I didn’t get up too early this morning, but after dropping Hamer off at school, I came back home to continue reading and practicing English. Starting the morning quietly with a few pages of a book and some English audio tracks seems to fill me with energy for the day. After breakfast, I headed to work, and I could feel the extra boost from that bit of self-improvement earlier.
Today’s English practice followed the methods described in One Thousand Hours. I listened and read along, identifying several areas where I could improve. Compared to the more passive style of simply following along with Speak, this active, self-directed learning allows me to pinpoint my weaknesses, which feels much more rewarding.
At work, I had a few meetings during the day, and I spent the rest of my time discussing the implementation of new features, along with ways to display and save data. The biggest challenge was figuring out how to make the saved data play back in chronological order. Since many details are still undecided, the progress is slightly slower than I had hoped.
In the evening, I played badminton with colleagues. I just played for less than an hour, but worked up a sweat. On my way home, I got a call from Hamer, asking me to come back quickly. It was great timing to be heading home early today, not only because I promised her last night we’d play badminton together, but also because her teacher assigned quite a bit of homework. This way, we could play and still leave enough time for her to complete her assignments.
Hamer also received her winter school uniform today—a set of fleece-lined sportswear and a down vest. Now she has three uniforms, including her previous two sets.
Recently, I’ve also made some changes to my lunch habits, opting for a combination of meat and vegetables from the convenience store, cutting back on carbs. It’s a lighter meal, but I feel more physically and mentally refreshed.
Since I was up late finishing a few things last night and wanted to get to bed earlier today, I saved this journal entry for the following morning. Writing it in the morning actually gives me more time to reflect and keeps me from feeling guilty about staying up late.
