An... other Android vs. iPhone Comparison

Thanks to iOS 10 I was finally able to declutter my iPhone 5. But I still have a lot of miscellaneous items taking up space that I have no idea what they are. Deleting apps did not help solve this problem. How do you get rid of these mysterious files???

It always amazes me that my Android has music, photos, videos, and over 150 apps but still maintain a good 3gb of free space but iPhone can hardly spare me 1gb without any multimedia files downloaded, and with only 62 apps. (After deleting all the apps I don't use, Apple tells me my phone capacity is 13.15gb instead of 11.2gb but my available storage is still 1.6gb with 0 songs, 0 videos, and 12 photos (recent screenshots; so very lightweight compared to jpg files. I was trying to make space for the update so all my photos were completely removed.).) Both phones are supposed to have 16gb storage capacity.

On a side note, iOS 10 is basically the result of iPhone taking a peek at Android's success and finally realizing what works! I was delighted to find out that the new homepage widgets lets me use iPhone like how I use Google Now (well... Android in general).

How I learn new Japanese vocabulary

Learning new vocabulary is not only essential but necessary if you intend to master a new language. Whether you are a beginner or if you're an advance level student, there will always be new vocabulary to learn.

I divide my learning stages into 7 days in order to ensure that I am able to retain the new vocabulary. I've learned that SRS apps such as Memrise and Mnemosyne are great if you want to learn to recognize 漢字 (or read) but if you want to be able to write, the classic pen and paper technique is the only thing that works best.

Learning Schedule:

Day 1
Select article / learning material.
Try reading the article with the help of a dictionary.
Create list of about 25-50 new vocabulary. (100 if you are ambitious.)
Learn (memorize) up to 50 new vocabulary words on Day 1.

Day 2
Review 25 words.
Use SRS app to decide which word to review.
Otherwise, read the list you've made.

Day 3
Review 25 words.
Learn up to 50 new words.

Day 4
Review 25 words.

Day 5
Review 25 words.
Finish learning remaining new words, if any.

Day 6
Review remaining words.
Try reading selected article / learning material without help.
Review words you were unsure of.

Day 7
Try reading selected article / learning material without help.
Review any word you are still unsure of.

Repeat with new learning material or continue reviewing for another 7 days.
Try to get new learning material every 1-2 weeks.

If you're ambitious and you chose to learn 100 new vocabulary a week, review 50 words at a time instead of 25.

---

If you are even more ambitious you could try a 4-day regime:

Day 1
Select article / learning material.
Create new vocabulary list.
Learn all new vocabulary words.

Day 2
Review all new vocabulary words.

Day 3
Try reading selected article / learning material.
Review words you are unsure of.

Day 4
Try reading selected article / learning material without help.
Review words you are still unsure of.

Repeat with new material.

Thoughts on Malaysia

I was back in Malaysia for about a month and have just returned to Japan this week. It was truly a time for relaxing and slowly enjoying my days in Malaysia.

I have not returned home for 3 years since I came to Japan. My excuses were always that I had not enough cash or time but really I think I wanted to explore Japan more. I was just checking out my jalan.net history and was pleasantly surprised to see that I have visited 30 out of the 47 prefectures in Japan and that the total number of districts I have visited was an astounding 1,741. (It's astounding at least to me).

But I digress.

I had intended to share about my feelings on returning to Malaysia after being in Japan for so long.

I've always said that the public transport system and Japanese manners were top notch when asked about Japan. There is so many more things I wish to experience in Japan and places I want to go. Because of that, I have very little room to think about Malaysia or the things I might have left behind. I talk to my family and friends every day through various software and applications so that even when I meet them back home it felt like all I was doing was to continue our conversations. I do however enjoy them.

The one thing that I wanted to do in Japan that I couldn't do was actually to drive. I miss driving so much. In Malaysia, if you can't drive, you didn't go anywhere. It was a country where driving a car was cheaper to maintain than using public transport. Which was why I made it a point to apply for an international driver's permit. I recently drove up to Wakayama from Osaka and enjoyed the breathtaking view from Mt Koya. I truly felt how convenient it was to be able to drive and wondered if I would still think of trains and buses the same way. I'll be moving to Chiba when I start work next month so I think I will definitely be leasing a car.

I love Malaysian food. If it's one thing I love it's food. I had so many favorites that I could never be sick of eating Malaysian food. I made sure that I sampled all my favorites before returning to Japan so I have no regrets.

People-wise, I might be missing the way my country is so easy-going and somewhat lackadaisical nature when it comes to rule-keeping and manners. (Although I would never agree it's a good thing.)

Driving, food, and attitude... I think I've covered everything.

Where should I go to next?