Q for "Queer Dreams"

I have no idea why I often see very strange dreams. If I wrote a dream diary, it would be quite interesting, although most of the episodes make no sense. It started recently. This morning, I was moving into a new apartment with my family in my dream. I seemed to like the new room, but the dream itself didn't have cheerful atmosphere. The stories I see in my sleep are neither nightmares nor uplifting ones. I even got a dreamcatcher so that I can be free from those unexplainable dreams. Probably, it's working during the night, and I dream in the morning, just before I wake up. That's why those queer factors are not stopped by the catcher and come to my mind!!

P for "Photos"

I realized that I hardly put photos on this journal. There are some pictures that I took during my winter trip, so enjoy the scenery of Vancouver :)

O for "One Click"

Did you notice that I've changed the picture behind the title? This is a piece of Tarte Tatin that my mom made. I don't know how many times she's made this cake, but I remember her first try. She's improved to the perfection! Look at these beautiful amber coloured apples... It tasted good, too. A bit too sweet to be honest, but I suppose that's what it should be.

I've heard some people say Amazon is dangerous because you buy items just by clicking the icon without knowing how much money you are spending. So I'm trying to be careful when I shop online. But today, I finally decided to push the "Go to the Cashier" button after a good amount of consideration. The decision-making factor was a music of Concertino by Cecile Chaminade. This is a piece for flute that I really like. I know it's too difficult for me, but it's nice to have a visible goal, right? You can check out what it sounds like from the following link.
James Galway (The golden flute!!) Concertino for Flute and Piano by Cecile Chaminade
And I bought 8GB memory card and The Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. (New book for less than 300 yen!) See? My choices are pretty...um...good use of money. Now I look forward them to arrive :)

I tutored a 6-year-old boy for the first time. I expected him to know all the alphabets since he had already learned English for several months in English classes. However, all he knew was A-E. OK, I'll launch an Alphabet Bootcamp for him for the rest of this month...

N for "New Year"

As I mentioned before, I'm having trouble finding the topics that follow alphabetical order and inspire me to write journals. This time, it was a great timing to come to "N" today. Yes, it's a new year now! I spent great Christmas and New Year in Vancouver, the land of my dream, with my wonderful friends. I decorated a real (not artificial that is) Christmas tree, watched Harry Potter movie in the theatre, went snowshoeing, dined at a nice bar/restaurant, chatted with friends, got a dream catcher and an old ring, and made gyoza for Christmas Eve :) I was tired all the time because of jet lag and doing so much in a short time, but I think I managed to do most of the things I had wanted to do. On my way home, it was much easier than usual to fall asleep on that uncomfortable seat on the plane(and I was between two people).

In the new year, first, I have to cope with Eiken exam that I applied long ago.... Much more preparation is needed very soon.....!! That's why I'm writing again. These days, I really feel that my writing skills has become worse so rapidly. When I took IELTS, the writing score was the worst. So I need more work on it. For reading, I might be able to train myself by reading novels in English. I'm reading The Devil Wears Prada before I go to sleep. I hope it helps a bit.....

I don't usually make new year's resolutions because I know I will forget them soon. These are not resolutions, but let me tell you somethings that I want to do in this year.
-take up exercising regularly
-buy a new computer, hopefully Mac Book
-keep applying jobs in Canada
-trip to Vancouver in summer

The last one just came up yesterday. My visit to Vancouver was enjoyable, but not as emotional as I had expected. It actually made me think twice about going back to Canada. But after a lot of thinking and recalling the memories, I now feel like travelling to that city again, hopefully soon. Sad thing is however often I go back there, it won't help me to settle down in that country. A visit is a visit. If I wish to immigrate, I have to go through all process according to the law. No shortcuts. All I should do is to keep looking and applying for the positions in Canada.

I'm still tired from the trip. I have never known that my bed could look this comfortable...I want to dive in right away...zzz

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!!