Article: What Does Melatonin Do, and Does It Help with Sleep?

The article was about melatonin supplements, but I'm not interested in taking any kind of supplement because I'm not sure thye're really safe. Besides, I don't think melatonin would help with my sleep, since I can usually fall asleep easily.

It's 2026 and we're still hijacked by screens. It's terrifying that almost every little aspect of our lives is now blended with screens and devices. Meanwhile, data is being hoarded and transformed into more complex algorithms to feed machines. This morning, I was waiting for my medication in the pharmacy and 90% of the people were doomscrolling; teens, adults, curiers, nurses. As soon as I headed back home, I continued my reading of Orwell's "1984". Fiction became reality. What a timing, if you ask me.

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Hello everybody! This was my bit for today. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.

I feel so frustrated! This morning I could have thrown my phone across the room in anger, but I settled for yelling at the app instead.

My beginning "z" sounds are pretty correct. My middle ones are 100% correct. But my ending "z" sounds are terrible. I think what's happening is that I let the sound go on for a split of a second too long. Plus I voice it too much.

I can tackle the first problem by shortening my final "z" sounds a little, not too much for Sensay to be able to detect them.

But I can't understand the second issue: "z" is a voiced sound. How can I make it less voiced?

I'm angry because I've pronounced "z" almost 2000 times since I started practicing with that app. My current average score is 88 out of 100.

My goal is to reach 90. But if I only get 54 for a word ending with "z", how many 100s do I have to get to really impact my average score? I'll have to record tons of versions of the "z" words I master instead on focusing on the "z" endings.

What takes the cake is that my name is spelled with a "z", so I know it pretty well!

Today I visited the flea market in this city. Each Friday I go to there to find something interesting and also to talk to people. I already know several dealer, and they give me always good price. I met a boy there today, who comes from Hamburg. He traveled with his bike from Hamburg until Munich. I have respect to him. We spoke a lot about his trip and about flea market. He helped his relatives there selling. He told me that his brother also sells vintage clothing online. He showed me the website of the vintage store. It is well organized. He had worked together with his brother, but he quitted the job two months ago. He had been for two months on the road. He visited his friends and slept by them. But sometimes he also camped. I think he is very brave. We have exchanged our telephone number. I hope I can see him again.

The website of my favorite singer announced that she’s going to release a new song next month and hold a live show next year!
She’s a not only a singer but also a producer and a back musician. I’ve thought that I couldn’t enjoy her new songs anymore because she might have no time to make her own songs.
When I’m feeling down, her songs always give me emotional support. That’s why my children were named after one of her songs.
Next year I’ll be busy, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go to her live show. But the news made me happy.

I stayed at home most of the day today because of the typhoon. I went out for a while to pick up my takeout and go to the gym.

The rain and wind were getting stronger as midnight approached. I hope the typhoon won’t cause any damage and that my loved ones will stay safe

I'm tired, I'm angry, I'm exhausted, I'm depressed. Fortunately weekend is starting. I want to sleep a lot and to read a book. I should clean my flat but I'm not sure if I'll do it. Maybe a meeting with my friends tonight will improve my mood. Sometimes I think that life really sucks...

A5 is my favorite size for notebooks. Most of the time, I don't have much space available, so I don't want something that takes too much space. At the same time, I don't want something that is so small that I have to constantly change the page. A5 is the best middle ground for me. However, I like to use a notebook in a similar size as the book that is paired with, so I use B5 ones as well. One advantage that B5 ones have over A5 ones is that there are more options. Unfortunately, there aren’t many options for A5 ones.

Lately, I have been practicing speaking in English than before and noticed that I do not like my voice or accent. It is odd because I have also been recording myself talking in English and thought I had got used to it already, but it might have to do with my pronunciation not being 100% correct.

Despite awkwardness or cringing at my own accent or voice or both, I keep practicing. I am not expecting to get a new accent because I am not practicing for that matter; rather, I care about getting across my message without repeating myself.

When I wasn’t prepared for an exam, I used to give it up. I used to give up on reviewing my notes, and I didn’t even do my best during the exam. It was because I was disappointed in myself.
Now, I have changed. Even if I know I can’t review all the chapters, I still try to look over all of them. It’s better to get a B than a C. Before, I thought getting a C was somehow better than aiming for an A and failing.

For me, it's wearing shoes inside the house, which seems pretty common in some Western countries.

In my country, we usually take off our shoes before entering a home, so seeing people wearing shoes indoors, especially on the bed, feels a little strange to me.

What about you guys? Are there any culture differences that surprised you?

Last week, I heard about the French manifestations happening all over their country where the students were demanding better education conditions to their president. Apparently, some school's buildings are falling apart, among other things.

In general, I think manifestations are necessary to society because it's one way that people can voice their discomfort and concerns to the government. With the hopes of being heard to reach a consensus between the parts.

On the other hand, I am against violence actions where people break into local business, or when they set public infrastructure on fire as it mostly harms their own people instead of the government. However, I guess they might resort to that to get a faster response from the government.

In conclusion, I consider education is one of the most important investments a government can aspire to make nowadays to combat a lot of the societal issues we face today.

Article: 3 Meditations to Sleep Better

Work was stressful yesterday. I wonder if I would have been able to wind down more easily if I'd already developed a meditation habit.

The article introduced three types of meditation. I want to try mindfulness meditation tonight. If counting to 10 distracts me, I'll try guided meditation instead.

I'm fond of nature. I miss connecting with the smeel of the rain touching the soil. I also miss sitting on a rock just to contemplate ants and observing their movements. I lost the feeling of a freshly made coffee. Thunders are other natural events I enjoy listening. It's beautiful to sense how they travel long distances. Every grain of sand is unique. Every tree grows its own way up. I feel overwhelmed, yet grateful.

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Thanks for reading and take care.

Rubber grips on pens sometimes melt and get sticky. It’s the primary reason why I prefer pens without such a grip. In my experience, they’re often the reason why I have to get rid of pens.

Two years ago, I took a picture of the ocean landscape.

I was taking a break in a lovely spot nobody could see from the road. I had wheeled my bike along a small trail through the bushes. I had stopped near a bench and sat there for a moment.

The ocean, the rocks, the wild vegetation and, in the distance, the whiteness of the city where I was staying at the time. I remember how peaceful it was. I felt immersed in the landscape. It was hot but not too much, and nobody passed. So, I stayed there for a long while.

Then I tried to capture the view. It's been my desktop wallpaper ever since.

Today, it's a unique jigsaw puzzle as well. I love it.

It had been two weeks since I last saw the Malaysian girl. I wanted to see her so badly that I finally got up my courage to ask her out this afternoon.

“Are you going to move your stuff from your old place to your new place tonight? If not, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” I asked.

She replied, “Sure, we can have dinner tonight.”

You can’t imagine how excited I was when I got her reply. It just reminded me of a quote from The Little Prince, “If you come at four in the afternoon, I’ll begin to be happy by three.”

I'm once again struggling to come up with something I can eat for dinner. Yesterday, I had tofu which I had coated in bread crumbs. It was crispy and delicious, but preparing it myself is kind of a hassle. I don't know if I'm patient enough today.

Day off

My child and I took a walk before the sun set.
We walked in the park for a while and enjoyed autumn. We picked up some acorns, looked at the leaves on the maple trees, and played by stomping dead leaves.
This summer, because of the intense heat and humidity, I thought I’d never have such a fun again. So today's walk became a truly unforgettable time for me.
But climate change will take <this happiness away> away the happiness like this from us in a few years. Damn

I’ve been practicing my conversational French every day for a week now. It was only not possible to do it last Monday because I got really busy, but it’s okay. These lessons I’ve been taking are group lessons and I was surprised by the fact that it seems like most French students are women. It’s been just one week but so far I’ve only had one male classmate.

Yesterday, I was supposed to have a class but it never took place. I messaged the teacher and he replied, saying that it was at 20:30 instead of 19:00 as the student platform outlines on the schedule. I replied, asking if that's the case, why can't I see any recording (the classes are online)? Upon rereading his last message, I realized I hadn't read that he meant 20:30 every Monday.

I rechecked the schedule outlined on the student platform and read Wednesday 19:00. I sent another message telling him to ignore my last message about yesterday's recording, but reminded him that the student platform shows the class is supposed to be every Wednesday at 19:00. That's what I had signed up for.

Sigh.

Good evening everyone!

Last week, my family adopted a new female siamese kitten because the owner was moving out of her apartment and supposedly she couldn't keep it. So, the owner asked her neighbor if she knew someone who could take care of her and said neighbor called us immediately to see if we could take it since we had adopted another siamese cat from said neighbor, and we gladly accepted as we love animals.

For the record, we have another two young cats: one male siamese, and a male chunky orange one. So, now we have 3 cats in our house and I think they are getting along well for now as I have spotted them playing hide and seek.