Diary

10:07 Organized Some Files The Vault folder was a bit messy, especially the Obsidian templates and project folders. Did a quick tidy-up and also added a reading log template to encourage myself to read more. 11:00 Feel pretty good Today, my body feels fine with no discomfort, which has lifted my mood quite a bit. The courier called to notify me to pick up my ID card. After retrieving it, I strolled to the market and bought rice noodles, spinach, and cilantro. I ended up cooking too much rice noodles and ate until my stomach was bulging. ...

Morning In the morning, I watched some English videos for a while and played some games. I steamed and ate the rice cakes I bought yesterday, and then, before I knew it, noon had passed without me realizing what else I had done. Afternoon This afternoon, I read Letter from an Unknown Woman. I listened to the audiobook1 while following along with the English translation I bought on Duozhuayu. The narration of the audiobook was very emotional and captivating, so I finished it quickly. Since I’m not yet very familiar with English, I suspected I might have missed some details. So I searched further, thinking of checking others’ interpretations, and came across this video2. ...

It might have been the unclean food I ate yesterday, but I woke up this morning feeling dizzy and groggy. Taking a shower didn’t help, and my stool was a bit loose too. I just lay in bed until noon, not even wanting to eat. By the afternoon, I felt so unwell that I forced myself to go out for a walk, though I was completely drained of energy. Passing by a rice cake shop, I noticed hundreds of stacked steamers inside and thought the cakes must be good. I bought one, broke off a piece, and it turned out to be quite tasty. ...

Last night, I stayed up until 1:30 AM playing games—completely immersed and forgetting to eat or sleep. Twin Shadow Wonderland was just too much fun. This morning, we played for another hour and finally managed to finish the entire game. Huanhuan had to leave for Guiyang today to report for training, so after packing lightly, it was time to go. We wanted to eat bean rice hotpot, but the place wasn’t open, so we took a ride to Lucky Dog for burgers and hot dogs, which weren’t very good. ...

Today was a happy day—Huanhuan’s stomach felt much better. After having corn in the morning, my mom came to see us. We had a bowl of lamb rice noodles together, then headed to Caojiawan Agricultural and Sideline Products Wholesale Market. Since it was Sunday, the market was bustling with people. We bought some incredibly delicious loquats and peaches, though the bayberries weren’t great. We also picked up some water spinach and free-range eggs. ...

06:34 Discovered a Fascinating Phenomenon People only yawn when their eyes are open. 06:36 Noodles and Pastry Are Quite Tricky to Make I tried steaming buns once before and failed. Yesterday, I attempted making pancakes and nearly failed again. Mastering the properties of ingredients and controlling the heat really requires a lot of experience. Huanhuan has had diarrhea since Friday, so I haven’t made anything particularly tasty these past couple of days. ...

Today was slightly better than yesterday. In the morning, I spent some time studying the manual for Dwarf Fortress. It’s still quite complex and requires further review. Regular exposure to and use of English gradually familiarizes me with the language, even if it’s just through gaming. Yesterday and today, I looked into the requirements for applying for a student visa. Money remains a significant hurdle. But I don’t care too much anymore—I’ll leave it to fate. At this point, I’m not as eager to go abroad as before. Facing reality is more important. As Teacher Liu said: for ordinary families, studying abroad is almost an impossible path. Maybe things will improve if I work harder in the future. ...