kugane

 Another gpose with parasol in Kugane, these are quite my favourite. 

(previous)

Intimacies

It's been a while since I read a book where I noted down many quotations. It's not really the style of writing that captivated me, but the content of the observations. I...liked/enjoyed reading Intimacies, but it gave me feelings of fracture and unsettledness, and a few parts that hit too close to home haha. But a book (or other piece of art) that makes one feel something is good. 

You're married, I said.

Yes, he said at once. But I don't know for how much longer. Is that okay?

The words themselves were simple to the point of being blunt, but they were also words that did not try to deflect or avoid. I could have walked away then, and chosen not to involve myself any further. But I was disarmed by his honesty, by the simple question that was so difficult to answer. The appearance of simplicity is not the same thing as simplicity itself, even then I was aware of this. As if conscious of my hesitation, he took my hand and brought it to his lips and kissed the palm and fingers. I shivered at the touch of his mouth on my skin. He opened the door to the car and I got in.

For that reason, the paintings opened up a dimension that you did not normally see in photographs, in these paintings you could feel the weight of time passing. I thought that was why, as I stood before a painting of a young girl in half-light, there was something that was both guarded and vulnerable in her gaze.

It was not the contradiction of a single instant, but rather it was as if the painter had caught her in two separate states of emotion, two different moods, and managed to contain them within the single image. There would have been a multitude of such instants captured in the canvas, between the time she first sat down before the painter and the time she rose, neck and upper body stiff, from the final sitting. That layering in effect a kind of temporal blurring, or simultaneity was perhaps ultimately what distinguished painting from photography.

My older son loved the movie, I think he has a crush on the actress, she's very beautiful. I asked how old her children were and she said, Ten and twelve. It's gone quickly, their childhood, but it's also gone very slowly. When they are young, it is exhausting and you have no time for yourself, but you can still make them happy. That's no longer the case with my boys. They're old enough to understand things, they see the world as it is. They are wiser but they are also more vulnerable.

onsen

Scrolling through the break-it-down channel in HGXIV is so mind blowing. The ingeunity and the insane amount of items that each "assembly" takes woah.

But my apartment is pretty much complete so I did another round of gposing, this time closer-ups on my character since I hid a bench in the oriental baths so I can actually sit on the front ledge. Also bless glamaholic, that and pennypincher are top QOL improvements. 

Lily Hills r1

 98/100 item limit, might add a message book once plugins are back to float it on the reception desk.

The room feels more complete with all the extra knickknacks, and the center table creating another area. I also understand why a lot of housing screenshots are dark, it's to show off the all the lights. 

Why We're Polarized

This is the book I read before Hero of Ages but forgot to post about. Had to largely force myself to read this because although the subject is interesting to me, I know/follow so little American politics that it's a slough. 

Also one quotation to share:

Kahan doesn't find it strange that we react to threatening information by mobilizing our intellectual artillery to destroy it. He thinks it's strange that we would expect rational people to do anything else. "Nothing any ordinary member of the public personally believes about the existence, causes, or likely consequences of global warming will affect the risk that climate change poses to her, or to anyone or anything she cares about," Kahan writes. “However, if she forms the wrong position on climate change relative to the one held by people with whom she has a close affinity-and on whose high regard and support she depends on in myriad ways in her daily life-she could suffer extremely unpleasant consequences, from shunning to the loss of employment. The reality, he concludes,

is that "the cost to her of making a mistake on the science is zero," but "the cost of being out of synch with her peers potentially catastrophic, making it "individually rational" to put group dynamics first when thinking about issues like climate change.24

Kahan calls this theory "identity-protective cognition": "As a way of avoiding dissonance and estrangement from valued groups, individuals subconsciously resist factual "What we believe about the facts," he writes, "tells us who we are." And the most important psychological imperative most of us have in a given day is protecting our idea of who we are and our relationships with the people we trust and love.

Mistborn

I finally finished this trilogy (and the last book in Three Body Problem, but that was a while ago) after a long pause in reading because depression. To everyone that told me this series has a great ending, y'all are absolutely correct. I was surprised by most of the plot twists in the last book and how they were hinted at from the first book, and how neatly tied up the entire series is. 

One quotation I particular like is from Elend:

“There has to be a balance, Vin,” he said. “Somehow we’ll find it. The balance between who we wish to be and who we need to be.” He sighed. “But for now,” he said nodding to the side, “we have to be satisfied with who we are.”

gil

You know FF housing is an obsession when you go to a familiar restaurant and all you can see is different in-game furniture items that make up the interior. I swear Kimchi House uses a bunch of hingan partitions. Here's hoping my server stops being congested so my designer can start working on my house interior ;o; 

Also it's bad that I've used pennypincher one day and don't wanna play without plugins welp. 

Strawberry

Epik High seem to release a new album whenever I need it LOL. Been very much liking Strawberry on repeat for like the whole week after its release, the vibe definitely carried me through. Every song is great, it's hard to pick a favourite but its between "Catch" and "On My Way" most days. 

Lily Hills

Ok housing is another real end game, I spent far too long tweaking things. 

Came across a housing design that does great bathhouse designs while looking for one for my medium house, but ended up commissioning her for my apartment instead. I'm super happy with the result and process:

The screenshots are faithful of her original design minus the wall scroll and painting. But I spent far too long messing around with adding more furniture (darn item limit again!) and it no longer looks like this ahaha. Will have to take some more screenshot, oh noooo. 

chickpea

Few days about I made some very bland vegetable soup that was also overcooked. Quite the horror really. I did manage to turn it onto a soup/warm salad hybrid by pouring on copious amounts of olive oil and vinegar, and now I'm quite pleased with this hybrid creation.  

Empyreum

I was barely happy winning the housing lottery but I sure am happy about how the garden turned out \o/ 

skincare routine: winter 2022

Its been quite a while since I posted about my routine, there's actually been some big changes since I finally ran out of Hada Labo products and am stubborn about wanting to buy the premium Shirojyun line with refills. For some reason shipping from Japan to Canada is still exorbitant that most vendors just don't offer shipping at all??

But first, from the last update till maybe a month ago, I was getting near constant hormonal acne from getting a new IUD. Absolutely nothing helped in terms of prevention, but prescription tret was quite effective for treatment. Best of all it's free with my insurance, bless! Would get a lower concentration version to use all over face as anti-aging once I finish my current Cerave one (bought in SD). Also started using TO's azelaic acid since it started being sold in Canada, not sure how much of a contribution it is making, but all the acne scars from the past 6 month are not very noticeable. I can't believe the day has come but...I'm quite happy with how my bare skin looks rn. 

Also been trying some JM masks and they strike a good balance between a fancier mask with a treat-yo-self vibe and price. They stay moist on your face for literal hour and each poach has a ton of extra serum. I especially like the pearl one for traveling since it comes with an essence and cream, simplifies packing by a lot. I don't really know if I need my sheet masks to have any sort of effect, other than calming tho I haven't found a HG calming one yet. 

Another new product I've been trying is TO's lash and brow peptide serum. Almost used up the entire tube now and I do believe it made a difference! I had pretty much no bottom lashes before and now they...exist. I'll take it. Still haven't found a good lash curler, did finally purchase a mini lash curler but cannot maneuver it around my eye (especially left one) for my life. So now I just don't curl my lashes...and I kinda like the look? With Romand's mascara it gives a more 仙 look, which is nice for everyday makeup. 

partridge

FOXTROTT · Looking For Your Love

swallow

Korey Wade · end of the year mix