My Life after CELTA

I continued my shrubbery-trimming ordeal this morning, which, quite frankly, does my head in. Whenever I have to think of the bush in the garden, I feel like a grumpy cat. After breakfast, I grabbed my tools and cut another part of the humongous bush. Many plants were among the over-grown shrub branches, which I found somewhat unsettling since neither Ági nor I planted anything there but bush. I suspect the neighbours might have gone clandestine and taken matters into their own hands. Anyway, it's already part of the past because I culled the dried branches along with the not-brush-type of plants. It took me another hour to complete the task, but it was worth my effort. Once I finished the job, I showered and prepared lunch - nothing fancy, just spaghetti with tuna. While we were devouring the nosh, we watched another episode of "Dexter". Once we finished the food and the episode, we went to the bank to close my entrepreneur account. Then ate ice cream at the famous ...

I definitely wanted to finish the trimming of the overgrown bush, but I couldn't spend more than almost two hours under the sun. I need two more pruning sessions to complete the job, and, I'm afraid, I must rent the wood chipper on two more occasions. There is nothing I can do about it except accept the fact of my negligence and do the job with stiffer upper lips. At least the weather was great, so I can't complain about it. I'll have another go with the shrubbery tomorrow, but I want to avoid seeing or touching it during the weekend. I'm like a little effing gardener. I don't even like gardens... Well, I like them, but the tedious work it entails is what I can't stand. As for my English studies, I did a bit of revision and began another task of my homework. I thought it'd be easier, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Or it's my mind tricking me. Anyway, I buckled down to write about a topic that seemed familiar and had experience with - workin...

My DIY days are temporarily over. I'll continue it tomorrow by trimming the burgeoned bush in the shared garden, and the plan is to complete the thinning of the remaining of the mini forest by Friday. I'll collect the branches in our front garden and get the wood chipper next Monday, which will undoubtedly culminate in another day of toil. Regarding my pursuit of English studies, I focused primarily today on the homework Charlette had given me. The task that required me to elicit the meaning of twelve highlighted words in a text was easy. The reading task was hilarious. I had to peruse a short story from one of my favourite writers, Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl. I had read it a few years ago, but this was the first time I've read it in English. The weather was marvellous today. The temperatures weren't exorbitantly high. I sat on the balcony with my AirPods in my ear, listening to the original soundtrack of "The Big Blue" by Eric Serra. I nodded off fo...

I had a terrible night. Waking up at 3 a.m. made me a tad dizzy, and even the usual cinnamon pancake breakfast that I love so much couldn't make me forget the sleepless night. However, after gulping the much-needed coffee, I felt a bit better, and it helped me process the schedule while gradually coming out of the woke slumber. At 9:30 a.m., one of our neighbours, who had a wood chipper for rent, called me to say that he wanted to bring over the machine. That information woke me up straight away. With a clear head, I took the tool and processed the user manual in the form of the guy's on-the-spot short demonstration. As soon as he left, I started the two and a half hours wood-chipping workout. I felt knackered after finishing the job, but the delicious homemade pizza was just the right nosh a weary worker could ask for. While we were devouring the nosh, we watched the last episode of the second season of Dexter. As for my English studies: the class with Charlette was fantastic,...

Little did I know about the unfolding of events when I woke up this morning. Despite opening my eyes at 5:45 a.m., but after the alarm went off, I immediately went back to sleep. Anyway, after finishing my usual breakfast, I began my shrubbery cutting. There is this enormous bush at the back of our common garden, and although a shady guy and his mother cut it last year for an excruciating amount of money, they couldn't finish the requested job properly. Actually, the bush looked like a small jungle by now, and it was high time I got the pruning shears and the saw. It took me two and a half hours to prune only one-third of the mini forest, but boy, was I sweating like a pig on ice? Tomorrow we'll get the wood chipper to chop up the branches. It'll surely be another two and a half hours job. As for my English studies: I merely did some sentence rewriting, meaning I asked ChatGPT to create five sentences at the C2 level that I can rewrite, and it can revise and give me feedbac...

Well, the day wasn't completely fretful (behaving in a way that shows you are unhappy or uncomfortable). I felt weary and lacking power. I didn't sleep well, and the early morning wake-up was not something I wanted to remember.  Anyway, we started the day by watching an episode of "Dexter, and then Ági ran some household chores, and I studied with the help of ChatGPT. I asked AI to create short stories that could help me expand my vocabulary and three sentences that I had to rewrite, and it could check for grammar, syntax, and semantics and provide feedback on how to enhance my English so that it could sound more natural. (What a sentence length, oh my, oh my...) I was quite pleased with my performance, as was AI, and I even could write coherent sentences that it didn't have to rewrite. I was chuffed to bits. When I finished my class with AI, I went down to the kitchen to prepare lunch. I made spaghetti with tuna, and boy, was it delicious? After lunch, I gave Ági a fo...

The storm wasn't as raging as forecasted, at least over here. According to the news, regions were hit by it quite severely, so it wasn't just a summer rain pouring down gently. Some cities were flooded, and the golf-ball-sized hail damaged goods. But as I said, it wasn't that bad over here, and apart from thunder and lightning, the biggest issue was the gale-force wind, which, fortunately, didn't cause any damage. The storm cooled the air, and the scorching heat disappeared today. I did a bit of DIY this morning. After devouring my breakfast and having coffee while watching another episode of Dexter, I took the grinding papers and gave one of the wooden railings what it deserved. I chose one of the worst condition pieces; its surface turned black due to the improper varnish they'd applied when installing the railing, and it took me one and a half hours to get it back in shape. I wish the grinding machine could have been a better help. After finishing my little DIY f...

The dog days* are over. An hour ago, a raging storm hit the southwestern part of the country, heading towards our region slowly and unstoppably. According to the Meteorological Institute, the highest red alert can be issued during the next few hours due to gale-force wind and golf ball-sized hail. This storm will end the short-lived heat wave we've suffered for days. I don't mind colder temperatures, but the storm makes me nervous, not to mention Abby, who becomes a living panic statue. She doesn't like thunders and lightning. Fingers crossed that it won't cause havoc anywhere. Anyway, I started the "Proficiency Expert" book today because I must focus on the preparation for the CPE exam. The first unit seems excellent, and judging by the following lessons, the book and the workbook are valuable materials for exam preparation. Since there was nothing else worth mentioning - the early morning shopping is not something I'd like to write about - this entry wil...

Despite sleeping like a log, the early morning wake-up call was a bit of a shock. Not because it was unexpectedly early but because I felt like I'd run two marathons in one go during the night. Anyway, it soon occurred to me that the temperature was already high, so I knew either a morning walk or no walk at all today. It seemed Ági had a similar plan in her mind, so right after finishing breakfast, we went out for our 4k walk. Boy, was the air damp after the night storm!? Walking in humid air is not for the faint-hearted. Anyway, upon returning home, I got a call from the craftsmen's store that the faulty grinding machine was back from the service and I could go and fetch it. I wanted to go to the store anyway to buy the wooden railings, so with that in mind, I drove to my currently favourite place to meet my little mates again. I set out at 10 a.m., and the temperature was already +30°C. Thank you, God, for the AC in the car; it came in handy. When I returned home, I prepared...

Ági's got her promotion, and it is official: from September on, she is an honorary associate professor. Well done, my Dear :) Two more days and the scorching heat days are over. Till then, we must stiffen our upper lips and clean and switch on the AC units. It's 8:23 p.m. when I'm writing this entry, and the temperature outside is still +28°C. The highest temperature today was +34°C; no wonder Abby thought during the walks that she was a sloth. Poor thing, she was slouching behind me, and I had to drag her home.  Anyway, as for my English studies: I had a semi-productive day today. I could finish my homework tasks, both the writing and the open-cloze text, but I couldn't fit in any new unit from any of the books I'd wanted to go through. I'm not despondent because the writing task was challenging: I had to write a short essay about "trauma porn", an exceptionally delicate topic. Oh, I nearly forgot: my lunch was so delicious that I'd like to prepar...

I thought I would exude some liquid while walking down to get my ID renewed, but I wouldn't have thought I'd sweat like a pig on ice. The strong coffee and the heat generated by the sun early in the morning were the two contributing factors, I know, but I have to admit, it was mainly due to my low fitness. I had to leave the bank, where I wanted to close one of my accounts, because even the air-conditioned space couldn't do anything about it. It made it worse, actually. Anyway, after returning home, we had a nice lunch - fish fingers with potato and tomato. After devouring the nosh, I drank a coffee and gave Ági a foot massage.  The English class with Charlette was fantastic. We discussed once again which exam to sit, and we agreed on taking the CPE. I still don't think my English is good enough; however, who am I to question and contradict her opinion and the CELTA qualification? So, the lesson was world champion, and the homework she gave me seemed far too challenging...

I didn't anticipate such an active day after waking up. Getting out of bed late meant I couldn't stick to the plan however hard I wanted to. According to the Apple Health and the Withings apps, my health is below average, so I don't have no other choice but to do more physical activity. With this in mind, we went for a long walk with Ági at 8:45 a.m. The temperature was already high, and, fortunately, there was less traffic on the roads and significantly fewer people on the streets. This is what summer vacation does.  After returning home, we both had a drink on the balcony - Ági went for water and some healthy snacks, and I had a much-needed coffee - then, while Ági was working, I studied till lunchtime. Since I was on duty, I prepared fish fingers with potato and thinly sliced cucumber and tomato dipped in sugary-salty-"paprikás"-vinegary water. Plus, I made a bit of yoghurt with mustard and sugar to coat the fish fingers gently soaked with lemon. We ate on the ...

Since our cars were dirty, we popped down to the wash-yourself car wash service to clean them. It took us almost an hour to get it done, and the additional shopping in the nearby store made it two. No wonder we were terribly peckish upon returning home. I didn't hesitate for a moment and jumped into the kitchen to prepare the nosh - fish fingers with rice and salad. We devoured the food on the balcony, which is on the western side of the house, so it was in the shadow, so eating there was divine. The area was calm, hardly any cars passed by, and the summer vacation was palpable because there was less traffic on the roads and fewer people in the shops. The sudden heat that broke into the country took its toll, all of us felt weary. Even Abby was so slow, like a sloth. She moved like a snail during her afternoon walk, and taking her onto the "hill" couldn't make her move faster and more. When I came up with the idea of walking, Ági looked at me with anger, surprise, and...

As planned, after finishing breakfast, we set out on our celebratory programs. First, we headed for the Castle District, where Ági had a delicious latte ice cream, and I had a "krémes" with an espresso at "Ruszwurm". In addition, we brought home some more "krémes" and a "képviselőfánk" should the afternoon seem depressing. With the goods in our bellies, we drove back home, parked the car, put the cakes in the fridge, and walked to Szentendre's downtown to have a nice lunch at our favourite restaurant, Christine. Before the meal, Ági had a mojito, and I had a lemonade with elderberry. For the main course, Ági had Cesar Salad, and I had the usual beef stew with gnocchi with sheep cheese. We ate like a queen and a king.  While we were sitting at the restaurant, old memories surfaced. We met here in Szentendre thirty-one years ago and have been together since. The town looked different, as we did, of course. The town was similar to any other soci...

I took the grinding machine back to the store because it had kept ruining the belts. I was fuming after seeing it destroy the belts. I could complete the unfinished piece, but the machine wouldn't function properly even after replacing the belt. At the store, they guided me through the whole process step by step. I was asked what had happened. They recorded an error report and my name, both postal and email addresses, and telephone number, and they'd send the item to the factory service to find out what caused the problem. According to the store employee, it takes two to four weeks for them to respond, so my railing renovation plans are ruined. I should have bought a slightly more expensive device! As for my English: I had time to go through one more unit in the B2 vocabulary builder book. Since it didn't contain any unknown word, I completed it in no time. However, apart from this short-lived session, I didn't do anything else. I must find my way back to my intensive s...

Ági's got promoted! After successfully completing her habilitation, she will be appointed as an associate professor from September 2023. WHAT GREAT NEWS! I'm so proud of her, and she is such a brilliant mind. Well done! Finally, I can call her "docenském" :) I went to see my mates at the craftsman shop with the intention of replacing the machine that had demised yesterday. Well, demise is not an accurate term to describe what went wrong, but suffice to say it seemed it couldn't live up to my expectations. Anywho, I asked around and found out that they were more than happy to replace it, provided that it is in its original package and I've got the receipt. With this in mind I drove back home like a heavily sedated F1 pilot.  For reasons I don't want to discuss here I didn't start to clean the machine instead. I was focusing on the toilet and lunch. With that in mind, I began my cleaning-lady session. After completing the task and before preparing lunch,...

The Death of the Hobby Grinding Machine Today's events could have been better planned. Upon waking up, I knew I'd continue the railing renovation, but I wasn't anticipating a kind of chain reaction. On a sudden impulse, I disassembled the rest of the railing, and while I was painting the iron parts I realised that the railing on our balcony could do with a bit of paint. It took me three hours to finish the job, but the outcome was remarkable. I was quite pleased with myself, so after lunch - rice with tuna, tomato, cucumber, and parsley - I took a 45-minute nap. While slumbering, it dawned on me to finish parts of the wooden handholds of the railing, so I was eager to use the grinding machine. When I woke up, I felt like another man, knackered but full of energy, so I grabbed a coffee and took Abby for her afternoon walk. At 2:30 p.m., I started to work on the handholds. When I switched on the machine, it seemed swift and professional. I was filled with exceptional enthusia...

Local Painting Day After devouring my usual cinnamon pancake breakfast and gulping down the much-needed coffee, I disassembled the railing because the metal rods and the wooden slats were in terrible condition. It took me three hours to remove the slats, paint the metal rods, the top of the water meter utility hole, and the front door. I'm exhausted. The English lesson was excellent. Charlette's classes are the best. She always checks the unknown vocabulary and brings challenging speaking and writing tasks. Her feedback on them is priceless. She is the best English teacher I've met. I went for a 10k ride with my mate's bike I'd like to buy, and it was terrific. There is a bike path along the Danube which provides a fantastic view to the other side of the river. It's basically some trees and the river one can see, but it's far from the busy road, so it is kind of relaxing pedalling on it. Well, this is it for today, I'm afraid...

A bit of summer in the air After finishing breakfast and the much-needed coffee, I decided to visit my friends at the craftsman store. It's been a while since I last saw them, so it was high time I did something about it. I bought paint for the wooden fence and the iron thing that holds it. Then I popped into two more stores to buy some toilet requisites and food for Abby. After returning home, I prepared lunch: cooked potato with fish fingers and cucumber salad. It was delicious. As for my English studies: I went through two units in the "Színes kérdések és válaszok" book. I guess it was written by two Hungarian linguists and proofread by a British guy. Its main focus is vocabulary, and it tries to introduce new words, expressions, phrasal verbs, and idioms through many interesting contemporary topics. It was the B2 level book I started with, but I haven't regretted it for a moment. There aren't many unknown words in it, so it is a perfect example to see the diff...

Castle, Coffee, Ice cream, Pastry, Studying, Walking Mátyás-templom (Matthias Church) Yesterday we decided to visit Buda Castle. It wasn't the culture-hungry party of our brains that insisted on broadening our horizons, but the part craving for sweets. The famous "Ruszwurm Confectionery" sells the best "crimes" in the capital; no wonder the place was almost full at the opening time. We got there, luckily, at 9:45 a.m. and sat on a bench opposite the confectionery when a large tourist group arrived with the guide talking about the place appetisingly. We saw the weary members of the group drooling on the pavement, and we almost burst out loud in laughter when the guide told them to continue their sightseeing. Only when she made a loud remark about their return to the place made us a tad worried, so we stood up and sat down at one of the tables. No sooner had we sat down than the crowd started to flock into the place. In a split second, all the seats were occupied ...

A damp day This is not the summer we've been waiting for. After a long and tiring autumn and winter - Ági completed her habilitation, and I completed the CELTA course - we thought June would be a warm, sunny, and pleasant month. We couldn't have been more wrong. The highest temperature today was +23°C, and the sky was not free of clouds, rain poured down, so the occasional sunshine couldn't lift the spirit as it made the air suffocatingly humid. What a brilliant introduction?! Anyway, after devouring my breakfast and gulping down the much-needed coffee, I jumped in the car and took it to give it a good wash. The hood was full of bird excrement, and I didn't want it to damage the varnish. It was in vain because the after the afternoon rain, another pile of shite appeared on it. As for my English: I grabbed the B2 book that is full of useful texts and started to pore over it. Since the first unit was rather captivating, I decided to go through this and the C1 book as well...

Yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljä, viisi, kuusi, seitsemän, kahdeksan, yhdeksän, kymmenen We broke the routine today by me taking Abby for her morning walk. I had a delicious breakfast and a nice cup of coffee when we returned. I needed it. Then I buckled down to study. I checked the meaning of the Hungarian word "meggátol" in English and checked all the possible meanings in English. The following two lists contain all I found online. Known verbs: PREVENT INHIBIT INCAPACITATE IMPEDE HINDER BAR OBSTRUCT THWART RESTRAIN BLOCK Never-before-heard ones: PRECLUDE HAMPER I asked ChatGPT to help me with phrasal verbs and expressions that express the concept of hindering, obstructing, or preventing, and this is what it provided me with: Phrasal verbs: HOLD BACK SET BACK GET IN THE WAY CUT OFF HOLD UP Expressions: PUT A DAMPER ON THROW A WRENCH IN THE WORKS TIE SOMEONE'S HAND STAND IN THE WAY ROADBLOCK After lunch, I gave Ági a foot massage which made me so sleepy that I had to nod off. It...

Rainy summer When I woke up, the sky was already grey, which was slightly depressing, if I'm being honest. Not even the usual breakfast - cinnamon pancake - could cheer me up, so the coffee was essential to keep my cool. (How and why do I know this expression?!) I came to when the coffee started to take effect. Still, I had to immediately realise that I had a dentist's appointment at 10 a.m. A quick shaving helped me get going and maintain my composure, so with a panic-free head, I went to see my favourite dentist. He really is a good doc. The dental procedure was not painful at all. I got the usual anaesthetic jab because the root canal was rather sensitive, but after that, it was a smooth flight. It took the doc ten minutes to finish the job, so I had plenty of time on my hand till lunch, which made me go to do some shopping. However, the chlorine that the doc used to disinfect the root canal created a freshly-cleaned toilet feeling in my mouth, and I felt like an old cleanin...

Back on track After a fairly good night's sleep - both of us had to powder our noses at 4 a.m. - we woke up with a start at 7 a.m., and things sped up afterwards. Completing the morning routines meant I could buckle down and study at last. I did till 11:30 a:m., then I prepared lunch - rice with tomato, cucumber, and parsley - had a coffee and took Abby for her afternoon walk. When we returned from the walk, I sat down to study again. I started to complete my homework, which was even more difficult than the previous one. I have to watch a video about Russell Brand and Jon Snow having a debate about the UK Drug Policy and:  how the interlocutors address one another (formally, informally, respectfully, disrespectfully, etc. how the power dynamics work within the conversation (at what point is Jon Snow in control, at what point does Russell Brand take control?) and what the result is from a linguistic perspective, how strong the arguments are that each of them raise: the expressions t...

Back on track I had a great night's sleep, finally, and it could have been a bit longer. Anyway, after a delicious breakfast and coffee, Ági asked me to put the remnants of the weekend bathroom revamp into our "non-existent-shed". While I was moving the 25-kilo sack, I strained the lower part of my back, resulting in a semi-excruciating pain. It got worse after sitting for long but got better after walking. C'est la vie.  As for my English studies: I reviewed Charlette's previous lessons and found three words that I had to memorise - GRIT as in courage, HAGGARD as in looking ill or tired, often with dark skin under the eyes, and THE OG as in the original. Later I had a class with her, which was fantastic, as usual. After the lesson, I studied a bit, and just when I decided to practice tai chi, the locksmith called. He wanted to check the backdoor again before making the rails. That's my luck. The weather was terrible today. It's been raining since early...

BIRTHDAY How would one celebrate their 53rd birthday other than eating out, right? Well, this is precisely what we did; however, the location was a tad unusual, I must admit: IKEA. Yes, we ate there, and it wasn’t that bad. We had meatballs with french fries, a coffee with a delicious apple pie with caramel on it, so we ate like queens and kings. We bought some goods we needed and returned home. On the way back, we stopped off at the craftsman store, where we bought a grinding machine I’d use to revamp the wooden surfaces outside. As for my English learning: I received Charlette’s feedback on my latest writing, and it was the best feedback I’ve received so far. She was pleased with my report on AI - I was happy with it, either - and I think I made another great step towards reaching my goals. I’m not ready for the CPE exam yet, but I’m on it, and I think by the end of the summer, I might play with the idea of looking for a centre in Budapest where I can take the test. The weather turne...

Pre-birthday celebration I had a terrible night. I couldn't breathe because of my stuffed nose, so I had to wake up and use my nasal spray at 1 a.m. The full moon wasn't helpful either, so if I had to rate my previous night's performance on a scale of ten - where ten is the best - I would say minus one million. Anyway, let's not dwell on a shite night but focus on what today happened. After waking up and preparing and devouring my beloved cinnamon pancake breakfast, let's not forget the much-needed coffee either, I hopped on my mate's bike that I'd like to buy from him and went for a short trip on it. I had to contain myself during the ride and remind my wee brain to slow down and take an easy ride. (A couple of years ago, I made a huge mistake that my poor heart wasn't happy about.) But boy, was it fantastic! The bicycle, a size 60 KTM Live Action, is fantastic. It is not a high-end model, but just right for me. It could take me from A to B perfectly. T...

This Saturday was an uneventfully eventful day, however contradictory it sounds. After waking up and finishing breakfast, one of the masons came to complete the bathroom, which he did by 11:00 a.m. After we handed over the money we owed them, we jumped in the car and drove to buy some bathroom requisites, such as a curtain in the shower and a few towels. Upon returning home at 1:00 p.m., I prepared lunch, devoured it, took Abby for her afternoon walk, grabbed a coffee, and gave Ági a foot massage. Then we went for a 4.5k walk - the weather was beautiful, +24°C with clear skies - after which we both felt like two terribly sick ageing camels. Anyway, as for my English studies: yesterday night, while Ági was massaging my feet and watching the Tina Turner movie, I did some research on the internet. More precisely, I chatted with Bing. I asked it to check my homework for grammar, syntax, and semantics, provide feedback, and decide whether the piece of writing I submitted was eligible for a ...

The day began early, at 5 a.m. I woke up with a start because I knew if I fell asleep until the alarm clock's signal, I wouldn't be able to pull myself together by the time the craftsmen arrived. However, I stayed in bed until 5:45 a.m. planning my day ahead. Once I dragged myself out of bed, I went shopping. After returning home, I took Abby for her morning walk while Ági covered the machines in the bathroom downstairs. I had a delicious breakfast when the guys arrived to start the tiling work. Once we discussed everything they needed to know, I grabbed a coffee and continued with the report I'd left unfinished yesterday. Fortunately, I could complete my homework and send it to Charlette. The masons were professional. They finished the tiling work at 1 p.m. and left, but they need to come back tomorrow to finish the grouting. So much for our "Tihany reggeli" - breakfast in Tihany at the "Levendula étterem". Anyway, at least the bathroom will be ship sha...