By the way, our today’s guest is a programmer from Japan!
Nick-name: PsychoCat
Age: 47
Native language: Japanese
English level: ( I can’t tell my level. I haven’t taken any examination since now. Perhaps beginner's level. )
Web: http://oddeye.blogspot.com/
http://cross-the-sea.blogspot.com/
Hello PsychoCat! Could you tell us a little about yourself?I live in Owariasahi where is next to Nagoya, Japan. And with a wife and two cats. I work as a programmer for a printing company and make a software that is a DataBase publishing program.
Here are three standard questions for you:
Why are you learning English language?
At first, I want to read some technical documents, mailing lists and its archives and BBS in English. Because programming’s tips on Mac is many more English than Japanese. But now, simply I want to read overseas websites without relation to programming. Some day if I can, I want to have overseas friends.
How long are you learning English?
I began to study English again three years ago. I have blank of more than twenty years about learning English. It is the distant past. I needed to start from contents for students who are thirteen years old on Japanese. As everyone know, Many of Japanese are weak in English. Back then also I quite didn’t get ability to communicate with overseas people.
How are you learning English?
I’m using only several text books that were published by Cambridge University Press. And I read some paperbacks for young adult to practice reading. I think that reading techical documents about programming is more easy than reading novels for young adult. Then, for my writing skill, I’m writing my blog and twitter using English. I never use Japanese there.
About dictionaries, I use English-English dictionary as possible as I can, don't use Japanese-English dictionary. The dictionary is LONGMAN. I think it’s match the dictionary with my level.
I’m in situation that don’t require to use English in my life. Even if I can’t do reading, writing, listening and speaking, I’m sure I have no problem. I’m not attending anywhere, like an English school. And there aren’t friends who are studying English around me. But it means that I don’t have any situation to need to use English. Instead, if I used English, maybe everyone would look at me like a ludicrous person. So I think it’s the very least I want to use English in my blog. In other words, I don’t have place where I use English in except Web.
One more thing. My annoyance is too few time to practice hearing and speaking. Anyway I feel a need for my teacher.
Well, let’s talk about pets. I know you have two cats! Why do you prefer cats to other pets?
Their curiosity are very strong and they take attitude like sage but what they do are silly, so make me laugh always. And then I feel happiness to just watch a sleeping cat figure. Cats have spirit of independence, and are proud. However sometimes there are times when they fawn over us. I envy their life like anything goes.
I hope you could tell us a little about your cats. What are their names? How do you get them? What's odd about your cats?
Their names are Siren and Dante.
Siren I have in my house has yellow color eye at the right and blue color eye at the left. If you know much about cats, perhaps you would guess that the cat is deaf. It’s correct. She is deaf. Deaf ear is not only one-sided. Pitifully both her ears are damaged. This symptom is genetic strain. And what is worse, She has a deformed front paw. I guess she was dumped by an unscrupulous breeder. She had been abandoned kitten for a year at least, since I came across her in my parking. I really admired that she had survived when I caught her to have as a pet.
Dante came from Oita of Kyushu who wife bought via a net auction. When I saw his pictures on the net auction, his eyes both were steel gray color. I looked like that. But it seemed my wife already awared that he is odd-eye. After he came my home, his right eye had changed color from blue to yellow day by day, but yet it is not clear yellow. He also is the same odd-eye with Siren. The thing that I felt reassured is he didn’t lose his sense of hearing. But If I call out to him from behind, he turns around and closes me with running.
One more question:) Why do you have so unusual nick-name? It is because of your cats?
Well... is there a lot of people using a name that is PsychoCat, isn’t there?
Siren is female and she always is called “Saiko” by wife and me in Japanese. The last two characters of Saiko, “ko” often was using in Japanese girls name thirty-forty years ago. Example Seiko, Yoshiko, Sachiko, Reiko, blah-blah-blah. And so I spelled the Saiko as in English and then added “Cat” to the last. The result is SychoCat :-)
I have my domain name as psychocat.net. That’s why I have using the nick-name.
I like your cats. They realy cute:) Thank you for interview. Good luck in learning English!
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For my dear readers: comments are welcome:)
Wow... Very touching the story of your cats, pal. I admire anyone who likes animals as companions for life, though I prefer dogs. I think cats are too tricky. LOL
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes the only way we've got to practice is to force ourselves to write stuff in English, but to talk with someone is harder...
Hug! =)
Hello ƒℓą√!ø,
ReplyDeleteThe human must discipline dogs to live with them. I can’t do that but can look after dogs. If I have a dog, maybe the dog will be badly brought up. So, I'll pass on :-)
Thank you for sympathizing with what I said, to talk with someone is harder. But let’s try to discipline ourselves to practice English every day.
As for me, I prefer cats. May be it's because I have a dog's fear:)
ReplyDelete