Christmas

     My family do not celebrate Christmas because we are Buddhists, but most of my friends do. I was once invited to a party on Christmas Eve. It took place at a priest’s house. We enjoyed homemade fruitcake, pudding, gingerbread and other goodies. Then, we sang Christmas carols by warm, gleaming candlelight. The sparkling decorations on the Christmas tree amazed me. The highlight of the party was when the priest told us Christmas stories. What matters to me most about Christmas is not Jesus being worshipped as the Son of God, but the mercy and love he had for His people. However, Christmas these days had become too commercialized. People with no idea of the Christmas religion get caught up in feverish gift buying. Rather than thinking about what Christmas really means, they go on a shopping spree. I hope we can all eventually wake up again to the true meaning of Christmas.

My Regret

    When we are angry, we usually say things we don’t mean. But the person on the receiving end is very likely to remember it. This is true of most fights I’ve had with my brother. I regret calling my brother names when we fought last month. Out of anger, I called him an idiot and other nasty names, and he was shocked by the terrible words that came out of my mouth. Not only did I feel bad about using this filthy language, but I was also convinced that it was all my fault when I heard him using the very same words to his classmate on the phone a few days later. I wanted to tell him it’s not good to call people names, but I was in on position to do so. I wish there were something I could do to take back what I had said.

When I was 10

    When I was 10, I was chosen to join a speech contest. I had no idea why my classmates chose me. I would stutter from fear even when I spoke in front of my classmate. I went to the teacher and told him I would rather not do it. For my benefit, I suppose, the teacher encouraged me to give it a try. He said that I would have to conquer my stage fright sooner or later. I turned to my father for help, and he said exactly the same thing. On the day of the contest, I sat in the audience waiting my turn. I could hear my heart beating like a drum while the person before me was speaking. Then I decided I couldn’t bear it any more and rushed out of the place. That was a total failure for me. I was defeated even before I went into battle!

2010/09/08

 Word

1.      except

2.      arrive

3.      depart

4.      arrow

5.      Cupid

6.      bow

7.      shooting

8.      round

9.      jar

10.  fell

11.  astronaut

12.  female

13.  thieves

14.  steal

15.  Automated Teller Machine = ATM

16.  paid

17.  audience

18.  laughs

19.  aunt

20.  truck

21.  author

22.  automobile

23.  strange

24.  autumn

25.  leave

Phrase

1.      all along : all the time, from the beginning (without change)

2.      little by little : gradually, slowly (also: step by step)

3.      to tire out : to make very weary due to difficult conditions or hard effort (also: to wear out)

4.      to call on : to ask for a response from; to visit (also: to drop in on)

5.      never mind : don’t be concerned about it; ignore what was just said

Poetry

1.      A sweet arrow in Cupid’s bow is shooting people with love for all.

2.      Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!

Life Term

2.      as soon as possible = a.s.a.p. 

3.      ask for it 

4.      You are asking for it.

2010/09/07

Word

1.      although

2.      vampire

3.      ambulance

4.      among

5.      hide

6.      basket

7.      thirsty

8.      turkey

9.      angry

10.  treat

11.  suit

12.  fit

13.  fried

14.  dirty thieves

15.  except

16.  noisiest

17.  appear

18.  bright

19.  April

20.  April fool

21.  apron

22.  army

23.  were

24.  breve

25.  Iron Man

26.  the army

27.  the navy

28.  arm force

29.  mad

30.  chase

31.  vocabulary

32.  usage

33.  instructions

34.  reflects

35.  underlined

36.  particular

37.  context

38.  policy

39.  attacked

40.  officially

Proverb

1. To say is one thing; to do is another.

Phrase

1.      to dress up : to wear formal clothes, to dress very nicely

2.      at last : finally, after a long time

3.      as usual : as is the general case, as is typical

4.      to find out : get information about, to determine

5.      to look at : give one’s attention to; to watch

6.      to look for : to try to find , to search for

7.      all right : acceptable, fine; yes, okay

8.      have ants in one’s pants 

9.      with open arms

Crash Proof

One of the big hits in the business section of book stores these days is Crash Proof.  How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse. There are lots more like it. They have titles like The Coming Economic Collapse, Financial Armageddon, The Great Bust Ahead, Game Over, After the Crash, and When Giants Fall.

  Scanning these titles can be terribly depressing. But don’t despair. As long as we have subtitles, we have hope. Whether the future holds collapse, depression, catastrophe, Armageddon, or the most awful planetary mash-up in the history of the whole bloody universe, the subtitle is certain you can profit from it.

  All you have to do is buy the book.

  The strange fact is that most popular business books come in one of two varieties. One is The Coming Boom: How to profit! The other is The Coming Collapse: How to profit! One never sees The Coming Moderation: How to do fairly well!

  Outwardly, manic bulls and depressive bears are completely unalike. But at their core, both species are optimists, even the bears. After all, it takes a certain unflappable cheeriness to see everything from Great Depressions to plague, war, and civilizational collapse as an opportunity to make some coin.

  True pessimists offer only the hope that you and your family may not be beaten and flayed by starving marauders. No one“profits”or “prospers”in their subtitles. At best, they“guard”or“survive.”

The life of the law not been logic

    The life of the law not been logic; it has been experience. The felt necessities of the time, the prevalent moral and political theories, intuitions of public policy, avowed or unconscious, even the prejudices which judges share with their fellow men, have had a good deal more to do than the syllogism in determining the rules by which men should be governed. The law embodies the story of a nation’s development through many centuries, and it cannot be dealt with as if it contained only the axioms and corollaries of a book of mathematics.