"That's the first time in 14 years!" The sweet Japanese waitress was shocked. "Why did you all turn over your paper placemats?" she had asked. My family laughed, pointed to me and a said, "She doesn't like advertisements and she told us to turn them over and we did what she said." The paper placemats had a Japanese ad for bottled water on the front and they were plain white on the back. I knew my Boxing Day sushi dinner would be much more enjoyable if the table looked prettier; i.e. not covered in ads and distracting graphics. Turning over the paper was such an easy little way to improve the table atmosphere; small input for big reward. And yet nobody else thought of it, or had the guts to do it (too polite?)...or perhaps nobody else was bothered by the ads in the first place. I guess I'm proud of the fact that I seem to be a pioneer in these random acts of life improvement but I'm also confused by my fellow humans lack of awareness or lack of action. Is everyone just eating sushi in a mindless spaced out daze? It's the same for home decor and interior design - random shit laying around, mismatched furniture (not in a good way), clutter, no plants, no fragrances, no intention behind the environment that we spend most of our lives in. Atmosphere place such a big role in how I feel on a subconscious level; how well I focus, how positive I feel, how relaxed I can be. It's such a priority to me and I struggle to understand how other people are obvious to it...or maybe they notice it too but they don't know how to fix it? Maybe those who can afford it hire interior designers and everyone else whose broke just suffers in the nastiness wishing they knew how to decorate their lives better? Or maybe everyone is complacent, they've just grown accustomed to being constantly surrounded by unintentional messiness and advertisements? Anyway, if you feel how I feel, start looking for the most simple solutions like turning over your placemats. People might look at you funny at first but take comfort knowing you're a pioneer and maybe placemat by placemat, the people who meet you will start waking up.