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my best tip for anyone trying to get back into reading is to remember that you can read books to avoid other responsibilities in ur life and it can become a vice if you play your cards right

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create just to create!!! no expectations! be free!

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September 3, 2025

I thought I wanted a princess seamed minidress (inspiration 1). Something cutesy for fall layering. I even bought a pattern for one. Ever since, I've been wondering how I'd be able to make it practical. The thing is, I like to sit. Love to sit, even. On the train, in the grass (atop a blanket). And sitting so often requires bending. And these activities were just.. not great in my mind for a minidress. And then I happened upon a short romper on pinterest (inspiration 2) while scrolling through some of my outfit inspiration, and I knew that was exactly what I wanted rather than a minidress. Plus the romper has this patch pocket-like detail inside the princess seams that I've wanted to try for years (in a smock or coat or something). Searched through Threadloop for a bit to find an appropriate pattern, and, lo and behold, I'd already had exactly what I wanted in my wishlist. So uh. That should be another fun way to use the brown rayon/wool blend I've been lovingly using. Only if there's still enough after to make trousers, of course (and maybe also a vest eek). And then I'd have a romper(/playsuit), circle skirt, trouser, vest, and miniskirt all from one gorgeous, gorgeous, $8 thrifted bolt (it's probably worth far over 20 times that). And I'll be able to use the miniskirt to test out different ways of dealing with short hemlines without devoting a huge amount of fabric to it. So many wins.

It's interesting how I never really got into the romper trend back when I was in middle school. They were frilly and bright-colored and all had spaghetti straps. But I've always loved a jumpsuit, a more structured, refined garment that tended to lengthen my legs. And what I'm planning to make is basically a shortened jumpsuit. Interesting how one can learn from trends.

Hm. Hmmmmmm. Though now I'm thinking I may put off making the miniskirt until I can be sure that I have enough for a trouser and vest combo. Because I want to prioritize those over other projects on that bolt. So when I go back home in.. a bunch of weeks, I will have to measure. If I somehow have 5 yards remaining on the bolt, I can definitely do everything (vest - 1 yd, trouser - 2 yd, playsuit (sleeveless) - 2 yd, miniskirt - already cut). If I have to sacrifice anything, I'll start with the miniskirt (and use that fabric for a vest). A little annoying because I wanted the miniskirt done by the start of autumn, but I'm not as concerned with the fabric I use for that project compared to the others. So I suppose I shall do a Summer/Autumn Editorial rather than a seasonal one. ...Or just shift my plans altogether and start with autumn, seeing as I've already knit 2 vests and have made no progress on anything remotely summery.

Today I happen to be thankful for the endless stream of information at my fingertips. And also for all of the time I've spent curating it.

And also also for the dinner I made for myself even though I made too much rice (new brand!) for too few chicken thighs and my box of spinach wilted to only like a fistful when cooked which will barely be enough to spice up two meals. But I added tzatziki and it tasted amazing.

Lastly: I'm two days in to the semester and am already exhausted. Not sure why. Not a good sign.

[edit: just realized that my whole body (especially my arms) is sore likely not because of my stretching, but because I exerted myself pretty heavily in a few strength-based challenges at that escape room place a few days ago... that might be where the lingering exhaustion is from... and also the place might've been real germy...]

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You’ve been praised for your strength and resilience, but you deserve tenderness. You are more than your ability to weather life’s storms.

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When a small mammal scrunches up and cleans its face and whiskers with its little hands very rapidly. I just wanted to give you that thought for a moment did u like it.

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Iguaçu Falls lies on the border of Brazil and Argentina, where the Guaçu River pours off a basalt plateau in 275 separate cascades.

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I need you folks who are going back to school to understand this, sleep deprivation is not something to be proud of. You are being fed capitalist propaganda to make you believe that working yourself to the bone is a good and smart business model from a young age. If all you do is “get 3 hours of sleep” because you’re studying, you’re just gonna burn out quicker, forget the information you’re trying to cram, and cause your brain to cannibalize itself.

Do not compete by making unhealthy habits. This will only fuck you up in the long run.

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Where I find peace in a world gone mad

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"just write a little every day" ok but what if i write nothing for 3 weeks and then suddenly type like i’m being hunted by god

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September 1, 2025

Back on low sugar tomorrow. Outside of treats with friends, I will aim to stay below 100% daily value and I will limit myself to the serving size when I do indulge. Gorged myself a bit these past few days and I think I probably felt a lot of the inflammation around my joints. Not good for flexibility. Speaking of which, I think it might not be unreasonable for me to get my left splits sometime "soon" (definitely before my right and absolutely before a straddle). I was doing a pigeon this morning and my left side was surprisingly nimble! Somehow I've focused a lot on hip mobility over the past several weeks, and while I certainly can't do anything impressive, hip mobility and flexibility and control are key for a lot of the moves that I'm interested in learning.

I went to that same physical escape room place that my dnd group went to a month ago but this time with my island-friend and her partner, and there were a couple of rooms that required a decent amount of upper body/arm and core strength which I managed to do really well. I've always been a bit of a show-off, but those made me realize that I'm not starting from nothing when it comes to strength. Sure, there are some underdeveloped muscles (my triceps T.T) and joints (my wrists T.T), but I can work with where I'm at.

Bicolline is definitely one of if not my biggest reason for getting into shape (physiologically), but it's not the only one. I'm looking out for my future body and trying to build bone density so I can be an independent old lady. I don't want to be dependent on expensive symptom-based treatment of chronic issues later into life if there's something I can do now to prevent it. I want to have the strength to help people in need if and when they need it (like that lady at the music festival this summer--that moment haunts me fr). I don't really want to be addicted to anything, and that includes cheap, sugary calories. There was also this reddit post on TwoXPreppers on how getting physically fit is "a prep" and the comments were inspiring. As someone with an (over)active imagination, I really connected with some of the reasons people choose to work out.

Also I am and always have been a showoff. So.

So in preparation for Bicolline, I'm obviously going to have to get active again. Stretching and mobility work are a good start and have low activation energy, but if I want to do the battles (and trust me, I do), I'm going to need to work in cardio and some strength. I'm incorporating beginner calisthenics into my Zero Hour, but I'm going to need more than just some flashy moves. There are a few options that I've been considering since I set the goal three-ish months ago of doing some kind of aerobics regularly.

get back into ballet (has associated cost, activity is less directly related to the kind of activity I'll do at Bico, no idea about local studios)

get back into climbing (super expensive, more strength and flexibility than cardio)

fitness classes through my uni

try out the ninja warrior classes at a somewhat local gym (cost)

join the adventure club at my uni and go on some of their hiking trips

try out this jiu jitsu (I read somewhere that this martial art is about using your opponent's power against them and i love the idea of that sm) gym kinda near me (cost tho)

working out just, like, raw. machines n stuff. at one of my uni's gyms (don't know how to use machines tho)

I'm almost definitely going to do the adventure club because I desperately need camping experience (and also I could test out some shoes!). But that's probably going to be a once-a-month thing at most. I'm leaning toward fitness classes because I can tailor my week to what I want and also ~there's no coooost~. But, uh, ultimately, I'm afraid that I might have to, you know.. start.. just, like, running (crying, screaming, throwing up, emt sirens, being airlifted to the hospital, etc). When I moved here I swore up and down that I'd never have the desire to start running. But, you know, maybe I can keep my promise if I just, like, hate every second of it? Because I don't want to run, I want to hit some dude with a foam sword. And the way I can do that most effectively is by being quicker than him and having more stamina than him. And sometimes reaching a goal will require doing things you don't want to do. Which doesn't mean I can't make the experience palatable. Podcasts n audiobooks n such. Just like eating weird veggies is not as bad if they're in a soup or blended into a sauce or seasoned very nicely.

Training for Bico feels much more within my reach than training for the boating lessons. Largely due to the hair thing, unfortunately. And also I don't really enjoy swimming. Partly because of the hair thing.

Today I'm thankful that I had a good summer. Not amazing, but good. Also thankful for Wonderhole S2!

Now to prepare for the first day of classes. My first first day of classes without classes.

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Sister Sunrise - 21x30” acrylic on canvas. Sold.

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fuck it. be creative even if you never really *make* anything. write out plot synopses of stories and then move on. design OCs you'll never use. make mood boards and concept art and don't do anything with them. life's too short to forget everything that inspired you and creation doesn't have to be "complete" to be worth the time you put into it.

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August 31, 2025

Really love the italian bind off. Tedious though. In the same vein. Love half twisted rib. Tedious though. I mean to be fair this can be applied to almost all of my hobbies in general. Knitting is just a particularly tedious thing to do.

That said, I have just finished the brown cabled sweater vest and wowie. I mean I'll need to block it at some point, but the fit is amazing, the cables look perfect, the details are just so quaint... it may even be better than what I could find in most stores. It wonderfully captures my inspirations. So glad I frogged the alpaca sweater tee. My only partly negative comment is that I probably should've done the whole yarn re-fluffing process since it was still used yarn, but I don't think it looks bad at all. And maybe that I wish the v-neck was deeper. But that modification would have been tougher.

I think my next project/s are going to be smaller. I want to knit some socks so I can get that out of the way (I think I want to give out a bunch of socks for the holidays!) and I would like to make a market bag or two out of the yarn my sister got me that I've no idea what to do with. That way I can stop using those plastic produce bags.

I don't know if I will be able to fit in another large project before 21 September when my Summer Season ends... though I suspect I could fit in a knitted tank top or something. I brought all the pieces for the pleated mini skirt with me from home (where I populated my Threadloop!), so that's also an option. Actually, that was part of the original summer plan. So I've got to get on that. I think it should take a day. Maybe two, tops. (So I'll budget three days.)

Speaking of hobbies, I've finally run through all of my bass guitar startup fund! Decided to order a teeny (but 30W?!) practice amp. Granted, there are absolutely other things I'll need to buy (a book, a cable, a better strap, a stand, plus a better amp down the line), but having the fund has been so lovely in this early kit-building phase. I'm super excited to hear what I actually sound like instead of just hearing myself through headphones!!! And I'm thinking about decorating it with stickers hehe. If I want it to be truly portable, I will need to get a hefty power bank, but I was planning to do that for Bico anyway. It's all coming together :D

And on the topic of music, my triathlon-friend is having a pop star themed birthday party in less than a week, and because I'm odd (and because I wasn't given enough notice to put in blonde braids for Formation era Beyonce (I mean I suppose I could do two cornrows with blonde extensions, but there aren't any black beauty suppliers nearby (well there's one, but I got a bad vibe there and it's small and they didn't have what I was looking for the last time), and I'm not going to pay for shipping from Amazon where there's still a chance it won't arrive on time)), I'm thinking about doing Donna Summer. I can take out my twists tomorrow, so they'll be the perfect volume on Friday, I could get a cheap bright eyeshadow from somewhere, but I'd have to find a disco outfit. Or make one. Hm. Hmmmmmm. There is a Mood jumpsuit pattern I've wanted to make for years... Anyway I'll figure that out later.

Today I'm thankful for the random invite to a barbeque yesterday??? The food was incredible and I got to hang out with someone who I admire quite a bit but often forget to reach out to. Anyway she's literally fleeing the state of academia in this country in a month, so I'm glad I could see her before she was off.

My roommate returns tonight. It's been nice, being roommate-less. But I think I could use the accountability ha.

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