Learning the Spanish Language — Project Day 12

I learned, or rather embedded, a lot of Spanish today, but it was not a good day.

I spent way too much time on 'ser' and 'estar' — the two distinct Spanish verbs for what is conveyed in English by 'to be'.

I kept up the struggle to get back on track, until the point when the abusive noise from 'Lost and Found' on Greek Street made it impossible to think straight

I guess they intended to drive customers so far out of their minds that they'd buy more drink than is healthy, but they clearly failed — because the noisiest bar on Greek Street was also the one with fewest customers. Arseholes and losers.

Review

A disappointing start to a disappointing day.

I slept well, but was up later than anticipated — probably an effect of the first serious cycling session in a long while. I also had to devote a fair portion of session 1 to urgent WDA course admin.

I worked on my Spanish, more or less continuously, throughout the day, but failed on two important aspects of routine — my eating and break times were all over the place and I didn't get out to ride before night fell. And I didn't ride in the evening, either. A bad mistake.

I've counted the afternoon transition and evening maintenance slots as successful, athough I didn't use them entirely for their intended purpose — the transition was partly used to re-group/reset and the maintence slot went to catching up with Spanish oral and aural exercises.

The reset was necessary, because my chimp's 'completist' tendencies caused me to spend vast amounts of time on grammar exercises that weren't really on the agenda for today.

As a consequence, tasks which were supposed to constitute the core of today's schedule hadn't even been started by late afternoon — at which point I was hit by the 'afternoon dip'.

2-3 hours after that, all my willpower was smashed — by drumming from the 'Lost and Found' hell hole.

I draw these lessons from that experience:

1. The completist chimp was aided by irregularly-timed eating at my desk
2. And, probably, by hubris following the previous day's successes
3. My dip is always close after big dinner — try spaced-out snacks instead?
4. Get the chimp back in its box ASAP — save what's salvageable, don't give up
5. Make greater effort to cycle in session 4
6. Deal with bar noise better —fight back, mitigate, go out

Exception — ride in the evening when both of these conditions apply:

1. An obstacle prevents substantial morning work
2. Evening noise is predictable — high days and holidays

Routine Checklist

Legend

• Ticks — right activity on time
• Crosses — not done to schedule
• Hyphens — not applicable to currrent routine configuration

Task	M	T	W	T	F	S	S
0730 — Get going	✕	✕	✕	✓	✕
0845 — Session 1	✕	✕	✓	✓	✓
1015 — Break	✕	✕	✓	✓	✕
1030 — Session 2	✓	✕	✓	✓	✓
1200 — Dinner	✓	✕	✓	✓	✕
1245 — Session 3	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
1415 — Break	✓	✓	✓	✓	✕
1430 — Session 4	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
1600 — Transition	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
1630 - Session 5	✕	✕	✓	✓	✓
1800 — Tea	✕	✓	✓	✓	✕
1830 — Maintenance	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
2000 — Relax	✓	✓	✓	✓	✕
2230 — Review, uwind	✕	✓	✓	✓	✕
2330 — Bed	✕	✓	✓	✓	✕

Learning Tasks Checklist

Task	M	T	W	T	F	S	S
Reading comprehension	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Read aloud	✕	✓	✓	✓	✕
Just read	✓	✓	✓	✓	✕
Word & phrase exercises	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Sentence exercises	✕	✓	✓	✓	✕
Socratic dialogue	✕	✓	✓	✓	✕
A song	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕
Aural comprehension	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Verb exercises	✓	✓	✓	✕	✓
Preposition exercises	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Pronoun exercises	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Conjunctions	-	-	✓	✕	✓
Eng.→Spa. translation	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Spa.→Eng. translation	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Physical exercise	✓	✕	✕	✓	✕
Subbed video	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Non-subbed video	✕	✕	✓	✕	✕
Research lang. acquisition	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕
List 'issues'	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Prepare materials	✕	✓	✓	✓	✓
Review this checklist	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓