A blur

It’s surreal to think that a lot of us spent a year at home. Online work, online school, online meetups, online everything. I’m trying to remember how my life was at the time but it’s all a blur. I don’t think life was that bad for me for because I had a lot of sources of entertainment, but I’m much happier now that I can see people in person and explore the city.

Before in quarantine days:

• I got into letter writing and stamps
• I got into various crafts
• I watched a ton of shows
• I went hard with online shopping, to escape the everyday
• Small joys: Anything out of the ordinary brought me joy. During this time I came to appreciate a lot of things.

Now after three vaccine shots and with restrictions lifted:

• I’ve met up with a lot of my friends and had opportunities to dress up again. One of the first things I did was get a hair cut.
• I’ve visited numerous cafes and restaurants, something I had missed
• Fun dates with boyfriend
• I got to see the cherry blossoms this year. There are none in my neighbourhood, so I explored other parts of the province to see them.
• New experiences: I got a shellac manicure with my coworker yesterday. After hearing that I had never gotten a manicure before, she encouraged me to try it out.

The importance of taking pictures

Without pictures, I feel that a lot of the things I’ve done would have been lost on me. “Put away the phone; enjoy the moment without the phone” is the opposite of how I think… I think it diminishes photography, ignores that people may have poor memory, and ignores that people may want something to look back on. Personally, I get a lot of satisfaction from capturing a good photograph.

Tulip Festival

I went to the Chilliwack Tulip Festival in early May of this year. I went on the last day and was honestly disappointed by the tulips. Future note to self: Don’t go in the final week.

The daffodils were nice, though. 🙂

Update: June 2022

Hey everyone, 

It’s been a while since I last updated the blog. There are a few reasons for this. The first is because I bought the Switch OLED and have been obsessed with Animal Crossing ever since. I visited Minty’s island! 

When I first started Animal Crossing. Minty’s the one on the left.

The second reason for my lack of posting is that I got Covid. Fortunately, the rest of my family members never got it. I self-isolated in my room the entire time and had my meals delivered to my door. I’m grateful for my family’s support. I am also thankful for all the good wishes from everyone on Twitter. 

Although I recovered and tested negative a while back, I still cough every day.   

Flowers from my boyfriend.

The third reason is due to a new work schedule. I’ve more or less adjusted to this schedule so expect posts more regularly! However, I do feel tired more often now, and I’m not sure if it is because I had Covid. Does anyone else have a similar experience? 

2021 Year-End Review

I started writing year-end review posts last year. Click here to read my post from 2020.

1. I got into crafts, and I credit the pandemic as the main reason. I’ve been into art since I was a kid, but I didn’t do much of it. Since I stayed home all of last year and the beginning of 2021, I had to do something with all my free time. I attended a virtual workshop for clay, and I became interested in learning how to make a bunch of different crafts. I mostly learned how to do everything by myself, and I’ve made a lot more than what you see here. I still do all of these things.

2. I got a boyfriend. In early 2020, I started writing letters to a guy I knew but was not close with. Becoming penpals was random and spontaneous, but it brought joy to my mundane life. Again, I stayed at home for all of 2020. The guy lives in the same province, so he sometimes brought me bubble tea to my door, socially distanced-style. For this reason, he was the person I saw the most in 2020. And I guess one thing led to another.

Moya knows him as the four-leaf clover guy because my boyfriend surprised me with four-leaf clovers before we started dating. He knew that I like four-leaf clovers, and it was his first time finding them.

3. Blogging and cosplaying were hit negatively. I’m not sure if these were because I have other interests now or because of other reasons. I haven’t been to a convention in a long time, but at least I’m still posting every once in a while. Oh, and you will find me most active on my Instagram or Twitter.

I’ve been thinking about the future directions of my blog and social media accounts. Stay tuned for a post about that in the near future.

4. I am still enjoying the little things in life. This was one of the points I made in last year’s post. The people around me have told me that they’ve noticed this about me, and I’m grateful for what I have and who I am today.

Please let me know how 2021 has been for you. Send me a link if you make a post like this!

2020 Year-End Review

2020 has been an unexpected, life-changing year for most of us, if not all of us.

1. Time seems to have slowed down for me. Pre-Covid, I was busy. I had school, practicum, three part-time jobs, and was an exec for my university’s anime club. On top of that, I watched anime, updated my blog, and cosplayed.

I recently wrote about my day-to-day life (Click here for the post). I am now at home all the time and my work is flexible. I have completed practicum, graduated, and am no longer an exec for anime club. I feel like I’m on an island, removed from the busy city.

2. I am enjoying the little things in life. Pre-Covid, I always felt like I didn’t have enough gratitude. I didn’t know how to change. Looking back, I was so busy that I didn’t have the time to process things in the moment.

Now, I’m always finding small things to appreciate. Trying out a new recipe, for example, or receiving a package. Pre-Covid, I bought things I liked and tossed them aside.

A positive post

Good things that have happened to me since quarantine Part 2

3. My social media habits have changed. Pre-Covid and several months during Covid, I posted on social media for other people to see. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing because I still had fun.

I’ve changed, I think. I still think that posting on social media is fun, but my intentions are different. Lately, I’ve been looking at my old photos with friends. Photos of daily life serve as reminders of what happiness means to me. To me, photos are precious.

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There’s still a lot that I can improve on, but that’s life. I’ve felt all sorts of emotions this year but I think I’ve been holding up well given the circumstances. I think that out of everything, my attitude and mindset have changed the most.

To my blogger friends and readers, I encourage all of you to reflect on what this year means for you. If you write a year-end review post, please let me know. I would love to read it. 🙂

Anime Quote: Fune wo Amu

This is a continuation of my << Tonegawa’s Speech [Kaiji] >> post. In that post, I talked about how I realized that I am living my actual, real life at this very moment, at all times. For more context, read the post…

However, when I finished writing that post, I was still confused because I didn’t have enough information. What does living a fulfilling life look like? Did Tonegawa follow what he preached?

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Then I watched Fune wo Amu. It’s a highly underrated anime and I don’t have anything negative to say about it. Go check it out.

Fune wo Amu follows the life of Mitsuya Majime. Majime dedicates his life towards creating The Great Passage, a dictionary that will always remain incomplete. Why incomplete? Because words are alive and are constantly changing, so the dictionary will need to be continuously revised and edited. It is Majime’s life’s work. The Great Passage will help people better understand one another and make society a better place.

This line is from the last episode. I feel a lot of respect towards people who have something to live for, people who dedicate their entire lives towards something they are passionate about. When people pour their hearts into a piece of work, it’s very admirable and honourable. Perhaps this is an answer to what I’ve been thinking about.

Tonegawa’s Speech [Kaiji]

I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram (this is nothing new) and I came across this meme.

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I immediately thought about Tonegawa from Kaiji. So I rewatched his speeches and I really like this one.

Normally, those people would never wake up from their fantasy worlds. They live meaningless lives. They waste their precious days over nothing. No matter how old they get, they’ll continue to say, “My real life hasn’t started yet. The real me is still asleep, so that’s why my life is such garbage.” They continue to tell themselves that. And they age. Then die. And on their deathbeds, they will finally realize: the life they lived was the real thing. People don’t live provisional lives, nor do they die provisional deaths. That’s a simple fact! The problem… is whether they realize that simple fact.” – Yukio Tonegawa

Frankly, I felt called out. I often tell myself that I don’t belong here and that I wish I could teleport to another world. That I feel like an alien sometimes. I frequently think, “If only I could do this… If only I had this…”

Tonegawa’s speech makes a lot of sense to me. Whatever fantasy world I’m dreaming of, I need to wake up from it. I need to recognize that I am living my real life right now. It is a simple fact…

Let’s say you recognize that you’ve been wasting your life away. Then what?? Thinking is easy, but taking action is not.

I’ve been busy

I’m watching seven shows from this season so… the Spring 2019 Anime First Impressions post will be up within the next few days. Sorry for the delay.

I’ve been busy these past few weeks. I’ve been studying for finals and working on final assignments for uni. The thing is, I’ve been working four days a week and went to practicum two days a week. I also interviewed for a research assistant job. It’s kind of tiring to write papers after an eight-hour work day…

The good news? I finished my practicum hours yesterday and I got the job I interviewed for. Now I have two jobs. I still have a final exam and an assignment to finish, but I’m excited for future cosplays and blog posts. I have a list of cosplays and blog posts I want to write.

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Listening to: 毛不易 – 消愁

My Week in Pictures 2

None of these photos were edited (except for the last one).

Another Update

I borrowed a few DS games from a friend. I played the first Ace Attorney game and finished the first case in 5-10 minutes! I’m not sure if it was just super easy or if I am just good. It’s probably just easy.

I am proud of myself. I took a full course load (five courses) and on top of that, did lab work as a Psych research assistant, held the title of Vice President Internal of an international psychology honours society, and mentored a child on a weekly basis. I woke up at 6 AM every Monday to Friday and one of my classes ended at 8 PM. That’s not what I’m really proud of, though. Lol. I have my final grades for all my courses this term and I didn’t get anything lower than an A-. I’m proud that I did well on top of all of those extracurricular activities. Some days I got four hours of sleep because I had to study. u_u

Remember my Bubble Tea review post? I would like to make a couple of changes! Firstly, Little Tea House in Metrotown – I did give it a poor review and I don’t regret it. I never sugar coat my reviews. HOWEVER — one of my close friends went there recently and said that the bubble tea taste improved a lot. They renovated the place and I think it’s worth giving a second chance! I know I’ll be going there again to see for myself.

Secondly… Big Orange in Metrotown – I didn’t talk about this bubble tea place much in that blog post so I’ll talk about it here. It used to be my favourite bubble tea place in Metrotown. Unfortunately, I had a poor experience there. The manager was highly unprofessional and I don’t see myself going there in the near future. Of course, this is only specific to the Metrotown location so I’ll still be going to their other franchise locations. You know me guys… I am generally pretty nice but I will say something if I feel like it. I do what I want on my blog!

Listening to: Abnormalize – Ling Tosite Sigure