Day 18 · Out Of Nowhere

Day 33 · What a Morning

A slow English story about An early morning dog walk that turned wild — a five-foot snake right on the path. 15 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences Listen, I'm not kidding. This just happened this morning. I woke up pretty early. So I planned to walk my dog for a bit longer. We were on the lakeside path around the apartment. All of a sudden, I saw a snake right on the path. My neighbors actually keep talking about snakes in the group chat. But I didn't really take it seriously. That snake was about five feet long. My dog and the snake just froze. I stood there watching them. Dead silent. I even thought about calling 911. Then the snake stuck its tongue out at me. Oh my gosh, what do I do? Is it venomous? But then she just slithered away. What a way to start the day. 🔑 Vocabulary • 911 /naɪn wʌn wʌn/ • woke up early /woʊk ʌp ˈɜːrli/ • take it seriously /teɪk ɪt ˈsɪriəsli/ • stuck out /stʌk aʊt/ • venomous /ˈvenəməs/ • what a way to start the day /wɒt ə weɪ tə stɑːrt ðə deɪ/ • froze /froʊz/ • slither away /ˈslɪðər əˈweɪ/ • lakeside path /ˈleɪksaɪd pæθ/ • all of a sudden /ɔːl əv ə ˈsʌdn/ • actually /ˈæktʃuəli/ • group chat /ɡruːp tʃæt/ • five feet long /faɪv fiːt lɔːŋ/ • dead silent /ded ˈsaɪlənt/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 32 · That "Morning"

A slow English story about Monday morning, an overslept hangover, and a boss who said it without saying it. 14 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences Monday morning, and I slept in. I drank way too much at the housewarming last night. I can't really drink much, but I just love a good drink. I threw on some clothes and rushed out the door. Just my luck, the elevator was slow. I snuck into the office, hoping no one would notice. Then I saw him. My boss was right by the door. He looked up and said, "Morning!" Real chill. I forced a smile and said, "Morning!" back. Just as chill. I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. My heart was still racing. He glanced at the clock. Then he looked back at me, still smiling. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. I got the message. Loud and clear. I started typing twice as fast. 🔑 Vocabulary • slept in /slept ɪn/ • threw on /θruː ɒn/ • rushed out /rʌʃt aʊt/ • just my luck /dʒʌst maɪ lʌk/ • forced a smile /fɔːrst ə smaɪl/ • glanced at /ɡlænst æt/ • heart racing /hɑːrt ˈreɪsɪŋ/ • housewarming /ˈhaʊsˌwɔːrmɪŋ/ • lightweight /ˈlaɪtweɪt/ • snuck into /snʌk ˈɪntə/ • chill /tʃɪl/ • didn't say a word /ˈdɪdnt seɪ ə wɜːrd/ • loud and clear /laʊd ənd klɪər/ • twice as fast /twaɪs əz fæst/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 31 · App is Here

Wechat: TingMateEn A slow English story about TingMate beta is here — limited spots for beta testing. 14 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences Hey, are you guys ready? And I've got some good news for you today. First of all, you guys are crazy. I mean, I never expected this many people to love TingMate. So I started working on the app launch. But honestly, the process is slower than I thought. So in the meantime, I built something for you. Yeah! I built a beta version of TingMate. There's a web version, an iOS test app, and an Android install file. I only have limited spots for beta testing. I'd love to hear what you think. Your feedback will literally shape the real launch. So if you want to give it a try, check today's cover. Add me on WeChat. The ID's already on the cover and show notes. Thank you for being here for each other. 🔑 Vocabulary • crazy /ˈkreɪzi/ • launch /lɔːntʃ/ • in the meantime /ɪn ðə ˈmiːntaɪm/ • beta /ˈbeɪtə/ • shape /ʃeɪp/ • literally /ˈlɪtərəli/ • give it a try /ɡɪv ɪt ə traɪ/ • feedback /ˈfiːdbæk/ • be here for each other /biː hɪər fɔːr iːtʃ ˈʌðər/ • some good news /sʌm ɡʊd njuːz/ • install file /ɪnˈstɔːl faɪl/ • spots /spɒts/ • limited /ˈlɪmɪtɪd/ • show notes /ʃoʊ noʊts/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 30 · Cheers to Right Now

A slow English story about a friend's housewarming and an H1B that finally came through. 13 simple sentences. Word by word. 📝 Today's sentences This weekend, I went to my friend's housewarming party. Here's the thing. She didn't buy the place. She rented it. But it's still a big deal. Ten years in the US. This is her first time living in a house. Honestly, international student life isn't all that fancy. You're moving abroad, learning English, finding a job, then the H1B lottery. She kept going year after year. Reapplying, waiting, refusing to quit. This year, she finally got picked. The H1B came through. She said she's safe for three years now. She really deserves this moment. Honestly, anyone who keeps going knows this feeling. So I made this episode for her. We raised our glasses. Cheers to right now. 🔑 Vocabulary • housewarming party /ˈhaʊsˌwɔːrmɪŋ ˈpɑːrti/ • here's the thing /hɪərz ðə θɪŋ/ • a big deal /ə bɪɡ diːl/ • kept going /kept ˈɡoʊɪŋ/ • refusing to quit /rɪˈfjuːzɪŋ tə kwɪt/ • came through /keɪm θruː/ • deserves /dɪˈzɜːrvz/ • raised our glasses /reɪzd aʊər ˈɡlæsɪz/ • rented /ˈrentɪd/ • year after year /jɪər ˈæftər jɪər/ • reapplying /ˌriːəˈplaɪɪŋ/ • H1B /eɪtʃ wʌn biː/ • got picked /ɡɑːt pɪkt/ • fancy /ˈfænsi/ • all that /ɔːl ðæt/ • cheers to /tʃɪərz tuː/ 🎧 New episode every weekday Subscribe so you don't miss the next sentence.

Day 19–23 · Last Week Review

Day 19 · Before The Meeting Monday morning. The big week starts now. And before heading out, I looked in the mirror and gave myself a firm nod. I got to the office, made coffee, opened my notes app. I started a new list. Just three things for today. One: I proofread the design doc with ChatGPT. Took half an hour. Two: I shared the deck with everyone on the invite. Three: I dropped a message in the group chat. Reach out anytime. Leave comments by 11. I hit send. Honestly, it felt like half the work was done. Day 20 · Closing The Loop Tuesday morning. I refreshed my inbox first thing. Two more had come in overnight. By 9, I pinged the folks who hadn't sent feedback yet. And by 11, all the feedback had come in. Luckily, fewer comments than I expected. I sat down with Claude. We resolved the easy ones first. Just one comment from Lisa was a bit vague. So I set up a quick 1:1 to talk it through. Fifteen minutes. We were on the same page. Back at my desk. I worked all the changes into the deck. Closed the loop. Sent the updated deck out. The draft is locked. Day 21 · Dry Run Wednesday morning. I brought the final deck over to my mentor's desk. She walked me through it once more. It all made sense. "Let's do a dry run with the team this afternoon." She suggested it. I went with it. 4 p.m. sharp. Everyone showed up, laptops open, coffees in hand. Lots of questions came up. One stood out. How do we plug AI into the data flow? We pinned that down as our open question. A teammate gave me a thumbs up. "Don't stress tomorrow." Before heading out, I dropped a quick heads up. 10 a.m. tomorrow. Day 22 · Green Light Thursday morning. I came in early to set up the meeting room. I hit record. Everyone started showing up. I took a deep breath. "Thanks for joining today's design review." "Feel free to jump in with any questions." Most comments were already resolved from yesterday. It went smoothly. On the open question about AI, we decided to go with the MCP tool. Sales can upload data directly. The team gave it the green light. A few thumbs up across the room. I wrapped up. My phone buzzed. Mentor: "Drinks on me." Me: "Coming now!" Day 23 · The Overshare As I said, we went to a bar last night. The waiter was completely on it. Soon as I put my glass down, he'd refill it. Like there's no tomorrow. Two glasses in, I was like, "Wow, this guy gets it!" But three glasses in, I was like, "This might be a problem." The little angel on my shoulder kept whispering "stop." The devil won. I knew I should have said "that's enough." But I started oversharing. Like, my whole life story. Now that I'm sober, I'm just dying of cringe. Don't ask me what I said. I promise I won't hit the bar anymore. Ok, I mean, at least this month! Please pass the water. Thank you.