Diary-20250303 Today is the first day of this semester. Thankfully, I don't need to teach any course this spring, so it's a good opportunity for me to seize the day and get back to my research. I actually focussed on my work this morning. A cup of coffee cheered me up so that I could focus on reading papers. After having lunch at the canteen on campus, I went back home and continued working. Things changed after watching a TED Talk. The speaker was so engaging that I couldn't help practicing shadow reading. Once again, I fell into the trap of obsessing over improving my English skills, especially speaking. This time, with the help of Deepseek, I developed a plan to improve pronounciation and fluency. That's why I'm here, writing this stream-of-consciousness diary to seek assistance. Well done. A lovely piece of writing, and a good thing to do to keep practicing and improving. Keep it up. Simon