Bonjour les lecteurs ! Eh, quoi ? Le blog est en français maintenant ? Non,
mes lecteurs, tous les articles principaux seront en anglais, mais je
veux améliorer mon français écrit. Comme tu peux le voir, mon français
est terrible (l'oral est pire). Je vais écrire un petit article chaque
semaine en français à partir d'aujourd'hui. L'objectif n'est pas moins de
100 mots (et la suppression de Google Translate de mes écrits et de mes
devoirs). J'ai décidé que cette étape est nécessaire parce que quand j'écris
un e-mail... je passe 20 ou 30 minutes juste pour quelques phrases. Pas plus ! Je vais pratiquer. Souhaites-moi bonne chance.
Monday was crazy. We got a call that we had a bunch of packages coming in later in the day. These are the most important packages ever, because it's all our stuff from when we lived in China. It's my entire life pre-2018. We opened everything box by box, just soaking in the nostalgia and happiness of having something from the past back. I wasn't sure if we would ever see these things again so I'm so glad it all worked out. I got so many of my notebooks and sketchbooks and more back. It's just worlds upon worlds of things I made up and stories I drew or wrote. I understand that the stuff is less than worthless, but it's special to me. Even got some old diaries, embarrassing... I will post pictures and more of the stuff when I kind of am less overwhelmed.
Tuesday, we were home. It's been very cold this week. Too cold. I finally caught up to the Orb: On the Movements of the Earth episodes I missed. It's amazing, what a sleeper. I wasn't even super into it before the episodes with Oczy and Badeni, when it was finally cemented for me. Woah, what a great anime. I highly recommend it. Also watched the first episode of Sakamoto Days, kind of disappointing. I don't care about the action, because the best part of the manga for me were the gags and the found family drama. The first episode already seems to be pushing the bad gags and skimming over the better stuff. But it's only been one episode so I'm gonna calm down a bit. It's too early to tell but I really wanted this to have Mob Psycho vibes and I just don't think it will be on the same level, not because of the animation even. Also watched the first episode of the Medalist, I forgot what a dick Tsukasa was at first. It has too much of the yelling/intense emotional outbursts that I hate about anime but a lot of the characters are literally kids so it makes sense.
Wednesday was pretty awesome because our family friend drove us to a nearby town so that we could finally go see the elusive recyclerie that is usually closed. It was super worth it. Huge, cheap as hell, and full of any type of anything. Hear ye, hear ye, gaze upon my findings beneath. And some pictures of the actual place.
It's pretty moldy but there were some finds.
A wall... maybe?
Chairs for everyone.
The friend then took us to the fancy Chinese buffet we went to last time with my Grandma. I felt real bad that Mo couldn't come with us, he loves Chinese and buffets. I actually did not have a soup which I regret a bit but I had so many small dishes and sushi I just couldn't handle a soup.
Yal Wok.
My dessert plate.
I loooove bayberries. And I miss them.
Arm warmers from Kiabi.
I think I want to make the shoulders open.
Green-grey skirt.
Such a cute bag!
Simona wants to know also.
My CD finds.
I actually haven't seen Marie Antoinette yet.
Totally out of order but cheap.
On Thursday I went to help Mo at his job. We had to paint an entire shipping container and it was a lot of work. In damn cold weather too. The area is pretty cool though, the containers are rented out as small offices for start-ups and small firms. I also met Fabrice who also works there and he's a real nice guy. Mo got us chicken kebab for lunch with some cokes. I have been drinking way too much soda these days, it will be time to cut it out soon. I had to leave a bit early because something dumb came up with the documents but I sorted it out when I came back.
The cool lounge.
Bus that is a cafe.
Tea time!
On Friday I was home again, took some time to add many of my fave fashion magazines to a list on the Internet Archive. You can check it out here if you like that kind of stuff. As usual we played the Division with Mo and his friend (I should probably use his nickname already since we play games together often, so anyway, he's Rost). We then played Minecraft all together with my sister. I've been thinking I should invite Tom to hang out sometime next week.
On Saturday I got a offer for some few gigs at events to assist 3D printing classes for kids. I agreed but I'm worried that my French sucks too hard. Still, even if nothing is working out with my bank I have to do something... work even these few jobs and stuff. I need to call the guy tomorrow. I also started fixing up my fashion blog because I want to actually post there.
And it's finally Sunday. I spent most of it finishing up my fashion blog, and voila! It's all done. Honestly, I love how it looks. It's very kitschy and fun. And works fine, so good enough for me. Check it out here if you're curious.
Graphic design is my passion.
We finally finished Silent Hill 2 today (mostly played by my brother because I'm a scaredy cat). I also watched the 17th episode of Orb. Stuff is happening. I'm happy being in the flow right now, helping when I'm needed, saying yes to things that come my way. Not taking the losses too hard. Here's the song of the week: Look Like a Mess by Sunday's Best. What an underrated band and album.
This week has been much less eventful than the last. Pretty much nothing happened Monday to Friday. Me and Monique tried to think of other ways to open my bank account and we have a bit of a plan but she has to make some calls first. I did pretty well with managing bad habits. I didn't watch any YouTube during the week days at all. I drank only one cup of coffee most days, two at most. However, I did very little for introducing good habits. One step at a time. Did some work on my site, mostly fixing some visual problems.
Finally officially finished Daria. I tend to put off the last episode or movie of a series that I really, really like for ages and ages. I think I have a hard time accepting things end. Been finding some more emo albums to enjoy, or actually listening through entire albums instead of a few songs.
We've also been playing a lot of games. The Division with my brother and his friend, and Minecraft with the two of them and my sister. I do really miss just having fun and building random shit in Minecraft. I remember when I first played it, what a crazy concept it was in 2012 or whenever.
Anyway, on Saturday we had guests for our big hot pot lunch. A few months ago a friend from China sent us a surprise package and it was a hot pot pot! She also included some soup bases, the really spicy stuff. So we finally put it to good use and invited two of my mum's work friends and their kids. Friend 1, Audrey, I know better and her kids, Arthur and Naomi too. Friend 2, Nathalie, I met only once but she is a lovely lady, and she likes cats too. She brought her younger son, Tom, and as soon as I saw his cool platform-heel combo boots I knew we would get along.
We were all kind of just hanging out and then we had the lunch. It was nearly overkill but we were like nine people so it was fine. I really do miss China a lot but I just can't afford to go in the near future. I'm patient so I'll give it time.
The ingredients.
The pot.
Guests.
After the lunch we had a little dessert and went to Nathalie's house because she doesn't live far. We played board games there, it was a lot of fun. I had pretty good luck for once. Me and Mo were so tired though, so we went home a little earlier. We managed to play a little Minecraft with Marta but we were pretty exhausted soon enough.
Sunday was more of the same, I did more stuff on my new PC and listened to some podcasts. Been thinking of the friends I can't text as much because my phone died. I really need to find another way to keep in contact with people but it's hard. Especially because none of them use stuff like Insta either.
I was not productive this week at all. There goes all that New Year charm. The glitter is starting to look like dust. Ah well, I'm no rookie when it comes to derailment and not committing to plans, I'll make my way just fine. Meanwhile, please enjoy this excellent track by Elliott that has been running on repeat for me all week. I mean it, just non-stop.
First things first, happy new year! It's officially 2025, the year of the snake (not yet technically). The new year is always the biggest celebration in my life, though I realize the world doesn't actually change or anything, it still feels fresh, revolving, like entering though a brand new door. Don't worry, this excitement will pass and I'll be pessimistic shortly.
This week was actually still in 2024 at first. On Monday I pretty much didn't do anything. I didn't even prepare for new year's eve. Just went to the store to get some last minute stuff and luckily the place wasn't too busy. The benefits of small town living. We also fucked around on the new PC to see how it works. Mo wasn't happy that CPU temps were 40 degrees on idle so he made me open the balcony doors while it was 3 degrees outside at night to see if it had to do with the room temperature. It cooled down pretty quickly but I basically froze too. We just loosened one of the exterior panels so the case gets more air. On Tuesday I got up pretty early, didn't do anything in the morning though. At about 3PM me and mum went to her work friend's house for a short get together. She has such a cozy house, a bit too shabby chic for my taste but still cute. She also had a super round cat and a dog that is so small and old I thought it was a strange rabbit at first.
We left after about half an hour and went straight home. My mum went to see another friend and my brother started up Mirror's Edge for some reason. We played a few levels, I love that game. We planned to eat dinner at about 10PM so I went and made a red velvet cake. It turned out horrible! Luckily, my sister and mum made a cake too. I made a huge mojito in a fancy punch vase thing we got from some friends ages ago. Fucked that up too a bit because we only had brown sugar so it turned the mojito brown-ish. It still tasted good though.
My mum came back and we all hung out for a bit, I dressed a bit more casual since we stayed home. We sat down and ate lasagna with salad. Then we ate my stupid cake. The cats also got very fancy treats, a little meal with actual shrimp! We just had some music while we were hanging out then my brother suddenly got nostalgic about Skate so we watched the openings for all the games. I think for this year I want to make a compilation of home videos instead or something. Soon enough it was almost midnight. We went outside and tried to light some sparklers but they just wouldn't catch fire. So dumb! Suddenly one of them did light up and these were some really terrible sparklers because they sriously sprayed us with sparks and it hurt. Still we lit them all up and had fun.
Then we came back it and it was time for presents. My sister got a lots. She seemed happy with them, I was worried because she is officially a moody teen now. We went one by one. I got lots of cute trinkets and things.
My little health tracker.
I love miniatures.
Super tasty scrub and body gel!
Movie and book trackers!
It's super sweet but that's nice sometimes.
A fun thing I wanted to do.
I actually gave this one to my mum.
A very unique necklace!
Mango~
Everyone was pretty tired and this point so we headed to bed. Woke up on the same day but closer to lunch. Everybody slowly crawled out of their beds and we had leftovers from the dinner. The house was a mess because we just left all the wrapping paper and stuff out and now we had to actually clean it all up.
Music video after party shit.
They love a good box, as any cat would.
We decided to watch Squid Game while waiting for new episodes of Silo. My mum and sister hadn't seen and with season 2 out now, we decided why not. It made mum kind of depressed though so we tried to find something else to do after a few episodes. Went to bed early because we had a big day tomorrow.
Monique came and picked us up at 10AM on Thursday and we drove to Toulouse. I've never been so it was nice to see a city for the first time. First we actually got surprised by mum, she decided we'd have lunch at a huge Chinese buffet! It's much cheaper on week days so that was awesome. We ate a lot and even my brother, who can usually bankrupt a buffet, was not feeling too well.
Going ham.
My first plate.
Monique went steady.
Going for seconds.
My desserts.
Gold, gold, gold! Hong Kong style.
Worth the price.
After lunch we drove to the center and Monique left her car in the underground. We were right outside the Capitole so we headed in.
The square.
A flashbang?
Rip-off skating rink.
Huge ass bear!
Inside the Capitole.
The Capitole has a free gallery with some amazing works by Henri Martin, Paul Gervais, architect Paul Pujol, Henri Rachou, and others. Easily the most impressive is likely the huge murals on the ceilings done by Gervais. They are expansive, detailed, with impeccable colour, and a gold trim finish in the decor. I think it's a dream for anyone who likes the lavishness of Rococo but also enjoys the dimension of classical realism, interspersed with symbolism and fantastical elements.
Interior courtyard.
The stairway.
Salle Henri Martin.
Entering Salle des Illustres.
We look so dumb.
Gervais, Rachou, and others.
Jean Andre Rixans.
Edouard Debat-Ponsan.
Gervais.
Fermat: math guy.
More statues.
However, I found Casimir Destrem's work to be my favourite. It's
bleaker, it's grungier, maybe with age, but is so focused and intense, I
was awed. It felt like a souls-like game that hasn't been released yet
or something.
Minerva, my fave.
More from Salle Gervias.
Fucked up looking owl.
Me and mum.
After the Capitole we just walked around the center of Toulouse. It's not a huge city but not small either. It's pretty cozy, full of students, hectic, but nice. I do recommend if youre in the south of France. Next time it would be nice to go to the Space Musuem but Monique says it will take up an entire day.
Bridge across the Garonne.
We ran across a super cute little store on our way. Some of the stuff there was obviously just stuff from Aliexpress with a mark up but some stuff looked hand-made or vintage, and very cute. It was a bit pricey for me but my sister got some really cute earrings shaped like fish. The store itself was just so cute, I kind of wish I could run a little one like that too.
Cute... but I'm broke.
We also saw a huge cookie for 39 euro. There is just no way that cookie cost 39! I get like 15 or 20, but 39?! Talk about a rip off.
Mo could probably eat it in one sitting.
We stopped for a little tea and coffee near a park. Soon enough we were back in the car. We stopped by to help a family recharge their car battery, it was lucky Monique is ready for pretty much anything so she always has cables, a sleeping bag, and other stuff in her trunk. She is a Fallout character. We went to her house for dinner and then she dropped us off. I was so sleepy...
A little ride!
Mo enjoying a hot chocolate.
My sister's earrings.
Friday we were home, doing pretty much nothing. We played a lot of Left For Dead 2, I was Ellis as usual. We even got the most ridiculous skins. My sister had coach in Skyrim armor, Mo made Nick into John Nick, and I got some weird stripper devil outfit for Ellis. The game is not serious. I think Rochelle was a nurse. I love old games. We also started Squid Game season 2.
On Saturday I tried to make some site stuff happened but I honestly got overwhelmed and got nearly nothing done. We binged the second season of Squid Games way into the night. We stayed up until 2AM! Which is super late for me and mum but totally fine for Mo and Marta.
Sunday was also uneventful. Honestly, I'm already slacking off but I'm ready for it. Starting Monday next week, piece by piece, I'm going to make better attempts at productivity. YouTube is restricted strictly for the weekends first of all. Also, I'll be trying out recipes this week and getting into more of a habit the week after.
And so here ends the first week. Nothing's really changed, but time never stops so I guess I won't either. I'm going to be 26 in April. Crazy. Anyway, here's a song for this week, Death Cab's New Year.
