From Japan

St. Valentine's Day is coming

The last time I posted an article was April last year. I haven't been writing this blog long time because I was lazy about studying English, painting, and drawing. ( Japanese painting was my major in my University. ) Now I've been working at the same automobile shop for about a year. I think that my choice was right to enter the company, but I can see my final goal is not in here. Someone may doubt my motive for working since I don't like cars so much. The major reason for working here is simple. I think each goal makes final goal come true. I noticed a lot throuhgh this job.
1. I need to pay more attention to other people. 2. I need to say things more logical. 3. As the saying goes, time is money.
I'm planning to hold an exhibition named "MiMi", again with my friend Miyuki at "彩" (http://www.g-station.co.jp/kashigarou/gallery/52.html) in Sakae on June. We will show you Japanese paintings. If you had a time, please come! As soon as the details is decided, I will tell you in this blog.
By the way, coming Saturday is St. Valentine's day. I suppose I will make some sweets for my friends today.

I noticed!

I took the job training today, too. It was really interesting to know the variety of commodities. I think I'm a curious person and can learn many things from this training. I appriciate that the company accepted me because I suppose I can grow up with these nice co-workers and my boss. I noticed many things. We write "today's impression","today's gratitude","today's self-examination" everyday. (Then, the boss and a colleague give us some comments.) My ability of carrying things out is becoming higher than before due to this training. It seems a small thing, but it's important to get things done soon that you notice and know. For examle, we know that a smile is important for us. Then, why don't we practice smiling? (I mean that you can develop your muscle of your face by training, saying "a e i o u" for only 5 minutes from day to day conciously. Steady efforts produce big results. Many a little makes a mickle. I've been kept painting for at least 15minutes a day.
One more thing I want to write. It is about "today's gratitude". People who joined the company in the same year is ten, and I often write same people in the "today's gratitude". They can help people, act by themselve, saying hello plesantly. They looks intimently and popular. It means..., I don't need to say.

I'm fine.

I have not been writing this blog for a long time. I moved to Obu city and started taking a "job training". They said that only we can do is smiling, and saying "hello", "irassyaimase" now. I was smiling when I met and said hello to people in my company.
I heard that some salesrepresentives in U.S. protest (I guess this expression is too strong, but I don't know good words for it.) that they didn't want to smile when they didn't feel happy. I understand that feeling sometime.


Today I'll finish this article now. I need a break. I'll meet you soon.

What words do you hate?

I cruised the internet and found a thought-provoking topic in [yahoo!Japan question] today. The title was "What words do you hate?". I'll show you some of the answers below.

"ganbare!", "make effort"
-I already do it hard!

"don't overdo."
-We can't live without hard work! That words are irresponsible.

I personally dislike "ganbare". "ganbarou" is OK, but I FEEL that "ganbare" force me to overdo. It is encouragement, but I don't like the word. As for "don't have to overdo", I often use the words when my friends seem that they could get out of shame due to their excessive work. That reminds me, I have an interesting story about the words. One day, my friend Yoshiko said that she liked busy days and love to be busy when I said that she should have rest from work. She looked unpleasant and I felt confused. I tried to show regard, but she didn't take it as I wanted her to. The other day, I was irritated by her since she said "ganbare" to me with unseriouse, annoying attitude. I didn't like the person who didn't make effort herself and say "ganbare" to others. It's haughty.
After reading the topic, I noticed that we apparently got the fact wrong. Our mindsets were probably opposite. Even though we tried to show regard each other, the difference between the expressions could make the relationship worse.

What do you think about the topic and the answers?
What words don't you like?

vovabrary

Today, I've had no plan to do, so I woke up at 8:30. (Please don't assume that I'm lazy.) Then, I washed the laundry, ate breakfast, and studied English. YESTERDAY, I went to ECC and took a free time lesson, the level 2b, and I was shocked since a classmate could talk like a native speaker. I don't know if her English ability is really so, but I felt I should have previewed the lesson. (Acutually, I couldn't do it yesterday.) I also thouht the conversation in the lesson was really fan and stimulating because my teacher Michael was kind as always he is, and the classmate, a woman made a lot of joke. She was funny and witty. I thouht I wanted to speak English like her. (It will take long time.) I think that good classmates, have high English ability, make me deligence even though the class is difficult for me.
Let's return to the topic where I started. Today, I memorized words on this website and noticed that my vocabulary is really poor, so I decide to pass the intermediate test on the website. Before that, I will review the words I couldn't understand in the bigginer's test by using them in my diary today.

I napped around noon, and then I ate a dozen of chocolates which my parents've given me as a souvenir of their trip to Hokkaido. (It can't mean the gift for the Valentine's Day.) By the way, I found some phrase for the Valentine's Day in my Japanse-English dictionary and I felt it's....how can I say?
I guess I will be embarassed if someone confessed like the examples below.
**Please be my valentine.
**Please be mine.

Anyways, I think the Valentine's day in Japan is really good since I can buy and try many kinds of chocolate! I love it!
(For some reason, I'm annoyed now. It probablly means I should go out and meat my friends. To stay inside the apartment all the day makes me irritated, really.)

U.S. army

Did you know about this news? That reminds me a case in 1995. I don't know much about the U.S. forces, but if the suspicion of the man is fact, I don't want to let them to stay in Japan anymore. As I study English, I became to be able to understand U.S. and I feel close to the nation now. So, I want to know more about them. Do you know what kind of people enter the army in U.S.? How do they pass the time in Japan? The victom was a 14-year-old girl in Okinawa. How little she is. The local people in Okinawa staged a protest demonstration.

Whaling

A 14-years-old English girl entered Japanese embassy illegally and against Japanese whaling. According to this website, The girl said that whales were great beings and they should be given their right and love. She also said that she can respect Japanese people, but she can't esteem whale fishing.
What do you think of that?

I was surprised hearing the news because a 14-years-old girl entered the embassy "illegally" , even though she said she can "respect" us, to claim. I also wondered how she divide living beings "great" or not. An Australian said that he's eaten kangaroos in his country (I guess most of Japanese think it's pitiable.) and some Japanese pointed out that fact. He said he understood that the problem was like that. Doesn't she think other animals eaten by human-beings great? Doesn't she hold beings she eat in awe? Doesn't she have gratitude for them?
What do you think if someone say that "I can respect English people, but I can't esteem eating cattle, pigs, rabbits, and rams." in your embassy illegally. Some Japanese said that this was a real farce.

I know that we should discuss every aspect of whaling.

As the conversation of nature, I supposed that they do whaling only in the seas near of Japan. I didn't know that Japanese whaling is also in the international zone. I heared that this was a legal act, but the problem is not about law. The people who against whaling insist that we will destruct ecosystem, but someone say we should keep whaling because of ecosystem. (If whales are increasing too much, they kill many fishes.) I'm not sure about it. Only I can say is that I've eaten whales only once and I don't know how many whales are eaten by Japanese. (I suppose most of people my age don't eat whales and don't know much about it. I believe that Japanese is not barbarous enough to do overfishing.

Speaking English all the day

Today, I had many English lessons at ECC and I was tired. I took 4 web lessons, OPPT, a regular lesson, and a free time lesson. Between the each lessons, I read the novel, The Twelve Kingdoms. Totally I was at ECC for 6 hours. It was as if I were in a foreign country all the day. I carelessly said that I was tired and sleepy before the OPPT when my teacher asked how I am. I usually don't say the stuff like that because I think those negative words make the teacher and classmates feel uncomfortable. Of course, you can say it sometimes, but if you say "I'm tired and sleepy." every time we meet, I will be annoyed and may say "please go home and go to bed." I don't think it's great that you go to school without motivation.
Anyways, I came home at 9:30pm and noticed that there were envelopes in my mail box. They were from Chunichi shinbun, a newspaper publishing company, one of the sponsor of Nitten. I got a postal money order, so I can get 1,500yen at a post office. The reason why they sent it was I drew a small (h:6.0cm, w:5.0cm) illustration for them. I felt empty since I didn't really like the illustration. It is ridiculous that I earned the money order by drawing a mountain, a typical Japanese image. It is more silly that worthless illustration can make money than great art works can't be displayed.

The result of TOEIC: 735

I recieved the result of my TOEIC test which I took on the 13th of January, 2008.
The pointmy score was 735/990. The listening part ofwas 430/495 and the reading part ofwas 305/495. It is higher than the one which I got mark last year, 625 (L:350 R:275). You can read some advice on this website. According to this advice, I should read muchmore newspapers and novels in English. So I will try to read foreign novels or some Japanese books which are translated into English. Now I'm reading "The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow", a novel written by Ono Fuyumi. Actually, I don't read fantasy so often, but I love The Twelve Kingdoms. I think that the novel is interesting and instructive. Furthermore, it is realistic even though it is a "fantasy". You can obtain information from this website.(Wikipedia)
I'm thinking of buying the anime DVD, English version. I suppose it's easy and good for me to study English since I read the novel again and again. The anime is probably interesting, too.

Flowers for Algernon

＜Flowers for Algernon＞

I read a novel, Flowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes in English.
Because this story centers on a retarded man,Charlie Gordon, and the story is told from his point of view and written as a journal, or "progris riport", you can find many misspelled words like "flowrs". I'm sure I know what it means, but it is stressful for me to guess the correct words, so that the small words, called ルビ in Japanese, were helpful. As I read, the statements became easier to understand. After Charlie has an operation, his I.Q. increases gradually. As he learns much more, the "progress report" gets better. Actually, the middle of the journal is difficult for me since there are many words which I don't know. It's like Charlie becomes more intelligent than me. It was sad and painful that Charlie became impatient and he feels he can't control himself as his intelligence fades. The last part of the novel was thought-provoking. To tell you the truth, I've read this book when I was in high school. The first time I read this novel, I didn't understand wholeall of the story. But now, I can understand better and think deeper than before. I wonder if I can realizeunderstand his feelings much better 10 years later from now.