diary: day 1, about learning English July 31, 2015, To my future self, I hope this entry doesn't appear to be as odd as it might be. In fact, this is the very first English diary that I have ever written. I know I will make tons of wording and grammar mistakes, but that's the how I improve and the whole point of keeping this. This diary is meant to document my sometimes funny, naive, but sometimes serious thoughts and stories. and today's topic is my English learning strategies. Not long ago, I read somewhere that learning a new language requires inputs and outputs. As for inputs, I decide to read more casual reads, like novels and etc..This way I can grow my vocabulary, and in time, hopefully as large as most native speakers have. When it comes to outputs, I'd like to speak and write more, and make myself familiar with more words and sentence patterns. This is key to using a language especially when speaking, because we usually don't have much time to think, searching for the "right" word and organizing sentences. What comes out of our mouths is the things right off the top of our heads. My main goal here is to make the language I have learned become my own. This is not going to be easy, but I have embarked on the journey and will keep up. R

Engineering Hound Hi, I just saw this phrase "XX hound" which means someone is really enthusiastic about something, usually a discipline. In Chinese we have a similar phrase, XX 狗 (e.g 工科狗，化工狗，etc.), but it always comes in a sarcastic tone. I am wondering if people use the phrase in the same sarcastic way in English? Or it can also be used in a non-sarcastic way too?

Buying for one is a nightmare The complete sentence is "I hate going shopping by myself, buying for one could is a nightmare." The sentence is said to have two meanings. One is "buying for one person could be a nightmare", and another one is could be a nightmare. I am not entirely sure about the second meaning. Could anyone explain that to me please? Thanks!

fall to one's death What does this expression mean exactly? And in what contexts can we use it? What is the formality of this word? Thanks!