I'm aware of my negative 'outbursts' about work; and when I'm not in the why-is-my-world-so-bleak mood, I do try to remind myself that there's so much more to life than work :P I suppose it really isn't that bad at times, but somehow when I get stressed/upset I just blow everything up. Oh well. Find that watching TV and reading books/mags help me to wind down/relax. And I recently subscribed to NHK premium, in a bid to be more hardworking during my last leg of JLPT 2 preparation. Actually, I got it intending to use it as a substitute for studying. Though I always plan to study Jap few days a week after work, it has NEVER worked... and cos exam is coming up real soon, better buck up and devise backup plan... which is to watch Japanese TV :) Though without any subtitles the Japanese spoken on TV can be just jibberish chatter at times, am still heartened that I manage to pick up bits here and there. And feel that watching 'authentic' Japanese channels offers a good insight into Japanese culture. Just watched this Japanese talk show, with guests debating over various issues on Japan's agricultural sector, whether participants were for imposing tarriffs on imported rice etc etc. From college students to 60-year-old farmers, all invited guests got to voice his/her opinion on various questions asked... There was even a real-time phone-in vote for audience to participate in debate! At one point guests also got the chance to taste rice from diff countries and guess their origin...Even though they have some really crazy game shows, the Japanese can be a pretty intellectual lot too :)