We had a small group meeting at noon with Dr. Liu serving as today’s chair. We shared stories about our holidays and discussed our resolutions for the new year.

I shared my four main goals for the year:

1. To continue improving my English and become a more confident speaker.
2. To learn the ropes of academic research and strive to complete one or two first drafts by the end of the year.
3. To travel to another Canadian province.
4. To save up enough money to buy a new laptop.

In the afternoon, Dr. Zhao invited me to his office to discuss my future plans. He suggested two research directions: RFID technology and concrete energy storage. Both sound fascinating to me. I need to start carving out time to read the literature and learn as much as possible from the senior students (my shixiong) while they are still here.

Later, Amir and I attended the orientation for new winter intake students. We were pleasantly surprised to find that they provided a complimentary meal!

However, I realized once again that I truly dislike social settings where you have to sit and chat with strangers—even with other Chinese students. It might just be my personality; I simply don’t have much desire to dive into other people’s lives.

I and Zhiqiang need to hold a coffee time on Friday.

I worked till midnight for the office hour of tomorrow.

I woke up early and found that my preparation time was much shorter than usual, thanks to having the microwave.

I spent the morning finalizing the slides for our group presentation. As is often the case, I didn’t enjoy the group meeting, and I realized I might have a somewhat unhelpful mindset.

I’m constantly worried about the professor’s judgment of me. Worse, I find myself adding my own negative personal thoughts to what I imagine the professors think, which then reflects negatively back onto myself. This cycle leads me to underestimate and doubt my own abilities. This process is genuinely damaging to my self-esteem.

After the group meeting, I walked over to the university pharmacy to get a flu shot. I realized that I’m becoming increasingly capable of handling things on my own, which is a great feeling. I’m truly doing well!

I also managed to complete some parts of RFI 7 with the help of the Claude Opus agent. It’s only when I actively use these technologies that I truly grasp their power and capability.

Summary of Polish:

• “I took shorter preparing time than before due to having a microwave” changed to “my preparation time was much shorter than usual, thanks to having the microwave” (More natural flow).

• “I didn’t like group meetings and I found that I have a abnormal mindset” changed to “I didn’t enjoy the group meeting, and I realized I might have a somewhat unhelpful mindset” (Improved wording; “abnormal” changed to “unhelpful”).

• “I even added some my personal negative thoughts to professors and exert back on myself” changed to “I find myself adding my own negative personal thoughts to what I imagine the professors think, which then reflects negatively back onto myself” (Clarified the difficult, internal thought process).

• “This process is really bad for me” changed to “This process is genuinely damaging to my self-esteem” (Used stronger, more specific phrasing).

• “I found I can gradually deal with a lot of things alone. I am really doing well.” combined and polished to “I realized that I’m becoming increasingly capable of handling things on my own, which is a great feeling. I’m truly doing well!” (Emphasized the positive realization).

• “Only when I use these technologies, I could found their power” changed to “It’s only when I actively use these technologies that I truly grasp their power and capability” (More precise and dynamic verb choice).

Rui messaged me and wanted to treat me KFC or McDonald’s. It’s hard to order remotely and finally she sent me a red envelope.

I recorded the assignment video in the morning.

10:38 Arrive at Office

I continued to modify my presentation after arriving office.

Today’s group meeting was not bad, and I first time to tell others today is my birthday. I think this is a change to me.

15:39 Go home

I spend two hours on recording again, it’s boring and I felt my eyes painful. So I submitted it hastily. I felt better after that.

Oh, today I treated Amir for a personal pizza, for my birthday. It’s not bad. And then I bought a box of eggs, some pork ribs and a box of blueberries. Huan reimbursed me this bill.
I need to eat more vege and fruit.

Why is the quality of these clothes so bad? I don’t know

15:41 Feel sleepy

I don’t know why I’m so sleepy.

20:06 Smelly lamb meat

I bought a lamb leg on Saturday and I boiled it yesterday.

The lamb of Canada is so smelly. I became a fat lamb after eating.

20:08 Weekly journal

I added the weekly journal function on my blog so that I can prepare the notes for the group meeting on Monday. I hope I can keep it as a good habit.