My vow to not metaphorically cry in front of people (and other goals for the New Year).

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I am a person who needs structure when it comes to accomplishing tasks. Without a plan of some kind, I tend to, um, have a nervous breakdown and cry on the floor in the fetal position. An exaggeration, of course, but it’s not a great feeling when you try to do something, not knowing what the heck you’re doing and realizing pretty quickly that you’re going to fail miserably.

Now, having a plan doesn’t always work for me, as we all know from my failure to do reading challenges, but I figured I would to make goals for myself again. This is especially because, I’ve been having success reading books lately based on the simple concept of reading what I want to read and having some type of informal deadline attached to it. This small success has inspired me to create specific goals for myself for the New Year.

Now, I don’t like the idea of New Year’s resolutions because I feel like, more often than not, they’re not specific enough and I’m most likely going to ditch them early on. I am going to make them specific goals that I can work toward throughout the year. And, of course, because I know myself, I am going to limit myself to a relatively low amount of goals so, you know, I don’t overwhelm myself and cry like a little girl. I don’t want to write my next post from a psychiatric hospital, thank you.

Read at least 30 books

After trying to do so many reading challenges and failing year after year, I thought it was finally time to try a new approach. Last year, I’ve read a grand total of four books, which is actually an improvement for me given that I hadn’t read any books the two years prior. This year, I, of course, want to read more than four books. I was originally going to set a goal of reading two books a month because I thought this was a feasible goal for me. But the highest amount of books I read in a year was around that range, so I just increased it to 30. I wanted to go with a reasonable number that surpasses the highest amount that I’ve read. Now, you might ask yourself, “Kenny, why are you setting an unrealistic goal for yourself after spending nearly two years not reading anything? You know you’re setting yourself up for failure again.” Well, that is not the plan, but knowing me, it might head toward that direction later on. I just thought reading two to three books a month was a steady enough pace for me to not be bored nor overwhelmed. So far, as of the end of January, I have read two books. So, for now, I’m not crying.

Be consistently watching at least one TV show or movie at a time.

Now, I know most people do not have the goal of watching more television, especially people who are a lot more productive than I am. But I am a huge TV fan and, sadly, I just have not been watching as much television as I’d want to. It’s very difficult for me to sit and watch an entire movie or TV episode, so I usually have to watch a little at a time. Because of this, it was difficult for me to keep up with the shows I was watching because they were so many of them and with a lot of them, I wasn’t really watching them consistently so I forgot what I watching. to begin with,. I am hoping to watch at least one TV show or movie consistently.I’m tired of watching seven minutes of a TV episode, take a break for seven years and watch another 9 minutes. It’s not very productive.

Write at least one short story

Even though I love writing and I consider myself a writer, I haven’t really been writing as consistently as I should, especially when it comes to fiction. It’s been a few years since I’ve written short stories. The problem is I always get frustrated because I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. The plan is to start writing little by little and hopefully finish at least one short story by the end of the year. Hopefully, without me wanting to throw my laptop out of my window. I kind of need my laptop.

Complete the outline of my novel

Speaking of writing, I have the plans to write a novel, eventually, but of course I have no idea when or if that will ever happen. But I’ve been working on the outline for the novel for so long that I just want it to be finished, hopefully before I reach the age of 90.

Spend more time on other hobbies

Over the years, I have dabbled in interests and hobbies that I’m interested in but haven’t spent a lot of time doing. The main things being crafts and building things like model kits and legos. Obviously I’m not very good at any of them but that’s mostly because I haven’t had a lot of practice and experience. Part of this is because I get easily frustrated when I’m doing these things. I need to spend ore time doing these things, so I don’t have a nervous breakdown while trying to draw a pigeon. No one wants to see that.

Nostalgia Battles: Why does it always have to be about nostalgia? Why can’t it be about sushi? (Netflix VS Amazon Prime Video)

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Once upon a time, the only way someone could watch a TV show or movie would be to have cable. Now, we have the options of various streaming services that we don’t even need to have a TV anymore. Of course the problem now is in order to watch all of the shows and movies we want to watch, we have to rely on multiple sources. For me, I use Netflix and Amazon Prime. Unfortunately, I don’t use either as much as I should, and I’ve been thinking about getting rid of one of them, but I’ve been having difficulty deciding which one. I feel like in order to watch everything I want, I need to keep both, even though I use Netflix, at best, here and there and I rarely even watch Amazon Prime right now. I am hoping that will change over time but in the meantime, I am keeping both for now but I can’t help but to think if I had to get rid of one of them, which one would it be? I guess this is my attempt in being a minimalist.

Of course, to be fair, I am only comparing Netflix with Amazon Prime Video and will not factor in the free shipping and other features, you get with a Prime membership; otherwise, it would be a slaughter, and I can’t afford to get any blood in Nostalgicism Studios right now. Clean-up crews are expensive.

In terms of functionality, Netflix is easier to use. It’s easier to find things. And whenever I’m watching a TV show on Amazon Prime, I find a pain to switch to a different episode. I do like how with Amazon Prime, they have a sidebar with the names and pictures of the actors who appear in any given scene, along with any songs that are in the scene and other tidbits of information. It saves me from looking up the information myself. Functionality is not the only thing that’s a factor here. I actually have to like the content. And this is where I’m torn.

Now, this is a nostalgia blog, so it makes logical sense to start with things that remind me of my past. Now, for me, I pretty much watch everything, so there’s a wide variety of shows I am nostalgic about. Cartoons. Crime Procedurals. Sitcoms. Supernatural Shows. Comedy Dramas. Yeah, pretty much everything. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime have a number of shows that I used to watch all the time that make me nostalgic for the past. Netflix has Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds and, of course, one of my favorite all-time shows, Dexter. Amazon has Grimm, Dead Like Me and True Blood. Yeah, apparently I had an affection for shows where a million people die per episode. And brooding vampires, I guess.

For me, it’s more difficult to be nostalgic for movies because I don’t really watch the,m and the movies that I do find nostalgic are not found on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. One of the very few movies I find nostalgic found on Neflix is Hot Fuzz. It’s not something I would normally watch but I was dragged by a friend to watch it in a theater when it originally came out in 2007. It has since become a fond memory.

Oddly enough, I find movies that are more recent nostalgic as well. I guess it’s the overall feeling of the movie, which what I got from Logan Luncky, which is is available on Amazon. Despite it being quite recent (2017), it reminded me of the past. It’s most likely because of the close-knit characters and the friendly back and forth between them, and how relatable the characters are.

There is a lot of original content on both Netflix and Amazon but they each have a different focus. Netflix has significantly more original content than Amazon does, but Netflix has more of a tendency to focus more on quantity than quality, specifically when it comes to movies.

In general, Netflix has a much wider variety than Amazon. When it comes to original TV shows on Amazon, there’s a lot of crime procedurals and action dramas nut not much else. With Netflix, there’s literally something for everyone.

Although I love to use Amazon for other purposes, I just don’t use it nearly as much as Netflix. I went through the Tv shows and movies available on Amazon Prime Video, and I was impressed than I was the last time I browsed it. Even so, it’s unanimous. Netflix wins.

Playing a giant game of Jenga, but with unread books

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For the longest time, I avoided reading and my towers of unfinished book but after rediscovering book-related YouTube channels I’ve been inspired to read again.

Unfortunately, a side effect of this was I was not comfortable with the majority of the books that I owned because most of it was nonfiction, and I wanted to get away from that. So…

This happened.

Yes, I bought all of these books. And that’s not even all of them. In my defense,they were fairly “affordable”, and I was honestly tired of looking at my countless number of random nonfiction books of various random topics. I have a book on bookbinding. I have a book about death. I have a memoir of a man who bought a Korean Deli. Oh and I have a book about how to draw happy stick figures. I’m a very eclectic person.

But I wanted to change all of that, so I went on a buying frenzy and focused on YA fiction. Now, I am in my early 30s, and you would think I would feel uncomfortable about buying books means for kids and teens who are 15+ years younger than me. But no. For those of who suddenly forgot what this blog is about, I am all about nostalgia.

When I was a teenager, I didn’t do much reading even though I loved books. I was one of those people who would borrow books but not read them. That then grew to buying books I wouldn’t read. If you have taken a psychology class, feel free to indulge me with an informal analysis of my behavior. I didn’t take advantage of reading young adult fiction when I was an actual young adult, so I’m starting now.

Going into this, I knew I had to start with a strategy because I have a tendency of buying things I don’t use. I wanted to focus on Young Adult fiction because it’s easier to find books in first person narration, which is what I’m comfortable reading. I wanted to pick up as many books as possible to build up my fiction books, so my strategy was to buy any books that appealed to me that were on the cheaper side. I am Asian, after all. But in all seriousness, although I wanted to start with a good amount of fiction, this will be an ongoing thing. I just hope I don’t end up buying a book about umbrellas.

Being the only Asian who can’t make fried rice

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It’s been a while since I’ve cried about being held hostage by piles of unread and unfinished books. That is not because I’ve been super productive and reading book after book. Yeah, no. That did not happen. I am not the Asian male Rory Gilmore.

For those of you not familiar with my sad adventures of reading, I have been struggling with reading all my life until I finally made progress back in 2015 when I did a book challenge. I then fell back into not reading again for over two years until I finally finished a book earlier this year. After accomplishing such a major task, I tried to do a book challenge again this year and… let’s just say, it’s not going well.

Since my initial post about starting the reading challenges again, I have finished one book. Yes, One book in 11 months. That’s not really a surprise though. I am on the verge of finishing another book but clearly, this is not working.

From time to time, I have browsed book-related videos on YouTube, but nothing really stuck in terms of motivating me to actually read. I was just like, “I am sure you’re a lovely person, Jennifer, but I hate you for being more productive than me.” Until recently.

A while ago, back when I got my bookshelves, I wanted to have some inspiration on how to style and organize them, and I came across this very helpful video.

I then browsed a few of her other videos, liked what I saw and just stopped for no apparent reason. The story of my life, really. On a whim, I decided to browse book-related videos again, and came across her channel again. I then browsed several other book-related channels, and I became highly motivated to get back to reading again.

However, changes needed to be made. I decided to give up on the reading challenges because it was just not helping to motivate me to read. I have to go back to basics, and just read what I want to read based on my mood and interest. I don’t have a clear strategy on how to do this at this very moment, but I am going to start with reading what I’ve started and picking a few additional books and going from there.

I’ve also decided to start reading more YA fiction, and I’ve since bought a dozen or so YA novels. This is, of course, heavily influenced by YouTube, because pretty much all of the more popular book channels focus on YA fiction. Most of my books consist of nonfiction and memoirs. It’s difficult to find fiction books that I like because it’s difficult for me to read stories in third person narration, and a lot of fiction, specifically adult fiction, is in third person narration. Oddly enough, it turns out that most YA novels are in first-person narration, and I’ve been in a researching and buying frenzy since.

As a result, I’ve also been organizing and decluttering my booksjelves because I want to focus more on fiction right now, and there’s a lot of nofiction on my shelves. I’m not getting rid of anything. I’m just simply putting books I don’t think I’m going to be reading in the next 250 years in storage.

I don’t know if any of this will work. I hope it works out. But one thing I know for sure: it will be better than what I’ve doing now, which is basically nothing.

Metaphorically displaying my dirty laundry on a piece of furniture

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For years, I’ve wanted a bookshelf, but I had trouble committing to a bookshelf due to indecision and the daunting task of finding room for it, assembling it, deciding what to put on it and how to display everything the way I want to. Instead, I made due with two small TV stands and a small glass cabinet as my main places to display my books and various collections.

On a whim, I took my father’s bookshelf that he didn’t really use. It held CD cases filled with Chinese DVDs that my father was no longer watching. I was like, “Yeah, no. My action figures need that bookshelf more than the DVDs do.” I know. I have my priorities in place.

I immediately filled it with stuff and over time, I’ve made little changes here and there. I was content with it for a while, but something just bothered me about it. I didn’t exactly know what it was. Every day I would look at it, and it would bother me more and more. It looked cluttered. It felt like I was using it as storage. I am TECHNICALLY using the bottom half as storage, but it looked too messy for my liking. When I’m looking at my bookshelf, I want to feel like I’m displaying my books and collections. I don’t want to feel like i’m having dirty laundry shown in a public area, and that’s how I felt.

Now, if I were an extremely organized person, I would take off everything for the shelves, declutter and put back the items in a methodical manner. I am not one of those people.

The changes it needed were relatively small, and I had a good idea on what I needed to do. I just avoided doing it. Well, I looked at the cluttered mess one more time, and swiftly got to work.

Starting with the bottom shelf, I took out everything that was not a Gundam kit. It already looked much better. I then took the boats I was storing on top of the bookshelf, and placed them vertically next to the Gundam kits. Perfect. It already did not look like a storage unit.

I then placed the Lego sets on top of the bookshelf. Originally, I had them facing the front, so you can see the front of the box. After doing some rearranging in other areas, I decided to just put the boxes on their sides, and put a container of Legos next to them, in order to free up some drawer space.

After that, I organized my books according to subject matter. Now, of course, these are not all of my books. They’re just my non-fiction books. My fiction books are in another room. I am not a perfectionist by any means. I think the multiple posts of me crying in front of towers of books I own but haven’t read yet has established that. But I don’t like ordering my books in any other way other than size because seeing one small book sandwiched together between two large books is going to make my left eye twitch. and I have enough problems. Surprisingly though, it hasn’t been that much of a problem, and I do like how my books are at least grouped together by category.

The last thing I did was I finally addressed what I like to call the shelf of death. OK, not really, but I’m good with coming up with nicknames for shelves, aren’t I? The problem with the shelf is that I can’t store large items on it and it’s not at eye level. When I got the bookshelf, I adjusted the shelves to my liking but there were certain shelves that I couldn’t move, which is why the bookshelf is the way it is.

I left it alone for a little while, and focused on organizing other areas. As I was struggling to figure out where to put certain things, I thought hey, why not store them on the bookshelf of death? It helped that the items were book-related (maps, mini books, bookmarks, etc.)

Overall, I am very happy with the overall look of my bookshelf. I just wish I had room for two, heh.

If you are a female blogger and you are sick, I will take over your blog for you, and there will be a lot of Michelle Branch videos.

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I have shared my fondness for realistic comedy dramas before but, unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options on the big screen. The comedy dramas that do appear on the big screen are largely book adaptations or true stories, and they’re slightly unrealistic. I guess no one wants to see a movie about a girl eating cereal, going to work, texting their friends for five hours about some guy she kind of likes but is a jerk while watching Jane the Virgin and crying herself to sleep because she has such a boring, mundane life. And, of course, I am not projecting. :p

I tried to find the most recent comedy drama that aired in major theaters that was not a book adaptation or true story that could kind of, sort of happen in real life, and this was what I came up with.

Yeah, the most realistic recent comedy drama that I could come up is from 2011 and stars Steve Carell.

Now, if we move from films released in major theaters to films with limited releases, we get more of a selection of comedy dramas. This, of course, has to deal with the difficulty of executing most genres with budget, scheduling and other restraints. Now, the problem with smaller films is being able to watch them because they’re not readily available. Well, fret no more because Netflix and other streaming services have a good selection of smaller films. I know. I know. Many people would want brand new movies that came out two days ago over indie films from 2012, but it’s not realistic, which I guess fits in with this post, heh. I have found a number of film that are, as of right now, available on Netflix that could happen in real life but have unrealistic elements. I am OK with it though. I literally get bored watching fighting scenes.

OK. That was kind of cool.

Adventures in Public School
A teenage boy, who has been homeschooled his entire life by his single, overprotective mother, decides to go to public school and offers to takes over the schedule of a girl who is on a leave of absence due to a medical condition.

OK, the premise doesn’t make 100% sense. Why is a teenage boy taking over the schedule of a female student who’s on medical leave? If I had to guess, it was just something cute a writer came up with. I could imagine the production meeting right now.

“I like the idea, but we need the film to be about something more than a movie about a homeschooled kid going to a public high school. That’s been done before by hundreds of hipster student filmmakers.”

“He could take over the schedule of a dying male student?”

“Great idea, but make it a girl.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so, damnit!”

“OK.”

While the premise doesn’t make sense, I quite enjoyed the laid-back, quirky tone and, of course, you can’t help but to root for the main character and relate to him at the same time.

People You May Know (The one With Nick Thune)
A woman desperate to further her public relations career offers her help to a recluse unfamiliar with social media with fabricating his life online in hopes to make him a viral sensation.

I find it quite surprising that there’s actually more than one movie with the title “People You May Know.” Although we are all familiar with the phase because of you know what, it’s long-ish for a movie title and not really that catchy. Despite this, it is an appropriate title for this particular story.

When it comes to social media, it is easy to portray your life the way you want it. You’re showing the parts of your lie you want to show and hiding the parts you don’t. This film, of course, takes this to the extreme, but it is relatively true for most of today’s society. Thankfully, for a person who thinks he’s still living in 2004, I find social media kind of useless for me and my lifestyle. Yay for living in the past.

The Little Death
Five couples deal with their, or their significant other’s, strange sexual desires and the consequences that come with them.

I don’t often talk about things from different countries, but I do want to explore pop culture from outside of the United States. Now, of course, I am not going to say this film is a good representation of Australia, but it’s a cute, quirky film that’s a bit on the dark side, but at the same time it is lighthearted, amusing and has some heartfelt moments. It is a strange topic, but shows the challenges of relationships, the decisions we make and the rewards and consequences that comes from them. Mostly the consequences, heh.

How many years will it take for someone to be nostalgic for Twitter?

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I have to admit that I am someone who finds nostalgic in pretty much everything, even the things that I didn’t experience and enjoy. Mixed tapes being just one example. I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s and by then, cassettes were pretty much obsolete. The only time I’ve ever used cassettes was when I had to record something for a school project in the fifth grade. Mixed tapes weren’t really a thing when I was growing up, but I wasn’t really into music back then, so I wouldn’t really know. Despite this, I can’t help but to feel nostalgic whenever mixed tapes or cassettes is brought up. I guess I’m fond of anything that was once popular but is obsolete now. I wonder how many years if will take for me to be nostalgic for Pokemon Go. Oh, that’s right. Never.

There are a number of things that still exist that I’ve missed, but I’m not sure if I would experience them again. And if I did, if it would feel the same as it did before. Two of these, of course, are specific to New York City, where I call my home, despite being there for the least amount of time. I have spent 20 years now in Florida, but I’ve never considered myself a Floridian. I do not enjoy feeling like I’m melting 10 months out of the year.

Sigh. The joys of living in Florida. Let me tell you, I will not miss Florida. Well, maybe in a snowstorm.

Penpal Letters

Although writing letters still exist in this world full of technological advances, it’s been slowly dying out in the past 20 years, like journalism and blogging and having a conversation with someone without at least one of you glued to the screen of your phone like a zombie. But, on the other hand, phone zombies are very on trend right now.

Although I briefly had a penpal from Italy in the fourth grade.it really didn’t amount to anything and I didn’t get interested in having penpals until I was well into my 20s. It was a combination of nostalgia and watching YouTube videos of people receiving penpal packages. I wanted to find a penpal who was close to my age, but it was difficult. I ended up finding a penpal who was a bit younger than me, but I already knew her, so that helped. It was lovely exchanging letters and packages with her, but I just did not feel comfortable with it, and I felt I was forcing myself to write the letters. I wanted it to feel natural but instead, it felt like I was doing a 25 page essay on the American Revolution.

NYC Chinatown

When I was in New York, my family and I would go to to Chinatown every weekend. It was a family tradition. Of We didn’t really do anything special. My parents won errands while us kids just went to various stores and stood around looking at stuff. Some people might say that it was no different than grocery shopping. But you just don’t get the same feeling of nostalgia shopping at Wal-Mart.

There is a part of Orlando where there is a cluster of Asian stores that somewhat resembles a vague idea of what a Chinatown is. It’s just not the same. It’s not as lively and there isn’t as many places to go to. But then again, I’m comparing apples to oranges. It’s just that Orlando is a really sad orange.

NYC Subway

OK, so for those of you who take the Subway, or the equivalent, on a regular basis, you may think I’m crazy for being nostalgic for public transportation. Well, keep in mind that I moved out of New York when I was a child. As a result, I’m quite disappointed that I didn’t grow taking the subway as a teenager and young adult. Actually, I remember when I was like ten, I was on the bus with my mother, and I was jealous of seeing teenagers taking the bus by themselves. And this was on a BUS. A bus. I guess I’m more nostalgia for experiences I missed in New York because my parents were like, “Yeah, we want to slowly die from the humidity and THE SUN. Off to Florida we go. Clearly, my nostalgia here has been romanticized a bit, but I still miss the Subway.

Who’s not nostalgic for the morning rush and being in a subway car full of 100+ angry, cranky New Yorkers who want to secretly kill you? :p

Nostalgia Battles: Hmm. I wonder if Beyonce ever cries about not having the time to read Harry Potter. (Reading VS. Writing)

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I like to classify people into one of four categories: People who are into reading and writing, People who are into math and science, People who are into neither reading and writing or math and science and, of course, the magical unicorns who are just good at everything and we should just worship them as if they’re Beyonce.

Hey, I’m the one who does the crying around here, Beyonce. If you want to cry and talk about your problems, start your own blog.

For many years, I have struggled with reading and writing consistently. I don’t really consider myself a reader because I just don’t feel likebI read enough. At the same time, I’ve always considered myself a writer, but I barely write. It’s funny how that works, but I just feel more connected as a writer than a reader.

It’s actually difficult to define my relationship with reading. I’ve always loved books, but I don’t remember reading a lot as a child. I would go to the library a lot and checkout books but wouldn’t actually finish or even read a lot of the books. As I got older, the problem got worse. I was still borrowing books, but I wasn’t reading them. Now, there is no need for me to go to the library because I’m crying over stacks and stacks of unread books that I own.

And, yes, if you are one of those people who can read 100 books in a year, I hate you. I respect you, but I hate you. :p

I enjoy reading for two reason. One, is for the nostalgia factor. It just takes me back to a simpler time and makes me long for the past. Second, whenever I read a book, I feel like I’m transported into someone else’s life and getting a glimpse of their life. It often gives me inspiration for my own stories. I often get inspiration from movies and TV shows but I feel more accomplished when I finish a book as opposed to a movie or TV show. I know, what a surprise. How dare me for feeling more accomplished finishing Beloved than Mean Girls.

I am a man of very few talents. I know useless TV trvia from TV shows that others have stopped watching seven years ago. I can organize your office within a reasonable amount of time. Oh, and I can write, I guess.

Like with reading, I don’t remember much about how I got into writing. I guess I always had an interest in writing, but I didn’t realize it was a passion until I was in my teens. I didn’t really write outside of a school setting until I was well into my 20s.

When I do write for fun, I often get frustrated because my writing never comes out the way I want to. I guess I should write more often, heh. I do consider writing as the main passion for me because I just can’t think of any other way to best express myself. I guess I could try interpretative dance.

OK. Maybe not. I’m not Asian enough.

It’s difficult for me to choose a preference. I love writing, but every time I write, I want to throw something out the window. Reading is far easier, but it can still be difficult. For the sake of nostalgia and my sanity, reading is the winner.

My commercial for Nostalgicism: A man who is not Asian is not in front of his computer and is not crying and the song “Redneck Woman” is not playing in the background.

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Since I no longer have a TV, commercials have not really been a major part in my life like they used to be. Whenever I encounter ads, it’s mostly through either YouTube or podcasts. And, of course, it’s usually the same 15 ads. Lately, I’ve been coming across this commercial from Wells Fargo, and it leaves me in a state of confusion every time I see it.

I’m confused by everything in this commercial. If they’re rebuilding their image, a montage of random people with a Black Keys song isn’t the best way to go about it. The commercial just doesn’t match their intention. I’m not thinking, “Oh, great. They’re trying to rebuild their image! They’re making changes!” I’m thinking more along the lines of, “Oh, it’s nice that I recognize this song, but why are these people smiling?”

If they wanted to change their image to a more positive light, then I would have gone the Publix route. Something sentimental and heartfelt with subtle instrumental music that will fit in with a Hallmark commercial.

Of course, there are commercials that can pull you right with the right song and the appropriate visuals.

Some just need a light upbeat song and a cute story line.

Some don’t even need a story. They just need an upbeat song and a montage of random people.

While others have more complex stories.

Seriously who would know that this came from Windex? You go, Windex.

Having the right song in a commercial is crucial. It must fit with the story you’re trying to tell. Your intended customer must relate to it. And, most of all, it must appeal to Asians.

It’s finally happening!!! A post to celebrate Asian ladies all over the world. Oh, and I have updates too.

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It’s been very quiet here at Nostalgicism. There are cobwebs on the walls. The crickets are chirping. The relentless mobs of angry Asian moms have discovered Green Tea Frappuccinos and are now taking their bamboo torches to Starbucks. If you live in an area with a large Asian population and you like getting Green Tea Frappuccinos, I strongly suggest that you make your own if you want to avoid getting tofu thrown at you by angry Asian ladies.

And, yes, I chose a video uploaded by an Asian woman because I like supporting Asian ladies. Go Asian ladies. :p

Given the nature of my blog, I have posted about a wide variety of different subjects. TV. Books. Music. Movies. Technology. It varies. I don’t really talk about my personal life outside of pop culture that often, and that’s fine by me. Despite this, I do have a lot of updates that are a bit on the personal side. Brace yourself.

I have started my next project

I’ve been wanting to start a new project, but was having trouble figuring out what exactly. I finally decided to build a Lego replica of the Big Bang Theory apartment. I’m making a little bit of progress. At this point, I have not used the official Big Bang Theory apartment set, but I will eventually use it for props. I’ve just been using parts from my collection and bought various parts online and pretty much building my own version of it.

I am eventually going to start writing again, but I’m having trouble figuring out how to go about it. Like with everything, it’ll happen…eventually.

I still don’t have a Smartphone, and I have no regrets.

I’ve talked about not having a phone right from the very beginning. Hardly anyone calls me, and I literally use my phone, at most, twice a day, and that’s only to call someone for a specific reason. I wasn’t lying in my bio when I said I still think I’m in the year 2004.

They now make Dark Chocolate Twix.

Roughly 12 years ago, I discovered Dark Chocolate Twix at a college bookstore. At the time, it was limited edition, and shortly after, it disappeared.

Now, in a world where even Tropical Sour Patch Kids exist, and every brand is expanding their flavor, Dark chocolate Twix is now available widely.

Surprise, I still don’t keep up with the news.

For a while, I wanted to keep up with the news because I did not enjoy feeling like I was out of the loop on current events. Needless to say, I failed.

Now, I haven’t been trying to keep up with the news, but I do make more of an effort to read the headlines on Yahoo. And it helps that I listen to podcasts, so I can at least gets news from people who are more imformed than I am.

I’ve officially given up on Twitter

Besides a FaceBook account I barely use, I don’t use social media but I wanted to start socializing and networking and thought Twitter was a good place to start. Ultimately, I realized Twitter wasn’t really my thing and quickly gave up.

I’m still maintaining my on-again off-again relationship with television

I sometimes find it silly that one of my main goals right now is to watch more TV. I do think that being a massive TV fan that I am, I’m just not watching as much as I used to. Right now, I’m in a TV slump right now, and I’ve been watching a little TV here and there, but I haven’t been committing to anything right now.

I’ve been reading again…sort of.

Finding the time and energy to read the endless tower of books I’ve been meaning to read for years has not be easy. In fact, it only took me over two years to finish one book.

Once again, I’m trying the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge, but my own variation of it, and I have since finished one book. And, yes, I know it’s the end of June. But, hey, it’s progress, and I have since been reading on a semi-regular basis. At this pace, I might end up finishing another book in just eight months. Hooray.