February News 2023.

The cold that refuses to go away is still refusing to go away. These days, sometimes it’s joined by unusually high blood pressure (unusually high for me, not something that requires a trip to the ER). I still miss coffee, but with my blood pressure playing tricks with me, perhaps avoiding even decaf is a good idea.

Everything still takes more time than it should. Perhaps a bit warmer weather will help, once it graces us with its presence. Losing some weight might help, too, not that I’m super-fat or anything.

All right, enough with health complains, has anything interesting happened?

Not really. I mean, I’ve read more than in January (the number of books might be similar, but this time, no picture books), but I’m not sure it counts as interesting. Nothing much happened. The shortest month in the year felt just slightly shorter than the longest one, and everything is still slow.

Well, slow isn’t necessarily bad.

I did see some fun music videos in the last two months. Here they are (Rammstein in both cases):

The second one might have lost me a couple of friends on Facebook when I shared it. Or it was just a coincidence.

And speaking of interesting stuff, and with ChatGPT causing so much noise, here’s a good video to watch:

Other than that kind of fun, there was the usual fun: reading, watching, working (all right, the last one isn’t always fun, to put it mildly).

Currently reading: Frantumaglia by Elena Ferrante. This time, it’s not a novel, it’s non-fiction: letters, essays, reflections, and interviews. Interesting so far, coming from an author whose books I enjoy (and I’ve read a bunch), but I’m still at the beginning.

Recently read: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (a science fiction novel happening in the near future, about the discovery of another intelligent species on this planet we keep trying to destroy, octopuses, and how everything is connected; I loved it), Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi (lovely written, starts like a family drama about the neglected/abused daughter who’s now supposed to take care of her mother who’s got Alzheimer’s, proceeds by subtly questioning what really happened, and ends up close to horror), Animal by Lisa Taddeo (about a woman who flees to LA after her lover kills himself in front of her, desperately tries to get close to a woman named Alice because she hopes she will understand her, and, basically, is trying to figure out how to function like a normal human being after everything she’s been through (and, if we’re being honest, after all the bad things she did herself)), The Blue Room by Hanne Ørstavik (basically, about a toxic relationship between the mother and daughter), Diskordia Vol. 1: Feels Like Falling by Rivenis (a really, really, really weird comic where you’re never sure what’s real, what’s dream or imagination or whatever, and everything looks psychedelic), The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (about twin African-American sisters who are living very different lives (one is passing as white, has married a white man and has a daughter with him, so she’s always panicking someone will discover her secret; while the other one has married the darkest African-American man she found, had a daughter with him, and fled after he became severely abusive), are not in contact in each other…and then their daughters meet by accident), Luster by Raven Leilani (a young African-American woman is trying to figure her life out, maybe even become an artist, makes a lot of bad choices, becomes a part of an open marriage (in some rather unexpected ways)…interesting stuff), Odakle sam bila, više nisam by Dejan Tiago-Stanković (I’ve finally finished it, and while I still prefer Estoril, this one’s good, too), and Jedenje bogova by Goran Čučković (very dark, violent, morbid, trying to make sense of things that just don’t make sense).

Currently watching: some courses by Tim Ferris. Interesting, though I wouldn’t actually implement most of it (doesn’t seem healthy, or wouldn’t work with my health issues), but it can give you ideas.

Currently working on: work, when there’s any. I should be writing my own stuff, too, but I’m not.

And there it is, another month with nothing special happening. What can I say, I’m leading an exciting life. Not.

Then again, with high blood pressure, excitement might not be the best thing.

See ya next time, and have another cat picture!

January News 2023.

I’m feeling under the weather. It’s nothing drastic, but it’s been going on, well, off and on, since November, so it’s kinda annoying. And it means that I still can’t manage to get enough rest, which is also annoying. Boo.

I have some ideas for books. That’s nothing new, I have them all the time, but I think that I might actually finish one of them this year (mostly because it’s a combination of old and new stuff). No promises, though.

I don’t feel like doing much of anything, really. I haven’t been reading much, I haven’t been watching movies or TV series much, I’m watching some courses but even that takes more time than it should. And it’s not that they’re bad, it’s just that everything seems to take more time than expected. Again, kinda annoying, so it may seem like I’m really annoyed this month, but I’m not. I’m not even as anxious as before (playing with meditation helps), I’m just tired. And yet, I can’t get enough sleep.

All I’m gaining is weight. Holiday overeating isn’t good for me (or for anyone else), but no regrets. I’ll lose that weight at some point, and in the meantime, I’m enjoying in delicious food (lots of pastry (straight from the oven!) included on weekends).

It’s a lazy month, perhaps? A very long month that’s coming to an end after forever? And perhaps I’m rambling a bit?

All right, no interesting news, so…

Currently reading: technically, I’m still reading Odakle sam bila, više nisam by Dejan Tiago-Stanković. As in, that book is still on my nightstand. But right now, I’m not actually reading anything.

Recently read: mostly picture books and illustrated books for kids, like Have You Seen My Cat? (super-cute!), The Very Busy Spider (nice and fun!) and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (super-fun!) by Eric Carle, Where the Wild Things Are (wild and fun and compassionate) by Maurice Sendak, and The Velveteen Rabbit (might make kids sad at the end, but otherwise a sweet tale) by Margery Williams Bianco. I’ve also read Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (I started reading it last year and now I’ve finally finished it, and loved it; it’s got a trans girl as the main character, violins, bargaining with a demon, extraterrestrial aliens, and donuts), How High We Go in the Dark (very ambitious for a debut novel, a complex tale (and an elegy for humanity of sorts) that’s mostly well done) by Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Lost in the Moment and Found (the latest book in the Wayward Children series (a YA portal fantasy series), and I loved it) by Seanan McGuire.

Currently watching: various courses, on meditation, writing, business, fun self-help… Useful stuff. And fun.

Recently watched: Troll (2022) (sort of like Godzilla, except that it’s happening in Norway and it’s a troll and not Godzilla; it was mostly fun), Trollhunter (2010) (a mockumentary about a crew following around a guy who hunts trolls), and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) (different from the first one, more comedy than whodunnit, but still very fun).

Currently working on: work, when there’s any. I wrote a couple of stories, too.

And that would be pretty much it. Yet another exciting month in an exciting life… Err…

Have another cat picture.

December News 2022.

It’s the end of the year as we know it…

Err…

The New Year is almost here (or is behind is already, depending on when you’re reading this). The pandemic isn’t over yet. I’d say that the war isn’t over yet, either, but there are always wars going on, they just get noticed less because of their location.

Personally, I’ve had better years, and I’ve had worse ones, too. So did everyone else, making me nothing special. Which I already knew.

Nothing special happened this month. There wasn’t much work, my health was lousy (will I ever not feel exhausted?), I got another covid shot (the Moderna bivalent one this time), and I’ve been reading (though not as much as the last month) and watching stuff (a bit more than the last month).

That’s about it. So…

Currently reading: technically speaking, I’m reading two books. As in, I started reading two books, and haven’t finished them yet. And then I started watching TV series. Those two books are Odakle sam bila, više nisam by the late Dejan Tiago-Stanković (something between a story collection and a novel, it’s nice so far) and Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (a fun combination of a few different things, or would be, if I was able to focus on it; it’s our monthly book for the book club, and I’m late with it).

Recently read: Doktor Metuzalem by Vladimir Kolarić (a metaphysical crime novel by a Uni classmate of mine, plus a political thriller, plus a bunch of other things, all interesting), Niko nije zaboravljen i ničega se ne sećamo (No one is forgotten and we remember nothing) by Mirjana Drljević (another Uni classmate of mine, this is her first novel, and it’s darn good, both as a detective novel and a story about the consequences of pushing things under the rug, so to speak), Đavolski dobar bluz (Darn good blues) by Ivan Nešić (playing with the legend of the guitar player who sold his soul to the devil), Varoška legenda 3: Neman (The Town Legend part 3: The Beast) by Tajana Poterjahin (the last part of the trilogy of historical novels, and while I didn’t expect it to end like that, the ending makes perfect sense), Estoril: Ratni roman (Estoril, a war novel) and Zamalek: Roman o kismetu (Zamalek, a novel about kismet) by Dejan Tiago-Stanković (both good, in different ways), Mrtvi na dodir (Dead on touch) by Ana Marija Grbić (a dark, unusual novel written by a poet), and I ravnodušnost je ubila mačku (Indifference killed the cat, too) by Tamara Đenadić (weird (and good!) short stories; no cats, though, except on the back cover of the book).

Currently watching: Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (the quality of the episodes varies a lot, but there’s good stuff there) and What We Do in the Shadows, season 4 (still fun). I’m not sure I can say I’m also watching the fifth season of The Handmaid’s Tale because I stopped after the third episode, and don’t know when I’m going to continue.

Recently watched: finished watching Wednesday, and loved it. As long as you remember that it’s not an Addams Family series, but a spin-off that’s more like a supernatural YA, it’s really (darkly) fun.

Currently working on: it’s holiday time, so nothing, except for a few blog posts.

And that would be pretty much it.

Happy New Year, everyone! Try to have some fun!