The Expedition 33 Collector's Edition finally arrived! Even the polystyrene is branded 😂 Only downside is I own the game on Steam, so the steelbook, whilst cool, is pointless for me. I completely forgot I'd ordered it, it's been so long lol

Things I hate about winter in Japan: -The dryness (my poor skin) -The cold (which I can't even fully escape indoors because we have no central heating, double glazing, or insulation) -The static and subsequent frequent electric shocks Things I like: -The sunshine On balance, I prefer summer 😅

We had so many kids go down with flu on the residential trip last week (quite literally around 80+ kids off today). I asked one teacher who was on the trip how he felt and he says, in the tiny elevator we're sharing, that he has a hacking cough and feels unwell. And he's not wearing a mask. Thanks??

Holy shit, Rybakina finally won another Grand Slam! Been waiting for this since I started following her back in summer '23. She's on fire lately!

McDonald's in Japan is doing Dragon Quest VII- themed food! Might have to pop into one tomorrow to check them out. 😁

Did I just see tiny dinosaurs in KCD2?? I need to find out how to get to that part of the underground so I can make sure 😂

Just booted up KCD2 for the first time since last February (tendonitis forced me to stop) and it offered the option to show all of the tutorials again since 'it's been some time'. Honestly, all games should do this. Especially one with challenging combat like this one 😅

If you haven't already, this is your sign to pick up and play Paranormasight! 50% off, around £5 on sale. Pros: - creepy, horror-esque visual novel - cool Showa-era Tokyo setting - branching stories leading to a surprising final ending - interesting puzzles - works perfectly on Steam Deck

Got (what feels like) a million hospital appointments coming up, and trying to juggle them so they don't impact my lessons is a nightmare. 😩 Had to schedule half of them during my week off and the others sonid only miss one lesson at most. I hate being so unwell...

Final (full) Parents' Evening done! After a full day of teaching and these meetings on top, I'm knackered 😴 But there's always time for a little bit of gaming. I'm restarting Octopath Traveller 1 as I only played a few hours back when I bought it. Let's see if I can complete it this time!

Three times I've been caught without an umbrella when it's started raining and each time a different elderly lady has silently stood next to me and held their umbrella over me. It's the small kindnesses that make such a big difference.

Possibly controversial, but I actually hate job systems in RPGs. I much prefer characters with set roles (i.e. FF9) that I can just level up and not worry about. It's part of what puts me off playing the earlier FFs. Feel like I might be in the minority with that, though. 😅

Turned up for my hospital appointment and went to sit down in the waiting area. Older Japanese guy looks at me and moves away to sit next to another Japanese person. The xenophobia is alive and well, it seems. 🙄 Also, I've been here over an hour and still waiting and I forgot to eat lunch first 😭

Just finished our penultimate Parents' Evening of the year. 11 hour work day with no real break from 2-7pm, but it's done! Last one is next week. 😴

I thought I was well enough to go into work today. I was not. I felt worse and worse as the day wore on but couldn't stay off because I had particular classes I needed to teach. We'll see how tomorrow goes... 😴

Here is a video of a frozen creek that had begun to thaw, and the water was flowing beneath the thin ice on top. I took this because it was soothing and wonderfully bloopy and I wanted to listen to it for hours. You are all welcome to enjoy it, too. Let your brain settle here and rest for a moment.

Sorry, folks. Seven days to go and 50% funded. We'll need a modern internet miracle to see these lovely ladies get their sequel. I was always worried that the visuals were not appealing to most VN gamers, but... ouch www.kickstarter.com/projects/pro... #indiegame #Kickstarter #Gaming #pcgame #free

Ok. So. They anonymised the sheep.

I haven't checked the news in a few days, but what the fuck is going on?? In both Europe and the USA. A few days into 2026 and the world is imploding even more. This is crazy.

This winter is the season of trying out different soup recipes! I love trying out new recipes and seeing if it'll become one of my favourites. This one is pumpkin soup. I've never done blended soups before, but I think I'm a convert. 😁 Got back into making bread, too!

Wondering if the name Amalia, a princess leading a resistance group, in Chained Echoes is a little nod to FF12. 🤔

OMG 😭 Huntington's is an inherited disease that's like Alzheimers + Parkinson's all in one. NOW: "once the gene therapy has been delivered into the brain... [it] injects a piece of DNA to reprogram the neuron to become a factory for its own cure." LIFE SAVING! www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEx...

Holy crap, I was not expecting Chained Echoes to turn into a Suikoden-esque game. This will absolutely double my enjoyment of it. 😁

My first attempt at cooking gumbo. It's not at all authentic, I'm certain, but it was a recipe I could follow with the ingredients I could get here. 😅 It tastes good, if I do say so myself! Definitely one I'd try to do again.

What was the first game you remember playing? Mine was a slightly obscure game called Castles II when I was about 5. My dad had bought a PC with MS-DOS and I used to watch him play, then try it myself. Of course, I was hopeless (and still am! The game is on Steam now).

Maybe if I also keep a list of games I want complete in 2026, I'll have some motivation and accountability and won't just stop playing them and never finishing. 😅 Here's the ones I want to finish. Some will need a restart as it's been ages since I played. Almost all I've started and never finished.

Hoping I can last till midnight so I can wish everyone a Happy New Year from the future, but I've also always been an old soul and very much a 'in bed before midnight' gal, even in my uni years and 20s 😅

I saw this manga being bought by a few people on here, so figured I'd see what it was like. Binged all 3 available volumes today and now have to wait 2 months for the next one - but in Japanese. Not sure if it's released in English at the same time. 😩 Tempted to buy the Japanese hard copies, too.

Cooked leek and potato soup for the first time today and it was so good I went and bought a bigger blender so I can make lots of other types of blended soups for my lunches 😅

I just bought and booted up MGS3: Delta and, oh my god, I forgot how long the games' cutscenes are. And how goofy the dialogue is with the 'press the action button' tutorial stuff 😂 I've moved around 10 steps and the rest of the 36 minutes has been cutscenes/CODEC calls lol

I'm determined to try out some more horror games this coming year. It's the one genre I'd love to play more of, but I get so anxious and tense playing that I can only manage short stints. I've started SH2 remake on the PS5 and got to the apartments. Hoping I can continue. 😅

rage in slow motion

I hate sitting around for a parcel, not knowing when it's being delivered. Oddly, Yodobashi didn't send me a confirmation email this time, which worries me. I'll probably sit here all day and nothing. Or, as often happens with Yodobashi, it'll be like 8pm lol First world problems and all that.

Why are there so many spider pictures on my feed 😭 And one was on a TONGUE! Talk about jump scares.

Fixed all the issues with my PC and am stumped by the most basic thing: how to reinstall the stock case fans at the front of the case 🤦 I swear I can't figure out which of the many screws I have lying around I'm meant to use. The ones I think I should use don't seem to hold them in place.

Man, I'm exhausted already and it's only day 3 of a 4 day trip. I can't do long trips anymore. It makes my back, leg, and feet pain so much worse to walk around sightseeing, which sucks, as there's so much I'd love to see. 😩

Sitting in a cafe in Hiroshima for breakfast and they've got some American radio station on. Had to endure listening to some disgusting drivel about 'illegal aliens' and how wonderful Trump is whilst I wait for my food to arrive. 🤢 Luckily, I have my noise-cancelling headphones.

It took ~5 hours door-to-door, so not much sightseeing in Hiroshima today. Caught the castle at sunset, and planning to hang around until it's lit up when it gets dark.

I sat in a particular seat on the shinkansen so I could see Mt. Fuji ontl the way and then totally forgot to look out of the window as we were passing it 🤦

The thing about doing core strength exercises in Pilates is that for days afterwards I can't even sit up or move without my abdominal muscles screaming at me 🥲

Bought a coffee for my shinkansen journey, put it in a plastic bag with my ekiben even though I knew it was a bad idea. Of course, it promptly spills and I waste ¥900 and get coffee all over the outer packaging of the ekiben. 🫠 Now carrying around a bag of coffee because there's no bins 😑

Why am I still staring at this fireplace in Fallout S2?? 😂 I guess at least it's Christmas-themed lol

Bought some 煎茶 and 焙じ茶 leaves from Kamakura and finally used my nambu cast iron teapot I bought from the Iwachu manufacturer in Morioka last year. Was planning to leave it as an ornamental decoration, but why waste such a good craft? 😁 Also the cup I bought for it, because why not.

Finally got around to (almost) finishing Orange is the New Black (I got to S6 originally and just...stopped), and god...the last season has broken me. They really just gave shitty endings to absolutely everyone. What the fuck, man. This sucks.

Day trip down to Kamakura today. We did an umeshu-making experience (although I already have my own umeshu fermenting at home 😅). This one should turn out purple in one month!

It seems the universe is out to tempt me into buying all the things, what with the Steam sale and now this email. 😅

Finally finished Split Fiction with my friend and, whilst some parts were frustrating, I loved it. The different worlds and gameplay for each one, the numerous film and game Easter rggs. - it was all so much fun. It's a shame it didn't win Best Family game at the GotY awards.

Finally booked my trip to Hiroshima next week. I'm nothing if not last-minute 😅 If anyone has any recommendations beyond the obvious stuff, I'd love to hear them!

This place clearly doesn't know whether it's a doughnut shop or something entirely different. 😂

I always dread going to the dentist (had bad experiences when I was younger with braces and avoided going for years) so to be told my gums looksl really nice and healthy and there's no (new) issues is so reassuring. They feel so nice after a proper dental clean 😁