Looking back: Sep '25, Week 2

All things considered, it was a pleasant week! Though, after I was done writing last week's blog post, I was hit with really severe lethargy that lasted for most of the week. When I lied down I felt like I couldn't get up, my muscles and joints were aching like I had a low-grade fever when I didn't, and it was difficult to feel motivated to be productive even when my mind was screaming to get back to whatever I was doing. 🥺

However!!! In retrospect I think I did my best with the energy I had! ⭐️

✨ Gaming -- Played lots of Don't Starve Together (DST), and Etherfields (tabletop) over the weekend

Many giant farm veggies! 💜 This was taken on Monday evening. Things have changed lots since. ☆

Ever since the unsatisfactory game of DST, I've been pondering my comment regarding my choice to play Wormwood when playing with inexperienced friends:

Lesson learned: Don't play a support when I need to be the carry.

But I really love playing Wormwood, so the prospect of changing character whenever I don't play with my usual group was unappealing. Surely I can learn to be a better Wormwood main so that I can adapt to the circumstance and thrive regardless? 🤔🤔🤔 So I spent some time writing a quick reference guide for myself as I read up on things I knew I didn't fully understand/ have yet to commit to memory. I want to get better to do my favorite character justice! [didgeridoo sounds]

That said, the game I'm currently playing has progressed to a point where I get to see new, updated game mechanics and challenges. It's been satisfying pondering how to resolve mechanics that I don't have much experience dealing with. 🤔

I guess the biggest takeaway this week is that I have reconciled that playing with new players is a good thing. 🎵 Now I just need to find people who want to play with me. 🤔🙃🥹

✨ Housewarming -- Struggled to finish a DIY curtain in time for a visit by my partner's family

A few weeks back I attempted to make a curtain for our open concept kitchen that could contain cooking fumes (mainly frying) within the kitchen so that it could be expelled via the kitchen window instead of leaking into the living room. The curtain wasn't the prettiest, but its main issue was that it couldn't be drawn easily, and the fabric was a little too light/ thin, so significant amount of fumes leaked into the living room anyway.

So this week I took apart what I had made and attempted to revamp it into a different design with additional materials. It's pretty large (approximately 4m wide and 1.8m in height), so it ended up taking a whole week to reach ~85% completion. 🙃 I'll get back to it after this post is published! ✨Anyway, I used a different curtain in the meantime when my partner needed to cook for the housewarming.

The housewarming itself was alright. My partner's family came over for dinner, with each family unit bringing 2 dishes to share. My partner prepared a pot of Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto) and some roast veggies: brussel sprouts, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and red onions. Yum! Wish I took a photo before everyone dug in. 🥹 It was so good.

Or was I just obsessed over roasted veggies because of DST? 🤔🤔🤔🤣

Anyway, as with most gatherings with my partner's family, my partner received a lot of praise and congratulations for his lovely new home. 🥹 I've gotten used to being discredited over the years for the achievements of the youngest, talented son of the family, so I let it slide -- at least I know that I did a good job, right? Well, I did get credited for ONE thing though: Being the one who put up posters of anime girls with their butts showing, because I'm a girl too, I like anime, and no way is my partner the kind of guy who would be okay with having sexy pictures on the wall. 🤔 If only they knew.

In happier news, my partner got the rare chance share more about himself with his family, since our belongings prompted a lot of questions. 🤣🤣🤣 Our lifestyle is just so different that it's to be expected!

The funniest moment of the evening was: My partner's niece was walking around the table, prodding everyone's backs and exclaiming, "Straight!". I'm not sure why, but maybe she was asking everyone to sit up straight. That included me, of course.

If only she knew. If only she knew. 🤣

✨ Random interesting thing -- Tried the Better Voice Vocal Trainer

As the one I work with the most on music projects, Yuraia takes the brunt of my distress from my lack of self-confidence and pessimism regarding my singing. So he gifted me a vocal trainer this week. 🥹 I couldn't bring myself to practice singing though, so he offered to guide me through a practice using the Vocal Trainer.

Apparently it works like trying to sing through a straw, creating air pressure that reaches back to the vocal cords. It's supposed to help train control over one's voice, so apparently it can be used to strengthen your speaking voice too. 🤔

It does something, that's for sure. 🤔 Let's see if it helps with my confidence and throat irritation. 🥺

I'll still do music, or something related to it because it's such a huge part of my life. But ever since moving in to my new home, I haven't felt excited about doing vocal covers the way I did before. Sometimes it feels like I shouldn't change because it would disappoint the people who hit the subscribe button. But then again the channel was never about gaining recognition (although that is very much appreciated), so maybe I should ride the feeling of trying something new.

I still feel hopeful, I'm just not sure about what exactly. 🤔

~💜~

Hopes for this week

♪ Practice the song I need to record this week ♪ Make harmony guides for it

☆ Finish the kitchen curtains. Hope it works. 🥹

☆ Catch up on chores: I need to host another housewarming this weekend... 🙃

☆ Play Don't Starve Together!

☆ Play Baldur's Gate 3 if I feel too unwell to do any of the above.

Thank you for reading! 🌙🐰