escapades of the elusive kat

The weekend past

2026-04-12T15:38:00Z

Wow, this weekend has been productive. I'm now in bed, post-shower, and using some freebie mask gift thing from Korea, the car rental place said "if you write us a 5-star review on google we will gift you a gift," so, google reviews there are mostly fake. How can I review a service if I didn't use it yet? But anyway. I worded it in such a way that i didn't drive yet, but the initial service was quick and efficient, got the gift (you'd think it's just 1 mask, but now, it's a packet of stuff).

First things first, Friday after work I went to break in my new running shoes. This Orange theme is getting ridiculous, even I think so LOL. Friday's run was a bit slower but today I went running again and I actually broke my PR (personal record) so these shoes are proving to be good. But I noticed the tongues would scrap my feet, so it's time to go hunt for longer socks!

I recently got this spiffy... grinder? Mixer? Cup thing from Pingduoduo (your Temu), and it's been a godsend. I just need a little bit of soy beans and water and the knives or cutters in this thing are strong enough and simply obliterates the soy beans and cooks it up and I get a fresh cup of unsweetened soy milk every morning now. Bit of a game changer. I'm not trying to turn vegan, though I agree with some vegan concepts... but I hate those vegan extremists. But anyway. I don't need to go buy milk now.

The newest toy I got was this XTeink's X3 ereader. It's so tiny! I do remember I had that other small ereader, but I think the company shut down, so the back-end system doesn't work. Can't connect to internet, can't use any of the ways to transfer books. So I can still read whatever's already in it. But this X3 is another level. It's way slimmer and lighter, and has MagSafe and I just stick it to the back of my phone. It's so small that when I'm in the office people don't notice I'm reading from it lol. I still like my 2 other larger ereaders, but this one is proving to be very useful and handy.

Random Frankie photos during his walks. Apparently the night show at Nam Van Lake is still going on (it has a schedule of a couple nights a week, but I don't have the particulars)

Currently there's some festival/fair going on and that thing apparently is a Kangaroo. I have no idea why and what relation it has, but.... whatever...

You can see the tail on this last photo, it's a Kangaroo.

So, the weekend has been busy. First order of business.... hairdresser! Then hopped over to China for a manicure!

I also went to the workshop.... bad luck comes in 3s right? I had 3 accidents and it seems... yeah, nothing else happened.

I wanted to get my car washed by then Dad called and asked me to do something, so I coudln't do it on Saturday. This morning, I went for yoga again. This time they did a wheel yoga thing. It started off easy enough, but the last few poses were really tough!

Sis suddenly decided to get Starbucks today - it was the last day for getting double points. I didn't really want to bother but since Sis asked me to come with, I went.

Weather's been really tricky with high humidity but not yet raining. Decided to give him a wash. Need to go get the de-flea stuff (Frontline) from the vet in the next couple of days, since we can't apply it immediately after wash anyway.

comments

Gyeongju was great!

2026-04-09T09:11:11Z

I’m back from my Gyeongju 10k run. Gyeongju was fun. Everything was a little unexpected though. It’s a very… “old” place, so when we decided to go to Outlet Malls, I was expecting like, I don’t know, an entire mall building and the shops indoors.

Instead, when we arrived the outlet area, it was like… I don’t know the exact terms, but I would use the word “Street Mall”. I actually managed to score a new pair of running shoes - and it was the pair that I had been planning to get next, after I did that trial run thing last year. I trialed the Puma Deviate Nitro 3, and although by now there’s already the Nitro 4, I knew I liked the Nitro 3 and anyway, the outlet didn’t have the Nitro 4 for me to try it anyway.

They are… ORANGE! So sharp! I like!

What made me buy a new pair of running shoes? I did promise myself last year that after the Fuji Run I would get a new pair of running shoes, I was just being lazy and didn’t do it. And now I got new shoes! Almost half price of what I would have paid back at home.

The run itself was dreary. It rained on the day. And if I thought the run itself was miserable, I was sorely wrong. After the run, to pick up the medal and the finishing pack, we had to go through a muddy field, with poor indication of where to queue and such. The field was of so muddy, my running shoes were submerged in muddy water. When I did everything that I had to do, on my walk back to the hotel, I actually went down a river to rinse my shoes first. Then the following day we went to the outlet mall, and saw the sparkly new shoes… and that’s basically what made me decide to buy a new pair of running shoes.

THOUGH! Puma did just come up with new Pokémon shoes and I’m really eyeing the Umbreon ones, despite being male shoes… if I go by a Puma one of these days I’ll have a look see.

Gyeongju as a city itself is beautiful. Cherry blossom trees EVERYWHERE. Every street, every corner. But the practical part of me is also annoying and I kept thinking “the cleaners are going to have a lot of work to do!”

Of course, I get to rant too. I think this is the last time I’m going on holiday with this particular friend. She’s my one and only running pal, but I really just can’t with her see-sawing decisions.

Rant coming on and the photos are just random

( Read more... )
But then, the SAME NIGHT after dinner, she said “want to go buy some Korean fried chicken for snacking.” Okay mood queen?

On race day, it was raining. “Oh, I don’t want to go run,” she says. I’m like, “sure, stay then,” and she goes “are you going in this weather?” Hey, I came all the way for the run, I’m not going to miss it? Then she comes with???? I thought you’re staying?

Or right now on the plane. We took a low cost carrier so everything is paid extra. On the return trip, I asked her. “Are you going to buy a seat or just let it random assign?” And she said “I’l just let it random assign.” Ok, sure, so I let it random assign. When we go in, I saw she bought the front row extra wide seat.

At the end of the day, I know that what she decides doesn’t really affect me, and I’m not so egoistical to think that everything must go my way. But I really, really, can’t with eternally see-sawing decision makers. If it’s stuff like weather or feeling unwell, then yeah, that’s fine. But it’s when it’s just an anyhoo attitude that it annoys me to no end. I don’t make a fuss about it and I don’t complain about it on spot, but I really, really really, reaaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyyy find it annoying. That, and she will only do things that benefit her, without caring whether it affects the people around her.

She says she loves driving and decided to rent a car for the trip. Sure. Do we take turns? When we were in Japan, we took turns. But here in South Korea? She drove maybe twice? Then she defaulted to me always driving? Which is fine, again, it’s fine, but if I’m driving, you’re the navigator please? No, she’s just on her phone. I did miss highway exits 3 times, and I did voice out before certain exits, because I can’t always look at the road and look at the GPS at the same time, hey I’m driving, my eyes should be on the road, right? (And music is driver’s choice, but she kept hogging the USB connection!)

One time for food, she kept asking me, “so what do you want to eat?” In all honesty, I don’t really mind what to eat. But if we decide to eat this one thing (noodles), can we stick to noodles please? Then at night she complained to me I’m so “whatever” and asked if I was just being polite to let her decide. I’m like… in all honesty, I really don’t mind, I can eat whatever. And I don’t complain.

I think it was also on the second to last day, we had run out of places to go (we visited all the marked places to go), and I wanted to go back to the hotel to use the Spa and Sauna facilities. But because she was on her period, she couldn’t use the facilities, so for her, she was in no hurry to go back to the hotel. Then I also filled in a survey form from the Race, and got a code to redeem card, she also did, but I guess she filled in her email address wrong so never received the email, so for her, it wasn’t important to go to the tourist info center to get it.

On the last day, I’ll admit I was in a bit of a sour mood - we did all the things that she decided. She would ask me what I want to do, mostly I’m ok with whatever, but when I did say what I wanted, she totally ignored. I’m not a complainer-to-the-person (I know I should, but I want to avoid on-the-spot conflicts). I was in a bit of a “black face” (looking grumpy and unresponsive I guess) because she suddenly wanted to go for coffee and cake, her words “we need to look for a place to sit down and have a coffee and toilet break,” ok, just in FRONT of us was a cafe, so I pointed to that, but she goes “I don’t want this one.” And walked on.

Found a cafe, and it was like a cafeteria type, take your tray and choose a seat. I looked around and saw seats were available but she went and chose a window seat between 2 groups of people. Then she found out the 2 groups of people would only leave us with 2 chairs so she said “oh, it’s a bit tight.” Sure. So I sat in another table, but also facing the window and started to eat my cake. She sat there, waiting… over 45 minutes when one of the groups left, she said “I insist to sit at the window,” and moved her seat. She looked at me for a long time and I just continued to eat my cake looking at the window.

I don’t really care where we seat, but once seated, I’m not moving. Sorry. I don’t like to create extra work for the staff, I’m staying put. So while she waited the 45 minutes to get the bloody seat, I was done with my coffee and tea and can you just feel how annoyed I was feeling? I guess she did and in the end when there was absolutely nothing else to do she finally said “ok let’s go pick up that freebie gift.” I think if she had received the email she would be running to pick it up.

And on the last night when she finally deigned to let us return to the hotel early enough for the Spa, it’s Monday and they are closed Mondays. Hey at least I got the freebie gift.

Oh, at one point in time we also discussed about Yoga. I said I couldn’t hold some poses for too long because I couldn’t breathe. I don’t know what she heard or understood that as, but for the rest of the trip she just kept making inferences that I’m very impatient and that I wouldn’t be able to sit down quietly and meditate and not use the phone if I went on a retreat. EXCUSE ME????? I already said, I couldn’t hold the pose because I COULDN’T BREATHE, how does that equate to not having patience?

I’ll be the first to admit that I could get impatient, but I can also sit quietly and meditate without doing anything. When she was driving, I’d sit quietly and give navigation pointers to her. When I’m driving, she’s sitting there on her phone replying to messages and not giving me ANY navigational assistance that I missed the exit 3 times. NOW WHO IS THE ONE THAT CAN SIT QUIETLY AND NOT USE THE PHONE?

She once mentioned about how she doesn’t know why her elder sister and younger sister don’t seem to include her in family gatherings… I don’t know the full story of course, but in a way, I think I can see why. I mean, she does think about others sometimes (when it equally affects her) but, it’s even when she walks, she doesn’t care about her surroundings. I really don’t know how to explain it. Oh boy.

Anyway, my small petty revenges? Since she went and bought and up-front seat and I was stuck in the back, I decided to embrace the life of the backers. She sent me a text “I’m rushing out coz I need to pee!” Ok. Go pee. Usually I’d be tense and counting at every row of people that starts to leave, eagerly awaiting my turn. This time? I was calm. I let the people go off the plane. I walked slowly to the train shuttle. All the while, she was like, sending short messages like “I’ll cross immigration”, “I’ll wait on this side of the luggage belt”, “are you out yet?”

I took my sweet time, not pushing against people. Saw the train doors closing and…. Just slowed down so I can comfortably take the next train without rushing. Before crossing immigration, went to the toilet. Washed my hands, face, applied more cream, SPF, hand cream. Touched up the light makeup I had. Fixed my hair and hat. Slowly walked out. When I reached the belt, apparently she had already picked up my luggage as well. “Oh, thank you,” I say.

Because I booked the car ride from Hong Kong Airport back to Macau, she’d have to wait for me ANY WAY. Let her wait. *harrrrummmmppphhhhh*Anyway, if you are interested and have the time to view the rest of the photos, the album is here.

comments

Back from Singapore, onwards to South Korea!

2026-04-01T08:21:30Z

Oh boy, I promise it’s just the timing that made it just seem so. I’m hardly a globetrotter.

Singapore was uneventful - got what I went there for work for done, also made some miracles happen for the boss, and so seriously thinking about asking for a raise, lol.

Back in town, then I’m just so busy every day. Day in the office, night Chinese class, then now Tuesdays I have a new class, Korean. I can introduce myself now! lol

안녕하세요! 저는 카테리나예요, 마카오사람이에요.

I am still amazed at how the grammar pattern is similar to Japanese grammar, and this specifically is really helpful in my understanding of the language.

But, I know for a fact it’s not at all helpful for my trip to Gyeongju this weekend. I don’t know enough. Am going to have to rely on Google Translate.

We’ve finally decided to drive there as well, since our international licenses are still valid, so, might as well. The run is on Saturday, then we will have Sunday and Monday free for our own plans. Tuesday is for flying back. I was originally a little worried that after I flew back I’d have to rush to my Tuesday class, but apparently the course considers Tuesday as holiday as well, so I’m lucky I’m not missing any classes.

Next thing I’ll be sorting out is my trip to Japan in May. I’m a bit saddened that the next Fuji Marathon Online run is right smack in my travel days. I may have to forego this Spring session. (I’m collecting the medals because apparently 6 medals can be put together to make a big medal lol). I did think about just go running in Japan as well, but then I usually run at night (in the dark) and while I know Japan is a safe place, but it’s an unfamiliar place, so I figure I better not risk it.

No more planned trips after Japan, but I do have my eyes on a few restaurants in Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Taipei that I miiiiigggghhhtttt be convinced to make quick weekend trips for.

I’m making something that I hope will be impressive in my ceramics workshop and I just can’t wait to get it in the kiln. The administration there is… I have no comment. I sent them a photo of the sign in sheet and apparently nobody from the administration has ever asked to see or go get the sign in sheet themselves.

I’ve said it so many times, yes, it’s all fun and games to joke that “nobody’s checking, I can come here and use the facilities for free!” But I also don’t want that in 6 months they say “the workshop is not making money, we’ll just have to close it down.” It’s not out of the goodness of my heart, but simply because I like investigating excel functions and formulas, that I actually wrote a speadsheet for them, but I’m not going to send it to them yet. I’m going to trial run it myself for a few months. If it actually works as I imagine it to work then I’ll send it over to them.

On the other hand, I’m now at the workshop almost more than 20 hours a month, I can actually skip the hourly payment and just pay for the monthly plan. But I also know myself, if I start paying for the monthly plan, then my hours there will dwindle and then I’ll want to pay by the hour again (it’s $900 a month, or $50 an hour, so I “break even” at 18 hours. If I’m putting in 20+ hours then the monthly payment is cheaper). I’ll see the next 2 months, if I consistently exceed the 18 hours then I will change to the monthly plan.

comments

Singapore business trip

2026-03-24T12:22:46Z

Here I am in Singapore again for business, but it has come around that this is a really bad timing. Boss has some ad-hoc thing which is proving to be most inconvenient to happen at this time but ohwell.

But, I've been having a string of bad luck! I had all hotels and flights confirmed already, but then I decided to check on any better hotel deals (usually non-refundable with days' notice only) and found a pretty nice place at the area I like, so I booked that. The room did not disappoint, and everything was very nice and as expected. But since it's a duplex type thing, and I was in my socks (lesson learnt), I slipped and slided down the last 3 steps of stairs when I was going down. I don't think I'm badly hurt, more frightened than anything, as I'm traveling alone, and for now it seems my worst wound-not-wound is this... light abrasion thing on my arm, I think when I skidded down the wall. You know, like papercut wounds, there IS a wound but it's not bleeding? But it kind of hurts doubly so? I suspect when I wake up tomorrow my... back... i assume probably my right side lats are gonna be in pain tomorrow.

Then I went out and wanted to console myself with an ice cream. I got it, and it was melting already. And when I opened my mouth, I kind of choked on my own saliva and had a coughing fit. That's 3 things of bad luck! I hope it's all over!

I've already gotten dinner, and I'm just lounging around and waiting for it to be like 8.30pm then maybe I'd go for a run. Singapore's got a lot of nice running routes now, I hear it's because the Singapore government wants to make Singapore a "healthy city" and so is pushing for these health related initiatives. With my luck today I better look at a map and plan out my route first before I go.

Also got a pack of Nacho Cheese chips. YES! This trip is gonna be a trip for rebellion! I never snack on stuff at home? I'm gonna snack on stuff here!

comments

Book: Crying in H Mart

2026-03-21T14:58:47Z

Crying in H Mart
Michelle Zauner
Amazon Product Link

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American—“in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself” (NPR). • CELEBRATING OVER ONE YEAR ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

This book was also one of the suggested books that went up for voting in my local book club. I just randomly chose to read this after I finished the book club’s selected book. I went in blind, didn’t know what it’s about.

I don’t have much to say about the literary finesse or style of writing, but I have to say much of this book had caused many a flashback on my own life and childhood.

Generally things like identity (so what am I?) and trying to fit in, trying to do something to be like therapy, and stuff like that.

Relatable sections were like, being in the US and people thinking she is Asian, and being in Asia and people thinking she is foreign. I guess I was luckier in that being in Macau, such ethnically mixed kids were a dime a dozen, the only difference usually was “what mixture are you of?”

Also as a kid being told “so pretty!”, “Mixed face is beautiful!” But then my own aunt actually suggesting me getting a nose job because my nose is too tall (I have the typical Dad’s family high and pointy nose).

Mom being overbearing, always in your business, trying to control my wardrobe. I wonder if these are all characteristics of Asian Moms? It’s true, while nationality-wise and language my Mom isn’t entirely Asian (she has Portuguese heritage, her Dad’s actually from Portugal, I think) but she’s also been brought up in a very Asian environment.

By the end of the book, I learn about the author actually being a singer (Japanese Breakfast) so I guess it’s about time to put my Apple Music subscription to good use and have a listen.

The book was an enjoyable read, just rousing up quite a bit of my personal experience and memories that I don’t want to write about here, not because I don’t want to write about it, I just don’t want to write about it in a book review.

comments

Book: Yellowface

2026-03-17T09:43:04Z

Yellowface
R.F. Kuang
Amazon Product Link

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting psychological thriller from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars in the world of literary fiction. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice from a masterfully crafted unreliable narrator, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

I was a little wary about reading another RF Kuang book (more because of the lengthy descriptions of everything) but when our book club voted for this book, I hunkered down and read.

I guess you could say June as a character was well written, because I hated her lol and had a lot of eye-rolling in her self-justifying explanations and diatribe.

It seems everything in there were… cliches? (Athena the “token exotic Asian presence”, reverse racial discrimination). I was particularly annoyed when June was writing her “second” book and said that “she double dipped and took Athena’s notes too”, when in writing the “problem book” she guaranteed that’s all she took, the manuscript of the first book, and that she was shocked that she forgot about the notebooks that Athena’s mom got later. Sort of felt like… there was nothing else to write about so this extra tidbit was added to be fodder to prolong the story.

The psychological game at the end was a little tense indeed but as June said “there are ways to say something that isn’t exactly the truth but isn’t a lie either,” I guess if she wanted to, she could spin that in her favor then.

comments

My life has a lot of humour

2026-03-15T03:21:14Z

Why am I not surprised? lol

I just wrote about that problem staff I have, right?

Anyway, I had Friday off, went to the workshop to work on my things, lovely day. Saturday I went again to the workshop. There's some new class or meeting, I don't know. And as I'm wedging my clay, who walks out of there?

My problem staff *rolls eyes*.

I've been consistently going to the workshop for 2 years, every Saturday without fail (except when I'm traveling) and while I had always known that it's a possibility, because this workshop is run by a..... hm.... Portuguese association of sorts, so I knew there was always a chance to of this happening.

I just found the whole timing of it really hilarious.

comments

Book: The Healing Season of Pottery

2026-03-10T02:59:02Z

The Healing Season of Pottery
Yeon Somin, Clare Richards (Translator)
Amazon Product Link

This cozy Korean bestseller invites readers into a warm, sunlit pottery studio where a burned-out young TV broadcast writer begins to heal, working the clay, piece by piece, season by season.

After breaking down at the office and abruptly quitting her job, thirty-year-old Jungmin holes up in her apartment, speaking to no one for days on end. When she finally emerges, she stumbles upon a pottery studio in her neighborhood and is invited in by the mysterious workshop teacher. The smell of clay, the light filtering through the plant filled windows, the friendly cat, and the incredible coffee the students drink awaken her senses and make her feel alive and inspired for the first time in months.

As the seasons change, Jungmin slowly returns to herself and builds a new community with the other members of the studio, who are all working through their own pasts at the pottery wheel. When the holidays approach and snow piles up on the studio windowsill, Jungmin realizes how much she has changed—with her hands busy and her mind clear, she may be ready to face the memories she’s been running from and open her heart.

For fans of What You Are Looking For Is in the Library and Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop, Yeon’s charming English-language debut is a testament to the joy of slowing down in a fast-paced world, and an homage to the art of ceramics and the power of friendship. Readers won’t want to leave the enchanting world of The Healing Season of Pottery after the final page.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

This is now the third (maybe?) Book by a Korean author I’ve read. I think I kind of agree with some of the comments I’ve read by other readers, in that these feel-good or “found a new me” books by Korean authors are better than those of Japanese authors. I guess since I’m also taking some basic Korean classes, I wanted to get a feel of the language/culture/mentality by reading books by Korean authors.

The only thing I still couldn’t get accustomed to in these Korean books are the names - takes some time for me to recognize the names.

I was drawn to the book by the title, pottery, as it is now also part of my life, a hobby I’ve picked up and been consistently taking part of for 2 years. Similarly, I started the hobby due to a rather painful loss (my dachshund) and wanting to find some direction in life.

Personally I thought the book had a better beginning, and then between the 50%-70% part of the book was a bit… dragged on and going around in circles. Luckily everything wrapped up nicely in the end.

comments

Dog walks and way too many languages

2026-03-08T12:54:37Z

Started the day with a nice hike with Frankie. I'm actually pretty impressed by the hiking trail system implemented by the local government. Every trail rest stop is numbered and with a map. Though, today I noticed that the C5 location didn't really start where the map is showing C5, it actually started near the u-bend that's next the the C6 on the map, but, whatever. I decided to go on the Blue trail so had to start at either C5 or C6, then pass through C3andr C4 (depending on direction taken).

I misread the map and also due to some faulty memory (this area is near my Dad's restaurant from 30 years ago, I used to hang around and play in the "jungle"), I actually went to an area that I think was "illegally acquired land" and I guess (I reiterate, I GUESS only) due to some similar law in Hong Kong, they sort of got squatter's rights or something.

After finding the right way, we started at C6 had to go up quite a bit of steps. Three wild dogs joined us for a bit and they came really near, but they were actually more afraid than I was. At around the C4 point, they disappeared.

Short video clip on how near they come. I see one of them got a cherry eye. Told my Sis about it. Now whether her shelter will do anything about it is up to them. Most probably not as they dogs are usually hiding, they only came out because of Frankie. Amazingly, Frankie didn't get crazy and just walked with me when I asked him to move.

Twenty years ago when we had 4 dogs, our Sunday dog walks with Dad and Sis would be out in these areas, and we actually took the longer trails. But, Frankie's a Frenchie, I can't take him more more arduous walks.

The dog's destroyed lol sorry.

Today was the last class of the "Introduction to the Korean alphabet and reading" course I took. I could very slowly read the Korean alphabet now! Doesn't mean I'd understand a word lol. But now with a basic understanding on the writing, I'm able to type Korean, and when I can type Korean, I can also use the translate function. YES I KNOW THERE'S GOOGLE LENS, BUT I AM OLD SCHOOL. I'm now ready to take an actual Intro to Korean 1 class. I wanted to apply for the one that had the same schedule, Sunday afternoons, but apparently, no one is interested in having classes on Sunday afternoons. I'll have to wait until 21 March to see if there are enough intakes for the Sunday class that starts 22 March. If, 22 March Sunday classes can't make it, then my only choice is the 31 March Tuesday classes. I find it funny I'm using all the languages I know to write notes, like the Japanese half-beat （ッ）becuase I can't think of an equivalent way to express that in English. Sometimes Chinese because many Korean words are loaned from Chinese, too.

I've been trying out new things in my pottery workshop. That diamond/square box thing didn't come out exactly as I wanted... I think I need a pentagon or a hexagon to achieve the effect I want but... I'm lazy... lol! I also decided to combine my love for reading with this new pottery hobby and am making a bunch of these "page holders". I'm still thinking about how to final glaze these pieces. But first let me just bisque these and see how they come out. Might make another batch to test different glazes.

We had some leftover stone-pot glutinous rice 煲仔飯 (very Chinese) from a dinner the other day and had that as take-away. Dad added more preserved meats, made some Chinese style veggie, and then... a Caldo Verde (Portuguese potato puree and vegetable soup). Each dish tasted great, but my mind just can't accept mixing things up like that. It's not simply a mix of Portuguese and Chinese cuisine, it's more... we're already having a very starchy carb dinner, the rice... paired with a potato puree soup.... lol I think I'd be more accepting if it were a clear base soup.

Someone gifted me a bottle of white wine with a cat on it haha!

It was time for a manicure!

comments

Book: Too Old For This

2026-03-05T06:09:16Z

Too Old For This
Samantha Downing
Amazon Product Link

“Equal parts hilarious and disturbing, Too Old for This kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end!”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden

A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

This was a fun read. I read some reviews on Goodreads and learned to go at this book with a “it’s a lighthearted thing”, and so it was.

Many of the “killings” felt impossible for a 70+ old lady, the clean up as well. I was slightly ticked off when Norma attacked her and she could have used that incident to just settle everything perfectly (self-defense or such), but of course, it’s more theatrical with the way the book actually went.

Although I’m just past 40, I’ve been working for over 20 years, and I can empathetically feel her. There are very many instances that I think “I’m too old for this sh*t”, and Lottie has been thinking that many a few times too.

It’s a fun read where you’re questioning yourself just why are you rooting for the serial killer. But hey, everything was done out of a mother’s love.

comments

Paranormal? OBE?

2026-03-04T15:30:48Z

The algorithms on my youtube has somehow meandered off true crimes and it's been pushing Chinese paranormal videos for me recently. Not actual paranormal videos, but videos of talks and recountings of paranormal stuff and hauntings. I probably won't be able to use exact terms or words, as I have absolutely no idea how some of these words translate to English, but, I'm not like super into that, so I won't go too deep about it.

I never really had a "third eye" (able to see ghosts and spirits) and I'm hardly sensitive to "hauntings". Sure, I'd get spooked if it's dark. As the joke goes, if you feel lonely on valentine's day, dim the lights and watch some horror movies, you'll soon feel as if you're not alone. LOL. Yeah, I get spooked too, though I try to be rational about stuff.

Have I ever talked about that one time when I went on my university graduation trip to Malaysia and "suffered" a "haunting"? (Rational term: Sleep Paralysis) It was the last night of our trip, it was a hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It was the last night and I had run out of the Malaysian money, so when my friend and hotel roomate J went out with other classmates for some local night market, I figured I'd just stay in and pack my bag. I was totally ok during the alone time, though, bored. Didn't feel spooked at the time.

Later, J returned, and she had to pack up. Since I had already got all that settled, I went ahead and went to bed.

In the middle of the night, I was awaken by some noise. I was sleeping on my side, facing the empty area to the room (whereas J was on her side of the bed that's just by the wall). I heard some old woman talking or yabbering gibberish. It was some kind of Chinese dialect, I think, and over and over again the granny was repeating the same thing. I was spooked, and didn't open my eyes, but I couldn't move. The noise got so loud, like waves rushing in my ears. Still granny was repeating the same thing over and over again.

I don't know how much time passed, just that eventually I was able to move, so I turned around so that my back was towards the empty area to the room. I then heard my friend sigh "ugh... so hot...." I didn't really care since I was still trying to calm down from the scare, and eventually fell asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, J was still sleeping, so I got up to pack away my pyjamas. It was feeling a little warm and stuffy indeed, so I went to adjust the A/C, only to find out the card wasn't in the slot to activate electricity to the room. When J woke up, I asked her if she took the card out, and she said "yeah, she couldn't switch off all the lights when she went to bed, so she pulled off the card. BUT OF COURSE IT WAS HOT. But she said she slept through the night and didn't say anything.

I guess... grandma was was trying to tell me it's stuffy and hot? Then used my friend to say that?? Absolutely no idea.

Actually, before this incident, in a hotel room in Genting, my classmates were trying to teach me a playing cards game. A folded paper flyer that was standing on the TV (big ass thick ones from before) suddenly flew off the TV. No one had opened any doors/windows/walked past. I saw the paper flyer fly off. J saw shadow swipe past the window when the paper flew off. Everyone else didn't notice anything.

This is my sleep paralysis experience. Was I being haunted? Dunno.

Anyway, these paranormal and horror talk shows made me think about a weird dream I recall having had twice.

It was a dream about being able to fly. I'm standing on the street just next to my apartment building, and had the idea that I would run a few steps, and just at the corner as I turned I could jump/skip three times and then I would fly. I know I dreamt this dream twice.

I always thought this was just a dream. Once in a while I would think back about this dream too.

But all these talk shows and people explaining their experiences, made me think, if what I had was actually an OBE experience. Because I remember around the time that I had that dream, I would (when not in a dream) walk by that dream and suddenly thinking seriously that "if I skip thrice I'll fly" despite also knowing for a fact it's impossible. I also remember feeling in my head a bit like the g-force or whatever the correct word of just when... like when the plane is landing you sort of feel you are floating but being pulled down? I don't know how to explain.

In these talks that's in Cantonese, the way they explain it is that the "soul is leaving the physical body" so it was something like my soul or my... mind's being was trying to float away but my mind got pulled back or was anchored to my body. I don't know. It felt like that. And every once in a while I would think about this dream, but I've never felt this "leaving the body" feeling anymore since that last time.

comments

Book: Two Women Living Together

2026-03-02T01:19:17Z

Two Women Living Together: The Bestselling Korean Memoir
Kim Hana, Kim Sunwoo, Gene Png (translator)
Amazon Product Link

The big-hearted, bestselling South Korean memoir co-written by two best friends flouting gender norms and societal expectations with their decision to grow old together under one roof.

When most of their peers were moving in with romantic partners and having children, Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo chose independence—savoring solitude, quiet mornings, and the unmitigated freedom of living alone. But in their forties, something shifted, and they were met with a new, unexpected loneliness. Refusing to settle for the outdated choice between marriage or isolation, Hana and Sunwoo made a radical decision: to buy a home and live together—not as lovers, not as roommates, but as chosen family.

Now a bustling household of two women and four cats, Hana and Sunwoo still value solitude, but can do so while sharing a life and its meaning with someone else. Together they navigate the challenges and comforts of cohabiting in midlife, the growing pains of interdependence and the unexpected rewards of compromise when you’ve grown set in your ways. From sick days to career wins to aging parents and beach-side retirement plans, they are redefining domestic bliss on their own terms, where love, partnership, and home are defined not by tradition, but by choice.

With warmth, wit, and sharp social insight, Hana and Sunwoo share their blueprint for building a life outside the scripts of marriage and society’s expectations for women. Two Women Living Together is a quiet revolution—a celebration of female friendship, community, and the many forms that love and family can take.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

I was in a reading slump and then saw this book - sort of resonated with what I had been thinking about, so gave it a go.

This book is comprised of (almost) alternating essays, Hana’s and Sunwoo’s point of views.

I really enjoyed the sometimes self-deprecating parts of the essays (both authors). I kind of think I’m like Sunwoo, a little bit messy, but I’m also a bit like Hana, “tools have their own place.”

I wonder if further along the way, will I find a nice housemate or will I be living alone?

comments

Friday Five 2026.02.27

2026-02-27T16:13:05Z

thefridayfive

1. What made you happy this week?
I got some new ideas on pottery pieces to make!

2. What made you sad?
My car park cats went missing very suddenly. Though after 2 full days of disappearance, today one of the Mama cats came out again. So I fed just this Mama cat. My sis thinks it's spring and probably the cats have dispersed to mate or something, and since Mama cat is with kittens she didn't go hiding? (at least, we think so, she has a huge belly) I can now touch this Mama cat when I'm preparing her food, but outside of this interaction, she doesn't let me hold her at all. I've been seriously considering doing a private TNR type of thing for the car park cats, but the cats still do not let me carry them.

3. What made you angry?
oh my previous post - the ongoing bickering between mom and sis. It's a simple matter, no need to make so much fuss.

4. What are you looking forward to in the next week?
My sacred pottery time tomorrow.

5. What are you not looking forward to?
Nothing really, everything's looking to be going smoothly, I guess!

comments

Eye-rollery and a work-hobby

2026-02-27T16:03:03Z

I'm not trying to one-up my sis, but I was just so fed up with the nightly agitated half-discussions half-arguments with mom.

My sis is a little.... socially awkward and such and she works at a shelter. I'd guess she loves the job as she doesn't have to deal with a lot of humans.

So apparently the shelter has been owing her money for a while. She keeps saying it's fine that she's keeping track and that this month they've given her an astronomical amount of pay to her. Ping and pong with mom about the amounts, what is still owed, and such. She's confident that the shelter doesn't owe her anymore, mom is worried that she's being bullied, and every night it's the same fight, agitated half-screams.

My sis also is on the lazy side, or puts things off. For example, she'll promise that she will do this one thing. But then she's not going to do it now, because, it's dark. She'll do it tomorrow bright and early. And then tomorrow comes and she forgets or goes about doing other things. *shrugs* personality clash with me.

I was so fed up with listening to their bickering, I said just have 2 columns of what is supposed to be paid and what is paid, by month, and get the difference then you know, no need for long discussions. And then they both each hold a pen and pen paper and start saying things like "look, this payment is triple so it covers the past 3 months."

So. Secretary at work here. I took out my laptop, booted up excel, asked one question: "When have they started to short you your salary?" and she had a very resolute "2024 April". Started a spreadsheet starting with April 2024, looked at her pay slips and listed out every month what she's supposed to receive, then looked at her bank records.... there were no records of anything in 2024?

"Oh, i didn't update my passbook for too long, so the printing machine couldn't print so far back." Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

My blood pressure was seriously going up at this point. "I can't make any calculations if I don't have the figures. It's your salary, not mine, are you not worried about your salary?" and here mom chimes in to agree with me and such. Then I looked at her older bank records and noticed. "Why are the payroll items all irregular and so ridiculously low in 2023?"

"oh, they have also been delaying payments."

WTF. "So when did they START shorting your pay?" And she keeps quiet. She fucking doesn't know. WTF?

Her pile of pay slips go back till 2020, so I had to extend the records to 2020. Long story short, ignoring the inexistent figures of 2024, just between 2020 till 2023, they have shorted her almost 3 months pay. No figures in 2024 so I can't say, then 2025 also shorted her almost 3 months pay. And then this year 2026 they paid an astronimcal amount, saying all balance cleared, but after my calculations, it doesn't cover everything.

So today mom goes to the bank and gets her banking history for 2024 as well. And after I update the list, I have all the figures, and heh, Ok, they managed to short/delay her pay in 2020 but did settle the balance, but from 2021 up till now, even with the big amount today, they still owe her around 4 months of pay. All simply in less than 15minutes of actual work.

And to think mom has chosen to buy that I-don't-know-what-insurance-policy-that-can-only-have-one-beneficiary under my sis name because she trusts her enough that sis will share the funds with me in future. Geezus, I'm also confident my sis will not purposefully cheat me out of anything, I just don't have the confidence that she'll actually remember/claim in time or know to check the figures when the time comes.

oh, i must also pat myself on the back that THAT Excel spreadsheet is so beautifully crafted lol. The formulas and formatting are just on-point. A masterpiece lol. (I was mucking around and found an interesting function that I can in one click hide the monthly records and just show the aggregate annual, with the grouping function on a list using the subtotal formula. Whatever, that's just geeky talk.

(confession: when the company finance or accounts people send out spreadsheets and such I love clicking on every cell to check out the formula used and how to use these formulas for my own spreadsheets).

Similarly, I love to investigate Word functions as well lol.

comments

Question of Reading Comprehension

2026-02-24T14:51:37Z

This conversation came about from my reading group. I just got really, really baffled for a moment.

So… Is it I have a language issue, or has everyone gone bonkers? This conversation was had in February, if we were talking about a meeting in “next month”, that would be… March… and then someone says it’s the Easter weekend… but Easter weekend is April, but everyone’s still continuing the conversation as if Easter is in March?

And I don’t need a scientific/religion (whatever) reason as to how to calculate Easter, I just wanted to say that… it’s not the Easter weekend next month…???

After I light-heartedly repeated that “yeah, Easter is in April and combined with Chinese Holiday Ching-Ming it’s gonna be a long weekend,” I didn’t add on to the conversation after this… and… the group is still going on the assumption that Easter is next month.

We’ll see, we’ll see. I’ll probably not go to the meeting this time around as I didn’t really finish the book. My brain was just not accepting the premises of the book. Kept asking “but why?” (It’s a time travel book but there’s no reason for the time travel, no “loop” in the future that sort of refers back to the time travel. You know, in these time travel stories there’s something in the future that references something in the past that somehow is related to the future or some such concept.

I guess… I’m just too fixated on the J-drama type of time travel? I dunno. This book is just not growing on me.

comments

Cat Loaf Success

2026-02-21T12:35:20Z

I actually bought this cat head bread tin thing last year already, but only recently did I actually decided to move my arse and do something about it. My first trial was over the holidays (day 2 of CNY I think) and today was my second trial.

I used this recipe but had to make some adjustment after the first failure. It was a little too much dough and when it came out it was all spilling and stuff. Also, I opened the tin right after taking it out of the oven and once I unlatched the side it basically exploded lol. There were parts of the bread that didn't look cooked, but the texture (cooked parts) and the taste of the bread was very good.

Today I got a little helper (terror really). I knew better what to do this time around so was able to knead the bread myself.

I took one quarter of the dough out and rolled up to 2 small bread rolls, so there was actually less dough in the tin. And this time, it was a success! My cat head came out beautifully!

This was a fun process. Next time maybe I'll add some cocoa powder to some of the dough and make a patterned cat.

This recipe is basically a milk loaf (I think it's what it's commonly called in English? We just call it white bread in Chinese). Will I fall into the rabbit hole of le Sourdough? Dunno, maybe not. I don't think I have the patience to cultivate the sour of it.

comments

Day 3 of CNY

2026-02-19T10:46:47Z

It's Day 3 of the CNY, and culturally speaking (not sure if is just limited to Cantonese speaking areas or all of China) and we call it the 赤口, "red mouth". So during the Chinese New Year, people should go visit families in their homes. Day 3 being 赤口 means you should avoid visiting people because it's "easy to get in quarrels" (you can think of it as red = anger). My group of besties (3 of us) have this "tradition" of specifically meeting up on this day. It also so happened that one of the places I work for has a Lion Dance on this day, so... I know I posted a video last year already, but here's a video of this year. Since we got a "new" office, I figured we might as well do the Lion Dance visiting the office. I didn't want my staff to have to show up on a holiday and not get any overtime pay, so I figured I'd just show up. It was just opening the door and hanging the bunch of veggies over the door. I've tried to trim in-between the boring stuff. I found the last part pretty funny where the event rep told the Lion crew it went the wrong way haha. I also liked just before the Lion came in and was like peeking through the door haha so cute. We were to go to somewhere downtown for lunch, originally, but on the previous Saturday, I noticed the situation of downtown Macau and how it was hordes of people, I mentioned to let's go somewhere likely to have less people, where at least the place wouldn't be really packed. Someone in a group chat I'm in sent this photo of downtown Macau. I can't imagine going down there, ugh...

My friends and I figured Turkish food would not be one of the first things people think about when eating out during Chinese New Year, but man, the restaurant was, although not packed, it was almost 100% occupancy. We ordered a Hummus and a... Pide? (I've forgotten the name already). Oh and a Turkish seafood soup, I think. Quite nice.

This is actually a weird restaurant combination - it's Turkish food and South East Asian Food. But, at least, the food is good. Crispy chicken (Chinese style) was surprisingly very, very good. We also ordered a "Low-Hay" 撈起, basically it's all auspicious things, raw fish, shredded carrots, ginger, whatever else, and then you have to mix it up "higher and higher". If you can understand Cantonese, feel free to listen to our weird conversation lol. Basically at one point we were dissing the "God of Wealth" because he was disturbing us from doing the Low-Hay. I've mentioned, the surprisingly good chicken.

Dessert was a randomly chosen item, we were pretty full already, so it was just one sweet thing to sort of "complete" the meal.

And just like that, this 3-day break is over. Back to work tomorrow, and then it's the weekend. Why didn't I take tomorrow off as well? Nah, I'm collecting my annual leave for something else later.

comments

Happy CNY!

2026-02-17T09:28:51Z

in all the festivities I come with stories of all the inconveniences.

The nice dragon and lion dance? Yes, amazing to watch. Until the road closures right in front of your building and you can’t go out. Not on foot, not in the car.

Had to go fetch my aunt and she was closed off all sides. So I had to get off the car and walk into the closed off zone, all the while seeing other cars where we were barred from entering.

We did the Karen thing and just walked across the road in front of all the traffic police. They were like “hey be careful, don’t walk this way” and I was like “well, sucks to be us as you’ve blocked off access for us to pick up this old lady with a walking stick,” and then the police stopped all traffic to let us walk across lol.

So we had our usual CNY family lunch at a buffet place - in the end they chose another place that I didn't book because it's cheaper than the place I booked. The booking process was painful because we had to pay a deposit, but it's a really far off place, and no one had the time to go to the place ahead of time to pay the deposit, that meant we would have lost our reservation yesterday if we didn't go, and everyone having a panic attack. I just rolled my eyes and asked to see my cousin's email (this cousin is very against electronics and digital stuff) and there was a payment code, and so I just clicked on it and paid the deposit, pronto, 5 out of 5 no drama. And the family had the decency to say the food's not good at all. Lê sigh and lê eyeroll.

Since people have been doing this give your dog a Lai see with snacks, I did so with Frankie too! He wasn't too impressed. I'm looking at this preview thumbnail and he has this bombastic side eye lol

So I have 3 days of holiday for the CNY - today's as good as gone. I might go out to a Starbucks a little later to buy a new cup holder they are issuing for Spring - similar to the black cat holder with a cat butt, but it's a corgi! I dunno. Or I may just laze around and do nothing, I have a weird not-quite headache but some head-ache on one side of my head.

I saw a video on how to fold a cat out of a money bill - I first tried with an Euro bill but there's one part of the Euro bill that has a stripe and it's really hard and can't be folded. So I used a local bill and managed, but it's too thick, I couldn't stuff it in my phone case - to be used as a charm. For now I stuffed it in the cover of my notebook.

My friend J asked to meet up for lunch yesterday, so I went. Tomorrow we're going for an early Hong Kong movie. Will have lunch after the movie as well, wonder what we'll have.

I've been spending more time with Frankie in local hiking trails - this one trail I know I've been to over 20 years ago with my previous dogs, but I forgot this one part where 2 boulders are so near each other... Frankie was stuck LOL. I had to carry him out hahaha.

comments

Life

2026-02-12T08:16:23Z

It's been a while, yes. Sorry.

Life's been ok, I guess. Nothing too exciting. Nothing too depressing. Just nothing to talk about.

And I don't want to force any topics, so I dunno.

I had been playing awhile on that new handheld gaming device i wrote about the other time. It's history repeating itself again. I play on something like day-in-day-out for a couple of days, then one day just can't see another minute of it again LOL. Give it some time, I'll want to play again.

It's gonna be pretty festive in the next few days, as it's the Chinese New Year. I don't care if people say say "It's more politically correct to say the Lunar New Year." If political correctness is the target, then it's the Farmer's Calendar New Year (it is called the 農曆 in Chinese).

I've got work all sorted out, so I'm more sitting around waiting to get off work (haha).

I took tomorrow (Friday) off so I have a long weekend and I could go one more day to the pottery studio to spend some quality time alone.

I've been avoiding home. Going to work, going to the library, going for classes, going for dinners. It's making my social life look more busy, but it's been tiring me out too.

I've had thoughts of moving out, getting my own place, but as I've always said, I earn enough to live well, but I don't earn enough to afford my own place. Basically, I'm waiting for the next round of Government Housing applications then I'm going to apply for that. But at the same time, why should I spend more money? And guess what with the me doing my own laundry, they are now starting to like "not finish their laundry." Like, they do their laundry, then don't finish it up, put it in the dryer or hang the clothes to dry. But then I have to use the washing machine, but they hadn't put their load away. Either I will have to just wait it out until they do it, or, I might as well do it so that I can do my laundry. So far happened twice, and OK, I'll be the bigger person and do it for them. But trust me, it will soon turn into "expectations that I do it" and then "why are you not doing it," and then it's gonna be another big fight again.

As mentioned, it's way beyond sibling rivalry. I don't mind my Sis so much. But the preferential treatment for my Sis really gets to me.

Oh now Mom has been really polite and careful. Sometimes they don't want to cook dinner and ask me to order out, before the big fight, it was like a "because they asked, I have to do it and pay for everyone." Now they are all "we'll pay you back." And I keep telling them, it's not the money. It's the expectation that I am the one who always does it automatically.

Even for the Chinese New Year family lunch. I've already booked a place. I told them the price. I know they'd find it a little too expensive. But, the usual parameters required are:
- a place we don't normally go to (because if we go to a familiar place, the staff will all be asking for Lai See/Hongbao)
- a buffet place, preferably

So, I've booked a place, told them that I've booked it, and that if they think it's too expensive or too far away, they can go right ahead and look up what they want instead.

Why should I be the one to spend time researching and then get banned for all suggestions that actually do fit their required parameters? If it were me I don't really want to have this lunch anyway.

Work-wise, I have a business trip coming up in March. Some stuff happened, so I have to make this trip. It's going to make me lose my 100% attendance in Mandarin class, but it's OK. Whatever.

Then it's my South Korea trip for the run in Geongju in April. Then in May I'm reviving my previous year's travel plan to see the Wisteria in bloom in Japan. Well, that's gonna push Mom into "you're always traveling, I need to give a chance to your Sis to travel." You know what, whatever. I should learn not to care anymore.

comments

Friday Five 2026.01.30

2026-01-30T06:22:35Z

How many times a day do you . . .

1. Brush your teeth?
Twice a day. In the morning after breakfast, and at night after shower/before bed.

2. Shower?
Night time, after dog walk and before bed. Sometimes in the morning if I did a morning run.

3. Check your E-mail?
Basically every day, because of work, and I don't like to accumulate too many unread emails (personal or work)

4. Check LJ? (or DW?)
Not as frequent as I'd like. It's more convenient to check from the phone app (apparently can't download anymore from Apple Store, so my new phone doesn't have it, but my old phone has it), but sometimes depending on the post format, it doesn't show up.

5. Eat?
Definitely the 3 meals a day, and maybe a fruit around 4 or 5pm when I'm in the office.

comments

Nostalgic gaming

2026-01-29T15:33:14Z

Nerdy post upcoming, probably no one will get what I'm writing about... lol....

I've been mentioning about shopping on Taobao and the new "cheaper Taobao" that is called Pingduoduo. I guess... the nearest parallel I can draw is, my Taobao is your Alibaba, and my Pingduoduo is your Wish or Shein?? It's generally cheaper and poorer quality items.

But oh so randomly one day, Pingduoduo popped up a listing for a game device. I wasn't holding a lot of hope for it, but I figured it was not a big investment, MOP$120 or so (just under USD$15) and it came out to be a super, super, pleasant surprise.

The emulating software takes a little time to boot up, and the individual games take a bit to load up, I guess it involves booting up the corresponding emulator for the game system, but once a game is loaded, it's pretty seamless.

It claims that it's got 30,000 games in, but does admit some are duplicates of the same game but on different consoles (say, the same game may have been out on the Super Famicom and on the Sega whatever and GBA and PSP). Heck, I finally don't feel old now because there are some console systems that I've never heard of (Sega Sammi? Atari?) lol!!! There's also a good lot of Arcade games, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat kind of thing that never was my cup of tea, so those will be duly ignored.

I did an initial search and it's got a good 70% of the games that I used to play as a kid. There are 2 games that I wanted to play but isn't in the system (I think those were not too popular back in the day) but as I understand it, if I manage to find the soft file of the game, I should be able to load it onto the console once I put in a memory card with the soft file.

But, you know, it's not just the gameplay... the music was so soothing. There was a game I used to play, a JRPG, Chou Mahou Tairiki Wozz, and I really liked the battle music back then. I didn't realize how much I missed hearing that until I managed to remember the game name, find it, and load it up (lucky it was in the game list).

The 2 games that I was hoping to play but wasn't included in the library are Nage Libre (a silly SLG where attack/defence power meter is affected by the change of uniforms: Spring uniform is balanced, Summer uniform is high speed, Autumn is high attack, Winter is high defence) and one I don't quite remember the name of. It's a spin-off of the Puyo Puyo series by Capcom (not the Puyo Puyo of recent years). It's still the Puyo Puyo concept but with a JRPG + puzzle solving game mechanic. Nazo Puyo and something to do with Rulue in the name.

Though, the inclusion of Madou Monogatari (Capcom, with Arle and Carbuncle as main characters) baffles me. Was that more popular than the 2 games that wasn't included?

comments

Getting on with the age lol

2026-01-28T16:12:53Z

I know there are certain things I wanted to write about. I even had the thought, "I should write this tonight," but... I've forgotten what it is about, darn it. I recall as much that one of the things I want to write about has something to do with cars, or driving. Just what did I want to write about?

I've been so lazy lately, I haven't ran for 2 weeks now. It comes and goes with my mood, you see. I've done as much as bringing my gym bag to work so I'll see it and remember to get changed before going home, so that, I can go for a run, but then I think... nah... I do have one virtual run lined up for March, and the thing in Geongju, South Korea in April... oh I did register for the Shanghai Marathon but I didn't manage to get drawn in the lot.

So we finally had that birthday lunch. Coming to think of it, my cousin hasn't paid me yet. huh. I'll have to double check. My Aunt said she wanted to invite her friend (someone that I didn't know either) and that she's more than happy to pay for the guy. I wouldn't have minded any way but I didn't know if cousin wanted to bear the cost. In any case, Aunt hasn't paid back either.

So I know we're eligible for an annual bonus thingamajig and I've been in the lookout for a new travel backpack. I do have one currently, but I think it's too big; for my trip to Geongju, it's on a budgt airline. I paid for check in luggage, but did not pay for a hand-carry, but it did say one free personal item (handbag or something)... my current backpack is a little too big. Found this interesting looking one, but I still want to see the actual item before buying. It costs a bit of a pretty penny (for a backpack) so it will be a little gift for myself from the bonus.

A couple months back, when the visiting artist was in town doing supervision work at the workshop I go to, I saw her very pretty apron and asked her where she got it. She said it's from The Walking Apron. I looked it up and oooh, it costs a pretty penny too, but it gives very good coverage. After much ruminating, I got one for myself and am going to gift one to my bestie. I also used an iron patch and ironed a racoon peaking out from the pocket. That's because she has been buying clothes from a particular website that has cute racoons in the design. I also got one for myself and put a cat there (to denote "Kat").

We went hunting for good naan bread (I still can't forget the good naan I had in Japan)... still doesn't compare to the one I had in Japan. But, Justindia is pretty good. I think taste-wise it's better than Woodlands. I find Woodlands too herb-y and spice-y.

Still bringing Frankie out to Coloane once in a while. The most recent time, there were some wild dogs and again for unknown reasons, Frankie didn't bother with them. I wonder why.

comments

Book: I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki

2026-01-27T15:08:12Z

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki: Conversations with My Psychiatrist
Baek Sehee
Amazon Product Link

The New York Times bestselling therapy memoir translated by International Booker shortlistee Anton Hur.

PSYCHIATRIST: So how can I help you?

ME: I don't know, I'm-what's the word-depressed? Do I have to go into detail?

Baek Sehee is a successful young social media director at a publishing house when she begins seeing a psychiatrist about her-what to call it?-depression? She feels persistently low, anxious, endlessly self-doubting, but also highly judgmental of others. She hides her feelings well at work, but the effort is exhausting, overwhelming, and keeps her from forming deep relationships. This can't be normal. But if she's so hopeless, why can she always summon a desire for her favorite street food: the hot, spicy rice cake, tteokbokki? Is this just what life is like?

Recording her dialogues with her psychiatrist over a twelve-week period, and expanding on each session with her own reflective micro-essays, Baek begins to disentangle the harmful behaviors that keep her locked in a cycle of self-abuse. Part memoir, part self-help book,I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki is the first book in a duology to keep close and to reach for in times of darkness.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

I was really looking forward to this book, but apparently it was just transcripts of her (her?) sessions with the therapist. By the end of the book there are essays/paragraphs of different topics. I’m disappointed, sorry to say.

comments

Manicure day

2026-01-23T11:17:10Z

It was time to sort out my nails as I'm planning to work on clay at the workshop tomorrow, so I went for a manicure. That's around 5 weeks of growth.

I'm still liking what they call the cat's eyes style. It's not just a plain colour and has an interesting shine depending on which angle you look at them.

My "Car park" cats. I can touch and sometimes pick up the black and white one now. The other one though, still skittish around me, but the bloody cat would sharpen her nails on my shoes!

Just this morning, my Mom saw me taking some supplements. She said "I read an article, you're so young, you shouldn't take so many supplements."

I replied, "when I'm not taking supplements you say I should take supplements. When I'm taking supplements you say I'm taking too much supplements. Make up your mind."

She goes "I never told you to take supplements."

And that is bullshit. If you read an article and changed your mind, fine, it's fine by me, just be honest about it. Do not try to gaslight me and say you never told me to take supplements. She's been in my hair about bone and cartilage and bone supplements, and some other sharp brain thing that she's taking for SO MANY YEARS.

I've studied the supplements I'm taking and after a long time of trial and error, those are the supplements that I know work for me, so I'll continue. I don't even take that many, it just looked that many this morning because today I wanted to take some extra probiotics as I was feeling bloated and wanted to get my bowels moving.

comments

Book: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

2026-01-20T14:36:56Z

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
Amanda Montell
Amazon Product Link

What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . .

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

I planned this to be a slow listen-when-I-have-time for background noise but parts of the book had caught my attention, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Reading the other reviews, maybe because I listened to the book, so the “getting back to this later” didn’t quite get me (though I know I’ve heard that at least thrice), there were parts of the book that really caught my interest.

Not sure if author meant as a tongue in cheek or in all seriousness, but on why some people are more susceptible to these cult bs language is when you’re in a good mood… and when you’re in bad mood you catch the BS more easily, so ergo, stay grumpy? I guess. I wonder if that’s why I can catch these cult-ish vibes so early on.

I also never thought to class fitness groups into cults but it seems to make sense.

Pretty eye-opening as I haven’t read that many books on cults yet. I felt like this was a good intro to it.

comments