Love & Peace

ノパソの整備　| My Laptop Tune-up

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:48:22 +0900

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!!!

惹かれた本 | The Book That Impressed Me Very Much

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:10:07 +0900

I found this book in my children's hospital lobby and looked it over. It was so fun and made me try for the reading time at my children's school someday. At this time of year, I had often been asked from my children how Santa Clause could know what they wanted or how he saw who was nauty or nice. I answered just a few of their questions quickly so that they were never satisfied, which caused me a kind of difficulty of raising them to be good. But the book above gives me concrete answers to my children's questions!! It's ME that enjoys it a lot!!! Also I'm amazed how highly industrialized Santa's world is!

iKnowやると何か不調 | What's Wrong with My Vista Laptop?

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:02:58 +0900

This month, I applied Virus Buster 2009 on my Vista laptop and restarted my online lessons with iKnow. But... IE shuts down AUTOMATICALLY　once every ten items on iKnow... This symptom is repeated whenever I study English with iKnow. Quite a nuisance!! I found an interesting web article, which is not related to iKnow or learning English. It's about Shutdown Day. This year, we had it on March 22. I never knew about Shutdown Day project at that time, but luckily I wrote nothing on my blogs on that day. Can I enjoy my ordinary life without PC and digital gadgets on coming May 9?

ノパソ完全復旧までもう少し | Ｍｙ　Ｌａｐｔｏｐ　Ａｆｔｅｒ　Ｒｅｐａｉｒ

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:09:34 +0900

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!!

アクアリウム英語の覚え書き | Aquarium Jargons

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:05:08 +0900

TOEICとか英検には役立たないけど・・・アクアリウムの英語サイト読む時に使うんですvvv I grow mainly pipeworts and toninas in this tank. pipewortは、これ。学名は、Eriocaulon。 Pipeworts inhabit in sharrow fresh water. Toninaは、日本のお店で「トニナ」として売ってるのは、これ。 They are called "Tonina Belem" in English. 学名は、Tonina sp. "Belem"。手前の草が、ホシクサ科。お店では「スターレンジ」として売ってます。・・・が They are called "Tonina fluviatalis"!! 学名同じです。 I know that both belong to Tonina family, but I learned this time that foreign aqualists categorize them as one species. I hope I must improve my English to write this kind of entries all in English. 全編英語で書けないことが恥ずかしいです・・・でも、英語で裁けるとこだけでも英語使わないと実感できないんで、あえて日英混ぜて書きました。

バザーの後で |　After School Bazzar

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:01:02 +0900

I brought our pack-away table to my children's school for my children's school bazzar. But my mother is so worried that our table would be taken away by a stranger for it must be the newest of all that were offered for November 8 school bazzar. I believe it won't taken away because all the tables and chairs have owners' names on them. But she is still worried and tells me to get it back quickly. Is she so suspecious? Or is she so uninterested in community activities??

「エコ」をスローガンに掲げた、今年の小学校のバザー。箸やスプーンは持参。包装袋なし、校内にゴミ箱も置かず、ごみは来校者持ち帰り。「みんなが、環境をよりよくするために、ちょっとずつ苦労することを厭わない」ことを目指したのだそうだ・・・今年は、ちょっと大変だったけど、慣れれば、経費もかなり節減できて、利益も上がってごみも減って・・・で、一石二鳥三鳥それ以上の効果がありそうなんだけど。。。「とにかく自分ちのことさえしっかりやってりゃいいのよ」とどこかで思っているゴッドマザーの視線が、心なしか痛い。いつも痛いけど、いつもに増して痛いかも。。。

お忍び参加 | I went to a Rendezvos Last Night

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:13:13 +0900

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.

同窓会って、何だろう？｜School Reunion

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:50:13 +0900

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!!!

チマい作業・・・| Refreshing My iTunes Playlists

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:43:32 +0900

My laptop is broken and now under repair, so I use a desktop my husband assembled about six years ago. It's the host computer in my house. I decided to keep my music library in it for a while, I launched iTunes and when I connected my iPod... My suspended CNN podcasts are updated!!!! What was wrong with my laptop??? Anyway I'm happy to enjoy CNN's podcasts again.... Now I'm using my iTunes on my husband's desktop until my laptop will have been fixed, I need to copy my favorite music files, so that I can save my favorite music. But that's not easier than I expected!! I had to add my old music file folders one by one manually.... I understand there are some people who stopped using iPod and get other MP3 players instead...

CNNポッドキャストが聞けない!? | CNN Podcast Not Available??

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:02:59 +0900

It's been almost two years since I stopped subscribing to CNN English Express. I got my iPod instead at that time... I think I can make much of it so far, but since this May, my iTunes has never accepted the latest CNN's episodes!!! I don't know why... ...but today I may find the answer. We're required to buy Quick Time Pro (shareware) to download CNN's programs.... My Quick Time player is a free version... Luckily I have Real Player in my laptop so I can download CNN's video clips one at a time... But............ the clip is not played.............. Please someone who're subscribing to CNN's podcast programs tell me how you get the latest episodes!!

サイト改装 | Renewing My Web Sites

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:53:10 +0900

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

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:58:24 +0900

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

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:09:59 +0900

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.

吹奏楽コンクール、茨城の小学校の部県大会成績・・・ポチっとすると見られます。その他のコンクール情報は、ありがとう♪小さな音楽家たちに載ってます。管理人さんが茨城の方みたい。上の娘の中学の吹奏楽部も、無事県大会出場（彼女は吹いてないんだけどね）。昨年次点だったと知り、今年は小学校以上に「目指せ！東関東」を掲げてることと思います。中学や高校の部のコンクールレビュー、どこか見られるとこ、ないかなあ？？？

趣味がライバルなのか？？？| My Daughters' Jelousy on My Hobbies

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:16:28 +0900

すたれそうですたれない、こいつ・・・「飽きてるかな？」と手放した後で懐かしくなって、買い戻したりもしてる。買い戻しゲー、うちには結構あるんです。どうぶつの森しかり、ポケモン・エメラルド、ポケモン・リーフグリーン・・・（ポケモンはDS版が出てもGBA版の使い道があるってとこがすごく無駄がないと思う）他にも・・・何だか大勢対戦型ゲーにどんどこ巻き込まれていきそうな自分がいます。パソは・・・今時ADSLを娘１がジャック!!!!!!・・・でさ・・・・・・・・他にのびのびイキイキできるリアルな場、ないのか？？？んだけど、PC越し、ゲーム画面越しののびのびイキイキが生きてる実感なら、それにケチつけちゃいけないのかなあ？？？？とも思ったり。

These days, I'm often asked to play my daughters' Nintendo DS games. I had to make my avatar on "Doubutsu no Mori" too... I wish I wanted to study English in a time I play with Nintendo DS. Or rather I want to use it for my study of English!! But....I feel my study of English is prevented by my daughters. Are they jealous on English??? Maybe they're desperately looking for something they can share with me. Well, I think it's natural. Sharing hobbies in a family surely tighten family ties. 　

行くぜ♪県大会 | We Passed This Year Too!!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:49:30 +0900

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.