i live!!!!

obligatory "i'm sorry i was gone for so long!!" opening, since it feels like all of my weekly blogs start with something along those lines ^^;;... let's just try to forget about that, lol...

in all seriousness, though, i haven't written a blog like this in a hot minute! i'm very excited to (hopefully) get back into the swing of things~ lots has happened, so i'm preparing for this week's blog to be kind of a behemoth... read at your own risk, muahahaha!! “ψ(｀∇´)ψ

oke, let's get into it~ ( ^▽^)ψ__

this is perhaps the update everyone has been waiting for... i got my betta!!

here he is, the man himself: megatron! (＾▽＾) he's a crowntail betta, and he has some really beautiful blue accents on his scales and fins~ i know i said i was planning to get a koi betta, but the store didn't have any available, and i really liked him, so it worked out in the end! i got him on july 22nd, so i've had him for about 2 weeks now~ he's been doing wonderfully, and he's really adjusted to the tank! i did have to black out the sides of the tank, since he kept trying to fight his reflection, but since then, he's chilled out significantly (lol). i'm still debating blacking out the back, but he doesn't seem to mind it, so i'm not sure yet. megatron has such a funny little personality, though! he's definitely a bit spicy, but a bit of a scaredy cat at the same time; he tries to act tough but if something brushes him the wrong way he'll bolt and go to hide, lol ｡ﾟ( ﾟ^∀^ﾟ)ﾟ｡ i've had a bunch of fun just watching him do his thing and explore, and i think he's a pretty happy lil guy!

i also got two nerite snails!

this isn't the greatest picture of them (it was taken the day i got them), but they're actually a bit difficult to take photos of! ∑d(°∀°d) the smaller one out of its shell is named kirk, and the bigger one that was hiding is spock~ i call them the spirk snails, and while it's definitely harder to gauge their personalities, i think they're such fun little critters! they've done a really amazing job keeping the algae in my tank in check, which i'm really happy about, so they were definitely a great addition~  megatron doesn't seem to mind them at all, which is such a relief, because i was scared his feisty attitude would not bode well for the spirk snails... thankfully, there have been so many issues!! (⌒_⌒;)

in other news, i've been really diligent about studying japanese lately! i recently started using the genki textbooks, and i really like them so far! i use it in conjunction with anki, renshuu, and duolingo. i am trying to phase out using duolingo altogether since... yikes (눈_눈). i did some more research on their use of ai, and as i use other resources, it's becoming increasingly clear that their japanese course is garbage (￣ヘ￣). so, i'm only using it as a repetition tool these days; i do like that it encourages you to do a lesson everyday, which is why i'm still using it, since it means i'm at least using/speaking japanese once a day. i'm planning to get my streak to 365 days, then i'll stop using it, which should not take much longer since my streak is currently at 265 days, lol... 100 more days to go! if anyone else is looking for a duolingo alternative for japanese, i do recommend renshuu. it's like if duolingo's japanese course was actually good, and i think i'm making good progress with it!

i wanted to get serious, because my plan is to take the jlpt n5 exam in 2027! i googled the closest testing center to me on a whim, and i saw that registration for the 2026 exam started this month and the test dates were in december. i was tempted to register for the 2026 exam, but since taking it would require some travel and it was relatively short notice, i figured aiming for the 2027 exam was the better option. this way, i have basically an entire year to study, and i feel quite confident! ^^ i can plan for travel better this way, and i knew if i took it in december, i would be in "study to pass" mode and not "study to retain information" mode... not great when you're genuinely trying to learn a language... ~(>_<~)

i also recently downloaded hellotalk, and after hearing a bunch of horror stories about it... it's fine? granted, i've only been using it for about a week, so maybe i've just not run into any genuine freak yet, lol... the app is a bit annoying (i swear, if they keep trying to sell me a vip subscription (╬ Ò﹏Ó)...), but the people i've talked to are quite nice! your language learning definitely depends on how talkative the other users are, but once you find a serious language partner, it's so useful! i will definitely update on any hijinks i encounter, though xD

my next semester of college starts in about 2 weeks! i literally cannot believe i'm gonna be a junior in college, and graduate with my associate's in december. like, the thought of it kind of makes me freak out (O_O;). after i graduate, i'll be transferring to a 4-year college and finishing my journalism degree there, and i really gotta recommend the community college route to everyone thinking of going to college. doing my gen eds at a fraction of the price really makes me wonder why anyone starts off at a 4-year at all, because oof. that's one expensive english 101 class. i do feel a bit underprepared, to be honest; for some reason, i figured i'd know more by now? i talked to my mom, and she said a college degree doesn't really prepare you for much, so that did make me feel a bit better, but the idea that i'm nearly done with my degree and cannot fathom working in the industry yet? it's kind of getting to me (￣ω￣;). here's to hoping this semester goes as well as my others have! (*_ _)人

alright, i think i've yapped enough... i hope everyone enjoyed this little life update~ i did really miss writing, so i'm hoping i can get it together and write these on an actual weekly basis, lol (￣▽￣*)ゞ... 

let's chat again soon~ xoxo (*¯ ³¯*)♡