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I have my annual health check in a few days. I go to the same hospital every year, and see the same doctors and nurses. Every year, my weight fluctuates (fluctuate = go up and down). The nurse who checks my weight says “You have put on weight, haven’t you? Why is that?” Or “You have lost weight, haven’t you? Why is that?” I say, “I don’t know.” This year, I’m sure she will say I’ve put on weight. And I know the reason this year. It’s because I’ve eaten too much chocolate and not exercised enough. I put on weight over the summer because it was so hot. I didn’t feel like exercising. And chocolate ice cream was so delicious…

My health check starts around 10:30. Because I will have a blood test, I can’t eat anything before the health check. So I will be very hungry that day. The check will finish around 12:30, so I’ll have brunch.

I usually have to wait around four or five weeks to get the test results. This seems like a long time. My friends who go to different hospitals get their results in around two weeks. I don’t like waiting for my results. If there is something wrong, I want to know immediately. But at least I can have a check whenever I want. For that, I’m grateful.

It is starting to get dark earlier and earlier. I love cold, dark nights! Many people like summer nights when the sun sets later. I prefer autumn and winter nights. I like running in the dark (no one can see my sweaty face!) and I like being at home on cold, dark nights. I like sitting in the living room on the sofa with the fire on, reading a book. It’s cozy.

The sun sets quite late in summer in the UK. When I was a child, I didn’t like this. I had to go to bed when it was still light outside. This felt strange to me. I always looked forward to autumn, when it would get darker earlier. So maybe my love of long autumn and winter nights comes from my childhood.

It is not cold enough to put the fire on yet, but I have started wearing long-sleeved shirts in my house. It already feels cozier. Now all I need is a warm cup of cocoa and a good book, and I’m ready for autumn!

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I love music. I studied it at university. So I am always listening to music. I listen to all kinds – pop, classical, jazz, traditional folk…almost anything, except heavy metal. I was wondering the other day, “When was the last time I bought a CD?” I can’t remember. I started downloading music years ago. Since then, I haven’t bought any CDs, or been in a CD shop.

When I was a child, I bought cassettes. I used to love going to music shops and browsing. I kept the cassettes in special cassettet cases. Then, I started to buy CDs. I have so many. When I came to Japan, I couldn’t bring them all with me, so many of them are still in the UK.

I have a big box full of CDs here in Japan. I don’t listen to all of them (I don’t have time!), but they remind me of people and things, so I don’t want to throw them away. There are no recently released CDs in my collection. All my recent purchases are on my computer. I guess my CD collection won’t grow anymore. Maybe this is a good thing. They take up a lot of space.

I still like to use CDs for language learning though. If I have the choice between downloading the audio or buying a CD for a language textbook, I will buy the CD. I find it easier and I like sitting down with a textbook and a CD when I study. Maybe I am old!

Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press