My Life after CELTA

A sporty day After waking up, having a delicious breakfast and a coffee, I went for a 7k walk alone. Ági had a class early in the morning and then had to go to the university later, so she couldn't come with me. After returning home, I completed the first half of my homework, showered, and prepared lunch. When I finished devouring the nosh, I took Abby for her afternoon walk, which was a short walk due to the warm weather. The highest temperature was +28°C today. Anyway, when I overhauled Abby's fur, looking for any thorns. After picking some unwanted weed and the usual following reward play - grabbing the towel and trying to tear it apart - I buckled down to the other half of the homework, which was writing a report about Elon Musk's Neuralink introductory event. What a scary, hence difficult topic! I still need to finish it. Fortunately, Ági returned home earlier, so we went for a 4k walk, which was fantastic. We enjoyed the beautiful weather. (And the 17.000 steps I gath

MOJO Our long morning walks have positive and negative effects. The positives are improved circulation and endurance and a clearer head. The negatives are: it requires a lot of time, and we are more tired during the day, not to mention the shower I have to take after every stroll. It's good for our bodies, so it would be silly not to continue. My lesson with Charlette was great, as usual. She took the class to another level, and I loved that she created challenging tasks focusing on the exam. I must regain my mojo to prepare for and pass the CPE exam. I'm on it. I don't know why it's so difficult to get it back. It's high time I created a schedule that I can stick to... The weather was beautiful, typical for the end of June. The highest temperature was +27°C today. Even the afternoon storm couldn't ruin the joy this early summer caused. However, some parts of the country got hit by hail and destroyed properties and goods.

The last day off We took the day off and spent it on improving our health. After waking up and having a delicious breakfast with the much-needed coffee, we went to our favourite spot. Upon returning home, I prepared lunch, spaghetti Bolognese. From there, things went as usual on any other relaxing weekend day. Foot massage for Ági, walking with Abby, having a nap, watching silly series, etc. As for my English studies, I've been terribly lazy nowadays and must do something about it. I need to get back to my intensive preparation, so I must change my daily routine and find my way back to learning. I'll have a class with Charlette tomorrow, and once I make up my mind about my bicycle purchase, I'm back on my planned English studying track.

Another day off I thought I was in a cheap movie when the alarm clock went off. The whole morning with the waking-up procedure seemed unrealistic; that's how deep of a sleep I had. I spent fifty minutes in bed before stumbling to the living room and having breakfast. The coffee I drank ensured my brain worked properly, so we devised a cunning plan: let's hike to our favourite spot and back. When we reached the town border, where nature started, we realised that there was a triathlon competition; oodles of people were running about towards the "Kőhegy", and we were afraid of bumping into them at every corner. Fortunately, we saw the end of the contestants, as literally, the last two runners left the checkpoint. Relieved by the sight of the runners' queue's end, we headed up the hill for the public well. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, not too warm - +23°C - with clear skies. Upon returning home, Ági prepared lunch - fish fingers with potatoes - and watched an

Day off Little did I know the order and timing in which the day's events would unfold after waking up. When we finished our morning routines - breakfast, walking with Abby, and having the much-needed coffee - we decided to visit one of the bike stores I'd found online the other day. At 8:45 a.m., we headed for Budapest and checked the store, where the guy, who seemed to be the owner, was helpful and guided us through the selection, explaining which bike would be the best choice. However, he seemed a little too convincing and kept pointing out the advantages of the bikes he had in store. The bike I had seen on the internet yesterday wasn't available, leading me to suspect that he wanted to sell off the inventory quickly. Since we made no deal, I was okay with leaving the store and not purchasing anything hastily. There are other brands to check before sacrificing a pretty hefty sum on my next bike - should I decide to ride one. When we returned home, Ági suggested we hike up

A busy Friday Abby's early morning walk was my responsibility today, so when I managed to drag myself out of bed and go down to the living room, I put on the leash around her neck and went for a long walk. After returning home, I had the usual cinnamon pancake breakfast, had a much-needed coffee and a chat with Ági.  As the coffee started to take effect, I went upstairs and began my homework, which was about writing a letter and keyword transformation. I couldn't finish writing the letter before lunch, but prior to preparing the nosh, I practised my Tai Chi sets. After lunch, I took Ági to the hair salon and returned home. I washed the dishes, took Abby for her afternoon walk in the summer heat, put on my shorts and met Ági at the hair salon. What can I say? Walking in the scorching heat was both fun and terribly tiring. I came home alone because Ági had another appointment with her manicurist. At home, I finished my homework, the letter writing and sent it to Ági for revision,

Certificate of Habilitation Today was a big day for us. Ági received her Diploma of Habilitation - " Habilitation  is the highest  university degree , or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a dissertation. The degree, sometimes abbreviated  Dr. habil . ( Doctor habilitatus ) or  PD  (for  Privatdozent ), is a qualification for professorship in those countries. The conferral is usually accompanied by a lecture to a colloquium." ( Wikipedia ). I was so proud of her when they said her name, and she went to get her diploma. She looked stunning in her dress, a natural and intelligent beauty. I'm so lucky to be married to her. The event was perfect. The Dean and the assembled other vice-chancellors sat at a long desk, and the head of the Habilitation Committee gave a short introductory and goodbye speech. The Dean was

A short entry I woke up at 4:30 a.m., took Abby to her unusually early morning walk, jumped in my summer dress, and drove to Vienna to Ági up and bring her back. It took me three hours to get to the Burg Theatre, where I met her. Then we got the certificate that proved she successfully completed her scholarship there. Since I hadn't had breakfast, we went to buy some nosh. At "Der Mann", we found some cinnamon rolls and other delicacies, grabbed a coffee, and drove back home - another three-hour trip. We stopped by the Shopping City in Parndorf, had lunch there, bought some goods, and headed for Hungary.  Today was an exhausting day. I'm knackered, and I only want to shower and sleep. Goodbye Austria, till next time...

I fell asleep yesterday night on the sofa and spent half of the night there. When I woke up, I was too tired to climb up to the bedroom, so I made myself comfortable and went back to sleep till 6 a.m. When I woke up for the second time today, I took Abby for her morning walk, fed her and myself, grabbed a coffee, and chatted with Ági. Little did I know how little I would study today when we hung up the phone, but our neighbour's impatience with the shredding machine thwarted my plans. He thought installing the tool in our garden would be a brilliant idea, but I made sure he changed his mind and relocated the machine to our shared garden. The shredding began at 10 a.m. and lasted till 1:45 p.m. I hardly had time to shower, prepare and devour lunch before my lesson - which was perfect - with Charlette. After my English class, I took Abby for her afternoon walk in the +30°C heat, and upon returning home and cleaning this little rascal, a friend called and kept me on the phone for anot

A warm and humid Monday After waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare - I think I shouted, and that's what woke me up - the beginning of the day wasn't too good. Apparently, Abby might have had a bad night, too, because, during the morning walk, she was pulling the leash like a husky. I had to show her again how an educated dog should behave. Anyway, the morning routine hasn't changed a bit, breakfast for Abby and me, coffee for me, and chit-chat with Ági. As for my English studies: since I'd completed my homework yesterday, I didn't have to worry about it today, so I had plenty of time to open an old book, Don't get me wrong by PONS, and concentrate on its content. It contains useful phrasal verbs, idioms, and expressions. I revised some of the chapters I'd gone through earlier this year and learnt some new phrases as well, such as "a cash cow", "to be on the gravy train", "to have a windfall", and "to make d

I woke up with a start at 4:30 a.m. for the light because I forgot to roll down the blinders yesterday before going to bed. When I realised how early it was, I thought I could go back to sleep. I tried very hard but had to give up trying eventually, for my wee mind wouldn't want to shut down. So, I started reading the news, checking the weather, and weaving a devious plan for the rest of the day. Then I took Abby for her morning walk, which we immensely enjoyed. Apart from us, there wasn't a living soul out there, and the long walk did good before breakfast. After finishing my cinnamon and apricot jam pancakes, I talked to Ági. Then I drove to the craftsman store to buy a pair of gardening gloves, where I met an old classmate from secondary school. It was fun having a chit-chat with him. We weren't the greatest buddies, but we got along quite well. Upon returning home, I put on my brand-new gloves and brought the cut branches to the front garden. Our neighbour wants to grin

A boring ordinary middle-class Saturday I couldn't fall asleep yesterday night until 12 p.m., and I don't know why. I was tired and thought I'd go to bed early, but as the minutes passed, I got more awake instead of falling asleep. No wonder my wake-up was like my make-up. Non-existent, to be precise. Anyway, I took Abby for her early morning walk, then I fed her and myself, grabbed a coffee and had a chit-chat with Ági. When we finished the call, I washed the dishes and decided to cut the hedge in the backyard. I couldn't complete the whole hedgerow because it was like a thick rainforest. Last year, we paid a lot of money for a so-called expert to get it done, but they were a bunch of idiots with no expertise. 11:30 a.m. I had to drop my tools and seek shelter because the sun was scorching, so I went upstairs, drank a bucket of water, showered and prepared lunch - rice with tuna, tomato, and cucumber, seasoned with olive oil, lemon, and dill. I grabbed a coffee after t

After another shite nite, I decided to go out. I took Abby for her morning walk, had some cinnamon pancakes for breakfast, had a talk with Ági, drank a much-needed coffee, and off I went to town. More precisely, I went to Budaörs to buy a cap and a new Bialetti moka pot - the smallest one that only prepares a half portion of coffee. With all that goods in my trunk, I drove home with a wide grin on my face. When I got home, I prepared lunch, nothing fancy, just some rice, tuna, and tomato with cucumber and dill. When I finished devouring the nosh, I grabbed a coffee and took Abby for her afternoon walk. After returning home, I buckled down to my homework and managed to finish it. Well done me! It wasn’t an easy task in terms of forcing myself to finish it, but I made it eventually. I felt so proud of myself that I allowed my wee body to rest, so I nodded off for ten minutes. Am I generous or what? Anyway, the weather is finally great. It was sunny, without clouds, no rain or strong wind

Although I had a mediocre night, I wasn’t exhausted after waking up. However, this day wasn’t my day at all. This constant rain kills us. Taking Abby for her walks requires a tremendous amount of time, energy, and patience. Not to mention my physical exertion. Since we agreed on taking Abby for longer walks so she gets used to spending more time with us on a leash without pulling it, I plucked up the courage and decided to walk with her for at least 45 minutes during each walk, regardless of the weather. As a result, I’m knackered, she is knackered, and I lack the enthusiasm and energy to continue with my daily plan more and more. Each walk takes at least one and a half hours, including the walk and the after-party, e.g., washing her paws and abdomen and picking the thorns from her fur. Summer, where are you??? So, at seven o'clock in the morning, we're off for the walk, and at 8:30 a.m., both of us are ready for breakfast which takes another 45 minutes. It includes preparation

I had a good night's sleep, finally. I took some natural remedies yesterday before going to bed, and it worked. I went to bed at 11 p.m. and woke up at 5 a.m. But was I in an open-eye coma the whole morning? Anyway, I took Abby for her walk and gathered 3000 steps; that's how long the walk was. Then we both had a delicious breakfast - I drank a much-needed coffee - and phoned Ági. She seemed to enjoy her stay in Vienna, although the weather was shite here, too. It’s windy, cold, rainy, and gloomy. A sort of pre-summer weather, innit? Apparently, this is the current weather all over central Europe. But back to the natural order of events. So after finishing the phone, I decided to wash the dishes and clean the toilets, which took an hour's hard labour in my morning. Then I practised some Tai Chi and prepared lunch - nothing fancy, just jasmine rice with tomato, but when I finished devouring the nosh, I grabbed the Linzer we'd bought in Vienna on Monday and scarfed it dow

I had a short night. I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep because my mind thought it was exam day. My brain was so clear that I thought I would solve the most complicated equation on Earth or complete a CPE exam. Too bad my body wasn't up for it and was lying motionless in bed. Anyway, I dragged myself out of bed at 6:20, prepared breakfast, ate it, and took Abby for her morning walk. Then I fed her, washed the dishes, grabbed coffee, and called Ági. After we finished chatting, I felt so tired that I decided to nod off. However, when I made myself comfy, the phone rang: my mate, the mechanic, called me to arrange Ági's car's regular checkup this afternoon. When we finished, I fell into a half-coma and slept for an hour. After waking up, I studied a bit, prepared lunch, grabbed coffee again, and took Abby for her afternoon walk before my English class with Charlette. Once the lesson was over, I hopped in Ági's car with Abby and went off to the city. The car

This entry will be a short one because I’m exhausted. We woke up early in the morning and had a delicious breakfast. Ági took Abby for her morning walk, and I went out for my walk. After returning home, I took a shower while Ági was packing her luggage. At 10:45, we hopped in the car and went to Austria. The trip was long due to the heavy traffic, some accidents, and lane closures. We got to Ági’s hotel at 15:45, and at 16:15, I was in the car heading home. I arrived home at 19:30 and took Abby for her evening walk immediately. Now I feel like someone after running two marathons in a row. I’ll take a quick shower and my bed awaits me…

We woke up to a gloomy and rainy day. After finishing breakfast and drinking our coffees, Ági suggested that we go for a walk before the rain. It was a brilliant idea because on the way back home it started to rain, and it's been raining since then. And boy, was it cold outside! The temperature dropped to +13°C, but it felt even less in the strong wind. Where are the nice warm days when we could go out for our walk wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a short, not to mention my beloved TEVA sandals? The afternoon walk with Abby was equally shite, as the rain and wind were still on. Poor thing, she returned with completely soaked fur. Anyway, the air pressure put so much pressure on our system that both of us had to nod off after lunch. First, I lost consciousness, and after waking up with a start, Ági fell into a deep sleep. I'd better pull myself together and get back to my weekend routine. I have a plan so crazy that it might just work. Except for tomorrow and the Thursday of th

I completed my homework this morning and sent it to Charlette. Despite being challenging, I enjoyed it very much. It contained four tasks. Three of them were writing (task 1 - writing a report; task 2 - writing a summary based on one of the sketches of Monty Pythons Flying Circus; task 3 - writing a letter to the editor of a financial magazine, expressing your opinion on the increase in contributions the British taxpayer has to make to fund the royal family), and the fourth task was an open cloze text written by Charlette. After finishing and sending the homework to Charlette, I prepared lunch. The menu was the usual: fish fingers with jasmine rice and salad for Ági and tomato for me. While we were munching on the nosh, we watched another completely silly episode of Derrick. It was the fifth episode of the eighteen's season, and Herbert Reinecker wasn't on top while writing the screenplay. Actually, the series was on air for 24 years and over almost two and a half decades, Mr R

The day went by unbelievably quickly. That's what being busy does. I'm kidding; every single day of the past few months was busy - except when I or we couldn't do anything but stare into the void. After waking up and having a delicious cinnamon pancake breakfast with my little vitamins and the much-needed coffee, I started to study. I completed two of the four tasks I'd received from Charlette the other day. After preparing and devouring lunch, I buckled down to the fourth assignment. It went well, but I need another day to complete it. I gave Ági a foot massage and watched a Dutch series, Undercover. We saw it already, but it is a series worth re-watching.  The weather was terrible today. It was so gloomy that we didn't want to go out for our usual walk. And to top it off, we even had to switch on the central heating, as the temperature dropped significantly. The strong wind and the rain couldn't uplift the mood either, so today's weather could have been be

I woke up early today because I had an appointment to replace the winter wheels with the summer ones at 4:30 a.m. I wasn't the happiest person on the globe. I could have slept till 5:30 a.m., but I knew if I'd gone back to sleep, I wouldn't have been able to wake up in time and get there. Anyway, the whole wheel-changing process went smoothly. Then we had a delicious breakfast at the canteen, where I met an old colleague, who invited us for a coffee. I was surprised to notice how neutral my mood was while returning to the location where I'd spent almost 25 years. In hindsight, it was high time I left the company in February, however painful it was. Upon returning home, I started to study. I completed two tasks and began another one, so only one and a half exercises are left. I went down to the kitchen to prepare lunch at 11:00 a.m. Fish fingers with rice and tzatziki were on the menu, and we ate like two famished wolves while watching another terribly silly episode of D

We watched the last episode of Bordertown. Now the series is over and won't be available on Netflix anymore. Moreover, they don't plan to shoot another season yet, so chances are we were lucky to have watched the complete three seasons. Anyway, "Vive le Finnish-Hungarian friendship and Uralic languages!" 🇫🇮🇭🇺 After Ági left for the university, I sat down to study. I received four tasks yesterday from Charlette, and I finished the open cloze text and made some notes on the vocabulary part of the lesson. Now ask me anything about "wear out", "hanker for", "wind up", "drop in on", drop in", "cloak", "spectre", "orb", and "mace". Writing a report, explaining the gist of a video to a B1 level student, and writing a letter to an editor of a magazine are left to be completed. When I finished studying, I made some lunch: the menu was pita-bread with Greek yoghurt and veggies - tomato, spr

I was an official chauffeur today. I had to drive Ági to the university this morning and bring her back this evening. I hardly had time to study as much as I'd wanted to, but at least I got out for a bit. Not that I would be in prison; only staying at home every day makes it feel like being in a super secure institution. Anyway, the nearly hundred kilometres I drove today was fun, and the car's consumption is outstanding - 5.6 litres during the morning route and 6.1 in the evening. My class with Charlette was superb. She really is the best English teacher I've ever met. The lesson was all about what I needed to strengthen and improve my English, so I was over the moon. She really is inspirational, and her knowledge is top-notch. Wind up, wear out, and drop in on are the phrasal verbs I wasn't entirely sure of; therefore, they need more attention so I can explain their meanings while teaching.  The weather could be better. It's not bad, but the intense cold wind from

I had to take Abby for her regular grooming this morning. Her fur was a mess, and it collected oodles of thorns during the walks: it was like a spike magnet, and we regularly had to spend more time taking them out than the walk itself. It was a nightmare. Anyway, they cut her fur short, and after the afternoon walk, I only found one thorn. What a success! As for my English studies: I completed the second task of my homework, which was writing a report about social problems in my region or country that I think a TV program should cover, and listing the problems and describing the causes and consequences. I had 45 minutes to complete it, and I can proudly claim that I managed to finish it under 35 minutes. What is more, it turned out to be a fairly good text, so I sent it to Charlette as my homework and Ági as well for proofreading. I was pleased by my little self. The weather was not too bad today, it could have been warmer, but the temperature drop couldn't prevent me from wearing

The day didn't go as I had planned yesterday. After waking up and having a delicious cinnamon pancake for breakfast, we decided to watch another episode of Bordertown. We want to finish the Finnish series before the deadline, 10 May. Once the chapter was over, we went for a 5.5k walk with Ági because the weather was perfect for a walk, and I could finally wear my beloved TEVA sandals. After returning home, I cooked lunch, and while devouring the nosh, we watched another episode of Bordertown. Then I gave Ági a foot massage, and after that, I passed out for 30 minutes. When I woke up, I realised it was my turn to take Abby for her afternoon walk, so I pulled myself together and went out with her. We then spent the rest of the afternoon binge-watching another two episodes of Bordertown, so chances are we can finish the whole series in time. As for my English studies: I let this day go completely. I wasn't in the mood to study. But I'll make up for my negligence and laziness.

The day didn't go according to the plan I'd devised yesterday. We could hardly drag ourselves from bed this morning, greatly impacting our day. After devouring the breakfast and gulping down the much-needed coffee, we watched another episode of Bordertown. The reason for this hurry is that the series will only be available till 10. May, so we'd better binge-watch it to be able to finish it. After the morning movie session, I studied a bit till we popped down to the town to celebrate Ági's habilitation and my CELTA successes with a dinner at Christine, one of the best local restaurants in Szentendre, where the food was absolutely delicious. Ági had salmon with green asparagus and mashed potato with beetroot, and I had a traditional "Marhapörkölt" and gnocchi with sheep's cheese. The muss o'chocolate and the mojito cocktail were the icing on the cake for Ági. We crawled back home like two miffed penguins. It wasn't easy to climb the hill, but when we

This morning, Abby left a surprise on the floor for us. It wasn't the best gift one might dream of, but this was a clear sign of another visit to the vet and another substantial expense today. This time she got some antibiotics, so we must also give her the pills besides the diet. We don't have a life... I studied a bit today, but in hindsight, I think I could have done more. Despite finishing my homework and going through another unit in the phrasal verb book, the time I spent learning seemed insufficient. I'll make up for my laziness tomorrow; I plan to revise the previous units and strengthen my weaknesses, such as the subjunctive and some words that I've been struggling with lately. Other than that, I think I'll look for another language to learn because I don't want to overfocus on my CPE preparation. There are a few languages I've been thinking of learning, for example, Icelandic, Finnish, Turkish, and Portuguese. If I took one unit of each book every

I had to take Abby to the vet today. There were no accidents during the night; however, the consistency of the excrement she produced this morning prompted us to schedule an urgent check-up. We could get an appointment for 10:45 a.m., so I had plenty of time to finish my essay about imposter syndrome. It wasn't an easy topic to write about, and the task didn't make it easier: I had to analyse Ms Obama's speech in which she talked about the phenomenon and how to deal with it. Anyway, I took Abby to the vet. According to the examination, apart from slight diarrhoea, there were no other significant issues to cure, so we were given many helpful dietary supplements, a jab, and a juicy bill. We have to watch her outcome constantly, and should her metabolism produce anything liquid, we have to take her back to the vet for another treatment involving some antibiotics. After returning home, I made lunch: spaghetti with tuna. It was so delicious that we devoured it within two minutes

I had a rough night. Abby had an upset stomach, so I had to sleep on the couch in case she had to go somewhere. She wasn't too restless all night, but at least she slept like a log. However, the morning brought an unpleasant surprise: she took a crapy in the hall. I didn't notice it during the night, as I was wide awake till 4 a.m. watching silly videos on YouTube, then nodded off and woke up at 6 a.m. She must have dropped it between 4-6 a.m. I wasn't too happy about it. Anyway, the day was just as rough as the night. I couldn't concentrate on my homework correctly, and I passed out after lunch, so today wasn't the best day for learning. Nevertheless, I could finish the 250-word essay, though. The weather could have been better. It was raining on and off, and the sky was grey, which affected our mood and energy level negatively. Abby was sleeping all day long, and I must have been exhausted from the night on the couch that I passed out for an hour and woke up like

When I managed to drag myself out of bed, I couldn't believe it was Tuesday. But it struck me immediately that it was caused by the additional day off because of the 1 of May holiday. After a delicious cinnamon pancake breakfast and the much-needed coffee, I started learning English. Today's lesson was about phrasal verbs, and the 59th unit in the book couldn't bring much novelty. It was about "KEEP" used in phrasal verbs, and apart from two - KEEP IN WITH (to make sure that you stay friends with somebody because you will get an advantage from doing so), KEEP AT (continue working at) - there were no significant issues I couldn't deal with in this unit. Once Ági left for the University, I practised Tai Chi and Lok Hup, and then I prepared a delicious al dente spaghetti á la Pomodoro. I devoured the lunch in less than five minutes, had a coffee and took Abby for her afternoon walk. Pulling out all the thorns stuck in her fur took me almost 30 minutes after the w

Even though it's Monday, today is a national - but it is also possible that it is a worldwide - holiday. We celebrate International Workers' Day. When we were kids, we used to participate in the communist parade on the Parade Ground, where the highest party members watched us perform our communist choreography. It was not a highly complex performance, but we always ensured that our participation was flawed. It was similar to what one might still see in North Korea. How much we hated it...  Regardless of the holiday, we decided to go on a hike. After finishing the breakfast-coffee-another episode of Bordertown, we went for a 5.5k walk, which was terrific. The weather s beautiful, and there were very few tourists knocking about on the hiking route, so it was a relaxing walk. When we returned, I cooked lunch and watched another episode of Bordertown - and before anyone asks, we did it because the series won't be available on Netflix after the 10th of May. I drank a delicious c