Letter to you | Sep 2024

Hi there, I hope this finds you well.

It has been raining for the past two days. The leaves are changing. I need a jacket when I go out for a walk. Tights feel more like a necessity. The first cup of water of the day can't be cold water anymore. Two cups of hot tea (with maple syrup and a splash of milk) are required throughout the day.

I did finish the crochet shark project I was telling you about. It is nowhere near perfect, but I really enjoyed it. I did beat myself down a little bit since it is not perfect/good. I cannot stop my tendency to be self-critical (yet), but I think I can still motivate myself to start the next project. Hopefully soon. I watched this cute stop-motion video (Visible Mending by Samantha Moore) about how we repair ourselves through knitting. Maybe by doing more crochet projects, I can embrace imperfection more.

Normal People by Sally Rooney was different from what I expected, in a good way. Though I'm quite different from both Marianne and Connell, I can still see bits of my younger and maybe even current self in them. Tender and achy, it left me feeling. It's a book that makes me want to listen to nostalgic breakup songs.

Reading Manuel Rivas' The Last Days of Terranova gave me a little window into the Spanish Civil War and the Dirty War in Argentina. I remember watching clips of La lengua de las mariposas in Spanish class. I do want to pick up Spanish again. Rivas made many references to authors and literary works I'm unfamiliar with. How wonderful if I'll be able to read some of them?

I did finish Winter Swimming (Dong Yong) by Ban Yu and was surprised by how fast I finished it. It's full of stories that weigh heavy on my heart. It surrounds you with a bubble and makes the world feel fuzzy. So I turned to a nonfiction book and finished Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber. I started listening to it a while back. It was a recommendation from my coworker's partner. Then I realized it was from the same author who wrote Debt. It was a very interesting read and made me reflect on the social values of jobs and the paradox of modern work. Wow, September was a good reading month for me.

Family dynamics are still THE thing that makes me cry in a movie. I watched His Three Daughters and balled my eyes out. It's about three daughters reuniting and grieving their fathers. Simple yet moving. It just switched between a few very simple sets, but the cinematography and lighting were very beautiful and fitting.

Oh, I accidentally fell because I was not looking at the road but the phone. Very dumb, I know. It totally reminds me of Dumb Ways to Die. (This came out more than ten years ago? What?) Anyway, please don't do that. Please pay attention while walking. Autumn is here. Stay alive and enjoy it.

Yours truly :)