Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

No shoes indoors

Pro tip on how to feel refreshed after a long day (physically) at work: wash your feet! You’ve been in socks and shoes the entire day, sweating through it all. No doubt the feet feel incredibly yucky soon as you get home and take off your shoes. I mean, you do take them off before stepping into the home, right? I will never understand the culture of wearing shoes indoors. It’s just… not sanitary.

Anyways, I head straight for the bathroom to wash my feet at the sink with a nice soapy scrub. I can see why people love to get pedicures. Something about washing of the feet really soothes the rest of the body. The feeling afterwards is incredibly relaxing, putting me in a good spot to begin the home portion of my day. It’s one of the few times I wish I had carpet, because hardwood flooring is too cold for barefoot. Freshly washed feet on carpet feels excellent, and I generally prefer going barefoot at home.

But I’d gladly trade that for the easy cleaning of hardwood. Even though I don’t wear shoes inside, I still have to use the Swiffer on the floors once every two days in order to keep it free of dust. Granted, my standards of cleanliness far exceeds the typical person. One thing I dislike about American hotels is the unclean floors, because the typical guest keeps their shoes on! Honestly, the Asians got it right on this one: no shoes inside of living spaces.

Phone dials.

Forced relaxation

Part of being an ever aging adult is that some days you wake up and feel like shit. For absolutely no reason. This past Sunday was just that kind of day for me. I woke up in a massive fog of unwell, plus the pain of a right-side neck muscle from having slept on it incorrectly. I did nothing strenuous nor taxing on Saturday, yet there I was feeling like crap the day following. It never fails: you don’t realize how much you take feeling well for granted until you get sick.

It probably isn’t COVID, because I am typing this on the next day Monday, and I feel absolutely peach. Also, I’m fully vaccinated with the best vaccine available: Pfizer. According to new guidelines from the CDC, I have nothing to worry about whatsoever. No masks anywhere!

Anyways, feeling like crud on Sunday allowed me to do the one thing I can’t force myself to do: nothing. Yes, even on weekends when I am suppose to relax and chill, I usually still stack it full with stuff to do. Like working out, practicing the piano, or read. I didn’t have the mental power to do any of those things yesterday, so I sat in front of the laptop watching stuff, while keeping hydrated with plenty of fluids.

It took a bout of sickness for me to take a “day off”, which is kind of sad if you think about it. What is it about me that can’t seem to let everything go for a day and simply laze around? All the stuff to do will still be there the next day (and the next day). Even machines need to cool down and take a break every once in a while. I chuckle when I hear friends say they’re just going to chill for the rest of the day. It’s more envy than anything: I wish I can bring myself to do the same sometimes.

But soon as I woke up this morning feeling normal, it was back at it again. Break time is over.

The predecessor.

Getting back to gaming

I think I shall get back into a bit of gaming.

Gaming used be a huge thing for me; I’ve owned every iteration of the Playstation, and to the detriment of my parents’ wallet, built multiple gaming PCs. Gaming for me was a combination of obviously pure fun (that hand-eye coordination training!) and more importantly, escapism. Games were the greatest escape from reality possible for the kid. My family was decidedly lower-middle class so the housing situation wasn’t great; The Sims series allowed me to dream and build the abode I lusted after and model the life, however virtual, I selfishly craved. 

Another example: I love cars, and the wait for aging to a certain maturity with the privileges of attaining a driver license was absolutely agonizing. Games like Gran Turismo gave me to opportunity to “drive” way before I ever could in real life. I remember fondly purchasing a Logitech Driving Force Pro steering wheel, constructing a stand for it out of Home Depot lumber, and pushing my task chair in front to from a driving simulation cockpit. I cannot tell you the sheer amount of virtual laps I did on the Nurburgring in GT4

As I’ve “adult-ed” my way through my 20s I’ve lost touch with gaming because ironically now that I’ve got the means financially, I prefer more tangible entertainment and activities. Perhaps I didn’t need the escapism any longer? Whatever the case, I endeavor to rediscover the joy of gaming, probably not to the point of engrossment with indiscriminate amount of hours as I did in the pass, but just enough to satiate the fun meter every now and then. 

Hello, copy of Final Fantasy 15, it’s finally time to tear off your plastic cover.