Week #24 - Dec 11 to Dec 17

2024-12-18

I had my first final exam of the semester yesterday, which explains this late week note. It was an essay exam and I had to hire a proctor in order to write it. I didn't even know that was a thing! But apparently it is so. I went to a small local college and took my exam in an empty classroom. There was the proctor there who supervised my exam. I haven't been in a classroom since my first degree so all of a sudden, it felt real that I am back to school. I don't think I did very well, I've never done well with timed essays. It's just so much pressure! Oh well. It is done now.

Anywho.

The last week was a bit quiet. Over the weekend, I spent most of it studying for finals. We did hold a party for my aunt and one of my cousins (he is not her son, just another cousin I have). My brother cooked karioka. It was deliciouuus. Karioka is like a ball of deep fried glutinous rice. It's more denser than mochi, and its outer texture is like fried bread. My brother made salted caramel to drizzle over it and it was the perfect touch! It was a fun time but a party on a Sunday is never a good idea. I was suffering from Monday blues the day after.

In media news, I'm still reading Anna Karenina. I've switched to reading this full time because I want to finish it by the end of the year. It's 900+ paged book and I'm on page 300 so I might have a fighting chance, hah.

I am caught up on the manga, Ao no Hana, Utsuwa no Mori. It's honestly so good. The last chapter was a bit, hmm for my tastes. The story is coming to an end but I feel like the ending that's coming up is being wrapped up too neatly, especially after a lot of tension. Maybe the last few chapters will turn out differently.

Someone recommended I listen to AKRIILA. I took a listen to one of their latest albums and it's actually really good! She's Chilean and according to Rate Your Music, she makes alt-pop. I'm terrible with genres but I'd definitely say it's electronic club-type music. A lot of autotune so if that's not your thing, I'd stay away.

This week, my top artists were: Mitski, AKRIILA, NewJeans, The Strokes, G-DRAGON, Julie Christmas, Green Day, and Sufjan Stevens. Julie Christmas came onto my radar after @HailsandAles mentioned her. I really enjoy her, she kinda reminds me of Queen Adreena or Daisy Chainsaw. Kind of sludgy metal. Worth a listen!