Sharing today’s little adventures with you all — looks like the second part of yesterday’s “journal” will have to wait a couple more days 😂
Rundown + Thoughts (casual log-style, blame it on laziness 😜):
Finally had a proper rest day over the weekend — so glad there’s been no construction noise these past two days!
Woke up, reviewed some vocabulary, then met up with an older sister (feels more like a friend — our families know each other). Really grateful she spent the whole day with me and my sister despite her busy schedule. Haven’t seen her since around 2019, I think.
We chatted a bit, then headed to where our afternoon activity was and had lunch there. The Western restaurant we went to was actually pretty good — just a bit pricey (over ¥500 for four people, and two of us don’t eat much).
After that, my sister wanted to go to HiFun (kind of like an inflated castle playground with lots of activities — check it out if you’re curious! I thought it was fun). But since we’d just eaten, we wandered around nearby first. Saw some cute little trinkets I liked, but put them right back after seeing the prices 😂 (a small cat figurine was ¥79 — Taobao sells them for ¥20–75; a leather keychain? not sure what it’s called — ¥220, about ¥100-something online).
By the way, I really don’t know why I’m so drawn to this kind of stuff. I saw Naruto and Luffy and thought they looked awesome (used to follow both anime — stopped One Piece around episodes 100–200 because I got busy, and Naruto around episode 300, near when Asuma died). Might pick them up again when I have time.
Then — a huge and wonderful surprise! A massive book stall! (Like, 3 by 8–10 tables completely covered with books, plus shelves forming a semi-circle around them.) Must’ve had tens of thousands of books!
The last time I bought a lot of books in person was probably at a library in Singapore — but prices there are no joke 😂 (a book that costs ¥20–30 here might be ¥70–80 or even over ¥100 there, not sold at marked price). I remember buying around ten books and spending three to five hundred.
Before that, I recall a “book漂流” (book漂流) event in elementary school, mostly book exchanges. I hesitantly traded a Plants vs. Zombies comic for a Bear Grylls survival guide (ended up reading it several times — my thinking back then: comics are just for fun, not very “nutritious,” but Bear Grylls’ book could teach me useful things — more reread value and practical). Really glad I made that choice.
Digressing a bit — for some reason, I loved reading in elementary school. In my free time, I’d pick up all kinds of “miscellaneous” books — still remember Little Radish’s Story, The Magic School Bus, The Big Book of Why, Treasure Hunt Across China, Ender’s Game, etc.
After starting middle school, I gradually read less. Maybe I didn’t build the habit in a new city? In any case, over the next five years, reading and buying books became sporadic. I rarely settled down to seriously spend time on books. Feels like it’s been a long time since I finished a medium or long-length work — only a few short stories, plus occasionally rereading old favorites.
BTW, another big reason was that after that, with school and other changes, my family eased up on controlling my screen time (after renovating, it slipped their minds — in elementary school, I had to sneak around to play). With low self-control, my “lizard brain” took over, driving me to play what now seem like pretty boring games.
Put simply: a species’ survival depends on individuals living and reproducing, so naturally, eating and “mating” make you excited — any species that didn’t enjoy those would’ve died out 😂. Gaining survival and reproduction chances requires gathering lots of information — e.g., if you know fruit is ripening somewhere others don’t, you’re more likely to survive.
Video feeds, short videos, games, etc., thrive because the primitive parts of your brain release dopamine, thinking this is “useful info.”
(I’ll keep it brief — look it up if you’re interested! But compared to dopamine, I’d rather get endorphins — the brain’s reward after “pain,” source of a sense of accomplishment. For example, moderate to high-intensity exercise like my beloved long-distance running releases them.)
Getting off track again — my mind tends to wander.
Anyway, I skimmed Ambition Museum, thought it looked good, and then went into a “frenzy” scanning the book stalls (mostly half-price, cheaper than online, many brand new).
(Might be pirated, but unlikely — I’ll check when I read a few.)
Scanned three tables, about 20–30 minutes, bought 21 books for just over ¥400 — around ¥20 per book. That’s 21 cups of milk tea 😂 (My sister usually spends her allowance on snacks, drinks, celebrity merch, etc. — I generally don’t spend much 😂).
Then I was called off to play. Tried almost everything I was interested in, a few “extreme” items like bungee jumping (mainly high — up to 6m? Not scary if you’re mentally calm). My favorites were probably the trampoline and a table tennis game (even though their paddles were peeling — but with few people, it was like a free multi-ball machine 😂).
I’m also into shooting games, but the rules for laser tag were confusing (came across airsoft CS recently — BB guns, sniper rifles accurate to 100m, similar mechanics to real guns, just low recoil. Not really interested in domestic “toys” now 😂).
But to each their own — due to my high myopia and no glasses allowed, many rides (weightless types, though I’d find them boring even if I could see) weren’t very enjoyable 😅.
Afterwards, went back to the book stall for a bit, then rushed to a movie — Oh My School is officially my favorite comedy and best viewing experience so far, bar none. Laughed naturally and happily throughout — highly recommend if you have time!
After the movie, we had roast duck (my grandpa insisted, even though he’s on a business trip 😂), chatted more, and I felt I gained a lot. Wishing that sister all the best — hope we meet again soon!
BTW, lately, by the time I wrap up what I need to do, it’s often already 11 or 12 pm, so even though I’m posting late, I don’t have that much energy to write in detail.
