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Media Log

Reading: The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 3

This volume is the latest reading for my book club, and it'll be my second read of it. In this volume, a foreign envoy and trade caravan bring new mysteries for Maomao to investigate. Along the way, we get a glimpse into the lives of women in the rear palace, particularly the middle- and low-level consorts and their serving women.

I adore this series so much, and I'm thrilled it's being adapted into an anime. Even though it's a light novel, there is a LOT to analyze regarding how oppressive patriarchal systems rooted in tradition can cause so much senseless struggle and pain.

Miniblog

2026.01.08

Happy New Year! I have one resolution this year, and that's to create more than I consume. With the world being what it is right now, I often find myself lying on the couch after work, endlessly doomscrolling. Sometimes I do this to immerse myself in the global dumpster fire or to distract myself from it. While I think it's good to stay up-to-date on the news as well as take a break from it, either thing in excess can really weaken or break your spirit.

But I've found there are two things that reliably pull me out of a doomspiral.

One: "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It's fun, catchy, and you can't not dance to it. It's good for the soul.

And two: making something tangible with my own hands. This could be making food, working on a craft, or repairing something broken. There's just something about transferring my creative energy to something outside of me, to something that I can touch and hold. I feel grounded when I create something. It reminds me that I'm part of this world and that I can contribute to and change it.

I'm grateful to have pushed through 2025, but I have a feeling that my endurance will be tested again in 2026. So, this year, I'm going to keep on making.

Current Projects

Week of 2026.01.04

Webdev

I've got a new layout! I've learned a lot of about web design since I started this site in September of last year. I knew with the start of the new year I was going to refresh my layout to better reflect my personal aesthetic and preferred workflow. Some of the design choices I made:

  • I stopped using a 11ty, a static site generator. I used it previously because I wanted a blog with tags and an archive for my site. However, I found that writing long-form blogs was taking time and attention from the things I really wanted work on: pixel art and my crochet digital garden. I also found 11ty to be unwieldy, not because it's bad or hard to use, but that it was more power than I really needed for this little online portfolio.
  • I took a minimal approach. While I still love my old layout, to me it felt "heavy" to look at. So many big elements, headers, and boxes smothered the images of my pixel art and crochet. (I also hated having to switch between the light and dark modes, according to the time of the day/my mood.) This time around, I opted for something closer to mid-tone in color and with fewer boxes and borders. Now it feels like my content can really breathe!
  • I added more content to my index page. The index is the first impression. While there might be plenty of fun, interesting things to find behind the doors of other pages, a visitor won't look for them if the front entrance doesn't inspire curiosity. So, now, I've added everything I think is important to the index page! And to me it looks more like a magazine spread. Lots to look at, read, and explore.

That said, this layout is still a work in progress. I've got more art to make and features to add. I've also been learning Javascript in my free time, and it's been fun to tinker with web functionality. I've been using my Colors TCG Card Post as my Javascript playground, so check that out if you wanna see my (very, very novice) work!

Pixel Art

I bought the Pixsquare app for my iPad, and it's been a game changer. Until recently, I've been using Aseprite exclusively for pixel art work. I love it, but it took me long time to make pixels because I was using a mouse and keyboard to draw. With Pixsquare, I can use a stylus to create pixel-perfect lines and make art without needing to import a hand-drawn sketch beforehand. Pixels that took me about three hours to make, now just take one!

I've got so many ideas for future work, including icons, shrines, and old school pixel art dolls and bases! twinkling stars

Crochet

Honestly, crochet has been on sidelines recently as most of my creative energy has gone into working on the new layout. But now that the foundation is laid, I can get back into it! I've been working on a challenging doily pattern called Auryn, and it's been quite a learning process. I've been jotting down notes along the way, and I'll have more to share about it when I'm done!