A short poem this morning...

        A lot of people tell me that I'm so quiet. A lot of people also perceive me as lonely, negative or not so quite interesting to talk to.

        It is also what I describe myself, silent. Silence is my friend. I like being quiet because that's the time I hear the true sounds of everything around me. The trees are boosting their magnificence. The flowers beside the road are conveying their ethereal beauty. The cool wind that gently hugging me.

        Silence is my friend because to some degree it helps me understand the meaning of one's voice or one's intention. Most of the time I have my opinions but I just keep it to myself. It is either because I don't have a big voice and no one is interested anyway or because things are just complicated and I have to dissect it to the core. By the time I have my own side, the chance is already gone.

        But no, not all perceptions regarding me is true (at least in my opinion). Yes, I dread small talks but I love discussions about life, our purpose and destinations. I love deeper attention about frugality, minimalism, materialism, early retirement and gardening. I like asking what if we do not have religions? What if they don't exist? What if we embark on spirituality instead. What if we treat one another as equal on the basis of humanity and not the races nor the country we come from? What if we start the solutions within ourselves? What if we don't blame and complain to one another but instead we show compassion. To understand that everyone of us is part of the whole; therefore, you're not a separate entity from me and I'm not separate from you. We are One. 

        I'm not boring at all (again in my own view of myself). I could talk many things. It's just that there are no ears ready to listen. I want to talk, but I prefer more to be still. I'm not unhappy when I'm still like other people think of me. I'm just savoring the gift of tranquility, the inner peace, the void or the space within me. I'm not afraid of silence. Silence is a pure energy that if we are able to harness it we can have a control of our life.

        A lot of people are not comfortable with silence. Why? Maybe because they are afraid to mind their own mind. They think they are their mind. They identify themselves of what their mind say about them. They are wrong. We are beyond our mind. We are beyond our jobs, our clothes, our wealth, our roles to society. As Eckhart Tolle says, "We are not our mind. We are the 'Observer' of our mind". In that, we have the control over our mind and so our life. Don't allow it to control us.

        All in all, I'm not disheartened when others say I'm so silent because someone made me realize something. Silence is not bad at all. This person said that with my presence there is this calmness that I bring that makes his day right. And that's all I want and need to know.

Your Own Soul

When to say yes

When to say no

When can I be my best

Or should I just let it go

Where is the pot of gold

Where is the sweet honey

What does it take to be BOLD

On this bumpy road journey

Does it always have to be rough

Why can't it be just like an innocent laugh

Does it always have to be borrowed

From the casting shadow of tomorrow

Yes! You can clasp a hand of hope

No! Don't expect it's gonna be cotton soft

You've got to pull yourself together

Believe without fail,

That things will always be getting better

'Life is what you make it' as they say

It may... 

It might... 

It must... 

With determination, and with a pray

Be your own soldier

Be your own leader

Be your own angel

Be your own label

Be your own guide

And OWN your own ride

But most of all

Whether you're on a rise or on a fall... 

Be your own person

Be your own SOUL. 

Everyday, me and my boss go to his work for over two years now. His job has a shifting time schedule that we sometimes come home at 1:00 or 2:00 of dawn. Well depending on the agreed sched of his friends at work...you know..night out with the boys..drink here and there. 1,2,3..4 bottles before going home. So that when you hit the bed, you have no care but to sleep, forgetting your worries..the world..yourself...your loneliness.

But what I have been telling you my boss, is that sleeping is good when you are at the comfort of your home. Tsk! tsk! and not while driving at the road!! For heavensake, we already have had few minor accidents in the past two years of our companionship..yeah minor, but still it creep me out whenever I think about the rush of adrenaline (ahm fuel) down to my body everytime we have a sumba dance with the Death.

Believe me when I tell you, it's no joke if you got knocked out a number of times in our little mishaps. In the first round, a bruises in your knees, second round, a little wound in your legs, third round a hole in yout feet, and yes! we are down to the fourth time. Yes, dear readers me and my boss for the fourth time danced with a creeping sound. This time, a broken shoulder bone and a sorry ruined ass.

Well, I don't have to remind you, after you had a couple..multiple..aghh! I lost the count of your drinks with your buddies, you had me drive in that dark rainy night. You know how dangerous it is to drive in the middle of rainy night but still you insisted to take you home.. I couldn't imagine how much terrified I was for I was controlled by a freak drank man. As much as I worried for my l life I worried about your fragile body. Me, you can always repair me to bring me into life again or junk me into the junkshop if you have no use of me. However, boss your life is Precious. It's not a tire that you can always fix with some air if it got flat or just change oil if it has gotten messy.  Please mend your ways..please repair your crude habits.

But, then again I know I'm  talking to a deaf ears. Because boss, after a few days of that incident, here they are.. your buddies at your home today..in order to comfort you they brought you your favorite comfort food..beers and gins. Tsk,tsk,tsk!  Here we go again! A cycle for a motorcycle and my boss.

"What is your phone?" Asked by one of Sarah's officemate. Sarah lifted her phone and made the other person see it. "Oh! why is your phone only like that?" Then her officemate looked away and got her attention back to her brand new Samsung phone.. But as far as Sarah's concern " Well, my phone is cheap, yeah antique but it serves me fine."      

Sarah does not care. A lot of times she thinks why people need a million things in their lives. Always chasing new and up-to-date gadgets, clothes, new shoes, latest trends of just everything. While these things can make people happy, yes but that happiness is fleeting. Materialistic world always have new and endless things to offer. And because of this, people have been working so hard almost all of their lives just to have them. They forget to appreciate simple little things around them that can be a source of happiness too.

Aha! Sarah caught herself thingking too much again. "Alright. Just think about this. It's not because you can afford something you have to have that thing too. But because you just simply choose not to.

Voice blog no. 5

Hello my dear EC friends,

Do you have any ideas how to avoid the fillers such as umh, hmm, so, alright.

Could you please tell me how to improve these and how we can actually say more useful words instead of saying these all the time? I have a habit of saying fillers like these and I think it's time to improve it. Saying lesser of these fillers is I think is one way of speaking properly and a way to speak much livelier and interesting. So, do you have any ideas? Please, share them here through recording if you want or through writing if you like..:)

Happy learning!

My previous blog

Linking

-listen to_it

-master_it

-I recognized_ it

-come_out from our mouth

-we have to stand_out

-we have to single_out

-How_is_it goin'?

Pronunciation

-material (məˈtɪriːəl)

-posted (ˈpoʊstɪd)

-some (ˈsəm)

Contraction

-We should not be rigid in (with,on??? preposition) our method.

(We shouldn't be rigid in our method.)

How was the voice/speech?

-Sleepy

-Lazy-like

-a bit gloomy and no energy (LOL!)

-the most important thing...haissst, it was very longggg (giggling!). Gosh! 11 minutes somethin'!

PS : LOL! It seems I can't live up to my promise not to record it very long...It's still longgg (10 mins. somethin') :)

Audio Speaking Group

Voice Bloggers




Voice Recorder >>


Sarah is in the office of DSWD, a government agency for social works and welfare. Last night, she happened to watch news about the government's internship program. It has been lunched to help the in-school students who wanted to have a summer job, those out-of-school youth, as well as those people who wanted to have an experience that they could bring about in their resume for the next job hunting. Well, Sarah's reasons lie on the former and the latter; a summer job plus experience. Besides, it's her real wish to enter the government service. In fact, she has been burning her eyebrow reviewing for the civil service exam. Only that she’s thinking the questions in the reviewer book are seemingly out of her wit. "What more could it be on the actual exam?"


This program although it will run only for short period of time at least it will give her an overview on what is the actual job on this particular government agency. And besides she says to herself "I really want to do something productive this summer 'cos if not...haisst! I'm feeling like I'm drowning in the well. A well that is without any water."


She is now filling out an application form the lady officer gave to her. "Hmmm, why do they have to ask a description of my life situation?" She is now at the middle of answering the form but perplexed on how and what to write about. The form is asking to describe what is the applicant's family situation or hardship in life that would convince them to choose the applicant over the others.


"What is this?", Sarah asks, "the more miserable, the better?....Haisst! Why they wanna know how miserable an applicant is?", Sarah is talking to herself. "They want us to tell our hardship in life....Is it really important? Why not ask what do I do best that can contribute to their program or something like this kind to which makes you think positively. To which makes you to think your intentions.


Sarah remembers what she read somewhere that nothing is permanent. All things will pass and so hardship in life. What is important is your intention to rise above on all of this. So,why need to bring it then. After all, these are things that will pass too. It's just an stage of life. They are just temporary. Always hold the truth in your heart that everything will turn out just fine. Everything happens with a reason. Focus on the good things. Your heart desires. And…and everything will turn out just fine.


"Sarah! Sarah! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Haisst!" Sarah pinched herself. Here she goes again...thinking senselessly...Or is it really useless to think these things.


"Hey, what are you doing! You know Sarah, you think sooo much. You know, they may just want to select those people who really need this job, that's why, they gotta ask such question...And besides, there are thousands applicants. They just want to make sure they help the right ones...So you better construct your answer now..Go! Quick!"


And while Sarah's still contemplating on what to write, a female employee is calling names. She hears a male name, female name and...her name..."All of these three, please follow me."



...to be continued.

"This morning of the last day of the year, I suddenly feel like writing a blog. But actually, I thought writing days before today, I just couldn't know what to write about. It keeps nagging in my head that I have already forgotten my first love in EC - writing a blog. Then, suddenly after reading Robbie's blog (thanks to you,Rob!), it inspires me to jot down a list of my most favorite practices in 2011."

1.) EC's story: Inky Pinky Pooh

2.) Poetry-Daily Discussion: From: Audio-Speaking Group
http://my.englishclub.com/group/audiospeakinggroup

--Oh! How I love reading poems! I'd put three.

.

3.) Be a Newscaster Discussion: the latest one.

4.) Prose Reading Discussion:

5.) Aesop's reading:

6.) Little Prince Discussion:
http://my.englishclub.com/group/ouriranianenglishclass

7.) And My latest most loved hub: Karaoke Group's Discussion

http://my.englishclub.com/group/karaoke

---OK folks, next year again!

www.josephinewall.co.uk

My Lucky Star...

Star, Oh my lucky star

Reachin' something like you are

Wouldn't you give me your celestial smile

For I promise someday I'll be your lyre...

Tell me where shall I start

With goals set in the pad of my heart

The journey that holds dear to me

Could you make it clearer for me to see...

Leave trace, oh dear, please

A hint of sparkling lace of breeze

And if the clouds must hide you

Draw a tiny light on the dew

I'll count it as your mystique secret code

That'll guide me even in the most rocky road

To secure me to follow through

'Till one day I sit closer next to you...

Greetings to all MyEC friends!

First, I’d like to ask something to you my dear friends who are serious in their want to improve their spoken English. How do you spend your time studying and improving your speaking skills? What are your learning plans daily to achieve fluency?

Hmm…I know… I know these are very common questions. We have read and discussed this kind of questions for thousand times here in our site. But what I’m appealing to you here my dear friends is that please hear me out my humble suggestions and let me share how I spend my learning time here in MyEC.

Would you agree to me if I say, the best way to learn Spoken English is to speak it? Well, I just read it from somewhere else but I feel this really influences me now and have a huge impact in achieving my goal: to improve my pronunciation and eventually be a fantastic speaker someday! But the big question is how?...I think the key is repetition, my friends. My method now is listening, listening and one more time listening...Then repeating, repeating and one more time, repeating what I’ve listened…

Can you guess what and how I do it? Tan tararan taran! Newscasting!!! Yes, it is. The simple news reading every week in our Audio Speaking Group. It is posted by our kind teacher Tara every Tuesday. Hmmm.Ok, let me share why I chose this activity to be included in my daily learning plan.

First, it is very easy because it’s not time consuming. Only a less than a minute reading won’t hurt my daily routine. I download it to my mp3, so that anywhere I go and every time I have the chance, I could listen to it. So very handy, isn’t it?! I can listen and practice to it up to more than 10 times a day for 2 to 3 days before I submit my own recordings. And because it’s very short you can focus for every bit and details of the readings without exhaustion. You can study how Tara stresses the syllables in each word, how she links some words, the intonation etc,etc. Isn’t it amazing! It’s already a completo recardos (ingredients) you can find here.

My second reason is that I know that I need to have someone to look up to as my model, native speaker whom I could visioned to be like him/her someday. And Ms. Tara has a perfect voice. She has a very lovely and very clear, understandable voice to say the least. So that’s why I’ve been magnetized and keep coming back there every week. And of course also, because of our kind,friendly, supportive friends there, too.

And the last reason is that…you have an instant feedback to yourself. What do I mean by that? When you keep listening and keep repeating the news report (maybe in a 10th times) with a loud voice even yourself can know what’s wrong with your voice, your stressing pattern and pronunciation. You can easily detect it because you can do comparison to your own voice to Ms. Tara who is native speaker and you will know what’s missing or error in your speaking. and now you can correct them. Isn’t it wonderful? to know your mistakes and know that you are now doing the right thing to undo and remedy them? Plus a big bonus from Ms. Tara because she is always there to assist the members in their issues.


So, my dear friend why don’t we take newsreading and record it to be included in our daily learning plan? A short daily dose of practicing our ears and tongue in repetition manner will surely gives us confidence in speaking, right? What do you think?

Ps: this is the link in our group discussions

Here is Sam's Writing Challenge no. 1Question--- It is generally believed that some people are born with certain talents, for instance for sports or music, & others are not. However, it is sometimes claimed that any child can be taught to become a good sports person or musician.Discuss both these views & give your own opinion.

Brain Cells:

Heredity, Effort and Will

I must say that while it is true for some people born natural talents to be great in music, sports or any faculty they chose, I believe that any men can develop a talent as great as the natural born people have. It is all depends on a person's effort and persistence on how much or how far he wants to go in developing his talent. And most importantly on how he turns his mind, will and power to be what he wants to be. It is true that some inherit a certain characteristic of a brain. They have a certain portion of the brain that because they have it naturally they can easily use it whenever they want. The brain cells that work for turning a talent to show outwardly. But it is not true that heredity alone decides on what station man's in life can be. All men has the capacity to use his own will power to do what he wants to do in his life. By his will and persistence, he can develop a certain parts of the brain where the brain cells can be excited and multiplied indefinitely, thus highly activating them through continuous focus, for the requirements of developing whatever talents he desires to develop. All in all, we can say that even though you are not born with a certain talent, you can still be great in whatever you desire by turning your whole being, your whole will power in developing this talent. One should remember that there are those who have acquired talents by heredity but also it is not impossible to obtain talents by one's own persisting efforts. In fact, inherited talent is useless without persisting effort to use it and the desire to develop it into its full potential.

*Dear EC friends,If there are any grammatical error in my writing, please check it for me. I would be gladly be corrected..

Thank you so much,

Mayumee

Life is so Good

So good the wind that blows

... so good it takes away my woes

So good the water's splash

... so good it purifies my sights

So good the clouds in the skies

... so good they bring my dream so high

So good the raindrops in the summer

...  so good they quench my thirst little by little

So good the flowers beside the road

... so good they smell so fragrant to my nose

So good the leaves in the trees

... so good they wave their hands in a glee

So good the music that fills the airs

... so good it sounds so lovely to my ears

So good all the things around me

... so good that I can dance and sing unceasingly

So good to write a sweet simple poem

...'coz this for me brings a scent of home.

Life is so perfect, so good

When love is smiling back at you

Whistling a tune of feelings that's so true

Whispering softly the words...

I'm always here for you! 

Who Are You?

Who are you?

A perfect mirror,

A perfect reflection,

And an intelligent one...

Who are you?

A unique human,

A unique creature,

And....a unique man.

Who are you?

Another soul searching for the answer?

Like me as I ask myself who I really am..

Another soul searching to advance himself..

'Cos advancement into completion is what life is..

The perfect order of things God created for us, in the very first place...

But for the meantime just remember,

Yes, we are! We have been evolving,

But even now we are just perfect in our present state of being....

P.S.- this is my answer to the question of Sala Mohamed to his beautiful, beautiful poem..This is his poem:http://my.englishclub.com/profiles/blogs/who-i-amwho-i-am