Nostalgicism | Trying to live in the past while living in the present _Shopping

Skip to primary contentSkip to secondary contentNostalgicismTrying to live in the past while living in the presentMain menuHomeAboutDomainPost navigation← Older postsSaying Goodbye and other updates (With a little help from Michelle Branch)Posted on 02/17/2022 by kennyIn the nearly seven years I’ve had this blog, I haven’t done many update posts. The main reason, of course, being there hasn’t been a lot going on in my life. This is why my blog has been less of a “personal blog” because I just don’t have a lot of personal stuff to share. I still don’t, but I’m kind of lazy right now and I need to make a post, so voila, an update post. =pI am closing down Nostalgicism when it expires in AugustI originally started Nostalgicism to give myself a platform to write because I was barely writing, despite often classifying myself as a writer. And, honestly, I wanted to go back to web designing and having a Web site again.Although I am more comfortable with writing now, I kind of dread making posts now. It’s as if it’s something I have to do, as opposed to something I want to do. After years of feeling this way, I feel like now is the right time to end my Web site.I will still be posting until my domain and hosting expires, but I felt like I should make the announcement now to prepare everyone.I have been slowly decluttering and selling stuff on EbayLet me start off by saying that I will never be a minimalist. However, I am starting to get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I have, so I’ve been slowly (very, very, VERY slowly) decluttering and selling various items I do not want, mostly books and video games at this point.It’s not going to be a major transformation and I will sell most of the items for less than what I bought them for, but I like the idea of getting rid of at least a few things and making back at least some of my money.I’m finally getting rid of some of my subscriptions!As someone who barely watches any TV, I surely do have quite a few streaming subscriptions. So, in total, I had four subscriptions: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu (with ads) and Discovery Plus.I decided to let go of Discovery Plus and Amazon Prime. Discovery Plus was not a big deal, but if I let go of amazon Prime, I no longer can buy things on Amazon with free shipping but honestly I should not be relying on Amazon to buy stuff anyway…so I’m ripping off the band-aid, quickly, before I cry. =pBut all is not lost because I have decided to upgrade my Hulu account from ads to no ads, so it would be an additional 7 dollars, but I honestly think it’s worth it, plus I did get rid of two subscriptions. Compromise, people, compromise! Even if you’re alone and not in a relationship. =pOk, so surprise, nothing really big and exciting, but let’s be real, this is me. There are no surprise babies. I don’t have any ongoing rivalry with an evil librarian. I’m not swordfighting pirates while trying to uncover a hidden treasure in the depths of Mount Everest. It is what It is.Posted in TechnologyAnother year, another time to cry in front of unread piles of booksPosted on 01/09/2022 by kennyAs I’m writing this post, it’s not quite the end of 2021, but I have a feeling I’m not going to suddenly finish a book in three days. I think it’s safe to do the yearly reading update now. =p And also, knowing me, this post will not be finished long after New Year’s anyway.And surprise, here we are. =p It is now long after New Year’s, and this post is still not finished or posted. Sigh. And I know no one is surprised. Well, the good thing is I at least did some reading last year, so that’s good. I, of course, stopped reading by mid-September, but reading is reading.Now, starting a few years ago, I have started a yearly list of very broad and general things for me to do, like watch more TV, read more books, get more involved with my hobbies. Again, as with every year, I didn’t do much. The most consistent thing I’ve done, again, as with every year is reading. I was a little less ambitious in 2021, and aimed for 24 instead of 30. In total, I read 12 books, which is considerably less than last year’s 21 but, honestly, reading any amount is an achievement to me.Here is a list of books I’ve finished in 2021, included re-reads.Heretics Anonymous by Katie HenrySourdough by Robin Sloan (re-read)Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie LangThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (re-read)A List of Cages by Robin RoeThe Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) by Rick Riordan)The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasA Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric LindstromThe Boomerang Effect by Jack GordonStargirl by Jerry Spinelli (Re-read)Eleanor Olimphant is Completely Fine By Gail HoneymanThe Rosie Effect by Graeme SimsionNow, most of the books were on the shorter side, which was done on purpose because I thought reading shorter books would increase the amount of books I would finish. Well, that didn’t work out but, again, I am very happy I at least read something.My goals this year are more or less the same, except I really want to be more focused on watching more TV, especially because I have subscriptions to three streaming services. I feel like I’m wasting money every month not using them. I know. I know. I should get rid of at least one of them but, I don’t know, I keep saying I will next month so I can watch what I want to watch, and then I end up not watching anything. Sigh. The life of an Asian procrastinator. As long as I do SOMETHING, I’m happy. ? Sigh. I have very low expectations of myself. =pPosted in BooksIs OK to have a nervous breakdown while eating a taco in Japan?Posted on 11/22/2021 by kennyWhenever I see a YouTube channel or blog by a person who is obviously well-traveled, I cry a little inside because it’s extremely difficult for me to step a few seconds outside my driveway, let alone to another state or country. Needless to say, I don’t get out much. =pNow, I do want to travel, but it’s just never worked out. There’s always been higher priorities, Traveling, to me, is something someone does if they have the time and finances to spare, and I would rather spend my time and money on other things than traveling, especially because I would most likely be traveling alone. Traveling to NYC alone is fine for me, because I would be there with family. Traveling anywhere else by myself would be a problem. As much as I would love to travel with friends, it’s been a hassle to set up a time and place to grab something to eat let alone travel to another continent.I, of course, do have a short list and I do mean a very short list, ahem, of places that I would like to visit. Now, most of these would not be a surprise if you’re a regular reader but eh, at this point I’m a very predictable person. Sue me. =p Now speaking of predictable…New York City or/and New JerseySurprise. Surprise. Surprise. I want to go back to where I’m originally from. Now, to those of you who are not aware, whenever someone asks me where I’m from, I say New York, even though technically I was raised in New Jersey. This is because I don’t remember much of New Jersey and most of my childhood memories are from when my family was in New York. And besides, I’m from Jersey City, which is practically NYC anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.Nothing beats just walking around any random neighborhood in New York City. Even if you’re not near shops and restaurants, just walking around and looking at the houses and scenery around you is satisfying enough. Of course, buying drinks and snacks along the way would be a lot more satisfying, heh.I am still very nostalgic about riding the Subway just because it’s been so long since I’ve done it but…um…now I’m reconsidering the nostalgic factor, for obvious reasons. See Exhibit A below. =pJapanAs much as I would love to say that I would like to visit Japan because of the culture and the people and the language and the blah blah blah. The truth is I want to go to Japan purely to shop. Also to eat. But mostly to shop. I’m a collector. Sue me. And the shopping does not compare to literally anywhere else. Even though I don’t really collect Kawaii stationery items anymore, I would still like to browse. There are very few Kawaii shopping options in the US. D=I remember watching a YouTube video of a Japanese couple a number of years ago, and they were discussing how it would be awkward for the guy to walk into a Kawaii store by himself because people would consider it weird. I used to feel the same way walking into Bath and Body Works or down the makeup aisle at Wal-Mart (It’s right next to the skincare aisle and sometimes I like to browse through the makeup just for fun. Bite me. =) It took me a while, but I stopped caring what other people thought about me. Now, Japanese culture is a lot different than American culture and they’re a lot more conservative but honestly, it would be awkward enough as a non-Japanese speaking Asian to visit Japan that I might as well just pile on as much awkwardness as possible. I’ve had people walk up to asking me things in Chinese and all I can do is blankly stare at them and be like, um….I don’t speak Chinese. Yes, I’m Chinese, but I don’t speak Chinese. Blame my parents. =pSomewhere in EuropeThe only countries I’ve been to have been Singapore and Malaysia, the countries my parents are from. Of course, I don’t remember any of it because I visited them as a child. Other than Asia, I would like to visit Europe. I don’t have an exact reason why except I’ve been more interested in Europe and what’s it like to visit and live there. It’s just something I know barely anything about, and I would like to know and experience it firsthand.Posted in Misc, New YorkA woman is sitting on the floor in a room with nothing in it, and she is sad.Posted on 10/01/2021 by kennyAs a maximalist, I am always in need of surfaces to place things on. I know. I know. I should declutter and become one of those people who can fit everything they own in a paper bag. But, no, because, that will make me sad. =pAs much as I would love to have multiple bookshelves, there’s just no room for them. For a short while, I settled on a small side table that belonged to my mother. I then placed a kitchen shelf rack that I bought many, many years ago (similar to this) on the table to have another surface to put stuff.It was OK for a while, but I began searching for a substitute. I didn’t exactly know what I was looking for. Originally, I was thinking more in the lines of a kitchen shelf with more tiers, but then I stumbled on kitchen shelving units, and I was sold.I ended up buying this shelf on a complete whim. I just find it funny that I wasn’t planning on getting a shelf to replace the table and voila, one suddenly appeared in front of me.As expected, it took me longer to assemble it than I would like, and it’s a bit wonky. I had to wrap electrical tape to the middle of the shelves because they kept sliding out. Thankfully, I had matching electrical tape on hand. Yes, I have brown electrical tape on hand. Don’t look at me that way. =pIt was great having another shelf. What’s not so great is figuring out what to put on it. I happened to have wood planks on hand, and I just decided to put them on the shelf for a little bit of contrast. It actually ended up being useful because I didn’t realize I couldn’t display small items on the shelf on the shelves due to the gaps in between.As you can clearly see. I didn’t have a game plan. I knew I wanted to store the books I’m currently reading at any give time on the shelf, along with some plates and tea cups. Other than that, I just threw what I liked on it and voila.Overall, the setup is fine, but I’m not really attached to it. Needless to say, there will be 900 updates on this shelf in the near future. =pPosted in Books, Collections, DecoratingNew idea for a TV Show: A man tries to watch every TV show on Earth and explodes.Posted on 08/09/2021 by kennyAs mentioned many, many, way too many, times, I don’t own a TV. Well, there is a TV in my household, but it’s not technically mine, so it doesn’t count. :p Regardless, I do not have cable. For the past decade, I have relied almost solely on streaming sources. As each year passes, I have felt more and more disconnected from what’s currently popular on TV. I honestly haven’t been fully up-to-date on TV trends since like 2010, which was coincidentally the last time I’ve had a TV.So, I rolled up my sleeves and took a look at what’s currently on TV. I made a list of all of the TV shows that I am not familiar with that, at the very least, had one full season and renewed for a second season. Here’s a sampling.In the DarkA blind woman is determined to find out who killed one of her close friends.B PositiveA man in need of a new kidney runs into an old friend, who is willing to give him one of her kidneys.Blood & TreasureAn antiques expert and an art thief work together to take down a terrorist.Yes, I am still trying to watch TV on a consistent basis. Guess how well that’s doing? :p Ugh. You know your life is sad when you’re having trouble watching TV in your spare time. Sigh.Posted in TelevisionThe New Asian Standard: Read one book a year and just be happy goddamnitPosted on 06/28/2021 by kennyIf you haven’t noticed already, it’s been quiet here at Nostalgicism Studios. This, of course, doesn’t mean that I’ve been productive. No. No. No. You should know me better than that. ? But there’s been a splash of productively here and there. Mostly in the reading department. Kind of.I have maintained my usual two books a month, up until May and it’s not starting to look good for June and the coming months. It’s a little disappointing, but as long as I’m reading at least a sentence per year, I’m fine.Here is a brief overview of the books I’ve read so far.Heretics Anonymous by Katie HenryAn Atheist teenager befriends a group of misfits when he is forced to go to a Christian school.Sourdough by Robin Sloan (Re-read)A programmer finds a new purpose in her life when the two owners of the restaurant she frequents suddenly leaves her with a mysterious sourdough starter that seems to have a mind of its own.Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Long An orphan with unbelievable abilities has a significant impact on the lives of the people he encounters throughout his life.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Re-read)An autistic teenager is determined to find out who killed his neighbor’s dogA List of Cages by Robin RoeA teenager struggling with both his school and home life reconnects with his foster brother.The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo) by Rick RiordanApollo continue on his journey to regain his powers and save humanity (if he absolutely has to, of course).A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric LindstromA girl who is hiding her bipolar disorder from her friends tries to reconnect with a friend she had a falling out with The Boomerang Effect by Gordon JackAfter being nearly expelled for a harmless prank, a slacker becomes the mentor of an awkward Norwegian student.The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasAfter a teenager witnesses a police officer shoot and kill her old childhood friend, her life slowly unravels as she struggles to deal with it and the other aspects of her life.Ideally, I would like to read at least 24 books this year. Actually, pretty much every year. But I’d honestly be happy as long I’m reading consistently, or maybe at least one book a year. I’m a man with very low standards. ?Posted in BooksHow many Asian men does it take to organize 5 billion books?Posted on 05/03/2021 by kennyThe last time I organized my bookshelf, I switched out some of the books for my video games and most of my DVDs. I just got tired of looking at a top to bottom wall of books.Instead, I opted for a smaller wall of books. I simply put the excess books on the shelf where the DVDs used to be. And Voila.There was really no type of organization with this shelf. I just shoved everything in there. Well, there was a little organization.. The books I want to read are on top, the books I don’t want to read as much are below and the bottom shelf stayed the same with my non-fiction.I actually do like that this shelf is full of books. It just appeals to me much more on a smaller scale rather than what I had. Now, if I had multiple bookshelves side by side, that would be a different story. But when you only have one tall bookshelf, you need to display more than just books.In the typical Nostalgicism fashion, I added a few knickknacks because what’s the point of having knickknacks if you don’t display them? Clearly two items were not enough because it looks quite empty and cold to me. To be transparent, right before I took these pictures, I did have random clutter on it, which was why I refrained from going overboard with the collectibles and knickknacks. But, right now, the shelves look sad. Almost as sad as a Miley Cyrus song.But it’s a work in progress, much like my main bookshelf or my life, really, heh. Sigh.Posted in Books, Decorating, MiscIs it still a bookshelf if it’s not full of books? :oPosted on 03/21/2021 by kennyWell, it’s that time again. No, not for a mob of angry Asian moms to chase me with torches made from traditional bamboo. It’s time for a bookshelf update. And this time, there are some major changes. Gasp. ?But, first, more or less the same. Let’s be honest, you weren’t surprised. The same old books. Mystery. Fantasy. The Dexter bobblehead. Blah. Blah. Blah.The same books. The same photo. The same Chinese teacup. (Although, I’m honestly surprised that I kept the teacup there on the shelf.)And here is where I decided to burn the rest of the books on the bookshelf and start putting other things on it because I got tired of looking at a wall of books. And I’m only partially joking.Whenever I would look at the shelf, I don’t know, I just wanted to see more than just books. So I moved half of the books to another shelf in another room and replaced them with my DS/3DS collection and most of my DVDs. Oh and, of course, random figures and stuff. Because I’m not enough of a maximalist already. :pIt just made more sense to move the video games and DVDs to this shelf because I am more likely to actually use them if they’re in this room. I was barely using them when they were in the room they were in. It’s working out much better. ?As with all of my bookshelf updates, I am liking this setup for now. I wonder how soon I will change it, heh. :pPosted in Books, DecoratingThe light shall shine on Wolverine, and everything shall be fine.Posted on 02/14/2021 by kennyThe one thing I’ve always wanted was a bookshelf. I would dream about having a bookshelf to display all of my books and various collections. Well, I got one, and I’ve realized that one bookshelf is clearly not enough for me. What a surprise, heh. Unfortunately, I do not have the space for another bookshelf and, honestly, I’m too lazy right now to move things around. So, for now, I am working with what I have.One of the things I’m working with is a display cabinet I got from my brother. I love it, but it has a black interior, so it’s difficult to see inside. To fix the issue, I put in some tap lights.I liked them but after a short while, I took them down. I can’t remember exactly why I took them down. Maybe I just wasn’t feeling it. Or, perhaps they just stopped working one day. or I was staring at them one day, and I was like, no, I don’t want boob lights in my cabinet. I don’t know. So, for years and years and years, the inside of the cabinet was shrouded in pure darkness, and I was barely able to see my figures.Then, one day, while I was at Walmart, I went through the lighting aisle and looked at my options. Not surprisingly, I didn’t have much choice. I ended up picking up a light that was basically a rectangle with a simple push button. I knew I needed more than one, but I wasn’t exactly sure how many, and I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to spend on this. Now, it was $6, which is not much, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work, so I only bought one at first. I took it home, put batteries in and absolutely loved how much light it gave. The problem was figuring out how many lights to buy. I not only have the display case, but also two media stands. I was suddenly envisioning having lights everywhere even just on a table just in case I need extra light for something. I bought two more, but only ended up using one of them. The other one, oddly enough, is sitting on my night stand. There’s no specific reason why it’s there. It’s just there. It will be moved somewhere more useful, eventually. :pThe only thing I am not a big fan of is how difficult it is push the button, especially because one of the shelves is not secured and can be easily moved. It should be OK though because I am not going to have the lights on on a regular basis. I just have to be careful…ish.I don’t know how long this setup is going to last since, you know, I have the habit of changing things frequently, cough. But it’s much better than what it was before. And that makes me happy enough. ?Posted in Collections, Decorating2021: The year of watching Netflix and trying not to gain 500 poundsPosted on 01/07/2021 by kennyI don’t like the idea of making resolutions for a new year. In the beginning, you get hyped up and you feel like you can accomplish anything, then your enthusiasm and motivation slowly fades away as each month passes, and you’re nowhere closer to your goals. And then you somehow end up in the shower with your clothes on and you’re crying while eating a hamburger.I avoided making resolutions for the longest time because I knew in the end, I wouldn’t accomplish much. I didn’t want to set myself up for failure. Well, two years ago, I madea list of very, very, insanely broad goals just to see what happens. Needless to say, it didn’t really work out. I did a little reading, a little TV watching, but not much else. So, I made the exact same (very, very broad) goals for this year. I did surprisingly well, for an underachieving Asian.It was more or less the same as the previous year, except I did a lot more reading and TV watching. My ultimate goal was to read at least 30 books. I knew this was a long shot though, especially because I only read 7 books the year previously, so I aimed more toward a range of 24 to 30 books. I ended up reading a total of 25 books. Yes, I know. I’m shocked too. ? And the angry Asian moms are so shocked that they have decided to not chase me with bamboo torches for at least a few weeks. Yay.It was all fiction, mostly YA fiction, because I’m definitely not an over achiever, and it’s easier to find YA fiction that have first person narration than adult fiction. (For those who don’t know, right now, I read only first person narration because it’s a lot more captivating and interesting to me than third person.) There was some comedy. There was some drama. There were some re-reads. All of them were pretty much fairly easy reads because, again, I know my limits, and I’m not going to set up myself for failure on purpose. And, overall, I am quite happy with the results.Now, TV watching was significantly less successful, but I feel a lot more accomplished this year compared to last year. Now, I do not know whether I watched more TV in 2020 compared to 2019, but what I do know is I feel I was more prepared. My problem with TV watching in the past is I do it so inconsistently that I tend to either not know what I want to watch because, well, I want to watch everything or when I do want to watch a specific show, I don’t remember where I last left off. Now, I’m more focused. I have a small selection of TV shows I’m watching at any given time. The key is to have enough TV shows to watch so I don’t feel like I have to find a new TV show to watch every time I want to watch something but also not too many to the point where I feel overwhelmed. I’m still not watching nearly as much as I want to, but I feel a lot better about it now.Needless to say, all of my other goals/resolutions have been pretty much ignored (writing, getting into other hobbies, etc.), although I have been into action figures more than I used to, but that’s not really saying a lot, lol. So, right now, I am going to focus on reading and watching TV more and everything else, well, it will just happen when it happens.Posted in Books, TelevisionPost navigation← Older postsKenny. Writer. Collector of Everything. Lover of Food. Stilll Living in 2004.Blogs I FollowAmyCatGeorgieJaredMeganMichelleNancyTiffanyCategoriesBooks (35)Born in 1986 (1)Collections (19)Commercials (6)Decorating (7)Food (6)Misc (10)Movies (14)Music (18)New York (6)Nostalgia Battles (6)Shopping (7)Technology (20)Television (35)The Media (9)Proudly powered by WordPress