(As of October 2024)
Creating
- Inspiration gallery/database (for public/internet use) – I did make it, but got bored with idea halfway through. Maybe I’d pick it up again later, who knows?
- Chainmail jewellery – Yep! Still going strong. Take a peek: PRIA.
- A 3-novella fiction volume – Did give it thought, but no substantial progress. Shall continue working on it next month.
- An illustrated children’s book – Got the drafting and planning done, but nowhere close to the finished version yet.
- Clay representations of my car, tent, dog, guitar, and turtle (sing with me, “These are a few of my favourite things…”) – Yep! Pictures somewhere here.
- Herbal smoking blends – handpicked! – Dried and processed.
Bioengineering
- Running – …Nope
- Gym rings – Barely.
- Pushups – Barely.
- Breathwork – A bit.
Anticipating
- An afternoon swim in a local lake – Monday morning, Oct. 7th. A cool, windy day. Was in the water for the whole of forty minutes.
- Visits with friends and extended family – Yep.
- More wandering-abouts in Toronto – Didn’t end up going, sadly. I did visit the CN Tower with my family for a day, though!
Experimenting
- Growing a blue-collar, local business from the ground up – Very professional, very mindful, very demure.
- What life is like having a business smartphone after more than a year of only using a flipphone (I’m intensely frustrated already, but let’s see how I feel/think after a month) – I feel like this would require a whole long blog post; here are some thoughts along these lines, though in a slightly different direction. (In other words, personal stuff has crept into my business-only device…)
Reading
- Provocations, Kierkegaard – Finished. Will recommend.
- Mastery, Greene – Have started reading.
- Six Easy Pieces, Feynman – Have started reading.
- Great Soul of Siberia, Park (if the book arrives on time!) – Finished. Greatly enjoyed this one, will recommend.
Training
- Singing/voice – A little.
- Playing the Dizi – Semi-consistently, yes.
- Pen sketching – Not as much as I’d like.
- Brush drawing/calligraphy – ..Nope.
Learning
- Wing Chun (lessons start Oct. 1st) – Going well. A little slow, since it’s targeted towards absolute beginners. Still enjoying and learning from each lesson though! I need to train more…lots more…
- LISP – Ah…
- The game Go – Haven’t really played, but it’s still on my mind. Seems like a 19×19 game could take practically forever to complete, haha.
Studying
- Cognitive Architecture (in the neuroscience/psychology direction, not AGI) – Yes, I did do some studying. No, it wasn’t near enough to satisfy my growing curiosity.
Pondering
- Whether there is any objective basis for moderation in life – I’m starting to realize that there isn’t really any space for “objective reasoning” when it comes to living an individual life. When thoughts, words, and actions come down to what a single person thinks, says, or does, things cease to be objective altogether. By very definition, as it is. Once one approaches something “objectively,” it is being held at a distance, not to be grappled with by one’s own mind and hands. Thus my working conclusion: There may be “objective reasons” for why moderation can be beneficial; but the reasons that drives a particular person one way or another cannot be anything but highly (and sometimes painfully) subjective.
- Why following Christ means ditching “Christianity” for good – Maybe “Christendom” is a better term to use. These days it’s as if those professing to follow Christ are looking for excuses not to actually obey Him. I too am in this category. We study the Bible and say prayers without end, without actually knowing Christ as a man does his friend or a servant his master; every time we come across something “difficult” in the Scriptures, we turn to each other or to commentaries seeking for “clarification,” instead of taking God at His word and obeying what we can already understand. May God have mercy upon us, most of all myself. More and more I see myself in the mirror of the life of Christ, and ah, what truth and beauty and goodness – and what suffering and pain! – awaits me as I press forward. This is something that has taken a hold on me; I may write and think on this at length for some years. 🙂
- How our actions are questions (made out of faith) on a biomechanical level – “These results support the hypothesis that voluntary movements are planned, executed, and stored in memory directly through representations of their anticipated perceptual effects.” From this study on “The Cognitive Architecture of Complex Movements”.
- What makes me despise myself, whether I could change those things, and what I’d do about them – Some thoughts here: “Becoming What I Despise“
Thanksgiving
- Beautiful fall colours in nature – Ah, so pretty!
- Hot black sesame syrup in cool mornings/evenings – YES.
- Tea kettles – Bought a nice one early in the month!
- A leather notecard sleeve a friend made me – Still much-loved and much-used!
- A mother that knows how to take amazing photographs, help me see past my insecurities, and who laughs at (and understands!) the lame, weird jokes I make. – Love that woman. 🙂
Past Pages:
What I’m Up To – September 2024
What I’m Up To – August 2024
What I’m Up To – July 2024
What I’m Up To – June 2024
What I’m Up To – May 2024
What I’m Up To – April 2024
What I’m Up To – March 2024
What I’m Up To – February 2024
What I’m Up To – January 2024
(Missed December 2023)
What I’m Up To – November 2023
(Missed October 2023)
What I’m Up To – September 2023
What I’m Up To – August 2023
What I’m Up To – July 2023
What I’m Up To – June 2023
What I’m Up To – May 2023
What I’m Up To – April 2023
What I’m Up To – March 2023
(Inspired by Derek Sivers and other such pages)