@thefridayfive 2025.10.10
Oct. 10th, 2025 06:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
halfcactushttps://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/144268.html
Name five…
1. ... things you can't live without.
1) Phone 2) internet 3) A/C, 4) shower with heater and water pressure, 5) bug spray
2. ... of the best moments in your life.
Mm, I don't hold on to memories very well (which makes me worry about my mental health in the future) so I'll keep it to the last two years:
1) Decompressing with my friends in an AirBNB after a wedding. The weddings were great, of course, but I'm a textbook low-energy introvert so I remember the chill moments—or at least the feeling of relaxation—better lol.
2) Sleeping like a baby for the first time in ages in Star Hostel Taipei Main. I had been carrying so much anxiety so it was nice being in a comfy bed with cool A/C in a quiet neighborhood, and not having to worry about wasting electricity or water. I was very anxious about water supply in 2024, among other things, and my insomnia was pretty bad.
3) The morning after an overnight birthday celebration (a joint one in the sense that my brother planned everything and we just split the costs), I spotted a lot of cats (that turned out to be a family!) and had a very good homey breakfast that I still remember the taste of (not pictured: the ensaymada we had instead of cake).
4) Watching Six the Musical! It was a matinee show so I wasn't worried about getting home. I was by myself and therefore free of any considerations of other people and also free of any self-consciousness. AND the show was super fun. (I have zero energy for fun so this was a novel feeling for me.)
5) The time I followed the sound of a strange bird call to find a pied fantail perched on the terrace. When I approached, it turned around and yelled at me. It was so pretty!!! And looked so angy!!! Now every time I see a pied fantail in the sky and see the white markings of its beautiful tail I feel such a pang of admiration and a longing to see one visit again.
3. ... celebrities you can't stand.
All celebrities who became (past and present) senators. In ascending order of how much I can't stand them: Tito Sotto, the Tulfo brothers, Bong Revilla, and Robin Padilla.
4. ... books you enjoy(ed) reading.
Off the top of my head, including comics: 1) the Radch trilogy, 2) Witch Hat Atelier, 3) Semantic Error, 4) Run with the Wind, 5) Goodbye My Princess
5. ... items in your purse/backpack/on your desk.
BACKPACK: Laconic planner, pencil case, retractable correction tape, glue stick, foldable umbrella
DESK: water bottle, computer, cat-shaped coaster, washi tape that I'm too lazy to put away, pens I don't use but can't throw away because there's still ink in them.
-
Random stuff:
I did end up finishing Yoga with Kassandra's 30-day challenge in September. I had to make up two skipped days in the first week of October, but now I'm freeeeeee. I also got a couple of Discord friends into it, which I wasn't expecting lol.
We're on the last quarter of the year and I've managed to keep my planner filled up, which I guess is also why I've been very bad at taking photos of it, even though I keep meaning to for documentation purposes. I got a Hobonichi for next year because it felt like time for a change and I figured I should try the daily format at least once in my life? I'm just so worried I'll hate it, especially since writing has been suuuch a chore for me lately. Just updating Dreamwidth/Letterboxd takes 200% of my energy and gives me zero satisfaction. (I do it because my memory and ability to put thoughts into words are worryingly precarious, and posting entries is my band-aid solution for that.)
Didn't celebrate Midautumn in any way this year (which is not unusual, though I usually like to take the opportunity to eat something nice), but I did get mooncakes that were advertised as ~artisan~. Tried a snowskin one for the first time (champagne chocolate filling) and decided that it's not for me, for reasons of "If I wanted a decadent chocolate dessert, I could just get myself cake". The traditional ones I got were white lotus, red bean, black sesame, and houjicha.
The white lotus was nice and very traditional, and the yolks were thankfully not chalky but curiously not salty, I guess because they make their own? The less-salty yolks worked well enough for the white lotus which had a more delicate profile anyway, but for the other flavors which were much sweeter I could have used the regular level of saltiness. The other flavors also tasted same-y, except that the houjicha had a grassy aftertaste. Which was a bummer because I really wanted a good black sesame flavor. ;__; AND I probably could have found red bean elsewhere at a cheaper price point.
Name five…
1. ... things you can't live without.
1) Phone 2) internet 3) A/C, 4) shower with heater and water pressure, 5) bug spray
2. ... of the best moments in your life.
Mm, I don't hold on to memories very well (which makes me worry about my mental health in the future) so I'll keep it to the last two years:
5 moments, with pictures
1) Decompressing with my friends in an AirBNB after a wedding. The weddings were great, of course, but I'm a textbook low-energy introvert so I remember the chill moments—or at least the feeling of relaxation—better lol.
2) Sleeping like a baby for the first time in ages in Star Hostel Taipei Main. I had been carrying so much anxiety so it was nice being in a comfy bed with cool A/C in a quiet neighborhood, and not having to worry about wasting electricity or water. I was very anxious about water supply in 2024, among other things, and my insomnia was pretty bad.
3) The morning after an overnight birthday celebration (a joint one in the sense that my brother planned everything and we just split the costs), I spotted a lot of cats (that turned out to be a family!) and had a very good homey breakfast that I still remember the taste of (not pictured: the ensaymada we had instead of cake).
4) Watching Six the Musical! It was a matinee show so I wasn't worried about getting home. I was by myself and therefore free of any considerations of other people and also free of any self-consciousness. AND the show was super fun. (I have zero energy for fun so this was a novel feeling for me.)
5) The time I followed the sound of a strange bird call to find a pied fantail perched on the terrace. When I approached, it turned around and yelled at me. It was so pretty!!! And looked so angy!!! Now every time I see a pied fantail in the sky and see the white markings of its beautiful tail I feel such a pang of admiration and a longing to see one visit again.
3. ... celebrities you can't stand.
All celebrities who became (past and present) senators. In ascending order of how much I can't stand them: Tito Sotto, the Tulfo brothers, Bong Revilla, and Robin Padilla.
4. ... books you enjoy(ed) reading.
Off the top of my head, including comics: 1) the Radch trilogy, 2) Witch Hat Atelier, 3) Semantic Error, 4) Run with the Wind, 5) Goodbye My Princess
5. ... items in your purse/backpack/on your desk.
BACKPACK: Laconic planner, pencil case, retractable correction tape, glue stick, foldable umbrella
DESK: water bottle, computer, cat-shaped coaster, washi tape that I'm too lazy to put away, pens I don't use but can't throw away because there's still ink in them.
-
Random stuff:
exercise, journaling, and this year's mooncakes
The white lotus was nice and very traditional, and the yolks were thankfully not chalky but curiously not salty, I guess because they make their own? The less-salty yolks worked well enough for the white lotus which had a more delicate profile anyway, but for the other flavors which were much sweeter I could have used the regular level of saltiness. The other flavors also tasted same-y, except that the houjicha had a grassy aftertaste. Which was a bummer because I really wanted a good black sesame flavor. ;__; AND I probably could have found red bean elsewhere at a cheaper price point.
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Date: 2025-10-14 10:39 pm (UTC)That bowl of red bean makes me hungry...
my memory and ability to put thoughts into words are worryingly precarious
So this has been getting worse for me as well in the past couple of years, and if I pay anything less than 110% attention when typing, words are missed/misused/misspelled and sentences come out garbled. Is it age, lingering covid damage or something else?
Anyway! MOONCAKE! Oh the double yolk looks delicious 😋. Double yolk works best with lotus, I find. I've been inhaling my mini snowskins (love how they have such delicate flavours 🥺https://chinatowntaichongkokconfectioneryhuekee.com/product/natural-combo-4-pcs/) xD and will start on the traditional ones soon!