{{{
  "title": "Things I've enjoyed recently",
  "last_tended_to": "2/6/2026",
  "planted": "1/13/2026",
  "status": "sprout"
}}}

*I'm trying to find a good way to catalogue the disorganized set of things I've been enjoying lately. This could be anything from a post, a video, a movie, or just a moment I enjoyed. These are ordered by recency--I try to write comments as to why I enjoyed them to help me, future me, and maybe you understand. These aren't reviews.*

- [The colonization of confidence](https://sightlessscribbles.com/the-colonization-of-confidence/) is exactly the kind of story it uplifts throughout the story -- raw, imperfect at times, but genuine. I nearly shed a few tears in it's 10 minute narrative.
- [The Woman in the Park](https://rainstormsinjuly.co/Short/thewomaninthepark) describes the sanctity of a quiet morning commute. It reminds me of my own morning bus rides, which I protect aggressively. Despite them being twice as long as a drive would be, my bus commute gives me time to prepare for the day and relax after it. I love the description of the "morning almost-meetings". It mirrors the connection I have with my fellow passengers--I've never talked to most them, but I see them more often than many of my friends. 
- Interdependence: I had a bad day today, objectively. I was late to work, shoved a door into my officemate, racked up a huge charge on accident, nearly cried in front of my boss, had my grocery bag split on me, and couldn't find my bus pass getting on the bus. I still feel happy at the end of the day--I thankfully have a wonderful community around me who helped out. My coworker assured me the charge wasn't an issue, my boss made sure I was OK, someone helped me with my groceries, and the bus driver let me on without paying. I can't do it alone, but I don't need to.
- [brin.neocities.org](https://brin.neocities.org/) I love the style on this page! I'm putting it here to save for later--the ASCII tabs are so neat. *Later: the ascii tabs were the hook that got me, but the entire site is so much cooler. They've got an entire interactive portfolio in a little game--completely redefining my understanding of a "static neocities site". I guess the only thing that needs to be static is the filesystem.
- [stop postponing your life.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CdbolZvc1I) mirrors a lot of my current feelings about creating things. It focuses a lot on not waiting for the perfect time to *start*, but I think it's equally important to not pursue perfection before *continuing* as well. I've been able to tap into my creative urges recently--moreso than I have for the last 3 or 4 years--and I think it's because I've been thriving off of imperfection. I'll have to write more about this later.
- *Predestination* (2014): Transgender matrix inception fanfiction. 
- ["creating a digital garden to end doomscrolling"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tY7Z53QJo8) sounds like every other youtube video on self improvement with the indie web--it's not. I'm not even halfway through this video and I had to pause to write this because I'm worried I'd forget--or there'd be something *even better* to write. This video is less about what a digital garden is and more of the mindset behind it. It pushes back on the first-level idea of "consume more than you create" by countering with "listen more than you speak". Mindful listening is the path to **consumption that makes creation inevitable**.
- [Car Alarm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcutNFPwXPE) and it's sibling piece [Sirens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPfE3Of_tso). I fucking love the sound of the Khaen. These bring me so much calm (something about urban soundscapes). Pairs well with the calm before the storm.
- [F**k AI...Please do it yourself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSA8RTFdJgY) is a fun little video of "kids going around doing interviews" (as they described it). I've been watching a lot of "self-improvement" videos about reconnecting with creation and breaking free of algorithmic content consuming, so I thought this was going to be a video essay on why doing things yourself is better than doing them with AI. Instead, I found a charming video anchored deeply in real community--using graffiti and a vinyl record shop as the entrypoint. Worth the watch.
- A light dusting of snow on a black outfit. I bought a heavy coat a few months ago for my first winter in Wisconsin and it's been paying dividends. I love how the snow sticks to it but doesn't melt--it makes me feel like those Dutch sailors in Frankenstein with their beards frosted over.
- Footsteps of someone wearing pointy-toed shoes in the snow. I saw these while walking home--they reminded me of my mom saying "you could kill a cockroach in a corner with those" about some boots I thrifted. It's so funny how connected you can feel to someone who you'll never see purely by viewing their tiny impact on the world.
- [Netiquette by Virginia Shea](http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/TOC0963702513.html). I love any artifact of the old web--this one was mentioned to me by a friend on the bus. Source of the ""quote"" at the bottom of [Borders of Cyberspace](?cyberspace)
- Making eye contact with people on public transit when weird things happen. Whether it's friends or strangers, that little bit of community is one of my most cherished part of being on public transit over being alone in a car. *This was brought on by an unusually loud "stand behind the yellow line" announcement on the bus that caused me and my friend Sylvie to mime our surprise to eachother*
- [blanketfort](https://blanketfort.neocities.org/): I read this one on the bus home today. I liked digging deeper into the author's blog/personal page--there's three layers! The blog's style of writing inspired me to make this page. 
- [mikeyg.xyz](mikeyg.neocities.com) I found this one last night when I uploaded my website to Neocities. The style is really cool--similar to mine (monochrome), but much more artistic and chaotic. The photography is great--the urbex is super cool, but I actually found the store photos to be my favorite. Something about how invisible the subjects are to me in real life (through a conscious effort to tune them out) makes the photos seem more interesting. It feels like a historical record of something current.