Daytime candle panacea

The yellow-orange glow of the candle next to me is calming. The candle is the herald of tranquility. The candle burns and keeps burning as I think procedurally.

Back to basics

In my previous post, I outlined a bunch of things I want for this blog in the future. For this post, I will just write whatever I want, which is usually what I do anyway.

I'll start by complaining.

I don't know why, but since I would say 2020, anytime I start to write in this glorious blank box, there's an extra space before the first letter of the first sentence. And usually after I write the first word, I go back and delete the space because I don't want it there. But sometimes I'm in such a rush to write something down that I forget and hit publish and so I end up with some posts that start with an extra space. I guess I'll add a permanent fix to my to-do list.

Now I will do some reflecting.

It seems that my diet has improved over the past month. I haven't had ice cream in weeks, which to me is a small but useful indicator that I'm taking care of myself. Furthermore, it's not like I can't just go into the freezer and eat ice cream: there's some sitting there. So I'm also practising self-control. A more obvious indicator that I'm taking care of myself is that I've lost 20 pounds. This is complicated by the fact that I gained 10 more after losing this 20, but hopefully some of that is water weight after significantly upping my carbs. And I wanted to strictly avoid gluten, like I do when I'm doing well, but unfortunately I just could not resist the onion rings in the freezer last night. I did, however, resist the hot dog buns, substituting crunchy romaine leaves and crispy bacon for a bun replacement. And that's a win for me.

Onto the weather.

Yep, all the snow I mentioned in The Perfect Snowfall is melting as I write these words. And there's a very real possibility that that snowfall was the last good one of the winter, which is a darned shame. The sun is hidden behind the clouds now, slowing the melting process somewhat, but if the cold weather doesn't DROP soon, it'll all be gone by the end of the week. Actually, everything might turn to ice because there is supposedly a low of -11 on Friday, which will freeze the melting snow into beautiful but dangerous ice sheets.

Ending with some gratitude.

I'm grateful that I'm free to write pretty much whatever I want. I could go into politics and complain about the state of affairs in Ontario. I could go into activism and promote a cause like the rehabilitation of wetlands for ducks. I could write about food and cultures and controversial spiritual theories here and not get into trouble. So I'm grateful that I'm alive and able to write here.

Roadmap ahead

I'm so glad I kept this blog up, and that I keep it updated. It took a while to eventually realize that this place is a sort of lifeline to me.

I've described the Kaleidoughscope of Writings to people IRL as a sanctuary, an oasis in the chaos that the internet is at times. The internet is not at all the same as it was when I first started writing here in 2007. It's a little scary, actually, when I consider the sheer volume of technological progress that has been made in the online world, with many positives and negatives being added to the equation of human life as lived online and offline.

In other words, I will keep writing. I will keep blogging. And I have ideas - many ideas - for the future of this place, and I know that some if not all will come to fruition. Here's a list of ten things I want to make happen here, in no particular order, and with currently no specific deadline for any of them:

• Standalone web domain; maybe still powered by Google/Blogger, but as someone who spends hours on the computer every single day, it's inexcusable that I don't have my own website.
• Tags for all my past and future posts; this is a lot of work, but not difficult to do. It's just the sheer quantity of entries - hundreds without tags - that is a bit overwhelming, but only I can really set the theme for some of the more cryptic posts. And I've been tagging for a couple years now, so I've already started this objective. 
• A place to make it easy to suggest topics, or, to contribute; probably the biggest weakness of my sanctuary is that it's not very social. That's mostly by design, but I do want to connect with my readers more. Ideally, I'd want more readers, but not because of some viral marketing gimmick or because I want to be popular. No, I want them to be here because it's a joyful or at the very least interesting place to be. Tried joining a random Discord server one too many times; not doing that again.
  
• Modernize the layout; but keep one of the most important things: the random button. So that at any time, I can click it and instantly be transported to a place in time in the past. Just the way I like it. Edit = You could try it, too. It's almost certainly not a jump scare, and if it is, well, too bad.
  
• A 30-31 day challenge; to publish a post every day for a month. And not just throwaway/freewriting posts - actual planned topics, or writing based around a theme for the month. To prove to myself that I can, and perhaps aim for more difficult challenges later.
  
• More multimedia - vlogs, podcasts, photos; I've done all three in the past (mostly photography) and gotten good feedback about continuing to do vlogs, for example, but as I've gotten older I've gotten shyer, I guess.
• Guest writers; to network a bit more, and introduce my audience to other content creators. Similar to point 3, really.
• A place to donate; tucked away somewhere, "Buy me a coffee"-style, contribute if you are so inclined. Maybe Bitcoin-only. To support and encourage what I do here, and help keep everything independent. May 2024: For now, still not accepting donations unless you know my personal e-mail.
  
• More self-made artwork; i.e. no AI influence for my visual pieces, and if I use ChatGPT, a very clear mention of the **prompts and the fact that I used it to assist with a blog post. As of today (Feb 16th 2024), I have yet to use ChatGPT for anything on my blog - not even layout suggestions.* This may change, as I've seen how useful that Generative Pre-trained Transformer can be when used properly.
  
• More humour; lawd oh lawd can this place be dreary, "ranty", and downright miserable at times. Sometimes my fury can lead to some pretty interesting rants, but I want this place to be more joyful moving forward and humour is an excellent way of doing that.
  

Bonus: A search button somewhere, so that I (and other readers) don't have to click through the different months and different years to find a specific blog post. Related to point #2, tags should help, but specific things I've said won't come up without a proper search tool. SUCCESS!!!

 *Actually come to think of it, ChatGPT helped me debug an issue I was having with YouTube embeds on my posts. This was only very recently, this month actually. The point still stands.

** Nah. But I will of course say when I've used it specifically for the post, but a good magician cannot reveal all his tricks - even if the tricks are robot-based.

The Perfect Snowfall

I've complained about the winter weather on this blog a few times before.

It's been a winter with very little snow. And I kept waiting for snow, and hoping it would fall so that I could bask in its glorious blanket of silent fluffy perfection.

And today, my prayers were answered! At around noon, the first snowflakes started falling. A few minutes later, it was more than a few, and pretty soon a beautiful snowfall began and lasted a couple hours before subsiding. And now, as I look outside, the shrubs and the trees are covered with delicate ivory-white snow; neighbours are out and about shovelling the sidewalk (which I'm about to go do after publishing this post); it finally feels like winter.

---

I went for a walk, more than an hour long, with some tunes and my vape. BC Organic Dancehall. What a trip. My cheeks are still flushed and burning somewhat after my little trek in this big city. And during my trip, I wondered what it would be like for someone who's never been to this place to be placed smack dab in the middle of it, seeing the graffiti and the trees and the fancy houses while walking amidst a maze of side streets and garages and cars. Dare I say, I was grateful for all of it, and that my own two feet could carry me through the snow; swoosh, swoosh.

Opalescent daydream

Pretty pink presents precipitously pulling pale & pallid posters posthumously prepared.

Blue buds barely being bare; revealed, relish rapid renewal, rhythmically rinsed rightfully; righteously.

What worldly worthless writs wear within, wrung worriedly?

Obscure oaths offer opulence once orchestrated; might manifests majestically, morally, musically.

Prevailing breathless winds; opalescence.

© Gabriel G-H 2024

Hooked in until the hour strikes 60min

 "'twas a good loss actually"

Those are the words I muttered to myself as the overtime wick burned for one last time this game. Right click left click wham; wait for CDs; right click left click WHAM; wait for cooldowns. Shift, shift, shift.

GAH. I'm not inspiring enough. I need to keep inspire up. Damage, heal, damage. Tank is acting insecure; so I step in. I dash out. I dance for a bit, then I wipe my mouth and explain the basics of Briggy to a beginner.

-

I look to my left; outside, the sun beats down on a cool spring day; WAIT. it's the middle of winter. It's wintersummer. Why is there no snow. Why is there no snow...

My mom thinks I'm crazy because I keep mentioning the fact that there's no snow. No, I know there was snow in this beautiful city. I know it will come back; the molecules are waiting, waiting to fall as crystalline glass in the jar of the globe.

-

Mei is one of those heroes that I first mispronounced the name of, before hearing it from Athena. D.Va, too. Brigitte, too, come to think of it. 

My.

 D dot V A.

 Brijette.

Words on a screen; names on a plate; voice actors should get paid.

As for me, I've given up on voice acting. Abandoned. Thanks, AI, I guess. /s

-

I must not end on such a negative, chaotic note. Hey Lyra, life has been dull & boring; but when you're bored, you're probably not snoring, which is good in my case.