I'm a major slacker when it comes to studying Japanese, so my New Year's resolution was to seriously up my game when it came to my language studies.  I waded through a lengthy internal debate--should I go with an online language learning service or traditional classroom study?  Online is generally considered more cost-effective, but classroom can boost motivation with its consistent face-to-face human interaction (aka social pressure, aka a kick in the rear-end).  My fear with the online thing was like that of a gym membership.  Would I sign up and never go?  That would be a damn shame...

A long-time free member of JapanesePod101.com, I decided to pull the trigger and try their premium plus subscription.  Why did I go with this?  Because it seemed to offer a bit of the best of both worlds--their entire online learning library along with access to a real Japanese teacher.  My hope was that the human teacher would give me a solid kick in the pants once in a while to keep me on a righteous academic path.

In true "Mondaiji" style, I summarize the good and not-so-good of my experience below.

Read more: JapanesePod101 - The Good and Not-So-Good

As an American guy living abroad in Japan, sending money between the USA and Japan is something I'm used to dealing with.  In fact I documented the various international money transfer methods I've used over the years here: How I Send Money Between my Japan and USA Bank Accounts - Life Abroad

Always on the hunt for what's new, I came across Xoom.com, a site operated by Paypal that appears very similar to my current favorite money transfer service Transferwise.  What the hell...let's give it a shot.  At the very least it would be beneficial to have an alternative on hand in case Transferwise ever fails me.

Read more: Xoom.com Review - Is This a Joke?

Despite living abroad in Japan for quite some time now, I of course still maintain a USA presence of sorts in the form of bank accounts and credit cards.  Therefore, a common scenario is sending money between my Japan bank account and my USA one.  While the options used to be fairly limited to international money orders and wire transfers, a couple of newly-discovered and extremely convenient solutions have proved their weight in yen to me.  For the sake of completeness, I document all the solutions I've utilized.

Read more: How I Send Money Between my Japan and USA Bank Accounts - Life Abroad

I've always known myself to be a nervous person, but unfortunately as I've gotten older my relationship with anxiety, stress, and insomnia has worsened.  What used to be sweaty palms or minor pre-presentation tension is now a borderline panic attack.  I have sought and tried professional medical help, but I hesitate to start regularly medicating myself for fear my waking life will become that of a loopy automaton.  Sleeping pills were nice, but soon got addictive.  I didn't like the direction this was going.

Instead I sought a more holistic approach, which includes mental and meditative exercises coupled with stress-fighting dietary supplements.  Below I document my hunt for the ultimate dietary supplements to combat anxiety, stress, and insomnia.

Notes
- The links I included are to the products I myself have tried and (in the case of favorites & honorable mentions) personally recommend.
- In general I like the NOW brand, as I find it consistently potent.  Nature's Way is also good.
- I don't like Japanese brand DHC.  Their supplements seem very weak and do next to nothing for me.  I gave up on that brand.
- Japanese brand Nichie is awesome.  This is the one I use for Maca.  Unfortunately, they don't offer my other favorites.

Read more: The Hunt for the Ultimate Dietary Supplements for Anxiety, Stress, and Insomnia