Time management's a bitch! October update
October 17, 2025
A co-worker recently left for maternity leave. We're down a worker now, so I've had to take more hours to make up for it.
It's a pretty standard 9-to-5, and I wouldn't say I'm unhappy, but sheeeeesh! It's like there's barely enough time for my own thoughts. I typed this up on the clock!
There's too much I want to do right now. I'd love to keep drawing (I've become much less frequent since my schedule shift), I'd love to work on my writing, I'd love to play more games, watch more movies and shows, and cook more food. My schedule means I work, go home by 5:30 PM (unless I need to shop, in which case it's more like 6-6:30), take about an hour to cook, clean and take the dog out, and then I've got about 3-5 hours to myself before I go to bed to try and get my 7 hours of sleep and do it all over again.
This isn't remotely an uncommon occurrence for any working adult, but that knowledge doesn't magically make it fun. Having to crunch down the number of things I can give my attention to, on top of just struggling in general with giving any single thing my full attention is unpleasant and leaves me feeling like at least half of my week is being "wasted". With so little time to the self, it can feel like every minute has to "count", as silly as that is.
Despite everything, I'm doing my best to make the time I have work; because well, you have to! And the money is nice, of course.
Lately, I played a little game called Advent NEON. I'd been anticipating this project for a minute, but kind of completely forgot about its release! It's a fun, fast-paced and crunchy action platformer with Smash Bros-esque combat and a flow that can feel like playing old Sonic sprite animations. It's short but sweet, with some rock solid design and a hefty skill curve that incentivizes you to replay levels. The character designs are also really strong, and the core cast is quite endaearing. I enjoyed my time with it a lot, though unfortunately the genuinely intriguing and compelling bones of the plot feel like they go by too fast for its own good. Plot generally isn't important in games like this, but I always, always love to see earnest storytelling attempts so it makes me sad that such great designs and a good setup go to waste. Ultimately this is a footnote compared to the delicious dining that is the mixture of combat and platforming, though, so if you're hungry for a short but sweet experience, definitely give it a look.
Advent NEON wears its adrenaline-soaked influences on its sleeve for an equally adrenaline-soaked experience.
I also finished a rewatch of Kamen Rider Fourze; if you haven't seen it already, it's a truly wonderful series that I've regularly described as "healing". It's a lighthearted, feel-good season about a delinquent whose goal is to befriend everyone in his school. The main character Gentaro forms a tight-knit friendgroup with people from different cliques and accepts all their quirks and flaws as they work together to protect their school from monsters. It's a joy all the way through, with a lot of action, laughter, and tears. While it's not my favorite season it does so much right it's hard not to recommend to anyone who likes a good time, and I have fond memories of it as I watched it while I was in a shaky spot mentally. Kazuki Nakashima of Gurren Lagann and Kill La Kill fame also wrote this one, and fans of those series will definitely see his hot-blooded DNA in it from the moment they meet the protagonist.
There's a lot else I'm looking at too! I very recently started and am having a great time with the long-awaited Digimon Story: Time Stranger; those years of work did not go to waste here, as the improvements over the previous Cyber Sleuth feel immediately palpable. Next week is also the complete official English release of a Super Robot Wars-inspired Touhou fangame called Fantasy Maiden Wars. After trying the demo, I was immediately hooked by its faithful and satisfying adaptation of SRW's tactical gameplay as well as its more narrative-driven, surprisingly newcomer-friendly spin on the story of Touhou Project. And amidst everything, me and Marjorie are steadily hammering away at Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which has been no less compelling 28 episodes in as it was when we first started 😌
Fantasy Maiden Wars translates Touhou Project's mystical setting and lively cast into a mechanically rich tactical RPG with a greater focus on storytelling.
Outside of things like that, I decided I was tired of breaking out every week so I would develop a proper skincare routine. Looking in the mirror is just a little bit easier, and that kind of maintenance certainly helps me feel a lot better too!
I'd like to return to my more creative endeavors, namely my stories and my art, but have either lacked the energy or the time. I was also in the middle of reading Void Star... but unlike the prior Klara and the Sun, which I easily knocked down in like three days (excellent book by the way! may make a journal post idk), I haven't been able to get around to finishing it, to the point that I maxxed out my library renewals on the physical copy I checked out and returned to my e-reader 🥹
All in all, I've been continuing to do things that make me happy, even if it's not as often or as frequent as I'd like. It's been pretty nasty out there lately, and for people especially conscious of the way the world is shifting, especially my queer friends, it can really feel like it's going to be the end of all of us. It's a bit alarming, but I'm confident that we'll always find a way. I hope everyone is doing the best they can for themselves and stays safe. Halloween is coming up as well! Get a silly costume, or at the least treat yourself to some candy.