2025 – Week 29 and Late Q2 Update

This week began with finishing my part of the preliminary budget at work. Glad that’s over for a bit. I’d say I could breathe again, but we were under a smoke advisory in the region from summer wildfires making their way across the country via the air currents.

Next up was priming the cement, so I could get going on the flooring in the kitchen. Then it was a two-hour wait to do anything. I worried I hadn’t bought enough flooring. Sometimes I forget parts of my plan because it’s been so long since the plan was made. Anyway, I figured out that I probably measured based on the area that doesn’t include the parts that are hidden under cabinets. That makes the most sense. I suppose I got a bit sidetracked with all the rotted areas I needed to fix under the cabinets. This meant I was actually really close to having a sink again because I could mark out the backsplash area. Installing that is the step that is crucial before the sink.

On Tuesday, I filled some areas around the house with spray foam. Some were in the kitchen and others were in the bathroom. Most were around the water pipes and drains. It was all I had time for as my gaming buds were taking me out for a birthday dinner. Given the heat warnings, we decided to get take away and watch The Last Unicorn. It’s supposedly a secret Studio Ghibli film. Many of the animators who did it are now part of Studio Ghibli. I’m not much for animated films generally, but Ghibli stories are wonderful and the animation has a special quality to it. They are often children’s stories that don’t shy away from hard topics like an ill family member. They also often tell the story with a child protagonist without it being dumbed down as much as American animated films tend to do. A lot of his work also involves the environment as an important piece.

Anyway, The Last Unicorn was quite weird in many areas. It’s partly a product of its time though. The 80s held other such films like The Neverending Story where we saw Artax the horse die in the mud. The animation also had some Hobbit like moments blended with some better animation, so it was odd. The penis and/or boob tree was some kind of drug fueled nightmare that we probably could have done without, but some people liked it.

By Wednesday, I figured out that my shut offs need to be lowered in my kitchen in order to install my sink. One of them is definitely doable. The other may need a full unit shut off in order to change it, which means requesting access to the water closet in the hallway. I’m hoping I don’t have to do this as it will likely hold things up. Grrr.

Thursday should’ve been karate, but I was tired and my gi wasn’t dry.

On Friday, friends and I went to The Room as a birthday outing since we have birthdays close by each other. There was a decent crowd despite Green Day and Nature Nocturne also going on. We also had some delicious Greek food for dinner at The Greek Souvlaki Shack on Bank.

Saturday held a party out of town and it was a good time. After six hours, I was needing to recharge my social batteries though, so I headed home. Parties are often hard for me. There are a lot of people there I don’t know and I take years to be comfortable with new people. I probably come off as boring, rude, or weird.

On Sunday, I began the backsplash work, but it was mostly preparing for it because I needed to make space for the saw and such. I marked the first tiles for future cutting. It took me a lot to get to this point. I kept thinking I had to do it in a more complicated way, but then I measured and realized this is all that’s needed for the one spot. I was worried it would stick out far beyond the sink cabinet, but it’ll only be about half an inch.

I updated my list of tasks and determined I’m about 32% through the renovation. This knowledge is a bit depressing, but the only way out is by doing the work. I also figured out that my spice racks need to be modified slightly to fit my spice bottles. Glad I checked before painting them, but I’m annoyed all the same. You can keep track of the reno on my Trello.

It was also game night. The current campaign is so different than the last. We had a ridiculous amount of time spent on traveling in the previous one. And we were mostly in caves or ruins. So far, we are in a city and often doing errands or fighting a larger variety of foes. This week, I won the pie-eating contest thanks to this nat 20.

Then, we took care of some zombie fungi.

I’m the one with the tail.

We also moved out of the sketchy bar and into one of the clan homes for now. And we levelled up, so new skills are here. I’ve added poisons to my arsenal. I chose that instead of dual wielding. I can smack people with my tail anyway.

Q2 Update & Revised Goals List

I’ve changed my mind on some goals and needed to pause others due to the kitchen renovation. This is just how life goes sometimes.

REVISED 2025 GOALS LIST

HOME

Bookshelf modification [DONE]Entranceway Refresh [Q4]Kitchen Renovation [IN PROGRESS]Paint Doors [Q4 or 2026]Bedroom Closet Opening [2026]

WRITING

Cyberfunk 3000 [IN PROGRESS]Sparker [IN PROGRESS]Blog once weekly [IN PROGRESS]

READING

2/8 Books

MUSIC

Choir [Q2 DONE, Q4 PENDING]Ableton [Q4]Music theory course [Q4]

FITNESS

Softball [IN PROGRESS]Karate [IN PROGRESS]Skating [IN PROGRESS]Walking [IN PROGRESS]

TRAVEL

Plan a trip for 2026

ARTS & CRAFTS

Procreate course [Q4]Fairy Cross-Stitch [Q4/2026]Summer Quilt [IN PROGRESS]Entrance Table Runner [IN PROGRESS]Knit Vest [IN PROGRESS]Wolf Cross-Stitch [ON HOLD]Goth Quilt Skirt [ON HOLD]Kiki’s Magic Emporium Miniature Kit [ON HOLD]

LANGUAGES

Learn Japanese [ON HOLD]Learn French [ON HOLD]