Weeknote 50: I've Always Wanted to Be a Princess

16 January 2023 IST

I’m proud to announce that I’ve recently developed the ability to go for a walk at 7AM without wanting to murder somebody afterwards. Just goes to show that with grit and determination, I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
… but now I have a stuffy nose, body aches, and a headache that won’t go away. Just goes to show that exercise was invented by the devil to punish me and I should avoid it at all cost.
Feels like I fall sick every time I start an exercise routine, which is maybe something I should perhaps be slightly concerned about?
I really got into video games when the pandemic hit, and continued to enjoy them during my sabbatical last year. But gaming has recently started to become unsustainable for me. The screen time has been giving me headaches, my hands are hurt from mashing buttons all day, and sitting motionless for hours at a time hasn’t been good for my body (see above). I may get back to gaming if/when I take a long enough break from work again, but I’ve decided to stop spending my time on it for the near future.
I thought quitting video games would free up more time in my life for other, more analog hobbies, but I’ve immediately filled up my evenings with Linux and Emacs shenanigans. Will I ever learn? (No.)
My house has sprouted more leaks, making two rooms entirely unusable. I don’t like it and I don’t want to talk about it.
Journaling is one of my greatest pleasures in life. I try to write about 1000 words every morning as I drink my coffee, which doesn’t take me too long when I have something on my mind. I usually stop when I reach my target word count, coming back the next day to continue my line of thinking. However, this past week I’ve been consistently overshooting my target every single day. Each of recent my entries weighs in at 1500 words minimum, and some some of them are over 2000 words. It’s true that I have a lot on my mind at the moment, but I chalk up this output to the fact that lately I’ve started to enjoy the act of writing a lot more than I’ve ever done before. I’m pleased with this state of affairs, though I still can’t figure out how to turn what I’ve written into coherent blog posts I can share with the world.
My friends were aghast to discover that I never watched The Princess Diaries when I was a teenager, so they sat me down one weekend and made me watch it. Usually I’m a sucker for romantic comedies, but I had no expectations for this movie at all. A Disney movie from 2001? How good could it possibly be? Turns out I’d underestimated this film — or my own love for sappy stories with happy endings — because I ended up being hooked. Yes, it’s a silly wish-fulfillment fantasy for teenagers, but sometimes that’s exactly the kind of comforting fare you need to keep your head above the water.
And then I was made to watch Princess Diaries 2. It wasn’t as good as the first one, but it was still good and I was still invested. I guess deep down, I’ve always wanted to be a princess.

Links of the Week

Media Diet

Reading The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Watched The Princess Diaries
Watched The Princess Diaries 2
DNF Dealers of Lightning by Michael Hiltzik