Two Hundred

I've officially reached a streak of 200 days of learning how to speak and read Korean. Two hundred days on Duolingo, and 56 days on Lingo Deer. They are the first thing I do when I go to bed each night, even if it's just one quick lesson to continue my streaks. It's ridiculously enjoyable, even if I can't hold real conversations yet. Recognizing words and expressions as I watch South Korean shows and listen to K-Pop is fantastic, and being able to read captions, usually only parts so far, is its own intellectual thrill. My 3-year plan is proceeding apace!

 

Civic Duty

After I cleaned off my car I dug out a path for the mailman, as the snow bank was impassible:

Winter Storm Fern

Winter Storm Fern highlights from the last two days (Sunday & Monday):

Snow accumulation yesterday:

• 3:30 pm - 4 inches.
• 7:00 pm - 10 inches.
• 10:30 pm - 13 inches.
• Bedtime (circa 1:00 am) even more.

When I got out of bed the next morning the plow had already come by, but the total depth of snow was 22 inches! And then we got another 2 or 3 inch dusting later in the afternoon today.

Yesterday I watched the Patriots beat Denver in a Mile High Stadium blizzard, 10-7. Super Bowl 60 here we come!

Today I had a satisfying early evening dinner of Ragu, angel hair pasta and ground beef. 'Dinner' around 8:00 pm was a pint of Creamy Mango Haagen Dazs ice cream (SO good).

Overall it was a pleasant blizzard, with no power or heat issues, and nowhere to be. I won't even clear off my car until tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Languages 101

As of today I have been learning how to speak Korean for 175 days.

I began with Duo Lingo and enjoyed the process and progress so much that I bought a year's subscription to the site after a few weeks. And recently I learned that Lingo Deer is more effective, so I joined that service as well (but only the free version so far). I've been there for 31 days so far, and will buy the annual package as soon as I have the disposable income.

I also have two alphabet workbooks that I got last year around this time, with which I should practice more, but I can recognize most of the letters on sight, and it's merely repetition at this point (though the muscle memory would be good to reinforce).

At any rate, I can speak simple sentences at this point, but conversations are still a bit of a challenge due to a mix of lack of resources and Duo Lingo's uneven outlay of useful vocabulary.

Either way, it is such a thrill to be able to understand more and more of both the spoken and written words when I watch my favorite shows and movies on services such as KOCOWA+ and Netflix! I have given myself the next three years to become as close to a native speaker as possible...

First Fancy Meal

The first labor-intensive meal I cooked in 2026 was an advanced version of something I often eat. 

I marinated boneless pork chops in soy sauce and oyster sauce. I stir fried some thick portobello mushrooms in a mix of those two and sesame oil, and once I removed them, I did the same with the pork. Meanwhile, as I steamed some basmati rice, I topped it with thinly sliced baby carrots, green onions, and later, I added the mushrooms.

I piled it all on a big plate, and added a hard boiled egg, and also had some fresh pea pods on the side. The egg was unnecessary, as the meal was ridiculously good. It took a bit of time, and was a bit messy, but it was totally worth every minute I put into it.

 

New Year's Day

First beer of the year, a four-pack of which carried me through last night's calendar turn into the sunrise, as I hung out online playing "Elvenar" and "DigDig", and goofing around with Ai drawing.

Lost Moonbot East Coast IPA by Moon Hill Brewing in Gardner, MA. As I posted on my Untappd account: "I can definitely taste the hint of black tea. The citrus is very understated. And it has just the right kind of bitter at the end of each swig...". It's a nice beer, but not one I'd search high and low for.

All that being said, as part of my resolutions, beers will be few and far between for awhile, as I get myself back in shape.