Staying at Home

I had a sick yesterday so, I stayed at home and watched programs on Netflix. The programs I watched were made by CNN. A female reporter traveled around the world and asked people about their married lives in each country. The first episode featured Tokyo. To be honest, I don’t like this country’s “feeling atmosphere” culture. Another episode featured Berlin. People in the country talked about their married lives openly and shared their opinions directly. It is one of the reasons that I want to live in a foreign country where you can express your opinions freely. The programs made my feeling even stronger that I want to make more friends from foreign countries.

End of Curriculum

I’ve been studying programming in an online school for two months. Last night, I submitted the last assignment to my mentor. The assignment was making my original website from scratch. These two months were very frustrating for me because everything in the curriculum was new to me and it took a while to understand the contents. There are more skills to learn to become a useful engineer, but I felt fulfilled when I finished making my original website. I’m planning to change my job in April 2020. By then, I will take more time to study programming and hope to get a good job.

Making a Website

I’ve been making my original website as an assignment in an online school. In the process of making the website, I realized that there are many things to learn for creating a catchy website. If you make a website for business, there should be an application form and online payment form. Making a website which has those features is not easy for me at the moment. But understanding the skills helps me to grow as an engineer and to increase my income. Unlike teaching, as you have more knowledge, you will have more opportunities to get a better salary. I will keep studying programming to reach my goals and live an ideal life that allows me to work anywhere and to earn enough money to enjoy my life.

Final Assignment

I am currently making my original website from scratch as it is the last assignment in the curriculum required by the online school I've enrolled to. Yesterday, I have coded my website in HTML and CSS.
At first, I didn’t think that programming was not that fun. But now I'm enjoying making my own website, I want to improve my programming skills in order to make more attractive websites. My career goal this coming 2020 is to become an engineer. My original website which I'm still working on at the moment is going to be part of my portfolio for job hunting. The final assignment is due by the end of this month. Hence, I will have it done by Sunday. I'm hoping to get good grades on this assignment so that I could get a good job by next year.

Chinese Foreign Students

The number of Chinese students who study at universities in America is decreasing because of political tensions according to a newspaper article. Chinese students in America “will not feel welcome and will be met with animosity and skepticism about why they are in the United States.” The tuition from foreign students are one of the major source of income the universities generates from because they are charged higher than the American students. Universities invite foreign students through internet providing them the information about the university and what it can offer to local and foreign students. With the number foreign students enrolled, it can generate a higher revenue yearly. I also wish that I could study abroad and to experience what the university life is like in America. I hope no serious conflicts will occur between our countries so we could harmoniously blend in with all the students at the universities.

Alert from My Senior

 “The things you need to be careful about in your life are gambling, alcohol, and women.” My senior said that to me long time ago. I personally neither drink alcohol nor do gambling. Therefore, I keep telling myself that I need to pay attention to relationships with women. Now I am single and I don’t have a girlfriend. In 2020, I’m planning to move to Tokyo to work as an engineer. After getting a job in the capital city, I will seriously look for my future partner among any nationalities. I’ll pay full attention about not being fooled by bad women. If possible, I want to have a girlfriend of another nationality and want to live in her country working as an engineer.

Making My Design Using Photoshop

It was a holiday in Japan yesterday with bright sunny weather, but I stayed almost all day to do my assignment in an online school. The task I did yesterday was to make a web design using Photoshop for my original website. The last assignment in the curriculum was to make my original website from making the concept of coding. The steps for the assignment are the following: firstly I have to make a concept for the website. Secondly, I need finalize the pages for my website. Thirdly, I need to create the design using Photoshop. Lastly, I need to encode for me to complete the website. The concept of my website was a house cleaning service for college boys. It took more than seven hours to make the design in Photoshop. Thankfully, I passed the review for my design by my mentor, and now I can start coding this evening. I want to finish the website within this month.

Making A Website

I'm studying programming in an online school. In the curriculum, there are several assignments which I need to submit. I've passed them except the final one. The final assignment is to make my original website from the scratch. I'm making a website of house cleaning service specializing for male university students who live alone in Takamatsu City. When I finish making the website, I may launch the website and service. I want to make a catchy website for university boys. The website can be used as a portfolio when I seek a job next year. In order to get an ideal job, I'll make sure I will create a good website.

Polio in the Philippines

A polio outbreak was confirmed in the Philippines on Thursday, nearly two decades after the World Health Organization declared that the country was free from the virus. Small children are easy to be infected by the virus through contaminated water. The virus affects our immune system and there aren’t any treatments to recover from the infection. Prevention medicines are the best ways to protect ourselves from the virus. This incident reminds me the importance of sanitation. I’ll keep in mind that keeping our environment clean is crucial to be alive and healthy. I hope that the government could work out a mass vaccination campaign to protect children.

Working at School

There are more than fifty teachers in our elementary school and most of them are older than me. I don’t think I am getting along with them well. I cannot have good relationships with people who like to control children. I sometimes feel sorry for the kids when I see they are forced to adjust to school life. It’s important to learn manners, but it’s not good to force their thoughts and opinions on children. Most of the teachers don’t have experience of working outside of schools. But life out of the school is very different from what they think it is. The students are raised being told to maintain harmony with everyone. In the future, if I get married and have a kid, I want him or her to study at an international school or at a school in a foreign country where children can express their ideas freely and can learn many things from teachers.

Arrests in the Philippines

More than 320 Chinese were arrested on Monday in Palawan Province because of illegal online gambling and other crimes. The local officials in Palawan Province made a complaint over these illegal workers. They conducted a raid together with the support of the Chinese government. These criminals entered Philippines as tourists at first, yet extended without any more permission. This type of case might probably increase in Japan as well because the number of foreigners increases too. A lot of these foreigners were doing illegal things and some were already overstayed too. I truly hope that there would be no more illegal actions happening in Japan especially by foreigners. With this, it will give us a society where there is peace and comfort. We should take time to share our ideas for various things.

Best Town

There is a town called Utazu, which is located next to our city. As far as I know, the town is the best place to live. That is because there is a train station at the heart of the town and because there is a shopping mall, a movie theater, a gym, and a seaside park within a few minutes by car. The sunset from the park is very beautiful so I often go and see it on weekends. I am planning to work in Tokyo in 2020 and, a couple of years later after that, I want to live in Utazu working as a freelance engineer. I will study more in order to achieve my dream life in Utazu.

Freelance

My current goal is to become an engineer in April 2020. 
I got inspired by a Japanese YouTuber, Ryuken, and that's why I decided to study programming. He used to be a freelance engineer. In his channel, his experiences as a freelance engineer were introduced in many aspects such as salary and workload. He earned a lot of money by working three days a week. He also mentioned that you can work at home if you become a freelancer. When I watched his video for the first time, I thought that was my ideal work preference. I hope to become a freelance engineer too just like Ryuken. I plan to work as an engineer in a company first to get an experience and pursue the freelancing life just like what Ryuken did.

Assignment

I was doing an assignment for programming in an online school. On Saturday and Monday, I spent a long time on the assignment, but there are many things to do to make it perfect. The assignment is to make a shopping site based on the drafts of design. I need to write codes and to make the website just like the design. It is very frustrating when I cannot make the website as I imagine. My goal is to be an engineer in 2020, so I will just work on the assignment. I hope to have more time to hang out with my friends.

Hunger Strike

A number of foreign inmates are on hunger strike in some immigration facilities. They are detained in the facilities due to being in this country illegally and other reasons. 
An inmate from Iran in his 60’s said that doing a hunger strike was his last resort. His weight decreased from 83 kilograms to 75 kilograms in these two months. 
Immigration authorities cannot avoid saving their lives, so a two-week-release was given to the inmates. They were released but they resumed their strike again in the facilities when they returned to the facilities. Keeping illegal immigrants in the facilities is prolonged because they refuse to be deported or their home countries refuse to accept them. I think this problem would be more serious as the Japanese government loosened regulations for foreign workers to stay in Japan.

Strike in Paris

I read an article about metro train workers' strike on ten out of the 16 metro lines in Paris. The strike happened due to the plans to reduce their retirement privileges under the president’s pension reforms. Commuters waited for trains during the morning rush hours, but they had to find other means of transportation to get to work. 
I think these people came to think that this kind of protest will bear fruit similar to the massive protests in Hong Kong. However, those ruthless protests can cause problems on the other hand. We should think of the importance of law which determines procedures for revising policies implemented by the administration.

Best Season

I like this season, the beginning of autumn, the best time in a year, because the temperature is moderate and it is very comfortable to be in the nature. There is a park which faces the inland sea near my apartment. In the evening, you can see beautiful sunset downing in the sea. As far as I know, the town where the park is located is the best place to live. This is because you can enjoy beautiful scenery and there is a train station nearby which leads to anywhere in this country. Although I need to spend time for programming besides work, I will go outside and enjoy the nature for a change.

Jack Ma

Jack Ma is the founder of Alibaba, a giant Chinese online shopping site. He founded the company in 1999 with the aim of connecting Chinese exporters to American retailers. Before starting the business, he was an English teacher at a university in China. 
Last year, Ma announced that he would step down as the president of his company. On his 55th birthday, last September 10, 2019, he gave up his post. Even though he stood down as the company's president, he will still have an influence on the majority of the company's board of directors and their decisions. His plan after resigning is to go back to the field of education with his tons of money. His way of life encourages me to take a risk and to study more for contributing to our society. I will look after his actions as an educator to learn from him based on his life-long experiences as one of the most successful entrepreneurs.

Losing Weight

I’ve been trying to lose weight since a couple of months ago. My goal is to get six-pack within a few months. I need to care about my diet to lose weight. For example, I don’t eat carbohydrates with fat, because the combination contributes to increase body fat. Standard Japanese foods such as sushi and ramen are rich in carbohydrates and fat, so I need to refrain myself from eating such meals. I’ve lost my body weight by four kilograms so far, but it seems that it's taking more time to get six-pack. I am planning to change my job in 2020, so I want to start the year with a new job and a fit body.

Differences between Japan and the Philippines

There is an assistant English teacher from the Philippines in our school. She comes to our school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On other days, she also teaches English in some other schools. I am nearly as old as her, so we can talk in a relaxed way. Yesterday, we talked about the differences between our countries. In Japan, it is of course not allowed to download movies, but it is allowed in the Philippines. Also, although it is illegal to sell babies in the Philippines, it often happens for the parents to earn money. I have never been to the Philippines, so I want to see the real life in the country.

Smuggling a Baby

A forty-three-year-old American woman was arrested in Manila because she tried to smuggle a baby to the US. She didn’t have a written record from the six-year-old infant’s actual mother and she failed to declare the child to immigration authorities. I was surprised she tried to be on board by concealing the baby in a baby sliding across her chest. It must take long hours to move between the two countries. Otherwise, she managed to hide the baby taking a risk of being noticed by the passengers. Her intention for the action was not revealed, but it is not good to treat an infant like a small luggage. I want to know the motive behind her action.

Programming

I am studying programming in an online school. I need to submit assignments every time I complete some lessons. The process of doing the assignments is so frustrating that I frequently feel like quitting studying programming. But to get a job as an engineer in 2020, all I have to do is to keep typing and to submit the assignments. At the end of the course, I need to make my original website. The website can be used for job hunting to prove my skill. I need to get the assignments and original site done within this month. I will take time as long as possible for programming.

Peaceful Island

Yesterday, I met my friend whose occupation is president of a ship construction company. He and I were students at the same high school. He lives in an island in Ehime Prefecture. It took ninety minutes by ferry to get to the main port of the island. He is going to get married within a couple of years, so he has bought a house near his office. He said that he has fifteen million yen debts now for the house. He showed me the inside of the house which had many spacious rooms and even a sauna. I hope to visit the island again someday and to see her wife.

Reunion

I met my friend last night in Ehime Prefecture. He and I were students at the same university and we studied English together, although I am six years older than him. He now works as a high school English teacher, so I listened to his work experiences while having dinner. He usually goes to school at seven a.m. and leaves for home at eleven p.m. However, I think his salary is not commensurate to his long working hours. I plan to concentrate on my programming lessons so that I can work as a programming engineer after I finish the course.

Care Workers from Overseas

The number of foreign nurses and caregivers are increasing in Japan after the revision of the law in 2017. On the other hand, the number of Japanese people who take nursing are decreasing. The job pays well but I heard that they have much stress than other profession which caused by the patients and their colleagues. At the moment, I haven't seen any nurses from other countries yet. But as time goes by, it will be a common situation to be cared by them. I appreciate foreigners like them who work hard in any circumstances. And in spite of the language and cultural differences. Becoming a foreign worker in another country would be a great experience. I also wanted to be like them someday who is a big help to locals of the country they are working for.

Freelancer

Now I work for an elementary school as a full-time assistant teacher from Monday to Friday. I am studying programming to become a freelance engineer in two years, according to my plan. If you become a freelancer, you can work at your own pace and earn more money if you have skills. I don’t like to be bounded to work for a certain place. Jobs of freelancers vary frequently after completing the missions. I like the style of working. I think as long as I work full-time during all weekdays, I cannot fully enjoy my life because of limited free time and salary. I will keep on studying programming to become a freelancer.

Future Plan

My future plan is as follows; 
2020 ~ 2022: I will work as an engineer in Tokyo and have a girlfriend.
2022: I will be a freelance engineer and enroll in an online Ph.D. course.
2025: I will be a lecturer at a university in Japan.
To make my future plan come true, what I need to do now is to study programming without being swayed by temptations and distractions. Most of my friends have already got married and have children. I feel anxious with my life of being single, but I just tell myself that everyone has different ideas for their lives. From now to the end of the school year is a Reuther springboard time for my next career.

Birthday Bouquet

I came back to my hometown last night to take an exam this afternoon. If I pass the oral exam and essay part, I will be hired as a junior high school teacher in Ehime beginning from the school year 2020. Last night, on my way back home, I dropped at a house to meet my friends from America. Yesterday was the birthday of one of them, so I gave her a bouquet and talked in English while eating dinner. I strongly felt that I want to be as fluent as they speak to make conversations more naturally. I will make my life-long dream of living abroad come true soon.

Tax Hike

The consumption tax in Japan will be hiked on Oct. 1st, from eight percent to ten percent. But there are several confusing changes as well. If you buy a take out at McDonalds, the consumption tax will be eight percent. But, If you dine in your order, consumption tax will be ten percent. This means the price for the same hamburger will vary depending on where you eat. Another change is that you can get reward points with cashless payments, but the offer will depend on the size of the shops. For now, a customer gets more points from small stores compared to bigger stores. I think it will take time for us to get used to the new rule.

Studying at Starbucks

I was in Starbucks for more than five hours yesterday. I ordered the same menu three times. Free-wifi is available and the cozy atmosphere is very comfortable, so I can concentrate on studying programming. I am studying programming at an online school to get an engineering job. My current profession is an assistant teacher at elementary school, but I will switch career to engineering. This is because programmers are in demand and you can earn more as you acquire new skills. I don’t have any background in programming, but I will keep studying until I get a job. My goal is to become a freelance engineer and to work at home. To achieve my goal, I will spend time on programming as long as possible.