My Life after CELTA

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 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...

It's been three weeks already that we've been suffering from COVID. Even though the word part of the infection is over, we can experience some of the typical, lingering long-term side effects. The brain fog is not as thick as it was a week ago, but it still affects my wee, already demented brain. Despite my relatively good and stable energy level, I still can't do as much as possible before the infection. Fortunately, there are no other sinister symptoms besides the common cold, fatigue, brain fog, and lost mojo. Ági's not that lucky, poor thing. She's been suffering from the severe side effects of the common cold. She can't sleep through the night, which is unusual for her. I wish we were healthy! The weather is still unusually warm for December. According to the weather forecast, the first days of the new year will bring significant changes, such as colder temperatures, wind, and rain. Brilliant. As New Year's Eve gets closer, some of our fellow human bein...

Even though my physical condition has improved, I still don't feel the Jedi spirit wanting to break out. Full recovery from COVID can take weeks or even months, and one can only hope it won't leave any long-term symptoms. Even though my physical condition has improved, the lingering flu remains an annoyance, albeit a rather irritating one. Anyway, my head was much clearer today, so I buckled down and planned out my recovery and normal schedule. I need to rediscover my mojo and find my way back to intensive learning. I must focus on my English teaching and CPE exam paths, so it is high time I take action. I need to kill two birds with one stone; therefore, I devised a plan that helps me keep my summer biorhythm without the terrible side effects of the daylight saving time settings, and at the same time, it ensures that I stick to the plan, allowing me time for studying and teaching, taking care of Abby, and reading. I hope I can stick to this seemingly brilliant schedule. Surpri...

Apart from some nasty flu-like symptoms, COVID is history for me. I hope I won't relapse, touch wood, and there won't be any lingering side effects or long-term consequences of this disease. The only interesting symptoms I've been experiencing after being infected with the virus are brain fog, disorganisation, constant fatigue, and sleepiness, which irritates me tremendously. Waking up in the morning is a challenge. Even though I've got so many nice plans and thoughts for the day, somehow, these plans vanish into thin air. The entire day is like a dream, and when I come round, it's already evening, and I can call it a day. Bloody brilliant. I must do something about it because it is beyond vexing. I know I must be patient and let my system fully recover from this infection; however, it's not always easy to do so. Anyway, spring took over in December and sent winter to have some rest. Even though it is nice to go out without the expedition clothes, it is still no...

This Christmas is one of the weirdest Christmases ever for us. When I woke up this morning, the temperature was already +13°C, which gradually got higher during the day. The peak temperature today was around +15-16°C over here. Not very Christmassy, is it? According to the weather forecast, this week's weather won't change significantly, so spring took over in one day. The human meter service predicted dizziness, blood pressure, mood fluctuations, and headache. These symptoms go hand in hand with COVID-19 symptoms - such as fatigue and lack of strength - which make us terribly moody and lifeless. Even the most insignificant moves or tasks require tremendous effort from us, and Ági's stagnant condition makes it difficult for her to cope with the disease and the capricious weather. I wonder when we can call ourselves fully recovered!?

Even though today is Christmas Eve, we couldn't decorate the house. What is more, the holiday menu went into the deep freezer because neither of us could think of food. This nasty virus made us so frail that even taking Abby for a walk seemed like going on a Marathon running competition.  Anyway, the weather is not from this world. The 25-30 cm snow that had fallen yesterday melted completely. Today's highest temperature was around +10°C, and the next two days will be warmer. We haven't had a white Christmas for quite a while now. I know it is rather annoying that all my recent entries have been about COVID and the weather. However, the effects of this disease are truly shocking. One loses all their strength and power and becomes a moaning old git that complains about everything, a bit like Mr Meldrew, but worse.

The weather was terrible today. At 4 a.m., the wind was blowing and temperature was around +1°C. The cold remained, but the wind stopped eventually when the heavy snowfall started in the afternoon. By 6 p.m., there was a thick layer of snow everywhere making everyone hope for a white Christmas. However, the warmer front is imminent meaning it'll bring warmer air, so the snow will melt and disappear during the night. We are still under the weather. I'm getting better day by day, although not at the rate at which I'd be glad to see the changes. Nevertheless, Ági's condition is still bad which makes Bothe of us feel down in the dumps. It wasn't the best timing to catch this nasty virus. And the fact that neither of us can focus on anything complex is frightening. I wanted to read a lot, but my wee mind finds it impossible to concentrate. There we are then.

The last-minute lesson plan change did good for my class today. Even though I wanted to do a review lesson, I changed my mind, re-created it, and turned it into a listening practice. I think I made the right call. She enjoyed the class, and so did I. Anyway, the class was good, and after finishing it, we had a chat about her motivation, progress, and how I saw her during the classes.  The weather is changing. Even though the highest temperature was around +8-10°C, the northern wind made it feel much colder; no wonder Abby's evening walk was brisk and short. She did what she had to in five minutes, and right after the final act, she turned towards the house, signalling she was ready to go home. The weather forecast predicts much colder temperatures, wind, and snow.  Hello Winter! 🥶 ❄️  By the same token, in a month, it's Christmas 🎄 . And the end of the year. So, even though it feels like we've just started 2023, the year is ending astonishingly soon. We'll have plenty...

The quickness of the passing time is hypnotic, but simultaneously, it is shocking. Christmas is just over a month away, so the year's end is around the corner. I gave up pondering about the yearly cycles long ago because the notion of periodically making decisions as if something new had been going to start is futile. The Earth is circling around the Sun unceasingly in a galaxy we call home, which on a cosmical scale is merely a tiny little fraction of the universe, which is constantly expanding. And we all know how the young Alvy Singer in Annie Hall felt about this: "Well, the universe is everything, and if it's expanding, someday it will break apart...".  Anyhoo, even though the calendar indicates we are in the middle of November, the weather still doesn't exhibit the signs of late autumn. The trees seem to struggle with deciding when to lose the foliage, and quite surprisingly, some of them keep green leaves on the branches. This time last year, all the leaves...

After ruminating on my next class, the thought of simplifying the lesson struck me with the force of a cartoon anvil. (I stole this metaphor from J. K. Rowling's commencement address.) Even though my initial plan seemed bulletproof, I had to admit I was wrong. With this and the principle of "less is more" in mind, I carefully restructured the plan, took away words and rephrased instructions. The spruced-up plan seems challenging, even with these modifications. I'll need to put the finishing touches to the plan, but it only will require thirty more minutes. Fingers crossed that they'll like the class. We had to run a few errands today, so we jumped in the car and drove off. The shops are brimming with the accessories of the commercial version of Christmas. The musac in the shops is Christmasy; they play the same tunes over and over again. The decoration is overwhelmingly Christmassy: there are little lights and candles everywhere, the manifestation of some stoned d...

Early wakeup meant early breakfast, early coffee, and early lesson planning. I still refuse to set back my biological clock and follow the wintertime. Even though it means I have to bear in mind two different, let's say, timezones, I don't want to fast forward the clock in March, thus losing an hour's sleep, which will undoubtedly upset my system. I think I made that clear, so it's time to move on. I overwrote the lesson plan I'd devised yesterday. I wanted to review the previous lessons, but it dawned on me that it might not be a good idea yet. Since the students haven't had any issues with the words we reviewed at the beginning of each lesson, challenging them at a later class would be a much better occasion. I found a brilliant listening exercise - as a sort of sequel to my previous lessons - on the British Council's website and re-created the lesson plan. Surprisingly, it took me only an hour to come up with a new class idea, so I was quite satisfied wit...