Hi, guys. How are you?

I was not be able to write my articles last week because I was so exhausted and did not time for it. At this moment I keep going to look for a job. It lasted almost 2 months since I started and right now I am frustrated, but I do not give up. Last week I went to the temporary agency in order to enlist a help, but this guys said me to translate and evaluate my diploma. Then come again, so I found a translator and on the next week I am getting my translation. After that I have to evaluate it.

What next? I gave up one my English course in Irvine Valley College and my volunteer job in Heritage library.  I had to since I was so tired at the end of day. Now I have 2 volunteer jobs: in the my son's school 2 days per week and in the CareChoices company where I do office work. Also I keep doing my 2 English classes: ESL class in Heritage library 2 days per week and ESL class in Katie Wheeler library 1 day per week.

I finished at last filling Tax return, and I was happy since I have never done it before. It seemed me so difficult at the beginning. I found good online application Turbotax and began to fill a form.

Almost at once I faced with problem of my son's SSN. He doesn't have it, but the Turbotax required it. So I began to google and found the decision to fill in another SSN and then after printing to erase it. I did it, printed form 1040, erased number and filled form W-7 to get ITIN. This number is needed only for Tax return in our case. I can send via mail my forms, but they demand the original passport of my son. I could not dare to sent passport. I called to the IRS to make an appointment and... my appointment on 14th March. It was too long to wait, so I decided to show up at the local office IRS: 801 Civic Center Drive W.Santa Ana, CA 92701 and gave away my documents. It didn't work. They accept only by appointment.

I wanted to mention about this more in detail. There was an awful day, hard cold rain, I was driving around this building about 20 minutes in order to find a parking place. I found one place and then I tried to pay for parking, but I could not realize how to pay: no automate only board with writing: Go to the site... put the number .... and pay through your phone. Oh my gosh, I was standing with my umbrella in one hand, and phone in the second hand, hard rain and wind, I was trying to sign up to the site and .... no connection ... my phone lost signal... final. After 15 minutes my attempts I gave up and drove to look for another place. I found parking place with barrier, I have never used such as kind of parking and of course, I was afraid that I could not connect the dots. But I could :). Then I walked under rain to the local office about 10 minutes and my umbrella didn't help me to stay dry. I came and was sent back. It was so disappointing. I didn't want to wait until March, after I picked up my son I ran to the H&R block accounting company. Paid 70$ for sending W-7 form to the IRS. But It wasn't the end. I will continue to tell about Tax return in my next article.

What about my education, I started new online course from Coursera Speak English Professionally: In Person, Online & On the Phone.  I put first video here.

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[MUSIC]
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Welcome to module one.
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In this module, you'll learn about and
practice speaking in person for
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making small talk to introducing
yourself professionally.
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A key component of this module is to
focus on pronunciation skills that will
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help you to become more fluent and
more confident when you speak English.
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First, let's look at small talk.
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Now, what is small talk?
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Small talk is how many
conversations begin.
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It's just short conversations
about every day topics, but
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those short conversations can lead
to longer and more important ones.
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And in the working world being able to
make small talk, feeling comfortable
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making small talk, often leads
to greater professional success.
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So that's why as you work on
becoming a better English speaker,
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you want to have many,
many small talk conversations.
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Small talk is where conversations begin,
but how do you start?
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And how do you keep
the conversation going?
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Take a minute and think about how you
begin conversations in your own language.
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What kind of greetings do you use?
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What do you talk about?
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While every conversation is different,
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you can probably think of
many ways they are the same.
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Opening lines, ways you introduce
yourself and things you talk about.
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It's the same in English.
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In this video, we're going to look at
examples of small talk conversations.
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We'll focus on key phrases to use to help
make small talk easier and more fun.
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First, let's look at how you can
introduce yourself to someone new.
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Hello, I'm Jody.
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What's your name?
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>> Hello, I'm Ben.
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>> Nice to meet you, Ben.
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>> Simple, right?
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Introductions are easy.
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And often,
when you introduce yourself first,
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it's makes the other person feel
more comfortable talking to you.
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And once you've heard the other
person's name, say it.
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Nice to meet you, Ben.
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It's welcoming and
it helps you to remember the new name.
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What's next?
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Make a connection and ask some questions.
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This is a great event, isn't it?
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What brings you here?
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>> I'm here for work and you?
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>> Me too.
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What kind of work do you do?
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>> Now that you've made a connection,
listen, listen and listen.
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Here's a chance to learn a little
bit more about the person.
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Find out what you have in common and
keep the conversation going.
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Smile and keep your eyes on
the person you're talking to.
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So, you're in technology?
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What do you think about my new phone?
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>> Wow, it's really great.
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I haven't seen one of those yet.
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>> You're right, it is great.
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Once you're comfortable with someone,
it's easy to keep the conversation going.
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What are some other
popular small talk topics?
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Hobbies, family, news,
sports, just to name a few.
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And remember,
the more detail you add to a conversation,
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the easier it is to keep it going.
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Don't just answer yes or no.
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And as you find yourself coming
to the end of a conversation,
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keep it going with a plan
to see that person again.
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Have you tried that new
restaurant across the street?
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>> No, but I've heard a lot about it.
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The chef is famous and
the food is delicious.
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>> I'd really like to try it.
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Want to join me?
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So, what do you need to do to
make your small talk meaningful?
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Introduce yourself.
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Ask questions.
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Be a good listener.
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Show your interest and find out what you,
and the other person have in common.
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Think of ways to extend the conversation.
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Small talk could be the start of
a new friendship, a new job and
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an interesting connection.
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Making small talk confidently
is a key skill and
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one I hope you'll practice and
enjoy more and more.
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[SOUND]