july 29, 2026
i was planning to go out to try out a new coffee place that opened nearby, but the rain today is pouring so hard!
i would say i miss summer, but i get reminded of how expensive the electricity bill gets during that season (which lasted longer than usual... now imagine how longer summer will last after the stupid data/surveillance center gets built in my country! i'm so scared! i hope pax silica and similar projects worldwide get cancelled forever). right now, we don't need the air conditioner turned on during the day, and that is a good thing.
july 22, 2026
it was my birthday a few days ago.
i used to be very excited about getting older and getting new experiences and whatever fun shit happens when you age past the -teen years, but the more i got to experience my birthdays, the more i feel nothing.
maybe it's the state of the world (and my life) that's making me no longer look forward to the future. maybe i'm just too mentally tired to process anything happening to me and around me.
maybe it's everything that doesn't go well despite my efforts to keep my life together, make my family proud despite how burnt out and exhausted i've become over the years.
i kind of feel guilty feeling this way, as i should be thankful my mother survived giving birth to me, and she took care of us unconditionally. but then again, did i ask to be born in such a messed up society? but then again, my family did all they could for me to not suffer as much on earth. everything feels so complicated.
i really don't know what else to do besides ignoring the feeling of uselessness and guilt, so i cope by distracting myself with things i like. i do try to handle this maturely by telling myself whenever i get older to not feel pressured to be as successful as my peers, and it's okay to take my time exploring things that'll help me feel better, but man it gets tiring at times.
speaking of things i like, there was a matcha fest i attended an hour from where i live. i got to try out different tea drinks so i can recreate them at home, such as a lavender matcha latte (i only drink matcha lattes twice a year because of my anxiety. this is the first one i had in 2026), a caramiso hojicha latte (i made a caramiso syrup a day after trying this. i may have burnt the caramel a little bit), and a black sesame hojicha latte (i cannot find black sesame powder at the grocery store). i had a lot of fun; these drinks were so good!
i have noticed something about matcha café menus though: most of them have an average of 7-9 matcha latte options in their menus, but only around 2-4 hojicha latte options. as these pop-up cafés tend to operate around 10am to 9pm, i think there should be more hojicha latte options, or at least have a menu that has matcha lattes but offer a free hojicha substitution. or at least have a smaller (around 3-5 matcha lattes) menu, but all the matcha latte options have a hojicha version (i only saw one café do this).
july 13, 2026
tried brewing osmanthus oolong tea for the first time! i put hot water in a cup of 200ml hot water, then gently placed the tea leaves on top of it, letting them sink over time. i heard it makes the tea look clearer (it does!).
apparently, it also makes the brew look lighter. of course, i smelled the tea before brewing it; its scent is sweet and warm (i need to find good osmanthus perfumes... it smells THAT good to me).
the taste is very smooth, some bitterness but not bad, and floral from the osmanthus. i'd brew it again tomorrow, perhaps agitate the water this time, as i'm curious what the tea tastes like when brewed in a slightly diferent way. maybe it'll taste stronger, darker? who knows?
july 7, 2026
i forgot that this is my birth month...
i was too focused on thinking about tea (and finding a way to profit off of my art without having to spend money on printing physical goods...) that one of my siblings had to remind me: "hey, dude, it's our birthday in a few weeks..."
july 6, 2026
ah, it's finally july. it's still freaking hot outside. how are you doing? i hope your air conditioning is working properly. but first, i hope it exists in your home, preferably turned on.
i bought more hojicha from a tea-focused event, and one of them is in loose-leaf form (the superior type of tea in my opinion, and the seller even said this is their favorite japanese tea!). oh, and the hojicha tin i bought online has finally arrived this afternoon.
i now have a total of 4 hojicha powder tins (all from different brands) and 1 loose-leaf hojicha. my family of 7 is winning; 2 of us go feral for tea, and the rest of them can't drink too much caffeine anymore.
hopefully after testing which one of them tastes the best, i can find the specific hojicha powder tin i'm willing to frequently buy in the future.
june 30, 2026
...i bought a tin of hojicha powder online this morning.
the urge to get tea was too strong.
it was insane how quickly it sold out. i was only ordering a few minutes ago. a few minutes after i secured my order, upon refreshing the site's page, every matcha and hojicha tin in that store was already sold out.
it felt like buying concert tickets...
anyway, i just saw aventurine sp's design and he's so cute! and he got promoted!! an actual icon.
june 26, 2026
the urge to buy hojicha powder and a chasen has been really strong today.
i had to remind myself of the price and of my plan to save up for next year's pen show just to resist the impulse buying.
i'm very jealous of those people who impulse buy but face no dire consequences in their finances. too bad they only exist back in 2015. i find it so unfair that the recession happens just as i turn into an adult.
june 25, 2026
i did it. i finally came across meiji deluxe fresh milk in the grocery store.
it's been sold out for a while where i live.
i got shocked by the price, of course i did, but i have to remind myself of my Mission: to find the best milk life has to offer.
this milk better be worth the weeks of waiting i did AND the long miles (i walked 10,000 steps, by the way!) of walking i took just to get to the nearest grocery store that carried this specific brand.
(yes, i walked to the grocery store. no, it wasn't awesome, safe, and fun at all. no, i'd rather pay for milk than transportation.)
onto another topic: the weather has been really bad lately. i feel like i'm melting whenever i have to go outside.
and when i'm indoors, it's lowkey even worse.
three of my electric fans (that's pretty much all of them) are turned on to the max, and all they blow towards me is hot air.
we're literally getting cooked by the sun. it's supposed to be the rainy season now.
june 24, 2026
new blog WAHOO!
finally took the opportunity to make one.
re-learning html after years of not coding is An Experience. what the heck is a root? how do you even code a microblog?
despite being confused, though, i'm having fun! it's like i'm being a teenager again but in a good way.
i really hope i get better at coding, though...