今日は外食
Today my younger brother, living with his wife in a nearby town which is not so far from my place, is going to come to my apartment after work. He said his wife was going to go out tonight, having a drink with her coworkers(Bounen-kai), so he asked me to go out for dinner, having something fun. It`s been a while since we did like that. We have been getting fewer opportunities to have dinner together since he got married. We`ve made the decision to go out for dinner, but we haven`t decided where we are going to go out. Everything is under consideration at the moment. I know well that my brother and I always take a lot of time making a decision whenever we go out, we often conflict with each other`s opinion, fighting over trivial things.
I wish everything will be done smoothly and we`ll have a good time.
Youtube Premium
These days, I`m a bit interested in Youtube Premium because I can watch Youtube without any advertisement if I pay one thousand and a few hundred yen every month. Those advertisements bother me when I`m watching videos because some of them cannot be skipped.
Sometimes it`s really annoying! However, I`m not sure whether it is worth paying a fee every month only for nullifying those advertisements.
Other features Youtube Premium offers seem to be unnecessary for me at the moment.
I JUST WANT TO SKIP ADVERTISEMENTS!!!
Siri
The thing I recently realized is how useful "Siri", the voice recognition system, is. It is included in the iPhone as one of the default functions. Since then, I have heavily used it for several purposes, mostly for daily stuff, such as remembering my schedule asking the weather and the current temperature, a reminder, setting an alarm, measuring time, and so on.
I think the opportunity to ask Siri something is when you are cooking because basically both of your hands are occupied. While you are driving is another good opportunity. I often use Siri to measure time when I am boiling pasta. He/she is always obedient to me.
I guess that my next door neighbor thinks my roommate is called "Siri" and that I`m super bossy, like a general commanding his forces or something.
笑いは最良の薬
フルーツフルイングリッシュ
日→英 翻訳型課題
My favorite proverb is "laughing is the best medicine" because even just the sound of this phrase fills my heart and also it is very positive.
When I have trouble with my friends or my coworkers, I tend to get depressed and don't feel like doing anything.
Even in such tough situations, however, I can start to think about things more positively than before and can start to take steps to move forward if I watch some comedy movies or listen to some funny jokes, and force myself to laugh at them.
One of my favorite teachers taught me this proverb when I was feeling depressed.
That is another one of the reasons why I like it.
夜の森の雰囲気
フルーツフルイングリッシュ
日→英 翻訳型課題
It had already grown dark when I left my house to walk my dog. There were trees swaying in the breeze, and there were stars twinkling in the sky.
As I was walking, I sensed that the night changed the impression of the sounds made by the forest, which would have been quite usual during the daytime.
In the forest, around me and my dog, leaves were saying something in a faint voice, which was difficult to catch, branches were having a chat with one another, and the chunk of a tree was heaving out a groan as if it was an old man preparing to go to bed.
The forest is beautiful whenever you go into it; however, it was in a slightly gloomy mood tonight. I and my dog were relieved when we got back home.
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猫は自分に正直なだけ
Some people say that cats are standoffish and heartless, but I don't think that is actually true.
The reason why they think so might be that cats feel too truthful about their own feelings.
Cats never do things that they don't want to do.
They eat when they are hungry and they sleep when they are sleepy.
Sometimes I feel envious of their unrestrained attitudes.
鉛筆やペンで文字を書くと
フルーツフルイングリッシュ
日→英 翻訳型課題
When was the last time that you wrote something with a pen or a pencil?
Nowadays, due to the expansion of PCs and cell phones, we have fewer opportunities to write something with a pen or a pencil than before.
However, using your fingers and writing something down on paper has good effects on our mind and body.
Apparently, people who usually write with a pen or a pencil tend to forget fewer things than those who don't, because the act of writing stimulates our brain and activates it.
It, therefore, might be possible that writing down particularly forgettable words on paper prevents you from forgetting them.
SNSについて
I saw an article on the internet today. According to that, nowadays, the causes of human relationship problems among children are mostly from SNS.
The percentage of elementary school students owing a smartphone is around 40%, that of junior high school students is almost 60%, and that of high school students is almost 100%.
It is no doubt that a smartphone is a useful tool, and it can save a significant amount of time. However, it cannot reduce an emotional distance between persons who use a smartphone.
For children, it is important to teach them how to avoid getting caught up in smartphone-related crimes, but it is also important that adults around them should try more to solve essential problems for them.
色彩を持たない多崎つくる
I'm now reading a novel, "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage", written by Haruki Murakami. I'm a fan of his and I've read some of his books, which are mostly written in his later years.
The characters that appear in his books are always intellectual, deep thinkers, and mysterious. Before I know it, I am often transported to a strange world created by him when I am reading his books.
I think he is one of the greatest writers representing Japan and his books are really worth reading.
Someday, I want to try to read the English edition of his books, and see how his words are translated in English, which I'm curious about.
However, it is not that easy, because reading a novel in English takes me four times longer as when I read in Japanese.
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