Stress from Interactions

I often think that I don’t want to make interactions during work as least as possible. That is because most of my stress comes from some problem of relationship with others. In that point, working as a programmer is a good option because their job is to code based on guidelines to launch a service or a product. A YouTuber who shares information about programming in his channel said that he used not to talk with people for a week. He worked as a programmer in Bangkok as a freelance engineer and earned a lot. This is my ideal workstyle that requires me less opportunities to talk with people, enables me to work anywhere and to earn a lot. I hope to get such a job in the near future.

Disney Plus and Netflix

Disney Plus can be the strongest competitor against Netflix. Netflix is trying to expand its customers by cooperating with Nickelodeon and Ghibli. I truly welcome the business partnership agreement because there are many programs I like in those companies. I rarely watch movies but I frequently watch shows for children such as “Sam and Cat” and “Victorious” in Nickelodeon. Watching Ghibli clips in English will be a good way of learning because I can guess the meaning of the lines based on what I remember from the scenes in the Japanese language. I'm  looking forward to how these two giant streaming services will increase their subscribers.

Future K-pop Stars

Because of the soaring popularity of K-pop among Japanese teenagers, many girls move to Korea dreaming of becoming a K-pop star. According to a web article, two teenage girls moved to Korea to be trained at a prep-school and to audition as a “trainee” at an entertainment company. At a prep-school, Acopia, there are 500 Japanese girls every year who join the school. Its tuition fee is 300,000 yen per month. The students
learn dancing, singing, and the Korean language. I cheer up the dreaming girls and wish they can make a debut. They train very hard  but only a few can get a chance at sturdom. Like them, I want to find something that I can commit with all my passion. 

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2019/05/07/entertainment-news/k-pop-stardom-lures-young-japanese-hopefuls-south-korea-despite-diplomatic-chill/#.Xd5RZZMzapo

Democracy in Hong Kong

Pro-democracy candidates took 90% of Hong Kong district seats on the election which was held last Sunday. People say this triumph may be a small step for its democracy but must an important step for their future hope. I was skeptical about their violent acts in Hong Kong because their actions caused many problems in business, tourism, education, and their daily lives. By the way, in the Japanese history, it frequently happened that poor people made protests against their leaders to be free from heavy taxes and to get their freedom to live. Seeing the turnover in Hong Kong and our history, protests can also be a way of changing our lives, although I’m sure that violence is not a good resort.

Still On the Way

I can’t be energetic at work these days because my website making is not going as well as I imagined. The due date is December 3rd. I can finish my website by then, but there are still many things to do in the details. After submitting the assignment, I’ll be more serious at looking for another job for the next year. If possible, I want to work as a freelance engineer, but if I can’t, I’ll work for a company in Tokyo. In any case, I need to complete the course in the online school by the next week. I hope to make a good website that can be an advantage for my job hunting.

Clubs in an Urban and Rural City

I went to a club at midnight on Saturday, two days ago. Last week, I also went to a club in Osaka with my friends. Then, I went to a club in our city to see the differences between the two. The biggest difference was the number of people on the floor. In Osaka, there were countless people who were dancing, but there were only two people when I got into the club in our city. I felt our city is a much more rural area. By the way, I am curious that there are some private rooms in those clubs. I guess if you pay extra, you can use the amenity. I cannot afford to do it, but I want to earn enough money to use the place without worrying about expenses.

Free Wifi at Mall

I went to a shopping mall last night to study programming at a café. At first, I went to Starbucks, but they had no available electric outlets. There was a big food court near the café and I noticed that electric outlets are available and offers free-wifi. There were seats available and I was able to use my internet even if I didn't order any food. I didn't know that there is such a place that exists which I do not have to order food at all but make use of it for free wi-fi with available outlets to use. If you get hungry, you can buy food and drinks from any other restaurant or convenience store and eat it at the food court. I'll definitely return here and use it to study programming. My website creation is almost done. I can accomplish it within the day.

The Shadow of Tourism

In Japan, the number of tourists are increasing every year. One of the most popular cities in Japan is Kyoto. According to a news article, the mayor of the prefecture is trying to curb the number of new hotels because the locals in Kyoto have been experiencing problems like traffic jams due to the rapid expansion of tourism. Recently, I went to Arashiyama in Kyoto last weekend with four American friends to see the beautiful autumn leaves. The scenery was absolutely beautiful but I got stressed because of large crowds of tourists. If I lived in a place that has a lot of tourists every day, I would prefer to move to a quieter place. I hope no serious conflicts will happen among the locals and tourists.

Exercise after Work

I went to the gym after work with my colleague yesterday. We go to the public gym once every two weeks.  Doing exercise in the gym is a good way of refreshing our minds. We still have one more month to go by the end of the second trimester. I think the rest of the days are tiring because there aren’t any public holidays on weekdays. We have the winter break starting from the end of December. I hope to go to the gym with him a few more times within this trimester. I will ask him if his muscles are sore because of the hard training.

Working as a Freelancer

Working as a freelance engineer is my aim to achieve within a few years. As I work for schools and a company, I realized that I don’t want to belong to a certain group but I want to do anything by myself. If I can start working as a freelance, I can change my job on a project basis. That means that I can put myself in different environments with short spans and I can learn new things from those places. I’m not good at cooperating with others and working in a group. I’ll make more effort to become a freelance engineer as soon as possible.

If I Were Rich

I was wondering if I became a billionaire, what would I spend money on? First and foremost, I will study abroad to obtain Ph.D. in Literature. I’m interested in the history of American literature, so I want to use my time for reading books and study about specific authors in the campus outside Japan. Second, I will go and see my friends more frequently. It costs a lot to visit my friends who live far from here. Third, I will eat beef and raw fish more. They are expensive for me now. I want to earn enough money to achieve this life by the age of 35 using the skills of programming.

Club

When I visited Osaka last weekend with my friends, we went to a club at night. It was my first experience to get inside a club. As I imagined, there were many people, not only Japanese but also foreigners, on each floor. In the club we visited, there were four floors and the guests can enjoy different kinds of songs on each floor. At first, I was scared of being in the crowd but I got used to it as time went by. Dancing with up-tempo tunes was simply fun. I learned that challenging doesn’t always go well, but the experience will teach me many important lessons for my future. I want to try to visit a club in my town, too.

Second Day in Osaka

Today was Day 2 for sightseeing with my four American friends. First of all, we went to Taco Bell, a popular tacos restaurant in the states. It was my first experience to go to the restaurant, so I enjoyed ordering food and, off course, eating the tacos. Next, we went to Arashiyama in Kyoto. There were tens of thousands of tourists because it was the season to see beautiful aging leaves. We also went to Monkey Park to see many monkeys which kept without any cages. Finally, we went to Kyoto Station to buy a souvenir. I hope I can meet my friends again.

Club in Osaka

I came to Osaka to meet five American friends and to enjoy sightseeing with them. Three of us including me went to a nightclub after eating dinner. There were four floors in the club and there were a lot of people in each floor. I think most of them were foreigners. The club was located at the heart of Osaka, so many tourist visited the club to make a good memory of staying in Osaka. We danced till 2 a.m. and then went back to the guest house. We'll going to visit Kyoto today. I hope we can make good memories in the historical city.

Trip to Osaka and Kyoto

I’m going to visit Osaka this evening to meet my American friends there. Two out of the four Americans live in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the rest live in Ehime Prefecture. Now I live in Kagawa Prefecture, so we will gather in Osaka from different prefectures. Since I’m the only one Japanese among the group, I’m a little bit nervous. However, I think this is a precious opportunity to know more about Japan and to learn English. On Sunday, we are going to Kyoto to see aging leaves in Arashiyama, a forest that has many beautiful bamboo trees. I hope to make good memories with them this weekend.

Hard Time

I'm not doing well on programming these days. Although I need to submit the final assignment by December 3rd, I have countless things to do. I can ask questions to my mentors online, but they don't provide me any useful advice. They just say "please refer to this page." It's very frustrating for me. Once I get to know how to solve the problem, I think I can move forward in a better pace. All I can do is to read the textbook again and do trial and error again and again. I hope to finish the assignment by the due date.

UNIQLO

Yesterday, I went to UNIQLO, a popular clothes store to buy a sweater for winter. The clothes of the store are well designed and well sewed even in the details. They can be used a whole season of the year. After buying the clothes, I noticed that the shopping bag was not a plastic but a paper bag. The store previously used plastic bags, but I got a paper bag yesterday. Starbucks is also changing their policies of using plastic material because of the rise of the concern for environmental issues. I learned that,  for these leading companies, it is important not only that you sell your products well but also be a good example as well.

Warm Days in November

Although it’s already in the middle of November, it’s warm enough for me to stay outside wearing a short sleeve shirt during day time. It’s going to be cooler day by day, but I feel that the beginning of the winter season is later than the previous year. It’s good that we have fewer cold days, but the heatwave can be much stronger during summer next year. My grandparents said that it was rare that the temperature would be above 30 degrees Celsius when they were young. However, nowadays, we don’t get surprised even when the temperature is above 40 degrees. The temperature could hike up more in the future. I wonder if you can survive under such heat.

Ideal and Reality

I like to study English with elementary school students. I don’t really like to study English with junior high and senior high school students because they study English to pass an entrance exam. Although I like the job, the salary is not enough to enjoy my private life without worrying about money. I didn't mean that I want to earn like celebrities do, but frankly speaking, I want to earn more than I do now. To make my private life more satisfying, I am studying programming, the skill which allows me to earn more. A few years later, I will restart to work as an English instructor at an elementary school as a side job of programming.

Selfie Stick

I bought a selfie stick yesterday at about 40 dollars. I bought it to take a picture of myself for my blog which I’m making now. I’m going to put the picture on the blog to introduce myself. I went to a wedding ceremony hall near my apartment because it has a big white architecture which looks like a western castle. After getting a permission to get inside the premise, I took many pictures with the selfie stick. It was really fun to figure out a good angle using the brightness of the sunlight. I managed to take a good picture after 30 minutes. The selfie stick is a new gadget for my travel.

Music and Science

Scientists tried to reveal the secrets of songs which can move our hearts. A group of scientist in Germany analyzed tens of thousands of chord progressions and they found that the secret lies in the right combination of uncertainty and surprise. Three of the highest-rated chord progressions appear in “Invisible Touch”, “Hooked On A Feeling,” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” If I had more knowledge on chord progressions, I would enjoy listening to the songs. However, I wasn’t really moved when I listened to these songs. The scientists also commented that the findings are not the only factors that make great pop songs. I learned music has something special that cannot be explained by science.

Disneyland

Tokyo Disney Land and Tokyo Disney Sea are two of the most popular spots to visit for families and couples. Tokyo Disney Land started its winter parade this week and Tokyo Disney Sea is also stating its parade soon. People often say that “I feel like being in a different world while being in the park.” One of my seniors proposed at a hotel near the amusement park and he got the response he imagined. Girls, especially, feel something special in Disney World so my senior’s plan was very successful. I also want to go to the theme park, not only in Tokyo, but also in America and in other Asian counties.

Teachers’ Strike in Chicago

In October, teachers in Chicago protested against its City Office demanding more staff at school, smaller class sizes and higher pay. The reason for the strike is that the classes were suspended and the students had to stay at home. I’m not sure how the students felt about the situation but they would feel uncomfortable for the teachers’ attitudes. The strike lasted for 11 days after reaching deals on the teachers’ requirements. The wave of strike by teachers also happened in West Virginia and Oklahoma. I think it’s important to express one’s opinion to improve the situation, but teachers should take action without interfering with students’ life.

Future Plan

There are two more months this year and five more months this school year. The rest of the five months will be very crucial for me as I plan to get another job starting from April 2020. I have been studying programming in an online school since this August. My final assignment is to create a website and the deadline is on December 3rd.  I’ll spend more time on studying programming in order to create my masterpiece. Thereafter, I’ll do job hunting seriously. This website will test my creativity, knowledge and skills.  I must give it my best shot because it will be the basis of evaluation from the companies I will apply to. I am very hopeful I'll get a new job next year.

A Language for Homosexuals

There is an assistant language teacher from the Philippines in our school. She comes to our school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Yesterday, I talked with her after classes. What amazed me the most was that there is a language for homosexuals in the Philippines. I knew that Filipinos are open to homosexuality but I didn’t know that there is a language exclusively for them. In Japan, there are homosexuals, but our culture is not yet accepting of them, nor do they have the freedom to have their language. When I heard about it while talking with her, I came to think that I wanted to visit the Philippines in the near future.

Mentor

I was spending my time on programming more than 6 hours yesterday. It was really tiring to continue the never-ending coding process. Twice a week, I can talk with my mentor online. He is a professional freelance programmer and is earning a lot of money. I truly want to be like him who has his own job and earns a lot. This evening, I’m going to talk with him. I’m facing the most difficult part of making my website these days and I don’t fully understand how to do it. I hope I will get good advice from him during today’s counseling.

Tennis Tournament

I joined a tennis tournament yesterday. I failed at the second round but the loss made me think that I want to become much stronger. After the tournament, I went to the heart of this city to go to an art festival. Many small lanterns were out along a road which leads to the port. There were stalls on the road as well. Walking on the street and the tiny beautiful lights relieved my stress. I’ll spend more time on programming in order to finish making my original website. If possible, I want to make it done by this evening.

Playing Tennis with New Members

When I look back to my old days in the college, I realized that tennis brings out in me many precious experiences in my life. I meet a lot of new people through playing tennis and I learn many things from them. Yesterday, I played tennis with some bankers. My tennis mate invited me to the tennis team whose members are bankers. I’m not an employee of the company but the members kindly accepted me and I enjoyed playing tennis with them. Today’s experience made me realize that I should practice tennis more frequently to become better, improve my stamina and to develop new friendships. I hope to win in the today’s tennis singles competition.

Beautiful Websites

November 3rd is Culture Day in Japan so our school has three days-off in a row. Tomorrow, I am going to join a tennis singles tournament. Aside from attending the event, I’ll spend most of my time to study programming. I’m making an original website as the final assignment in my online school. I want to finish making it as soon as possible, and to launch it on the internet. Also, I hope I can monetize the website by putting ads. While making my website, I often look at other good websites and I think about why these websites look very beautiful. Although it’ll take time to finish my project, I will work hard to make a well-designed and cool website.

Making My Website

I’m making my second original website now as the final assignment to be submitted to the online school. After making the website, I’ll launch it actually and, if possible, I’ll monetize it by putting ads on my website. Also, the website can be included in my portfolio for the future job hunting and it’ll be an advantage if I make a good appealing website. However, there are many things to make the website from choosing the pictures for the website to coding. Although it is hard for me to make it, I believe that I can get a good job if I make an eye-catching website. I’ll spend more time on making the website this month.