Category: Slice of Life

Daily Journaling with the iPad

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"Daily Journals" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/110 sec, ISO200
 “Daily Journals” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。

One of my daily habits is to jot down a few things about my day into a daily logbook, and I have now switched over to a digital system using my iPad and Microsoft OneNote. Going digital with the logbook parallels my going digital with my sketching which makes sense since the Apple Pencil is such a wonderful device for both drawing and note-taking.

One reason for going digital is because of convenience. I usually have the iPad with me so I can take a note in the logbook within a few seconds. I can write with different digital pens/highlighters, erase effortlessly, doodle, and create unlimited pages. And if I want, I can switch from writing by hand to typing using the virtual keyboard.

Another reason why I am going digital for my logbook is that it meshes well with my process of decluttering. Regarding note-taking, I can now streamline my fountain pen collection and notebooks as well as my art supplies. It’s kind of a quick switch because just last year I started buying more fountain pens and decided on a good notebook system, but decluttering is so liberating that I want to extend that to my stationery as well. It’s a win-win for my present lifestyle. Convenience and less clutter! It’s funny, but I sometimes like to have cool things, like my fountain pens, but I am increasingly getting more joy out of not having those things.

So why did I decide on OneNote as the app for my logbook? Sure, there are several highly-regarded note-taking apps for the iPad such as GoodNotes and Notability, but I wanted something that wasn’t tied to the Apple eco-system. That left Microsoft OneNote as the top contender, and it ticks off a lot of the checkboxes for me. It has an organization system that makes sense, a good handwriting experience with a decent selection of virtual pens, excellent price (free!), and it’s cross-platform which means I can access my logbook on my Android phone and Windows computers as well. I wish it had a dot-grid option for the background, but that’s not a deal-breaker (and it’s possible to make my own).

I’m only a week into using it, but it looks like it will work out nicely. I have one “notebook” called Daily Journal, and within that are pages. I use one page for a whole month, which may seem like an odd way to do it, but OneNote’s pages can be huge, so I think a whole month’s worth of log entries will fit no problem. And having one tab/page for a single day would create too many tabs. Plus I like to see several days at a time with my paper logbook, so it makes sense to carry that over to the digital logbook.

It’s kind of cool that I have my sketchbook and logbook on the same device. Plus of course my calendar and all my books (Kindle app). For me, the Apple Pencil was the catalyst that brought it all together. I’m not an Apple fan, but the iPad/Apple Pencil is a really awesome combination. I love it!

Noodle Reward for Finishing the Taxes

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"Noodles" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1000
 “Noodles” Cedar Park, 2019

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Here in the States, it’s almost tax day, and of course, I waited until the last minute to do ours. However, over the past few years, the process has gotten less-complicated and faster. Just out of curiosity, I timed how long it took this year and I came in just under two hours, at 1:52. Most of our accounts are able to be imported electronically which saves a ton of hassle, and our charitable donations have been automated as well and easy to track.

So why do I wait until the last moment to do our taxes? Well, I think it has to do with some baggage I am carrying from the days when it was a more manual process. Gathering all of our investment information was super-complicated, and that experience has lodged itself deep in my memory. Maybe next year I’ll listen to the rational side of my brain (and my family) and do it earlier. We’ll see!

Anyway, with the taxes done, I decided to treat myself to dinner (since I am fending for myself today) and I was craving some noodles so I went to a Pho Thanh Nhi Vietnamese restaurant and enjoyed a huge bowl of egg noodles. It was so good! A nice end to the day.

またね～

Relaxing Saturday Watching Movies

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Somedays I just want to sit in front of the tv and watch some movies, and that’s just what I did today. Three movies!

First up, I joined Koa in watching Ant-Man and the Wasp, which was surprisingly funny. It didn’t seem very cinematic, but I enjoyed it. We also watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi again, which, upon a third viewing, wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Still, not great, but I enjoyed the jokes more.

Next up was the third and final movie in the Chihayafuru series, Chihayafuru: Musubi はやふる 結び. It was fantastic! I am a big fan of the Chihayafuru live-action movies (or maybe just Hirose Suzu?) and am looking forward to diving into the anime and manga. The third movie was better than the second one, but maybe not as good as the first. I do like how the characters have grown, and enjoy Matsuoka Maya’s characterization of The Queen. She’s scary and hilarious. So fun!

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Leveled-up My iPad

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"iPad Air" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/100 sec, ISO400
 “iPad Air” Cedar Park, 2019

こんにちは。How’s it going?

Back in January, I bought an iPad (6th gen) to use as a sketching device, and I since then, I’ve been very happy with it. However, between that time and now, a couple of new iPad models have been released, and the model that I purchased has dropped in price by $70. I purchased my iPad at Costco which has a generous 90-day return policy, and that gave me the option of returning it and buying the same model at the lower price or getting a different model. I decided on the latter option, with the new model being the iPad Air 3, which was $99 more than my original Costco purchase.

The iPad Air 3 has a few advantages over the regular iPad, which made the $99 price difference easy to swallow. First, the screen is a bit larger which makes drawing easier and more fun. Next, the display can show more colors, and its laminated screen means there’s less gap between the tip of the Apple Pencil and the pixels. The new iPad has a larger display, but it’s over a millimeter thinner than the old iPad. Lastly, the iPad Air 3 has a faster processor which will make it a bit more future-proof.

On the downside, the iPad Air 3 that I chose has 64 GB of memory vs. 128 GB on my old iPad, but after using it for two months, I only utilized about 31 GB of space so the 64 GB capacity should be more than adequate.

All-in-all, I’m happy with the upgrade choice. And as a bonus, I could choose the silver model with white bezel, which I prefer over the space-gray/black bezel model which Costco offers. 😀

I hope you had a nice day!

またね～

Healing My Sore Wrist with a Wrist Brace

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"Wrist Brace" Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “Wrist Brace” Cedar Park, 2019

こんにちは。How’s it going?

For the past week I’ve been wearing a wrist brace in order to let it heal properly. For several months now, I’ve been dealing with a nagging soreness when I flex my left wrist too far in either direction. I think I originally injured it lifting a suitcase in the summertime, and I have kept injuring it with regularity since then, so it never gets a good amount of time to heal. The pain is not too bad, but there are certain times when it hurts more, such as when I stretch for some keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop (like ctrl+t), reach back for the seatbelt, or play the ukulele.

The Vive wrist brace is sized pretty small, so I think anyone with larger hands will find it uncomfortable. My wrist is 6 3/4 in diameter, which is on the skinny side, and it’s pretty snug. The brace has three adjustment straps, and I like to leave it loose, which is comfortable but gives me adequate support and warning when I bend my wrist near the limit when it would begin to hurt.

Also, the brace is great for helping me play my Kala ukulele with better form. One of the reasons why my wrist has not healed is that I used to strain it almost every day due to my bad fretting form. But playing while wearing the brace keeps my wrist straight (and forces me to bend my fingers more) which is so great! In fact, the wrist brace might be a good idea for anyone who wants to improve their bad form.

Anyway, after a week of wearing the brace off-and-on, I can definitely tell that there’s less pain. Even when I don’t use the brace, I am more aware of my wrist position and more hesitant to use my left hand in situations that could potentially put excessive strain on it. It’s nice to be on the road to recovery! I’m not sure how long I will have to wear the brace, but I’m thankful that I don’t have to give up my ukulele hobby, which is a source of joy for me. 😀

I hope you had a nice day!