Time is moving so fast. So far today, I’ve had a video call with Huan, spent some time lying in bed scrolling on my phone, and played Honor of Kings for an hour.

🕒 Afternoon | Tech Troubles

I spent the entire afternoon trying to get my ** #terminal to support image rendering**, but I failed.

Around 4 PM, I decided to do some laundry. Meanwhile, a DVD drive I ordered from Amazon a few days ago arrived. However, it’s unstable and keeps disconnecting, so I’ve already applied for a return.

The weekend is almost over. On the bright side, I didn’t let myself completely spiral into laziness today.

🕒 Evening | A Change of Plans

I originally planned to go to Canada Post to return the DVD drive, but by the time I got dressed, they were already closed. I also missed my chance to go to Safeway for groceries.

Instead of rushing out, I decided to stay in. The fried pork and potatoes I made for dinner were very tasty!

I spent some more time studying English, and around 10 PM, I messaged Alex to catch up and see how he was doing.

I just want to sleep all day, but I can’t fall asleep.

16:31 Detroit: become human

I bought a game from Steam, and I heard that it is very amusing.

22:44 Watch K-POP: Demon Hunter

At first, I didn’t like this movie, especially the type and the style. But I found that the cover I saw knew its songs very popular. After watching, it’s really a nice movie.

22:48 Watch How to Train Dragons: The Hidden World

A nice movie, it made me calm down and feel relaxed.

And I found that I can understand a movie without Chinese; I am getting more and more familiar with English.

The information from cellphones always makes me feel dizzy and eye-hurt.

22:51 Bitter gourd stewed pork ribs

Not bad, I cooked it while watching movies, for tomorrow’s lunch.

And I had a KFC with a nice offer, and bought some groceries from Safeway.

We feel happy if our tummy is satisfied.

22:43 Take a shower

Felt more awake

23:40

andn

然后开始刷手机，学习英语，看短视频。短视频真是害人，我发现我蹲坑的时候如果打开短视频，就不能拉得很顺畅，而且会有点头疼。

中午继续煮了冒烤鸭拌面吃，放了点黄瓜好吃多了。

下午打了两把游戏，然后去把快递拿了。最后一次出去再次查了 IRCC，发现居然收到了 Correspondence Letter（根据网友的经验，收到这个大概率马上就能收到贴签信了）。突然有了点盼头，想着出去走走，便打电话给妈妈叫她来拿她的衣服。

于是和她散步，走了好久。中途妈妈说口渴了嗓子难受，想喝水。一直没有碰到卖水的，走到蜜雪冰城，给她买了一杯常温的五分糖的柠檬水。她一开还嫌多，叫我喝一半，我没喝。她走着走着突然发现就喝完了，感觉她还挺喜欢的。

回来的路上给小欢欢打电话，想吃一串豆腐皮，但是想着还有面包，就没买。试了小欢欢给买的羽绒服，感觉质量挺好的，就是太贵了，有点舍不得。

一直以来学英语总是断断续续的，每天都只是一小点。但最近突然发现自己面对较长的文档也能静下来较为流畅的看懂了。

在电脑上刷视频看到夏冰雹新发的视频，没点开之前还想着会有一些广告私货啥的。看完后发现都是她自己的分享，他的理念我还挺赞同的，只是好像自己都没有做到。

1. 早睡，保持充足的睡眠
2. 运动，多接触大自然，保持适度运动
3. 避免超加工十五，尽量吃食物原本的样子
4. 利用好每天专注力好的时间段，一天刚开始的时候

我马上打开 IRCC 的官网差签证，不出意外的继续没有任何消息，于是叫 ChatGPT 协助我写了一封信件通过 Webform 提交给 IRCC 了。

周末小欢欢给我带了两个面包，再不吃就要坏了，于是中午我就吃的面包。

下午学了会儿多邻国后，开始打游戏，游戏能够轻而易举地暂时忽略焦虑的感觉。这点还挺好的，就是打多了眼睛痛，游戏也变得无聊了。

晚上煮了番茄鸡蛋面，吃完又开始学多邻国，打游戏。

无法掌控的焦虑让人堕落……

吃完我们去菜市场逛了逛，买了一些西红柿，烤鹌鹑蛋，黄瓜还有羊角蜜。

回来吃吃喝喝就已经三点过了，好想时间暂停。简单休息会儿，送小欢欢去坐车了。自己坐公交回来，没啥胃口。简单把剩菜热了热，煮了碗面放进去，不大好吃。

然后晚上又玩了好久的游戏，MOBA 游戏太看运气了。总是会有各种气人的情况出现。

我曾经也有同样的想法，而且还不止一次，却没有一次付诸行动。比如开发网站让人们互相鼓励好好生活，比如买了相机去给到各地大家拍照。

还有更多时候是感慨，哀民生之多艰，却只能无能为力。总觉得自己没有能力，没有精力和金钱。可动起来迈一步就已经是前进一步。

晚上带小欢欢去吃了羊肉串，没有馕了，后面才发现美团上面便宜很多，亏大了，难受。

忘记记录了今天，还是补一补

早上小欢欢提醒我帮抢五月天的票，圈钱的事情还是比较好抢的，他们自己抢到了。

然后随心点着点到 QQ 空间了，去飞哥的空间逛了一圈，还挺好玩的，只是感叹时光太匆匆了。

中午去吃了鹅肉粉，超级好吃，还比较清爽，周末又带小欢欢来吃。

签证一直不出来又是，有点焦虑。晚上吃水煮茄子拌面。

然后和朋友打游戏打到很晚。

早上学习了多邻国，达到了 100 分的水平，但是听说能力还是很有欠缺。

中午打了两把游戏，吃了茄子烩面，下午又玩了好久的手机。

发现自己的自制力好差，记忆力也很差。昨天洗的衣服也忘记晾了。

和朋友一起打游戏还是挺快乐的，可是自己总是很菜。

出去吃了碗酸汤鱼粉，还挺好吃的。

软件安装到机械硬盘还是有些慢，尤其是常用的软件，还是安装到固态硬盘比较好。所以我把我的 Obsidian 迁移到 C 盘了。

查询了下签证还是啥消息都没有，这也太慢了，让人等待得无语。

关于挣钱

想起上周六的时候，和小欢欢去吃烤鱼，买的鲜榨橙汁。卖橙汁的是一对 01 年的小夫妻，他们是过来这边避暑的。短租了几个月，同时开始摆摊挣钱。成本也非常的简单，就一个收押的机器，一个小桌子，一天两三百也没有问题。
然后开始想到我最近突然想起来，想去跑外卖。但是外卖的这个装备就比这个困难多了，电动车这些装备成本比较高。
于是我得出一个结论，如果只是想糊口的话。只要肯出来，那么就一定饿不死。

使用了git sync的软件，然后手动将obsidian和主题文件夹复制过来。在obsidian git的插件上设置好了同步的认证和相关参数。昨天的日记就是由手机推送的。

非常完美，以后随时随地都可以推送了。

01:02 睡觉

把手机上同步到 GitHUB 折腾好了

10:45 洗完澡

洗完澡，整个人开始火起来了，算是一天当中正式的起床。早上躺床上，玩了会手机，聊了些天。

06:19 肚子饿了

今天把老手机机型改了，然后英雄联盟手游锁帧解除了。改成小米 15 ultra 之后，明显发现手机变得流畅多了。

小欢欢已经在前往红果坐车了，捞点小零食吃吃，等她来再一起去吃烤鱼。

08:25 坐上公交了

准备去接小欢欢咯，眼睛有点难受。

黄土坡这边还是有点老了，没啥人，去看了几家烤鱼店好像要不看起来不好吃，要就比较贵。

最后我们在白鹤公园旁边找了家店，买了炸土豆，买了鲜榨果汁，买了羊肉串，然后等烤鱼好的时候我们已经吃不动了。

今天上午学习多邻国把中级英语学习到了 75 分,然后继续完善同步错题的脚本，现在可以比较方便的，能够正常使用了。

早上给小欢欢点完外卖，然后我给自己点了一个炸鸡腿。我并没有吃完，中午的时候切了一些，再加上一些包菜，然后做成了一个烤肉拌饭的样子，还挺好吃的。

中午准备睡觉，很困，但是没有睡着，于是起来继续完善优化脚本。打了两把游戏，玩着手机，不知不觉就到下午了。煮了一碗面吃，然后开始学习多邻国。

晚上叫朋友们一起打了三把英雄联盟手游，和朋友一起玩，还挺好玩的。

睡觉是心灵充电的方式，人与机械的差别就在于此。

刚刚睡醒午觉，太舒服了。早上洗了澡，学习多邻国，慢慢悠悠的捡豆，准备午饭，然后中午打了一把游戏。

17:28 玩了一下午的手机

打了一个小时，刷了一个小时的视频，一个下午就这样荒废了。很想把王者荣耀卸载了，觉得没有什么意思，但是真的想着没意思的话，那我不玩就好了。

23:33 写了一个脚本

折腾了一下午，加一个晚上

写了一个脚本，用于将多邻国上填写错误的题目直接导出到anki中。本来还想适配其他题目的，但是想着其他题目比较简单，也没有必要，而且适配比较复杂，就这样吧。

对了，今天凌晨的时候打游戏到两点半。

自从开始慢慢的接触抖音后，对其他事情很难提起兴趣。有有一点点碎片化的时间，就不自觉的打开抖音开始将这碎片化的时间填满。

11:00 通过快捷方式快速记录当下

通过URL实现了快速访问obsidian和quickadd的功能，实现了快速记录当下的功能

15:38 打了三把王者荣耀

现在才大概明白一局游戏赢的关键，那就是认清自己的定位，做好自己角色所能做的事情。

着眼于全局而不是屏幕当前的视野，用动态和换位的思想来预判分析，只要队友不是特别离谱，那大概率能成功。

23:49 上床

在多邻国上学习了一会儿英语，又打了几把游戏。小欢欢他们领导在下班时间召集他们开会，开到很晚才回来，真的是太无语了。

小欢欢还把她的安卓手机弄丢了。

然后白天就是开始补觉，熬夜还是非常的伤人，脸上长了好大一个痘痘。

不过第一次感受到团队游戏的魅力，凌晨的游戏玩家都是具有较高技术水平和职业素养的。

空闲时间学习了下多邻国。

现在妈妈可能也要去买菜，于是打电话问她要不要一起去，结果她说她已经到了。我们起床洗漱，然后就出门了，去菜市场买了好多东西，但是没有看到有卖菌子的。

中午回来欢欢炒了空心菜，然后我们煮了小瓜，还有昨天没吃完的鱼，继续炖了个汤，美好的午餐就完成了。

吃完午餐照例休息会儿就开始睡午觉，下午小欢欢就要走了，难过。

然后开始打游戏，证明自己，准备像飞哥一样把王者荣耀卸载了。

然后我们就开始去买菜，准备晚饭。欢欢说的想吃鱼了，我也有点想吃鱼，然后我们就去后面的菜市场去买了鱼。本来想买黑鱼的，但是没有卖的这一家。然后我们就买了草鱼，最小的草鱼都有 3 斤 6 两，13块钱 1 斤。

我们尝试把鱼刺剔除，我们把鱼分成了两份，一份用来煮酸菜鱼，另外一份用来炸。都非常的好吃，就是油炸的那份有点过于油腻了。

吃饭的时候我突然想起，我们两个基本上已经掌握了生活的基本技能，至少以后不会饿肚子了。

昨天凌晨和小欢欢说晚安之后，又叫飞哥打游戏，打到两点钟。今天早上起床之后又叫飞哥打游戏，下午又继续打，相当于打了一整天的游戏。

下午小欢欢下班比较累，打电话过来，我刚刚开始了一局游戏。我想静静的听他诉说完这些事情，没想到王者荣耀的惩罚机制现在太过于变态了。挂机了几分钟就直接把我踢出游戏，并且判定为失败。

无所谓了，游戏而已。

小欢欢说想吃素瓜豆，我赶忙去菜市场买了新鲜的小瓜和金豆。煮好了之后赶紧坐上公交车来到龙城广场来接她。我们都想珍惜好每一分钟可以相聚的时间，太难得了。

见到小欢欢以后，我们走到人民广场的时候，突然想看到对面的炸鸡，想吃一份，然后我们就去买了，就坐在路边吃，炸的一份脆皮藕特别好吃，其他的一般。

吃的时候内心突然涌出一股特别幸福的感觉，平平淡淡的，又特别难得。

关键是游戏也一直输，似乎人和人的差距，只有在打游戏的时候才是比较公平的，能够体现出来。因为抛开了外部环境的一些固有阶级所带来的其他东西。

人的平凡就如同游戏，输输赢赢。

签证的结果也一直没有出来，焦虑不安，需要置办的东西和那边的房子也没有租，也没有寻找伙伴，也没有给老师汇报。

下午和飞哥打了会儿游戏，一整天都吃的炸粑粑，有点上火了。下午去外卖买了些黄瓜和小瓜，还去超市买了些零碎吃的。

简单洗漱后，我们决定去吃文山米线，还是一样的好吃。吃完回到芳芳家，开始准备玩游戏，芳芳大黄去买了好多水果。

然后我们开始玩阿瓦隆，比狼人杀好玩很多。欢欢定了比较早的票，打了个车直接前往昆明南。我和飞哥则晚一些，因为我们要去重庆。

太贪心了，多玩了一把，导致我们没有赶上火车。于是我们改签了，改签到一个小时后的火车。

到重庆刚好早上。

By leveraging voice-to-text technology, we can speed up the process of writing blogs. Additionally, using voice input to document our lives can also train our brains, making our thinking more logical and enabling us to express ourselves freely. Moving forward, I’ll strive to use voice input daily to record my life.

Domestic software’s Chinese voice recognition technology is indeed much better than foreign alternatives, especially apps like Sogou Input, Baidu Input, and iFlytek Input. This very paragraph was created using Sogou Input’s voice-to-text feature. I’ll try to maintain this method for documenting life in the future, while also reducing pauses in my thinking and improving the fluency of my thoughts.

15:51 Modern Systems Keep Getting Worse with Updates

Today, I spent a long time trying to figure out how to quickly switch input methods via the notification panel. This feature has always existed in previous systems, but after upgrading to HyperOS 2, it disappeared. As a result, switching between input methods—especially third-party ones like WeChat Input—has become extremely cumbersome. Even with full-screen optimization enabled and setting a shortcut key for quick input method switching, it still won’t switch to third-party input methods. It’s incredibly frustrating, and after a lot of effort, I still couldn’t find a solution.

16:46 Temporarily Solved the Input Method Switching Issue

I downloaded a “Keyboard Switch” app and pinned it as a tile in the control center, which now allows for relatively convenient input method switching.

Additionally, voice input seems more convenient with Baidu Input because its voice recognition interface supports commands like “delete” or “enter.” It also has a long-text input capability, but to train my thought fluency, I turned it off and didn’t enable long-text input.

Another concern is privacy with domestic input methods. It’s quite significant—especially when you type certain keywords, and it recommends stickers or other apps. Everything we input is collected by these apps. So, I’d rather trust foreign input methods like Google’s and avoid entering sensitive data with domestic ones.

It’s also necessary to enable MIUI’s secure keyboard, especially when entering passwords or usernames.

22:16 Went for a Walk with Mom and Just Got Back

I unintentionally fell asleep on the bed and woke up feeling groggy, with a very full stomach, so I thought I’d go out for a walk. Just as I stepped out of the community, Mom called and asked if I wanted to join her for a walk. I agreed and went to meet her.

Along the way, I taught her how to shop smarter. She wanted to buy a spray cleaner for the range hood, but I told her it might be cheaper online. To give her firsthand experience, I took her to a physical store to buy it while also checking the price online. Unsurprisingly, the online price was 5 yuan cheaper—and this was just for a 20-yuan item.

I also set up a “Family Card” for her, which gives her a monthly allowance of 300 yuan deducted directly from my Alipay account. Learning to shop online can really save money.

Additionally, I canceled her mobile plan’s 5-yuan “membership” and 2-yuan “Local Friends Network” fees—unaware that she had been paying for them for so many months.

On our way out, we noticed many unusually large carp and goldfish in the river by the entrance, so we grabbed the net we used for catching crayfish and decided to try our luck at fishing. After having rice noodles with Fangfang, we returned to the river only to find the water had suddenly turned murky, and the fish seemed to have been washed away. We walked along the riverbank and, sure enough, spotted the fish being carried along by the current not too far away.

The fish struggled hard to swim upstream, resisting the force of the river. But the moment they stopped, the current would sweep them away again. In the end, no matter how hard they tried, none of them could escape the relentless flow.

Still, the fish were quite clever—despite our efforts, we didn’t manage to catch a single one. They darted away as soon as they saw us moving.

But the outing wasn’t a total loss. We ended up with a big turtle, a loach (which the turtle later ate at home), and a large snail.

In the afternoon, I went with Huanhuan to Yunnan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for her check-up. The doctor advised her to control her weight—haha! After the appointment, we really craved a drink from Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, so we got lemonade and jasmine milk green tea. Seeing how popular the “Green Grape Meat Delight” was, we ordered one too, and it was a unanimous hit!

Then we headed to Metro and bought some hairy crabs to cook at home. Turns out the crabs tasted bitter—another lesson learned. Luckily, the fried potatoes and the crayfish tails Fangfang stir-fried from the supermarket were both delicious.

After Huanhuan finished washing the dishes, we started playing a house-building game and kept at it until past 1 a.m.—way more fun than Monopoly!

Rode my little e-bike and arrived there by 8:30 a.m., even though my appointment was at 9:15. It seemed like arriving early wasn’t exactly appreciated, but they still let me in to queue up.

Then they briefed me, checked my documents, and directed me to a counter. After verifying my details, the staff told me to wait for my number to be called and instructed me to silence my phone and knock before entering when my turn came.

Once inside, I had to read some guidelines, move around in front of the camera, and then do the fingerprinting—which included the odd step of touching my forehead.

On my way back, I passed by Fangfang’s hospital and thought of inviting her for breakfast since she was about to finish her night shift. But she was still busy, so I went alone to have the incredibly delicious rice noodles I’d tried last time.

Got back and called Fei to play games, then took a short nap at noon. In the afternoon, I played games with Fei again, went out for a stroll with Fangfang, and had rice noodles once more.

On the way, we stopped by Metro and were shocked by the absurd prices—it felt like a preview of foreign price tags. We couldn’t bring ourselves to buy much. A small bunch of cilantro cost 13 yuan, which was downright terrifying.

On the way home in the evening, I bought two honeydew melons. My expectations weren’t high, but they turned out to be pretty good.

Spent the rest of the night gaming with Fei until my eyes were blurry, but I managed to help him reach King rank.

I used to have a bad habit—I loved frequently updating systems and software. However, this often led to various issues, increased read/write operations on storage hardware (shortening its lifespan), and caused system problems due to update-related bugs.

Now, I’ve developed a slightly better habit: I’ve learned to coexist peacefully with update notifications. I no longer update unless absolutely necessary and no longer actively seek out new features—though I still keep an eye on the new functionalities introduced in updates.

For computer software, I try to manage as much as possible with Scoop, which makes system reinstallation and migration easier in the future. I added the kkzzhizhou_scoop-apps bucket, which slowed down the Scoop list retrieval. Ironically, this turned out to be a good thing in a way.

12:49 Overcoming Procrastination

Many people procrastinate endlessly, complaining that they lack motivation. But motivation actually comes from action. As long as you start doing something—anything that moves you toward your goal—you’ll find that motivation follows naturally.

So, when I face a daunting task, I break it down into smaller, simpler parts. At that point, my goal isn’t to complete the entire task but just to take action and make a tiny step forward.

12:51 A Prophecy Fulfilled

I fear that, in the future, substantive content in major media will gradually decline. Thirty-second clips will dominate, programs will cater to the lowest common denominator, and blind introductions to pseudoscience and superstition will proliferate—especially when ignorance is celebrated.

— Carl Sagan, renowned American science communicator. This was written in 1994.

15:00 A Walk in the Rain

I was still half-asleep from my afternoon nap when my mom called. She said she’d brought me some food and asked me to come downstairs to get it. After fetching the food and bringing it upstairs, I decided to walk her home and take a stroll along the way.

Mom mentioned that this time, when she left, little Ningning was especially reluctant to let her go, saying, “She’s Grandma’s person too.” It made me feel a little sad.

20:55 Tried Arc and Zen Browsers

Zen Browser is a Firefox-based fork of Arc. I quite like the design philosophies of both Arc and Zen—keeping frequently used links in different, easily accessible positions to create a more personalized browsing experience.

After sending Huanhuan off at noon and returning to the rental room,

I ended up playing games with Feige all afternoon, couldn’t win no matter what, but it didn’t really matter anyway.

Finished the Client Information in the morning and filled out all the required forms in the afternoon. Also, I found a translation company on Taobao to translate my ID card and no-criminal record certificate for 50 yuan.

17:37 Materials Almost Ready

My eyes feel a bit strained from staring at the computer for too long. Planning to cook dinner—golden beans and potatoes tonight—and also give Fei Ge a call.

A lot of my fear and anxiety stem from unfamiliarity and lack of understanding. At first, I was really nervous about the visa process, worried it would be extremely difficult. But once I actually started preparing, I realized it wasn’t as hard as I imagined. Although I haven’t submitted it yet and don’t know whether it’ll be approved, the initial fear and anxiety have faded.

20:20 Finally Submitted the Visa Application

After carefully reviewing everything, I submitted the visa materials. Thankfully, Huanhuan helped me get a Visa credit card earlier, so the payment process went smoothly this time.

22:22 Played Honor of Kings with Fei Ge for Over an Hour

The matches are getting harder, and it’s easy to run into teammates with bad attitudes.

I slept in this morning, and when I got up, Huanhuan’s mom had cooked congee. I had three bowls and ended up stuffed.

At noon, Huanhuan’s mom prepared a delicious lunch for us, and everything was very tasty. After eating, I played a few rounds of games with Fei Ge, then pulled out my laptop to prepare some materials. Around 1 PM, Huanhuan’s dad went out for a walk, and we rested for a while.

Fengxian’s baby was born this morning. A little after 2 PM, Huanhuan and I went to the office to work overtime. After finishing, we went to buy flowers for her. We saw the first flower shop with two bouquets placed outside, but they didn’t look very fresh. The owner asked for 128, but I bargained down to 88. Huanhuan quickly paid the money.

Just a minute after we left, we spotted another flower shop with much fresher flowers and managed to haggle the price down to 68. So, we decided to take a small loss and return the flowers to the first shop, not wanting the owner to lose out either. But the owner’s attitude turned extremely hostile, completely different from the friendly smile earlier. We argued with the owner and his wife for quite a while, but it didn’t work out.

At that moment, I really wanted to throw the flowers in the owner’s face, but I was afraid of scaring Huanhuan with such an outburst. After cursing a few times, we left and apologized to the owner of the other shop.

A light rain started to fall, and Huanhuan took me to see the unfinished apartment she’s planning to buy. It’s quite nice—once decorated, it should feel very cozy—though it seemed a bit pricey, but still acceptable.

Fengxian was in good spirits and even invited us to stay for dinner as we were leaving. We decided to go home and make fried rice with eggs instead.

Got up in the morning and cooked a big bowl of rice noodles. The noodles were bought yesterday, but since the weather is hot and they won’t keep for long, I decided to finish them all today. At noon, I cooked another big bowl and fried two eggs, ending up stuffed. I really should eat less in the future.

In the afternoon, I still didn’t do anything. I felt a bit anxious about the CSC results, the Emergency Management Bureau results, and the Gui’an results, so I checked them over and over again.

Later, I went out for a walk toward Baihe Park. I stopped by Mixue Ice Cream & Tea to buy a “Stir-Fresh Orange” drink, some lychees, a few fresh melons, and some dried tofu. Came back, made dinner, and ended up overeating again.

The fat on my face and body is visibly increasing—I need to consciously control it.

In the evening, I played a couple of games with Huanhuan.

My mom had breakfast with me, and afterward, I took her to the hospital for an ultrasound. The results were quite good—there was no further growth or enlargement. When we arrived at the doctor’s office, we could hear a patient arguing with the doctor, who was recommending surgery.

After the argument finally subsided, it was our turn. The doctor, despite knowing it was benign, still said, “If you’re the nervous type, you might as well remove the thyroid.” That’s clearly not something a doctor should say. No wonder the previous patient was arguing with her—she always seems to push for surgery.

She rambled on with an illogical explanation, leaving my mom confused. I quickly stepped in to clarify: “This is benign. What the doctor means is that we don’t need to do anything about it—just monitor it with regular check-ups. But if you’re going to worry every day about it growing or turning bad, causing constant anxiety, then it might be better to remove it.” That made things a bit clearer.

For conditions that might require surgery, it’s always best to consult multiple doctors. Some really don’t have the best medical ethics.

After returning home, I went to the supermarket to buy some eggs, vermicelli, and clams. I also stopped by the seafood street to get some oysters, planning to cook them and share them with my mom. Unfortunately, the quality this time wasn’t great, and they didn’t taste very good. As usual, my mom started criticizing everything, and I had to scold her again.

In the evening, I played a few rounds of games with Huanhuan and Xiaoxue. Then, as drowsiness set in, I got ready to hit the sack.

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.

I learned that this novel reflects certain psychological and human nature-related themes. Through AI, I saw keywords like Freud’s “death drive,” which piqued my curiosity. I then delved deeper into the meaning of the death drive and its counterpart, the life drive, which intertwine within human nature, forming intricate psychological and behavioral patterns.

I can’t yet comment on whether the love displayed by the female protagonist in the novel is great, humble, or even real love. I do agree, however, that it is more of a form of self-deception and an escape from both herself and reality.

Evening

Lately, I haven’t had much of an appetite, let alone the motivation to go to the market to buy groceries. For dinner, I casually boiled some noodles and fried two eggs to make do. The eggs ended up burnt and didn’t taste very good.

After finishing the meal and washing the dishes, I thought about going out for a walk. As I approached Zhongshan District No. 2 Primary School, I called my mom to come down and join me. For a while, we couldn’t find each other—the root cause being that I couldn’t understand her directional adverbs like “this side,” “that side,” “up there,” “down there,” “behind,” or “in front.” After finally meeting up, I decided to teach her how to use WeChat’s location-sharing feature. We passed an intersection, and I intentionally walked separately from her, asking her to observe the changes in the avatar’s position on her phone. She seemed to half-understand. At the next intersection, I did the same, telling her to come find me.

After two forks in the road, she still hadn’t found me. I called her to correct her directions, and she finally managed to locate me—though she looked exhausted and impatiently swiped WeChat into the background, returning to her home screen. I then asked her where she wanted to walk, and I followed her lead.

Somewhat expectedly yet unexpectedly, she took a wrong turn and ended up in another residential area, but we corrected it eventually. I think from now on, I’ll just follow her and let her lead the way.

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.

On the way back, I figured not eating wasn’t a solution, so I decided to have something easy to digest. I ordered a bowl of rice noodles, which wasn’t particularly delicious, but I managed to finish it with some garlic.

In the evening, I thought I should distract myself, so I played Honor of Kings for a while. The game is pretty boring, but at least I could play it lying down.

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.

We still had some time before the train, so we sat outside chatting about the present and the future—everything seems to be going well.

After coming back, I felt completely drained from staying up late, groggy and sluggish all day.

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.

In the afternoon, since we couldn’t think of anything else to do, Huanhuan and I took my mom to the zoo. Before setting off, I asked my mom if giraffes were as tall as a house, and she said definitely not. But when we actually saw the giraffe, it was enormous—so, so tall and big.

It was my first time seeing a giraffe too—so incredibly tall and huge. I even bought five yuan’s worth of carrots to feed it. Next time, I’ll bring my own carrots.

Oh, and fun fact—the giraffe’s nickname is also Huanhuan. Haha.

Happy the Giraffe

Happy is a gentle and curious giraffe who lives in the vast grasslands. With her long neck and graceful spots, she stands out among her peers. Every day, she roams the savanna, nibbling on tender leaves from tall trees and gazing at the distant horizon with her big, bright eyes.

Happy loves interacting with other animals, whether it’s playing hide-and-seek with the zebras or sharing stories with the wise old tortoise. Her kindness and cheerfulness make her a beloved friend to all.

One of her favorite pastimes is watching the sunset, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink. As the cool evening breeze rustles through the grass, Happy feels at peace, grateful for another beautiful day in her wild home.

Join Happy on her adventures and discover the wonders of the African savanna through her eyes!

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.

17:34 Achieved Multi-Device Sync in Obsidian

By configuring the remotely-save plugin and leveraging Tencent Cloud Storage, I managed to sync the mobile version. While it’s not as seamless as git, it’s sufficient for jotting down notes on weekends or when I’m out and about. Later, when I have access to a computer, I can push the updates to the website.

I’ve already started anticipating the rejection of my CSC application, looking forward to the stability of starting a regular job. At noon, Yao Dong called me to discuss work-related matters and mentioned that Professor Cai is also planning to study abroad, saying that upon returning, he could supervise Ph.D. students. Later, I came across a video by Geng on Bilibili, where he talked about wanting to pursue a Ph.D. in his 50s. I think it’s a great idea. The current issue is whether our abilities can support us in leading a relatively stable and smooth life.

Today, I also splurged on buying Dwarf Fortress, but the learning curve is so steep that I can barely play it. I also tried Turing Complete, only to realize my brain isn’t sharp enough for it.

In the evening, I went out for another walk with my mom. We walked to People’s Square and back, covering a total distance of about 8 kilometers.

Yesterday, I scheduled a medical check-up for this morning to assess my health condition in advance and avoid any issues with the upcoming pre-employment physical. So I got up early this morning and quickly finished the check-up at the hospital. The main focus was on blood and urine-related indicators, which were conveniently covered by the free check-up offered by JD.com.

After the check-up, I was both thirsty and hungry, and since the free check-up didn’t include a breakfast voucher, I went to Kaihui convenient store across from the medical center and bought a bottle of water and a grilled sausage. Back at my place, I boiled an ear of corn my mom gave me yesterday. The corn lately hasn’t been very sweet—fruit corn seems to taste better.

After eating, I felt a bit drowsy, so I simply lay down in bed to sleep. There’s a contradictory feeling here: I want to sleep, but I’m also afraid of falling asleep because someone always seems to contact me while I’m asleep. Then I end up answering with a groggy voice, which I feel leaves a bad impression. This feeling is definitely not great, and if I don’t fall asleep, my mind starts wandering, leading me to pick up my phone.

In the afternoon, I stir-fried some dried tofu, which turned out quite tasty. Then I went out for a walk. When I reached Minghu Lake, I called my mom and asked if she wanted to come out for a stroll. She said she was downstairs and came to meet me.

Just as she found me, my sister-in-law called and asked her to take my little nephew back home. I could tell my mom really wanted to stay and walk around, but I quickly urged her to go back for dinner.

Today, I also played a couple of rounds of Honor of Kings. This game is really boring without friends. Then I saw that Dwarf Fortress was on sale, discounted by about 10 yuan. I thought about looking into it, and it was quite impressive. Developed over 20 years, it’s extremely challenging and seems fun, but it’s still a bit pricey—even after the discount, it’s 86 yuan, so it requires a bit of resolve. Although there’s a free version, the learning curve is quite steep, and I feel like I might not be able to get into it.

We bought a big rolled rice pancake at Sige, and as soon as we got home, we started eating again. These past few days have been nonstop eating.

My parents planned to sell the corn to avoid it getting infested with bugs or mold from sitting around unused. They decided to sell it to my fourth aunt’s family for 1.2 yuan per jin. Before long, they arrived.

There was quite a lot of corn. We started moving it around at noon and didn’t finish loading it onto the truck until the afternoon. The total came to 3,858 jin, which should have been over 4,600 yuan. I suggested 4,500, but my mom said 4,000 would be fine.

The weather was really nice today, and the clouds looked so clean.

After washing the dishes and taking a shower, the entire morning slipped by.

Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, and Huanhuan mentioned she’s going to her grandmother’s house to celebrate, and I’ll be joining her.

At noon, I noticed something seemed off about Huanhuan. Around 2 p.m., she called and shared a lot about her recent emotional journey. I think it’s great that she’s brave enough to acknowledge some of the less positive thoughts in her mind. She had been struggling alone for a long time, hadn’t even eaten lunch, and even lied to me, saying the cafeteria was too crowded at noon.

After hanging up, I ordered her some Dicos (a fast-food chain), and I also started packing my things to head to Hongguo to meet her.

Over the past couple of days, while browsing CoolAPK, I noticed that Xiaomi 15’s system had a major official update. Many users claimed it was significantly smoother and more power-efficient, which made me eager to try it out. However, it was still in the closed beta phase, and I didn’t have access. So, I spent about an hour tinkering and managed to sideload it using a replacement method.

I used to love updating my phone’s system and apps, always eager to experience new features as soon as they dropped. But after my Xiaomi 10 suffered from negative optimization (performance degradation due to updates), I became much more cautious. From what I’ve seen online, this seems to be a widespread issue across almost all smartphone manufacturers. Devices where hardware and software aren’t controlled by the same company—like PCs—don’t seem to have this problem.

In general, it’s wise to stop updating your system and system apps at the right time. Here are two ways to determine when to stop:

1. About a year after the phone’s release, when the next iteration is about to launch.
2. When system update logs become vague and perfunctory.

If both conditions are met, it’s time to stop updating. Doing so will ensure a better long-term user experience.

16:36 Bought the Game “Kind Words”

Most people in this game are incredibly warm, unlike some other platforms. The anonymity and the fact that you only interact once with each person add a mysterious charm—it feels like the person on the other end is from another world.

I tried posting two questions and received some heartwarming replies, even though the answers were often things I already knew deep down.

My Request

Dear all,

I am confused about the meaning of life.

Should we devote ourselves to the present moment or to our future?

Reply with a Giraffe sticker

Devote yourself to you, and the future you. Only then we can became and shape our future.

It’s a timid relationship, but there’s no past without now, and no future without a past.
Devote yourself to what ideas and possabilitys make the now you happy.

If your path in the now leads to a good future, with the help of the past. You’ll do fine<3
F

Reply with a dancing Gremlin sticker

Life has no meaning but the one you choose to give it. On my side, I ask myself if my actions align with my values, and reevaluate either one of them if that is not the case. I think one must not forget where one came from, but not to the point where the past become a burden. Same for the future, it should be an exciting goal to tend to but it should not take over our enjoyment of the present moment. I hope you can navigate your life successfully :)
W

My Request

I don’t have a job right now. I am very confused.

Can anyone make me feel like I am not alone.

Reply with a Captain Astronaut sticker

J, You are not alone. Just because you don’t have a job right now that does not mean your are alone nor have value. This time likely has another purpose for you right now. I myself do not have a job right now but try to use the time gaining wisdom through the interactions I make and study a new skill. I actually just did some Blender practice since I want to get into 3D modeling and been trying to make myself practice everyday so I can be good enough to add it to my resume.
S

Reply with a cool Sunflower sticker

I am also unemployed at the moment and kinda lost to what I should do for the future. I am trying to see it as an opportunity to reevaluate my choices as I didn’t find fulfillment nor meaning in the corporate world, There are so many possibilities, it can make the choice daunting. You can do all the research and preparation that you want, but I think in the end it is only after you make the leap that you will know whether it suits you. Mistakes and doubts are part of the journey. So don’t be afraid to try and fail!
W

19:30 A Walk

I went out for a walk—it had been two whole days since I last stepped outside. Stepping out felt like being released from prison; everything seemed fresh and full of clarity.

I treated myself to some roasted potatoes from a place I’d been craving. The potatoes were delicious, and there were so many seasonings that it felt like they were giving away free potatoes with every purchase of seasoning. I also bought a bowl of silver ear fungus soup, but it didn’t feel like great value for money. Next time, I’ll just bring my own water, haha.

22:10 Bought Another Game—“Scribblenauts Unlimited”

Got it for just 10 yuan on sale at 杉果 (a game distribution platform). It’s an old game from 2009, but the art style and music are incredibly charming. It’s very relaxing and fun, and you can even learn a few words while playing. A great find!

Huanhuan and I played *Split fiction all day long, skipping breakfast. Suddenly, hot dogs appeared in the game, making us crave them so badly that Huanhuan quickly steamed two zongzi for us to eat.

As it got dark, we went out for a walk, thinking about buying some delicious grilled sausages. But we couldn’t find any. There was a single dried-out one at a Meiyijia convenience store, but we didn’t buy it.

We walked really, really far. Later, we suddenly felt like eating oysters and drinking Coke. We found a barbecue shop that said they had them, so we went in and ordered four while we waited.

After half an hour, the food ended up being served to another table, which made us a little upset. We walked around some more and found another place that was even cheaper. We ordered a dozen right away, but they weren’t very tasty. Maybe next time we should just make them ourselves.

I slept in today, and after waking up, we continued playing games. I was hoping to finish the game today.

Around 10 a.m., my brother called and asked me to drive to Liupanshui South Station to pick up Mom. When I met up with him, he said he had already arranged a ride-hailing service for her. We just happened to run into my brother, and then he left. We took the opportunity to have breakfast at Panxian Flavors.

Huanhuan seemed a bit reluctant to let my brother know we had been together these past few days, feeling somewhat shy. I think if it were me, I’d feel the same way, but there isn’t really a good solution for it.

By 2 p.m., we finally finished It Takes Two. It really is an amazing game.

After resting for a few minutes, I took Huanhuan to the bus station. Just as we arrived, a driver from Panzhou approached us, so we avoided having to wait in line for the coach.

When I got back, I originally planned to rest, but I ended up tinkering with Shizuku, Dizuku, and NFC cards on my phone. As a result, I didn’t get proper rest when I should have.

There were still some leftover vegetables from yesterday, so I cooked noodles with them again today. Simple but delicious.

After eating, I caught up on the diary entries I missed.

Now it’s time to get back to work and give it my all.

After waking up in the morning, I played with my phone in bed for a while. Huanhuan suggested maybe getting up to study today, but I suddenly remembered that we had brought the game controllers back with us this time. A rare holiday is probably better spent relaxing.

We bought It Takes Two a long time ago but never finished it, so today was the perfect opportunity to continue playing. By noon, we were hungry but too lazy to cook. So we decided to go out and grab some food—fried spring rolls, sweet wine with eggs, and some zhajiang noodles.

After leaving the supermarket, we saw massage chairs by the roadside and thought about sitting down for a break. To our surprise, this annoying thing kept using a microphone to prompt us to pay. Out of curiosity, we spent 15 yuan for 20 minutes.

The massage didn’t feel comfortable at all, so we decided to try a real massage at a blind masseur’s place. This experience corrected a major misconception I had—blind people aren’t just people with their eyes closed. Their lives aren’t as clumsy as I imagined; instead, they are highly skilled. Whether grabbing things, walking, or making a living through massage, they demonstrate that they are complete, capable individuals.

For dinner, we planned to make clam vermicelli soup. We bought vermicelli, clams, shrimp, lemon, baby bok choy, and cilantro from the supermarket. Following a video tutorial while incorporating our own ideas and adapting to reality, we ended up with a dish that didn’t taste great at first. I thought, “Oh no, this is a disaster!” Haha. But after adding a bit more salt, it transformed completely—so delicious!

Oh, and the phone Huanhuan helped me buy arrived safely today. I even took some really nice photos of her, haha. But then I accidentally deleted them all while setting things up.

After dinner, we washed the dishes, took showers, and then went back to gaming. We didn’t go to bed until 1 a.m.