2007 January 1 Monday.
Well, well, well, another New Year has dawned. Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? I have. I make the same ones every year, just about. Number one on the list; lose more weight. Right now, I weight about 97 kilograms. Hey, don't laugh! Last year at this time I weighted about 112 kilos. So, I have made some progress. However, I need to lose another 20 or 25 kilos so that I can wear my LEVI 501 jeans again. They all have a 34 or 36 inch waist line, and have been sitting in boxes, for about 8 years now, waiting for me to wear them again. Maybe by summer vacation I can put them back on again. Maybe. Another resolution, is to develop more eLearning applications for this website. The only one you can use now is Snow Radio. Yes, it is in reality, an eLearning application for adults, disguised as an internet radio show. I will be making some eLearning applications for children in the very near future. Another resolution, I want to continue my study of the Korean and Chinese languages, as well as retain familiarity with French, German and Thai. The latter are three foreign languages that I have studied in the distant past, but have never had a chance to use in my daily life, so I have forgotten most of what I learned in years past. I often listen to foreign language CDs while driving my van, or even while I am sitting in the hot tub. Sometimes when I am taking a long walk, I will listen to them on my portable MD player. It is the easy and natural way to learn a foreign language by ear. Another resolution that I make every year is to write more and better textbooks for my classroom, and I do so on a continuous basis. If you were to compare the first textbooks I wrote more than 12 years ago, with the ones I am writing and using today, you would immediately see a huge difference in the amount, variety and quality of my original textbooks. It is an ongoing learning process for me, and I enjoy writing them very much. All I have to do is sit down and spend time writing them. Speaking of writing, I intend to continue writing this blog every day as I have for almost 2 years now. To my unexpected delight, I have discovered that many people in and around Asahikawa City, are not only reading my blog, but they are in fact printing it out at home, and putting the pages into a notebook binder, and using them as a textbook for studying English!!! Great!!! Please do so. Even though this written material is Copyrighted by me, I don't mind if people print it out and use it for themselves. I mean, who would try to sell it when anyone, anywhere in the world, can see it on the internet for free. This is also why I made Snow Radio as my first eLearning application on the NET, because I already knew that some people would be able to use it right away for their study of the English language. Stay tuned folks, more radio shows coming soon. Other than that, I will continue to do what I do every day and get better at it. It is so nice to be able to live here among the beautiful nature of Hokkaido with its very distinct 4 seasons going round and round, in a spiral motion,... making new things and enjoying the friendly company of many people. Both young and old. Like me, old in body but young at heart. Grow up???? NEVER!!! Anyway, I wish all of you out there, whether you live in Hokkaido or not, a very happy and prosperous new year in 2007. And I hope you will continue to enjoy reading my blog and listening to Snow Radio. Talk to ya again soon. Bye for now. Norman D.
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