Updates on Updates, and a Gift Recommendation.

I haven’t blogged in a while, so I’m sure some of you are desperate for a life update (understandably).

Starting off strong, I have added a couple of things to my bucket list. Last year, and I’m not sure how it started, but I started to get really sad about the dying field of cobbling. Heartbreaking stuff.

It was post-college apps, and I began daydreaming about becoming a cobbler. That dream quickly ended, as according to google, the yearly salary is around 20k.

Well, recently, this idea has returned to my mind, but more as a hobby. You say dying craft, and I’m there.

Kind of in line with this, I have a new desire to learn how to taxidermy or at least find amateur taxidermy at a yard sale. Life goal? To incorporate one piece into my future home decor.

What else is up? After some ups and downs, I finally got my Fusion 360 license renewed. Not that I’m using it, but I am the proud owner. (Owner: it was free).

Also: reunited and it feels so good; I have reconnected with my beloved overnight oats. This morning, however, I had a slice of banana bread from BMH. I picked it up yesterday. I was distracted with my decisions for dinner, so I grabbed the end piece. Unmistakably dry, I decided to pair it with a banana for some added moisture. While this both seemed and tasted like a good idea, it felt unsettling, much like feeding a chicken chicken fingers.

It hasn’t all been positive on the northern front (Canada). My nail polish, for one, keeps peeling off. And, Project Runway has been causing me immense emotional turmoil. I watched season 13, and while I agree with most of the judges' choices, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if things had turned out differently.

Still, I haven’t let it get to me. My favorite designer is on All-Stars after all.

I think it’s good to keep me in touch with my roots (NY). Clearly, it’s not working too well though, because I got asked if I was “from Boston” the other day.

As if.

[To be fair, I do have a Patriots t-shirt, and I did spend weeks wishing for a classic Boston accent, so I can’t be too mad about it].

I also have been thinking a lot about my ancestors (people from Massachusetts) and their traditional saying (birds of a feather stick together).

What feathers? What birds? What are the literal implications of this? Do feathers really stick together? And what are the figurative implications? What happened to opposites attract?

Other than that, I’ve been spending a good amount of time on Facebook marketplace these past few days.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “it’s no fair that only dogs get to sleep in a dog bed,” now’s your time to shine. For only 19.98, you could get your own dog bed, or, as Sprint Lg Store calls it, a “Healing Nest.” They even have a count down to the millisecond telling you what time the BOGO sale ends. And, a nice alert telling you “every time” someone “buys it,” to let you know you are in good company.

See ya,

- Violet

Instagram Reels

The past week I was on my deathbed (mildly ill) with the flu. Because this, fortunately, lined up with my return to the great country of Canada, my VPN-less self was subjected to a life of only Netflix and Myflixer. Naturally, this led me to spend an unhealthy amount of time on Instagram reels. (Ex-TikTok user).

I’m not really sure why, but my fyp has been filled with videos targeted to English language learners.

Every other video is a quiz on which sentence is correct, how the subtleties in small word changes or tenses change the meaning of the phrase, and ways to pronounce words like an American.

Every time one of those videos pop up, I play along, asking myself, “Violet, what is the right answer?”

Usually, not to toot my own horn, I get them right. I think the repetitive validation these offer me is getting to my head. I pat myself on the back every time I get the questions right, proud of a hard day's work.

I’ve navigated uncharted territories, the reels asking me, “what’s the difference between I will go to the doctor, and I am going to the doctor?”

A cheeky smile comes on my face as if I’ve just moved from some unknown foreign country and I’ve finally overcome the obstacle of language.

I’ve even taken it upon myself to influence my fyp even more, clicking on the accounts and scrolling through their feed. “Violet, what is the correct preposition in this sentence?”

Don’t ask me what a preposition is.

World Cup

To watch the game, Celeste and I went to a bar in Williamsburg. Like many trips to Williamsburg, I killed two birds with one stone. 1: do whatever I needed to do in Williamsburg, in this case watch the game. 2: see millennials in their natural habitat.

Today was no exception. I think, honestly, there may have been seven people in the bar without mustaches, women included (and I’m counting Celeste and I). Williamsburg does it again.

In an act of rebellion, I’ve decided to root for Morocco tomorrow. Id like to say it was a tough

decision but it wasn’t.

Here are my reasons

1. France won last year

2. I live in a French neighborhood, I like to diverge from the herd

3. A lot of people I follow on instagram support France, and post about it

4. Morocco is way cooler

That’s all. Plus, my mom agrees. (This is to disprove Lola, who said I would be the only person in Carroll Gardens hoping for France to lose).

I want to walk on Court street and feel the crushing grief of my neighbors, thank you.

I’ll sleep on it. (No I won't)

-Violet

PS: don't ask who the soccer player is on the cover. It was one of the first things to pop up when I searched 'soccer' on Wix.