New Year's Eve

I'm going to a New Year's Eve party at a friend's house now.
Yeey!
I'm sure that I'll come back around midnight, so that I'm writing today's post now.
I hope you have a good New Year's Eve and great New Year's Day too!

First of All

There are lots of things to do, but the most important and the first thing I have to do is to calm my mind.
Anything good can not be done without calming my mind...
Oh, the fridge noise stopped just now. Good timing.

Strong Wind

It's been windy at night in these days.
I don't know why but the strong wind at night somehow makes me nervous.
Maybe it's from the animal-like instinct.

The Phone Charge

What did I want to write today?
I had some idea but suddenly my head becomes blank.

...

Oh, I remembered!
I wanted to write about telephone.
Today, I got phone call from my aunt in California.
She sometimes calls me since she is the closest relative in North America, and since she don't have to care about the call charge. She said that because her husband works at a phone (or a cable) company, they have some advantages for the plan. It said that the calling charge within U.S. and Canada is free.

In general, the phone charge in these days is getting really cheap, so in the near future, it might become totally free on the house phone.

At Every Meal

In these days, I say not only "Itadakimasu (I gratefully accept it)" but also return thanks at every meal.
I feel better when I do it, and also I feel the meal is somehow tastier than before.

Five Days Left

Christmas is over, and now we have only five days left for this year.
When it comes to the end, even though I thought that some days were very long, I really feel that time passes like an arrow.

Did time change its speed?
Maybe yes, ... inside of me.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas!
I wish you have great holidays.

New Year's cards

Today, I set many New Year's E-cards for the New Year's Day.

I made so many mistakes, so it took about one hour and half, and I still have some more people to send to. However, it's still much much faster and easier than writing by hand (and in anyway, I can't get Japanese New Year's cards in here.).

Rewards

The people who like nurturing plants seem to be very happy people, and it's the same as the people who like taking care of animals or children.

When we love something without seeking any reward, we already have enough rewards in our minds.

Thunder

Just about an hour ago, when I was curling up on my small couch with a book, I saw lighting flash over the page. Then, within some seconds, I heard the rolling thunder.

This is the first time in about a year (I guess), we have had thunder.
How amazing the sound was!
We, humans, would never be able to produce such a huge, ferocious, and gorgeous sound.

Nature is certainly great.

Art Pack

Today, when I went to the book store in the university, I found some interesting playing cards.

It says "art pack" on the package with the drawing of famous Mona Lisa. All 54 cards has different paintings on their faces, such as Da Vinci's Mona Lisa (as I mentioned already), Botticelli's Birth of Venus, David(?)'s Napoleon Crossing the Alps, Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, etc. The back of the cards is Monet's Waterlily Pond.

It's so exciting to have this pack.

The Evidence

We all have some worries, but it could be said that these worries are the evidence of living.

English 099

I failed that English 099 course.
Oh, well. My gut was telling this result when I got the thick paper dictionary instead of my electronic one.
Anyway, I'll try to meet my English teacher.

Sayaka Shoji

There are so many great people in this world.

Today, I learned about a Japanese violinist called "Sayaka Shoji."
It said she is younger than me, but already a professional violinist who won the Paganini International Violin Competition (? ...I'm not sure for the English name of this contest), and she seems to have a very strong and deep mind.
I may search for her CD and listen to her music.

In Every Person

Every person has its own music in him/her.
Some one plays rock and another plays classic.
But these are all music.

Handel's Messiah

Today, my friend and I went to a concert, Handel's Messiah.

I had gotten a 2 for 1 ticket, which allows me to choose any concert during a specific period, from my violin teacher, so last Saturday when we were talking by phone, we chose today's Messiah.

This is the first time I saw The Messiah, and I was very moved by the soprano and bass. Their voice were really really nice. This was the first time I ever heard such a good soprano in person.

My friend was also delighted by this concert. She said like this Messiah was much better than the one she had seen last year at a church.
I was graddened by her words.

Ecards

Today, I wrote many greeting Ecards for Christmas.
Ecards are very convenient and interesting.
It has animation and music, and we can even set the exact day for delivering.
Oh, I give thanks to the people who conceived those cards.

The Bible

Today, I bought the Bible which has both old and new testament together.

I've been wanted to read the Bible in detail, because it's the longest seller in this world. I read the child version when I was about Grade three or something, but I've never read the thick one.
The Bible I bought today is written in today's English, so it's very easy to read compared to other Bible that written in old (?) English.

I'm sure that by reading it, I can understand the Western culture more deeply.

Christmas Illumination

In these days, the sun goes down around 4:30 pm, and at 5 o'clock, it's already dark.
But because of the Christmas lights, my heart doesn't become dark,
so I give thanks to Jesus.

Visual Image

Today, I found the Manga that I used to enjoy reading it several years ago in Japan.

I found the title at the international section of the central library downtown, but it was not in Japanese but in Chinese. (I heard that Japanese comic books are very popular in China.)
I couldn't read Chinese, but I enjoyed reading it since I remembered many of the lines with those drawings.

I'm sure that it's very effective to remember something with its visual image.

The Abacus

The day before yesterday, I also bought a small book about abacus.

I've been wished to learn abacus for a long time.
I once learned it for about one month when I was in Grade 2, but I had to quite the after school because of moving. Then, after that I didn't go any such school for abacus.
But now, with this book, I can learn to calculate all of these: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

It's said that if someone trains really hard, the person can have a marvelous calculation ability such that he/she can perform more than 5 figures of addition or subtraction really quickly in his/her head. (Of course such person can do multiplication and division at sight too.)

But I, at least, want to be able to perform addition and subtraction of 3 figures in my head.

A Tuner

Yesterday, I bought a very interesting thing, a tuner.
I readily went to a music store after the exam, and bought it.

It's really interesting because it shows the note of the sound around me.
For example, I found that my phone sound is G#, the refrigerator noise is about C, the buzzer of my radio clock is F, my analog clock ticking is A, etc.

I played with this about half an hour, I guess.

Finished!

Today, I finished my last final!
Now, I can check every emails, clean my room, and do some practice for violin!
I'm so happy that I can practice violin for more than five minutes.
(I've been playing only five minutes these days.)

Tomorrow's Final

Tomorrow's final is the last one!
This week was like the longest week in this term.

A Globe

There is a globe that my friend gave me in front of my PC, and now, it's facing Japan toward me.

When I was glancing casually at the globe, I realized that the size of Japan is not as small as I had thought.
It's interesting to look at the globe.

Eat Chocolate

Well, I'll eat chocolate and study a little more.
Tomorrow's final is Math!

English 099 Final

Today, I took English 099 final alone in a small room.
I took the exam earlier because I have another exam, Math, on the same set day.

I thought I wrote well, but there was a problem about my electronic dictionary.
In class, we were often told that we are allowed or actually encouraged to bring our electronic dictionary on the final essay writing. (Maybe because this class is a non-credit course and mainly for the International students.)

But today, when I asked about this to the English department people, they said that I'm allowed to have a paper dictionary but not an electronic one. They didn't know about the English 099 course. I strongly argued with them, but because the teacher had already gone for the extra class and I didn't remember what was the classroom number was, I couldn't win in this argument.

Therefore, putting aside the big heavy paper dictionary they lend me, I wrote the essay. I thought that if I had the time, then I would have checked the spelling with this," but in the end, there was no time for spell checking. I didn't open that dictionary at all.

I should've remembered about the dictionary when my teacher introduced me, but now the only thing I could do was to have some hope for allowances made for my misspelled words (because at least I explained this matter to my teacher when I finished the exam.)

I really hope they will discount one or two wrong spellings for me.

Heavily Illuminated Trucks

Yesterday, about 7:00 pm to 7:20 pm, there were lots of lots of gorgeously illuminated heavy trucks running slowly in front of my apartment building road.

The load is one way, and it's heading toward downtown, so I guess those gorgeous trucks were going to attend some Christmas parade at there. But I still don't know whether the parade were actually held or not. (May be I should ask a friend.)

Anyway, Christmas illuminations makes me very happy.

A Bubble Gum

When I went to a Japanese food store yesterday, I got small snacks that brings back memories.
It's called a "Fusen (bubble) Gum." I always saw its small square package (about one inch square) in a small candy store, and I often enjoyed eating it.

When I found the same packages in front of the cashier, I blurted out "Wow, what a familiar thing!" and then the clerk said, "Yes-- It's very familiar right? It's a present we give to our customers right now, so please take one or two."

So now, there are two of these gum on my coffee table. And because these were free, one of them will go to one of my Japanese friends who seems to be really delighted by having this.
Um... but who is the best to give this...?

Classes Are All Finished

Today, we finished all of the classes.
And, by exactly in one week (on next Friday), I finish all of my finals.
A bit more to go, then I'll enter the winter break--- Yay!

Just After

Just after I decided to fess up and respect a person, she said good things to me.
How interesting.


-------------
December 1, 2:10 pm.
The first snow in this winter.

Escaping

Which is better;
playing Freecell game for hours and don't study, or browsing social networking site for hours and don't study?

Both are bad; I know. But when I compare them, I feel the latter is a little better.
Today, I did the first one and now feel bad.
(But I know that even if I erase the game from my computer, I will find another game to escape from my study... and social networking is still on my list.)

-- I need to be stronger...

Quietness

Thinking in a quiet place makes me feel centered.
That's why I like quietness.

Minor Mistakes

I finally realized why I couldn't get a good score on Math.

This is because of minor mistakes that I commonly make, such as forgetting a negative sign, doing strange addition or subtraction, or changing a number when I write it in another page.

I've been making these mistakes when I'm solving equations, but I hadn't had recognized that this is a problem as serious as forgetting a formula.

We often take our minor mistakes lightly, but when they accumulate, they could be a really big problem.
I finally realized this, so I can make an effort to correct them.

The Interesting Textbook

Within the all four subjects I'm now taking (Math, Physics, English and Anthropology), Anthropology is the only subject that I'm not bored when I read its textbook.
It's interesting to know various things about various cultures.

Maybe

There is noting that remains eternally in this world.
Therefore, in 5,000 years of future, people may argue that
"It's the ancient characters!"
"No! It's just someone prepared to spoof us!"
in front of some stone monuments.

Slowly

To realize lots of things is certainly a good thing.
But, it shouldn't be done with haste.
Understanding things one at a time is the best way to improve ourselves.

Try

I grateful for my existence because I can even try something that looks impossible to solve.
The percentage of success may be really low, but I think if I work very hard, then I may achieve success.
I can decide whether to try or not.

Ate a Lot

I went out for dinner today for the first time in two months and ate a lot.
Now I feel like I'm ready to explode.

Moderate Problems

Maybe I have become a little strange because I feel it's more fun to solve the practice problems of Math or Physics than just reading their text books.

Maybe I have fun because I'm solving only moderate (I mean, not too difficult) problems.

Always

To be happy or to be sad is really determined by this particular mind of mine.
Therefore, I always want to choose to be happy.

Fog

Today was a foggy day, so it was like a different world than usual.

In a fiction, we often see something extraordinary appearing from the thick fog.
We feel that kind of thing near ourselves on a foggy day.
It's the world of the subtle and profound.

Multiple Quizzes On a Web

Nowadays, we can even try some multiple quizzes on the text book's homepages.

Some of them also provide the feedbacks of the quizzes according to our answers, so we can study even further.

The Internet is convenient.

The Pictures

Today, I got the pictures of the last month's wedding ceremony from my mam.

Those are pictures of my cousin, who was the heroine of the wedding, and me, who was wearing Kimono to celebrate.

I was relieved when I saw those pictures, because I photographed better than usual.
So, I guess, I could made my grandma happy because she is the person who lend us the Kimono .

Newly Arriving Email

Hearing the notice of newly arriving emails is a kind of fun, even if they are mechanical mails from a company or something.

Maybe that's why I don't quit subscribing from some mailing lists.

Well Balanced

I want to be a person who doesn't look down on something because it's easy to deal with and who doesn't give up easily even if the problem is too difficult.

It is hard to maintain the balance.

A Good Excuse

Wow, I forgot to write a post before midnight because of my study!

This is the first time that I have had a good excuse for forgetting about this blog. When I forgot to write a post, usually that's because I was busy playing or chatting.

I hope I can concentrate like this until the mid (and the finals) finishes.

Blue Sky in Two Weeks

Today, we had a very beautiful blue sky for all day for the first time in two weeks.
Rain or gray sky may calm our minds, but I sure like the blue sky.

Some Beautiful Patterns

I don't like suffering by solving a difficult Math question.
However, I do like seeing some beautiful patterns like flowers or snow crystals which some equations produce.
It would be good if I could pass the exams by only looking those patterns. (Never happens. I know that.)

A Dream Which Has Sounds

Today, I had a dream that had a realistic sound.
In my dream, I played some scales on the violin in my teacher's house. It was a very realistic sound. (Not a beautiful one, though.)

Although my dream are in full color now, it is very rare have a dream with such raw sound. I guess, this is the second time I have had such dreams.

The Old CD

Right now, I'm listening a CD that I bought about ten years ago.
Sometimes it's good hear the old CDs. It reminds me about that time and also there are some new discoveries I didn't recognize ten years ago.
It's interesting.

The Guardian Angel

Have you ever felt the existence of a guardian angel?
About a week ago, I felt that existence.

I was so concerned about my study after the midterm tests, and was crying.
Then, for one moment, I felt a warm air with words like "Don't cry..."
I was overwhelmed by a warm feeling, and then cried again; this time from happiness.

The angel was always looking after me, so I think I'm OK now.

Reading Break

Today, we entered Reading Break.
This time, we have three days off from classes, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Including the weekend, we have five days off!

So, now I can read text books all day long (If I try really hard... ), and catch up on the classes.
I really have to catch up.

With a Constant Effort

If everything already exists in me, then I really don't need to hurry, since I can eventually catch the thing that I want.

Like a Sleeping Pill

I wonder why I feel so sleepy when I'm reading a Math text book.
I shouldn't sleep!!!

Internet Radio

On the last Wednesday (The day I had the difficult Anthropology midterm, and sprained my right ankle.), I finally found how to listen to a radio on my computer.

I had tried several times on the Windows Media Player before, but somehow I couldn't find it. I could download some TV or music clips on the Internet, but that was all I could.
But now, I know how to do it, so I can listen various songs anytime without having irritated by the annoying noise, and even more, I can check the title of the piece that I want to know!

This is really good.

...

(Am I tardy in figuring this out? - Yeah, I guess so...)

Practicing in My Room

Recently, I've got a lot of nerve for practicing violin at home.

I couldn't practice it in my apartment suite when I started to learn, but recently I practice it fifteen to twenty minutes everyday. And today, I practiced even longer, 45 minutes!
I still put on a mute on my violin and practice in softer sound, but if I become more bolder, then I may practice it in full sound someday... (It IS too much, I think.)

Inside

It's warm inside my room, and I'm now full.
Oh, how happy am I.

Testing Hours

Even a very easy problem looks difficult when it's presented as a test.
The testing hours must be under some magic spell that makes any problems appear as difficult ones.

A Misfortune Or a Fortune?

I wrenched my right ankle when I made a false step climbing down stairs.
It hurt a lot at that time, but I could walk. Fortunately, I didn't have any classes after that, so I went grocery shopping as I had originally planned, then came back home.

The place I felt strong pain didn't look bad at all when I first checked at home. But now, it's swelling up a little, so I put on compresses as the instruction of first-aid treatment for a wrenched ankle (on the web) suggested.
This looked to be very common care for my case.
And now, I should rest my foot until it's healed... maybe about a week.

One very very good thing for this incident is this;
A really nice looking guy, who I had seen in a corridor just before, came and spoke to me.

I forget my pain at the moment he said, "Are you OK?" I replied I'm OK, and slowly stood and started walking. But it was hard to keep a grin off my face just after that.
That was very nice.

The Guitar

After I started leaning violin, my ears became more sensitive, so I became more sensitive to the sounds of other instruments.

One of the instrument to which I had never paid attention is the guitar.
I catch much more clear and pretty sounds from the guitar, and it's much prettier than the violin's plucking sound. The harmony is so beautiful too.

I'm just surprised how I missed the beautiful sound before.

A Small Halloween Celebration

Today is Halloween day.
This is the first time for four years that I didn't go any party for Halloween, mostly because of the big mid on the day after tomorrow.
But, I put a light on a cute, small, tin pumpkin lamp, which I found from a box in a closet, and placed on my old TV. So, now I can see little Halloween in my room.
It's cute.

Multiprocessing Ability

If I can read, write, and calculate more efficiently while I'm talking by phone, I could finish my assignment in this morning and early afternoon!

I talked with a very talkative friend over the telephone for more than five hours today. And since it's much efficient to do something while we were talking, I finished some multiple choice quizzes for coming Wednesday's Anthropology midterm.
But, that wasn't enough.

... Well, I'm now training for this multiprocessing ability, so hope I can do more in few years.

The Grand Canyon

Today, I got a phone call from my aunt in California.
We were talking about the pictures at the wedding ceremony of my cousin, and her and the other aunts' trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.

She seemed so impressed by the tremendous view of the Grand Canyon, and that really made me think about the place. If there is a chance, I want to go and see the great landscape of another creation of the mother nature.

Two Communities

These days, I'm absorbed in two communities in the social networking site that my oldest friend invited.
One is the community of the beginner violinists, and another is the community of the people who like the sky.

I don't have any friends who just started to learn violin in here, but now I have some (actually, lots of) fellows! I can read the bulletin boards and know how other beginners think.
And in another sky community, I can see lots of beautiful pictures of many kinds of skies, which the members moved and liked to put their pictures up.

I really enjoy reading the bulletin broads of these communities.
It's fun.

Before and After ?

It's a wonder that I become a good student (eager to study) just after a test finishes.
(Maybe it's because of the laziness before the test.)

The Refrigerator

When the noise of the fridge stops, my room (bachelor) is filled with silence, and it lasts about twenty minutes before the fridge starts working again.

I am always relieved when the noise stops.
Sometimes, I hope our manager to change this noisy fridge to a more quiet one.

But still, this is the fridge which made me realize the importance of quietness.
So, I guess, I have to give thanks to it. (It would be terrible if there is no fridge in my room too.)

Rain

It's strong raining now.
...I wonder whether this 'rain' is common or not so common in other planets.
I've heard that in Jupiter, there is sulfuric acid rain.
... Maybe 'rain' itself is not so rare apart from the substances.

In Jealousy

The people I'm jealous of is only exist in my world.
They even look different from others who have different values, and they might feel jealous for a person in such groups.
Things are always relative.
So, there is no meaning for having jealousy for others.

One Law

When I feel lazy to study,
... my kitchen becomes clean.

Let's Shrink That Part

Today, I realized very clearly about one of my biggest fault: idleness.
There could be more faults that I'm not yet realized, but this is the biggest one I should start correcting from right now.

I heard that faults should be corrected one by one, so I decided to correct this first.
I know that I don't feel good when I'm bone lazy, and I don't like that part of myself either. So, I decided to shrink that part.

May be it's impossible to erase that part completely, but I believe that it can be shrank as small as an ant. Then, it would not be recognized by other people so easily, and not affect my current study or future job.
So, I'll try.

From the Nature

It's also important to stop thinking and feel the nature for sometimes.
The nature accepts every part of you.
It leads you to your larger self and to the deeper wisdom.
Then, you'll know the most important things you need to know.

I learned a lot by looking the sky, feeling the wind, and inhaling the clear air.
I give thanks to them.

To Move Again

When the desire to go further is infinitely strong, we sometimes feel tired.
When we feel tired, it's better to compare ourselves with the ones from few years ago. Then, we'll notice that the present self is certainly better than the ones from few years ago. Think like this, "I want to improve more, but the ability I have now is just enough for present situation." and exhale deeply. If it's not enough, take a bath or a nap.
Then, you'll be refreshed.

vs. Kids' ability

I've been living in Victoria for about four years now, but I still can't talk English as fluently as a four-year-old child.
A Kid's learning ability is surely amazing.

Pro & Con

Some parts of myself against me so hardly, but the other parts agree with me.
When the ratio of these two become fifty-fifty, it's very hard to live.
When the con part occupies more than half of my mind, it's impossible to maintain a normal life.
Therefore, to create a peaceful mind, I want to keep the ratio, 8 (pro) - 2 (con).

On Reflection

About my sleep;
Last year, I wrote many about how hard my study were (I really stayed awake for three days without sleeping during the week, and got some sleep on the weekend), but now, I know that I was too lenient.
One of my friend became a doctor, and I've read many of her posts on the Internet. She really seems to have only 2 - 3 hours of sleep every day. And I guess she's keeping this pace for more than several years. (To become a doctor, the person need to study so hard too.)
How am I lenient?
Oh, but I can't improve myself so suddenly.
So, walk one step per day.

Sleep

Today, I slept about fifteen hours!!!
The day is almost done with this sleeping.
...Well, it's said "The Middle Way" is important by Buddha, so it's OK since I hadn't slept enough last week.
"The Middle Way" sounds very wise...
(Of course, it's the word from Buddha!)

The Sound of Practice

I'm hearing a piano sound from outside of my suite now.
There is a person who has a piano in his/her suite, and I often hear the person's practicing sound. The sound is not as beautiful as a CD, nor the melody is perfect, but I somehow feel very comfortable.

Actually, I don't feel good for the piano harmony when I hear it from CDs; from them, I feel more comfortable with the sound of synthesizer or other instruments. But from somewhere outside, the sound is not so clear; therefore, it's OK. Moreover, I feel good for knowing that someone is making his/her effort tirelessly. It gives me some energy to work my own study.

Crashed on My Sofa

Yesterday night, around 9 o'clock, I lied down on my sofa knowing that it would be dangerous.
Then, about six hours later, I wake up thinking like "Oh, I did it again." (That's why I'm writing for yesterday's post now.)

These days, I often crash on the sofa. I succumbed to a feeling of weariness and fell asleep on it, even its size is not as big as my whole body (it's a love sofa).

Well, maybe it's a good thing because in this way, I get up very naturally without loafing around in my bed over half an hour.

Great Friends

It's a good thing that I still have so many great people around me.
I can emulate their excellence, and improve my ability.
Their existence are helping me to go higher.

Only a Small Portion

When I looked down the landscape from the airplane ten days ago, I realized how small portion of the sky we always look up was.

The sky that we always look up from the ground was really really a small portion of the whole. It might be only a pert per million or even per trillion.
From high up the sky, it felt so silly; determining my feelings by only such a small portion of the sky.

Today is rainy, but I now know that this black clouds are only above the small city called Victoria, and not even covered one-tenth of the island.

My Mind vs. African Violet

Do I really progress even 0.5 mm every day?

While I closely look my African Violets, I often think like this.
My African Violet is now blooming one after another, but I don't recognize its movement. I know it's too slow to catch the growing by our eyes, but even with this slowness, the buds are opening one by one, and imperceptibly became a bunch of flowers. They are certainly slow to grow; I think that they don't grow even 1 mm per day. But can I really say that to them? Do my mind grow faster than them?

I hardly imagine my mind grows 1 mm per day. I can't observe my mind from outside, but I imagine it grows only like 0.2 - 0.3 mm a day.

A Gem

There is nobody who is perfect.
Every person has at least one fault.
So it's not good to accuse he/she by that fault. Rather, we should find good aspects of that person.
Then, the person become a gem for us.

Relaxed Time

Today (actually, yesterday), I went to my friend's apartment and ate Thanks Giving dinner.
Well, they are all Japanese, but we just mimicked the dinner to have fun. Then, I stayed at them until around 12:30.
...It's good to have a relaxed time at whiles.

A Special Name

There are some special words for every person.
Especially the name of a person one loves is special for him/her. Only murmuring the name, we recover from our fatigue.
It has such a powerful energy.

The Basic

Because I've never worked, all of the money I'm using now is from my parents, but sometimes, I also get money from my relatives.

Today, I was going to use some amount of money from my relatives casually. I was thinking like, "With this money, I can buy something like a free present, because it's from my relatives." But since I couldn't find the right one I wanted, I didn't use.

And now, I'm really grad that I didn't use that money with such a silly thinking. Even though that money is from my relatives, I shouldn't use it so casually. There is no difference between the money from my relatives and the money from my parents. They are both giving it because they care about me.

So, the source of the money is the same. It's love. All of my money is from Love.
I really shouldn't use it so casually.

Way Off Base

I sometimes miss the point when I'm writing an essay.
I did this again today.

We were given a topic, "What was the attitude of your parents or your friends when you decided to go to UVic?"
I started writing about my feeling when I decided to study abroad, then continued how I prepared, and then wrote about the attitude of my parents.

The first two, my feeling and the preparation were not being included on the topic. I realized about this after I wrote these, and thought "Oh, my gosh. I was way off base. But there is no time for rewriting whole of this. What do I do now..."

Then, what did I do? I wrote few sentences in the beginning of these spurious paragraphs, and made some kind of connection to the topic. But I'm sure that my teacher will notice it.
I have to make a plan more carefully before I actually start writing.

"Happy Birthday!"

Today is my mom's birthday.
So, to say "Happy Birthday," I called my aunt who are currently with my mom and other aunts. After the wedding ceremony last Saturday, they start traveling other places and now they are in Las Vegas and Grand Canyon.

I wasn't sure whether the call from Victoria (Canada) to the cell phone in Las Vegas would get through or not. (I've never called to a cellphone in the US from here.) However, only after the second waiting tone, my aunt took the phone and we started talking. The voice was surprisingly clear too. So, I was very amazed by the technology.

It's very good if I can say "Happy Birthday" to a person in any part on this earth. And I'm sure that in the near future, we can all say this to a person even if he/she is on the opposite side of the earth.

Midterm Attacks

One third of the fall term has already finished.
And now, I'm just in the middle in the midterm attacks. O oh, it's so hard! Can I survive this?
Well, I have to survive. So let's study!

The Direction

In my mind, everything exists; from Christ like loftiness to Hitler like madness.
If I choose, I can drive someone insane, but I know that that direction isn't the right one.
Love is the direction we are all following.

At the Wedding Ceremony

I come back from California today at 6 o'clock.

Yesterday's wedding ceremony was very impressive. It started about 4:30 pm at a park. The bride (my cousin) and the broom exchanged their wedding vows by the lead of the bride's younger brother (I've heard he has the license(?) to do this.)

My aunts and I wore kimonos, but after the ceremony, It became so casual. We moved to a hall in the park, and had so much fun at the reception. We even danced to the music of both Okinawan traditional dancing music and American rock music.
It was a really good wedding.

I'm About to Leave Home

Today, in twenty minutes, I'll leave home to go to California to cerebrate my cousin's marriage. I come back on Sunday afternoon; so I guess, I can't write the post tomorrow, but if I find the Internet connection, I'll write about that. So, see you tomorrow or on Sunday!

To Do a Small, Good Thing

Usually I don't want to stand out.
I feel uneasy if I'm in the center of attention, so I often choose to be quiet. But sometimes, this prevent me from doing a good thing.

Today, when I was on the bus, I saw a girl running so hardly to catch the bus. And because the bus started to move very slowly, It seemed that she might be able to catch. It was that close, but since she was running from behind the bus, the driver didn't noticed at all and started the bus. She couldn't ride it...

I regret so much just after that moment she missed. If I had only said a word, "Stop!," then she could ride it. Since when I was a child, I wasn't good at moving fast. I didn't like PE. I was so afraid to be smeared because of my miscalculated reaction.

But now, I have to correct this tendency. If I'm aware that I am right, then I should move as I thought at the moment it's needed. It would be much better feeling than just guarding myself.

Play a Villain

The person I don't do well or the person I hate could really be good text books for me.
I experience a lot of negative feelings, and will know that I'm not an angel, then learn how to do well with them.

They are playing villains in my stage, but no one other than I cast them as villains.
(I may be a villain on somebody's stage.)

In Anything

When I realized that the everything I recognize is only existing in my mind, I noticed there is no other way but love them all to live completely my life.
Every time when I think, "I don't like it," I can't possibly draw out my biggest power to the thing.
So, I'm trying to find the golden light in anything I see.

Time

Where did yesterday go?
It's no more exist on any part of this earth. It's no more than a memory of our mind.
The past doesn't exist, nor as the future. The present is the only one which we are in.

Learn from Myself

I sometimes learn from my posts after I wrote.
It's like self-learning. I learn a lot from outside world, but I also learn from my writings. My thoughts become very clear in the process of writing, and after that I can go farther deep of my mind.
It's fun.

Friend's Friend's Friend

Even though, I don't like some people, my friends would like them.
And even if my friends would hate some other people, my friends' friends may like the people.
We often don't want our friend to go well with the person we hate, but think in the opposite way. "Because my friend like him/her, I'm allowed to hate the person."
In this way, we can all be united.
Nobody would left behind.

A Hot Shower

I can take a hot shower whenever I want.
How happy is this.
Thanks civilization!!

From the Long-Suppressed Jealousy

I've been jealous for a certain person for over two years.

It started just after when I met her at the highest ESL class started in January, 2003. She was very smart and seemed to have no difficulties in the class. But I, who had nearly passed the lower course, struggled to keep up the class. (I failed that highest course in the end.)

I kept this intense jealousy very long, but I also tried to overcome this feeling. Very slowly, the jealous weakened as I get new views. I realized that there are infinitely many levels in human intelligence; there are many people who are much clever than her or much lower than me. And I also learned the effects of having a better person in front of my eyes.

One day, about the time I almost forget that jealous, I realized one thing. I realized that I had been jealous for just a phantasm which I had created in my mind.
Because I'd seen her and I'd talked her, I thought that was the person herself. But this image was just an illusion. I had created the image based on my limited memory.

So my strong jealousy played in big role in helping me understand how I create my own reality.
I guess I even have to thank for that jealous.

Track Down the Thoughts

People always think so many different things in one day.

Thinking is like a non-stopping current flowing in our mind. We are almost always thinking about something. However, often we don't recognize what we were thinking. May be we had a very bad through for few seconds, but in the next moment, another topic were raised in the current and forget what we thought just before. Thoughts are changing so rapidly that we usually don't remember all of its contents.

But what happens when we don't remind them and let those bad thoughts go?
If we don't correct those bad thoughts, then I'm sure, we don't mature at all. It's so difficult to track down thoughts every second, but we need to catch them anytime when we are awake.
It's because your thoughts is exactly the world you live in.

Sharp Words

Today, at the end of the English class, we wrote an paragraph.

Everyone except me finished his/her paragraph within an hour. I was struggling but still had few more sentences to finish. Fortunately, that paragraph was not that serious one, so the teacher said to me I can finish this at home and put it in a folder on the door of her office. So I left the classroom and wrote the last few sentences at a desk in the corridor, and in about five minutes, put it in the folder she mentioned. So it's no more a burden right now.

But I couldn't forget the words from my classmate.

When we left the room, I said to her only half seriously, "I always couldn't finish writing an essay within the given time." But she replied, "That's a problem. We'll have a final and we all have to finish exactly within the given hours."
Even though her face was smiling, her words were very sharp.

I was shocked for few seconds and was thinking like, "I wasn't said that seriously. She could've replied, 'Don't worry. You'll be a fast writer' or something like this," but then, realized how accurate the words were. I thought, "... But, her words are so true. I can't take back the exam essay at home and write."
So, I decided to take her words as a little kick from the Buddha (or someone great).

And so, from now on, to write fast, I set a timer and write these posts within 30 minutes or 60 minutes (if it become long).

The Light From the Sun

At the full moon night two days ago, I realized one thing about the moon's light.
The moonlight... is not the actual light of the moon; it's the light of the sun reflected. But the light we see at night is coming from the shining moon and so we usually forget about this fact.
How strong the sunlight's influence on earth is. Even at night, when there is no sun on the sky, it illuminates us by getting a help from the moon.

Pay Attention

The person in front of you seems exist in front of your eyes, but more exactly, he/she exists in front of your mind.
If you close your mind, then you don't see the person even if he/she actually talk to you.
This applies not only for people but also for every other things.
If you don't pay your attention, you don't see the thing.
We all look things which we have paid attention.

It's a Full Moon

It's a full moon today!
And just half an hour ago, I was looking the beautiful full moon on the eastern sky.
We had a cloudy sky in the morning, but those clouds disappeared in the afternoon and we had so clear sky by the time of the sunset.
Then now, it's the time for the full moon! It looked so big when it just appeared on the sky, but it seems that the moon appeared from the different place from the other time. I don't know well about the moon's path, so may be I should get some knowledge about this.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is just another day.
People always say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But this is just human's definition for the days.
So, tomorrow is just another day.

A Healthy Body

Now, the pain from the yesterday's wasp sting is completely gone, and so I've been enjoying the freeness of my right hand.
I paused to realize how precious my health was. I already appreciated to have a healthy body, but after the pain gone, I really thanked for being able to move my hand so freely.
My body moves according to my will, but it's not that natural. There may be other times when I get sick and can't move, and also, when I get older, my body starts to weaken and don't work properly.
I really have to be more thankful that I have a healthy body which moves so freely as I wish.

A Wasp Sting

This morning, I got stung by a wasp (or something very small insect).

I suddenly felt very strong sharp pain on my right-hand annular finger, when I just took out my bus pass from my backpack. It was like a small but very sharp needle pierced my finger. At first I thought I cut myself by the bus pass, but then I found that there was neither a cut nor blood at all on the painful part. Because the pain was so sharp and strong, I felt so weird and checked very closely the very part; then I found that there was a tiny red dot on the middle of the annular finger.

After I finished two classes in two and a half hours, I went to the university's medical center to check this pain. I still felt strong sharp pain, but still didn't have any idea about wasps. I thought I may be stung by unusually strong static electricity or something. But after I explained how I feel the pain and showed the tiny red dot (it was almost gone but he noticed... I guess) to the doctor, he said "It's really sounds like a wasp that stung you. It often happens because there are so many of them around here. But the pain should go in the end of the day, so don't worry. If you have still have the pain tomorrow, then come again."
I was surprised and relieved.
I was surprised for that a mere wasp can leave such a strong and long-lasting pain (In fact, I still have the pain, but it's already past midnight.), and relieved that this pain at least won't remain.

In the middle of our conversation, the doctor said, "Welcome to Canada!" So, I think this is also one of the interesting experience about living in here.

Many New Buds

Yesterday, just before I go to bed, I found new flower buds on my smaller African Violet.
The bigger African Violet often blooms since I bought, but I succeed to bloom the smaller one only once. And I that time, I actually hadn't seen them blooming because I was in Japan. I saw the small small buds just before I leave Canada and it bloomed at my friend's room. The smaller one has violet double flowers and they are also small (may be because of the pot's size... which is small).
I really really pleased when I found these buds this time, and it looks there are so many buds shooting one after the other.
I can't wait to see them blooming!

A Message

Today is my birthday.
And just now, I opened email and found that there was one email from my mom. She said, "Happy Birthday to you! Today is September 12th. - We can only support you from far away now, but thank you for coming into the world as our child."
I got some presents from a friend and was treated to lunch by another friend, but this email was the biggest present to me.
In the future, could I say "Thank you for coming into the world as our child." to my child when he/she grow up?
I certainly have to say it... because that phrase filled me completely. I was filled with so much joy that I couldn't stop crying.
I thanked to my parents and thanked to the email system that brought me this message.

The Others

Only four months ago, everyone else other than me were 'the others,' because we never shared the thinkings completely.
But now, everyone else is 'me,' becausee nobody but I figure out how the others think and feel. They are already inside of me.

Diverse Views

It's good to have many different view points.
I should have view points from any kind of people from any part of the world.
I should have the view of the people from yellow, white, black and red, the people of wealth and poor, and the people who beat others and the people who are beaten. There are so many kinds of people on this earth, and each person has its own thinking way. Even they can be categorized in some groups, you never find a pair who exactly thinks in the same way. There are so many views... So many... so many...
But these people, those diverse views are, in the end, in my thoughts.
Who imagine these?
Me.

Music on a Full Stomach

When I'm full, I like to lie on my sofa and listen music (usually with headphones).
How luxury that time is.

The Power of the Unconsciousness

How enormous our unconscious' power is.
We determine everything of this world by using this power.
From the time I wake up, I start to determine my world unconsciously. I determine how the sky look like, how the classes are, how the bus going, and how every other things works. These determinations work perfectly only during my conscious is awake.
That's why there is nothing when I'm sleeping. I even don't feel my existence while I'm in deep sleep.

To Be Free

Even in the busy times, I shouldn't forget to think that "What do I want to do tomorrow."
Today was not busy because it just started, and everyone isn't ready for school work. But even it becomes so busy, I should keep imagining that tomorrow as a 'unfettered' day that I decide to go to classes.

From Tomorrow

From tomorrow, we'll start winter classes, and I'm sure that I'll find lots of things that I have to do.
But it's interesting to find that how I forgot last year's toughness of the classes. So, it's what they really call, "Vows made in storms are forgotten in calms." right?
But today, I made one decision that I'll practice violin everyday. (...Now, it's totally out from the school because violin is my HOBBY.)

Centre of My Chest

Today, when I was waiting for a bus for twenty minutes, I mumbled one prayer to kill time.
But, when I did that, I felt so warm on one particular part, the centre of my chest.
That part wasn't exactly on my heart; it is little out of line to the right, and is exactly centre of my chest.
So, I guess that's where my soul really dwells.
I'm grad that I felt warm for that part.

My Mind

I think I still don't know how I'm really given and how I'm happy to live in this world.
I'm born as a human and given a free spirit.
I can think on my own.
My thinking or my mind is all that I am.

Endless Way

When we think ourselves improved, we feel great joy.
Recently, I often feel this joy, but then I also feel my goal isn't close at all.
When I achieved something, I've already found another goal, so it's the endless journey.
Sometimes, it's tired, but it's the endless joy too.

One Thing - Two sides

Every single thing has two sides.
Good side and bad side.
Only looking good side isn't enough.
Only looking bad side is depressing.
So look the both sides. Think about it from both ways.
Then you'll understand what truly it means.

To Somebody

Yesterday, when I was checking email or something, I suddenly overwhelmed by very warm feeling. It's like as if I was sent a prayer from someone who is close to me. Of course it is only my imagination, or could it be true? Anyhow, I felt good, so I prayed back to the 'somebody,' "I wish you to be happy as well as I felt."
(You may think I'm insane, but well, praying for happiness is not as bad as wishing for curse.)

The Beautiful Wall Reliefs

Today, I noticed that the beautiful decoration of the buildings of downtown Victoria, especially the wall reliefs just under the roofs.
But it's the first time for me to realize this for the whole four years!!! What was I looking for the past four years? Anyway, I found one more beautiful things in Victoria. It's so good to have found this. I wonder how many more do the amazing things left unnoticed in here. It's so much fun to look for them.

Worked on Homepage

Today, I worked on my homepage.
And tomorrow, I'm going to update those at school. I can only update my pages from school since I'm using the UVic's space. I guess if I buy some software from UVic and install on my computer, then I can update my homepages from home, but I think updating from school is OK for now.

Nonfiction

Today, I am reading a Japanese book for a whole day.
It's nonfiction and I love document stories much much more than fiction.
It's good to know many things that actually happened.
Nonfiction is much more interesting than fiction.

After the Rain

It's been a long while from the last time when we had have rain, but today we had rain.
But now it stopped and I can see the sunset ray shines all the trees along the road. With still the gray sky, the trees are stand more than a usual fine day.
It is the scenery of after the rain.

The Power of the Nature

Today, I went to see the sea and the Olympic mountain from Beacon Hill park, mile zero.
Today's mountains were so beautiful. I'd never seen that much layers of peaks of the mountain.
Seeing that mountain, the sea and the sky, I felt refreshed and went back to home.

Lay Down and Fell Asleep

I can lay down on my sofa and fell asleep
with no fear about a bomb coming from the sky.
How happy this life is.
I wish any child on this earth could feel this happiness.

An Angry Shouting Man

"Don't do that!!!"
Today, I awakened by this angry man's voice.
I've been sleeping opening the window to avoid too much heat, but then the noise outside has easily been come in to my room. This was the second time I awakened by a shouting voice from somewhere outside. But both voice were a man's voice and they were similar, so I guess it's the same man.
Last time, I got very irritated by this voice, so I shut the window violently and turned on a music loudly. But this time, I didn't get irritated at all but instead felt it funny. He was shouting, "Don't do that!" "Everyone gets mad." "NOOOO!!!" for about 15~20 minutes! I thought, "Wow... he has so much energy! It's already been fifteen minutes. Not so many can shout so long. It's like a comic! Poor the other person, though." I couldn't hear the other person's voice, so I totally don't know whether a kid or a woman or a man was scaling by him. I also don't know what the person was trying to do, but certainly felt sorry for him/her.
But that was a comic!

Manga for Improving English

I stood and read manga in a bookstore today.
It's one of my bad habits. I love reading manga, but don't have enough money to buy all of them especially in here. The English translated manga costs double of its original Japanese one. Naturally, I just go to a bookstore and read them, however... I do feel guilty, so what I do is to pray for the bookstore to earn more money so that my browsing won't be a big thing.
But there are two good points (only for my side though). I've learned many new words from them, and I actually start thinking in English.
I guess reading (even though it's manga) is really good for improving English.

An Advice

Today, I went to school to check out the text books and to take a rocker to keep my stuffs in for this new school year.
When I was checking text books at the bookstore, I met a friend who already took the Math course that I'm planning to take. She said one of the course is much harder than the one I took in Spring, and if I take two Math courses at the same time, it might be so hard.
I was actually planning to take two Math courses, but now from her stories, I'm considering dropping the harder one and take only one Math which she recommended to take first.
I'm not yet decided, but it's good to hear such advices from a friend. I appreciate for her.
Thanks!

Moving Ads

Blogger is good because there is no moving ads inside.
When I look some pages where there are lots of small moving advertisements, I feel dizzy.
If there are switch to stop them, it will be very good.

The Violin Case

In these days, whenever I look my violin case, I always gloat.
I really appreciate for it. The violin itself and the case didn't come at once. At I first bought the violin case, ... more accurately, a violin case and a bow set that contains a case, a bow, a rosin, and a shoulder rest. I had found this set from a web page of a strings store. All of the items are good quality and I'm satisfied with them, especially for the case. The case always closed very tightly (so the water doesn't easily come in) and is lighter (I guess). Also it can be carried either over one's shoulder or on one's back, and for me, both style fits my body very nicely.
I'm sure that I bought a nice one.

For Everyday Life

As I know more, the unknown increases in double.
If I keep looking too far, I'll be devastated.
So, keep my eyes down and look only two or three steps from my feet.
This is for everyday life.
Only occasionally, look far away.

My African Violets

One of the two of my African violet is now getting weak and weak.
But the other is getting strong and strong. But they share one pot. I don't think the soil becomes bad and I'm watering them properly I think, so the only thing I can do is to change the position.
The weaker one is facing brighter place; the stronger one is in the opposite. African violet doesn't like too much sun. So, I'll turn the pot 180 degrees and watch what will happen.

The Second Step

The second step of building the pillar of light is finished today.
Wait for the next step... Then at least the pillar will stand.

Two Weeks More

Only two weeks left? until the schools begin?
Wow... I'd better do more preview.

The Pillar of Light

Today, I started building one strong pillar of light in my mind.
This is not yet completed, but the first step will complete soon.

The Dream Which I Don't Remember

Today, when I was sleeping on my sofa, I may have seen a mysterious dream.
I totally don't remember the dream, but when I woke up, I was overwhelmed by intriguing feeling.
I might have learned something important, but I don't remember. ...Well, I guess when the time comes I'll know it.
Dreaming is so interesting. Anything is possible in a dream, but it's almost always doesn't make sense.

One Minute

Just before midnight, I opened this page.
The clock on my computer was 11:59, but this post's time shows 11:58. I thought this posts creation page's time and date follows on the computer it opened up... Well, they may follow but show one minute late. (or just my computer is too slow to download the entire page.)

How is it enigmatic to be exist.

UVic's Practice Room vs Conservatory's

Today, I went to a practice room at UVic.
This was the first time to use the room, so I didn't know where the room is and how I open its door. But, that wasn't difficult at all. I don't have to call the building manager to open the door unlike the Conservatory. It seems the door is open all the time even in the weekends.
However, there are two bad points. The first one is the time. I can't use the room (only one room is available for non-music students) more than two hours per week, and also I have to sign the schedule sheet before I use. But if I go to the Conservatory after 5:00 pm, I can use a room (any practice room) as much as I want until the building close, and as long as it's outside of the office hour I don't have to book. The second one is the distance. UVic is much farther than the Conservatory from my apartment. It's take about half an hour to go UVic by bus, but to the Conservatory, it's only 15 minutes by walking.
So, as soon as the summer courses ends at the Conservatory, I'll use the practice room at there.

Free Sushi-set

Today, I went to London Drugs to buy batteries.
Then, when I look at the batteries shelf, I found small catch letters saying, "With 2 sets of EnerOOOer AAA-8 or C-4 or D-4 batteries, you can get Sushi-set (in aisle 2A) free!" How lucky! Naturally I bought 2 sets of C-4 batteries and got the sushi-set; the collection of three kinds of dishes :square, rectangular and round (two pieces for each item), two sets of chopsticks with two chopstick-rests, two red wooden sheets and one big rectangular try.
Now, I can eat sushi in the normal Japanese style.

Too Lazy

I'm so lazy in these days.
You know this from these short short posts.
But I'm at least continuing!

Friend's Things

My friend talks a lot about herself.
About her host-mother, her pets, class' teacher, her friends, ... etc.
Some of them are complaints, some of them are happy memories and some of them are small future plans.
Then I just feel how happy she is.
All of the talks eventually become good memories of her, and it makes me so happy too.

A Strong Feeling and Energy

Today, I felt so happy because of some small books send to me.
But now, I'm little exhausted because of the great pleasure. A very strong feeling whether it's happiness or sadness, takes some amount of energy. If the amount of energy can be checked like its in video games, I'm sure that my energy now is lower than usual.

When It's About to Die

Today, I encounter very a good phrase.
"When it's about to die, let's say 'Oh, that was fun' ."
~~~ nice.

The Wish for Peace

Every one has its own wish for peace.
Some don't hold the wish strongly, while others hold it with god like intention.
Some only wish peace for their people such as his family or his pets. However, there are some who wish peace for everyone on this earth.
I don't blame the people whose minds aren't strong enough, because they eventually become strong.
I don't blame the people who wish only their peace, because it's just the starting point for bigger wish.
Everyone is on the way to improve more.
Let's give a smile to anybody you encounter.
Then peace is here.

A Digital Recorder

Have you ever waited more than 2 years to buy something?
In my case, I waited about 4 years to buy one special thing, a digital recorder.
That is not the normal one. It can play the recorded voice with the speed from 0.3 till 4 times faster. I recorded some English sentences with my voice, and often hear them between 2.5 ~3.4 . When I thought the speed is too fast, then I slow down it. But if I hear the same track so many times, gradually my ears get use to its speed, then I can catch up to the maximum - 4.0. I can save so much time if I review English words with faster speed and also I can remember well if I repeat them many times within a second.
I'm really grad to have this.

Unregulated Sleeping Pattern

Now, I'm in summer vacation.
Last night, I went to bed around 3:20 in the morning. Then I got up 9:30 am, but I was so sleepy, so went to bed again after 10 o'clock. Finally I got up completely at 1:50 pm.
How happy I am!

My Wish

Children are the light of our future.
I wish a great future for any child.
I hope the beautiful earth will be left for them.

My Pace

I just realized that how important to keep my pace.
When I follow other people's pace, sometimes I become hasty and lose myself.
Any good is done with impatience.

August 1st

Today is the first day of August!
May be I should make a goal of this month today.

Blackout!!

Yesterday, we had a blackout for more than 6 hours!
As long as I remember, it started from about 7:40 pm and ended around 3:30 am. This morning, I heard that this blackout happened almost all of the area of the city of Victoria, and the cause is the fire that burned the area where one of the important power lines are located.

When the power stopped, I was using the Internet.
Suddenly I couldn't open Google and the power sign of my PC became the battery mark instead of the plug. This PC is getting old so it has a problem for the battery. Even if the battery mark tells me there is plenty of power for about two hours, I can't use it for more than three minutes. So naturally, the PC went off while I was checking the power plug. After I checked there is no problem with the power plug, I noticed that the digital clock of the microwave was also not gleaming as well as the radio clock. The fridge was not working either. I felt certain that this was the power failure, but I still didn't know that this was happening only in my room, the apartment or the whole area.

As the dusk gathers, I saw some candles lit in one suite. Then I knew that this was not for only my suite. Ten or twenty minutes later, two or three people were taking in the apartment's parking lot and a man's voice said, "There is no street lights either. Be careful!" Now, it was clear that the whole area were suffering. Then I received a phone call from a friend and knew that the whole city was in the blackout. (She just went back from Chemainus.)

I lit four candles and prepared flashlight. This was the first time to burn candles in my suite. With only the flames of the candles, I have nothing to do, so I took out my violin and plunked, then tried to find some notes of some melodies. I also went out to look the stars when it got very dark. The more stars were shining and they are so beautiful.

At last, this blackout was not so bad for me. But for the next time, I'll prepare the batteries for my radio cassette. Then I can at least hear the news.

The Theme of Food

I've been talking to a friend by telephone over an hour.
Surely she is very talkative.
And we are talking about foods... you know, cakes, dessert, and menus of popular restaurantｓ. (Of course we talk other things too.)
The theme about food is the common for entire people.

My Violin

Today, I had a violin lesson.
This was the second time after I came back from Japan with my own violin.
From about two weeks ago, when I was playing, I started feeling that this violin sounds better than the one I rented. So today, I asked to my teacher, "Do you think this violin has a better sound than the last one I rented?" Then she said, "I think so." I felt really good for her reply. I'm sure that I bought this violin well.

Emotion and Action

I put up one phrase from my favorite homepage.
"Know that one's emotion follows his action." (Original is in Japanese.)
I've known this words from the beginning of July, but I didn't really understand it. But recently, when I felt a little sad, I automatically raised my head to be more cheerful. I actually felt lighter by doing that. Then I remembered this words and assented its meaning.
My emotion really followed my action. If this is the case in anytime, then I guess I should raise my head all the time.