It's a Happy Heart Day
Over the weekend I've thought a lot about mindfulness, specifically the way we're seldom aware of our exact existence in the universe. On the bus home one day I realized that I really was there, with the red seating and the metal bars and the way everyone swayed with the break & acceleration of the bus. It's that same feeling you get when you're wrapped up in a film at the theater and you pop out of it, only to realize that you're not actually in the story, you're just watching it.
Granted, mindfulness is only strange because we're absorbed in the cycle of keeping busy.
But that's what weekends are for, aren't they? Trying to find ways to break these cycles?
This batch of fungi looks like crème brûlée and that's what I enjoy the most.
Although I don't actually enjoy fungi--the concept of decomposition creeps me out.
I do enjoy some crème brûlée, though. That and flan.
On Friday, Hazelle & I celebrated her birthday (Thursday the 9th) by eating some delicious donuts--she got a crueller for me and the special heart-shaped ones from Dunkin Donuts for her, as they were raspberry-flavored.
After that we spent the afternoon watching Jane Jin Kaisen's experimental films concerning the Korean diaspora of adoptees as well as the transgenerational trauma created by the April Third incident. I adored the polyphony in the fragmented narratives she constructed, and Kaisen's emphasis on using the voice as a medium is something I have always wanted to explore but never fully understood the potential of before now. Two years ago a professor of mine--general staff at the time, teaching a class on personal narratives--told me that I had a dreamy quality to my voice, one that's calming and reassuring when I ramble on and talk about the state of my dreams. Since then I've wanted to reconstruct the narrative of my dreams, preferably through scrapbooking and voiceover narration, so hopefully that's a project I can work on one day.
Procrastinating on my midterm take-home exam on Sunday, I supported my friend by attending his panel at our university's anime mini-convention, and later on I discovered that one of the vendors at the artist alley was selling the Sailor Mars doll I once had as a child--complete with silly facial features and voluminous, if slightly inaccurate hair. I adored it then and I fondly adore it now, and the nostalgia was enough for me to buy it. Can't wait for March when I still keep it in its box because I want to be able to admire it from a distance, as I do with my Barbies.
Doll-collecting is an odd theme for our family. I should really talk about it one time.
Buy it here!
Since I'm not attending Anime Expo this year after years of annual trips to it, I decided to take advantage of my 'final' artist alley--and lo and behold, I really wasn't intending to get Reborn! merchandise, but I wasn't expecting it. It was a pleasant surprise, coupled with me meeting a fellow club member who, unexpectedly, has also loved the series since middle school.
I would have gotten the Yamamoto keychain, since he is my favorite, but I figured Tsuna would be a better match to represent the years and years of moments waiting for new chapters, learning about new pieces of written and visual art, and meeting a wonderful community of friends through small mutual similarities such as these.
I also bought this adorable set of Daisy Tsum Tsum earrings from another vendor, and I wish I had bought more--they're precious and classic, both qualities that keep my ongoing collection of tiny knick-knacks ongoing.
Since my sister picked me up I had the luck of getting my Sarasa pens delivered to me! I bought these as a reward for a midterm I finished a week and a half ago. They're 0.5 mm and are the perfect addition to any collection, really, especially ones with this sort of cute color scheme.
I'm glad to live in a world where stationery exists.
Sample of my handwriting in the Sarasa pens, using a quote from
one of Dodie's recent vlog videos. I don't remember the context,
but with pens like these, I don't think you need to.
Currently Listening
Tonight my apartmentmates and I celebrated Galentine's with heavily craved-for pizza & delicious cheese sticks. We watched Nightmare Before Christmas, which doesn't at all match any theme for movie nights, but at this point in our lives we re-live old movies with every intent on making commentary.
I'll end this post by ending my night--tucked into my bed with a red tulip by my side. Special thanks to Jericho for making sure I felt appreciated on this day of hearts & red hues.
Keep believing in the beautiful.
Yours Sincerely,
Dianne
