How hard is it to wake up early? I would love to be able to get up as soon as the alarm goes off instead of hitting the snooze button and going back to sleep. My mind is willing, but my body usually isn't. I know that waking up early requires practice, but for some reason I keep putting it off. I might try again tomorrow.
I wanted to write a thousand words a day. Apparently, I failed to do so. I have been thinking about it, though. I wish I had the determination to stick to my plans. I know exactly what I have to do to achieve every goal I've got. And I'm very good at making plans. However, I don't seem to be trying very hard and it just doesn't make sense. Anyway, I'm definitely going to write more than a thousand words today and hopefully make up for what I didn't write during the weekend.
On Saturday I went to Hard Rock Cafe and even though the food they serve is delicious I didn't get to enjoy it because the waiter was forced to come and ask how everything was every five minutes and even try to befriend their customers (in this case, me), which I found very annoying. Of course, it was just a strategy to get more tips. Yes, you are supposed to feel guilty after all the effort the waiter has put into ruining your meal. I thought it was Sunday, but it wasn't, which explains why there were so many people in the street.
I had forgotten how many words a thousand words were, once again.
Did you know that in Spain we still have a king? Yes, just as in the Middle Ages or chess. Unlike those from the Middle Ages, our king has no power whatsoever, so I suppose he is more like a chess king, which does nothing and whose importance is purely symbolic. In addition to a king, we also have a queen, a prince, and so on. Isn't it marvellous? If being a monarchy were not enought for Spain, we also have numerous politicians and civil servants working too little and earning too much. These are mostly either incompetent or completely unqualified to do their jobs. What I don't comprehend is why Spanish people is letting that happen. I just don't get it. I'm 27, 28 in a couple of weeks, and I haven't had a decent job in my life, nor do I know many people who has. I've reached the conclusion that having been born earlier was a great advantage for previous generations. They can complain about how hard everything was in their time and all, but they certainly don't have a clue what it is like to depend on others or witness how some people who you know are stupid earn several times as much as you do (in the unlikely case that you even have a job), just because they were born earlier or happen to have the right friends. It just sucks.
I'm positive that if this were happening a few decades ago then people would react in a totally different way. Spanish people can't afford the current political and social system, especially now. If I had lost everything after working long hours in order for some bankers to finance their holidays I would definitely kill someone. But you know, we are civilised people nowadays and therefore we don't do that any more. We probably should.
I don't want to think too much about it because it angers me. However, I'm going to talk about another topic that worries me a little and annoys me very much, Muslims in Europe.
What the fuck is wrong with European leaders? Why on earth are they letting Muslims enter our supposedly prosperous continent? Can't they see how bad that is? Everyone knows they shouldn't be here. I returned from Stockholm a few weeks ago and it looked like fucking Baghdad. Who feels safe in Eurabia? I hope someone sets to solve this, to defend our land from the threat that a backward religion such us Islam poses to us all before it's too late. If I had the power to carry it out, I would say "Muhammad never existed, you idiots. Pack your stuff and go back to the fucking desert you came from."
New topic. I intended to go to jiu-jitsu today, but since I was busy writing this I decided to stay. I'll go tomorrow. I haven't been training a lot since I came back from Sweden. First I went to Malta, then I hurt my knee when I was chasing Rambo down Frederick Street and then I punched through a glass door and got cut. I'll go tomorrow and see how I feel.
A thousand words are a lot of words. I think I'm going to try to wake up early tomorrow so I can go to the gym, start writing at a resonable hour, study some grammar, go to jiu-jitsu, read an interesting book about 20th century history and maybe think of a way to improve my vocabulary fast.
This is my last month in the UK before I return to my homeland, which I'm not going to reveal to prevent angry Muslims from looking for me over there. I wonder if I'll miss Britain's weirdness. Probably not. British people are like Americans, both fat and stupid, the only difference being that Americans don't try to disguise it and are actually proud of it. By the way, I invite all Muslims in Europe to visit the USA (and stay there). Hope you all like it.
Well, it seems that I'm about to reach today's thousand words with what appears to be a very interesting, albeit full of hatred, post. Cheers.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
I did it again
Here I am again. Yesterday I finally achieved my goal of writing a thousand words, but I am not sure that I'll be able to do it again today. It would be great, though, so I am going to try.
I have been thinking about how awesome it would be to write a book. I have always wanted to do it, but there are couple of things preventing me from trying. First of all, I haven't read books in Spanish for ages and I think that to write well you really need to have read extensively. I have read a little in English, but since it isn't my native language I don't feel comfortable writing in it. However, if I managed to read a book a week for a year, which I don't think I'm going to do because I'd like to start learning another language, I could try to write something decent in Shakespeare's language.
How cool would it be to be read by people from all over the world? I mean, anyone can do that. You just have to create a blog and write something on it. What has to be really nice is having a physical book written by you. Touch it, open it, see all the words you wrote. Give it to people so they can read it and keep it. Maybe sell it. Sometimes I think that you need to be some kind of literary genius to write a book, but deep down I know you don't have to. You might just happen to have something good to say, a good story to tell or good ideas to share. I don't know. For now I'm just going to try to write my thousand words a day, even though it doesn't seem easy. Then, if I succeed, I might consider turning it into habit, but we'll see.
I could write under a pseudonym about all those topics I avoid talking about in public because they are too sensitive. Thanks to the Internet I know that there are others like me out there and I am sure that they will agree with most of what I say, but I could be wrong, even though I know I am not.
I've been trying to begin waking up earlier but with no success so far. Today I got up really late and read a little, then I studied some grammar and now I'm writing again. I know I should be doing much more than this if I really want to pass the exam, but I suppose it's not so bad. After all, it's only my second day.
I haven't been to the gym today, but I intend to go later. I know it's a little late, but to be honest I like doing stuff at night. The only problem I see is that I'm going to come back really late and I won't be able to wake up early tomorrow. It would be great if I started waking up early. I would have so much time to study both English grammar and physics, read, write, train, and so on. Tomorrow could be a good day to start doing it, but I just don't want to. Maybe the day after tomorrow.
By the way, I just remembered that a thousand words are a lot of words, but at least I am writing much faster than I was yesterday. And slower than tomorrow, I hope.
I think that I am going to need to start telling stories as I did yesterday (this is always my last resort). But maybe I should leave it until after I have eaten something, because I am starving. Well, I just remembered something "funny". One day I was looking out the window in my apartment in Edinburgh and I saw this guy climbing a building across the street. When he got to the top, he hung from a drainpipe and tried to move laterally. All of a sudden, the drainpipe broke and the guy fell from the roof in slow motion. Well, it wasn't slow motion, but he fell for what it seemed like ages. He then stayed there, lying still on the ground, for a couple of minutes and then started struggling to get back on his feet. It didn't took long for the police to arrive, but they didn't do much. When the guy managed to stand again, he and some friends of his took a taxi and left.
That is just an example of the kind of things that happen in Edinburgh city centre over weekends. These guys drink too much.
By the way, British TV sucks. Well, I tend not to pay attention to anything that is on TV unless it's The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother or the UFC. In the UK, every time you look at the TV you are going to see something weird and/or disgusting. The funniest part of it is that you are expected to pay something called TV licence. I mean, come on, seriously? I honestly think the whole idea is insulting to the superior minds :P Would they spend my money on making a new stupid reality show for apes? Most likely. I recommend that they ask the monkeys for the money.
It's almost half past ten and I haven't been to the gym yet. I'll probably leave home at eleven. Did you know that Scottish people usually start drinking at 6 o'clock (I don't really know this) and at eleven they are completely drunk? Nightclubs here close at 3 a.m., so one really needs to hurry. Anyway, I am going to be the weird guy who is on his way to the gym while everyone else is drunk and acting stupid. BTW, it seems that I did it again. What? I just wrote another thousand words :)
I have been thinking about how awesome it would be to write a book. I have always wanted to do it, but there are couple of things preventing me from trying. First of all, I haven't read books in Spanish for ages and I think that to write well you really need to have read extensively. I have read a little in English, but since it isn't my native language I don't feel comfortable writing in it. However, if I managed to read a book a week for a year, which I don't think I'm going to do because I'd like to start learning another language, I could try to write something decent in Shakespeare's language.
How cool would it be to be read by people from all over the world? I mean, anyone can do that. You just have to create a blog and write something on it. What has to be really nice is having a physical book written by you. Touch it, open it, see all the words you wrote. Give it to people so they can read it and keep it. Maybe sell it. Sometimes I think that you need to be some kind of literary genius to write a book, but deep down I know you don't have to. You might just happen to have something good to say, a good story to tell or good ideas to share. I don't know. For now I'm just going to try to write my thousand words a day, even though it doesn't seem easy. Then, if I succeed, I might consider turning it into habit, but we'll see.
I could write under a pseudonym about all those topics I avoid talking about in public because they are too sensitive. Thanks to the Internet I know that there are others like me out there and I am sure that they will agree with most of what I say, but I could be wrong, even though I know I am not.
I've been trying to begin waking up earlier but with no success so far. Today I got up really late and read a little, then I studied some grammar and now I'm writing again. I know I should be doing much more than this if I really want to pass the exam, but I suppose it's not so bad. After all, it's only my second day.
I haven't been to the gym today, but I intend to go later. I know it's a little late, but to be honest I like doing stuff at night. The only problem I see is that I'm going to come back really late and I won't be able to wake up early tomorrow. It would be great if I started waking up early. I would have so much time to study both English grammar and physics, read, write, train, and so on. Tomorrow could be a good day to start doing it, but I just don't want to. Maybe the day after tomorrow.
By the way, I just remembered that a thousand words are a lot of words, but at least I am writing much faster than I was yesterday. And slower than tomorrow, I hope.
I think that I am going to need to start telling stories as I did yesterday (this is always my last resort). But maybe I should leave it until after I have eaten something, because I am starving. Well, I just remembered something "funny". One day I was looking out the window in my apartment in Edinburgh and I saw this guy climbing a building across the street. When he got to the top, he hung from a drainpipe and tried to move laterally. All of a sudden, the drainpipe broke and the guy fell from the roof in slow motion. Well, it wasn't slow motion, but he fell for what it seemed like ages. He then stayed there, lying still on the ground, for a couple of minutes and then started struggling to get back on his feet. It didn't took long for the police to arrive, but they didn't do much. When the guy managed to stand again, he and some friends of his took a taxi and left.
That is just an example of the kind of things that happen in Edinburgh city centre over weekends. These guys drink too much.
By the way, British TV sucks. Well, I tend not to pay attention to anything that is on TV unless it's The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother or the UFC. In the UK, every time you look at the TV you are going to see something weird and/or disgusting. The funniest part of it is that you are expected to pay something called TV licence. I mean, come on, seriously? I honestly think the whole idea is insulting to the superior minds :P Would they spend my money on making a new stupid reality show for apes? Most likely. I recommend that they ask the monkeys for the money.
It's almost half past ten and I haven't been to the gym yet. I'll probably leave home at eleven. Did you know that Scottish people usually start drinking at 6 o'clock (I don't really know this) and at eleven they are completely drunk? Nightclubs here close at 3 a.m., so one really needs to hurry. Anyway, I am going to be the weird guy who is on his way to the gym while everyone else is drunk and acting stupid. BTW, it seems that I did it again. What? I just wrote another thousand words :)
My first thousand words
I have been meaning to reach the C2 level in English for years and I might finally be getting closer. A couple of weeks ago I paid the CPE examination fees, so I suppose I am going to have to do it. The CPE exam is freaking difficult, but I am quite good at this, so I don't know, I think I should do it and see what happens. If I fail, I fail.
The exam consists of five parts which are supposed to assess five skills, namely reading, writing, knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, listening and speaking. I have about 25 days to prepare myself for it and I don't have a clear plan yet, which, to be honest, worries me a little.
If I am to be realistic, I am aware that my English is unlikely to improve drastically in the next few weeks, but I suppose there are some things that could help me be much more successful on the day of the exam. Firstly, I think that it might be a good idea to start speaking English at home, since even though I live in the UK I don't get to speak a lot to natives because I am neither working nor studying (here).
I just realised that writing without a purpose is not as easy as I had initially thought. I intended to start writing tonight about no specific topic, just to see if I could. I mean, as a way to prepare for the writing paper I decided that it would be great if I managed to write at least a thousand words every day. I honestly don't know how many words a thousand words are, but what I do know is that I am going to have to write between six hundred and seven hundred and under pressure, so I'd better start practising.
I am a physics student, so I am kind of good at maths and I know that a thousand words a day for 25 days is 25,000 words, which sounds like a lot of words.
It seems it was five hours ago when I started to write this, but it was only one hour ago. On the day of the exam I'll have two hours to write two complex texts with specific formats about random topics and I just don't think this is the right pace. I suppose this should not surprise me, I mean, how could I expect to be able to write fast and well in a foreign language with no practice at all? I hope 25,000 words will suffice.
My listening skills are not going to improve overnight either. It is weird how I understand some people perfectly, especially Americans, and then there are others, like Scottish people, that I don't understand at all. Sometimes I can't even tell whether they are speaking English, which I think is very sad. Anyway, I have met some Spanish speakers I couldn't understand either and it's my native language, so maybe it's not so serious after all. I just hope that the people on the recordings on the day of the exam are from New York, New York, or at least not from Glasgow, Scotland. I mean, if it's not too much to ask.
This is being much more difficult than I had expected. A thousand words are a lot of words. But if I managed to write 25,000 words before the exam the reward would be enormous.
Another problem I may face is that, for some reason, this kind of English examinations tend to include obscure idioms and phrasal verbs which are supposed to be important to someone, I personally don't know to whom, but in my opinion they are just plain stupid. If I have been reading in English for ages and I have never found most of them, why should I waste my time learning them? I know, so I can pass the freaking exam and get the fancy certificate.
How awesome would it be to have the CPE under my belt? Very awesome. In fact, I don't think I know anyone who has it, so I suppose that that makes it even more awesome.
As I said before, a thousand words are a lot of words, so I think I'm just going to have to start telling stories or something, if I really intend to achieve my goal. What could I tell? Oh, I know. What about the story of that guy who decided to ring a random doorbell at 4 a.m.? OK. One night not long ago there was a guy in a Rambo costume wandering around Edinburgh city centre. It occurred to him that it could be funny to wake someone up at an ungodly hour and surprise them with a weird outfit. And it was funny indeed. You should have seen his face when I suddenly opened the door and kicked him away from my doorstep! John Rambo said he was sorry like fifty times in five seconds but I ignored him and chased him down the street like a fierce lion in order to catch him and teach him a lesson, but he was an excellent runner and managed to escape, luckily for him, though it might just have been the adrenaline.
I have written almost nine hundred words, which is a 90% of what I had planned, and I just clicked the save button for the first time. I'm just kidding, I'm not an idiot. Losing such a long text has to be awful. Anyway, my will is wavering and I need chocolate, so I'm just going to go the kitchen and get some. I hope it'll give me the energy to keep writing. I just need 22 words. Well, now that I think about it, 22 words are not so many. Maybe I should just stay here, keep writing and see how I reach today's thousand words. Done.
The exam consists of five parts which are supposed to assess five skills, namely reading, writing, knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, listening and speaking. I have about 25 days to prepare myself for it and I don't have a clear plan yet, which, to be honest, worries me a little.
If I am to be realistic, I am aware that my English is unlikely to improve drastically in the next few weeks, but I suppose there are some things that could help me be much more successful on the day of the exam. Firstly, I think that it might be a good idea to start speaking English at home, since even though I live in the UK I don't get to speak a lot to natives because I am neither working nor studying (here).
I just realised that writing without a purpose is not as easy as I had initially thought. I intended to start writing tonight about no specific topic, just to see if I could. I mean, as a way to prepare for the writing paper I decided that it would be great if I managed to write at least a thousand words every day. I honestly don't know how many words a thousand words are, but what I do know is that I am going to have to write between six hundred and seven hundred and under pressure, so I'd better start practising.
I am a physics student, so I am kind of good at maths and I know that a thousand words a day for 25 days is 25,000 words, which sounds like a lot of words.
It seems it was five hours ago when I started to write this, but it was only one hour ago. On the day of the exam I'll have two hours to write two complex texts with specific formats about random topics and I just don't think this is the right pace. I suppose this should not surprise me, I mean, how could I expect to be able to write fast and well in a foreign language with no practice at all? I hope 25,000 words will suffice.
My listening skills are not going to improve overnight either. It is weird how I understand some people perfectly, especially Americans, and then there are others, like Scottish people, that I don't understand at all. Sometimes I can't even tell whether they are speaking English, which I think is very sad. Anyway, I have met some Spanish speakers I couldn't understand either and it's my native language, so maybe it's not so serious after all. I just hope that the people on the recordings on the day of the exam are from New York, New York, or at least not from Glasgow, Scotland. I mean, if it's not too much to ask.
This is being much more difficult than I had expected. A thousand words are a lot of words. But if I managed to write 25,000 words before the exam the reward would be enormous.
Another problem I may face is that, for some reason, this kind of English examinations tend to include obscure idioms and phrasal verbs which are supposed to be important to someone, I personally don't know to whom, but in my opinion they are just plain stupid. If I have been reading in English for ages and I have never found most of them, why should I waste my time learning them? I know, so I can pass the freaking exam and get the fancy certificate.
How awesome would it be to have the CPE under my belt? Very awesome. In fact, I don't think I know anyone who has it, so I suppose that that makes it even more awesome.
As I said before, a thousand words are a lot of words, so I think I'm just going to have to start telling stories or something, if I really intend to achieve my goal. What could I tell? Oh, I know. What about the story of that guy who decided to ring a random doorbell at 4 a.m.? OK. One night not long ago there was a guy in a Rambo costume wandering around Edinburgh city centre. It occurred to him that it could be funny to wake someone up at an ungodly hour and surprise them with a weird outfit. And it was funny indeed. You should have seen his face when I suddenly opened the door and kicked him away from my doorstep! John Rambo said he was sorry like fifty times in five seconds but I ignored him and chased him down the street like a fierce lion in order to catch him and teach him a lesson, but he was an excellent runner and managed to escape, luckily for him, though it might just have been the adrenaline.
I have written almost nine hundred words, which is a 90% of what I had planned, and I just clicked the save button for the first time. I'm just kidding, I'm not an idiot. Losing such a long text has to be awful. Anyway, my will is wavering and I need chocolate, so I'm just going to go the kitchen and get some. I hope it'll give me the energy to keep writing. I just need 22 words. Well, now that I think about it, 22 words are not so many. Maybe I should just stay here, keep writing and see how I reach today's thousand words. Done.
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