Gosh, how long has it been? My life did a drastic change of pace in the last half-year or so that I’ve forgotten that my blog exists.
What’s changed since:
Jump to:
Started driving
I passed my driving test in late March, and now I’m a licenced driver with a probationary licence (or colloquially, a P-plater). I’ve been driving a good deal since, including driving myself to and from the city.
It’s been quite paradigm-shifting as I’ve quite literally acquired a new skill, as in a videogame, and have become a bit more independent; that is, errands, socials, and interesting activities that require a car’s drive no longer require Ben to act as chaperone for me. In fact, I’ve done my part chauffeuring him to the airport, picking him up, and even acting as his designated driver and pick-up so he can have a good time with socialising with friends without worrying about his alcohol intake.
I had a brief period where I felt like everything could be solved by driving. Well, now I can reliably run errands without needing Ben. It’s still much better training in to the city, though.
Got cats
Ben and I finally felt ready to have cats again—we’ve settled into our home and considered the income, equipment, and time commitments required for cats.
We adopted this mother-and-daughter bonded pair from Heart & Soul Cat Rescue, listing on Pet Rescue. The mother, whom we renamed ‘Callie’, had two other kittens—Baker and Brendan, but we couldn’t adopt four cats, and it was the daughter (renamed ‘Tofu’) that was listed alongside Callie, because she couldn’t hold her own and is very, very skittish without her mother.
They will reach their three-month mark with us later this month. They’ve come out of their shells a lot and have started showing their personalities:
- Callie
- Nicknames ‘Callie’, ‘Callie Callie’ (by me), ‘Queen’, ‘Silky Queen’, ‘Callie baby’ (by Ben), ‘fat b-tch’
- Very sweet and affectionate, but mostly because she wants food.
- She likes to follow me around the house and linger in the same room I’m in.
- On slow mornings when I’m drinking my morning coffee for a long time, she will on occasion come up next to me and cuddle.
- She kept us busy for a week last month by f–king off and running away from home. It was an entire experience trying to bring her back—it’s a story I can tell in another post, but we ran the whole ‘lost cat’ playbook and dropped a fair bit of money in our efforts getting her back. Fortunately, the efforts paid off!
- Tofu
- Nicknames ‘Tofu’, ‘Tof Tof’, ‘the Tof’, ‘Fof’, ‘Fof fof’, ‘the Fof’, ‘gremlin’, ‘food gremlin’, ‘goblin’, ‘fat b-tch’ and finally, ‘f–k you Tof’
- As you can see from her nicknames, she has a much more colourful personality than Callie. She’s super skittish, has a very good sense of self-preservation and would probably not fall for any trapping techniques.
- She’s incredibly food-motivated and will hunt around the kitchen for leftover food—even if it means fishing noodle bits out of the kitchen drain or licking leftover grease from our plates.
- She’s livelier than Callie and loves play. She can keep herself entertained with cats toys all day.
- It’s almost insulting when she gives a start and darts off away from you when you come near, even as she knows you give her food and treats and will unapologetically expect them whilst keeping an arm’s length from you.
- The ‘Fof’ nickname was intended as a short form of ‘f–king Tof’, but it sounded so stupidly cute.
It’s surprisingly costly to keep two cats. We put them on wet food twice a day, and four scheduled feedings of dry food via automatic pet feeder. That’s aside from special treats (dental treats, freeze-dried lamb, air-dried fish, raw chicken hearts from Vic Market, and occasional scraps from cooking). I calculated their calorie needs, and it’s roughly 40 kcal per kilogram of weight. The average adult cat weighs 4.5 kilograms. So, I’ve calibrated their meals to total around 180 kcal a day. We’re still on World’s Best cat litter, as when we had Luna, Lily, and Miso in the Philippines (thank you, Peter G, for your recommendation!)
What’s new this time around is our litter box game. We’ve followed a bit of Jackson Galaxy’s advice (a rather new name. I don’t ever remember hearing about him pre-Melbourne.) and have litter boxes in different rooms. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying browsing the online market for cat accessories, particularly PawPawUp, where I got two of our three litterboxes, all cute and aesthetic, and which our cats quite like to use as well.
Finished my first anime after a while
Setting aside the years when Ben and I were avidly following Food Wars and Attack on Titan (yes, I know their Japanese titles—Shokugeki no Sōma and Shingeki no Kyōjin—I’ve softened on my weeabness a fair bit. Australia is surprisingly far less weeab per capita than the Philippines, in my experience), I have slowed down considerably and I can’t remember the last anime I’ve finished. Maybe Kyoukai no Kanata? I tried to get into Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, but I just didn’t find it compelling and I just am not built for shōnen. I recall putting on the first episode of Violet Evergarden, but I am so sick of the moe style / vulnerable heroine trope, from my earlier adult years dating an otaku. KyoAni just turns me off these days.
So I decided to seriously look into the only other series from the same creators of my favourite anime—March Comes in Like a Lion.
I think Umino’s writing and narration has only refined from her Honey & Clover days. And the animation feels much more modern. There were many scenes and stills along the story’s setting that were just so stunning and nicely done, that had I been watching on my laptop, I would paused and captured a still for a wallpaper.
I am such a sucker for a subtly executed slice of life, and Lion just nailed it. The writing is so nicely done that you’re piecing things together without scenes needing to be set up. In contrast, I couldn’t finish the first episode of Carole & Tuesday because the writing was so contrived and almost clumsy after my run with Lion.
There is also something about the Kawamoto sisters that tugged at my core values and just reminds me how to live, particularly Akari:
A premise to her character is that she had to grow up really quickly to become a mother figure to her sisters—even though the family is of modest means and have to work hard to make ends meet, she and Hina remain steadfast, warm, sweet, hardworking, and unbitter about life around them. A recurring visual point in the series is that even though they live in a very old house without modern amenities, their home remains a clean, warm, and inviting place to the main character, Rei.
Honestly, it’s so refreshing to see strong female protagonists who aren’t shoehorned into the trope of ‘bad cook’, ‘not like other girls’, tsundere, physically violent, or secretly attached to some guy because they’re the love interest of the main character and that’s ultimately the role that they play.
If you prefer dubs over subs, head over to Crunchyroll to give this series a shot. Otherwise, Funimation has high-quality subs.
The anime finished after two seasons, and the manga continues. I’m actually browsing the full set on eBay. I don’t care that it’s in Japanese. It might be the jumpstart I need to take my Nihongo to the next level.
Celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary
We spent our fourth wedding anniversary on a beautiful weekend getaway in Olinda. Ben has outdone himself and planned an entire weekend of quality time and fine experiences that he knew I would like especially. Here’s a story in pictures:
It was honestly such a perfect weekend. Whilst we were around Olinda, I was browsing a printed tourist guide that the host thoughtfully prepared. You could tell it was quite dated, but it referenced a nearby attraction called Cloudehill Gardens. It was right in front of Olinda Teahouse, and it was such a stunning place, with a cafe and a garden shop run by The Diggers Club. It’s definitely worth going to if you’re in Olinda and like a bit of gardening.
Work has been… hectic
A lot’s changed since my last blog post, not the least of which was a unique gap in my workplace resulting in my promotion and a drastic shift in my role. I changed reporting lines and found myself with an unorthodox leader who cared deeply about building people up. But, a company-wide restructure last February that culled 10% of our people shook things up a bit, and I had to simultaneously learn new skills very quickly as a tech lead at the same time train a very fresh new hire to also learn very quickly and be able to do the things that I can do.
The team culture rubbed off on me, and I found my work-life boundaries eroding and myself calling it a win. I can’t be sure if I’ve been working longer hours or if it balanced out over the months, but I found myself thinking about work at all times, including weekends, and it dominating my headspace, to the point I was barely interacting with people outside of work, and Ben was starting to feel neglected.
There is more to it that I cannot really talk about here, out of respect for my teammates’ privacy, but it’s been… quite hectic and intense and I’m still quite reeling. Hopefully things even out in the next quarter as I find my footing and balance again. Also praying to the Lord to grant little miracles, little wins, small rays of happiness, comfort, and reprieve… not for me, but for the person who needs and deserves it now, more than anyone…
Falling off track so much
I’ve sunk deep into unhealthy habits almost as soon as 2023 started. I’m at my heaviest weight again and indulging so much on junk food and unhealthy habits. I’m trying to regain my footing again, protecting my sleep hygiene and social media time, cultivating walking habits when I don’t have time to work out… I really want to get back into the healthy habits I’ve been trying to make a life theme. This includes reconnecting with the people in my life. I suppose that’s what brought me back to this blog. I’m framing this as a positive thing, so please don’t fret over the state of my wellbeing.
I think that’s it for now. I want to post a little more frequently again, and do a monthly photo dump of life. Also get back into the things I value in life aside from work. Wish me luck!