NY/NJ here, but I felt the same way after visiting Tokyo. Another metro system I was really impressed with was Taipei’s; the trains were clean, safe and ran frequently.

It was so depressing coming home to our public transportation, especially because the airport connections are poor and make you cranky immediately after deboarding.

Even with the decreased ridership right now some stations and lines remain congested, and the narrower platforms can feel unsafe when there’s crowding. There’s a persistent stank during this swampy time of year and a layer of dust, skin cells and/or unidentified garbage particles on the tracks that cleaning doesn’t ever really fix. There’s just more vomit and pee to clean in the first place. Okay I’m being a little dramatic but it really do be like that sometimes.

Sure the newest stations are nicer, but the cost and the time it takes is crazy. And it’s impossible to retrofit most of the existing stations with new technology so we’re stuck having to work around this old infrastructure. Meanwhile, there are a lot of neighborhoods that are underserved. At least we finally have contactless readers. The technology has been around for almost two decades but better late than never? Sorry, this is becoming a huge rant but public transportation in the US is such a joke.

Using the “nice” things, especially if they’re tools for hobbies/chores I spend a lot of time doing. I cook a lot, and got myself a nice chef knife a few years ago. It makes prep just a little bit more enjoyable, and I feel like that’s actually added up to quite a bit of happiness over time! I don’t mean to recommend that anyone go ham upgrading everything indiscriminately, and I don’t think a nice thing necessarily has to be the best or most expensive; maybe it’s even something you already own. I’m using the nice dinnerware knowing I will definitely break or chip everything eventually, and I’m wearing the nice clothes until they snag and stain instead of saving them for a moment that might not come.

I’d been following the game’s development for years because I loved the idea of an open world where you’re a cat exploring Kowloon walled city, and was a little disappointed that it went in another direction. I did end up loving the game and I get that it became more, but I would have really loved something that simple. Like, I don’t need to save the world but I do specifically want to play as a cat in Kowloon walled city, you know?

I’m using a wool duster! No plastic/no waste and I feel like the fibers do a decent job of grabbing dust while also being easy to wash. Probably not as good as a feather duster for delicate things but I feel like I can shake and beat it pretty aggressively to get the dust out.

Curries! It’s easy to make a huge pot that will last several meals. They freeze and reheat well; in fact, I actually find curries to taste better after the first day as the flavors have had time to mingle. I’m Thai and my favorites to make and freeze are yellow, red, and green curry. I don’t follow any recipes exactly and tend to use different veggies depending on what I have on hand but this author has some great ones to get you started. Some things to note: 1. it’s not necessary at all to make the curry paste from scratch (I use the tinned/boxed paste 99% of the time), and 2. keep an eye on any ingredients that are at risk of getting mushy (potatoes and eggplants for example) and consider setting aside the freezer portion before it’s all the way done.

Another favorite make ahead meal for me is five spice braised stew. This is another one that works really well because the eggs are so much more flavorful after having absorbed the liquid over time. Here’s a recipe, it’s more involved than the curries imo but you can simplify it by purchasing five-spice packets instead of the individual spices and skipping some of the sauces. You can also sub other meats for the pork or even skip the meat. Bamboo in particular tastes really nice braised.