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While searching for a new Mandarin video to study, I came upon G.J. Lee Ukelele's channel again. I clicked on the video and was pleasantly surprised at how much I could understand. Huge contrast with my experience last time I'd listened to his videos.

He speaks clearly, his voice is pleasant, and, added bonus, his videos include subtitles that I can use to correct any errors MS azure speech-to-text spits out, so I decided to study the video. It also helps that he doesn't speak at lightning speed.

I'm very happy to be studying this particular content. I'm getting tired of my main podcaster, the guy who talks like he's always smiling and doesn't pronounce -ung the way I'm used to hearing it; I'm getting annoyed with a content creator who doesn't clearly enunciate; and I just finished an episode intro of another podcast, one which is way too niche and full of unfamiliar and not-very-useful vocab. I'm not even going to continue studying beyond the intro.

Besides escaping those annoyances, it's time I accelerate my aural comprehension with content that's for native speakers. I've been enjoying studying some fairy tales and focusing on a podcast for intermediate learners, but these are training wheels I must soon cast off; the speech is not natural enough to prepare me to listen to people talking in real life.

I hate finding insects in my greens. Bizarre little brutes. Insects shouldn't exist. I feel like microscopic organisms should be enough. What's truly disturbing is when they are still alive after having been stored in the fridge for weeks.

Things are going fairly well for me; there just isn't enough time to do everything I want to do. Mandarin is taking over my days.

I don't want to go to bed. I want to keep making flashcards for my new video.

I had a good long sleep last night. Taking the quick-release melatonin super early seems to be the trick. Which is weird because it's quick-release.

The hot flashes have dwindled significantly. They're no longer ruining my days and nights. I'm trying to keep my caffeine intake low, but I cannot stop taking it altogether as long as I'm not getting a full night of sleep.

My hand and wrist felt better today, but started hurting again as I spent time searching through a scholarship database.

I made it out for a two-hour walk before breakfast today, and I didn't end up super hungry. Because I got a decent amount of sleep last night, getting up relatively early wasn't terrible. I'm always trying to add a bit of non-strenuous exercise here and there, testing how much calorie-burning I can get away with without spiking my hunger. I also crave sunlight in spring and summer and try to get some early in the morning to help me sleep.

I'm suddenly in the mood for an orange. One of my online searches landed me on some Norwegian sub-reddit, and the descriptions of the culture made me think about living there, and just now that made me think about how little fruit they must have there. No sun and no fruit, what a nightmare.

Both pairs of my main walking shoes have large holes in the soles now. My winter boots are rather heavy for day-to-day walking. I want to save the money to pay for my passport. And I'd like to refill a skincare product prescription that costs sixty bucks. Money.