Today it rained heavily, and the weather has been unpredictable all week. Last week, I got a swimming pass with @Donald in the neighborhood. If we swim 30 times this summer, we won't lose money. (I love calculating these things)
Books, Movies, and Music#
Since I haven't watched any movies or read many pages this week, I'll just record my movie-watching experience from last Sunday. I won't spoil it here, as it would require writing a lot... (clever me)
But when I was watching the movie, I imagined myself as the gypsy character, Matko. Actually, I forgot their names and had to copy and paste them from Douban. Enough digressing, let's get back to the topic.
I focused on each character individually, especially Matko and the Bird Lady. Both of them represented the close connection between poverty and patriarchy. The voice of women is often silenced.
If I were Matko, what would I do? Honestly, I'm not that brave. I don't have the courage to do business. In human society, the least trustworthy thing is human nature. I don't believe that a businessman can still be kind-hearted when faced with interests. It's a way of taking advantage without relying on luck.
The charm of the Bird Lady lies in her bravery. Even if she is in a certain family, she represents the struggles of every woman in the past and present. I won't spoil the ending, so I won't explain why she might be luckier than many other women.
I also took a photo with the movie "Aftersun" that day. This movie is great. I just finished watching Paul Masca as a high school student at the beginning of the year, and now a few months later, I see him as a father. But that's not important. The key is that the little girl Frankie Corio has great acting skills.
A few months ago, I received some vinyl records and CDs from Japan. This time, I received the "Monster" vinyl and three CDs. Let the battle begin!
Lately, I've been enjoying listening to songs on repeat. The ones I've been listening to recently are "TV" by Billie Eilish, "Chemtrails Over The Country Club" by Lana Del Rey, and "Sunset Boulevard" by Liang Bo. I used to never listen to Liang Bo's songs because they made me feel uncomfortable, but now I really like this style. I listen to "Chemtrails Over The Country Club" almost every month to stabilize my mood and calm my mind.
I finally got the official version of Typora during the 618 event. Before I learned to type it correctly, I used to write "Typola," which I learned from studying Japanese for a long time.
Music Platforms#
I used Netease Cloud Music in my freshman and sophomore years, Spotify from my junior year until last year, and now I've been taking advantage of the Apple Music discount for the past few months. Now I've switched to YouTube Music.
The radio feature for a song feels different on each platform. Netease Cloud Music is good for niche music, Spotify and YouTube Music recommend better songs for me than Apple Music. I don't want to pay for multiple platforms, so I use YouTube Premium, which includes music functionality. The playlists are tailored to my taste, and it works well overall, except that the lyrics don't move.
Exercise#
I went for a run and went swimming once.
I stretched after running.
Learning#
I started using the website Typlog, which is designed to organize the things I collect and categorize them. It's a bit troublesome, but life is all about ups and downs.
In addition to studying Japanese, I'm also learning the basics of coding syntax.
Yesterday, I read Donald's weekly newsletter. He has already written the 60th edition (amazing👍). When he started writing a weekly journal, I also started writing mine using Typora, but I didn't stick with it. I have poor self-discipline and often procrastinate.
I have also been inconsistent with my podcast. I remember that I have recorded audio and written articles, but I procrastinate and don't publish them. If I don't publish them next week, I won't publish them at all. That's the kind of person I am.
Food#
I still eat out for one or two meals, enjoying dishes that I can't cook myself. I had goose meat and pig's feet.
That day, my coffee was leaking while I was making it, so I ended up with a dirty coffee. The whole table was a mess.
I made tomato wonton that day. The wonton is from Yuanji Wonton House, and it tastes great. I paired it with homemade iced black tea, which was very refreshing and helped balance the flavors.
I also made breakfast, which can last for several days. I didn't take pictures of everything.
Yesterday, I made Espresso for Donald. It's great when the coffee beans are dark and oily. It's different from the low-oil beans I usually use.
While I was making coffee in the living room, I listened to the Fullmetal Alchemist soundtrack playing on the record player and heard Donald cooking in the kitchen. It felt so comfortable, living a simple and unhurried life. If I were the one cooking in the kitchen, I probably wouldn't have this feeling.
Donald made tomato, egg, and pork noodles, and they were delicious! He's a versatile cook.
I went to a dessert shop and had "Honey Turtle Jelly" after waiting in line for an hour and a half. It was so delicious. Real honey is the key. The honey flavor was strong, but it didn't overpower the bitterness of the turtle jelly.
I waited in line for a Korean barbecue dinner. This barbecue place tasted better than the ones we've had before. It didn't make us feel greasy after eating, but it did upset our stomachs.
I finally got a toast box. This time, I seriously used the tools to make toast. Let's see how it turns out.
The toast is ready for fermentation.
Fermented to 80%.
The finished toast.
Whenever I live alone, I tend to procrastinate when it comes to cooking. I do the bare minimum, steam instead of stir-fry, and avoid cutting meat. Is this a reflection of my lack of self-discipline and unwillingness to focus on a task? Maybe I'm the problem. Anyway, my hands feel tired. Today, I "moved" the entire rookie home delivery, and even picking up packages made me tired. Phew! Yeah, there's a new episode of Demon Slayer tomorrow.