This morning I woke up in my bed. I thought someone turned on a very bright light outside, but it was just the sun at 8 am. I tried to cover my eyes and sleep some more. After a while, I reached for my book on the desk at read the second chapter. The book is More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, the sequel of a book of a similar name I have read and loved. I read the first chapter last night before sleeping. The first chapter is a recap of what happened in the first book, and the second chapter is about all the eccentric customers to the shop. It is still gentle, still comforting like that, and how I’ve missed it. It re-ignited this thirst for reading that has always surged inside me. This is a book about what I love - books - written by someone who adores them. It tickles me exactly because it makes me curious. When one character mentioned that he wants to read a certain author because of the weather that day, I desperately wanted to know the vibe of that author. Readers read book like people listen to music - we do it for the vibe.
I came across the perfect, perfect song to go with this morning and this book. It’s When the magnolia blooms - Instrumental by Shin Ji Hoon. Give it a try, and you’ll get the vibe of the book.
As I lay in bed and look at the sunlight reflected on my walls, I remember that I really wanted to buy a pair of sunglasses and a sweater for this fall. So I went and order the pair of sunnies that I’ve been eyeing (I surprised myself with the speed at which I decided too, which is something to be proud of myself today). The search for sweater took way more time - the price point, the material, the potential itchiness,… I have a problem with buying clothes online - I need to feel the material to know, and I hate the process of returning a product. So I thought of a sweater I can wear today that is not the same as the same two sweaters I have been wearing on rotation, and became happy with it. I am going to exercise at the gym today. I of course am not feeling like it, because I have lost the momentum for several weeks now. Part of me feel like I should get to work as soon as possible to tackle the pile of work waiting for me. I honestly have no reason against it, except that I might feel better and more productive after the exercise.
This morning, as I walk down the street, I came across this absolutely beautiful garden with blooming flowers.
This is the garden of the Geological Studies Department.
And here is my view on the way to the library:
I went to the library at 2:20 PM. I’m sitting in a corner that looks out to a breath-taking view. My priority this study session is to catch up on my Computer Vision lectures. In the first lecture, I found out why the sky is blue. I honestly do want to make a series answering these simple questions that you probably don’t know the answer to, like, why is the sky blue?
One thing that might be useful for you if you have negative thoughts that you want to change is Chat GPT. This is a snippet of the conversation I had with it today:
i feel so bad whenever i have an item and it's not perfect. i feel like im wasting money
It’s understandable to feel that way, especially if you're careful about spending and value getting the most out of what you own. But perfection isn’t always necessary to enjoy something! Sometimes an item's worth comes from how it makes you feel or the memories tied to it, even if it's not a perfect fit or style.
You’re not wasting money if the item brings some joy, comfort, or serves its purpose—even occasionally. Plus, not everything we own will be perfect, but learning to appreciate what we have for what it offers can bring peace. Does reframing it that way help ease that feeling?
Today, I do have a heavy workload with a lot of things to catch up. I do get frustrated at myself because at this rate, I cannot finish all the work that I set out to do. But I would like to shift the mindset a little bit to ease off the pressure on myself. With each minute that I spend working on this today, I am lightening the load for myself tomorrow and next week. That makes me feel like I am doing something good for myself instead of just paying the debt.
Wohoo I completed another lecture. I was fighting for my life through it, dozing off a dozen times, but we made it. This lecture is about 3D reconstruction, specifically techniques that you can use to turn 2D images into 3D. It’s pretty cool - I learned how cameras like iPhone cameras estimate depth. So the camera has a projector that projects out infrared dots - our human eyes cannot see infrared light but the camera can. From these projected dots, the camera can estimate how far the scene is. Pretty cool ha. And when there are two iPhones pointing at the same cup of matcha (for an Instagram pic, you know), each camera projects a different wavelength, so the pattern of dots does not get mixed up.
I am quite excited about the next two lectures, because we have moved onto Machine Learning. I have heard about Machine Learning everywhere, for a long time, with a faint idea of how it works but not really. The first time I heard it was from Huyen Chip’s book about her time at Stanford. Now I am here, studying it. It’s disorienting how a lot of my life just follows what happened in her books.
I met my lab partners again for a writeup. We had a good time and managed to complete the writeup. I am so grateful to have them as my labmates - without them I would not enjoy any of this and completing each assignment would be like dragging your feet through a desert. When I came home, I hustled through two loads of laundry and watched half an episode of the British baking show. This episode is about botanicals, and they have to bake with flowers. I LOVE spices, herbs, and especially flowers. It was such a pleasure to see all the flavors and flowers rejoicing, adorning the cakes with such beauty and elegance.
Anyway, the reason why I needed to do laundry that night was because my duvet cover arrived in the mail and I cannot wait to put it on.
I mean, look at that - so comfy, so cutesy, so fresh. I crawled under my covers and felt so pampered and cozy and clean. This is the perfect bedding for me.
Tonight I am not looking at my phone and immediately went to bed at 11:30. I am pretty proud of myself for that. The bed feels really good.
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