Weekend Writing Marathon

I started playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time with my wife for Valentine's Day. She's a big fan of the series, and we've really been enjoying spending that time together, trading turns playing. I really like the game so far. I tend to have bad nausea when I play or watch other people play with most games because of the motions in game, but this one I've been able to play for the whole day without a problem. I've had some luck with my wife's favourite games so far though, the Legend of Zelda have also been pretty soft on my motion sickness. In the past, I also managed to finish on my own the first 4 Assassin's Creed and Dragon Age: Origins, albeit at a much slower pace (in burts of one/two hours at most). And 2D games as well, like Stardew Valley, those have never been a problem. I once tried Skyrim but found I wasn't able to last more than 2 minutes before I started feeling sick. In general, first person games are a no-no for me, and anything 3rd person must either allow me to take my time with the motions of the camera OR be played by someone who also takes their time with it. Storytelling games (like Journey and The Last Campfire) and 2D games are the ones I can rely on the most when I'm in the mood for a video game.

It's just sad because I do love video games, they're a great way to share stories with people. And even if their stories are completely basic ("save the princess"), they bring people together in their shared enjoyment of them, and that's what stories do.

Apparently analogue is currently a trend now? On one hand: yes, good, decentralize your life from the apps. On the other: no, stop buying stuff to be offline, stop showing how much offline you are on the very apps that you are working to be away from!

I'm sure I'll either be speaking to people who already know that or just the void, but as someone who hasn't been on the main apps (Facebook, Insta, Tiktok) for like... wow, since 2017 I think??? (with a blip on Insta for a while, and just never been on tiktok), here are what you need to do to be analogue without buying anything (or with limited means):

1 - Get a library card. Free subscription for instant access to free books, movies, music, video games (some places also offer video game consoles), AN ACTUAL MOVIE SUBSCRIPTION APP FOR FREE (Kanopy), language learning (no need to be bullied by Duolingo anymore), free access to ebooks and audiobooks through the Libby app, and there's more that I've never used yet but I know others have!

2 - Get paper. You have it somewhere in your house. Printer paper, old notebooks halfway used. If printer paper, fold a few pages in two and make it into a small notebook if you prefer that format. Then, find a working pen or a pencil. I know you have one laying around too. Done. Now you can write, draw, create origami, etc. (For a low budget, you can get those from the dollar store real easy too if you want the thrill of getting something new)

3 - If you want to try any form of art, ask people around you if they have anything to start you with. If you don't know anyone, I guarantee you there are some IRL groups around that would be happy to get you started with the basics. And if not, turn to thrift stores and dollar stores to start something with a minimal budget and making sure you actually enjoy it first before investing more.

Remember: one hobby at a time. Give yourself time to discover if you like it or not before moving onto the next (and don't get discouraged if the hobby is harder than you anticipated either, allow yourself to finish your project before giving up).

4 - Your smartphone can actually be your friend. You don't *need* to get rid of your smartphone to decentralize yourself of the apps. First of, once the social media and subscriptions apps are deleted, you're going to download an MP3 player app (I personally use Pulsar) and Libby. Then, you're going to make sure your phone cannot show you notifications until a certain time a day (do not disturb between X and Y). You don't have to do that if you don't want to, but if you don't, you can also just deactivate notifications for certain apps and even people. Then, you're going to turn your phone to grey scale. No need for additional launchers. No need for special apps to keep you out of other apps. Knowing how your phone can work for you is really important. And, for the more tech savvy out there, you can even install Linux on your phones instead of having Android, don't be afraid to google how. I know it doesn't work on every phones but it's a good alternative to work with what you already have.

5 - Oh, and lastly, that analogue bag that that one influencer claims to have invented? Just use whatever tote bag you already got when following other trends. You know the one. You don't need to buy another one. Use what you have. And *don't* show it on social medias just to show how good at analogue you are by how much crap you own.

Those are my main advice to not fall into yet another consumption trend rather than do something that will really help you get to the real goal: reclaiming your own time with things that truly makes you happy.

I've been in a really big witch mood lately, mainly because February always seems to wake me up from my slumber and I feel like doing things again. I still consider myself at a beginner level when it comes to witchcraft, not because I don't know much but because this is the first year I'm actively working at making things work *for me* rather than try to follow other people's ideas. Correspondence, for example: I've thought about it and done my own correspondence for days of the week, and to me they work so much better than whatever I've read anywhere else. Heck, I don't even know if I'm going to use specific days of the week to achieve my witchcraft spells, but it's been really fun to think about.

I've found that I don't subscribe to the idea of labels in witchcraft. No "cottage" "green" "divination" etc witch for me, just... witch. I suppose it could help other people to put myself in a vague sense of a box when discussing witchcraft with them, and for that purpose I suppose chaotic artsy would work? It's kinda the same way that I live my queerness. I'm married to a woman, I've been with men before and lesbian is the specificity that fits me best I suppose, since I discovered that my interest in men was mainly comp het. But also, if my wife came out as trans tomorrow, I would still love her, still be married to her, because even if she is he, they're still the same person I know and love. I don't really like the term pansexual, and I don't feel like I fit the term bisexual, I'm definitely more on the asexual spectrum anyway, so the larger umbrella feels best for me, queer. Lesbian is just the easy term for other people, what's easy to introduce me as, the same way that saying "my name is (blank)" is the easiest way for people to identify me in a crowd. It's a really basic information that helps curb other people's expectations I think.

But circling back to witchcraft. One thing for sure, I'm not a Wiccan. Nothing against wiccan witches, it just isn't for me. Any kind of religious-type witchcraft doesn't feel right for me in general, at least for now (life happens, things change, it would be foolish of me to say never for that as I dive deeper into making witchcraft my own).

I'll probably share more witchcraft than other stuff here for the next few months considering it's what I'm deeply involved in right now, and honestly? I'm really curious to experience the natural cycle of my interests and see if it corresponds to some cycle of the year. I'm not following the traditional wheel of the year to begin with, but I'm interested in making my own (already started, but this process will legit take a year or five to take into consideration regular patterns vs one time blips). So, this is where I am now.