the instant-response era
The short notice emails I used to get have now turned into short notice WhatsApp messages. And unfortunately, I have just come around to the notion that in this day and age, no one owes you an immediate response, nor are you forced to give one immediately (in most cases). I have this dumb smart rectangle in my hand that basically cut any and every boundary of communication pre-email fun times, and now it's been so ingrained in me to double-check at even the slightest rumble that I don't think I appreciate just how good we had it in the early 2000s. Honestly, messaging for business sucks. I don't think I want to hear another Slack notification for as long as I live (and god forbid I hear the Microsoft Teams ringtone again). People should only contact me by email, and I don't think I'd actually have owned a phone if it wasn't so apparent how much I use it for so many things.
I actually did end up getting this minimal launcher and it has definitely improved (and by that, I mean significantly decreased) my phone usage. It's kind of ugly, but that's okay. I'm still getting used to the auto-launch feature that it has -- I only have to type in a couple letter before the app just launches immediately, and it always catches me off-guard. It's still really cool though. By making the UI layout so ugly and plain, I have no desire to look at it, though any time I still open Instagram it's a lost cause, so I've been trying to disable notifications for the time being. I will probably have to open it more often when the fall semester starts though, because all of our club PR is done on that darn thing. I also have to start physically remembering to do my Duolingo lessons every day now that I don't have the widget on my home screen, because it's embarrassing to see that my calendar has been peppered with Streak Freezes for the last month and a half.
oops.
instagram is both a curse and a blessing
Instagram is so fun and also ohmygodwhycantiturnthisoff. I love seeing what my friends find funny, but also if my entire communication on Instagram is just sending reels back and forth to a few people, sure it's cute, but at that point wouldn't it be better just talking in hieroglyphics or some other archaic form of communication? I don't know. I think having to scour the Instagram algorithm for a few seconds of funny content, only to get a reaction that is probably less than a full sentence long and abbreviated with emojis is not something I really want to pursue anymore. I would uninstall that app, were I not using it for a (self-proclaimed) grander purpose of archiving all my memories in monthly dumps.
For the uneducated (though please understand that I envy your unrattled, non-internet rotted brain with all the possible jealously in my heart), a monthly dump on Instagram is a collection of photos that intend to summarize what occurred during that month and show events that you deem important. For me, someone who absolutely cannot fathom the passage of time and is prone to forgetting a LOT of things, the monthly dump serves as a collection of memories that I can share with friends and reminisce over with together, and use as a starting conversation to catch up later with others who I haven't connected with in a while. Is there a better way of doing this? Sure. However, was this the most accessible way for me (at the time)? Also yes. The internet unfortunately has the perk of being, well, world and wide at the same time (and also free), for the most part. It's also an ensnaring web.
in-person? more like let me get out of here-person (and cold pasta)
Our lovely internship bosses asked us to come in-person on an incredibly short notice (one day prior). I should've expected the short notice, but I think what was worse was coming on campus in almighty-Hell weather, walking into the startup building, and realizing that the startup I was working for didn't actually have an office space there. So yeah, they lied about having an office space too.
That's not cool.
This gaggle of interns would've quit one-by-one were it not for the generous $20/hr pay. It's incredibly unfortunate but I've decided to make the most out of it. We all ended up working in the campus library and I have to admit it's a nice change of pace. I don't usually go outside anyway so I've been taking the time to catch up with professors and friends both new and old. I'm going to Playa Bowls with a friend later today to catch up, heading to the mall with another group on Friday when I leave work early (because there's nothing to do at this rate), and meeting up with the new orientation leaders (because I was one last summer and it's nice to catch up :D ). I'm only going to use work as a means to leave my house for this week, lol.
I also unironically enjoy cold pasta. Boiling plain pasta and then putting the just-taken-out-of-the-fridge can of red sauce in my bowl without heating it up is delicious. If the pasta was also recently refrigerated, even better. I can't tell you why. I don't really know why. But my mom made a lot of pasta this week and I don't really like the pesto sauce she buys from Costco, so this is how I eat my pasta.
birthday redemption arc
When I last posted, I was devastated that my friends had never planned anything. I learned that it was a lot more awkward and finicky than I had expected it to be. My two closest friends had been planning for the past two and a half weeks (and had gone to over four different malls in that time to get me a gift!) trying to figure out what to do. It did not help that a mutual friend was moving and so most of the group would be busy that weekend to help them out. Moreover, my mother had insisted on making a meetup, so I ended up just doing that work for them by inviting only a few people since my house isn't even that big. They got me presents (both cursed and wholesome) and obviously I'm going to archive that birthday card like I do with all of them. I'm so normal about birthdays, clearly (/s).
To be blunt, they could've clearly done better (OR AT LEAST SAID SOMETHING?????) before my mom got the ball rolling and knocked out any potential plans they had. I've had to contact other moms for birthdays on multiple occasions, and they did have my mom's number, so I think it would not have hurt to at least send a 'heads-up' message. However, this means two good things:
- we're getting the band back together (they're taking me on an outing at the end of the week to do what they had intended on in the first place), and
- I'M FINALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO VISIT THE CAT SHELTER THIS WEEKEND!!!!
I am SO excited I've been waiting for literal months since I found out a friend was volunteering there and now I get to go meet the ittiest-bittiest cats ever and pet them and skghdlijghdkjfbnjgkmns yeah I can't wait for this week to be over with. I want a pet cat so badly I need companionship and just a little guy.
But yeah, it's been a whirlwind of a few days. There's a lot of stuff I want to just talk about because I can, but I'm going to leave them in the drafts to let them stew for a bit before I can fully start yapping about whatever.