Last week the internet access in my house became available again, but I had very little time working with a PC.
I started working at a company cafeteria at daytime, which was tough enough to make me sleepy early.
It's a very healthy life thogh.
So I'm refreshing my iTunes now.
Without iTunes, I can't get the latest news clips or update my audio blog.
I do think iTunes is really great!!!
ノパソ完全復旧までもう少し | My Laptop After Repair November 23, 2008
Last month, I found my laptop worked strange somehow and had it repaird on Octorber 27.
It came back to me on November 13, but there are so many steps to make it work fine again.
I had my husband connected my laptop to the Internet.
He is so good at computing that he can handle wireless LAN system by himself.
It took several days for him to set up Internet connection on my Vista laptop, for he is used to XP computers.
Now, only the Internet is available on my laptop.
Applying an anti-virus software, the printer driver, and various kinds of softwares I have used is waiting for me.
I must install an anti-virus software and the printer driver quickly!!
お忍び参加 | I went to a Rendezvos Last Night November 9, 2008
Yesterday evening, I left Mito a little before 10:00 p.m. for Kashiwa.
There was my junior high school reunion.
It was clear that I was not able to get to the assembly site on time, but I couldn't stop my yearning for meeting old friends and teachers in junior high.
I arrived at Kashiwa at midnight.
It took me a little time to recognize my old friends, but I enjoyed myself very much in a pub.
It's my greatest pleasure that my homeroom teacher at that time dropped in on us.
My junior-high reunion is coming on this Saturday.
It's impossible for me to attend it on time, but I still don't give up on meeting my old friends.
Many of them are away from Kashiwa now, but there are pals coming from further distance than I.
We are around forty, some of us have had their 40th birthday already.
So I feel that it might be the last chance I meet some of them, I would regret a lot if I didn't go to Kashiwa on Saturday.
I do want to go however late I get there!!!
I renewed my audio blog at the interval of six months!
Last year I started podcasting my diary entries in English, I thought it tough but very useful for improving my English.
But this year, I feel something in my life has changed drastically, in other words, I feel as if someone invisible would take English and me apart....this feeling has make my study of English so difficult.
The more in depth I'm into English, the harder time I have to spend in my REAL life surrounding lots of people less interested in learning English, for example, at the PTA meetings and parents' meetings of my children's sports teams and my younger daughter's school bands.
At the same time, I often think there is something more important than English, which I must take more time for.....
To make things worse, my elder daughter spends more time at home than last year.
That means the internet traffic in my house has become busier...and it also ruins my PC-oriented study of English.
She enjoys watching animes and playing with her digital pets on the net, that's not bad itself, I can hardly use my PC in good condition!!!
My mother hates me working with my laptop in the dining room and often scolds me that I should take it away to the computer room.
As my elder daughter always use her PC in the daytime, especially while she is watching anime clips, my laptop often fails to log onto the net!!!
Soon I have learned to check my emails and update my blogs with my cell phone, but it made me more difficult to update this EigoTown blog...sigh
Typing English with a cell phone is unbelievablly rough!!!!!
Should I get a small keyboard for my cell phone to type English more easily without a PC?
My husband has one already, he feel a little funny when using it though.
Anyway....I was..relieved...to update my audio blog!!!
I hope I can start recording my entries in English again.
オリンピック選手から学ぶこと、いっぱい | Learning From Olympians August 16, 2008
I enjoy Beijing Olympics this year, mainly on TV and sometimes on the radio.
Olympic games themselves are really exciting, but I love the participants' interview programs very much.
I learn lots and lots of things from them, even though some of them missed the medals. Being enrolled in the national Olympic teams is unbelievablly tough.
I've heard not all of the medalists so far have enough time for practice with high motivation.
Perhaps more than half of them had suffered from injury, mental disorders, changes of lives, etc.
Still, they've come to Beijing conquering their hardships.
That's why I feel olympians teach us so many things.
I'm not the only one that feel tough.
Open up my mind's eye and keep going...
吹奏楽部、夏の陣 | Band Competitions in Summer August 7, 2008
In summer, we can enjoy band competitions all over Japan.
Summer is the most hectic season for band members, they have to practice so hard for the competitions, which are the biggest of all they join in a year.
In most junior high school and senior high school bands, prefectural band competitions in summer are the last performance for the third year members.
Elementary school bands are a little different, the sixth graders' last performances are often set in autumn, winter, or even in the beginning of March.
My younger daughter's school band played at the prefectural competition yesterday and got the silver prize two consecutive years.
We realized that we had lots and lots of things to learn and acquire to go to the Kanto division.
My children's school band participated in the annual central Ibaraki band competition today, and...luckily...proceeded to the all-Ibaraki round two consecutive years!!!
We're doing our very best for a better result than last year's.
[Caution] My children's school band plays the same tune, but the performers on the video are different.
>the meeting together of a group of people who meet together for a particular purpose
て電子辞書のOxford英英にあったし。
This is my younger daughter's second performance at this annual assembly.
Last year she was on percussion, this year she plays the flute.
In my children's school band, newcomers have their first year (actually until their first band competition in summer) as percussionists. From their second year, they are divided into several wind and brass instruments and a few of them stay on percussion.
This must be very hard, but impressive band competition for my younger daughter.
I felt, through their performance, their agressive passion to pass the preliminary round.
I do hope their dream come true.
Most supermarkets in Mito give us a two or three yen discount if we bring our own bags and claim we don't need plastic bags.
They also sell big bags made of nylon or canvas, which are to reduce our plastic bag use.
But supermarket plastic bags are still seen everywhere in Mito.
Some thoughtful people go shopping with their own bags though.
Why can't we reduce plastic bag use even if we get a discount?
I found one of the answer when I happened to go to a supermarket in Kasama.
Major supermarkets in Kasama have quitted giving plastic bags to customers in cooperation these days!!
It was amazing to see most customers brought their own bags.
Customers without their own bags were very rare and were charged three yen for one plastic bag if they claimed them.
It looked like a fine to me...
Is Kasama strict?
Or is Mito lazy?
Anyway, I think Kasama's way is more effective for reducing plastic bag wasting.
Nobody wants to pay extra for everyday shopping!!
Windows アップデートしてみたら・・・ | My Laptop Works Unnatural?? May 21, 2008
When I turned off my laptop, I saw a message saying "this computer needs updating".
I updated it as always.
After finishing updating, it works strange!!
Bookmark section is not available!!!
The same thing hapens to other Windows Vista PCs, I see some forums to solve this problem on them.
My Internet browzer has Google's toolbar with Google bookmark.
I tried importing my favorite site lists to Google bookmark, and it worked well.
But wait! ---It's an online bookmark, which I dislike it.
Online bookmarking tools are convenient, with which we can see our favorite websites easily.
On the contrary, I sometimes see web sites saying "Please don't link this site to online bookmarks".
I've thought that bookmarks are kind of personal things in the internet, so not all the favorite site lists have to be online.
Yesterday, I logged onto my EigoTown Blog after two months' interval.
I chose some of my Japanese entries from my other blogs, and recomposed them in English.
It was a pity that I could put just some of my Japanese entries into English!
I updated this blog at the internet cafe, but I didn't bring any USB cables nor USB memories containing my photos of dishes, lunchboxes, fish tanks, etc. with me.
That's the biggest mistake!!!
When I update my blogs or online diaries with my cell phone, I tend to attach photos and write just a litte.
Especially for entries about aquarium, tank pictures can be everything!!
Readers don't understand anything reading a diary entry about aquarium with no tank pictures or fish pictures.
Maybe I'm not only an English lover but also a camera geek...
I signed up for Mito employment agency today.
I have visited the bureau several times before, just to brouse classified ads.
I have to be very careful when I choose the future workplace, so I think I must win my family members' support and approval for the company I will apply for.
I picked up some evening time jobs.
I'll search for better jobs a little more.
母に屈した日々 | My Suspension of Studying English February 5, 2008
Three weeks ago, my mother gave me the most cruel words for English learners.
It said,
"You're so reluctant to do housework that you practice English during your housework, huh?"
I got furious, but I managed to keep my cool.
"She is so sensitive that she needs to be surrounded with people good and obedient to her to keep her self confidence, " I mumbled.
At the same time, I recalled the words from my past grandparents.
"It is one of the children's important reasons for being to please their parents."
"I sometimes have to suspend my study of English for my mother's relief," I thought.
I must try to be an diligent mother good at housework and raise excellent children...to please her, relieve her...since her good times...never be forever...
It's youths' reason for being to make senior citizens happier, it's them to gave us younger generations happy times when we were little.
At last I decided to write receivers' addresses and my home address by hand.
I thought of making a digital address book with my laptop, but there's only two days until New Year's Day so I must finish my New Year cards quickly.
Now I've realized that a computer is not almighty.
I took so much time making my address labels with my laptop, but none of them were made nicely...
Handwriting is much faster if you write beautifully.
And it is neccessary for me to write by hand more often, even though I don't write nicely.
I should learn to write as beautifully as possible, taking enough time, with my heart.
When I'm asked from someone "Is there a Santa Clause?",
I answer, "Yes, even though he's invisible."
This year, my elder daughter said to me
"Doesn't Santa give us children exactly what we want?"
I felt something shivering...a sad and furious feeling came up in my mind.
"You are wrong if you believe Santa gives children whatever they want, PARASITE!!!!"
I have said to her the most rude word...
I sincerely won't buy her anything this year, for her to enjoy Christmas from the bottom of her heart through breaking her self-centered golden rules.
As the song "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town" goes "He's gonna find out who's naughty and nice".
I am an English freak, so when I find something unacceptable in Japanese way of parenting, I study children's songs and books written in English.
They are full of concrete suggestions and make me love English more.
Some of you might say "you're too strict", or "none of us care about the lyrics so much, just enjoy the song".
But if you adult readers with children SUBLIMINALLY think your children are too naughty to get presents from Santa, read the lyrics of the song above in depth once.
I'll give some of my children INVISIBLE gifts this year.
Not all Christmas presents should be items.
It must be a big present in the long run for children to break the superstition that Christmas is the day they have presents from Santa Clause.
Art Tower Mito is illuminated with srings of colored lights in Christmas season.
Many musical events are held at the hall too.
The annual Christmas concert is one of them.
The day before yesterday, children's and youths' bands and chiors in Mito gave us fantastic performances.
They recalled my days in the band.
If only I could be in 20s again, I would join a community band and what instrument would I choose?
I played the double bass in junior high and the saxophone in high school, so...
.....no, that's unrealistic. How is my family doing? Who will take care of my children during my band practice???
Christmas season is really colorful and I enjoy downtown Mito in the evening, but this year, I've come to wonder if it should get illuminated so much every year.
I do think Christmas illuminations consume lots and lots of electricity and produce CO2. It's no good for the earth!!!
I love cooking flavored rice.
I think I cook it every week.
The reason is it's really healthy especially when we have to have meals quickly.
It contains both meat or fish and vegitables.
My elder daughter has very little appetite sometimes and wants only rice or bread, which causes malnutrition.
That's why I learned flavored rice!!
It soon became her favorite, and made me a little more domesticated person.
These days, I often sleep over and have very little time to update my blogs.
I'm so tired that I hardly boost my laptop, that is what my mother call "a natural studious life".
She seems to be in a good mood, since she subliminally thinks my working with a PC means a withdrawal from housework.
"There you see!!"
---she may triumphantly mumble.
But I never give up studying English and Chinese, to prove that my study does not mean a withdrawal from housework. I never quit writing in my blogs either, they are my precious life records.
I have thought occasionary that I was in a conentration camp named home, but since I realized it was thanks to my mother usually staying at home that I could enjoy myself outside, I gradually started to think how to enjoy myself at home.
Anemia and hypoglycemia have kept my elder daughter away from school and it's an extremely desperate thing.
"None of my family have laughted these days", my elder daughter once mumbled. "I still feel empty and unhappy even though my family members are good to me, it seems to me that they just try to be kind to me with hidden disapproval of my laziness."
I got a keen interest in cooking in this rough situation.
In fact, I bought a bakery machine and a blender at the same time!!
I do want to keep finding a bright side of hardship.
My daughter's disorder must be an important assignment to me from God.
These days, I feel less irritated withough studying foreign languages or working with PC.
Maybe my mind is stuffed with low-carbohydrate recipes.