Here is what we more or less did in May. I don’t feel like captioning each image so this will have to do:
We have been hiking a lot: The days are long and the weather is perfect. It’s going to be hot AF pretty soon, so we might as well take advantage of ideal outdoors conditions. In general, over the past year or so I would say that whatever activity we would normally do that would involve crowds of people or socializing has been replaced by doing something outdoorsy.
I had received a new camera lens as an anniversary gift, so we went out for an evening walk to take some long exposure shots and grab some ice cream. On the short to-do list is: Find a place with minimal light pollution and take some nice star and Milky Way photos.
We have also returned to cautious restaurant dining since we are fully vaccinated. Suffice it to say, stuffing our collective faces with sushi was fairly high on the to-do list.
These are the notebooks that I am currently using: My Regular Traveler’s Notebook for journaling and memory keeping, my Passport Traveler’s Notebook for planning, and the new addition discussed below. Not pictured is the black notebook that I scribble in (brain dump journal entries, grocery/to-do lists, etc). I had recently treated myself to a few goodies from one of my favorite stores, Baum-Kuchen, one such item being an A5 notebook cover to house the stuff that I am using to study Japanese.
Finally, after so much procrastinating, I am bucking down and redoubling my efforts to study Japanese. I took around 2 years of Japanese in college, but didn’t really keep up with studying it afterwards. Consequently, even though I still know enough to travel and hold basic conversations, I had forgotten more than I would like. My study goal is to relearn all of the kanji, vocabulary, and grammar that I have forgotten as well as continue my language education with a focus on stuff that would be useful for our next Japan trip (whenever that will be).
It was a great weekend to go for a walk on the beach/outdoors since the days are getting longer and the weather is nice. I really like my new sling; it makes it much easier to drag my camera everywhere to take pictures of stuff.
This is what I carry with me when I am out taking pictures of stuff and/or out all day. I have finally found a bag that will hold my normal everyday carry as well as my camera, while also not being gigantic.
Codeofbell X-Pod: When I am out taking pictures, I have my camera slung around my body but I like it tucked away in a bag when doing non-photography things (I also refuse to leave my camera in the car). I specifically wanted a sling bag that was roughly the same shape and size as my other sling, but also able to function as a bum bag for biking and just large enough to hold my camera. There were a lot of bags that fit all of my stuff but they were either too big and boxy or were missing things that I really wanted. The X-pod was the only bag I looked into that was able to expand to hold quite a bit of stuff but collapse down to a fairly small size.
The shoulder strap is from another bag; It prevents sling slippage and shoulder fatigue (straps can dig into your shoulder when dragging around a chunky camera all day). The carabiner is a medium sized hero clip: Great for keeping your bag off of the ground when at a restaurant (whenever we can go to those again), hanging off of the back of airplane seats, hanging on trees, and so forth. I find that most tables and desks are too thick for anything smaller than the medium sized clip.
Camera stuff (on the blue square):
Sony a6400 with 18-135mm lens: I had considered getting a full frame camera, but they were either out of my price point or too large. Anything larger than a mirrorless camera is just too much of a pain in the ass to drag around.
Peak Design Leash: Quality of life item. I should have purchased a better camera sling a long time ago. It is easy to adjust, easy to remove, and easy to stash when not in use. I hate carrying my camera around my neck and prefer to carry it like a sling bag if that makes any sense. Carrying my camera like this however, requires constant strap length adjustment (when not in use, I like having my camera snug against my body).
Tenba 12” Protective Wrap: This padded wrap was like, $10 and can make any bag a camera bag. I am pretty careful, but I feel better having some layer of protective padding just in case.
Contents from top to bottom left to right:
Prescription sunglasses: If you wear glasses and enjoy going outside, prescription sunglasses are pretty great and also covered by vision insurance.
Wallet: I like men’s wallets because women’s wallets are generally too big. I don’t always carry a purse/bag and will sometimes run out for short errands/walks with just the essentials. As such, any wallet that I use must fit in the front pocket of chick jeans.
Pen: I always have a pen with me. There is never a functional pen whenever you really need a pen. Also, other people’s pens are gross.
Fenix E12 v2.0 Flashlight: For whatever reason, it’s kind of hard to find a small flashlight that doesn’t have a strobe. Great for finding cat toys under the couch and digging shit out between car seats.
Hand Sanitizer: Because COVID and because I like having clean hands.
Face Mask: Comfortable mask that folds flat. I honestly don’t see this leaving my EDC even post-COVID.
Anker PowerCore Fusion Power bank and random lightning cable: 5000 mAh battery that can charge two USB-A devices simultaneously and is also one of the few power banks that I have seen with foldable wall charger prongs.
Hygiene wipes: This is basically a larger and sturdier wet wipe. They are great for feeling less gross after all day hiking/airsoft or after using a portapotty.
Bandaids: You know that feeling when a new pair of shoes or socks end up rubbing the back of your ankles raw? I do and ever since then I always carry two small bandaids just in case. I also want to add a small antiseptic pad to compliment the bandaids as an emergency boo boo kit.
Chapstick: Dry lips sink ships.
Hand lotion: I absolutely loathe dry hands and must always carry hand lotion.
Emery board: I dislike uneven nails (not as much as dry hands though).
Kleenex: Because allergies.
Emergency hair tie: Because long hair. When not in use it’s either used as a cable tie or to keep all of the flat items together.
Lens cleaner wipes: Disposable alcohol pads for glasses and camera lenses. Great for removing greasy smudgy fingerprints and what not.
Emergency toilet paper: Cute-ass small roll of toilet paper that came in an MRE. I have this stuffed into one of the side zipper pockets.
Microfiber cloth: For cleaning glasses and camera lenses.
Emergency tampons: Better to have and not need than to need and not have.
Pill case: Just large enough to hold emergency migraine strength excedrine and allergy pills.
Emergency pad: Also better to have and not need than to need and not have.
Not pictured:
Apple Watch: 6th generation Apple Watch with a black sports loop band (the sweatpants of watch bands).
Folded plastic bag: I keep a folded plastic bag stuffed into one of the side zipper pockets. Useful whenever a trash bag is needed or whenever there’s something wet, etc.
The large zipper pocket in my sling is large enough to also hold my water bottle and camera if expanded all the way. I don’t ever see myself doing so as I am not into tempting fate that much. If I really feel like spending unnecessary money, I may look into purchasing a camera clip for the sling strap (placed right below the shoulder pad). I like the idea of docking my camera to the strap so that it doesn’t swing around loosely when not being held, but at the moment I don’t like the idea enough to want to spend $70 on a fancy clip…
In lieu of certain computer parts being virtually impossible to buy (and also in lieu of me not having any AAA PC exclusive title that I am interested in playing at the moment), I have decided to put the new PC build on hold. The ‘fun fund’ has instead, been allocated towards a new camera.
Roosting in the cat treeIt was cold so I made her a blanket nestit’s the, “sun hour”He can’t decide which room to nap in…Guess which one fucked up the blinds?
Hello and happy belated 2021. Totally had this post sitting in my drafts and had forgotten to publish it in early January. Whoops. Here is a video compilation of clips from 2020. For obvious reasons, not a whole lot happened and the video as a whole turned into a complication of cat clip and socially distant hiking/walking places. Perhaps we will get to travel soon. Who knows!
Specifically, it’s new damn computer time for both my husband and I. The last time I had upgraded my system, was with a new video card in 2014; Which, for the past couple of years, hasn’t mattered too much as most games that I have played are either on the iPad, console games, optimized old-system friendly Blizzard games (WoW, Overwatch, and friends), or indie titles that will run on literally anything with a screen.
Unsurprisingly, the game that we are building a PC for is Cyberpunk 2077. Unfortunately, literally everyone on the planet is also trying to build a computer for Cyberpunk 2077 with the exact same parts. We managed to snag one R5 5600x and one RTX 3070 for my husband’s computer, but mine will have to wait until more parts are in stock (his machine no longer boots, so his rig has priority). Until then, I am satisfied with being a console peasant and enjoying Cyberpunk from the comforts out our couch. This also gives me more time I guess to look into a decent KVM Switch to switch between my work machines and gaming machine.
Here is the build. Parts are subject to change depending on availability and when I actually build the damn thing. I haven’t 100% decided on the case that I want:
I figured that now would be a good time to post about the various notebooks that I have used this year and why they did or did not work for me.
Traveler’s Notebook Passport
My Traveler’s Notebook Passport setup hasn’t changed much since I had made this post. This notebook is used as my daily planner. I have 3 inserts: A weekly planner insert, a monthly planner insert, and a blank notebook. I had considered moving over to a TN regular or A5 sized planner, but the passport size really works for me because it is modular and is the perfect size for my bags and purses.
Here are a few random out-of-context items that were quickly drawn on the iPad and then texted over to my husband for one reason or another. As you can all now see, I have posted not just once, but twice in the month of October. Yay!
You should all be aware that among certain peer groups, I am considered a damn traitor for being a Dodgers fan. No hate for any other team other than The Cheaters, it’s a family thing; If you scratch deep enough, we all bleed Dodger blue over here. Also, carne asada fries are the correct thing to eat while watching the World Series. No toilets were actually destroyed.
The Little Cat has a minor ouchie on one of her paws and is thus destined to wear a cone for the next couple of days. Whatever it is that happened to her paw thankfully does not seem to hurt, but irritates her just enough where she wants to picks at it so that it doesn’t heal. Naturally, no animal enjoys the cone so alas, she was sulk napping in a sunny spot in one of the cat trees this morning with her cone-laden head drooped down like a sad sad sunflower.
Here is an obligatory picture of Ms. Sad Sunflower herself. I would like to think that the Big Cat was following her around the house out of loving concern for her wellbeing, but I am pretty certain that was just either trying to satisfy his things licking fetish or well, be a cat.
I found an app that makes neat videos and visualizations of hikes from GPS data. Here is a video of our hike up Mount Misen when we had visited Miyajima Island during our last visit to Japan.
I have been obsessively playing two games to fill the void between now and the time that Cyberpunk 2077 is released: No Man’s Sky and Hades.
