!

The first episode is in the can and episode two will be finished this weekend. the website is almost up and running (it will be a constant work in progress though). I have also realized that I need to invest in a decent microphone, but I will do that in time and if people show an interest in the show!

Things will go live this weekend I hope, but having a newborn baby can often cause sudden changes to schedule!

When the podcast does go up, I will inform you all here, on Twitter and You Tube!

More running

Yesterday saw me run about 22 km. It was a long run and next Sunday I plan to do between 25-30 km. Often people ask me what I listen to while I am running. I suppose that I am a fan of podcasts. One of the first things I do every morning is eagerly start iTunes and hit refresh on my podcasts to see what new ones have come down the pipe. At times I choose music, but about %95 of the time while I trudge through the kilometers, I like to listen to shows about current affairs, politics, arts, culture and technology.

My favorite podcasts to listen to are as follows (not listed in any particular order):

1. Stuff You Should Know
2. Diggnation
3. Q
4. DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera)
5. Spark
6. Seoul Podcast
7. Search Engine
8. As it Happens
9. The Current
10. Vinyl Cafe

There are others I listen to of course, but I suppose that these are the main ones I always come back to and enjoy the most.

Podcasts and Avocados in Japan

The last day of Golden Week vacation is almost over. It's sad, but it's true. In just a few hours I'll be facing a room of overly "genki" little people, excited to be back at school. I suppose it is a wonderful if not remarkable thing that my students love school, but this "love" goes hand in hand with explosive amounts of energy. it'll be somewhat hard to face since after 8 days off of work, Thursday will seem like a "uber Monday."

On a brighter note, we had a wonderful dinner tonight. My wife had bought an avocado not long ago. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to do with it, but I was under strict orders that it had to be part of our dinner tonight. Well, I came across a simple, yet great idea while searching around the "interweb"...trying to figure out what to do with this mysterious piece of fruit.

The answer???

An "avocado BLT"! Yep, that's right! Toasted rye bread (not easy to find in Japan), chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado! I was really surprised, and pleased at how well the avocado went with the sandwich.



I just wanted to show this little fella! While visiting Korea last month, my wife and I picked this up and brought it back. Baekseju...it goes wonderfully with and sort of cooked meat!

Baekseju (sold under the brand name Bek Se Ju; literally "one-hundred-years wine") is a Korean glutinous rice-based fermented alcoholic beverage flavored with a variety of herbs, ginseng most prominent among them. According to some, the name comes from the legend that the healthful herbs in baekseju will help you live to be 100 years old. From wikipedia...



Last night, I went to a live house here in Kobe with my friend Patrick to check out a band called The Musique. They were really good. On our way out of the club we noticed this sign...nuff said!



On another note, I've decided to move forward with a new project. I'm going to start a podcast about life in Japan. I've been thinking it through for a long time, but have decided I'd really like to do it now. I'm in the planning process so I think it will be a few weeks before I have something produced. I've mapped out several topics and will be contacting prospective guests very soon. I also have to spend some time learning the software. In the beginning I think I will be editing with Audacity. I've used it a little in the past, but want my first few shows to sound "decent." That means I'll have to do some practicing. I also plan to do some shows using Skype, but will buy an mp3 recorder sometime soon so I can do in person interviews.

Hope you'll be listening once I get things off the ground.

Some Sad Search Engine News

I'm a little glum. A little down one might say. Why you ask? Well, simply put, one of my favorite podcasts just got the axe. BUT....there is some light at the end of this tunnel. Search Engine is a wonderful podcast created by Jesse Brown, a CBC technology journalist. Search Engine deals with hot button topics in technology such as piracy, net neutrality, citizen journalism and how topics, such as these, impact our society. I religiously load this podcast on my iPod every Monday and always enjoy listening to it during my morning commute. I listened to it today and Jesse Brown announced, that EVEN THOUGH, Search Engine has become THE most popular and most downloaded podcast on the CBC, they've gotten the axe. In the latest round of CBC budget cuts, search Engine was cut too.

Now, the light at the end of the tunnel...a bright light at that. Our intrepid journalist, Mr. Brown, has decided he wants to continue taking on the stories he has been on Search Engine. AWESOME! Thank you Jesse! Search Engine has just been picked up by TVO, TV Ontario and will be starting again soon. I just subscribed in iTunes and am looking forward to Search Engine continuing from their new home.

Long story short, if you're a tech head like me and interested in how technology and the internet impacts society and us as individuals, listen to Search Engine.

Giant Spiders and Lunch

I'm supposed to have a picnic with my class tomorrow morning, but by the looks of the weather forecast, that won't be happening. Too bad. I worked my butt off tonight (I exagerrate)to make a bento box. I went to my local supermarket, bought a lunch box, came home and got to work. You can see the end result.


My wife tells me that I make a lunch box like a Japanese woman! I love a loaded compliment!



And in other news (not that the above qualifies in any way as news):

Giant 'spiders' march through Yokohama
YOKOHAMA —

Two huge mechanical spiders marched through the streets of Yokohama on Sunday as part of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the city’s port. The 12-meter-high, 37-ton spiders with eight legs, operated by members of La Machine, a French art performance group, paraded near Yokohama port. They were followed by musicians performing on raised platforms attached to accompanying vehicles. Read More...



English lessons by 91-year-old woman in Kagoshima gaining popularity

KAGOSHIMA —

A 91-year-old woman, who spent her early years in the United States, is giving English lessons at her home in Kagoshima, which is gaining popularity among people who feel that regular English schools are difficult to follow. Hatsune Honda started the Grandma’s English Salon in June 2004. She was born in Taiwan on Dec 15, 1917 but grew up in Los Angeles until she turned 13 years old.

Honda was once an interpreter for Sean Connery when the Scottish actor was filming in Kagoshima in 1966 for the movie, ‘‘You Only Live Twice’‘—the fifth James Bond film in the series. For her, English is easier to speak than Japanese. Read More...


I posted a new You Tube video on my BusanKevin Channel last night. I was wandering around downtown Kobe yesterday afternoon when I stumbled across a samba party. Luckily, being the You Tube geek that I am, I had my camera in my pocket to capture the event.

Japanese Samba Party



In my quest to find more cool and informative podcasts to listen to, I downloaded a few episodes of Planet Japan Podcast and will give them a try during my commute tomorrow. This podcast won the "Best of the Best" award at the Japan Podcaster Awards last year.