Currently Listening: Check the end of this post for a loOoOOng list
Currently Reading: Death Note, David Lapham's Stray Bullets, just finished Vurt for the second time
Currently Playing: Cyberpunk 2077 (still on PS4 slim although I added an SSD), Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh (again!)
Currently Watching: Chambers (2019), X-Files season 5, just finished Better Call Saul. My housemate has the complete series of Serial Experiments Lain on VHS. It looks like that particular anime is pretty popular here on Neocities? Guess that's next
Warm and sunny where I am. I hadn't left town in more than a year so I went to a nearby major city to go see 100 Gecs and Machine Girl. Both sets blew my expectations out of the water. I hadn't been to a concert in so long. Great crowd too and superbly dressed (I saw lots of wizard hats and two full wizard costumes). The heat was ridiculous (triple digits. I drank pedialyte every day) but the vibe was unparalleled. Since I was on vacation, I went to a comic book store and spent the most money I ever have (and probably ever will) on a single comic book; $50 on a one-volume copy of Death Note. Not only do I want to finish reading the series, but the book itself is humorous to look at. It's ridiculous. Maybe I'll update this blog post later with a pic, once I declutter my desk of anything personally identifying/embarrassing, also to show off my hot pink Veil of Maya cassette that just came in the mail. I couldn't make their show and they wanted $35 for the vinyl album so I bought a tape instead. So worth it.
Back at home, we're getting a garden started. So many different herbs and vegetables. Extremely pungent cilantro. Pumpkins and marijuana for fun and watermelons just to see if I can (it doesn't look good). I'm very lucky to both have the space and because the dog isn't digging up any of the garden. We're needing to water twice a day where we are, and as I type this I'm watching the sun set through my window, waiting to serve up the plants a second round.
Reading this you're probably wondering, "tower-falls, how do you support such an extravagant lifestyle?". Well, I hadn't gone in vacation or even out of my (small) city in over a year, and had a bit put away for a trip like the one I took. Also, I'm 7 months free of alcohol, which has been great for budgeting. Especially because I always liked to shell out for the good stuff when I was drinking. I've also lost more than 20lbs (~9kg) just from playing video games with a seltzer on my desk instead of a hard drink. And I did it without going all born-again or becoming a high-and-mighty straight edger. I do smoke a little more weed though, and I also developed this sweet tooth I never really had before. And my sleep quality is way worse. All the literature said I would be sleeping better! Anyone thinking of quitting, please know that better sleep quality is a LIE. But still, I had a bit of extra spending money so I also bought a new pair of glasses (which I needed, I have a cataract), a new bicycle (which has almost already paid for itself by saving money from taxi rides), and my last for-me buy for a while, that industrial piercing I've wanted for a few years now. (I got it just today! ow!).
Finally got around to finishing Better Call Saul. It was as good as they all said, despite being able to count all the women characters on one hand. I started Chambers after hearing it was spooky and weird, and discovered it was also set in the American Southwest, the place I call home. (I have also sent a good amount of time in the real life "Crystal Valley". Yes, there are sinister and unsettling vibes there as well as plenty of white people playing around with sage). I just finished re-reading Vurt, which I first read right after Skrillex released Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites, which was great to listen to while reading the book. It was written in 1990s U.K., so dance music is coursing through the novel's veins. Highly recommended if you want scuzzy miserable cyberpunk with a ton of imagination.
Things are good right now so I want to hold on to this moment in case I need it later, or in case you need it now.
tower-falls, summer solstice 2023