http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/rss banira's latest journal entries Lang-8 Inc. Tue May 29 20:26:10 UTC 2012 Tue May 29 20:26:10 UTC 2012 Lang-8 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lang-8
People’s personalities are based on their original characters in half way and the environment in the other half. 人格が形成されるのに、元々の性格が半分、そして残りの半分は環境。For example, I know the rich or educated people tend to move for their kids for better educational environment. リッチで教養のある人たちは、環境を重要視して、子供の教育のために引っ越す。In the last entry, I wrote about the love for French women, which was very different from Japanese ones. But I guess it’s just the matter of environment. 環境の違いだけのような気がする。

Lately I’ve been listening to Pitbull's dance music again and again, and you might be familiar with it. I wanted to sing it in English and so I checked the lyrics. It was interesting and impressive because it was very American.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFPU1sh_lZg

Posted at Tue Jan 03 01:50:41 UTC 2012
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1250528 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1250528 banira Tue Jan 03 01:50:41 UTC 2012 ほんとうに寒いのが嫌い。
So if I could live in a foreign country, I wouldn't be in a colder one.
だからもし他の国で生活するとしても寒いところは無理だな。
Can anybody who likes the winter season tell me the reason?
寒いのが好きな人は、その理由を教えてくれる？
I hate the cold and the dark where I feel lonely somehow.
私は寒いのと暗いのが苦手、なんとなくさびしいし。
One of my friends told me that he liked the cold weather because of that.
私の友達は、それだから、寒いの好きなんだとか。
I can't believe it!
分からない・・


Posted at Wed Nov 23 09:11:57 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1196396 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1196396 banira Wed Nov 23 09:11:57 UTC 2011
I arrived in New Orleans yesterday. I watched the women's World Cup soccer game in a restaurant. Japan's team beat the U.S.A. Congratulations. I’m sad that I can’t watch the Japanese team’s interviews because I’m in the U.S. now.

I had to transfer at Washington’s D.C. yesterday. We almost missed the flight because the officer was too slow checking our passports when we entered the U.S. This is the second time to happen to me so I’d never be surprised anymore. They don’t care about the time. I should appreciate that we are punctual in Japan.

I thought it’d be hot in New Orleans, but it isn’t. It’s sooo cold inside because of the AC. Lately in Japan, because of the shortage of power, we don’t use AC too much. Originally I don’t like it. I definitely need a long sleeve shirt here.

Posted at Mon Jul 18 17:15:42 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1017606 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1017606 banira Mon Jul 18 17:15:42 UTC 2011
Lately Japanese people use it to mean serendipity. Like "You're lucky. You have something". It originally came from pro baseball and football players' conversations.


The other day I was talking with my friend who has a little bit of a funny way of thinking. He graduated from Kyoto university, which is the second best in Japan, and became a doctor. But he thinks that he doesn't have anything. You might have noticed from your experience that there are always the ones who are liked by everyone and are not scolded by anyone. If you do the same thing, you might get scolded by someone but they are not. Because they have something. I think that it may be because of confidence, a smile or their pride. Anyway, my friend thinks that people are separated into two groups and everything is decided by which you belong to. It has nothing to do with where you graduated from, how intelligent you are, or how rich you are.

It's interesting and I hope that I have it!

Posted at Thu Jul 07 08:56:10 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1002599 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/1002599 banira Thu Jul 07 08:56:10 UTC 2011  

Thank you very much for your kind response. I am glad that you seem OK and are well prepared to Good Samaritan hospital’s alumni event. 元気そうで、また同窓会の準備も順調そうで何よりです。

I prefer this email address. I check more often than the other one. Both are available, although. 一応両方使えるけどね。Sorry about late response and I’m really sorry that I myself don’t know their email address that you really want to know. Here is my idea: Japanese Boston company has their branches all over Japan. So they might be able to get their email address. I’m afraid that it might not be in time this coming HRS in Sanfransisco but you’ll definitely get them in the end and might use them next year. 今年は間に合わないかもしれないけど、確実にメールアドレス、get出来ると思うし、来年使えるといいし。I believe that Keiko Usui is the perfect person to manage this kind of problem, and I let her know. 彼女に連絡しました。
 
I hope that I will see you Boston next year. Please say my best regards to everyone. みなさんによろしくお伝えください。

Best regards,

Posted at Tue May 03 03:52:45 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/913298 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/913298 banira Tue May 03 03:52:45 UTC 2011
In Japan, we have a lot of elections to vote in. For example, election for members of the city diet 市の議員, the prefecture diet, the national diet, and so on. I guess the voter participation rate is somewhere between 20% to 50%. We probably think that one vote doesn't make any difference. 一票で何かできると思っていないのかも。

I heard that the President Obama had decided to run again in the next presidential election. I know the next election is scheduled in 2012 and guess that everyone in the U.S. is exited at the process and discussions created by the candidates. In my understanding, people are willing to go to listen to and see the candidates. It’s totally different from Japanese elections.

Yesterday I posted about a commercial. It said that "if everyone does it, it will have great strength". This commercial should be used for election campaigns.

Posted at Mon Apr 11 22:53:16 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/884206 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/884206 banira Mon Apr 11 22:53:16 UTC 2011
What can I do now to help?
Shall we turn off the light more often?
We won’t lose our spirits to help each other.
Let’s think about what the victims in Japan need.
Don’t get lost with wrong information.
You don’t have to buy a lot now.
If everyone does it, it will have great strength.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBbcjLYe_Go&feature=related

Anyway, I like the best of those kinds of commercials.
http://lang-8.com/80645/journals/866426/Complain

Even though I have a cold, I posted two entries today. I’m glad with that because I believe I’m going to acquire great skills if I work hard even little by little.

Posted at Sun Apr 10 11:50:50 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/881957 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/881957 banira Sun Apr 10 11:50:50 UTC 2011 Today’s entry is short and I hope it has only a few mistakes.



今日は風邪をひいてしまったみたい。鼻水が出るし、何だか体がだるい。何でか目も痛い。働き始めてから10年くらい風邪ひかなかったのに～。私の風邪はいつものどから来るタイプで、部屋が乾燥しさえしなければ大丈夫だと思っていたのに～。
今日の日記は短くて、なので「イイセン」行っていないかなぁと、ちょっと期待・・


Posted at Sun Apr 10 04:48:26 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/881542 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/881542 banira Sun Apr 10 04:48:26 UTC 2011

In Japan, Facebook isn’t so popular, but I know it has spread out all over the world and had a big influence on things like protests.

I happened to find the CEO of Facebook who I guess all my friends might know about already. Mark Zuckerberg seemed cool to me but I didn’t know why. I was wondering why I like him. One of the reasons was that I liked his face.

Today, I watched a YouTube video of him which was dubbed in Japanese. I found some comments about him. “You look like Takahashi.” Takahashi is one of my favorite comedians!! So that's why Mark Z seemed familiar to me. Indeed! 高橋が、私の好きな芸人さんで、だからMark Zが親近感が沸いて思えたんだ！納得！！

I was looking for a picture of him, and found the two of them. He knew it too, so he even promoted the movie "Social Network."

Posted at Wed Apr 06 07:53:35 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/876394 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/876394 banira Wed Apr 06 07:53:35 UTC 2011
http://www.ai-j.jp/

Wow, I happened to find a great system. Once I put sentences in the right side space, it gave me a perfect speaking demonstration both in Japanese and English. 右のコラムに文章を入れたら、発音してくれた。I will definitely use it “from here on out”.

…And, I put an English sentence in the Japanese version, it made perfect Japanese English pronunciation like Matsui. (Mr. Matsui, sorry! ごめんなさい、松井選手！) I saw that he called for donations in the U.S for the victims in Japan. アメリカで義援金呼びかけをしていた松井の英語みたいな感じ。XD

Posted at Sat Apr 02 08:27:57 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/871173 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/871173 banira Sat Apr 02 08:27:57 UTC 2011
In my profile, I say “Let's do our best from here on out.” I copied and pasted from my friend’s profile, but this expression is a little bit difficult for me.

In my recent entry, I wrote “I hope the damage from the earthquake isn’t going to be any worse from here on out.” Ummmmmm,

I like Lang-8, but I know I need all kinds of different ways to learn, like listening to English, reading English textbooks, and so on. Otherwise, I won’t be able to jump out of my Japanese English.


Posted at Wed Mar 30 07:41:53 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/867290 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/867290 banira Wed Mar 30 07:41:53 UTC 2011
Some people complain that there are only those commercials, and get bored and irritated.

As for me, I like those kinds of moral things. Here is one of the most impressive ones for me.

If you say, “Shall we hang out?” the other would say “Let’s.”
If you say, “Come on” the other’d say “Come on.”
If you say, “I won’t be with you,” the other’d say “Me, neither.”
Then, you might become sad, and
If you say, “Sorry,” the other’d say, “Sorry, too”
Are those echoes? No, these apply for everyone.

That may be right. There is a coworker who I don’t get along with. He does whatever he likes, but doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to. That seems selfish. The commercial reminds me that I should talk to him with kind words, but I really don’t want to. Every time I watch this commercial, I struggle with a kind of stress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuFSlTmD95c&feature=related

Posted at Tue Mar 29 14:49:50 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/866426 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/866426 banira Tue Mar 29 14:49:50 UTC 2011
Ranking the irritation that husbands feel when something is said by their wives:
夫がいらっとくることランキング

1. Your income is small.
2. Are you drunk again?
3. Who is calling? (When you are speaking on your cell phone.)
4. You smell bad.
5. Which is more important, your work or me?


Ranking the irritation that wives feel when something is said by their husbands:
1. I’m the one who is working.
2. There are few side dishes at today’s dinner.
3. My mom is better than you.
4. Did you gain weight?
5. I’m more tired than you are.

Irritation is tranlated "いらっとくる" in Japanese. I like this word. It's soft and doesn't have a strong meaning. Anyway, please try to avoid using these phrases.

Posted at Sun Mar 27 12:34:37 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/863561 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/863561 banira Sun Mar 27 12:34:37 UTC 2011
I watched a TV program on “雑学.” For example, do you know the difference between “下さい” and ”ください”? The difference is the matter of Chinese characters or hiragana. I didn’t know the answer.

“下さい” is used for things. For example, could you give me an apple? リンゴ下さい。It’s used for a noun.
“ください” is used for actions. For example, could you sell me an apple please? リンゴ売ってください。It’s used for a verb.

The Hiragana form of "ください" is considered to be polite, and gives a feeling of respect. So it’s used for verbs, not nouns.


Posted at Sat Mar 26 04:28:54 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/861869 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/861869 banira Sat Mar 26 04:28:54 UTC 2011
After we experienced a big earthquake, we found good points and bad ones. The good point is that TV programs all over the world have been broadcasting the current situation in Japan and admire that the Japanese people have the vitality to overcome difficulties. 日本人が、困難にも打ち勝つバイタリティーを持っている。I guess I don't need to refer to the bad points. 地震によって被った点については、言う必要もないかなぁ・・

As for me, as an aftereffect I sometimes feel dizzy after the earthquake. A lot of people including me felt like that during the earthquake. Maybe my body remembers it and sometimes makes me feel dizzy. On the other hand, we are luckily able to see the online medical textbook, called "UpToDate" for free now. The UpToDate company has given us a chance to consult it to help victims. Usually we have to subscribe for 40,000 yen annually. It's so expensive that I couldn't subscribe to it but it's free now! Is this possible only in Japan? If it's available in your country, you should try it. You don't need any doctors any more.

Posted at Thu Mar 24 09:40:48 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/859707 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/859707 banira Thu Mar 24 09:40:48 UTC 2011
http://ameblo.jp/mizutani-jun-blog/archive3-201103.html#main


I’m a huge fan of his. He is a pro table tennis player and has won the Japanese title match for five consecutive years. 全日本選手権で5連覇している。Lately, he has been writing a blog; I have read every entry of his blog from the beginning and look forward to new ones every day.

Today, I want to translate one of them.

====================================================
Hello there.

Here is the “Table Tennis Report” for this month. It has special pages, where I give a lecture of service techniques, starting this month and lasting for a couple of months. You can learn from it if you like.

Here is the “Table Tennis Kingdom” for this month. I was impressed by Mr. Kazuhiro’s interview in this magazine. He is originally from China and became a Japanese citizen. “I have to practice twice or three times as hard as Japanese players do. It sounds tough, but is encouraging as well." That’s wonderful, isn’t it? But I could say more. (´0ﾉ｀*) Here you are.

It’s a photo of my cell phone wallpaper. "Make three times as much efforts as your seniors do to overcome them. Never lose my competitive spirit. 負けん気。Practice five times harder than your juniors do to get an edge on them. 差を付ける" All us top players have this same attitude to work harder than anybody else.
====================================================

I respect him from the bottom of my heart.

Posted at Wed Mar 23 08:53:55 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/858360 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/858360 banira Wed Mar 23 08:53:55 UTC 2011
I hesitate to write this, because it makes me feel a bit sick while I’m writing now. 書きながら、ちょっとしんどくなるので、あまり書くのがためらわれるが・・

In Kobe, about 6,000 people, who had been living on the first floor in standard traditional Japanese houses, died immediately during the earthquake. The roofs were heavy and the wooden houses collapsed.

In the Tohoku area, about 20,000 people died from the resulting tsunami. It struck 30 minutes after the earthquake. They knew from experience that they should evacuate, and they did. But the tsunami was too tall and the evacuation place itself was eaten by Tsunami.

I’ll never live in old style Japanese traditional house, or Tohoku area especially near sea. I hope this subject doesn't make you feel depressed like I do.

Posted at Mon Mar 21 07:15:25 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/855623 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/855623 banira Mon Mar 21 07:15:25 UTC 2011
Now people, who suffered from the recent earthquakes, have been evacuating and gettin some food from volunteers. I read a news story that said people were very patient and organized, and there were no fights among them. That’s great.

A lot of people and companies donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society and I wanted to know how they would distribute the money to victims. According to the Internet, in Kobe the earthquake of 1995, two hundred billion yen was donated in total. This was supposed to be distributed to each victim by cash, instead of to companies, services or what people did. The one who received the most, a million yen, was a kid who lost his parents in the earthquake. Another one, who lost his whole house, got 100,000 yen, and so on. It was speedy and helped a lot of people. It seems to be fair. I know it’s not enough and the dead people will never come back.

Japanese people and I will remember the people who helped Japan.

Posted at Sun Mar 20 11:42:39 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/854645 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/854645 banira Sun Mar 20 11:42:39 UTC 2011
Bottled water, toilet paper, rice, instant ramen, batteries were sold out there. I guess that we don’t need these things immediately, but fear makes people go ahead and buy them. すぐに必要なわけではないけれど、みんな不安なので買う。

I’m living in the Kansai area and all that I can do for now is avoid buying a lot of extra stuff and hope it can be sent to the area where a lot of people are evacuating.

Anyway, a lot of people and companies are making donations for the people in this tragedy. I really appreciate it and will remember what they have done for the Japanese people.

Posted at Wed Mar 16 11:47:40 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/850118 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/850118 banira Wed Mar 16 11:47:40 UTC 2011

Thank you for praying for our safety, my friends. I feel very sorry for people in the area where the earthquake struck.

In Japan, everything seems to be stopping now. Of course, it’s not everything, but our meeting that was supposed to be held next weekend, pro-football games, new CD release, and so on have been delayed or canceled. I understand why. In Tokyo, power is cut and there is a lot of traffic congestion and a shortage of food. 東京では停電になって交通は麻痺して、お店では食料が品薄状態らしい。

A lot of people and companies have donated in this disaster. I hope more people will be saved and people, who are evacuating or have missed their family and their house, will be encouraged. 一人でも多くの人が助かって、避難している人・家族や家を亡くした人が少しでも元気が出るように祈っています。I know I can’t do anything for them now, so I contributed a little. 少しだけ寄付をしました。

Anyway, I saw news that showed both the Japanese earthquake and the Japanese people’s patience. Even though the damage was terrible, Japanese people are considerate and patient with each other and I’m proud of it. お互いのことを思い励まし合い、勇気づけあい、そんな日本のことを大変誇りにおもいます。

Posted at Tue Mar 15 14:07:19 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/849128 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/849128 banira Tue Mar 15 14:07:19 UTC 2011
As you know, there was an earthquake in Japan and more than 3000 people have been killed or are missing.

Now another problem has arrived. One of the nuclear plants in Fukushima prefecture got damaged in the earthquake, and a part of it exploded. (Fukushima prefecture is the next to Kanto area.) The government said there is no leakage of radiation, but some people living near there have to evacuate from there, because there is a chance they might get radiation exposure.

彼らを心配させることははしたくないが、私がそこに住んでいたら一刻も早く逃げ出すと思う。最高のシナリオとしては何も怒らず誰も被爆を受けない。最悪のシナリオとしてはチェルノブイリのような？
I don’t want to scare the people living there but I would leave the area. The best-case scenario is that nothing happens, but the worst-case scenario would be that a big explosion like the Chernobyl one would happen. At that time, the Soviet Union didn’t reveal the fact to public and as a result the damage dramatically increased. The people didn’t know the facts at that time and didn’t leave.

Anyway, because several nuclear plants were shut off, people living in the Kanto area, which includes so many people, will have a planned power cut from now till the end of April. 関東地区では、計画的停電が起こる。It will be longer than I thought. For example, it’s from 12:00 pm to 17:00. Traffic lights and refrigerators, and so on, everything is going to stop. Who would have thought this could happen? だれが、こんなことになると思っていただろう？だれも予想していなかった。。。

Posted at Sun Mar 13 15:48:01 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/846750 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/846750 banira Sun Mar 13 15:48:01 UTC 2011
My dad is currently visiting Tokyo and I called him to make sure he was safe. The line was busy and I couldn’t get in touch with him at first. The damage wasn’t too severe in Tokyo, but I was really worried about him. At last, my mom received an e-mail from him. What a relief. He’s going to stay in a hotel in Tokyo tonight.

I hope the damage isn’t going to be any worse from here on out. 少しでも被害が小さくありますように。What can I do for them now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSimeWFiuYc

Posted at Fri Mar 11 14:15:43 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/843556 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/843556 banira Fri Mar 11 14:15:43 UTC 2011
It was actually different. It was also a big one and we got a lot of damage from it. I watched the news on TV and a man was saying that he ran out of his car because he felt the earthquake and had narrowly escaped some falling rocks 崖崩れ. Wow, lucky for him!　よかったね。 If I had been him, I would have been definitely involved and killed by the falling rock. 私が彼だったら、絶対車から逃げ遅れて、崖崩れの下敷きになっていたと思う。



Posted at Fri Mar 11 08:30:40 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/843011 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/843011 banira Fri Mar 11 08:30:40 UTC 2011
Interestingly, there is more to be said. おもしろいことに、続きがあります。Teachers in primary school usually don’t know a lot of English. In Japan, generally speaking, teachers in primary school have to teach every subject, unlike the middle school teachers who just teach a specific subject which they have majored in. Therefore teachers in primary school have to start teaching English. According to the news, 70% of the teachers are worried about giving English lessons. That’s easy for me to understand. I guess that English cram school industry for primary school kids is going to develop from now on, or the number of Japanese kids or teachers is going to increase on Lang-8.^^ 小学校の先生が英語苦手なので、たぶん、「小学生のための英語塾」がこれから増えると思う。もしくは、Lang8で小学生（もしくは小学校の先生）が増えるかもだよ。

Posted at Sun Mar 06 05:12:05 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/835738 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/835738 banira Sun Mar 06 05:12:05 UTC 2011
Lately in Japan we’ve been facing a big problem with the pension system. There are a lot of non-working housewives in Japan. Their husband's company covers their pension and pays for them. When a woman's husband quits his job, 転職するとかやめるとかとなったとき、he has to pay pension for himself and so does his wife. His company doesn't pay that anymore. It seems to be very natural for me, but a lot of housewives didn’t know the system and didn’t contribute to the system either. Then when they turn over 60 years old, they can receive money from their husband's pension. 65歳になって年金をもらう立場になりました。What do you think should happe to them? Do you think they should receive the money even if they didn’t pay into the fund previously? 年金を払っていなかった専業主婦たち、どうなったと思う？

By the way, it’s very famous that people in the National Social Insurance Agency are not honest and don't have moral. ちなみに、年金の管理をしている国の役所は、すごくいい加減で有名です。They used the money for themselves that Japanese people saved for their pensions and so those people lost the accounts that they had been required to keep. 国民が払った年金を自分たちで使ってしまったり、管理台帳を無くしてしまったり。Anyway, the National Social Insurance Agency decided to give the pensions to those housewives. That is really unfair, I think. How can people get the same amount of money if they didn’t fund it in the first place, right? ちゃんと年金をはらっていなかったのに、どうして同じ金額もらうの？ The reason why I feel like this is that my company takes the pension money automatically every month like tax. It’s over 10,000 yen.

There is a survey which shows that half of the housewives who didn't put in any money properly applied for a pension and didn’t receive the money. But 10% of them already got their pension money. 年金を払ってなかった主婦の半分はちゃんと申し出て年金を受け取っていない。けれど10%の人は何も言わずにもう年金を受け取ったんだってさ。 If I were them, what would I do? I guess I would tell them the truth that I didn’t pay for a pension and don’t have the right to receive it, maybe.

Posted at Sat Mar 05 09:55:22 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/834658 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/834658 banira Sat Mar 05 09:55:22 UTC 2011
I went there to attend a meeting. The registration fee was about 40,000 yen. I registered on the Internet, because they offered a discount for early registration. One of my co-workers didn’t do that because he was busy. He got to the meeting place and was supposed to pay for the registration, but nobody asked him to pay and they gave him his name plate anyway. So he was able to get into the meeting for free. Lucky for him!
会場について、レジストレーションをするためにお金を払おうとしたけれど、誰からも請求されずに名札をもらって、そのまま入ることができた。

A similar thing happened to me. I didn’t want to join a dinner party at first, so I didn’t make a reservation. My boss had already decided to attend the party, so we followed him. 付いて行った。As we expected, nobody checked who we were and we easily got into the party and got free food and drink.

Don’t people in Hong Kong ever check things like that?　香港の人は、チェックするということをしないのかもしれない・・


Posted at Tue Mar 01 17:03:27 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/829777 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/829777 banira Tue Mar 01 17:03:27 UTC 2011
I visited Hong Kong for 4 days on business. 仕事で四日間香港に行っていました。

I had a good time there. I was surprised that there were so many tall buildings there. I guess there are so many more people living there than initially planned for and there is nowhere to go but up. 建物を高くするしか仕方がないんだと思う。It has even more tall buildings than Tokyo. And I found many places were under contruction. Now that Hong Kong is part of China, the economy seems to keep growing.

Anyway, thanks to your cooperation, I managed to finish my presentation. I haven’t had time to study English lately, but I definitely need to. It was a good chance to remind me of that.

The picture was one that I took in Hong Kong from inside of a convention center.

Posted at Sun Feb 27 15:17:31 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/827050 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/827050 banira Sun Feb 27 15:17:31 UTC 2011 First of all, Dr. Tanaka was supposed to make this presentation, but the program has been changed.

突然プログラムが変わったので、彼はこのセッションに参加できません。
Because of the sudden change of schedule, he can’t attend this session.

なので、彼は今日本に向かう飛行機の中です。
Actually, he is on a flight to Japan right now.

彼は、「ごめんなさい」と言っていました。
He said he is sorry about it.

私が彼の代わりにプレゼンします。
So this means that I will be doing the presentation instead.

プレゼンの後に難しい質問は避けてね。
Please don't ask any difficult questions after my presentation.

もしプレゼンに間違いがあっても、それは私のでは・・
And if there are any mistakes, it's not my fault・・・

Posted at Fri Feb 25 23:42:21 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/825106 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/825106 banira Fri Feb 25 23:42:21 UTC 2011
http://rhinospike.com/audio_requests/banira/5445/

Good luck with my presentation. プレゼンうまくいくかなぁ？


Posted at Fri Feb 25 23:25:32 UTC 2011
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/825088 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/825088 banira Fri Feb 25 23:25:32 UTC 2011
My mom is a piano instructor. So when I was a kid, I practiced playing the piano. When I was a kid, it wasn't fun to do. But now I really appreciate that my mom made me play the piano. (Lady Gaga said the same thing. haha.) I want my kids to play the piano from an early age. I believe it helps with mental develop. When you are a baby, your brain grows the most in your life. You see sheet music, imagin tune, and move your hands accordingly. That makes you think and connects brain neurons more. That's why learning piano can make you smart.

Anyway, Tsuji plays the piano fabulously. Don't you think Liszt, who composed this music, must've been a genius? So was Chopin.

Posted at Mon Nov 22 13:35:45 UTC 2010
]]> http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/702923 http://www.lang-8.com/80645/journals/702923 banira Mon Nov 22 13:35:45 UTC 2010