shelves + sci fi + satisfaction

i don't want to say much tonight, but i do want to share that i built these shelves and arranged all this stuff today.

the shelves are from an old cabinet that fell from my garage wall a while back. i disassembled it, cleaned the pieces (a shelf, and the 2 cabinet doors), sanded them, and painted them.

Then I put the brackets on and put the shelves on the wall.

I did this all on my own today, which seems a bit wild, but it worked out!!

i really wanted to hang up my electrical drafting templates too, but they took me a while to find, so here's the space a bit more decorated but after the sun set. 

the scifi isn't particularly organized on here except the green shelf which has some of my favorite authors and pieces. 

and the artwork has a vague theme of light/color/vision

anyway, i spent several minutes after this was all done just sitting and looking across my room at my apothecary diaries shrine (which i find so beautiful) and this new space which is sooo satisfying. 

otha + park + frog + cunt

i've been having an absolutely lovely couple of days but feel a little unprepared to share it all

(1) I saw Otha on Thursday.

I have no pictures of this, but I did get a t-shirt. Here's a screenshot of my recent vlog (that's currently uplodading) where i am wearing the shirt. 

i really really loved my time at this show. it felt great. Otha seems really nice. And the opening act, Tricky FM... she was such an experience and I enjoyed it so much. Both were so good live <3

(2) I drove myself to the park and went on a walk by myself. 

this is a pretty big accomplishment for me because i can be slightly agoraphobic, and I have a hard time doing things for the first time. I missed my turn at first, but it was all ok in the end. I'll have to share some photos later. it was an extremely nice time. it felt very healing to look at little water bugs or little fish. 

(3) https://monomalomonomalo.blogspot.com/ shared a drawing of my little frog stuffie. i love the choice of stickers and it is very fitting for the vlog I have going up (which was all about bugs). i should've mentioned this in the vlog, but I forgot to ಥ_ಥ

(4) omg i almost forgot. i cut off all my hair. I buzzed my hair off. lmao, that's kind of big news. 

Immediately after, all i could think was CUNT! by ISSBROKIE

i feel like angelina jolie in Hackers... so... hot

bugs + bugs + bugs

i don't know how i feel recently.

a bit hollow i suppose. and too tired to do much. 

driving is fine now. i enjoy listening to music on my commute. I've been listening to my bug music playlist. 

today for lunch i had some leftover fajitas. yesterday we went to a local mexican restaurant and they'd been playing Kitchen Nightmares. This is a bold move because a whole section of each episode is the focus on lack of cleanliness back-of-house. I have to assume that many restaurants have things we woudn't necessarily want to see. anyway, seeing Chef Ramsey scoop kitchen goo off the floor or peer at cockroaches is not very appetizing, but there was something about it that was very funny and charming and we had a great time. Once my husband heard the low-volume signature of kitchen nightmares (that dramatic waterphone sound) he sat right next to me and we watched together. 

i listened to a lot of the Chinese band Backspace today. at least a couple full albums and some singles as well.

They're on my bug playlist. 

I think i want to film a whole bug-themed vlog. I've been reading Bug Boys and Rebugging the Planet. I have bug bumper stickers and I can go through more songs on my bug playlist. 

the Bug Playlist™️

Moth Love by 1tbsp

bugbite by tomcbumpz

party at club bug! by spellcasting

bugbite by death insurance

六眼蜻蜓 (Six-Eyed Dragonfly by 退格 (Backspace)

Luminescent / Hotaru by Haruomi Hosono

Moth by N8NOFACE

Worm Rave by Metaroom

The Roach by Genesis Owusu

Worms by Viagra Boys

Worm Putrefaction by Analepsy

Creepy Crawlers by BUGCORE

One of My Bedbugs Ate My Pussy by cupcakKe

ネ​ッ​テ​ィ​・​マ​リ​ア​・​ス​テ​ィ​ー​ブ​ン​ス (Nettie Maria Stevens) by  未来電波基地 (Miraidempa)

Worms on Tarmac by SOFT PLAY

Maggot by Amyl and the Sniffers

Bugs by SOFT PLAY

Buck Bumble Main Theme by Justin Scharvona

Mother Bug by Brutalismus 3000

Sentenced to the worm bin your organs shall fall out your ass by RUSTY LOBOTOMY

Maggot by Slutever

Evil Poison Terror Organization by Dj Smokey & Varg²™

--- important aside ---

i just was looking for lyrics for Evil Poison Terror Organization. i didn't find them, but i did find that Dj Smokey is playing in the city on Oct 2nd. And cha girl is going to Ecca Vandal Oct 3rd... so... asking my spouse for his thoughts on a double-header. 

Some lyrics for the song though, if you didn't believe it had Bug Content: "Hey do you want to be a bug influencer? Now's your chance, sign up for the Evil Bug Incorporated internship program right now. No more slaving away at the bug factory."

--- second important aside ---

found another bug song because I was looking at Dj Smokey and he's got the song MOSQUITOTOUILLE with Skrillex

and i remembered that this morning I thought i should add Mosquito Song by QOTSA to this playlist. 

Bed Bugs by Snõõper

Melomelo Bug by neko boku

Nekonekoneko by Goreshit (idk if it really is, but i believe this uses cicada sounds)

MOSQUITOTOUILLE with Skrillex

Mosquito Song by Queens Of The Stone Age

grits + turkey vultures

i don't really know how i'm doing recently.

i've been very tired and i've been allowing myself to sleep.

i've been wanting to read.

i've been reading, which is something i've missed wanting to do, so i'm happy about that.

yesterday i wanted grits for breakfast. my husband and i were up earlier than usual, for a weekend, and decided to go to the grocery store and buy what we needed for grits. We went to our small locally-owned store and looked around, but didn't see any. I went and asked and they didn't have any. But i got a scone and a coffee there.

Then we went across town to the big scary poor-service grocery store and looked for grits. we still couldn't find them. so I went looking for someone to ask. (i should explain. i don't usually ask about anything. i find that some weird level of unpredictable that I can't usually get myself to do it. but I guess the power of grits overpowered my fear.) I found a man who was unpacking boxes of wine to help me and he was actually no nice and helpful and i think i surprised him by how gracious i was at the end of our interaction. 

F1 returned, but Max didn't do well and Kimi struggled at bit. so I just didn't have the most fun watching it.

We also went for a walk yesterday and saw a dead tree full of turkey vultures. Probably over 10 of them. 

We have a bit of a joke with one side of the park that it might be cursed by a witch because one time we went there we heard some of the most eerie animal sounds. It sounded like really intense breathing. And it had such a lure on us even though it also sounded dangerous. 

so this time, we were kind of seeking that thrill. There were a few things of note this time. The tree full of vultures, a tree full of crows, and a tree that had been very dramatically split. 

i've been feeling a bit rebellious recently. i've been wanting to buzz my hair. but i know i might regret that. instead tonight i gave myself an undercut because functionally everything looks the same, but i was able to feel what it felt to have the clippers in my hand and the back of my head is fuzzy now. 

But it might still happen. i might still buzz my head. 

the end

you're going to have to stick with me on this one. i'm going to take you on a journey. 

step one: first we have to start with my delving into German pop/Deutschrap (Ikkimel, VICKY, etc.). While I was doing that, i found a lot (like a surprising amount) of reference either directly musically or through lyrical reference to Black Eyed Peas or Fergie. This put bep & fergie on the mind. 

step two: i got my license and have been commuting to work. to make the commute something i actually look forward to, i think about what album i could listen on the way in and the way home. recently i've been listening to Jennifer Lara, Phyllis Dillon, Evelyn Champagne King, etc. That and my more recent loves like Charli xcx, underscores, etc.

step three: for the past month or so, on the weekends in the mornings my husband and i have consistently had the song Lovefield by underscores in our heads. this song. this song. my heart. 

step four: if you shake this all together, you have Meet Me Halfway pop into your brain and refuse to leave. you drive to work listening to The E.N.D. and come to the conclusion that this album was ahead of its time, timeless, completely of the time, and also so influential. It seems like if this came out today this would be like a top tier hyperpop album. it's so... unserious but serious at the same time. 

something in my brain is saying that The E.N.D., Jennifer Lara, Phyllis Dillon, Evelyn Champagne King, Deutschrap, Charli xcx, underscores, and hyperpop are all related and all important and all beautiful.

all i'm saying is The E.N.D. somehow feels like a conclusion to a lot of what i've been listening to recently. And that feels bizarre and beautiful at the same time. 

witches + reading + lounging

i think i'm in a mode of filling my cup again.

i've been wanting to lounge and read a lot. 

today i finished The Witches by Roald Dahl. I never read this before, but i found the ending... a bit more melancholy that i was expecting. 

~spoiler warning~

"...I would never want to live longer than you," I said. "I couldn't stand being looked after by anybody else."

"...by then I'll be a very old mouse and you'll be a very old grandmother and soon after that we'll both die together."  

 "...That means everything we did was for nothing! Have I become a mouse for nothing at all?"

so strangely enough it's a bit about finding life's purpose and coming to terms with death. 

I went to the library yesterday and checked out four books. One of which i've started reading, Rebugging The Planet by Vicki Hird. for some reason library books seem quite a bit more appealing to me than the plentitudes on my shelf. 

i'll happily follow the feelings of reading and lounging, and i will happily follow the feelings of using my library <3

i continue to think about my robot boys and their story, but no writing tonight.

bumper stickers + nervous waitress

edited and posted a video today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUhTEuVnnc&t=6s

i'm happy with it and what i've been doing on the channel recently, but i keep losing subscribers every post. it's a bit discouraging because i'm happier and more myself than before. 

anyway, now that i have a car, i spent some time browsing bumper stickers with my husband (while we were waiting for a table at a nice italian restaurant) 

There are a lot of good ones.

I just dropped about a hundred bucks on bumper stickers. The promise of bumper stickers (and some sort of Jinshi decal) has been the only think i've been looking forward to in regards to driving. 

so here's what I got

(1) bug lovers have this bumper sticker shit DOWN. because tell me why the HOTTEST LIL STICKERS AROUND are all bug weirdos. now the Enjoy Wasps is doing double duty because I'm also a Coke girlie.

(2) media interests. I had some pretty niche requests. Like a Captain Janeway Bullion bumper sticker (which doesn't exist) but these did enough for me. And yes, I kind of understand that the tim robinson one is a cheap lil money grab because brat font... but... i love brat. I love Tim Robinson.. so... it's just the one for me, ya know

At the dinner, we had a waitress we've had a few times before. The vibes were blessed. She was so nice. She has a really nervous energy for someone who is a waitress so often that we've had her like 3 or 4 times at a place we've gone to... not that many more times than that. Anyway, she seemed really appreciative of us so i kind of wonder if she remembered us too. (●'◡'●)

bozo + lichen moth

now that i'm a Driver™️i have been back on my hyperpop shit

Bozo bozo bozo in my head all evening

The drive in was 10,000 gecs

not having very much energy after work to do much. 

but i feel like i need to do something tonight even if i have to stay up a little late to do so. Gonna try to finish the 2nd chapter of my robot fic. 

finished reading the 2nd volume of bug boys

my robot story features a lichen moth. I mentioned at work at lunch earlier this week that i was reading about lichen moths and the folks i was with made a joke about me "likin' moths" and it was a nice time.

I have stayed up a bit to finish the 2nd chapter. And it's done. The chapters are very short ~900 words each, but I am really happy with both of them right now. I love these robot boys so much rn.

lampshade + scifi

so far, two days driving - commuting - to work (and back obvi) and... i'm ready for a weekend LOL. 

But I am still proud of myself. 

yesterday I put foil on a broken lampshade that an etsy seller shipped in such a bad way. It was just wedged in a box with a single layer of bubble wrap. Anyway, i got it back for my 3rd wedding anniversary... and i just had my fifth. so i am going to try to stained glass it back together. 

we'll see how it works out. 

I'm also working on my scifi zone. Here's my old scifi collection

i'm a sleepy lil thing rn, so i'll bid you adieu for now. 

driver + new zone

i did it!

i passed my driver's test (on the first try!) after having like 8-10 permits & at the ripe old age of 32, i finally actually took and passed the test to get a license <3

i'm very happy that it's over with and now i just need to get my little self and my little car in to work every day. that seems doable. 

and i also have decided to set up a little sci fi shrine and electronic equipment refurbishing zone in my room right next to my new Apothecary Diaries Shrine. I used a stud finder and I got some brackets. Now I'm looking around to see if there's anything I would re-purpose as shelving. 
I think i might try to use this old cabinet that ended up falling down from our garage wall. Then I can reuse the screws too. 
i should explain. the shelving is necessary for the books to decorate my new little zone. 

Here is the location of the zone, or the before image. 

well, i need to go in to work tomorrow, so 

wall plants + spider-man

today we saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day

before that i did a bit of practice backing up

i have been very anxious this weekend waiting for my driving test on Monday

but i did a couple things today that made me feel better. 

I planted up two of these hanging wall vases & then also hung them all up over my new Apothecary Diaries shrine

so here's what the shrine is looking like now. 

The stuff on the wall is unrelated, but I really wanted some cool stuff on the wall. I am happy with it. 

There was a scene in Spider-Man where he gets hurt and someone in the theater went "No, no, no, no, no" and that in itself made me cry. Because even the fictional Spider-Man brings people so much hope. He tries so hard to be good. that alone. That alone is inspiring. 

anyway, i have cramps and now im going to read and go to sleep. and wish me luck on my test tomorrow
(～﹃～)~zZ but also ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) 

frogs + apothecary diaries + shrine

i'm pretty happy with myself today

(1) i practiced driving some today

(2) i went to my favorite diner

(3) i edited and posted a vlog (https://youtu.be/LsgQhdnCXh0?si=CYL0tdYpDg8SpoNc)

(4) i made an Apothecary Diaries shrine *this was life-changing 

(5) i went to the gym

So, the shrine

I don't know why i've never done this before. sometimes i struggle with caring if my house is taken care of because i don't usually value spending my time doing such things. but now, i was able to put out some trinkets, to arrange some houseplants, and to display my books. 

I'm obsessed. 

life can be so wonderful with what influences do to us. I saw that blog post from monomalo about frogs, i thought about my frogs, then after i saw them all, I thought, i should make a frog + apothecary diaries shrine. and now i have this. 

now, for yesterday (since I neglected to blog then)

I posted this chapter of my Apothecary Diaries x TOTK fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/67059565/chapters/239440116

I posted the first chapter of a Hyunlix Twin Peaks fic that I started some months ago after Hyunjin released Lover: https://archiveofourown.org/works/90099056/chapters/239446386

and i got this lovely comment: oh my god??? I’ve ALWAYS been looking for twin peaks x skz crumbs and this is perfect. I love this sm❤️❤️❤️

frogs + paintings

first i'd like to start with some frogs i have since i was reading this post: https://monomalomonomalo.blogspot.com/2026/01/whats-on-my-trinket-shelf-1-frogs.html

Frog 1:

I bought this at a craft fair from the woman who taught me how to spin yarn. I would love to get a spinning wheel but my house is honestly too small with the other things I have currently. Anyway, I love that it's got a big ol' frown

Frog 2: 

This frog i got from my friend's little sister, I think when I was in high school. It was a very kind gesture because she was a kid at the time.

Frog 3:

This frog i got from a thrift store when I was a kid. If you push up on the bottom, he'll collapse. 

Frog 4: 

i need to rummage through the little basket at the bottom of the above photo to find the frog trinket I drew here. A while ago I drew some of my trinkets, and this ceramic frog container that also contains a little ceramic fly is one of them. this frog was a gift from my grandpa back when i was a child.

I might have more, but for now these are them. I think i should make an Apothecary Diaries display with all my frogs too. (✿◠‿◠)

Now, for some paintings. I only wrote a little of my new story today, maybe a few hundred words, but I did do some painting.

This one is a lil guy. he seems pretty nervous.

I was originally going to make this into another robot, but now I'm thinking of adding some moss to it and making them some stacked rocks. 

this is all for now. i must sleep

robot boys + bug boys + chex quest

i might still paint tonight, but last night i felt so inspired by robots that i started writing an original story about two robots. 

i'm so excited about it.

the thing that's hard about original fiction is i don't get the same satisfaction from posting it and getting audience feedback since i want to be able to submit it for publication later. (it also doesn't have an established fandom lol)

it's fun thinking about what it would be like to be a robot. what would i care about? If I had access to so much information at any given time, what would excite me? If my companion and I shared all the same data, how would be different?

if you're worried that I'll care less about bugs since i'm writing a robot fic, don't fret. A small lichen moth is important in the first installment.

& i've been reading Bug Boys and this is literally everything i've ever wanted. I also just got my rhino beetle phone charm in the mail yesterday, so all day I looked at it and thought of Rhino-B. 

My cat just bit through a soda can. it was still in the case. He bit through the plastic and the aluminum. WHAT?

i've been listening to robot music too, obviously

but also this song, which i don't know if it samples Chex Quest, but i got such a sense memory for Chex Quest while listening to this

painting + robots + robyn

working on some little arts.

idk really wanted to make something new and low stakes.

im thinking robots

i got to use some electrical drafting stencils that i got from an antiques store a couple weeks ago. 

So i think this is the background and i'm not sure yet if i will do the robot digitally or with paint.

sometimes i think learning to oil paint would be lovely, because of how glowy oil paint can be. it's so smooth and tasty looking. 

But that would be a lot to commit to, for a passing fancy. 

So, robots. i've been listening to Robyn recently and thinking a lot about robots.

(1) Fembot - i'm critically obsessed with this song rn.

(2) Robotboy - i love how simple and sad the lyrics are

and now i just want to think about robots living their robot lives. 

there is so much sympathy i have for the robots in both those songs.

i'm feeling The Wild Robot. I'm feeling Klara and the Sun

thrifted hats + sci fi mags

 i took some photos of my thrifted items today so i will share them now

(1) a white hat that says bouliste and is from a men's pétanque club

(2) a bright orange Aperol Spritz hat - my preferred alcoholic beverage in every universe

(3) a black and white butterfly bag with the text of the first line of The Butterfly Obtains by Emily Dickinson

The butterfly obtains

by Emily Dickinson

The butterfly obtains

But little sympathy

Though favorably mentioned

In Entomology —

Because he travels freely

And wears a proper coat

The circumspect are certain

That he is dissolute —

Had he the homely scutcheon

Of modest Industry

'Twere fitter certifying

For Immortality —

as for books i got three issues of sci fi magazines. One Analog Science Fiction and Fact and two Fantasy & Science Fiction. There were a whole bunch but because of my recent acquisition of someone's entire Andre Norton collection, i limited myself to the ones with the covers that called out to me the most. Judge me as you will.

fire update - it stopped growing so crazy rapidly and they've started to get a handle on it. 

plumbing update - my husband didn't sleep much because of said fire so he fixed our plumbing issue before i even woke up

reading update - reading The Witches by Roald Dahl (for the first time); reading The Girl from the Sea by Lee Knox Ostertag from the library; a Jennifer's Body-inspired Hyunlix fanfic; & an IT guy Hyunjin office romance Hyunlix fic.

this morning we went to one of our favorite cafes and one of the women working there mentioned my Singapore GP hat & then we talked to her about her favorite drivers and such. She had nothing but good takes: rooting for Hamilton for the championship this year (i'm rooting for Kimi b/c who doesn't love a wunderkind); Oscar was robbed last year (and some Lando smack talk, which i'm always down for); & Russel smack talk, which i'm also always down for.

smoke + earthquakes + evangelion

well today didn't quite go as planned.

i did some dishes & we donated some things & got stuff to repair our plumbing issue.

but then a wildfire grew and grew and darkened the sky.

There is such an unease with the sight and smell of smoke. 

also last night i guess there was also an earthquake. idk like a  3.8 or something. i didn't notice it. 

There was another one during the week that was noticeable, like a 4.2. Anyway, i was focused on pulling my ramen out of the microwave and i didn't even notice. I thought i heard something, but my noise-cancelling headphones were on. my husband came running into the kitchen and was like "did you feel it?" and i looked at him blankly. 

There was a lot of ash falling as i watered my garden. 

so we didn't clean as much as we'd hoped 

& we didn't go to the gym

But i did drive us to the grocery store (first time driving at night!) and we picked up snacks and finished watching The End of Evangelion.

i picked up some stuff from the thrift store too. some books, some hats, a bag. 

I really wanted sunglasses & some old walkman or other electronic devices that i could repair, but the electronics they had weren't very interesting.

you are alive, so you will always have the chance to be happy.

as apocalyptic as today felt and looked, this line resonated with me to some extent.