RAVING/HAPPY SH!T MEGATHREAD

we need to add this emoticon to the site:

Hear, hear! I have been using it more and more now and it accurately conveys 99% of the content of my pancake posts.

Enjoy. Don't be afraid to say hello if you see me.

Haha, thanks~!

Hear, hear! I have been using it more and more now and it accurately conveys 99% of the content of my pancake posts.

Right? Too bad not everyone appreciates it the way that it's meant to be. xD

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52913521/meet-the-street-artist-making-us-smile-during-the-pandemic

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52913521/meet-the-street-artist-making-us-smile-during-the-pandemic

Like the Tibetian art of awesome colored sand mandala.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52913521/meet-the-street-artist-making-us-smile-during-the-pandemic

I really love this: "Science is how we solve problems, but art is how we cope with them."

Sprung for a battery-powered mini amp (VOX mini 3) and I'm very pleasantly surprised by the volume and tone!  I wasn't able to test it in person (and videos can be deceiving) but it was on sale on Coupang so goodbye my money  and there was only a 5000W fee to return it so I figured it was worth the risk. 

Two days of decent rain last week, plus it's chucking it down now hopefully until tomorrow.  Already better than each of the last three years of 'monsoon' in Korea.

Rain forecasted ALL WEEK, for the next 10 days here in the southeast.

The Monsoon season used to be 4-5 weeks straight of warm downpour. I come the rainy city of Vancouver and had never experienced that kind of heavy, constant warm rain. I loved it. It has been mild in recent years.

After the rain, going hiking in the mountains with the mountain streams flowing and crackling is lovely.  Only downside is checking that you don't step on the toads in the path.

After the rain, going hiking in the mountains with the mountain streams flowing and crackling is lovely.  Only downside is checking that you don't step on the toads in the path.

Last week, all the teachers at my hagwon went for a morning hike in Jiri national park, going up Snake Death Valley (Gem Sa Ggul) at the north end of the park, and the stream water was cool and tasty. I didn't see a single toad, but the birds were lovely.

Last week, all the teachers at my hagwon went for a morning hike in Jiri national park, going up Snake Death Valley (Gem Sa Ggul) at the north end of the park, and the stream water was cool and tasty. I didn't see a single toad, but the birds were lovely.

Bird song is my absolute favourite thing along with the crackling stream.  If I've been really busy at school, going for a walk around 6pmish  just listening to the birds sing in the forest is great to hear for relaxation.  There's one bird I can't identify because it's hard to approach and see, but it has a really lovely variety of songs.  Like a blackbird in England.  Also a lot of woodpeckers are out at the moment.  I even heard my first cicada on Saturday, meaning summer is pretty much here.

...also this is the nicest time to sleep at night, before we hit the sweats in the summer.  Cool, and because of the rain, there is no dust so you can sleep with a window open and have a gentle breeze, knowing you'll not be getting a lung full of pollution. 

going for a walk around 6pmish  just listening to the birds sing in the forest

Now I think you're a girl again. I'm so confused

Now I think you're a girl again. I'm so confused

 

Now I think you're a girl again. I'm so confused

While drinking massive amounts of soju and eating ramen over a camping stove in full Eider camping gear (bottoms: black with accompanying nylon belt; top: wicking material with caramel sleeves and vivid orange torso). Manly, nah?

A lot of men enjoy birdwatching.

Among them Paul McCartney, Wes Craven, Albert Einstein, several American presidents (including Roosevelt and Carter), E.B. White, Ronnie Omelettes, myself.

A lot of men enjoy birdwatching.

I'm amazed that standing and listening to bird song in a quiet forest is not one of the most amazing, simplest, and most relaxing things to do for most people.  I will also add sitting on a beach or coastline and listening to the sea and the waves crashing on the shore or rocks.  Two of my favorite, simple pleasures.  If you can't enjoy those two things....

I'm amazed that standing and listening to bird song in a quiet forest is not one of the most amazing, simplest, and most relaxing things to do for most people.  I will also add sitting on a beach or coastline and listening to the sea and the waves crashing on the shore or rocks.  Two of my favorite, simple pleasures.  If you can't enjoy those two things....

I set my aquarium's light timer for 8hrs and to turn on at 2pm. Between 9-10pm, I love turning off the lights in my living room and just watching my fish, perhaps with some Super Metroid 'Maridia Theme' playing.

For me, the ultimate level of relaxation is rain, thunder, a dark sky and dimly lit room.

These days, I get to work at about 8, so it's great to open the windows, keep the lights off and just listen to the birds and feel the light morning breeze... till my CT enters, closes all the windows, turns on every florescent light and moves around with the footsteps of a marching band.

I set my aquarium's light timer for 8hrs and to turn on at 2pm. Between 9-10pm, I love turning off the lights in my living room and just watching my fish, perhaps with some Super Metroid 'Maridia Theme' playing.

For me, the ultimate level of relaxation is rain, thunder, a dark sky and dimly lit room.

These days, I get to work at about 8, so it's great to open the windows, keep the lights off and just listen to the birds and feel the light morning breeze... till my CT enters, closes all the windows, turns on every florescent light and moves around with the footsteps of a marching band.

Brilliant and so simple.  That's how it should be.

I'm always reminded about a thought experiment that Daniel Kahneman surmised about the 'remembering self' and the 'experiencing self'. 

'The experiencing self knows only the present moment. The remembering self is a storyteller (“that was a good hike”; “that was a bad flight”), and it can dictate our actions when we think of the future as an anticipated memory (“that will be a fun trip”).'

https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory

I'm always reminded of this when I visited Zurich a couple of years ago and I was just sat there, taking in the beautiful scenery on a boat trip and enjoying the moment.  And seeing a Chinese lady taking selfie after selfie after selfie in different places on the boat.  The whole 1 hour trip was just selfies.  That said it all about the difference between the remembering and experiencing self to me.  I know we've discussed this before.  As I've got older, I've learnt to enjoy a moment, a beautiful sunset, a downpour of rain, birds singing etc.  Simple pleasures, I suppose. 

turns out grinding a small ledge is actually super easy. i just need to get some wax so i can go more than an inch before grinding ( ) to a halt. now i just gotta learn something super steezy like pop shuv-it out (or pop shuv-it in  )