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.

Today was a fulfilling day. Not only did I complete my work tasks, but I also made some new attempts as planned and gained a lot of valuable knowledge.

In the morning, I woke up Hamer, saying, “We’re a bit late today; we need to hurry up, okay?” She got up, went through her morning routine—washing up, using the restroom, getting dressed—all in one smooth, efficient flow. She looked so grown-up, and I could really see her gradually maturing.

Xiaoyan had to head to the airport this morning for a three-day business trip. After wrapping up my tasks as planned, I focused on developing the GNSS functionality. My primary goal for the morning was to figure out how to create a new user experience. As I worked, some design ideas started to take shape in my mind. Just as I was about to delve deeper, PE mentioned that there might be some upcoming changes, so I decided to slow down a bit. I spent the afternoon experimenting with and refining the data structure to ensure it would meet the requirements.

At noon, I had originally planned to study some English shadowing techniques, so I picked up Li Xiaolai’s book, Everyone Can Use English. Before I knew it, I was absorbed in another of his works, One Thousand Hours, where a chapter on “self-training” made a strong impression on me. The author suggests that such self-directed learning experiences not only reshape personal learning habits but can even influence the destiny of an individual or an entire family. This really resonated with me, and I started reflecting on Hamer’s education and my own lack of thought in this area.

In the evening, when I got home, Hamer was playing at the plaza. I suggested, “How about we play some badminton?” Her eyes lit up, and she eagerly jumped at the idea. I was thrilled by her progress; we had some great rallies, and her serves have improved a lot. After badminton, we also did the Seven-Minute Workout. It was a bit tiring, but we both felt great afterward.

Before bedtime, I watched SpaceX’s fifth Starship test launch with Hamer. This time, they managed to successfully recover it. The moment the rocket rapidly descended and was gently caught by the “chopsticks” was breathtaking. Then, as Hamer lay in bed, I shared some of what I had read today about “self-training.” She quietly fell asleep while I was talking.

This morning, I got up early to get ready to go to Chaoyang Church. After getting up, Hamer suddenly changed her mind and decided she wanted to come along with me, so we set out a little later than planned. It was an overcast morning, and as I rode the electric scooter, the chilly wind hit me, seeping through my clothes—it was a bit cold. We even took a slight detour on the way. When we arrived at Chaoyang Church, the staff informed us that young children weren’t allowed inside, which was a bit disappointing. We wandered around the courtyard, took a look at a small exhibition inside, and then left.

Why aren’t children allowed inside? I suspect it might be to allow them to make their own decisions about religious beliefs when they grow up, or perhaps it’s because church services are solemn and quiet occasions, and lively children might disrupt the proceedings. Next time, I could just ask to find out the specific reason, rather than guessing.

Afterward, we headed to Sun Park to play. We parked the scooter at the north gate and walked south toward the amusement park area, where Hamer most wanted to go. I let her navigate us to the destination using the map on my phone. She seemed quite interested in the task and looked like she was getting the hang of directions. Along the way, we saw many interesting things, and she would often stop to fully enjoy them—feeding small animals, running around on the grass taking photos, and climbing on the equipment for exercise. Today, we went on the children’s roller coaster, parachute tower, flying chairs, magical journey, and the dream world ride. When we got to the last attraction, “Rapid Transformation,” Hamer decided to give it a try and loved it right away. One ride wasn’t enough; she immediately went for a second round. After a day of fun, we made our way back, heading to Solana to meet Xiaoyan for lunch.

There was a minor incident before dinner. I told Hamer to wash her hands, but she was too tired and didn’t want to. I got upset, wondering why she would come all the way to the entrance but refuse to go in and wash her hands. She retorted, saying she didn’t like the restaurant and didn’t want to eat there at all. In the end, she didn’t wash her hands, and I was quite frustrated. When we arrived at the restaurant, Xiaoyan comforted her and took her to a nearby restroom to wash up. Meanwhile, I stayed quiet and focused on eating, feeling in a bad mood. I worried that staying longer would dampen everyone’s spirits, so after finishing my meal, I decided to head home alone. I took a slow walk along the Liangma River, and halfway back, I got caught in a heavy rainstorm and took shelter under a bridge for a while. The walk wasn’t tiring, but I felt exhausted and low on energy. After getting home, it wasn’t long before they arrived too. I ended up taking a long nap until the evening, then tidied up some clothes, took Hamer out for a walk, and bought some yogurt and fruit. We had a light meal together.

Hopefully, I can get to bed early tonight and wake up early tomorrow.

今天公司秋季运动会，射箭、平板支撑、套圈、实心球和脚踢沙包，趣味性比较足，玩了一整天。我们组得了两个团体冠军，比较意外，颁奖时我们就一直站在台上。 射箭是这次运动会的重点，大家也都是第一次射箭，慢慢摸索和适应，到半决赛的几个确实都很强。

回来后，直接去天虹找哈妹，她看到我有点惊喜，再玩一下后回家去了。补充了点零食、看了会儿iPad后我们又出去跳绳、打羽毛球。哈妹跳绳时，我先做完了7 Minutes Workouts。今天哈妹打羽毛球感觉比之前进步很多，能接到比较多的在她面前的高球，她自己也有比较强的满足感，一直跟我打着，只是中间喝水休息了几次。 小眼下班后来找我们，一起玩了会儿。回家后，由于休息和吃饭的问题，她有点生气，最后自己点了饺子外卖。