Random Confessions

[Arriba627]

Finally, finally I am in the mood to start cleaning up my train wreck of a living space! It started when my church had a textiles fundraiser collecting gently used clothing, linens, curtains, etc. I donated 6 massive garbage bags of stuff, and they will be paid by the pound for these things. As luck would have it, I found a place that accepts new and used various art and school supplies, new and used books, and many other misc. things. The donated items are then available to teachers and other educators. I understand some of the books are taken to prisons for use there. I finally parted with my undergrad and grad school books, personal reading books, books from when I taught high school, etc. Ten large boxes of all kinds of stuff. Spent two days going through MOUNTAINS of sheet music.

This has been a long time coming and is a very liberating feeling. If I could jump up and kick my heels together without injuring myself laugh I would!

 

[Ichatdelune]

The GS Awards are brutal, I said "How the shock2 am I supposed to choose?!!" like eighteen times :hpull: Just look at the nominees for Best Senior Program Choreographer:

- Lori Nichol for Sui/Han's Rain, In Your Black Eyes FS
- Charlie White for James/Cipres's Wicked Game FS
- Carol Lane & Juris Razguliaevs for Gilles/Poirier's Vincent FD
- Rohene Ward for Jason Brown's Love is a B**** SP
- Benoit Richaud for Sakamoto Kaori's The Piano FS
- Romain Haguenauer for Fear/Gibson's Disco FD
- Shae-Lynn Bourne for Nathan Chen's Caravan SP
- Tom Dickson for Kihira Rika's A Beautiful Storm FS
- Marie-France Dubreuil for Chock/Bates's Elvis Presley FD
- Silvia Fontana for Kevin Aymoz's Horns SP

Can't I pick them all And I cannot believe I didn't nominate anyone for this category To my very biased eyes Jefferey Buttle should be up there for ( y'all should know), but that would've made the decision even harder, so maybe it's for my benefit.

And now the English academy news brought to you by yours truly.

- The manager took leave from Monday to Wednesday and went off to Japan, so I had to come early for Monday and Tuesday (on Wednesdays I'm obligated to come early, it's a busy day) to somehow not let the place fall apart. Oh lord, the chaos I faced on Monday was truly terrifying, I clocked out an hour and a half late with three quarters of my soul finely grated like cheddar cheese. It was a bit better for the next two days, but I still sorely missed the manager and the ability to make clones of myself. The manager did get all the staff delicious matcha yatsuhashi though.

- So there are these two brothers, David (aged 13) and Felix (aged 11), who lived in NZ for a year and a half. It's usually the younger one who's better with the language, but for the two of them David is the better English speaker (and the one with the Kiwi accent, Felix just has the intonations and some vowels). Anyway, I got them to open up by discussing how cricket is not a thing in most places (astounding Felix the former cricket player) and listing marmite as "technically edible" (which cracked David up), and now they've started to show their cheek. They're not rude, just trying to not do their work, but while it is quite funny it does make things difficult. Felix is relatively easier because he's not really comfortable with the language (and therefore listens to me if needed), but David... By all powers above that may exist, I like the kid but he can be exasperating. I held out a bet out of vexation on Friday (he does his best for 10 consecutive sessions, I buy him a Battlegrounds coupon), he was like "You're really gonna buy me one?" and accepted the challenge. I'm actually willing to spend 10 bucks if it gets him to not slack off.

- Last week I caught a pair of newly-registered twins playing tetris on their MP3 players (which are for listening to audiobooks). I guess it's better than falling asleep in your book (had to wake one of them twice), but :scowl:

- Kate, the owner of Latte the Siamese cat, does not know who Beyonce, Eminem, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, and Billie Eilish are. She doesn't even know the current k-pop idols. Min, my favourite, happens to be her best friend, and this conversation ensued when I asked her to explain who Blackpink are to Kate:

Min: You don't know Blackpink?
Kate: No. Why black and pink?
Min: (stares) You really don't know? The gun-shooting ones? (does the choreo from this )
Kate: (blinks) Isn't that super violent?

They are so not your average 12-year-olds.

 

[hanyuufan5]

Haha, Kate might know a lot more than she lets on. I used to pretend to never have heard of celebrities when I was a kid. I also fake-misinterpreted the names a la "Why black and pink?" to lend credibility to it, since I knew how unlikely it was to really never have heard of them.

In reality, I knew who they were but didn't want to explain that I didn't listen to/watch them and didn't want to. It's much easier to play dumb than to have to deal with, "But you haaaaaaave to listen to ____! You'll love it, really!" when you've probably heard part of it and hated it.

If that's what's going on and you want to get past the wall of fake ignorance, ask her what kind of music she does like. She'll probably be thrilled to tell you all about it.

Also, I just heard that Blackpink song yesterday, but wouldn't recognize Billie Eilish if she sat on me. I have not changed much, but the people around me have, so I can just tell the truth without being pestered into oblivion to listen to songs I probably won't like.

 

[NoNameFace]

Finally ordered my dream...frying pan.

I made myself promise to buy something for crafts each month and to buy something for cooking/baking too - since I very much love shakshuka dish, I wanted to buy myself a pan to make it at home, as Sunday breakfast, so I searched for one of decent quality and ordered it today

 

[Shedi0806]

Finally, finally I am in the mood to start cleaning up my train wreck of a living space! It started when my church had a textiles fundraiser collecting gently used clothing, linens, curtains, etc. I donated 6 massive garbage bags of stuff, and they will be paid by the pound for these things. As luck would have it, I found a place that accepts new and used various art and school supplies, new and used books, and many other misc. things. The donated items are then available to teachers and other educators. I understand some of the books are taken to prisons for use there. I finally parted with my undergrad and grad school books, personal reading books, books from when I taught high school, etc. Ten large boxes in all of all kinds of stuff. Spent two days going through MOUNTAINS of sheet music.

This has been a long time coming and is a very liberating feeling. If I could jump up and kick my heels together without injuring myself laugh I would!

Marie Kondo would be proud.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Mmmm. It seems to be a time for disappointing news about my sporting crushes.

Firstly, there was the disappointment of not being the person in our house who dreamt about my current skating crush a couple of weeks ago (for more, see this post).

Then last Tuesday, the Northern Ireland team for next month's Netball World Cup was announced, and my netball crush wasn't in the team. :disapp: Well, maybe calling her my "netball crush" is misleading. We've known each other since we were at school together, and I've secretly had more than a bit of a crush on her for as long as I can remember.

Then today, I read that my ski jumping crush has announced her retirement. Although, I'm not really surprised, because she hasn't been doing as well as she used to for a good while now, and she took a sabbatical this season.

So, now I'm heart scared that my original skating crush (who is from the same part of the world as my ski jumping crush - their hometowns are less than 30 miles apart!) is going to follow suit. And that would be really crushing for me, as it has always been a dream of mine to see her live.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Arriba627]

Marie Kondo would be proud.

You know she was actually the one who got me inspired! I saw her on the TODAY show. She talked about clothes first, then books, and I think maybe general clutter was third. I have heard that resale shops have been inundated with stuff due to dear Marie. I wonder if that's really true! And this Saturday I will give away professional clothes to a great place that collects, organizes, and distributes clothing to those who are job hunting and can't afford to buy clothing. Very cool place that also helps with resumes and stuff.

 

[hanyuufan5]

I have fallen in mad fangirl love with Dimash Kudaibergen. :luv17:

Also, I've been doing my eye makeup wrong my entire life. I came across a video on smokey eyes for hooded or Asian eyes while looking at videos of Dimash, and that reminded me of that one time I told my mom about how a DNA test said I have a tiny bit more Asian DNA than the tiny bit she has, and she said that that makes sense because I have hooded eyes with slight epicanthic folds and she has "plain" hooded eyes. ...Um, yeah, apparently if your eyelid crease is hidden by a big skin fold, you should put the contour for a smokey eye on top of the fold, not in the crease where what little of it shows will rub away in less than an hour. I thought it did that because I use cheap-ish eye shadow. Good thing I didn't waste money on something more expensive.

In conclusion, I feel like a doof for not realizing that. On the bright side, for the first time ever, my smokey eye lasted through my freestyle session.

 

[Arriba627]

Oh, I'm so sad. Today I tried to call my mom's dear neighbor Max. He was at Omaha Beach 75 years ago today. I wanted to talk with him and say "Thank you for your service", as is our custom. When I got the message that his number was not in service any more, I feared the worst. Unfortunately, he passed away in March. Thank goodness his stories of that day were recorded for posterity by the local library...My confession - I'm so lazy about calling people, and now I lost my opportunity. Next time I will not procrastinate so much. :sad4:

 

[Ichatdelune]

I got up 3 hours earlier than usual for my bimonthly checkup (aka getting my meds) at the psychiatrist's, only for me to arrive 10 minutes late (the place moved so I got lost a bit) and the receptionist to tell me I'll have to wait until lunchtime is over for me to see the doctor. Gee, wish I could, but I have to be at work by then so I can't. I do have an emergency stack of my meds, but :gaah: my precious sleep and time wasted, I am so frustrated right now

 

[Ducky]

I'm finally writing again. Not just a scene here or there, not just a page of fanfiction, or movie reviews I never post anywhere, but poems and short stories. The poems I don't know what to do with, but the short stories seem decent enough to workshop and eventually submit to places.

 

[hanyuufan5]

Partially inspired by Beatrice's victory over her pimple picking habit, partially by Aisha posting that Blackpink video, and largely because of Yuzu and Dimash and their gorgeous skin, I have finally decided that enough is enough with my pizza face (how's that for a unique cultural expression? Means a face full of zits) and have hitched a ride on the 10-step Korean skincare bandwagon.

...It's been four days, and I had to check and make sure I didn't accidentally turn on a filter on my phone when I took a selfie this morning to monitor the progress. What is in those Korean skincare products, magic fairy dust!? My skin hasn't been this clear since I was 10.

Thanks for nothing, American dermatologists and your irrational aversion to oil. :sarcasm:

 

[Ichatdelune]

Here in Korea, now I'm officially a year older. There were quite some changes to my life, and yet I don't feel that I've grown up over the 365 days that passed. I haven't written anything much either. And it's just going to be another day at work, just as it ought to be. Happy existential crisis to myself, I guess

 

[hanyuufan5]

Happy birthday!

A birthday is another revolution around the sun since you were born, not a deadline for a certain amount of growing up.

 

[el henry]

Happy Birthday, @ichatdelune

 

[elbkup]

Happy Birthday! ! it's the day you give yourself presents..... anything you want !!! (Within reason...)

 

[invisiblespiral]

Happy Birthday, ichatdelune!

 

[iluvtodd]

, ichatdelune!

 

[NoNameFace]

Partially inspired by Beatrice's victory over her pimple picking habit, partially by Aisha posting that Blackpink video, and largely because of Yuzu and Dimash and their gorgeous skin, I have finally decided that enough is enough with my pizza face (how's that for a unique cultural expression? Means a face full of zits) and have hitched a ride on the 10-step Korean skincare bandwagon.

...It's been four days, and I had to check and make sure I didn't accidentally turn on a filter on my phone when I took a selfie this morning to monitor the progress. What is in those Korean skincare products, magic fairy dust!? My skin hasn't been this clear since I was 10.

Thanks for nothing, American dermatologists and your irrational aversion to oil. :sarcasm:

Congrats! Really, it is also a complex of mine, acne...It's a year since my 2nd round of treatment finished and I am praying that it won't back - I tried to follow Korean multiple-steps skincare routine for a while, but either it is not working for me or I am doing something wrong (being too fast, too slow with some steps, using wrong things...). One advice I try to following is really not touching your face - it is that simple, yet that hard; also, the hydration thing is also true in my case - I see when I drink 1,5-2 l of water a day, my skin looks way better in texture and colouring. Due to my periodical drama with hair loss, I try to supplement myself with different things on 3-months rotation and now I am almost a month on collagen+zinc powder and have to say that it could be also good thing for skin...

The skincare is a tricky thing...There's indeed something about not using a bunch of products when you are young (bar some serious health issues with skin) and then jumping on skincare obsession bandwagon, buying all these different products, starting to use them and make your skin overly sensitive with all these ingredients, making a circle. I try to make a consistent skincare routine for myself, observing what works and what doesn't, writing things down for seeing eventual progress. From what I know already: oils are definitely NOT enemies of mixed/oily skin (as I though 2/3 years ago), but you have to know what oils to use, too much exfoliation is definitely an overkill (at least for me, once/twice a week with proper tonic or peeling is enough), good cleanse is a key (I went from just washing my face once with some gel to two-step cleaning routine with taking off make-up first, then properly washing my face, hand-made potassium soap with tea tree oil and taman oil is a discovery lately), using a lot of prescription drug is not always good, multi-masking works better for me than using just one mask on all of my face, moisturizing is important, but it has to be done wisely. It is definitely an individual journey to get to know your skin, watching it carefully and react if necessary

 

[Arriba627]

No Name Face, I am so happy to have had the privilege of meeting you in Milan, and let me say you are a beautiful person both on the inside and the outside!!!