英語deつぶやきTwitter!

英語つぶやき：カスタード作り・・コツつかめた？！

2011-03-09T06:57:00.001+10:00

Gori's aunty has several good friends and they take turn cooking a dinner at their place for a get-together every Tuesday night. Last night it was her turn so we were expecting the guests. I wanted to do something because I had joined the previous one. And also I really like her friends, they are very nice. I offered her that I could make some dessert and she took me up on that. I decided to make an apple pie and custard. I had made them several times before but those ones I made last night were the best ones ever!! Especially, the custard! It was very close to Gori's mum's custard so I was very happy. I had had a trouble making custard because it always curdled and tasted a bit eggy but this time I used less eggs and cook it in a thicker pot. I had thought that it could be the pot I had been using that causing the curdling. I remember that Gori's mum always uses the same sauce pan, which is make of steel and pretty thick. Anyway I was glad that everyone at the dinner like my dessert!

Alright, I gotta go now. It's time to do some exercise and get energized!

英語つぶやき；書きたいことは色々あるけど・・

2011-03-08T07:42:00.001+10:00

Gee, the last long entry has given me stiff shoulders. I am using Gori's auntie's dining table as my computer desk, but it seems that it is a bit too high for me. I have been trying to adjust my chair or using a stool under my feet but still it doesn't feel right. I had better reduce the time for typing on my computer. Oh, look at the time!! I gotta do my regular morning exercise! Bring it on!!

英語つぶやき（長文）；くじけない！(3/8)

2011-03-08T07:24:00.004+10:00

Yesterday, I lost almost half the profit I had made with my share-trading since January.

As you may know, I started my serious share-trading in January this year. And in about a month or so. I had made about 900 dollars, which was equivalent to 75000 yen. I was very excited and happy because all my hard work and study had finally paid off!! I had felt much more comfortable about my trading style and had started to build my confidence in it.

Then this thing happened. I lost good money yesterday. It was very disturbing and upsetting to know that you've lost your money but it happens every now and then, so you have to deal with it as less emotionally as possible. Anyway, I lost only the profit, my starting fund ( as of January) is still intact. I shouldn't let it get to me badly. What is more important here is to learn from your loss. 'What went wrong?' 'What mistake did I make??' sort of things. I am still a budding share-trader so I am lacking of experience. This time, after I went through the uptrend, sideway- range, and downtrend for the first time , I came to realise that in order to maximize profit and minimize loss, I would need to change my trading style and tactics in accordance with the movement of the market. I know my tactics for uptrend is pretty good because I made money, now I need to work out ones for the other two movements. I have been thinking about it and I am almost there. I need to keep a record of what I learned, including new tactics, so that I won't make the same mistakes and try my new tactics next time.

It's pretty sad and heart-wrenching to lose money you earned but I have to convince myself that I am still in the learning process and also encourage myself that all this leads to my goal, which is to become a very successful share-trader!!

英語つぶやき：アンチエアコン派なんですけどね

2011-03-03T13:27:00.002+10:00

It's hoooot today. I just checked the current temperature on a weather website and it said 33 degrees. I had kept the windows open but no wind didn't come in.. It's very stuffy in the room and also pretty dry inside. I couldn't stand it any more so I turned on the air-con. Personally, I am not a big fan of air-cons because they are not good for my health, especially not good for my blood circulation, which could do some harm on my nerves too. And also air-cons consume a lot more electricity than electric fans. This could bring you a shocking electricity bill! And anyway it's still summer ( people say fall starts in March though^^;) , summer is supposed to be hot. You have to live with it. It doesn't seem convincing, now that I've turned on the air-con but usually I don't!! As I said, there is no wind coming inside!

Speaking of air-cons, I can't help telling you that Aussies love air-cons!! They want to turn on their Air-cons even though it is not that hot.!! I am Japanese and I am very used to Japanese summer, which is scorching and extremely humid, I find Aussie summer pretty comfortable compare to Japanese counterpart. I am quite happy as long as I have a electric fan or ceiling fan, which is my favourite. Having said that I have to admit that since I came to Brisbane, I have suffered from sleepless nights because of heat. It had never happened when I was in Gympie. I wonder why. Well, still I prefer Aussie summer to Japanese one. Anyway, I have had enough summer taste so I cant wait to enjoy cooler breeze in fall.

英語つぶやき；近況報告　苦戦中＞＜（3/3)

2011-03-03T11:59:00.003+10:00

Hello, there. It's been a while since I posted my last entry. ( Not again!! sigh..) Anyway, let me update you on what's happening in my life.

Well, as you might know, my boyfriend Gori and I are now in Brisbane, staying at his auntie's unit, which is sort of like an apartment in Japan. We've been here for about a month now. His aunt is a nice and open-minded person, who is very caring and charming. I really admire her. She is generous and kind enough to let us stay at her place until we find our own place in Brisbane. Gori and I were very lucky and blessed not only because we can stay at her place but also because we got to have this place to ourselves since she went on a month trip to Europe and China soon after we moved in . She just came back yesterday.

In our first plan, we were going to find a place to live and move out before she came back. But we haven't even gotten a place yet. We are struggling. We have been trying very hard to get one but there must be lots of competitions going on since a lot of people are looking for a place to live. And also our application form is not looking spectacular because the last rental we had was back in Japan, which is difficult for Aussie real estate agents to get a confirmation of our rental. And Gori has been working full time for about 2 weeks now but there is this bloody one and a half months period when he didn't work( from the late December to the early February )so it's difficult for us to prove that we have a stable income. It is very depressing that things haven't been going as we wanted and planed but it is not that it is the end of the world or we don't have any hope. His aunt knows about real estate stuff pretty well and she says she is happy to help us get through this problem. She says she knows somebody who might give us some tips. Last night she went to see him for a drink but we haven't had a chance to talk to her since then so hopefully she will inform us today. I really hope we get a place to live as soon as possible. This place is good but I really want to have our own place and settle down. Fingers crossed!!

英語でつぶやき：昨日のケーキ・・まずかった。。(11/22)

2010-11-22T10:44:00.005+10:00

I spent all day cooking yesterday. I had a sore back and I couldn't sit on a chair for a long time so I gave up studying English and other stuff required sitting ( frustrating!) Since Gori's mum had been away so we decided to invite his dad for dinner. I made a banana upside-down cake for the first time. I used a recipe from a cake book but the cake turned out to be sooo dry!! I was so disappointed. I should have gotten a recipe on the net instead of using the book.. That's kind of problem about cooking by booking books, isn't it?? Recipes in the books look yummy but you don't really know if they are tasty or not until you actually give it a try. On the other hand, recipes on the net usually have reviews and ratings, which are usually pretty reliable. So the better reviews they have, the more you are confident that they will be good. Gori has gotten me several cooking books so far, by which he might be indicating something about my cooking (LOL), well after yesterdays stuff-up, I asked him not to buy me this kind of books any more because I could get good recipes on the net and you know they are for free!!( books are very expensive!)

Oh boy my back is still sore. There are lots of things I want to do but I can't! To be honest, I shouldn't be writing my blog now but I wanted to do something other than lying on the bed!!

英語つぶやき（長文）：株トレーディング再開！（11/17)

2010-11-17T10:54:00.012+10:00

There are also some other things that I have kind of accomplished for the last few months. One of them is share-trading. You know what? Now I am back on doing the share-trading! Some people might be thinking ' finally, she did it!! ' but I needed enough time to study and doing more research on share-trading so that I could feel more comfortable and confident about it, and of course, so that I can be successful. Gori was very happy to see that I'd finally taken the plunge and restarted share-trading. ( He thought I'd been putting it off or even chickened out, but I was not! I was just looking for the right timing to buy shares!)

I had bought some stock and it's share price had gone up very nicely as I had expected.However, I had totally forgotten that China's International expo would finish this month, which could cause a turbulence in the economy all over the world! I remember when I went back to Japan, which was about 6 months ago, I was watching TV and some economic expert predicted that China's bubbling economy might crash after it's expo had finished because that's what had happened to Japan. Usually, I don't care less about other people's predictions and rumors about share market but this time I felt it might be true. That's because share charts I use for analyzing stocks are indicating some ominous signs, which could drag the world's share markets down even more. The stock I had bought was doing OK in spite of the current situation but I had a hunch that if the things would keep going down, the stock could go down as well no matter how it tried to go against it. And anyway it's not a good idea to go against the trend, which means buying shares when the overall market is heading for the south. So I sold the share this morning. Sadly I didn't make any profit but luckily I didn't suffer any loss, either.

This time when I was in action, I often found myself being calm and collected, which is essential to be a good share-trader. I remember those days when I was share-trading about a year ago, I was always checking share prices and every time the shares went up and down, my mood swung from the top to the bottom, like riding on an emotional roller-coaster! But not any more! I didn't make any profit this time but I am sure that I am now one step closer to be a successful share-trader!

英語でつぶやき：スカチャの仕事もひと段落♪

2010-11-16T15:37:00.002+10:00

One of the good things that I did in the last few months is starting the online English club and getting it into gear. So far, we've held 3 trial sessions for guests who were interested in our club and I am very happy to announce that all of the guests have joined the club! Now we've got 10 members altogether, which is very exciting! I hope all the members in the club have a great time speaking English and also improve their English skills! It was a tad hard to arrange and operate everything from scratch but thanks to our hard work and effort, we were able to pull it off! Now that the club is settled and heading for the good direction so I can be more relaxed and do some other stuff I want to do.

英語でつぶやき：気づけば一ヶ月以上ぶり！？ｗ（11/16）

2010-11-16T12:56:00.007+10:00

It's been more than a month since I made the last entry on this blog. ( oh boy, I am ashamed of saying this AGAIN.) Well, the reason I had been away for such a long time was simply because I had been every busy doing things ( I will write about them later ( probably)). Since I had been leading such a pretty hectic life ( hectic for me^^;), I was kind of struggling with keeping myself up both mentally and physically. I have to admit that there were some moments in which I became so overwhelmed that I pushed myself to the verge of falling apart. But luckily I was able to catch myself before I fell completely ( Thank goodness). There are lots of things have happened for the last few months, some are good and some are bad, and one of them is so awful that I find it really hard to write about it.

It's good to be back here. I feel pretty pumped about making entries at the moment. I wonder what kind of things I want to write about. See you soon!

英語でつぶやき：疲れてます～。

2010-10-05T08:45:00.001+10:00

Hello. I've been away from this blog for a long time, haven't I? Well there were a lot on my plate so simply I didn't have time for this blog.^^; Gori went to Fraser Island with his mates for a week and came back last Saturday. I on the other hand, kept myself busy doing stuff I had planned. I did lots of exercise, did some intensive share-trading research and started a Skype English session club called スカイプ英語deチャット倶楽部. I was a bit worried if I would survive for a week without Gori even though I had done that before so I knew I would be OK, seems like I put extra energy into it to keep myself going. Now that he's back and his holiday is over and our life is back to normal, I am feeling exhausted. Having said that, I am very proud of what I have accomplished while he was away, which gives me more confidence about myself.

英語でつぶやき：一人で買い物したいけど・・

2010-09-11T15:49:00.003+10:00

Gori and I went to town to pick up some groceries (that's me) and to buy some parts for his hobby stuff (that's Gori). Today is Saturday so I assumed that the shops must be crawled with customers so I braced myself for a slow and tiring shopping with a long wait at the checkout. The car park was full just as I'd expected but the supermarket itself was much quieter. That was a nice surprise! I wonder where the other customers were. Well Having said that, even though we went there around 1:00, which I think was not that late, there were some items I couldn't get, such as beef and chicken. I usually buy meats in bulk size but today they were already sold out so I was disappointed.

Speaking of shopping, I always think that I should go shopping by myself, not bothering Gori to come along with me. ( He hates shopping) I think I should be OK without him but the thing is, I really don't like pushing a trolley packed with stuff!! It's very heavy and difficult to control. In addition, some of the trolleys in the shops are sometimes very stubborn and wouldn't go where I want it to go!!! Obviously there is something wrong with the wheels but I don't know how to fix it. So every time I go to a supermarket and grab a trolley, I feel nervous and worried that my trolley will work alright or not. (Gee I am sweating such a small stuff ^^;)

I am getting sleepy now.. What am I going to do this afternoon?

英語でつぶやき（長文）：あれれ？誤診だった？？（9/11)

2010-09-11T12:20:00.008+10:00

After I made the last entry I developed a minor headache, which got me thinking.......thinking if what I had believed to be an allergy that I had been suffering from was really true or not, in short, the headache raised a doubt if I really had an allergy or not.

I DO know that I had a hay fever in Japan. I went to see a doctor and got some tests then the doctor diagnosed that I was allergic to certain kinds of pollen and house dust. But am I really having a reaction to pollen in Australia, too??

I rarely have a headache. Only when I get a headache I think is when I've had a strong medicine or too much medicine when I really don't need it. Looking back the last few days, since I had completely had faith in my own diagnosis, which was some kind of allergy, and also since the last thing I wanted was to make the symptoms worse, I took some allergy relief tablets, only 3 tablets after a meal though. And then the next day I suffered from that familiar headache. Given the situation and experience, I can't help thinking that I might have overdosed on the tablet. Probably, I didn't need them. I was sooo paranoid about allergy and scared of making it worse, I just jumped on the medicine.. Now I think I just had a minor cold.

To make sure that I don't have an allergy to pollen, now I keep the front door open and go outside without wearing a mask. Let's see how I feel. My nose is a bit runny at the moment but that's nothing. It would be fantastic if I didn't have an allergy to pollen, then I could go bike riding with Gori chan without worrying about allergy!!

Well, I feel embarrassed to have made such a drama over it. But..... that's me ^^; I hope you can cut me some slack! LOL.

英語でつぶやき：やる気満々なのに体がついていけてない＾＾；（9/10)

2010-09-10T11:19:00.004+10:00

I had a bit of lie-down so I'm feeling a little better. But my throat is still funny so I think I should stay away from studying English, especially reading out and shadowing, which are the integral parts of my English study. I feel frustrated not being able to study because in mind I am so pumped up for it. I am itching to do it but I cant!! I had been a bit struggling with my English method but I managed to find out what was wrong with it a few days ago. Since then my English study has been back on track and now this!! (Sigh) My brain is still half-dead. Do I just have to live with it?? I gotta find a way to get through this. Oh hang on! Am I acting like a drama queen?? LOL! Oh boy, I am bored :D

英語でつぶやき：アレルギーシーズン本格スタート！？

2010-09-10T08:57:00.002+10:00

Good morning. I had a trouble sleeping last night. I woke up with my nose stuffed and heavy & cloudy head this morning. I was tempted to go back to sleep but Gori needed a lunch to take to work so I had to get myself on the move. but fortunately I feel better now. Well seems like that my allergic symptoms are back now. I am really not sure what my allergen is. It could be pollens, pet fur or house dust or even all of them!! My throat feels funny. I had an extremely bad sore throat in the first year when I developed a hey fever. It was absolutely unbearable!! I should keep my throat moist otherwise I will be in trouble.

英語でつぶやき：困ったやつだせ、ミックさんよ～。(8/17)

2010-08-17T16:38:00.004+10:00

Today I snapped at Mick, our bloody dog, when I was playing with him. I know he loves playing with his toy, which I throw for him to fetch, the problem is that he is sooo obsessed with the toy that he wouldn't let it go from his mouth no matter how many times I tell him to do so. He used to be much better but for some reason his obsession and possessiveness have become quite stronger recently, and it is very annoying! We have to go through a BIG drama each and every time I throw.... Sigh...I am getting sick and tired of it, running out of patience.

There must be some reason why he does that so we should find out what it is and sort it out. Ambi, the other dog, is a very faithful and submissive dog, so the life is much easier with her. Ambi is about a year older than Mick, and I admit that she used to be a pain in the neck as well as a puppy. Maybe she was worse than Mick. I wonder when Mick grows out of his bad habits.... or it might never come?? Well, between you and me, today I had to smack him on this butt because he was sooooo defiant. I really didn't want to do it but I couldn't come up with any better idea. That was my last resort. Now I have a guilty feeling all over me..... We gotta do something about this.

英語でつぶやき：ガス給湯器のその後・・・

2010-08-08T14:40:00.003+10:00

Hello again. You might be wondering what happened to our hot water system. Sorry for not informing you sooner. Well, the new hot water system came on Thursday that week, which was 2 days later than the day we had been informed. Anyway it was delivered safe and sound so I was happy. As soon as Gori came back home from work, he started to work on it. I wanted to go to town while he was fitting the system, but the procedures were pretty interesting to see so I decided to stay. It took him about 2 and a half hours to get it done. I was very chuffed when he finished and turned on the hot water!! It was amazing!! The hot water came out of the tap in no time!! With the old one, I had to wait at least for a minute or so until I got hot water, but now we get hot water almost straight away!! Now we can save a lot of water too! I am soooooo happy with this new one!! I hope this thing works for a looooong time!!

英語でつぶやき(長文ｗ）：ネット世界ってフェイクなの？（8/8)

2010-08-08T13:45:00.010+10:00

Hello there. It's been a long time since I made the last post. I had been too busy to get around to making new ones.

Well, the issue I mentioned before, which had been bothering me for a long time, has finally been sorted out. It has taken a load off my mind so I feel much better. Now I am able to focus on things I really want to do without any emotional disturbance. There are a lot of things to do, for example, exercising to become fitter so that I can go bike riding with Gori chan and finishing up with my English learning methods which taking too much time.

There was one time when I contemplated my life so far very seriously, especially my involvement with the Internet world. I thought I was being involved with the Internet world too much by blogging, tweeting and online English activities and so on, and I found that unhealthy. I felt that I was not living a real life in the real world so I should get out more so that I will be more active in the real world. But having said that, I also had a feeling ...or more like a truth that I have met a lot of nice people online and now some of them are good friends of mine. We share our passions, happiness, and problems. Even though I met them online, in the Internet world, they are now very important to me and have become a part of my life. I am so grateful to be able to build such a strong relationship with them. Yeah, they are my real friends.

The online world seems like a fake world but we shouldn't forget that behind the computer screen, there are humans there, humans, like you and me are the ones who are in the online world, just like the real world. Some are nice and others are evil, and that's a fact of life wherever you go. You just have to deal with them one by one with your own principle. You can't go without the Internet in this modern age. Well I don't think I can! The important thing to keep in mind is how you strike the balance between the real world and the online world and putting both worlds into perspective and that's my next challenge.

英語でぼやきｗ（長文）ガス給湯器・・がるるるぅぅぅ（怒）

2010-07-17T10:46:00.006+10:00

As I mentioned in the last post, our gas-operated hot water system had broken down so we had ordered a new one on the net, which we did last Friday. Gori had told me that the seller said it would take about 3 to 4 business days to deliver the product, so I had been counting days, longing for its arrival. It's quite inconvenient not to have hot water, you know. Obviously you can't have a hot shower or bath and of course you can't use hot water when you are doing the washing-up. Luckily, Gori's mum and dad are living very close to us, we had been using their shower since this incident happened. It's OK and we should be very appreciative of being able to have a shower but to be honest, it is a bit of a hassle. Having a hot shower every night plays a big role in my life, because without it I can't sleep well, which can affect the next day's productivity and suffer from backache, which makes me feel soooo down...

Anyway, I had been waiting, waiting, and finally the day when the new one was supposed to be delivered had come! I was sooo excited! I hadn't done any exercise because I couldn't have a shower in my own good time. 6 days had already passed without any exercise so I was itching for it. But...you know what?? it didn't come. ... So I thought 'OK, don't get upset yet! Probably it will come tomorrow.' And the next day,,,,, it didn't come, either!! I was running out of my patience!!

Guess what??? Yesterday when Gori came back from work, he broke a news of a bad bad thing, which was he had received a phone call from the seller and they said they had not been able to identify our address so they hadn't even sent the thing yet!! Hello~~?? We ordered it a week ago!! They could have called him to check on the address a long time ago! Obviously Gori got angry to hear the terrible news on the phone so he accused them why they hadn't called him much earlier. And you know what?? All they said was ’We've been too busy to ring you up.' It's outrageous!! No wonder that I got soooo upset and very grumpy to hear the news. Gori and I even had a bit of fight over it, which was totally unnecessary .

It's very upsetting and extremely disappointing but we've already paid for it and now we know that it's on the way here. It should be here by this coming Tuesday. All we have to do is just to grin and bear it. Oh boy, what a bummer!!!

英語でつぶやき（長文ｗ）：ガス湯沸かし器との対決に終止符？

2010-07-10T13:01:00.005+10:00

Our gas-operated hot water system is out of order again! This thing is very temperamental and has acted up every once in a while, which is extremely annoying! But this time it seems like it's finally had it, totally.

As you might know, Gori is a gas fitter so he has been looking into it to find out what was wrong and after his attempts and efforts, he diagnosed that it was unfixable(^^;) However, I was not convinced by his diagnosis because he hadn't taken the system apart, so I insisted (or maybe begged him^^;) that we should have a very close at it by taking it apart as much as we could. He agreed with me, saying' We've got nothing to lose. '. He looked into each part of the system one by one very carefully. And me? well, I tried my hardest cleaning up the clogging in the burning part while he was at his inspection. He found out a cause-could-be so I got very excited. But he said ' Don't get your hopes up too high, just yet.'

After we finished all the cleaning and stuff, Gori put the system back into one piece and we turned on the hot water. I was very excited! But....unfortunately, nothing happened....
The system didn't come back to life....

Well, I was disappointed at the result but we have done everything we could so I am content. Oh boy, having said that, we'll have to go up to his mum and dad's house to have a shower for a while until a new hot water system comes ( he ordered a new one online yesterday). I hope it comes very soon. I really need to have a hot shower every night to have a good night sleep and my back gets tight and sore without it!

英語でつぶやき：レモンケーキが食べたい！（7/7)

2010-07-07T13:27:00.003+10:00

There is one thing that I have been trying to stay away from....that is a lemon cake!! I love this lemon cake for which I got the recipe at Cook pad, a cooking website. But the problem is that once I've baked one, I can't stop eating it! It is very fluffy and moist. And it has got a taste similar to cheese cake. Oh my god! I am working up a craving for it! I haven't got lemons so I gotta go and get some from the dam, which I told you before has got a long steep slope to get there. Probably if I go and get some lemons myself, I might work off the calories that I am going to get by eating the cake!(LOL)

英語でつぶやき：眠気を吹き飛ばせ！（7/6)

2010-07-06T15:03:00.003+10:00

I am sleeeeeeeepy! I wonder if I have caught a cold or something?? I have got a lot to do but I can't bring myself to do them. (^^;) Maybe I am wearing too many clothes. It's beautiful outside, nice and warm. OK, I will pull myself together and work on the stuff I want to do! But first of all, I'll have to shake off this drowsiness! What should I do??

英語でつぶやき：ジョギングしすぎて腰にキテいます＾＾；

2010-07-01T14:33:00.003+10:00

Oh boy, my back is tight. The reason, you ask?? Well, I have to admit that I got a bit carried away when I was doing my regular exercise on the treadmill two days ago. Usually I start with 400m walk as a warm-up and do some jogging for about 200 to 400m and then I walk for around the same distance. I continue this cycle over and over again until when I get sick of it or when I have hit 4.5km to 5km mark in total distance. But two days ago, I was feeling good and very motivated so I jogged for about 800m straight during one cycle! And now I have got a bit of relapse of my backache^^; I should take it easy for a while, shouldn't I?? I have got a lot that I'd love to do but I shouldn't risk it by pushing myself too much!

英語でつぶやき：いそがし、いそがし。（6/28)

2010-06-28T09:56:00.003+10:00

Good morning. It's been nice and warm around here recently. Today, I am going to have another language exchange session on Skype. I hope she shows up on time. I have been pretty busy doing a lot of things so I haven't been able to get around to twittering on this blog. At the moment I have got a lot on my plate, which are very important issues for me. I can't say what they are now but I have been working hard to solve these issues and I am just about to finish.

英語でつぶやき：マシンガントークのオージーと言語交換（６・２１）

2010-06-21T11:55:00.002+10:00

Hello, there. Today I had my first language-exchange session with the Brisbane girl who stood me up last Monday(^m^). She apologized me for not turning up last time. She said she had forgotten to write about our appointment in her diary. Anyway it's water under the bridge. We should move on.

We started our first session in English first. I was totally taken aback because she spoke extremely fast!! I don't know anyone who speaks as fast as she does!!! She speaks very quickly and she doesn't stop!! I was very busy trying my best to keep up with her but I think I understood about 70% of what she said. After the session I said to her how fast she had spoken and she apologized for it. She said even her Aussie friends complain about her speaking speed and tell her to slow down. Well, I was glad to know that I was not the only one who had trouble understanding her. She asked me to tell her to slow down a bit if she is speaking too fast,which made me felt better.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed at today's session because I couldn't get to talk as much as I wanted but I should try to look on the bright side, shouldn't I. This will be a great training in terms of improving my listening skill and improving my cutting-in-on- a-conversation skill, you know what I mean?(^m^) And if I can make a conversation as much and fast as she does, that means I will achieve my goal!!

英語でつぶやき：今日はいい感じ＆ゴリちゃんのご褒美

2010-06-18T14:37:00.006+10:00

Hi there. My English study has been going pretty well today. So far, I've done three 50-minute sessions. My mind became much clearer after I posted the last tweet. I want to have anther English study session before Gori comes back home. Speaking of Gori, I've baked lemon cakes for Gori. He loves the cake. He has been flat out working this month and plus he didn't give into the flu so I think he deserves a little bit of treat. I hope he enjoys the cake. By the way, I have let my exercise slide for the last 4 days so I WILL jump on the treadmill in the daytime today!!

英語でつぶやき：心のモヤモヤ (6/18)

2010-06-18T09:58:00.004+10:00

There is some issue that has been bothering me for a while. I am dying to sort it out but I don't know how to do it because it is a very sensitive issue. I would have confronted it ages ago if it wouldn't affect many people. Maybe I am being paranoid but I hate having this kind of pent-up emotion that seems to be going nowhere. Anyway, I feel a bit better now, I really needed to let it out otherwise I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on my study and other stuff today.

英語でつぶやき：State of Origin・・ブルーにはがっかりだよ。

2010-06-17T21:06:00.006+10:00

Did anyone watch the State of Origin game 2 last night? I did and I have to say that it was pretty boring!! Of course, I was happy to see the Maroons thrashing the Blues but honestly it was not something that I had expected. I expected it to be more exciting, a neck and neck battle between them. I have watched State of Origin twice so far but even I with little experience could tell that the Blues were no match for the Maroons. 'They are not a team.' , this is what Gori's sister said very disappointedly. ( She was supporting the Blues because she was born in NSW.) I totally agreed with her. They didn't have any strategies or plans, I even felt that I wasn't sure whether or not they really wanted to win!! It must have been extremely humiliating for them to lose 5 Origin series straight. I do feel sorry for the players because I think they could have played better if their selectors hadn't swapped some of the players at the last minute! They shouldn't have done that! Their fan must be devastated or even sick of it now. Anyway I had a good time last night, having dinner with Gori's family and the lamb roast was very yummy and tender, the upside-down cake with ice cream that we had for dessert was gorgeous and most of all, Gori and his dad were chuffed about the victory.

英語でつぶやき：英語ディスカッションスタディ（6/17)

2010-06-17T20:22:00.005+10:00

Hi, there. Today I attended another Skype English session with my friends. We discussed Japan's increasing divorce rate and same-sex marriages. I think I handled pretty well with the former topic but I was kind of struggling with the latter one. The reason why I struggled was simple; I hadn't prepared it well enough to express my opinions about this touchy and controversial issue. I have been studying English using this text book called Opinion 1400 by Z kai and it carries articles about this topic. I have studied these articles for quite a long time so I thought I'd done enough but it turned out that I was wrong. I have been slack in terms of digging into discussion topics and studying them. So I've decided to turn a new leaf and plug away at this area, too. Now I've got lots to do regarding English study, so I will tackle them one by one and little by little so that I don't get overwhelmed by them.

英語でつぶやき：やりたいことが多すぎて集中できない！

2010-06-16T11:52:00.003+10:00

It was nice and warm this morning but it's getting colder and colder. Today I have done 2 sessions of English study but I have been easily distracted by my thoughts, which rarely happens to me. There are a lot of things I'd love to do, for example I want to make new entries on my Japanese blog, to work on writing draft of my English learning method and to study English by a different approach and more! I am so pumped up that I find it difficult to concentrate on one thing!!

英語でつぶやき：ヴァ部のサインを作りました！（遅っ、（＾＾；））

2010-06-15T14:35:00.011+10:00

I've spent a lot of time on the Virtual English Club forum again! Today I devoted myself to creating my own signature that I put at the bottom of my posts in the forum.

I had heard someone talking about this 'signature' thing before but I didn't have a clue what that meant. Well, I had been wondering how other members in the club had been managing to put up a notice of their blogs' URLs at the bottom of their each and every post. I had thought that they had been putting up those information every time they had made a post, which was extremely time-consuming and irritating task to do. But now I know that what was behind it! They had been using a signature function and had created their own signature, well.. it's not technically a signature, it's more like a notice of their blogs and twitter IDs and every time they've made a post, the signature shows up on the post automatically! How handy is that !! I can't believe it took me such a looooooong time to make this fantastic discovery!! (^^;) But now that I've got my own signature, which took me hours to complete, I can enjoy activities in the club in more relaxed way.　

By the way, our club has been getting several new members recently, which is great! I hope they enjoy their activities in the club and improve their English skills as much as possible!

＊大過去（had ＋past perfect(V)）がいまいち曖昧。後でゴリちゃんに見てもらいます。

英語でつぶやき：手が寒い～～（＞＜）

2010-06-15T10:10:00.005+10:00

My hands are so cooooooooold!! Should I put on gloves?? No way! I wonder how I can warm them up. Maybe by soaking them in hot water or something? Well, it's not cold outside but I DO feel cold inside the house. Why is that?? Oh hang on, I didn't have a foot bath last night, did I? That may be it! Should I have one now?? Well, anyway, I will set about studying English shortly. I am pretty motivated about it!

英語でつぶやき：ゴリちゃんの風邪対策（6/15)

2010-06-15T09:04:00.010+10:00

Good morning. Gori is working today. He is still fluey so he took some flu tablets, just to be on the safe side. He has been taking every single remedy to get over the flu, for example, wearing a sweater, ugg boots, scarf around his neck, and even a beanie. He has also been taking some echinacea, which is a health supplement made from herb called echinacea. They say it's effective against colds and flues. Gori absolutely swears by it. He's also been taking enormous amount of vitamin C tablets which I think he should have taken as a precaution BEFORE he caught this flu(^^;) Anyway ,I am pretty impressed by his actions to fight against the flu this time. I can tell how serious he is about this. After all, he can't afford to lose his teaching contract coming up this Thursday, so he has to get over his flu and he is the only one who can do it, not anyone else, including me. What I can for him is nothing, compared to what he can do for himself, do you know what I mean? Oh well, I might sound a bit harsh on him but deep down, I am very happy with his attitude!! Good on him! I hope his efforts pay off and he shakes off the flu very soon.

*I am going to write titles of my tweets in Japanese from now on. This way, I thought might be more appealing to readers(＊＾＾＊)

Useful website for roll-calling

2010-06-14T14:33:00.005+10:00

I have been wrapped up in writing articles on the Virtual English Club forum. Today I have incorporated a new roll-calling system into our Skype English session team. The system is actually a website called 出欠党幹事長 and It's really convenient and easy to use. All you have to do is just to fill in details of your meeting and make a URL of attendance chart by a click. And then you just post it on your website or send it to people. The good thing about it is that everyone can check attendance charts any time. I hope it works well for us. I am a bit tired. I need a break!! 出欠党幹事長 website? Click here

Gori has been fluey recently.

2010-06-14T10:23:00.002+10:00

Gori has been fluey recently. He has got a runny nose and a bit of sore throat. Those symptoms are not serious so he is working on his radio-controlled airplane now. I hope he will get rid of it soon because he has got a teaching contract with his school and it starts this Thursday. I should keep him nice and warm and make some nutritious food for him. And most of all, I should try not to catch his cold.

My language-exchange partner didn't show up..

2010-06-14T10:15:00.002+10:00

Oh well...My language-exchange partner didn't show up, I mean she didn't get online(^^;) Today is a pubic holiday( Queens Birthday) in Queensland and I guess she has forgotten about our session because of it(^^;) I was kind of toying with the idea that I should double-check with her beforehand but I didn't. Anyway I was a bit disappointed but this kind of thing happens sometimes. I will snap out of it and do things I want to do(^^)

Oh I gotta go!

2010-06-14T09:56:00.003+10:00

I've just finished the housework. Today I hung some of the laundry in our bedroom. It's cloudy outside and the humidity in my district is about 70% at the moment, according to a weather forecast website. Oh, look at the time! I gotta go and get my Skype online for my first language-exchange session! Wish me luck!

Language exchange (6/14)

2010-06-14T08:32:00.003+10:00

Good morning. I am feeling good this morning although I was kind of expecting some muscle pain in my legs and back since I had walked up the steep slope and exercised on the treadmill yesterday. There is a little pain in my bottom but this is nothing. OK I will finish up the housework and get down to English study and other stuff I want to do. By the way, I am going to have a Skype language-exchange session with an Aussie girl who lives in Brisbane at 10 a.m.. I have never done this before so I am a bit nervous but also excited.

It's more moist in the room, I can tell that.

2010-06-13T20:55:00.007+10:00

I've just done 3.5 km on the treadmill. I feel refreshed. I think that those remedies for humidifying the rooms have already been working. It could be my imagining thing, but it was much easier for me to jog on the treadmill tonight. Up until yesterday I became out of breath easily and I also felt some kind of uncomfortable pressure on my chest when I was exercising on the treadmill or even just lounging around in the room. But tonight, I feel much better, even rejuvenated. I became happier and more pumped as I was jogging on the treadmill. I definitely feel that the air in the rooms has more moisture now. It was cloudy today so it could be a reason for it but I think those remedies are working, too.

Thoughts on fonts.

2010-06-13T15:18:00.003+10:00

I like this smaller font better than the previous large one. I wonder why I had been using that one without any doubt for such a long time. It's too large and clumsy to read, isn't it? I am happy with this present one.

A little happiness

2010-06-13T14:55:00.002+10:00

Gori and I walked down to a dam in his mum and dad's property . There is a bush lemon tree near the dam so we went there to get some bush lemons. To be honest, I was kind of reluctant to go there because we had to walk down and up the very long and steep slope to the dam. I had done that before and I had had to rest at least 3 times so I had got totally knackered..But to my surprise, I was able to walk back up the slope without any rest this time!! I was amazed! Seems like my exercise on the treadmill has been helpful for building up my strength! Well, my legs are a bit wobbly at the moment but I am proud of myself and I am glad that I've done it. Now I am baking a lemon cake. My mind has changed from bread and butter pudding to lemon cake.(^m^)

I am full but still feel like some dessert. (^^;)

2010-06-13T13:31:00.003+10:00

I made a potful of bolognese sauce this morning and Gori and I had it with spaghetti for lunch. Feels like I've eaten a tad too much.(^^;) I hope I don't get sleepy in the afternoon. It's cold today. I want to eat something warm for dessert such as bread and butter pudding. But I know it is not good for me because it has got a big calorie so it affects my waistline ^^; and since I use white bread in it when I bake one, that could bloat my stomach and make me sick. But I do want to eat it.....What should I do?? Do you think I have got a strong willpower to resist this temptation??

Remedies for humidifying the rooms (6/13)

2010-06-13T11:46:00.011+10:00

It's been sooo dry recently. My skin is dry and gets itchy. And of course, when it gets cold and dry, you have more opportunities to encounter this,,, that is...to get a bloody shock of static electricity! This is sooooo annoying and I am pretty much paranoid about it! Every time I have to touch metal parts of furniture or something, I get scared(><)

I have got to do something about it!! I have made up my mind to address this issue, which is humidifying the rooms! I've been using a spray bottle to spray water into the air for a while. Well, it seems to be working but having said that, I use a dryer to dry our laundry so the air gets really dry very quickly so I think this remedy is not good enough. I needed more effective way of humidifying the rooms. An idea popped into my head was to buy a humidifier from shop but these things are pretty expensive and we cant afford it. And anyway I learned that some times humidifiers' filters get moldy and that could cause some allergy or breathing problems so I gave up on the idea and looked for another cheaper ways.

Then I found that putting a glass of water in the room is also effective and growing plants in the room has got a similar effect in terms of increasing humidity in the room. Hanging laundry inside is also a good idea but I don't have enough space for it and after all hanging the laundry in the room doesn't look pretty, does it?

These three remedies are very easy to implement, aren't they? I've already put a cup of glass of water on the kitchen bench and hung a wet towel on the steel bar on my treadmill. As for the plants, we have to go to town to buy one but it's Sunday today so the shops are closed. We will have to do it some other time. I hope these things work.

For more information: Click here

I like Rugby League. (6/12)

2010-06-12T20:40:00.006+10:00

Gori has been watching Rugby Union Test match on TV. I really don't understand it (^^;) I definitely prefer Rugby League (NRL) to Rugby Union. I don't even understand the rules of AFL,either. I like NRL because its rules are very simple and straightforward. Having said that, I don't get one of the rules which is forwarding or something. Speaking of footy, State of Origin game 2 is coming up this coming Wednesday, which I am looking forward to. Of course I am on the Maroon(Queensland)side.

I am going to bake a cake for Gori's hardwork.(5/5)

2010-05-05T10:13:00.003+10:00

Hello, everyone. My stomach is not still 100%. I had some hard jubes last night and then I had trouble sleeping because I had a funny pain in my stomach. I don't feel appetite for some reason but I try to eat because I feel lethargic without it, don't I? By the way, Gori has been working on building a new veggie patch for me. It's very nice of him to do that. I want to grow some veggies there. To repay his kindness, I am going to bake a chocolate cake for him with extra chocolate flakes. I am short of vegetable oil so I will use butter instead. I hope it turns out OK.

Poor mum..(4/29)

2010-04-29T15:08:00.005+10:00

Because I was sick when coming back from Japan, I was expecting an E-mail or phone call from my mum to know how I was doing. (She cares about me all the time.) But in spite of my expectation, I hadn't heard anything from her for 4 days since I came back to Australia, which got me worried. She never misses this kind of thing, so I thought something must have happened to her. So I rang her up on Skype to find out what was going on. Yes, my hunch was right. She had come down with a flu after Gori and I left and had been suffering from a terrible cough and high temperature, which were exactly same symptoms as my flu. Well, obviously I am the one who gave it to her! Poor mum... I hope she gets better soon.

Planning is fun, isn't it? (4/27)

2010-04-27T12:11:00.004+10:00

Gori's gone to Brisbane to take his final course to become a gas fitter. He got up at 4:30 this morning and drove down. He will come back this evening. I had a good chat with my Skype session friends in Japanese this morning. I feel a bit tired physically but I feel like doing something, something productive. I am toying with the idea of making my new English study strategies. What can I do? Planning is fun, isn't it?

I am back from the trip. (4/26)

2010-04-26T16:23:00.008+10:00

Hi, there. Gori and I came back to Australia 2 days ago. Our one-month stay in Japan passed very quickly. To put it simply (and honestly) it was pretty hard for me. I was sick most of the time during the stay. Having said that, it's not that my stay in Japan was a total disaster, there were some good things, too. I had a nice time with my family and got to catch things up with my friends and I learned a lots of things from this trip. Anyway I am still not 100% healthy so I should take it easy for a while.

Here comes a cyclone!?

2010-03-15T17:55:00.003+10:00

Oh no! A huge cyclone has developed near Queensland's coast line! I wonder if it will affect our flight back to Japan! I hope we are going to be OK.

Souvenir for my family and friends

2010-03-15T17:03:00.005+10:00

Today Gori and I went to town to do some shopping. My purpose of it today was buying some chocolate as souvenir for my family and friends. I bought a lot of boxes of Lindor chocolate and lots of kinds of Tim Tam. Lindor is not technically Australian, actually it's from Switzerland but it's very tasty so I bought them. As for Tim Tam, I know Japanese people are very familiar with getting Tim Tams as souvenir of Australia ( or even sick of getting ones^^;) but usually those Tim Tams are original Tim Tams with milk chocolate. So I bought different kinds of Tim Tams even though I have never tried any of them (^^;) I hope they are yummy too!

I made custard this afternoon.

2010-03-15T16:59:00.002+10:00

I made custard this afternoon. It was the best custard that I've ever made. Gori said it tasted very similar to his mum's, which is really really nice! I am going to make some for my family when I get back to Japan too!

Sorry for whinging. But I really needed to let it out.

2010-03-15T16:04:00.015+10:00

I've spent so much time and effort on planning a trip for Gori's mate and his girlfriend. Well, acutally I've done that for Gori because if I hadn't done that, I knew he would be in a big trouble and extremely stressed when he was going along with them on their trip. Because they don't speak or understand Japanese at all!

But now I think I've wasted my time. I am not sure yet but I think they are not going to go on the trip any more. We sent the final detailed plan of their trip a few days ago and they started whinging about it. Yes, I admit that I've made a little bit of changes with the first plan so if you have trouble with them, I could change them back in your way, which is fair enough. But things are a bit different with this one; YOU had agreed with the first plan which involved 3 domestic flights and that's why we booked the flights and have bought the tickets. YOU agreed on it ! You CAN'T say that that was not what you had been expecting at this point! It's too late, mate! We've already bought the tickets! If you had had trouble with it, you could have said it when we showed you the first plan or even more, you could have made a plan yourself!! You didn't even bother to book the flights or doing anything!! You can't just whinge, with not doing anything! We are not your submissive travel agents!

Now things have become very complicated and awkward between them and us. I really feel that I shouldn't have started this planning thing in the first place. I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for Gori and if driving was not involved. I am really really regretting this because after all, this is THEIR trip!!

Now I really hope that they are not going anymore. I am just sick of mucking around sorting out information about hotels and other stuff for them. I've just had it.

Sorry for whinging. But I really needed to let it out.

A week to go before the trip (3/15)

2010-03-15T15:56:00.005+10:00

I haven't made an entry in this blog for a while. That's simply because I have been too busy to get round to it(^^;) Ever since I decided to go back to Japan, there have been a lot of things to be done so I have been wrestling with them. Now I have a week to go before the trip. I am very thrilled and looking forward to it.

You really can't guess today's market, can you?(2/26)

2010-02-26T09:48:00.004+10:00

The share market is deteriorating again! One of my favourite shares has gone down lower than its support level! Thank goodness that I didn't buy in yesterday. I could have been stopped-out and had to deal with the loss! There must be lots of investors and traders that have been having a hard & stressing time recently. You really can't guess today's market, can you?

On the horns of a dilemma

2010-02-25T12:28:00.005+10:00

Well, I am getting sick of just watching my trading platform and not making any action. The shares that I've keeping an eye on are very close to their buying points but just not yet. One of them has hit very close to its support level, so I could buy in at the price but there is also slight possibility that it might keep going down like one of them did a few days ago. I was feeling dilemma whether I should buy in now or not, but this time I had decided to play it safe so I resisted my urge again! I will wait, I have to wait, which is soooooo frustrating. I hope the shares make breakthroughs very soon! By the way I am still not feeling 100 %. What's going on with me??

I feel tired this morning.. (2/25)

2010-02-25T08:53:00.004+10:00

Yesterday I had another Skype English session. We discussed pets( Are you a dog person or cat person?) and animal abuse & cruelty( battery hens and animal testing). The last two topics were very controversial and tricky topics to discuss, but I enjoyed it. I went to bed early last night because I felt a bit sick. I think I've had more than enough sleep last night but I am still tired(^^;) My head is fuzzy. By the way, this tweet entry is the 100th one!! Good on me!!

I am happy that I got to save money!

2010-02-24T11:54:00.004+10:00

Yesterday I was wrestling with my black printer ink. Its ink had run out so I refilled it and put it back in the printer like I usually do but it didn't work yesterday. I tried many times but the printer didn't recognized the ink for some reason! It was frustrating! After a while I came to the conclusion that we'd been using the same cartridge for more than 2 years so it had just had it so we would need to buy new original one, which cost us about 40 bucks( very expensive, isn't it?)It's typical! This kind of thing( unexpected expense) happens when you need to save money. I really didn't want to spend money on it, so this morning I tried it again with a little bit of hope of miracle. And guess what?! It worked! This time I found the cause! There was a piece of tape caught between the ink cartridge and its lid! I didn't notice it at all yesterday! I am happy that I got to save money!

All I have to do is wait a little longer.

2010-02-24T10:15:00.003+10:00

The share market has been going up and down recently ( it happens even within a day!)Thank goodness that I am not in it at the moment. There are some shares that I've been watching very closely,but none of them haven't reached the point at which I want to buy in. There were some moments when I feel like jumping on them impulsively , but luckily my educated guess and senses resisted the urge. All I have to do is wait a little longer.

Do I need a break??(2/24)

2010-02-24T09:23:00.003+10:00

It's been 5 days since I've incorporated pilates into my exercise routine. I was a bit apprehensive about my back at first, but it seems to be doing OK. I've been pushing myself a bit hard in terms of my workout because as you may know, Gori and I are going back to Japan next month for about a month! There are lots of things I'd love to do in Japan, which means I will be very busy so I want to become fit and strong before I go. It would be fantastic if I can lose some weight as well but I am not that worried about it at the moment. I am more focusing on how I build up my strength so that I can do things more energetically without feeling tiredness, which will definitely enhance the quality of my life. Well having said that, I am a bit tired now. Do I need a break??

Whinging...

2010-02-21T12:04:00.003+10:00

There are so many things to do and I am kind of overwhelmed by them. Plus I was struggling with a new music playing software which Gori discovered for me. When you try something new, especially when it is something that is not in your comfort zone, it is very stressing to tackle it until you get the hang of it, isn't it? Anyway I feel a bit grumpy and stressed because I am behind schedule. Well, I have to snap out of it and move on. What can I do to pull myself together and be more productive.

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

Gori's mishap (2/20)

2010-02-20T10:08:00.003+10:00

Last night before going to bed, Gori started to complain that there was something wrong with his left eye and it was killing him. At first I thought it was just an eyelash or something that was annoying him but I couldn't find anything in the eye at the first glance. Then he brought a torch to take a very close look at it and then we found that there was a tiny bit of something on the eyeball, right next to the pupil. We assumed that it might be a fragment of steel from grinding or welding because he had been working on this new project, which was building a bike stand for the last several days and he was grinding and welding its steel frames last night. We tried everything we could think of to get the bit out of his eye but it wouldn't budge an inch. We even used a magnet but it didn't work, either. So this morning Gori's dad took him to the hospital and the doctor said there were many fragments of steel on his eyeball and one of them was actually in it too. He anesthetized his eye and chucked out almost all the fragments using a needle!! Gori said he almost passed out! It's scary, isn't it? Anyway he is not completely OK yet but I'm relived to hear that it was not that serious.

He is getting cuter and cuter! (2/18)

2010-02-18T10:14:00.002+10:00

Mick used to be a very chunky dog with a big head and a lot of puppy fat around his neck but not any more! He has slimmed down and his face is much smaller now. As a matter of fact, he is getting cuter and cuter every day! I thought Ambi was way cuter than Mick before but now they are neck and neck!

They are not our threats!! （2/16)

2010-02-16T08:43:00.004+10:00

I just got up half an hour ago. I feel tired... because I couldn't sleep last night! The dogs were constantly barking at the cows or something, which kept me awake!! Come dogs! Forget about the cows! They are not our threats!! I just checked the share market, seems like I will be sitting out today too.

I thrashed him!! (2/14)

2010-02-14T12:08:00.004+10:00

Gori and I played Canasta (a card game) this morning. Guess what? I thrashed him!! I struggled a bit in the last game but I won! Actually I haven't lost Canasta games against Gori for a long time. Have my skills for it been improving or is it just that I have been very lucky?!

Tomorrow is Valentine's day.

2010-02-13T16:12:00.004+10:00

Tomorrow is Valentine's day. I baked a chocolate cake for Gori for this occasion. The cake turned out to be very fluffy and light. I tasted it a bit but as soon as I put some in my mouth, it melted and disappeared! I cut down on sugar when I made it so it's not that sweet, either. It goes very well with cream. I am glad that Gori likes it!

Back pain is back here.

2010-02-13T14:22:00.004+10:00

I did the treadmill for 5.6 km yesterday. I was very happy because I was able to jog for 1 km straight, which was big progress. But today sadly my back is not feeling right. I feel some dull pain in there. I haven't had this kind of pain for a long time. So honestly I'm a little gutted, but just a little bit. Did I pushed myself too much yesterday? Well maybe jogging for 1 km was a bit too much. I wonder if a foot bath will help for my back. I should give it a go, shouldn't I?

Gori is very keen on cycling.(2/13)

2010-02-13T08:53:00.003+10:00

Gori is gone cycling this morning. He goes for a bike-riding with his cycling mates every weekend. He gets up before 5 and comes back around 9 to 9:30. This has become a part of his routine. He says he cycles for about 70 km, which is very impressive, isn't it? His passion and achievement surely help me keep myself motivated for my work-out.

You know, ladies never stop talking!（2/11)

2010-02-12T08:49:00.004+10:00

Hello. Gori and I went out for dinner with his co-workers last night. We went to a restaurant called Charlie's Hotel. Gori had been there a few times previously and he had a high opinion of it. So I had been looking forward to eating there and finally got around to it. I ordered a steak which he had been raving about but unfortunately it was a bit of a let-down,,, tough and chewy. We ordered medium-rare but Gori's steak was nowhere near it, it was very rare. Gori was disappointed too. Anyway his colleagues were all very nice and I enjoyed the dinner and conversation, in which I was mainly on the listening side because there were 5 ladies(plus Gori )! You know, ladies never stop talking!

I feel better today^^(2/9)

2010-02-09T14:29:00.002+10:00

Hi, there! I am feeling much better today.(^^) I've been sitting all day studying and share-trading, so my back is getting stiff! I want to do some treadmilling to loosen it up but I will wait until Gori comes back from work and goes for a bike-riding. He wants to shed some kilos and become very fit too!

I feel so lethargic..

2010-02-08T15:04:00.005+10:00

Hi, everyone. I managed to study English for about 2 hours. I'm glad that I've made at least some progress. But it was pretty hard for me to concentrate. I've got a sore back, which is one of the distractions from studying. I want to do some treadmilling but I think it could make my condition worse. I have been eating crappy & fatty food recently so my belly feels a bit flabbier...I hope I can do a lot more tomorrow. Oh boy I feel so lethargic...

I don't feel like doing anything but..(2/8)

2010-02-08T10:36:00.003+10:00

I don't feel like doing anything because I have a stomach pain from my period. But there are a lot of things I have to & I want to do; for example, I want to come up with my opinion for the next discussion, (I have one more question to go), I have to finish up studying the articles for the discussion which I got from the net and to read useful sentences out loud, and share-trading study. OK, I will pull myself together and tackle them one by one! Wish me luck!

I wanted to help her out. (2/7)

2010-02-07T10:55:00.003+10:00

Hello. I have been a bit busy recently. Gori's mum had a surgery on her right middle finger several days ago so since then she has been having a little trouble doing housework. I wanted to help her out because I owe her a lot. So yesterday I invited her and Gori's dad for dinner. The dish I made was very simple stir-fry with tomato salad so it's nothing fancy but they said they enjoyed it. I'm glad we had a good time.

oops!

2010-02-03T11:22:00.003+10:00

The last tweet was way toooooo long! But I just wanted to tell you about how Mick is doing. That's all.... I am getting hungry! I'll eat lunch first !

Mick is on the mend ( 2/3)

2010-02-03T10:59:00.005+10:00

Morning. I haven't filled you in about what happened to Mick's cuts since I last mentioned about it (×yet) so here's how things turned out. After Gori came back from Brisbane, he had a very close look at his cuts and we discussed it and decided to turn to his mum and dad for some advice about what we should do with him. They said he should be alright without any stitches and also said they had some antibiotic powder for animals, so we used it on Mick's cuts several times. It's (×It) very helpful. I should have talked to them much earlier. Since then his cuts have been on the mend, healing very well. I am so relieved because I was worried that he might suffer from infection or something since his cuts had been exposed but luckily he is (×was) OK now.

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

Roger Federer is such a nice guy!

2010-02-01T08:33:00.006+10:00

As I said in the previous tweet, I watched the Australian Open men's final last night. Roger beat Andy Murray in straight sets. He won the first 2 sets relatively easily but he seemed to be (×a bit) struggling in the final set, actually they were kind of neck and neck so it was very thrilling to watch. Both of them were brilliant athletes. I really like Roger because he is a very nice guy and he also has class! I envy his wife! They are going to have twin daughters soon, aren't they?

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

seem を使うときの注意！アクションを表現する場合（この場合試合中苦戦しているというアクション）seem to に進行形のbe strugglingで表す。単純に感情を表す場合はseem 形容詞でOK。（例 He seemed happy.)

Slow progress ( 2/1)

2010-02-01T08:20:00.004+10:00

Morning. Yesterday I was supposed to finish up summarizing the important contents in the share-trading book and I did some of it but I ate out for lunch with Gori and we watched the Australian Open men's final on TV in the evening so I didn't make (×a ) good progress on it. I am going to finish it off today!

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

progress は不加算名詞なのでaはつかない！

I had my Mum's English lesson (1/30)

2010-01-30T12:27:00.009+10:00

I had my Mum's English lesson this morning. We covered interrogative pronouns such as what, when, who, and how etc. I have been teaching her English for a while but I can definitely tell that her English is improving. She can't speak much yet but she understands what I am asking with less effort (×efforts) and she answers (×to) my questions with more confidence. I am going to teach her basic grammar to the level that junior high school students learn for 3 years. Then here comes the (×a) fun part. We are going to train speaking by listening and repeating useful English sentences, which will (×could) boost her English fluency!

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

effortの用法！記事のeffort は努力というエネルギーなしで質問に答えると言う意味なので不加算名詞扱いとなり複数形は×。でも努力をするとか励むと言う意味では努力する事（attempt）を何度も繰り返すということになるので加算名詞となる（例 You need to make an effort to pass the exam. His efforts to lose weight haven't been very successful.）

I''ve finished reading the book!

2010-01-29T14:41:00.004+10:00

I've finally finished reading the share-trading book ( Stan Weinstein's Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets.)! It took me a looong time to finish it off but it's OK because it's worth way more than the time I spent on it. The book is very informative, educational and extremely useful. It has given me a real insight into share-trading and a lot of information and strategies in order to become a winner in the market. I am going to sum up the important rules he pointed out and apply them in my trading.

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

Movie' Changeling' (1/29)

2010-01-29T08:27:00.008+10:00

Morning. Last night Gori and I watched a movie called ' Changeling', which one of his co-workers strongly recommended (×us to watch) . It starred Angelina Jolie(×It was starred by Angelina Jolie )and was directed by　Clint Eastwood. I am not going to tell you it's detailed story but it was a really good and compelling movie based on a true story of a single mother back in 1928. You may experience a lot of mixed feelings when you watch this movie, which could be a strong disgust and hatred, absolute fear and horror and a sense of justice as well as (×and) a little bit of relief. Angelina was very thin in this movie so I found her less attractive this time but she pulled off an (×a) outstanding performance.

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

star：〔映画などが俳優を〕主役として使う、〔演劇や映画で〕主役を演じる＊star in~で主役を演じる　a starring role:主役

Yesterday's Skype session.(1/28)

2010-01-28T07:40:00.007+10:00

Morning. I attended another Skype English session yesterday and I had a very good time! My head was much clearer and more active so I was very happy about it. We had a bit of a discussion, the (×whose) topic was ' Is it essential to learn grammar when you learn and master a language?' This is a profound question for language learners. I was the one who brought this up and I did that without any previous notice. So honestly I was a bit worried if I might have dragged the other members into trouble (^^;) But I could really use other language learners' opinions so I took the plunge. Anyway we had a lively discussion and I feel I have come to my conclusion about this topic.

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

whose の関係代名詞の非制限用法（そしてその人の～）は人のみに使える。

I was a bit acting wild like a small kid (1/27)

2010-01-27T09:55:00.004+10:00

Morning. Yesterday Gori and I went up to his mum and dad's house to have a swim in their swimming pool. I hadn't swum since when I was 14 so I was wondering if I still remembered how to swim. When I stepped into the swimming pool, a very funny feeling came over me and I don't know why but I couldn't stop laughing! I was a bit acting wild (×I was a bit going wild acting) like a small kid but that's what I needed! Having said that I got a bit carried away and soon after that my throat got pretty sore and felt a bit sick. But I had (×a)fun and I felt refreshed! As for swimming, Yes, I could swim!

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

fun は不加算名詞なのでaはつかない！

Australia day (1/26)

2010-01-26T08:52:00.003+10:00

Morning. Yesterday Gori and I went to his mum and dad's house and played darts. It was fun! I beat him twice!( Gori gave me a big handicap though^^;) Today is a national holiday called Australia day. It's a national foundation day and seems like they designated this day as national foundation day based on the time when British immigrants ( most of them were prisoners) landed Australia back in 1788, which has not been taken very kindly by Aborigines, who have been inhabiting (×in) this continent since around fifty to sixty thousand years ago. Anyway, I wonder what I want to do today. Oh yes! I'd love to have a swim in the afternoon!

＊This entry has been corrected by Gori.

I wonder if I can talk him into it.(1/25)

2010-01-25T13:07:00.007+10:00

Well, I really like my timetable (×time table) system but I have to admit that I am kind of getting into a rut. I have been using this system for about 2 weeks. It's working very well but I need to do something different, something away from studying, something fun and exciting!! I feel like playing ping-pong and darts at Gori's mum and dad's place or playing some card games for a change. Gori's teaching job restarted today so he might come back tired. I wonder if I can talk him into it.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

My allergy symptoms are worse these days.

2010-01-24T17:20:00.005+10:00

My allergy symptoms are worse these days. Is that because of walking? I hope not. Maybe it's (×that's) happening due to the direction of the wind. Pollen (×Pollens) is (×are) coming inside through the screen door, I guess. I should keep closing the thick door but if I do that, my dogs might feel isolated and sad. By the way, Mick is watching me very intensely through the screen door now. He wants to play with his ball.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

pollen は不可算名詞!

I'm concerned about Mick's cuts

2010-01-24T12:45:00.007+10:00

Mick has been quiet. Is that because of the heat or is he in pain(×he is in pain?) I am a little worried about him. I thought he had a cut on his thigh but actually there are two.. Gori has been away from home so I haven't been able to do anything for him...Since his cuts look pretty bad, we might need to take him to the vet... One of the cuts is (×are) pretty deep and the flesh (×fresh) is exposed so I think he might need some stitches..Anyway I have to wait until Gori comes back home and see what he thinks about it.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

one of them~のミスは痛い（＾＾；）flesh は『肉』、freshは『新鮮な』やし（＾＾；）気をつけましょう！

Oh- my body is a bit stiff!

2010-01-24T10:57:00.004+10:00

I walked for 5 km on the treadmill yesterday so my body is a bit stiff and sore. My head is fuzzy too. I'm tired, aren't I? Gori is coming back from Brisbane around lunch time. He went there last Friday to learn about gas-fitting from one of his mates, who is a plumber. Oh boy, I am getting hungry.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

My timetable system is working so well!(1/24)

2010-01-24T08:24:00.004+10:00

Morning. I am pretty happy this morning because I studied English for more than 6 hours yesterday! This includes reading a share trading book and articles on technical analysis(×but they are both written in English). My timetable system is working really (×so) well! I'm glad that I've incorporated this into my life. My ordinary life has became more lively and much more rewarding (×one)!

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

Wish me luck! (1/23)

2010-01-23T07:53:00.003+10:00

Morning. It was a bit difficult to sleep last night. I kept sneezing, my nose was running and what's more, our (×my) dogs were barking at the cows at 4 am! Come on, dogs! I hope these symptoms didn't come from walking on the treadmill yesterday. I restarted treadmilling two days ago. I did 3.5 km for 50 minutes yesterday. Recently I've noticed this dreadful reality...that is..my pants are getting tighter! Oh no, I'm in trouble! I have to put more energy into exercising!

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

Mick is injured.

2010-01-22T17:38:00.003+10:00

Mick has been a bit edgy since this morning. I was just sitting next to him, patting his body and suddenly he started to groan. I didn't know why he did that at first but when I had a close look at him, I found that he's got a pretty big cut near his thigh. I wonder how he got it.
I hope he is going to be OK soon.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

I am doing well today.

2010-01-22T16:01:00.003+10:00

I am doing well today. I made a timetable for today and so far I am keeping up with it. Next session is English. I am going to do some research on the next discussion topic.

It was a bit of a disaster (01/22)

2010-01-22T08:58:00.003+10:00

Morning. I joined another Skype English session yesterday. It was a bit of a disaster for me. Due to the hey fever, my head was cloudy so I couldn't think. I just uttered words which popped up in my head so honestly there were many times when I wasn't even sure what I was saying (^^;) I feel better today so I will try my best!

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

I feel much better this morning.(01/20)

2010-01-20T09:51:00.004+10:00

Morning. I did some research on hey fever last night and learned some helpful ways to cope with the nasty symptoms. Thanks to them, I feel much better this morning. My head is much clearer so I feel more active and motivated. There are a lot of things that I want to do or that I have let slide because of the allergy. I wonder how many of them I can do today.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

I will take it easy today. (01/19)

2010-01-19T09:28:00.004+10:00

Morning. It's pretty hot today. I am still feeling weak. My head is hazy, my eyes are itchy and puffy, and my throat is weird. I want to do some walking on the treadmill but I don't think that's good for my allergy. But do you think it's worth trying it? What if I turn the aircon on and walk in the cool room? Does that help? Anyway, I will take it easy today.

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

I had a good time yesterday,,,but today...(01/18)

2010-01-18T12:02:00.005+10:00

Hello. As I said in the previous blog, one of my friends came over to see Gori and me yesterday. We played monopoly and then went up to Gori's mum and dad's place to play pong-pong and darts. After that we came back and had the rolled cake I baked. She and I also had a girls' chit-chat, which I had missed for a long time. I had a very good time but I must admit that I got carried away a bit. Today I feel very tired and my allergy symptoms are worse so I really don't feel like doing anything even though there are lots of things I have to do...

* This entry has been corrected by Gori.

She is such a good company. '1/17)

2010-01-17T07:45:00.008+10:00

Morning! Today one of my few Japanese friends in town is(×are) coming over to hang around with Gori and me. She is a working holiday maker, who has been in Gympie for about 6 months, working at the sushi bar I used to work. She is going to quit the job and leave town very soon. It's going to be very sad not to have her around because she is such (×a) good company.... Anyway I am going to bake a cake for her(^^) I hope she enjoys the visit and also the cake!

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

be動詞のケアレスミスは赤っ恥（＾＾；）ブログをアップする前にしっかりチェックしましょう！she is good company. は she is fun to talk to.の意味でcompany の前には冠詞はつかない！

Take away fish and chips

2010-01-16T13:53:00.007+10:00

Gori and I had take-away fish and chips for lunch. It was yummy but not as delicious as the last one. Our cod was a bit overcooked. By the way, which type of deep-fried fish do you prefer, battered one or crumbed (×one)? I like the former better than the latter! Oh~ I might have eaten a tad too much(^^;)

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

which type of deep-fried fish do you prefer, battered one or crumbed (×one)? よりWhich way do you prefer your fish, battered or crumbed?がベター。

I wish I could read faster!

2010-01-16T12:58:00.007+10:00

I've been reading a very helpful trading book for the last few days. The book is sooo good. (×so) I really want to finish reading it today and put all the methods I've learned into practise. Having said that since it's a pretty thick book (350pages) and I am reading slowly, digesting the contents so it will take a little longer ( ×more days), which is a bit frustrating!

*This entry has been corrected by Gori.

My irritable allergic reactions are calming down.(1/16)

2010-01-16T12:52:00.004+10:00

My irritable allergic reactions are calming down because I took some medicine. But still I try not to go outside. I think I should be OK as long as I keep taking this medicine, which I am unwilling to do.

I bet he will get knackered.

2010-01-15T15:47:00.003+10:00

Gori has been working on fixing his racer bike. Seems like he's going to go for a bike-riding this afternoon. He hasn't done that for a while so I bet he will get knackered. I want to do some walking this afternoon, too but if I am going to do that, I'd better do it on the treadmill, not going for a walk.

I should have known better.

2010-01-15T15:36:00.005+10:00

Oh boy, I've hung the washing outside at the back, where the flowers are blooming, producing tons of pollen! I should have known better. I'd better take it in with my mask on and shake it out to get rid of the pollen.

Pollen allergy.(1/15)

2010-01-15T15:24:00.006+10:00

Gori and I went to town to get some groceries this morning and came back around 11:00. I got extremely tired so I had a nap. After the nap, I was alright but soon I got tired and weak again. I have been suffering from some allergic reactions such as itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing. I've also developed sore throat too. Those symptoms themselves are not so severe but since there has been inflammation going on inside my body, I feel weak and tired. Come to think of it, looking around the house, I can see that a lots of flowers are thriving in the full bloom so no wonder I've got it. Anyway all I can do is just to live with it, can't I?