dog walking idea

It will slowly become your nightly routine. 

The night walks you take on your own will be replaced with the dog's walks.

The dog will pant beside you loudly at first but you will accommodate to the sound over time.
You weren't productive walking on your own but walking the dog will increase your overall productivity.

This will make you more tired. 

a review of Normal People by Sally Rooney

Normal People by Sally Rooney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really easy read. The language and sentence structure was kind of jarring at first, but I'm really glad I stuck it through. I enjoyed Sally's succinct descriptions of the weather and the thoughts that characters had, which I could often sympathize with. I am curious as to what disorder Marianne has, and it is the same curiosity that compelled me to finish the book. I am not disappointed!

reading this book has made me want to write a book with a longitudinal timeline. With characters going places, doing things, thinking thoughts, experiencing the beauty of life. Going through different phases of relationships. That is what this book is about. I got a similar feeling from reading The World At Noon. The things they say to each other are simplistic and candid. It’s like me saying to my friend, “hey. i dont mean to be rude or anything, its just a thought. But your last name really sounds like the word schnoz when i read it in my mind.” 

ricoh pictures from august / september

I think this is the fastest turnaround time for my pictures in the history of my film career. I guess not swapping between 2 film cameras helped streamline this process. 

I can still remember feeling this relaxed. Especially today, with the abnormal 25 degree end of September weather. This was taken at Rouge park at one of the small isolated beaches. I got a lot of "swimming" done. 

This was taken at the High Park zoo. They had a capybara! Here is my attempt to document this moment. 

I can only imagine how great the capybara would have looked if this picture was focused. 

Here we are at the Riverdale ravine observing the shelters made by people that have left society. 

These were taken on the day we went to 小郡肝串串香, a hotpot/skewer place. The menu was completely in chinese, but we were able to google translate the more advanced foods. The skewers were dipped into the boiling soup and eaten with either dry seasoning or vinegar/soy sauce and diced cilantro. The menu consisted of pork tongue, beef slices, chicken hearts, you name it. We got one of everything 😋 

After the cooking session, we bought freshly made egg tarts from a bakery stall next door. The plaza has about 6-7 restaurants and its own food court with $5 meals. I will definitely go back and get their combos some time. What a great day. The following week was not so great, though. The hotpot was so intense that I ended up getting acid reflux (which I originally thought was COVID because of the persistent sore throat). But thanks to the walk-in doctor's phone consultation, I was deemed gastrically acidic. Is that a thing? 

I wasn't sure which picture to post, so I'll post both :^) hey ma, I can drive! 

sept 22 walk

There were 3 masked teenagers standing at the intersection, waiting to cross. This is the time of day when the sunlight filters through the houses and trees. Compared to summer sunlight, the autumn sunlight has a red tint. The neighbourhood settled down into a dinnertime stillness that was reflected in the empty streets. A chinese family is crossing the intersection. A chinese van driver patiently waits for them to cross before turning left. By the time I think to look back at the teenagers, they had already crossed and were entering the convenience store.

quick reflection

i was happy at the mcdonalds inside the wal-mart. there was a plastic statue of ronald sitting on a bench with a space for one or two kids beside him. there was fluorescent lighting. i had a cheeseburger, which had a very sweet-tasting bun. 

hauling my heavy body up a wall

my hands were chapped. i could only watch despondently as multiple climbers took on the routes i had tried and failed. then one by one, they left, chatting happily about their great workout. until there was one man left that i had met at another climbing gym. we briefly exchanged greetings, then he left too, hauling along his tripod and CamelBak. i was the only one in the gym but could not climb any further, so i sat and stared at the walls for a good twenty minutes. the walls seemed to be caving in and the boulders mocked me with their colourfulness. you'll keep trying but never reach the end of my route, which isn't even that high up, they were saying. the lights were on, the music was playing. no one was climbing. i decided to try a couple of medium difficulty routes. more people walked into the gym. their presence bothered me. i decided to sit and watch the more successful climbers, and analyze their back movements. i learned nothing, except for the fact that everyone was stronger than me because i had already climbed for one and a half hours. my forearms felt stiffer than before. i decided to leave. 

gift

As a kid, my parents would sternly tell me to always remove the price tag on a gift before wrapping it. If I remembered anything growing up, it had to be this fact.  The alternative scenario was too mortifying to them, they were that ingrained in whatever etiquette lessons they were taught growing up in China. Although, Chinese people will all emphatically reject any money or undeserved gift; a universal tremor can be seen running up their arm into their flapping hand.

去去去，不用不用 >:(