Category: Essay

I didn’t have time for exercise. Still, I knew it, and so did my inner self. Having no time for exercise simply means having no time ‘that I want to spend on exercise’.

I knew it, but I just didn’t want to admit that I knew it.

However, people say things like “as you get closer to your grave, you need to build up lower-body muscles blah blah”.

So I started squatting. 100 squats are known to create an apple hip, but I was worried about the possible side effects of such a sudden high-intensity workout. I couldn’t take that risk for my own sake, so I compromised on 50.

50 squats were difficult at first, but over time, they didn’t get better. I did it anyway. With all those floating thoughts, I kept forgetting the count, so I finally timed the set and found that it took almost 2 minutes to finish.

2 minutes actually allow me to do slightly more than 50 squats, but what the hell.

Every morning, I set the timer for 2 minutes and do the squat.

My delusional mind gives me this fear of getting thighs like those of baseball players, but I keep doing squats.

I don’t have time for exercise, but since I’ve got 2 minuts…

I listen to English content while cooking.

For some time, it has been audiobooks. The problem is that my multitasking skills don’t allow me to catch everything I hear while checking the meat and adding various spices. It’s just gone.

A quite good alternative I found is ‘listening to English TV shows’. I just turn on a TV show on my OTT app, turn off the phone display, and only listen to it.

It’s much easier to concentrate without any visual distraction, and the more dynamic voice tones, compared to audiobooks, help with immersion.

That’s how I have listened to the HBO drama ‘Succession’, as well as the New York real estate reality shows ‘Owning Manhattan’ and ‘Selling Manhattan’. As I cook every day, the shows just pile up that fast.

The more dynamic the show is, the more I can enjoy my cooking hours. Chuckling alone while sprinkling garam masala on chicken might seem a bit strange, but it’s fine (I think).

For someone who can understand English TV shows without subtitles, or someone who has watched the show enough to understand the line, this can be a good way to hone English listening skills.

It’s a good way to add some productivity (language-learning-wise) to cooking time.
It’s good. I mean, really good.

New Year’s resolutions of Koreans have three regular guests: reading, learning English, and working out.

Since around the end of last year, I’ve seen quite a lot of people declaring these on SNS, and then I realized something.

My New Year’s resolution doesn’t have those three popular items anymore.

I am just doing them every day, without really trying or thinking about it. I read books in the morning and in the evening before going to bed, listen to English audiobooks and read English books as part of learning English (and reading, obviously), and have minimal workout routines including 20 Judo pushups, 2-minute squats, and 30 to 40 minutes of running.

My way of living seems to be alright.

Living an effortless life with some daily routines is something to cherish.
(Right? I’m talking to you. Yes, you – me in the past without any real habits.)

 

English is just a tool. It always has been, and it always should be.

There is no such thing as ‘true mastery’ in language. I’ve never been to that territory yet, but since I haven’t even mastered my native language (Korean), I am pretty sure this is not the case for English either.

I can travel around the world without using translation apps for the most part; I can express my thoughts quite freely, and I can work in English. Yet, it is not enough. It never is. I always want to make it a little better, more easily.

Still, I am telling myself that English is just a tool.

For the things I want to have – whatever they may be, it is just a tool I learn how to use and use freely.

I read the news aloud, listen to audiobooks, and read books in English today, tomorrow, and pretty much every day.

I am doing all of these, thinking I will be a little better at this tool.

And I also think that someday I will not be conscious of this tool at all while using it.

An essay is about trying, experimenting, and well, thinking.

For the millionth time, I’m trying to force myself to build the habit of writing an essay.

I don’t have time to write an essay, but do I really?

For something important or something fun, I can make time. I SHOULD make time.

Therefore, I am trying again.

No. I am doing it again.

I can write something, some tiny bit of something every day.

Ready, and go.