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 record my movie-watching experience from last Sunday, otherwise I won't have anything to write about.
The movie I watched was "Black Cat, White Cat", a hilarious comedy. I won't spoil it here, as that would require writing a lot... (clever me)
But while watching the movie, I imagined myself as the gypsy character, Matko, although I forgot the names of the characters and had to copy and paste them from Douban. Enough digressing, let's get back to it.
I focused on each character individually, particularly Matko and Ladybird. Both characters represent the close connection between poverty and patriarchy, and 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 businessperson can still be kind-hearted when faced with personal interests. It's a way of avoiding relying on others.
Ladybird's charm lies in her bravery. Even though she is in a difficult family situation, she represents the struggles of many women, and her ending may be "luckier" than many others. I won't spoil it, so I won't mention the reasons.
I also took a photo of "Aftersun" while watching it. This movie is great. I just finished watching Paul Masca play a high school student at the beginning of the year, and now a few months later, he's a father. But that's not important. The key is that the little girl, Frankie Corio, is a talented actress.
A few months ago, I received some vinyl records and CDs from Japan through a group buy. This time, I got 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.
During the 618 shopping festival, I finally got the licensed version of Typora (before I typed "Typola" instead, I've been studying Japanese for too long, so I understand).
Music Streaming Platforms#
I used Netease Cloud Music in my freshman and sophomore years, then switched to Spotify from my junior year until last year. For the past few months, I've been taking advantage of the Apple Music discount. Now I've switched to YouTube Music.
Each platform's radio feature gives me a different feeling. 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 great, and overall it works well, but the lyrics don't move.
Exercise#
I went for a run and went swimming once.
After running, I stretched.
Learning#
I started using the website Typlog, which is designed to organize and categorize the things I collect in my daily life. It's a bit troublesome, but life is all about ups and downs.
In addition to studying Japanese, I'm also learning some basic coding syntax.
Yesterday, I read Donald's weekly update. He has already written 60 posts (amazing👍). When he started writing a weekly journal, I also started using a whiteboard to write mine, but I didn't stick with it. I have poor self-discipline and often procrastinate.
I've also been inconsistent with my podcast updates. I remember that I have recorded audio and written articles, but I delay posting them every week. If I don't post next week, I won't post the week after either. That's just 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, the coffee was leaking while I was making it, so I ended up with a dirty cup. The whole table was a mess.
I made tomato dumplings that day. The dumplings are from Yuanji Dumpling House, they're delicious. I paired them with homemade iced tea, it was so refreshing and helped with digestion.
I also made breakfast, which will last for several days. I didn't take a picture of everything.
Yesterday, I made Espresso for Donald. It's strong and oily, unlike the low-oil coffee I usually make.
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, a simple and relaxed life. If I were the one cooking in the kitchen, I probably wouldn't have had that feeling.
Donald made tomato, egg, and pork noodles, and they were delicious! He's a versatile cook.
I went to a dessert shop and ordered "Honey Tortoise Jelly". It was so delicious. Real honey is the key, but the honey flavor was quite strong compared to the bitterness of the tortoise jelly.
I waited in line for an hour and a half for dinner - Korean barbecue. This barbecue place is better than the ones we've tried before. It's not greasy after eating, but it might upset your stomach.
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 to ferment.
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 if possible. 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 are tired. Today, I "moved" the entire rookie dish home, and even picking up packages made me tired. Phew! Yeah, there's a new episode of Demon Slayer tomorrow.