FreeRice

Hello, everyone~!

Christmas Eve has gone so fast... In Japan, this day is more important than the Christmas Day. I just don't know why! It's definitely one of the things I found interesting about how we, the Japanese, have spent time in this time of year. If I would say one more thing, that would be the Japanese thinking that the Christmas Eve is the day when couples spend time together. I have no idea how the idea of Christmas has been imported to Japan, but I can't help but wonder how many of us really understand the meaning of Christmas! Maybe, it's been commercialized so much that we aren't really able to comprehend anymore... :(

Anyway, I enjoyed Christmas Eve with my family and lots of yummy foods. ^^ I was thinking that I would go shopping, but my guess that a place like a shopping mall or something would literally be crowded kept me from going there. So, I enjoyed a quiet Christmas Eve! ^^

After eating dinner, I was surfing on the Internet and I visited the blog created by Nina. It's called "English Power" and Nina has introduced the websites or tools that will definitely enhance your skills of English. I'd heard of the website from Nina when I enjoyed talking to her and the others through the online chat.

As I scrolled down to the bottom, I found the link to the website called "FreeRice". I wondered why the website has been named that way, and at the same time I was interested in how it would enhance my English skill. The website said that the English words I would learn enabled the campaign organizer to give rice to those most in need. The idea itself interested me very much, and what's more, I enjoyed the word game as well. ^^ The more I enjoyed, the more I could contribute! It sounds really great, right?

Because of the department I belong to, I've paid much attention to the campaigns which try to solve the problems throughout the world. And I've seen many people really act on those. However, to be honest, these efforts looked meaningless to me even though I understood that acting was better than doing nothing, because what the ordinary people can to solve the problems that hurt many people around the world is just a little. So, I rarely get the feeling that I'm a part of the solution or something when I acted somehow. It's easy for me to think that "This has to be solved." But I didn't know what to do and had no time to do something that would take some time.

After I've been looking around the campaigns' websites, I think this website, FreeRice, gave me a solution for that. One of the reasons why I thought so was that it produced a win-win situation. I can help the organization while I'm learning the words. And it's even fun! ^^ So, I would like as many people as possible to give it a try!

Alright, I wish you a very merry Christmas!
See you soon~

Happy Holidays!

Hello everyone~!

I'm so glad that I've been able to update this blog as much as I want now thanks to the vacation! Also, as I said, I've slept so well without an alarm clock~! ^^

Anyway...

All I want to say for today is,

H a p p y H o l i d a y s !

H a p p y H o l i d a y s !

Do you think that someone turned the Christmas tree upside down? Or do you think that I photoshopped the picture and that's why you see the Tree turning upside down? The answer is...NO! This Christmas tree has been displayed at the metro station which is located near AGU.

You're guessing why this tree has been displayed like this, aren't you? Yeah, the Tree is located at the METRO station which is, obviously, underground. You see? So, the Tree tries to convey the messages such as "Don't you think I look like a Christmas Tree?" and "It looks like roots of Trees, doesn't it?".

A place like station tends to be plain and sometimes even boring, but seasonal decoration like this has made the station more special and fun!

Alright, I also wish you a Happy New Year!
I hope I can add some posts before 2008 begins! ^^

See you soon~!

The UM in the Film!

Hello, everyone~!

I've come all the way here now... I'm finally on vacation! Yaaay! Even though it only lasts for about 2 weeks, it allows me to clean up what I've wanted or needed to do such as going shopping, sleeping without an alarm clock (It sounds amazingly good, isn't it?), and finishing the applications for the companies I've been interested in.

Anyway, I'd like to talk about the movie I've seen which is called "National Treasure: Book of Secrets". As some of you already notice, it's a sequel to the movie "National Treasure", which was released in 2004. I saw the first one after I visited Washington DC for the first time, and I really liked it not only because the story that the main character looked for treasures fascinated me, but also it really made me feel as if I were in Washington DC. So, I'd been looking forward to seeing the sequel of the movie.
At first, I was thinking about watching the movie "I Am Legend". But I found that the sequel of "National Treasure" has been released, and I couldn't help but think that I definitely would enjoy watching this movie. So, I decided to watch it. ^^ While deciding to watch "National Treasure: Book of Secrets", I wonder what "I Am Legend" would be like. Has anyone already seen it?

I really enjoyed watching the movie, and this time, it seemed that a variety of locations were selected as places for filming, Washington DC, Paris, and U.K., for example. Additionally, the scenes taken at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Park were really impressive and it did make me wonder how the human faces had been sculptured. It even made me want to visit there!

As the story went on, the main character called Ben and his dad visited the university where his mom were teaching because they needed someone who could translate the old language to get clues for treasure hunting. And surprisingly, the university was University of Maryland!! At the moment I found that, I almost felt like starting to introduce the university I visited to the other people in the theater...! Hahaha. It was really nice to see the UM again like this, and the buildings reminded me of the time we had there.

Moreover, I found the article on TERP magazine. The link will bring you to the top page, and scroll down to the bottom of the page. And you'll see the title "Lights! Camera! College Park!". I hope it helps you imagine what the movie would be like. Hopefully, you'll see the movie and share the experience I'd had in the theater with me! Hehehe... : )

Alright, see you soon~

I don't know where to begin with...

Hello, everyone~!

I'm now being at my school in Shibuya, right after the seminar I belong to. After writing this post, I'm going to go to a welcome party for the new people who'll join the seminar from 2009! So, I really am excited to meet them and imagine what it would be like to work on something with them next year.

Well....I don't know if you're interested in what I've been up to these days, but as you might have imagined, I had been busy! I've been working on the two project and the one was done today! Yay! (But there still is the other one. :() Also, I've been doing job-hunting, and as the end of the year nears, everyone starts to move such as doing self-analysis, looking for the information about job-hunting, and so on. So, just watching the other people move makes me a bit nervous. Anyway, screening stages have not begun yet, so maybe I should not be so nervous about it. I'll try my best to have fun looking for the job! ^^ I guess it should be because selecting the job that is the best for me is one of the ways to seek for my future, right?

Alright, I've got to get moving now!
So, please take care!

See you soon~