Halloween! This special time of the year filled with skeletons, carved pumpkins, hanging bats and spiders (and batman-dogs). My favorite decorations are hanging ghosts, the simpler, the better in my opinion. There's also the black cat, and the witch hat. I love watching kids and people enjoying themselves on this month. The same for horror fans like me; this year has been terrific!

Films like Obsession, definitely came out of the blue for the good of the genre and movies in general. Then came Backrooms, Hokum, Leviticus, just to name a few. I hope these works and its creators keep going, those guys are very talented an passionate for filmmaking. Thankfully, art will continue to inspire us, as long as we wonder.

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Hello everybody! This was my bit for today. Make cookies and be happy. Thanks for reading and take care.

Today is my office day. I work in a firm as interns student. I come to the office two days each week. The college who I work with is very nice to me. He had today the whole day meetings, but he still came to eat lunch with me in the canteen. We had very delicious foods today. But I didn't have much appetite. I have currently broke up with my ex. Two weeks past, but I still feel not very good. I sleep not well. I try to make me busier to not have time and energy to think too much. The breaking up is actually my choice, but I'm still sad.

Article: Improve Your Sleep with Evening Rituals

The article introduced several evening rituals and suggested thinking of them as an à la carte menu for creating a bedtime routine. My picks are below:

• Follow a skin care ritual to unwind
• Stretch, meditate, and breathe to loosen up
• Read a physical book to feel grounded

I'd like to start by building a reading habit.

I don't listen to music. I stopped few years ago. I prefer a podcasts or radio stations with news (no music of course).

In the past I listened to metal music. I really liked extreme subgenres like death or black metal. It was very fast and brutal music. Sometimes I listened to some more traditional metal or even rock (especially bands from 90s).

When I became bored of metal I stopped to listen music at all. I didn't discover anything interesting for me. I tried with trip-hop, drum & bass and even classical music. This activity is not attractive for me anymore. But it's not a problem, I have podcasts, books and audiobooks.

Today, I was supposed to work on-site. I worked from home yesterday, and I'm going to work from home tomorrow too.

The problem is that I downloaded a new game on my phone, and it's so addictive that I couldn't put my phone down before midnight. So, when my alarm went off at 6:15 this morning, I just said "no", and went back to sleep. Same thing at 7:15.

When I finally got up at 8:15, it was way too late. If I'd had to go to work, I would have had to rush. I hate being in a hurry. It's the best way to forget something like locking my door or taking my computer with me.

I just finished The Little Prince tonight. It’s the book the Malaysian girl has mentioned several times in our conversations.
After I finished reading the ending, I told her, “Why does the Little Prince die in the end?”

The she replied, “Why does the Happy Prince’s heart break in the end?”

I had also mentioned The Happy Prince in one of our our conversations the other day, so you can’t imagine how surprised and happy I was when I got her reply. It meant that she remembered what I had told her before!

Yesterday, I wrote about not knowing what to cook for dinner. I thought about just eating pasta with pesto - my default lazy dinner. Instead, I ended up actually cooking! In a sudden burst of motovation, I made mashed potatoes. Also, I bought veggie sticks (I don't eat fish anymore) and some frozen spinach. It was really good! I even have enough of it left over to eat for dinner today. My only problem now is figurong out how to heat up the mashed potatoes without a microwave. I guess I could heat them up on the stove, but that would mean having to clean another pot which I'm trying to avoid. We'll see. Maybe I'll eat them cold. I'm hungry and lazy.

If there is a fundamental rule in the art of critique, the first step is to understand the opposing viewpoint. If this isn't done properly when arguing a complex subject, the critique fails. This is because, first, you will end up attacking the wrong target, and second, you will be unable to build a valid argument on a flawed foundation.

It was somewhat hot today. The temperature has constantly been changing recently, so it’s  a bit hard to decide what to wear.

One of my new classes, Networking, revolves around taking the CCNA, a comprehensive course that introduces you to networking and I have about 2 months to finish it. The assignments will be based on the course's content, and the final assignment, which is the most important one will be the CCNA's final exam as far as I remember.

I'm looking forward to learning about networks, but a bit anxious about the whole thing I need to wrap my head around.

Our apartment is soooooo dusty. I see a lot of fibrous dust almost every time.
My nose is itchy and my throat is sore. And my kid started coughing recently…
What causes these troubles? The curtains in the living room? My mattress which I bought 3 years ago? Does something from other houses come in through the windows?
I vacuum at least twice a week, and wipe all of the floors with wet paper towels three times a week. But it seems the cleaning isn’t enough.
After the birth of my baby(I’m pregnant now), I’m going to get an air purifier for us.
And I will consider replacing curtains and mattresses to avoid inhaling microplastics. Both are made of polyester.

I think the cutest animal is the otter.

It might be different from what you imagine.

Anyway, I wondered why most people think otters are cute when they see them.

I wonder what makes us all feel the same cuteness, even though we grew up in totally different environments.

Article: What to Know About Healthy Sleep

According to the article, people in my age group should get seven or more hours of sleep. Today I also listened to a podcast about sleep deprivation, and I heard that most adults get about six hours of sleep a night. That's almost the same as my usual amout.

I've been trying to get seven hours of sleep, but I haven't established good sleep habits yet.

Hello there!

Lately, I've been wanting to pick up my reading habit because I miss the excitement and enjoyment of reading a really good book from time to time. Plus, it exposes me to different words, phrases, and forms of expression which I find helpful to increase my vocabulary and understanding of the language.

So, I downloaded some classic titles that are known for being a good read on my Kindle, and I will start reading this evening.

One of the things I appreciate about my Kindle is that it doesn't strain my eyes when reading because that would be the last time I would want after having worked all day in front of a screen.

I think it'd be a great idea to write a bit about the books once I finish them to have something interesting to talk about.

Anyways, I think I will sign off for now. Thanks for reading!

Do yo read or enjoy comics? Well, comic books have been a thing for me since my youth. I remember my very first comic: Spawn. I can't recall its title or series, but it was a well put story with a teeming, dark-fantasy atmosphere. Spawn is literally a hell of a character. One of the thinghs that stuck to me the most was the inner monologues in between the "action". You could feel the pain and despair of the characters in every panel. Very interesting characters and lore. Shout ot to Mr. McFarlane.

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Hello everybody! This was my bit for today. I think I could keep up with this shorter writings. Please, Let me know. Thanks for reading and take care.

Just like the loophole I’ve been exploring to practice daily with native English speakers while paying peanuts ( the tutors are getting paid as if I’m a normal student), I’ve found a way to practice my French for free on another platform. The classes are group lessons, but it’s okey, the teacher gives us a lot of feedback. They correct our pronunciation errors, which is something you can get corrected here. So far I’ve taken three lesson and in quite liking the approach of the lessons.

When I write in English, I tend to translate directly from my native language. I’ve heard that the best way to write in a foreign language is to imitate native speakers' sentences, but I don’t have many English texts stored in my mind yet. Since I keep my Writestreak as a casual daily activity so that it lasts long, I don’t do anything extra to improve my writing. One day, though, I’ll have to step outside this comfort zone.

I feel that at times I simply need to vent, not just about the constant stream of minor setbacks that seem to target me daily, but to release the sheer frustration and helplessness that threaten to overwhelm me. Lately, so much has been piling up at once that it’s hard to pinpoint what is causing me the most anxiety.

My postgraduate studies are undoubtedly the primary strain on my nervous system. My department keeps introducing new graduation requirements that were non-existent when I enrolled, yet are now deemed essential for me to graduate. Fortunately, I only have two requirements left, but fulfilling them is anything but straightforward. When I watch others graduate with far fewer hurdles, I can’t help but wonder if things would be different had I been able to choose my own specialization. Still, dwellling on 'what ifs' isn't particularly helpful right now.

These days, I find myself feeling grateful and frustrated in equal measure. My entire journey has been a literal trial of blood, sweat, and tears—navigating an unfamiliar field entirely on my own, without adequate support. Right now, I just want to hold onto the belief that things will eventually improve. In the meantime, I urgently need to find an effective grounding technique for moments of acute stress, as exercise just isn't cutting it anymore.

I'm considering reactivating an old blog because I feel like I have a lot to talk about.

I created that blog a decade ago. I used to write about some painful relationships, or about things I didn't understand. Writing was a way to analyze and structure my thoughts and feelings.

I spent so many hours refining its look and personalizing the theme I had chosen that I felt like it was my baby.

Then, I started to feel embarrassed. It was as if I was exposing something private, even if I kept really private matters to myself.

But the strongest feeling that made me close the blog was a deep disgust with myself. I was thinking "who on earth are you to think you can be intelligent enough to analyze yourself and the situation?". I mean, I'm not a thinker, nor am I an intellectual. So, there was a time when I just couldn't stand myself anymore, and I had to get rid of all this bragging about myself.

The thing is, I've been thinking about this timeless place of mine recently. Whenever I picture the blog, I'm overcome by a feeling of peace and security. It's like I'm discovering it again. It's my baby again.

I'm not sure if I saved my customized theme, but if I did, I might be tempted to recreate the blog. I wouldn't keep any of the old posts, it would be a brand-new blog.

I have things to talk about. I need to put into words what I'm going through. I need to talk about my concerns, and I need to spend time on that. I need to try to analyze things again.

So much for the disgust, I need that introspection.

I'd like to think I'm starting to like myself. I'd like to think the ban is over.

Today I was on an English course on campus. The teacher let uns talk to other students a lot in the class. I meet this guy from Austria. He is very friendly. He can English pretty well. He comes to this course only to make friends and maybe help other people. But I figured out, that we don't have any common hobbies. In this case, it is not easy to ask him out and continue the conversation outside the class. Anyway, I'm glad that my English learning program rolls forward now.

When I was younger I liked to play a video games on my PC. My favourite titles are: Quake 2, Diablo and Heroes of Might & Magic 3. From today's perspective they are an old games.

But I stopped playing few years ago. To be honest I'm too lazy to struggle with demanding scenarios, powerful bosses and very fast action.

Life brings a lot of challenges and I don't want another ones. I prefer to read books and listen to podcasts.

Few times I tried to play again but after one or two hours I finished and uninstalled a game. I suppose this kind of entertainment is not for me anymore.

Hi! I was I’m Japanese born and raised in Tokyo.I have a 5-year-old child and a new baby is going to come next month!
My goal is to communicate with others in English using casual expressions.
And I apologize in advance if I talk about my worries too often many times. I have a mild depression. But I try to talk about fun things!

I decided to cancel my therapy session this Saturday. I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversations we’ve had and the way she looked at me. I feel like she wasn’t really trying to help me. Instead, I feel like she pitied me.