My computer has broken down. A few days ago, I woke up to find my monitor was black. I had gone to bed with a sitcom series playing. It should have been playing on even when I woke up, but it wasn't, and I figured that something went wrong. I pressed the reset button, but it didn't work. So, I had to keep pressing the power button for a while to turn it off by force. Then I turned it back on, but my computer started acting up. It beeped 3 short beeps for two times, and stopped. I called the A/S guy and he said I had to send the main computer part to their place. I bought this computer from an online seller, and not from a large company, so the repairing service is not so convenient. Anyways, first I had to find myself a box big enough for it, and I found one, although it was a little small for it. To make the box collision-proof as much as possible, I crumpled lots of pieces of newspaper and put in a few ones first for the bottom of the main computer part, then put in the main computer part, and then put the other crumpled pieces around. After all that, I had one tiny problem left. As I said earlier, the box was not big enough for the part, so I closed the top as much as possible and put a piece of newspaper over it and taped it up. I'm not sure if I made the box collision-proof enough, though. I'm posting this from my laptop now.

Why People Are Trying to Lose Weight A notion of going on a diet has been around for such a long time that it is almost safe to say that we have reached the point where losing weight is a permanent part of our lives. This is easily evidenced by how often we see weight loss advertisements around us -- especially on the Internet. There may be a variety of reasons why people want to lose weight, but people are trying to lose weight mainly because they want to avoid health problems which can be caused by obesity, and they are stimulated to lose weight for improvement in their looks. The first reason why people are trying to lose weight is that people who are overweight are more likely to get health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, hardening of the arteries, and palsy. In fact, obesity can take away one’s life and as people are eating more and getting less exercise, more people are becoming overweight and the number of people who have died of obesity is rapidly increasing. People trying to lose weight do so because they have realized the seriousness of obesity and want to avoid the health problems which it can cause. A second reason why people are trying to lose weight is that they are stimulated to improve their looks through losing weight. The Internet, which almost everyone around the world can afford to use, has been the greatest provider of weight loss advertisements. These advertisements usually display pictures of how people who were extremely overweight have slimmed down and have won a better appearance by going through the programs offered by the advertisements, and this is nudging people into trying to lose weight. People are losing weight for various reasons, but they are trying to lose weight mainly because they want to avoid health problems caused by obesity and they are stimulated to improve their looks through losing weight. It is true that people can avoid many health problems and improve their looks through losing weight. Moreover, as they lose weight as much as they plan, they get to feel a sense of achievement and their confidence goes up and for that they can even get a positive outlook on their lives. I have written a cause-and-effect essay. I am supposed to submit it before this upcoming midnight, according to my local time. I thought it would be better if you would correct any mistake in my essay. Thanks in advance for your help!

Is there any nuance difference in the word "boil" between these two sentences? 1. Please, bring a large pan of water to a boil. 2. He told the servant to heat the water to boiling. In my opinion, in sentence 1, I should boil the water for "a certain period of time", and stop boiling it whereas in sentence 2, the person told to heat the water just needed to boil the water and then leave it boiling on and on with no regard to when he should stop boiling it. I need your confirmation or correction. Thanks in advance!

My attempt at translating a traditional Korean folk-tale into English: The Dog and Cat (3) (This is the last piece of the work.) At the moment when the greedy hag opened the door and looked out, they dashed in through the crevice. And they started gnawing at even a folding screen, a papeterie, and a cedar chest. This upset her so much that she picked up the pillow and flung it at them. "Shoo! Shoo! Get out!" For that, the bead in the pillow rolled out. The rats snatched it and ran away with it. The cat received the bead from them and she released the boss rat as promised. She held the bead in her mouth and promptly jumped on the back of the dog. While swimming across the river, the dog kept worried about the bead. "Are you holding it all right?" The cat did not answer. "Again, are you holding the precious bead all right?" The cat did not answer again. Nay, she could not say anything, for she was holding the bead in her mouth. "Tell me! Are you holding the precious and marvelous bead all right?" He kept on asking, and it angered her. "Mew, Don't worry!" Right at the moment, the magic bead rolled out of her mouth, and fell into the river. Good heavens! The cat's amazement was so great that the fur on her part stood stiff. But the bead was already away in the river anyway. The dog took umbrage at the cat. "Bowwow! You should have been careful!" The cat took more umbrage back at the dog. "Mew, So, why did you keep on asking?" When they were across the river, they were exhausted. They felt bad and hungry. Then, there was a fish had been brought by a fisherman to the side of the river. It occurred to the cat that it would be good to bring home at least something to eat. So, she snatched it and ran away home with it. The dog ran along with her. "The cat has brought a fish. I'm so proud of her." The old man cut the stomach of the fish. Good heavens! What do you think happened? The lost magic bead sprang out of the stomach of the fish! Now, the old man and the old woman could live with nothing to worry about. He got a new boat, and the pot was always full of rice. The old man and the old woman stroked the dog and the cat every day. How much were they proud of them and thankful for their bringing the bead back? Since then, the dog guarded the door in the yard lest the greedy hag should come. And the cat too protected the bead in the room in case the greedy hag came. The old man and the old woman lived with the dog and the cat happily ever after, helping each other.

My attempt at translating a traditional Korean folk-tale into English: The Dog and Cat (2) Thanks to the magic bead, the leaky roof was replaced with a new clean one. His old broken boat was renewed as well. The cat could eat delicious fish at every meal, and the dog could eat rice with Doenjang soup at every meal. The bead was the best thing for the old man and the old woman. And so, for the bead not to be damaged, they took very much care in keeping it hidden and safe in their house. However, there was a greedy hag who heard of the magic bead. She earned a bead that looked exactly the same as the magic bead, and went with it to the old man’s house. As the greedy hag bragged about the fake bead, the old woman was naive enough to bring out the real magic bead. The greedy hag switched the beads making a fuss and saying, "Oh my! They both look just like twins!" But the old woman did not have the faintest idea about it. After that day, somehow, the old man's boat was broken and the rice ran out. They took out the bead and made a wish to it, but nothing happened. "Ah! I think the bead is now broken." They became poor again. By the way, there was a rumor that the greedy hag became rich all at once. "Mew, there's something suspicious about the greedy hag." "Bowwow, let's go to her house and look for the real magic bead." The dog and the cat swam across the river and went to the greedy hag's house. They came to her house, but they did not know where the bead was. "Mew, I will see where it is." The cat went into a storeroom and caught a boss rat. The rats shook around the cat and begged her. The rats said, squeaking, "Please. Spare our boss." With the boss rat under her front paws, she said horrifyingly, "This house has a precious bead in it, doesn’t it? I shall spare your boss if you bring it." The rats started going through the whole house. Is it hidden in the rafters? Or in the attic? Or in the furnace? Eventually, the rats learned that the bead was kept in the greedy hag's pillow. They discussed how to take it out. After the discussion, they ran up to the main floor and started gnawing at pillars, floors, grain chests, and dining tables. The greedy old woman woke up at that, and shouted out. They gnawed more violently here and there.

My attempt at translating a traditional Korean folk-tale into English: The Dog and Cat (1) I hope you enjoy my translation. And because the translation work is over 2500 characters, I will divide it into a few parts and upload them. Many years ago, there lived together in a village an old man and an old woman who were poor. The old man was a fisherman who caught fish on a river. One day, when he was on the way home from selling fish, he saw a dog being beaten. The dog looked very painful and sad. "Dear, dear! Such a poor thing." He paid for the dog all the money he earned by selling the fish. And he came home with the exhausted dog held tightly in his arms. The following day, he was coming home with the fish he had caught, and discovered that a cat was down. "Dear, dear! You poor thing." He gave the cat a fish. The cat enjoyed the fish, eating, and then looked him in the face. He came home, holding the cat tightly in his arms. Therefore, he had four family members now. He went out to fish every day, but he could not catch many fish. One day, he caught a very big carp. He was glad that he could sell it and keep his livelihood. Good heavens! What do you think happened? Well, with the tears coming out, the carp was able to speak! "Please, spare me, sir. If you spare me, I will repay your favor at all costs." He regarded the carp as extraordinary and took much care to send it back into the river. The next day, when he was about to spread out his fishnet into the river, fog came out of the river all of a sudden. Then, a man turned up and bowed to him. "I am from the Dragon Palace. The carp you saved yesterday was a son of the Dragon King." The man gave a shiny bead to him and said, "This is a bead that makes wishes come true. Please, keep it safe." And then, he slowly disappeared into the fog. The old man could not care about the fishing and anything else. So, he hurried back home with the bead. He told his wife about it, and she examined every part of it because she just could not believe that it was a magic bead. "Darling, what wish should we make? Shall we ask it to give a roll of silk?" "Oh my! My dear. I just want the pot not to be empty ever. That is what I want." Amazingly enough, after a while, they went out of the room and found that the pot was full of rice. "It surely is a magic bead!" They were so delighted that they danced joyfully about.

Just random thoughts These days, I wake at my cell phone alarm at around 5:30 a.m., but I just reach it, turn it off, and go back to sleep, and then wake up at around 9 a.m., which makes me a little worried about my schooling days that begin after about one week. I'm admitted to this university, Kookmin University, as a junior who has changed majors from Mechatronics to English Linguistics & Literature. It takes about 2 hours to go from my home to the university by subway and bus. And I don't know at what time the first class begins, but considering it begins at 9:30 a.m., I need to get out at least before 7:30 a.m. And since I should have breakfast before getting ready and going out, I should wake up early enough for it. I'm thinking of it as a rule: to keep my cell phone a little far away from my bed before going to sleep so that when it sounds an alarm, I wake up, get out of my bed, go to it, and turn it off, feeling completely awake. I've been trying to wake up early, but I keep failing. I need to get rid of this bad habit. Maybe I should go to bed before midnight for this. I've been trying to get used to just 4 or 5 hours of sleep, but now I guess I should take more time for sleep.