March 30th
Last weekend, I finished reading the book “Project Hail Mary”. I had been meaning to read this for one year, but I had only bought the original English version on Kindle. That is the reason that I hadn’t read it until last week.
What motivated me to read this was the podcast I listen to every week. The host mentioned that she voices one of the characters in Japanese dubbed version of this story. I realized that a movie adaptation was published, and this increases the risk of spoilers.
So I bought this novel’s Japanese translated version and read it.
March 31st
I had my in-person English class from January to March. Last week I had the final class. Before I joined this class, I was desperate to improve my English because I was backed into a corner, or rather, feeling pressured by my probation period.
Actually, now that I have completed this class, I feel that my English has not reached my expected level, and also I am losing focus on polishing my English.
That is the reason I restarted an online English class from today.
April 1st
In Japan, April 1st is the first day of the fisical year. I have never experienced the new fisical year abroad. I felt surreal.
Back to the topic of “Project Hail Mary”, I tried to talk about this topic with my colleagues during lunch time, but I don’t know how to express my thoughts in English. I need more time to process my thoughts. That’s why I still did not talk about this topic.
I think this story believes people are inherently good. I read “The Three-Body Problem” two years ago. Compared to “Project Hail Mary”, “The Three-Body Problem” was relying on the idea that people are inherently evil.
I think “Project Hail Mary” fits very well to a movie format. Because the most part of the story is proceeded by a small number of characters and the scene does not change a lot. And an important point is that it gives us hope for our future. “The Three-Body Problem” is not like this. I worried about the future after reading that story.
April 2nd
I talked about the recent KitKat theft case with my English teacher. Before this class, I did not know that KitKat was not originated in Japan. I thought it was created by a Japanese company. Actually, it is created by the Swiss company Nestle. During the class, I wanted to say “I cannot believe that thieves targeted KitKat, because it appepars not to be a high value object.” But. it has a bit complicated sentence structure, I could not express it. I learned new words today. “Make a break” and “bad tooth”. We can use “make a break” like:
- He made a break with his job, and started a new business.
Recently, my work is getting more busy than last month. Therefore I cannot take my time for productive task, so I have to think about how to utilize my time effectively.
April 3rd
Today’s work was really interesting because I got to do some investigation for the first time in a while. Finally, I was able to talk about “Project Hail Mary” with my colleagues. I felt relieved because writing this blog post helped me to prepare how to explain this story to them. I was a bit surprised that no one had read this book. Maybe it isn’t so popular in Dublin, or is it just the people around me?
After work, I went to a movie theater to watch the movie adaptation of “Project Hail Mary”. I was looking forward to it so much that I finished reading the Japanese translation last weekend.
After watching it, I would recommend that people not read the novel before watching the movie. This is because the movie is like a digest of the emotional scenes from the novel and doesn’t focus much on the scientific or logical aspects of the story. If you read the novel first, you might not be satisfied with the movie due to how much was skipped.
I believe watching the movie first and then reading the novel is a better approach to fully enjoy the whole experience.
April 4th
This morning, I went to Sceal Bakery to buy bread for brunch. I believe this bakery is the best bakery in Dublin.
In Japan, there are many bakeries, and each has its own specialty. However, in Dublin, I feel that most bakeries sell the same kind of bread. Given this, I think Sceal Bakery is the top bakery in the city.
I hosted a house party this evening with my husband’s friends (a couple). I was really looking forward to it since I love cooking for others. I prepared the following dishes, and we had a wonderful time.
- Peach and Dill Salad with Greek Yogurt
- Green Beans with Sesame Dressing (インゲンの胡麻和え)
- Braised Chinese Cabbage and Pork Ham with Yuzu Kosho
- Oven-Baked Zucchini, Smoked Salmon, and Ricotta Cheese
- Ribeye Steak
- Avocado and Shrimp with Wasabi Soy Sauce
- Red Miso and Sansho Braised Pork Belly
- Basque Cheesecake
- Strawberry Mille-feuille
April 5th
I went to a cafe for brunch with my husband. I ordered French Toast and he ordered Eggs Benedict. Both of them were delicious, and the quality had improved significantly compared to our last visit.
I will go for a run today if I feel up to it.