A Look at 2017
Long time no see, stardust.
The universe has its eyes on us, and yet we wonder everyday why we cry whenever we look back.
I've had my fair share of looking at the asterisms we know and love, and spent 2016 admiring the way Orion & the Little Dipper turned around with the seasons. I thought of blogging, several times, but with the baby boomer generation dying (most notably seen through the countless deaths, as well as the unfortunate younger fatalities of the year), last year took a different tone for me. It was a year of hardship, of triumph, small success eclipsed by trauma across the globe.
The written word has always been something I've appreciated, and it will continue to be that way.
Continue reading for a more secular & materialist version of reality.
The universe has its eyes on us, and yet we wonder everyday why we cry whenever we look back.
I've had my fair share of looking at the asterisms we know and love, and spent 2016 admiring the way Orion & the Little Dipper turned around with the seasons. I thought of blogging, several times, but with the baby boomer generation dying (most notably seen through the countless deaths, as well as the unfortunate younger fatalities of the year), last year took a different tone for me. It was a year of hardship, of triumph, small success eclipsed by trauma across the globe.
The written word has always been something I've appreciated, and it will continue to be that way.
Continue reading for a more secular & materialist version of reality.
A Look at Myself, As of Late
I've been playing Super Mario Run ever since I received an iTunes gift card for Christmas. Being a long-time Nintendo fan, I couldn't pass up the chance to play Peach. (I mean, who wouldn't?)
Once you spend $10 to unlock the rest of this app, it's similar to other Nintendo games. You can drop it at any time, pick it up--so long as you have Wi-fi, of course--but I think what's important is that the kingdom customization is limited but it's yours. You want to have 20 Peach statues scattered across your mushroom kingdom? That's your choice. I mean that's not what I did, but I know I've spent a lot of coins on anything Peach-related in this game (including garden statues of her image).
It takes a bit to get used to the rhythm of the controls, but not too much. Rather, it questions your thought process in thinking outside of the box, forcing you to plan out how you want to spend your time most efficiently in collecting coins, particularly the purple & black ones.
But I enjoy it either way! Because that's what you do with games. That's what you do in the memory of Satoru Iwata.
I took my senior yearbook pictures earlier this week. There's always time to be nervous about the future, and it's especially been that way my whole final year in university, but there's this flood of relief that fills you after you've fulfilled a minor task. I took this picture in the undergraduate history lounge, back when I was alone and eyeing the Dum-Dums Sally & the others in the department have provided for us. Sure, the fitting for the blazer could be a bit different, but I'll tailor it later. I've got other things to worry about, like reading.
Although I only have winter quarter and spring quarter left, I have to treasure it. In college we forget to take the time to appreciate what we have, buried under schoolwork and financial stress. But that burden eventually lessens, as all the other ones do--sure, they come back, but you don't stop going to the beach just because the high tide arrives. You go home, take some time, and bounce back into the sand. The waves aren't the only ones who have to recede.
Courtesy of the Drought Monitor
On a happier note, look at our drought index! Every so often I like to check on it, since the drought crisis as horrendous here. All the recent winter rain brought a ton of green into the state, which is something that we're very grateful for (even if it is cold, even if it is windy).
We haven't left the drought entirely, which needs to be said, but our northern half is at least relieved. It's still vital that we practice reducing our water, whether it's through drip irrigation, using our water more responsibly, or calling out the privatization of natural resources.
Media Consumption 101
This year I promised myself that I would take 10 shows/books/podcasts etc per month and consume them. Yeah, sure, it's bad to depend on media consumption, but as of late with all the recent trauma I figured it'd be better for me to remind myself that there are countless creators in the world contributing beautiful works of art. These are the things that keep me balanced. We pour so much love into fictional worlds, and we pour our humanity into our real existences, so why not have those worlds weave into one another? Each world can learn from the other, and that's why I want to be able to remind myself that we can learn from the adversity faced in fictional contexts.
Top Ten for January (in no particular order):
The Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children film- Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (delayed; replaced with
The Oppermanns) milk and honey by Rupi KaurA Series of Unfortunate Events, the Netflix seriesThe Man in High Castle, season oneLittle Witch Academia3%A Monster in ParisVicious by V.E. Schwab- American Gods by Neil Gaiman (delayed; replaced with
La La Land)
For now, I'll keep absorbing content. So many beautiful worlds, so we'll have to keep reading, watching, and listening.
Things to keep in mind:
- You are born with a finite number of sneezes. Every sneeze you make, you are one sneeze closer to death.
Yours Sincerely,
Dianne
