What I’m Up To – January 2024

(Current as of January 02, 2024)

(Updated with notes on January 31, 2024)

“A Warrior Poet” newsletter on Substack – Launched Jan 13. Link.
“The Keyboard Athlete” resource site – Launched Jan 15. Link. Needs more work.
Conversation/public speaking tutorials/courses – Project has shape-shifted; still in the works.Additional: Percolations newsletter and Lutalika RedBubble store launched.

The Design of Everyday Things, Donald Norman – Paused half-way, will resume in Feb.
The Space Trilogy, C.S. Lewis – Postponed
Patriarcha, Robert Filmer – Finished

The Legend of the Condor Heroes (1983) – Finished
Your Name (2016) – Finished
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999) – Finished
Additional: Finished Your Name (2016) and Infernal Affairs (2002)

Writing 1,000 words a day – Averaged 500 words. Continue at 500w/day in Feb.
500 kicks a day – Averaged 100/day. Underestimated time each kick takes. Didn’t move fast enough. Scaling back to 150/day for Feb.
7 poems, 3 songs, and 1 short story a week (Theme per week: an entry in the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows) – Consistent. Quality of work slowing improving under pressure.

Handstand meditations, daily – Not quite daily. Will continue.
Eliminating stimulants – alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, most sugary drinks – Strongly tempted a few times. Cut even honey and maple syrup. Only exception: 2 bubble teas. Will continue.
6hrs of sleep with 7min meditation before/after – Didn’t time meditation; fairly consistent. Will continue.

Chinese Brush Calligraphy – Took 4 classes. Will continue learning/practicing on my own.
Conversational Japanese – Still learning; not yet fluent. Will continue.
Patience without high-mindedness (Eccl. 7:8) – Note to self: You’re still a baby crawling about this great big world with eyes wide open, ready to pop everything you come across into your mouth, trying to peer over things you climb up to. Just remember to laugh and get back up each time you get knocked over in your adventures.

Architecture: Theory and Design (MIT OpenCourseWare) – Went through papers, lecture notes, and resources linked in 21 graduate-level courses in Architecture. Came away with a fascination with shape grammars, huge list of buildings to study and sketch, and general understanding of design process. Decided to return and learn the engineering aspect in the future.
Playing cards – I understand stats and probabilities with a standard deck now
Chess – This needs more work. Felt mostly lost. Will continue in Feb.

Increasing intensity and focus with practice, without tiring self – It’s possible. Check out this post.
Developing a better workflow for idea generation, salvation, and organization – Still in process. Getting closer to efficient personal system.
Using artistic creation and expression as main avenues of relaxation – Works well. Will continue.

Culture and race in marriage and family – More important than I thought last year.
The nature and manipulation of frequencies – Will continue studies.
Why identity lags beliefs for 1-2 years, and reality lags identity about 2-3 years – Read this.

Odelia Chan