My Life after CELTA

Despite another restless night, my mind brimmed with optimism for the day. I meticulously crafted a schedule, integrating my vocabulary expansion practice in it seamlessly - an impeccable plan in theory. However, reality hit me swiftly making my expectations vanishing into thin air. After a couple of disastrously unsuccessful attempts to engrave the new vocabulary in my mind, I realised I wasn’t ready for the challenge. Despite the blow to my confidence, I accepted that taking a respite would be beneficial not only to preserve my sanity but also to allow my mind to assimilate the new vocabulary and idioms. There are numerous paths to success, and whether it happens today or not, it makes no difference.

I immersed my little self into unfathomable depths and profound study of the English language today, which yielded a complete standstill in my wee cerebral cortex. Langour befell the convolutions of my grey matter, tenderly switching off the region responsible for writing.  Despite the mental fatigue, I find solace in the knowledge that such moments of challenge are often the precursor to significant breakthroughs in understanding and mastery.

As the eventide drew a long shadow on the land at the end of a quiescent day, highlighting the effulgent contrast between day and night, I recalled my little self peregrinating through the day, pondering how to compose a helpful lesson to my novel student. Even though languor befell me while embarking on the day’s odyssey, I serendipitously crafted a new syllabus. Nevertheless, the subsequent leisure stroll with Abby resulted in another fatigue, and I soon found myself in the realm of reverie upon returning home with a weary dog. The remainder of the day comprised honing my lesson, enhancing its syllabus, and mitigating my ravenous appetite.

Even though the wind showed signs of waning by the end of the evening yesterday, it still blew like an insatiable trumpeter throughout the night. Mother Nature posed the daunting prospect of another sleepless night. Despite being terrified of the thought of spending another night with eyes wide open, we bravely hopped up to the attic bedroom in the hope of hitting the hay right after carefully placing our weary heads onto the pillow. I was almost charmed by the gentle shadows on the wall drawn by the moonlight when the sudden horror of realising what this phenomenon really meant slowly lifted my eyelids. When the visual stimuli poke the brain with photons, one’s mind automatically sets itself into alert mode. And so did mine. It woke my system up without saying, “Bonjour Triest!”. However hard I tried to goad my cerebral cortex into losing consciousness, it wouldn’t obey. I still need to figure out how the following events unfolded, but one thing is sure: in the middle of my agony, one...

The previous night took us by surprise. Despite dragging our weary bodies up to the bedroom, hoping to sleep like a log, the full moon in cahoots with the ferocious Northern wind kept us on our toes again. The raging wind knocked our eyes open with its monotonous, deafening whistles. When we woke up with a start, even though I switched off the alarm clock at 6 a.m., my watch shocked me with the actual time. Remembering our food delivery (they promised to bring the items between 7-8 a.m.), we checked the notifications, and to our horror, they were about to kick in our door with the delivery. Never before have they been as punctual as today. Fortunately, no items were missing from the packages, which was a huge relief and changed my attitude to taking Abby for her early morning walk in the gale-force wind. Even when the most violent blast pushed us almost over the pavement, we were resolute and kept our pace because our minds revolved around the upcoming early morning delicacies. Boy, we...

I could have described the weather recently, but I spent my days improving and crafting prompts instead. To compensate for my ignorance towards nature, I'll temporarily halt my input writing and goad my wee mind into a weatherman's skin. So, yesterday, and the day before yesterday, was horrific as gale force wind battering the country hard, though less harmful than England's. The garden furniture's cover sheet on our balcony produced a never-before-heard noise while the wind blew it about. It sounded like a typical Hungarian "betyár", aka bandit, cracking his whip ferociously. The shades knocked on the window like a forger while crafting swords for an entire marauding army, car sirens went off, and the wind played a weird tune on its whistler. Sleeping in this out-of-this-world cacophony proved more challenging than climbing Mount Everest without oxygen tanks. Eventually, Mother Nature got tired of this vicious air flow and tamed it into a gentle breeze. It wa...

My journey into the territory of prompt writing hasn't stopped after spending an intensive week with ChatGPT. On the contrary, it has just begun. Being able to write helpful inputs that yield valuable responses elevates the mood and goads me into learning more. The AI's capabilities and knowledge base open new horizons, baffling laymen like my little self. Additionally, YouTube proved to be an unfathomably enormous information pot from which scooping valuable training material is merely a question of click. The abundance of tutorial videos about improving one's prompt writing skills and technique is perplexing. Consequently, encountering new principles, methods, and tricks are in the pipeline and phasing them into my prompt writing practice will have beneficial impacts.  Claiming that I could see the surface of prompt writing the other day was a preposterous understatement. As I dig deeper every day, it becomes evident how much there is to learn. All in all, the limit is th...

After an intensive week working with AI, I commend myself for the perseverance that propelled my enthusiasm and navigated me into the intricate yet exciting field of prompt engineering. The time spent honing my writing skills and improving my English was unequivocally worth it. I now have a fundamentally different approach to how prompts should be crafted, thanks to the excellent help I received from AI. After the unavoidable ups and downs, everything eventually fell into place. While I may not yet consider myself a seasoned prompt writer, the progress made over the last week is significant. The assiduous practice would yield the expected results in the end, so all I have to do now is delve into the realm of professional prompt writing and create more and more inputs. In retrospect, I'll always recall the dedicated moments spent refining my approach and the satisfaction that followed. It's a journey I'll carry forward with a sense of accomplishment. Well done, indeed.

A second-degree alert was issued last night for sleet. Every weather channel implored us not to go out. They depicted a dire scenario in which the whole country would be covered with ice, making traffic impossible. Little did I know how big of a fib these warnings were when I woke up this morning. Nevertheless, after looking out the window, I saw cars roaring about with Formula-One-like speed, as they do, and apart from a never-before-seen thin layer of snow, there was no humongous rink. Not even a frozen puddle on the pavement! I understand how intricate a job it is to predict the erratic weather, but boy, was it a terrible miscalculation? Sleet my buttocks! Only a couple of frozen leaves on the ground!

The weather went bonkers. According to the latest weather forecast, the night will bring sleet and snow as the temperatures drop and the northern wind blows thick clouds above us. Tomorrow morning will be icy, and I can't help but wonder: how on earth will I be able to take Abby for her early morning walk? Since we live on a steep street, climbing up to where I usually walk her is not an option when ice covers the road and the sidewalk. We won't be able to climb up on all fours! I'll put on an enormous nappy and crawl like a baby. Maybe that will help...

This will be succinct. Happy Name-day Ági :) Completing my beginner student's homework tasks A bit of studying Preparing dinner A visitor Lok Hup Ba Fa A bit of studying A foot massage Hitting the hay

After completing ChatGPT's syllabus on improving prompt writing, we moved on to the next chapter: enhancing my English writing skills. I asked the AI to assess my writing skills based on my responses and create another syllabus on improving it. It didn't take long for the AI to create the agenda, and before I knew it, ChatGPT was ready to teach me. However, despite the new syllabus being fascinating and enticing, I couldn't delve into it due to a prior engagement. As a result, I had to put my learning process on hold after the first class.

Digging deeper Today's focus with ChatGPT was on improving my writing skills. After completing the advanced-level prompt writing syllabus, I asked AI to craft another plan to help me enhance my English enabling me to create more meaningful and professional prompts. I'm still amazed by the ease and speed with which AI can review my sentences and provide a better and more concise version of the same input. Nevertheless, the recent learning process confirmed how properly engineered prompts can elicit excellent responses. And even though artificial intelligence is in its infancy, its potential and knowledge is baffling. I wonder what the future will bring to Large Language Models in two or three years.

The hard stuff By realising the importance of conciseness and clarity in my prompts, I redefined my original instructions to aim for better inputs from another angle. After submitting my redefined request to ChatGPT, its reaction was phenomenal. It crafted a meaningful syllabus and guided me through it lesson by lesson, ensuring the gradual increase of each class's subject and requirements. Even though I carefully crafted my test inputs ChatGPT had asked me to produce were up to standard, AI could always create better prompts regarding conciseness and clarity. Nevertheless, its responses and explanations helped me understand how to hone my English to ameliorate my inputs. My initial assessment of ChatGPT's capabilities was soon shattered after completing the syllabus AI had created for me. The gradual progress I witnessed during today's education suggests AI's power is still mesmerisingly unfathomable. I'm convinced that what I did today was far from scratching the ...

Due to a lack of motivation to write, this entry will be brief today.  I experimented with prompt engineering and made progress in generating more meaningful inputs. However, the depth of this field is currently unfathomable, and I'm not sure if I'm merely scratching its surface or just watching its surface from a distance. Nevertheless, I find it quite unusual that the more I delve into refining and improving my prompts, the more my English skills seem to improve. ChatGPT provides valuable feedback and teaches me the subtleties of crafting accurate and meaningful prompts. Through these written discussions, I not only learn a lot, but also witness my English gradually improving, and I can't help but notice how my linguistic mojo is returning to its full potential. I reviewed my beginner student's homework, and it was surprisingly well-done, boosting my motivation to complete her next class's syllabus. I still need to add exercises to the lesson, it is otherwise read...

Although ChatGPT stands out as an impressive AI tool, its constraints and inherent limitations present challenges. Consequently, the significance of prompt engineering in crafting meaningful inputs that AI can interpret and respond to is undeniable. Building up these inputs is tricky since AI is not a mind reader; therefore, conciseness is paramount. A whole new world opened up for me by delving deeper into this topic, and the more I learn, the more it dawns on me the immense potential this tool holds. It is truly fascinating. Even though I had a perfect class with Charlette today, the lingering brain fog took its toll at the end of the lesson. Basic words and expressions seemed to hide somewhere between lunch and coffee in my wee brain. I was terribly miffed by these "brain-farts" because we haven't done anything but suffer from the long-term side effects caused by the COVID-19 actual variant. Ági's been under the weather for quite a long time, so an imminent and rap...

As I mentioned in my previous post, prompt engineering is truly intriguing. Despite encountering certain constraints in the process, the fact that anyone can have a meaningful conversation with artificial intelligence fills me with awe and wonder. Furthermore, the continuous learning nature of AI portends possibilities that people in the 1990s considered to be mere science fiction. However, it's essential to communicate with AI using relevant, succinct prompts. Handling more complex inputs might lead to unforeseen responses, and the thread we open can lose its focus. Nevertheless, several tutorials are available in the virtual space for us to learn and enhance our prompt-writing skills, ensuring much better answers. So, today, I decided to ask ChatGPT to teach me how to master the art of writing professional prompts. Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT was willing to guide me and explain the basics. Our conversation extended beyond the fundamentals, which was promising. While I haven't com...

While slurping the much-needed coffee after breakfast, I stumbled upon a video about prompt engineering. This is a new-fangled expression, and had it not been for Large Language Models, I believe the world would have been a much-depressed place. Joking aside, it is a fascinating topic, and the more I delve into it, the more intriguing it became.  It all began with my heightened curious whether AI could help me improve the languages I speak - primarily English, but I also experimented with French, Spanish, and German. And the more sophisticated my instructions were, the worse the responses from ChatGPT got. I spent hours, if not days, trying to figure out how to create the holy grail of prompts that could fit all my needs, but I failed miserably each time.  Considering all the tribulations and hardships I had to endure, today's video about prompt engineering proved to be handy. I'm still not a master at crafting meaningful prompts, but I'm getting much closer. It beca...

After opening my beginner student's next lesson - which I wrapped up the other day - I found it somewhat incomplete. Therefore, I added some new material to it that I thought might be useful. I rehearsed it afterwards and it seemed satisfactory.  Then, I asked ChatGPT to create another lesson for me to practice words, phrases, idioms, and phrasal verbs that are not outdated or archaic but rarely used and can potentially be part of the CPE exam. It came up with an interesting story and a simulated real-life conversation, both containing unusual words and expressions. I still need to figure out how reliable these texts are, and the best possible way to do that is to check the words in Google's Ngram viewer. It tells you how often people use a specific word, and it even draws a timeline indicating its prevalence.  The weather was interestingly shite today. The morning was chilly, and even though the temperature wasn't as low as two days ago, it felt unusually cold due to the N...

When the imaginary sun's first rays knocked on the window, I knew it was high time I woke up. Despite waking up numerous times during the night, I felt relatively fresh, and I noticed that my weary bio-chassis wasn't exhibiting the much-loathed long-term side effects of the COVID-19's latest variant we'd been suffering from. Instead of a stuffy nose, my sinuses were functioning comparatively well, and there were no traces of a sore throat or vehement coughing. I was almost over the moon with relief, but then the harsh reality of the weather struck me with a sledgehammer when I took Abby for her morning walk. It was freezing outside; the chilly wind was howling, making my eyes wet. Practically, I looked like a weeping, hungry baby. I'm pretty sure Abby was deeply embarrassed by my tearful cheeks; no wonder she was pulling me home like a confused, rabid husky in the middle of a summer storm in the tropics. Anyway, where was I? Oh, silly me, of course, my health condit...

This COVID long-term side effects nightmare continues. Despite the relatively calm night, I woke up with a sore throat. I mean, I can't believe symptoms worsen instead of disappearing for good. What kind of virus is this that can make our days a living hell? It's been a month now since we caught this disease, and I can't help but think how elated we would be if it disappeared at once! Although I know we must be patient and let our system do the job, it's not an easy requirement. Anyway, despite all these tribulations, at least the weather is shite. The cold wind made all our walks with Abby a freezing expedition. And, to my horror, she wouldn't notice how bad the weather was today. Like a sanctimonious narcissistic St. Bernard dog, she was strolling the streets jauntily. I tried to indicate to her how much I disliked the walks, but she couldn't care less. What a plonker, she might have thought. Anyway, a few more days left from real winter and the mild season re...

I became exceptionally miffed when I woke up in the middle of the night with a stuffy nose. For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating. But reality hit me with a sixteen-ton weight. Actually, it is not a full relapse; it is a mild cold that tries to vex me. And it does because the cold feet I experienced today were the portents of how COVID started in December. The good news is, despite all the unpleasant symptoms, it is not showing signs of anything sinister; therefore, the annoying aspect of my (our) current condition is that COVID's long-term side effects are not entirely gone. The weather was freezing today. Taking Abby for her walks was a real challenge each time. Traipsing the freezing streets didn't have the usual pleasant feeling that could uplift one's spirit. This unpleasantness was written all over Abby's face when I wanted to drag her to another corner. She insisted on going home and behaved like a canine compass, showing the right direction to home instead...

I had a class with Charlette today, and it was fantastic. Despite the slight chance of relapse I experienced today - yeah, the long-term effects of this ruddy coronavirus are still causing some unwanted symptoms - I could pull myself together and concentrate on the lesson. Nevertheless, my mind went blank after the lesson. I had to sit in front of the telly and watch silly videos to regain consciousness. The weather is definitely colder; winter has finally arrived. However, according to the latest forecast, there are two more freezing days, and the early spring-like weather will return. It's certainly good for the budget, but it's terrible against the pests.

Nah, I'm just kidding, 53 cannot be 35 in any way. When I first heard this term, fifty is the new forty, I thought something was wrong with my ears. Even the explanation of this locution seemed dodgy. I'm pretty sure that this is a kind of self-hypnosis technique used by those who are unable to accept their age and refuse to take notice of the natural order of things. (It's always weird to see the results of what the scalpel of cosmetic surgeons did to some poor, deluded individuals.) Anyway, I found the tail of the mojo and tried to get it back completely. I completed the homework Charlette had given me a month ago - it wasn't easy to complete, though - and booked some lessons as well. I'm looking forward to these classes. Nevertheless, my mind was struggling tremendously with the homework. My brain is still not as fresh as it used to be, so I won't be surprised if it turns out to be a balderdash. The weather turned freezing. Well, it's not as cold as it is...

It happened again; HBD to me. Heading towards being an old miserable git makes life so much easier. Not being able to fit the candles on the birthday cake tells you what an old plonker you became. Nevertheless, after so many decades, I can confidently say that the most precious gifts from life are my wife, my dogs, and my health. As I mature and my life slowly turns into slow-motion recording, things previously considered valuable lose their charm completely.  Enough of this prattling on, and let's focus on what happened today. After waking up, I realised I felt much better than yesterday. Apparently, some of COVID's long-term side effects disappeared, although the persistent loss of smell is a tad vexing. I wish I could get a nice olfactory experience while preparing dinner! I haven't lost my sense of smell completely; it's just not as good as it used to be. I do hope it's something temporary. As for the weather, it is changing. Winter is back! The wind blew arctic...

I've almost recovered from this nasty disease. No more runny noses, coughing and sneezing bouts make my life miserable. However, the olfactory issues are irritating but also beneficial if I think about the stench Abby produces by opening the gates of her hell of gas reserves. No, but seriously, I can't smell properly, which might seem favourable, but when it comes to checking food, it can be lethal. Mind you, we can gorge on our next meal, unaware of its deterioration, and lie here on the floor like a hit-and-run frog on the highway the next day. Not to mention the slight brain fog and fatigue that hinders us from returning to normal. What nice perspectives! Despite the obstacles, I'll do my homework tomorrow and book English lessons simultaneously. Anyway, the weather changes are around the corner. The highest temperature was lower by five degrees than yesterday, and thick clouds covered the sky all day. We must prepare ourselves for rain, hail, and snow tomorrow. The cold...

After completing the lesson plan for my beginner student, we drove to IKEA to buy a mirror for me. Unfortunately, the store's parking lot was jam-packed with cars, so we drove back home instead of cramming our car into a tiny little spot. On the way home, both of us got so peckish that even though we knew how bad the fast food could be, we stopped at Burger King again and bought some extremely harmful junk food. C'est la vie. Anyway, teaching was okay, even after a three-week hiatus. I planned a review lesson, and it was necessary. It highlighted the weak topics in grammar and vocabulary. I hope my student enjoyed and found the lesson helpful. Other than that, the weather is still crazy. However, Sunday will bring significant changes. The temperature will drop by twenty degrees, and winter will return instead of the mild spring-like weather. Wunderbar, as a German would express their surprise.

Even though I woke up several times during the night, I still didn't feel tired after getting out of bed. Despite the slight fatigue and the still annoying slight brain fog, I found my mind in a much better condition than it had been a few days ago when even the easiest job - walking Abby - had seemed terribly complicated. COVID is a nasty virus, and I can't help but think how much worse the original version of it was when it hit the world, causing so many casualties. Nevertheless, since my mind functions much better, I can finally buckle down to my homework and book some lessons with Charlette. I miss her lessons, terribly. Anyway, we decided to run some errands today, and after a three-week-long quarantine, we ventured out into the world. Well, we picked up Ági's delivery, posted a few things, bought some nosh and toilet requisites, ate junk food at Burger King, and returned home. I know devouring some undigestible burgers wasn't the best choice we could make, but thi...

My days are getting better and better. Even though my energy level is still not as high as it used to be - thanks to COVID - I definitely feel fitter every day. However, the brain fog that prevents me from going back to one hundred per cent irritates me. Despite all my efforts to buckle down to do my homework Charlette gave me a month ago - for Jeff's sake, this is how long this nasty infection lasted - I can't focus more than ten or fifteen minutes before my mind finds itself in a thick fog. Ruddy interesting. Well, no, it is not interesting; it is vexing if I'm being completely honest. Anyway, in order to preserve what is left of my sanity, I thought I'd entertain my little self with ChatGPT. I tried to ask AI to come up with a syllabus considering my topics of interest - I defined almost thirty topics - and the lesson formats I invented. My input turned out to be thorough, but its complexity was beyond its capabilities. It took me five painful dialogues with it to cr...

Well, I felt much better today after waking up, which is a great improvement. Even though I'm still not as fit as a fiddle, my overall condition is way better than a week ago. I could even buckle down to study a bit, so let's consider it a success. 

New Year's Eve went by terribly fast. However, this is different from what Abby might say about it. The constant banging and flashing due to the seemingly unceasing fireworks made Abby shake light jello. Poor thing, she was so upset that she left her dinner untouched, which is exceptionally rare. I could take her for a walk at 3:30 a.m., hoping not to hear or see any fireworks, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Anyway, she did what she had to, and we hurried back home.  I've got big plans for the year, so fingers crossed that I can make them happen. May the world be a better place in 2024!