跳舞猫日録

Life goes on brah!

2023/02/26 English

BGM: Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over Til It's Over

I thought what I could write as the homework for the next English conversation class. Teachers said to us that we can write anything freely, and that makes me wander what should be the good topic. I talked with Pili, who is an admin of an English learning group on WhatsApp, about this. She suggested various ideas for me, and I also thought some ideas. Suddenly, I got an idea of whether I am an analog person or a digital person. Besides that, I also thought about the issue of immigrants or the trial of writing a short story like Lyria Davis or Yasunari Kawabata, but both seemed to be difficult for me to write about them actually so I decided to write that division. I say again, whether am I an analog person or digital person?

TBH I started having my smartphone later than others and also I can't manage task schedule or writing notes by it even now. Actually, I do "rarely" (for example, I write about the promises of meeting people into Google Keep as using the function of reminder. You shouldn't forget how autistic people forget their promises rapidly), and also I was taught how to manage my ideas on Evernote. However, it didn't fit me, or I should say that it didn't "suit" me. Even now, I write my ideas on the real paper memo pad or the "system note" given from my father for my diary or the homework like this. I have been trying to write my memo in English because it "suits" me (of course, I have been doing English memo for actual learning, too). I have kept on writing my English memo for about two years.

In a way, I am typically an "out of date", analog person. I don't use any kindle and also not enjoy Twitter. At least, I don't enjoy Twitter like I did once. I started thinking that it can be good for me to spend enjoying Hemingway and stay apart from the trends, not feeling up and down with what is buzzing on social media. In addition of being "out of date", this shows that I am actually getting aged step by step (we Japanese say that can be "power of aging (roujin ryoku)"). As getting older, I am slowly into the life of "retirement". Becoming aged or refined... this would lead me to live the life with enjoying Japanese traditional culture as paintings in ink or Rakugo. I would listen to Eric Clapton, read Flaubert, and sometimes feel moved by some Rakugo tales on YouTube... is it cool?

This evening, I read Yoshio Kataoka again with Jim Hall's jazz guitar playing. I think about the adoration for America, or for the Western countries widely. Recently, I am thinking about what can be the phenomenon of "becoming international" or "globalization". Of course, we shouldn't obey the Western culture blindly. But also I don't want to follow the movement of "Japan as No.1". The development of the internet have enabled us to communicate easily each other. The era the cool things come and go across the borderlines so rapidly... but I want to be honest or dutiful for myself about what is cool for me. Indeed, following the trends can be important, but it would become so hard if I lost myself within vast sea of information. I repeat this again. I would live this slow life dutifully with reading Raymond Carver's short stories translated by Haruki Murakami. But also, I want to learn more. The journey of learning English would have no ends.