[5/2-5/8] 2026 Goal Progress

This week was Golden Week in Japan. I went on a 3-night family trip to Kumamoto for some hot springs. Both the gym and work were basically off — this is the "let's check if I actually rested properly" episode.

Health

3 Nights in Kumamoto: Skipped the Gym, Went All-In on Hot Springs

I didn't go to the gym this week. I was in Kumamoto with my family.

But since it was a hot spring trip, the daily fatigue and physical issues improved a lot. That's huge.

The food was delicious, sightseeing was refreshing, and I got properly recharged. I went there pretty exhausted, but the hot springs really drained that fatigue away. Worth soaking for 3 nights straight.

The sense of recovery far outweighed any guilt about skipping the gym this week. Sometimes, this kind of week is exactly what you need.

Sleep Was on Full Honor-Student Mode

During the trip, there's nothing to do at night, so I naturally went to bed early and woke up early.

I woke up mostly between 6 and 7 AM
No oversleeping, fresh awakening
Incredibly healthy

Where did my usual self go? I was such a model citizen. Why can't I do this at home? A mystery.

Quitting Smoking: Less on the Trip, Right Back to Normal

It's a bit embarrassing to talk about this.

My count dropped significantly during the trip. That was good. The vibe of sightseeing isn't really conducive to chain-smoking, and I was around family the whole time, so it dropped naturally.

However, after coming back and working today, I don't really feel like the pace has dropped much. Apparently work stress and smoking are tightly linked. I'll just keep grinding away at it.

Work

Almost No Work During Golden Week

I barely worked this week. Today is my first day back, so I'm replying to messages that came in over the holiday and planning for next week.

No real progress, no highlights. Resting when it's time to rest, that matters too.

I barely touched my PC during the trip, so even thinking time was limited. That said, my agenda doesn't really change.

How do we plug AI into our current implementation cycle and flow? I organized what needs to be done — new initiatives, brushing up existing ones — and shared it with the team.

Less implementation, more organizing and sharing. Hands-on work resumes next week.

The Real Problem Is Still "Too Many PRs"

Pull requests keep piling up. This is a continuation from last week.

Final review still goes through humans, so that's the bottleneck. AI builds fast, humans review — that imbalance is showing up clearly now.

On top of that, we've started using the per-PR environment system, but a bit of trouble happened. The pre-DB refresh garbage piled up and the DB itself ran out of storage.

It's been resolved with emergency response done. New systems create new problems. That was expected.

Money

Took Profit Again, Then Picked Back Up

Some stocks shot up, so I took profit.

Then they dropped sharply, so I bought back in. Caught the up and down moves with decent timing — not bad.

…that said, this is hindsight talking. Whether I can do the same thing next time is unclear.

Paid Article: Phase 1 Is Done

Phase 1 of the paid article project is wrapped up.

Now I'm planning Phase 2. More to come on this later.

Duolingo Hit 127 Days

For my "moving abroad someday" prep, my Duolingo streak hit 127 consecutive days.

I didn't forget even during the trip. Continuing has just become the default — that's a good sign.

Closing

This week was, more than anything, a week where I rested from a lot of things.

Work and gym were on pause, but in exchange I soaked deep in Kumamoto's hot springs, spent time with family, and got properly recharged in body and mind. Time like this is also necessary in life.

For next week:

Continue managing my health
Rest properly when needed
Restart strength training
Keep going with English
Work on Phase 2 implementation
Start moving on work again

…but without overdoing it. I just recovered, so collapsing again early would defeat the whole point.

I'll keep at it.