Soy Joy Syndrome

Well Dears, it's been a while.  Spring and Summer have been filled with duties and distractions, but Mr S has nagged me to start digitalizing all my notebooks, so, hopefully, some of their pages will make their way here.  However, I'm working on my propensity for indulging in avoidance of the blank page.  Thus, today's post.

After work, I headed across town to Donkihote - a psychedelic trip of a store; no chemical additives required.  The butt-brush aisles are packed with everything from Halloween costumes to sex toys in colours last seen at a 90s rave, whilst jingles and J-pop induce headaches from speakers that require a health check.  I usually avoid Donki, as it is more affectionately called, like politicians avoid the truth.  Although it's an experience, I value my eyesight, hearing and sanity.  However, Halloween is just around the corner and some things only the Don can provide.

After about five minutes (my usual cut-off time), I began to wonder when the migraine was going to hit.  Half an hour later, it hadn't.  And I was still inside the store.  "Huh," me thoughts to myself.

Then, on the way out, I was feeling a wee bit peckish and with errands still to be run, decided to grab a Soy Joy to tide me over.  Now, Soy Joys and I have a bit of a history.  When I first came to Japan, I gave them a try and after the first bite realized we were not going to be friends.  But, you know, you get stranded at combinis enough times having to choose between the cold deep-fried mystery meat, the sad egg mayo sandwich and the Soy Joy.  The Soy Joy starts winning.  Skip ahead two years and you find yourself saying "Nom nom nom!" as you bite into the texture of month-old cake.

So this got me thinking (I know, shocking!): when you're living in a new country, or just dealing with your life being different from what you knew before, and have been living it for a while, do you start suffering from Soy Joy Syndrome?  Were your first assessments wrong and you just needed to give unfamiliar things a chance?  Have you become more open minded? Or, do we just learn to make the best of the situation we're in?  When is acquiring a taste really just settling?  And, when should you stop over-thinking your snacks?