oh hi

30 January, 2024

what I'm up to

There's nothing quite like having plans for things to just not quite work out. I'd been meaning to write sooner but life and things got in the way, then the new semester began and here we are.

I'm nearing the end of this leg of my education (we'll see what the future brings), and while some things feel like checking boxes in the worst ways, other things I'm definitely enjoying. One of those has been my class on Reader's Advisory, which has allowed me to pleasure read and take some notes for an assignment.

I used to read a lot but that kind of fell apart back in 2020 for various reasons. My studies definitely haven't helped with giving me time but this particular class has been nice incentive to really get back to it.

I'm trying to take better care of myself and my mental health, especially as that initial shine of making a fairly significant life change (going back to school) has faded and it's just going through the motions to finish things up. At least I'll be finishing on a high note with another level of Japanese next semester!

reading

My classes so far have been fairly textbook reading heavy, but one of those is starting to wind that down so I can focus more on reading books. I've had the chance to read two novels so far this year, both of which were quite good!

City Under One Roof - Iris Yamashita
61 Hours - Lee Child

I'm also currently reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'd started it before this assignment, but it fits the criteria for it so I can use it for it.

playing

Thanks to all the reading I've got to do, my gaming time has been pretty light this month. I've mostly been getting in some time on Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak with some friends. I've also started playing Quake II properly, and started Saturnalia.

other games I've been playing:

games I've finished over the last two months:

OU
Quake (including all the expansions)
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Tunic

watching

We got to see Ferrari a few weeks ago. Liked it quite a bit, Adam Driver continues to be fun to watch. We've also been watching Reacher and now have to wait for more like everyone else.

currently watching:

anime I've watched:

links

Amr made a follow-up to their Analogue Pocket video
back in December they also wrote about イーハトーヴォ物語 (Ihatovo Monogatari/The Stories of Ihatovo), a game based on author Kenji Miyazawa's stories
some ambient music made using a 3DS, a Microcosm, and a copy of Electroplankton

And one last thing, a quote from one of my pages from my Techo that I liked quite a lot, from Shigesato Itoi himself:

人は、人に会って人と話をすることが大好きな生きものだ。
ひとりになりたい時間があるのもほんとうだけれど、
人に会って話をしている時間は、最高のぜいたくだ。
そして、ぼくという人間のほとんどの部分は、
そのことの積み重ねでできていると思っている。

Roughly translated (feels so good I can do this now!):

People love to meet and talk with other people. It's true there are times when we want to be alone, but meeting and talking with people is the most luxurious thing of all. And I believe that most parts of who I am are made up of the accumulation of these things.

(I really need to figure out a better way to title these because a new one each time is exhausting)