Apparently, one of the readers of this blog is from China, and until proven otherwise I will assume it’s none other than Xi Jinping himself. Why the paramount leader of the PRC would read the blog of a guy who passed high school Mandarin by the skin of his teeth is unclear, but we live in an unclear world so it’s best to roll with it.
I had a midnight snack before heading to bed, a bowl of ramen. My sleep last night was on par for the past week or so, which is to say poor. I’ve been waking up around two-three hours before I ought to be awake; this morning I woke up at 4:30 AM. My dreams have been remarkably vivid and intense, like glimpses into worlds more real than our own. I did not fall back asleep, nor did I remain awake, but instead entered a kind of trance, perhaps? For what felt like hours upon hours I tossed and turned, scrolled on my phone, watched YouTube, wrote, etc. In truth, however, only ninety minutes passed, as I found when the 6 AM alarm went off. If my dreams felt more real than reality, the state I experienced this morning was less. This isn’t the first time I experienced something like this recently.
The sky today is bright, but the air is hot and dim. What shadows the clouds cast over Philly are heavy and move strangely in the humid wind. Due to meetings, I worked from home today. All quiet on the work front, I used today as an opportunity to do some light housework in addition to my assigned tasks. I had some charcuterie earlier but I need an actual meal, and I think it might be nice to go out and get something.
As I write this now it’s quarter after five and I made the mistake of going to Shake Shack. Yes, the Shake Shack that always takes forever to make your order. Yes, the Shake Shack that often gets your order wrong. Yes, the overpriced Shake Shack. That one. “But Justin” you may ask, “if you knew all these things, why did you decide to go to Shake Shack?” To which I rebut: “I wanted to” and “surely lightning can’t strike twice?” On the walk over the skies were bright and blue, but in an example of symbolism so blunt that were it on Wattpad or AO3 the author would be called a talentless hack, the skies grew dark, the winds grew cold, and the shadows lengthened. Lightning struck twice, and they got my burger wrong, but I wasn’t up for waiting another ten minutes (mind you, I was the only one waiting in line) so I scraped off the bits I don’t like. Before I left home I turned on my gaming laptop for the first time in months, the G and H keys are still non-functional from my constant typing of “Gherdun” but at least I can use Paint.NET to make a proper map of the Duskmarch. I plan on using this 15th century replica of a Ptolemaic map of the Armenian highlands as a stylistic basis, and filling it with inaccuracies the further one gets from the Pentapolis.
I’m debating whether I should get a haircut or keep growing it out. Maybe I should just get it cut in the back, but keep it very long on top. I should definitely think about getting a new keyboard for my laptop, although my long term goal for this summer is to get a new one, hopefully enough for The Elder Scrolls VI: Daggerfall II when Todd Almighty (praise be) ends up shadowdropping it.
As I write this it is almost 6. I saw Dean Oates on the walk back but I don’t think he noticed me and I didn’t want to impose myself, and I ran into Maya and we walked back to Anova together, so that was nice. A storm is coming, on the walk back to Anova the air grew so humid I was practically swimming. As I write this it’s just past 8; I rewatched some clips from Blackadder Goes Forth (1989). Hot rain falls from sepia skies, faint rumblings from outside my window drowned out by the constant hum of my air purifier. I haven’t listened to much music recently; I’ve shared it when appropriate, but I haven’t listened much on my own, neither for myself nor for music’s sake. It’s been one of those weeks. Food has taste, at least, and I can enjoy my hobbies, but I wish I could enjoy music like I used to.
Sometimes I want to sing again, but I don’t know when or what.
Sierpinski Tetrahedron 