May I

Well, it's May, and this blog entry is going out early relative to when I usually post stuff.

April was full of writings, possibly the most actual writing that I had done over my blogs [that do not involve poems], but I don't expect it to continue that way in this month. As I had mentioned previously, I am in the second phase of my sabbatical now, the phase where the so-called liberation from the confines of whatever system I was in gives way to a realisation by all parties that I am really no longer who I was. I didn't go about trying to define such phases---that would be stupid---but I suppose it is one of those things that can be sensed, if one were actually attuned to one's inner thought processes, as well as the reactions of those around one.

Now that said, let me bring up the old routine that I came up with for reference here:

1. No zero days---I need to do something each day.
2. Weekly, attend church services.
3. Daily devotionals from Bible in One Year 2020 with Nicky Gumbel.
4. Daily reading from my reading list.
5. Daily, either play some music, or play some video game.
6. Daily, try to write something, either a piece of music, a poem, a story, a computer program, or a blog entry.
7. Weekly, get out of the apartment to do something different, or meet up with someone.
8. Keep to OMAD for at least five days each seven-day week.

With a new phase comes new adjustments that are sorely needed.

For one, Bible in One Year 2020 with Nicky Gumbel is coming to an end soon (day 358/365 as at today). For two, I think there is a limit on how much tweaking I want to do for my website before completely exhausting all those minor projects. For three, now that I am mentally in phase two, it makes more sense to look into tackling some of the unfinished things that I should complete.

In no order of priority, these things are:

• Build a new PC for mum.
• Finish up the missing diagrams for my 笛子 articles.
• Record that 埙 piece for HY to fulfil the condition she laid for getting me that instrument.
• Complete the adjustments to the scores for 《山村迎亲人》 that were made back for the performance back in November 2019.
• Schedule teeth cleaning at the dentist.

I've been procrastinating for quite a while, and I suppose that it is time to stop that. Part of the reason for the procrastination is the lack of proper equipment (the 笛子 diagrams need to be done either through my crappy drawing skills on the tablet, or some stand to hold my phone to take the pictures which I can rotoscope over), or a need to actually talk to someone (like setting up that dental appointment).

Better late than never, I think.

With Cyberpunk 2077 likely to be completed by the end of next week (assuming I actually stick to playing it most of the week), I can head onwards to play some other game. I know I've been harping about completing Feudal Alloy for a while now, but frankly, I think I'll probably abandon the run.

You see, I really don't like playing games that use controllers and not the keyboard/mouse. I don't know exactly why, but I think a possible reason could be my dislike of the heavy reliance on working thumbs to work the controllers. My right thumb-tip skin is particularly shitty for some reason, and thus it makes it annoying to actually control anything with it. Apart from using the interphalangeal joint to hold a pen for writing, I don't actually use my right thumb for anything that involves dexterity---this includes my musical instruments. For most woodwinds, the right thumb does nothing for pitch control; its role is to support the lower half of the instrument body.

The only exceptions (for the instruments I have) are the 口笛, 十孔笛, and the 埙. In all these cases, the right thumb tip is needed to control one of the tone holes. And that is the other reason why I still haven't fulfilled that promise to HY after more than two years. My shitty right thumb-tip skin still sucks.

Well, that's about all I have for now. Till the next update.