M for "Music and Mood"

I sort of knew that music affects one's mood. If you are down, you might want to listen to a cheerful music to infuse upbeat feeling to yourself, or gentle tunes when you are nostalgic. So I expected the live concert I went the other day to cheer me up, and it worked like magic!

The band called "miggy+" is a jazz orchestra. I can't explain it well, so please refer to this website if you are interested. (http://www.myspace.com/miggyaug) That was the second time for me to visit their performance, and it was awesome! The music was full of energy, and the leader of the band is such an attractive lady. Just like the first time, I was totally fascinated. I went there with my old-time friend, and happened to sit with a friends couple. I didn't meet a lot of acquaintances at that concert, but after the show, I was filled with a kind of satisfaction and a warm feeling that I had been surrounded by a lot of friends. I don't know why. But for sure, the music gave me a positive vibe.

At my friends' wedding, which was more like a live concert than a wedding ceremony, I felt like the same. I started to understand my mental system: When I'm with good friends and listening to good live music, I will feel more encouraged, secured, and free from negative constraints. Does that mean the more I do this, the better my life becomes?? Well, I suspect that this theory has something to do with my high school friends because I remember I didn't feel the same when I was with other people who I met after the graduation. Anyway, it's good to find another way to get out of a gloomy circle of my tangled thoughts.

In less than four days, I'm going to leave for Canada. I'm so pumped, but at the same time, I'm a bit concerned about what would happen after it. Well, my tutoring sessions will start, I will have more work hours from April, and I will start picking up some exercises on weekly basis (...suspicious...). AND I'll try not to give up my "dream." During this stay, I'll meet a lot of people. They will give me lots of inspiration, both positive and negative, that will get me thinking more about my way to follow.

L for "Love You!!!"

This is a very short entry.

I sent my friend an email message to arrange our gathering during my visit to Vancouver. She replied to me in a short text saying "Love you!!!" twice! :) It was really funny because I could see her marvelous smile and outstretched arms behind the writing. It warmed up my heart...

K for "Kids"

In the third routine, I'm having trouble finding topics that start from each alphabet....I don't know if it was a good idea to follow ABC order to choose what to write. These days, I feel it gets in my way to update my journal. However, it definitely helps me not to mention something too personal.

OK, I'll talk about my students in the English school. I'm in charge of three classes; 3-4-year-olds, 5-6-year-olds, and 4-6-year-old returnees. For the first time in my life, I started to teach children 5 months ago. I had no idea how to treat them or how to get their attention. Teaching very young learners is really tiring sometimes, but I found it very rewarding and interesting. Their English skills develop slowly, mainly because most of them don't really understand they are supposed to learn and speak English in the class, but their growth as humans is remarkable.

They started to communicate with each other, though in Japanese, and they learned to negotiate. They can stop crying in the class much faster than before. I have a new student who came to the class about a month ago. She is 3 years old and didn't like to join the class. Now, she still becomes bad tempered sometimes, but she sits at the table, sings a song with a loud voice, and obey my directions. In just a month, she has changed a lot. It's really interesting how people grow.

I'm going to tutor two more kids soon. This is my side job since my main job is not full-time yet. I went to each student's house to present a trial lesson, and fortunately, they both liked my lessons a lot. That encouraged me a lot. I felt like my teaching is recognized.

It's only two and a half weeks left till I leave for Canada. I'm SO excited!!