Records about Life#
It's Raining All Over the World - The Power of Sharing Confusion#
These days, I listened to a conversation from the DUKU Reader Annual Meeting on the DUKU APP titled "Zhang Lixian × Zhou Yijun: It's Raining All Over the World". Well, I originally thought I was alone in the rain, but it turns out that maybe the whole world is in the rain. We all face specific environments and situations that are confusing and helpless.
In the conversation, there was mention of "sharing confusion," which refers to sharing the things that have confused us for a long time, such as "why children don't eat," "why children don't study well," and "how to handle cooperation with subordinates."
Sharing happiness may double it, and sharing confusion may make it feel less severe. Since there are so many people who are better than me and have so many confusions, even to the point of not wanting to speak, then my confusion is really nothing, and it will all pass.
Since I started writing my weekly journal on xlog, I often face self-doubt - is writing this low-nutrition weekly journal a futile act? Is it even harmful to others? What is the purpose of my weekly journal? And what kind of lesson should I convey in it?
Over time, I have gradually let go of these doubts. I found a possible answer from "Roasted Meat's Weekly Journal" - "simply recording one's life is enough to attract people." Whenever I read his words, it feels like a long-lost friend sitting in front of me, softly telling me about his fresh experiences. Especially when we have common interests and shared problems, a sense of familiarity arises.
Unlike a tool-oriented blog, writing a weekly journal is not just about recording life, but also expressing doubts and reflections from the heart. This itself has the power to make others empathize and make confusion less lonely.
As for the struggle against rainy days, I figured it out last week - "find something to do." Since it's raining all over the world, why not face it and do something. Panic and anxiety cannot solve the immediate problems, but immersing oneself in practical actions often brings unexpected clarity and calmness. Just like what I did last week and this week.
26th Birthday - A Year of Terribleness but Beginning to Reflect#
🍰 I turned 26.
It's true, ever since I turned 18, every birthday has just been adding another year, without any elements worth celebrating. Before turning 18, each year brought more rights, but after turning 18, each year only brought more obligations. So the only birthday worth celebrating is before turning 18 - from "No Game No Life 12" (not the original text)
In previous years, my colleagues at work would celebrate my birthday with great enthusiasm. But this year, I chose to "skip class" and went back home. This time, my family celebrated my birthday, and looking back, it's been about ten years since I had a birthday cake at home.
This year, to be honest, has been a very difficult year. I feel like I have reached a certain low point in my life. Just like the mentioned "it's raining all over the world," it seems like the dark clouds of misfortune are hanging over my head.
(I also had a birthday party in Animal Crossing)
But even so, I did something right. This is a screenshot of my 120 days on xlog, coincidentally with 120 followers. "Starting to write something" is the only thing I did right in the past half year. Sometimes, the turning point in life can come so easily. I had heard of xlog when it was launched, but I thought it was troublesome and didn't pay attention to it. Until that day when I really stepped into this cyber bar and tried ordering a cocktail (writing an article). The gears in my life that had stopped turning finally started moving again.
French Fries on the Hour - "Honkai Impact 3rd: Star Rail"#
As a long-time fan of miHoYo, I finally joined the game (a change of heart, 🤣 last week I said I would resist playing). This weekend, I defeated Kiana Kaslana and finally completed the initial storyline of version 1.0. It was my first time experiencing such a futuristic mobile game.
The biggest surprise is how immersive the Chinese voice acting is, and the lines don't feel awkward at all.
In this virtual world, each character has their own unique background story, making me involuntarily want to know more. Different characters have different branching storylines for character development. The story of the space station is quite interesting, and each small story allows me to understand the background of one or two characters. Alan's "From Me," "From the Mirror," and "From the Heart" training, as well as the misunderstanding with his female boss, made me laugh. 🫠 "Mr. Danheng, I respect you as a man," is indeed hilarious when March 7 is Qiya's alternate timeline counterpart. Clara's background is still a mystery, why does she walk barefoot? I really don't know if there will be more of Clara's storyline in the future. And Bronya and Seele are together (pseudo 🤣).
Playing this game pushed my tablet to its limit. I have an M1 tablet, and usually, 90% of the time I use it to read manga through mox.moe + Kindle, and it couldn't even handle the effects of iQiyi. Now it finally has a purpose.
PS. It was because of the line "Techno-geek saves the world" from Honkai Impact that I chose to major in software engineering. But after playing "NieR: Automata," I realized "games can be so good," and I retired from the mobile game world.
(I can't rewatch the completed storyline, so I only took a few not-so-good screenshots)
Emoji Packs and Photo Editing Basics#
Because I set up a Telegram bot last week, I became interested in looking at awesome-telegram this week and discovered several official bots that I had long ignored. I also learned how to create emoji packs on Telegram. It's quite simple - "crop => generate a 512 * 512 PNG image with fixed pixels" (I originally wanted to reconstruct the images in high resolution, but 512 * 512 is sufficient in most cases).
Taking this opportunity, I wanted to learn about photo editing tools, so I asked Yu. Although my needs are only for creating emoji packs, it's good to be prepared with the right tools~ His list is really amazing, and I used to search on Google, Zhihu, or Bilibili whenever I wanted to use a specific type of software. It was overwhelming, and I couldn't tell if it was a promotional article or a genuine comparison and evaluation. (So I ended up getting Affinity Photo on Black Friday)
(After looking through the screenshot list on my iPad, I made some edits)
Well, I made the first version of the meme emoji pack, but even though I made the emoji pack, there's no one to chat with (I'm a fool with few friends). I once tried to invite many people to join Telegram, but over time, they gradually became "Deleted Account," so I gradually gave up on inviting real-life friends and classmates.
Maybe it's because I have fantasies about distant things. I'm the kind of person who doesn't like the surroundings but prefers the distance. That's why I like other worlds so much, like a pure cyber electronic person.
(I scrolled through the screenshot list on my iPad and made some edits)
Technical Matters#
- Cloudflare: I originally thought Cloudflare's billing based on usage was a good thing, but it turns out it's just a way to attract people into the pit. In reality, it's still not cheap.
- MongoDB: I figured out how to deploy a MongoDB cluster and how to make it more secure. I'll organize it into a TIL and share it in a few days.
Input#
I've been busy all week and didn't have much input. Maybe I can read some articles tomorrow and clean up my Inoreader list.
"Another" - A Post-Reading Review Written After Ten Years#
Nowadays, even if I really like a work, I tend to forget about it after a while. But this work is the complete opposite. I watched it about ten years ago when I was still in high school.
Even after so many years, I still remember it vividly. Maybe it's because the suspense and horror elements were significant and shocked me as a child, leaving a lasting impression.
The death scene that scared me the most was when an umbrella pierced someone's throat, and the real-life version of a student being electrocuted was unforgettable. The scene where the two ignored people imagined dancing together in class is one of the few moments that made me smile. The whole series feels very oppressive.
Afterword#
This time when I look at my parents, it feels like how my parents used to look at me. It's a feeling similar to "hating iron for not becoming steel." Seeing them stuck in such a narrow understanding of the world actually makes me feel uncomfortable.