xylo

10-04-2026

I've managed to make a 3D model of Sairo using Blender. This was my first attempt at 3D modeling, and it took much longer than I was expecting! It's very cool that I can finally make animations now.

04-01-2025

Happy 2025!

What have I been doing for the past 2 months? I went back to Japan in December! Meeting old friends for the first time in a while, I realise how I have changed in my time in the US - I've gotten a little fruitier (more on this potentially later), and I've gotten more relaxed in talking to people - I think I've improved in holding a conversation.

My goal for this year is twofold; the first is to lose weight, hopefully to be around 50kg (-10kg) by June, and the second is to make more things (media, code, art!) throughout the year (starting with updating this site). Let's see how that goes!

2024-12-8

Drew a christmas-themed pfp! I need to work on my colors; everything I draw seems very... muted. I've started playing GFL2, Suomi is so cute...

2024-11-10

I've gotten used to life in the US. Prices don't feel insane, portions are manageable (although still too large), and I've adjusted to the way people talk to each other.
The past 7 weeks have been just exciting. I visited the tourist-y spots of San Francisco, New Haven, and Boston. I've learned more than I have in the past few years combined. I've picked up authors like William James (many thoughts about him), and have read classics like Homer's Odyssey and Sophocles' Antigone.
I've also re-learned the basic concepts of programming. Be it the basic types of data like lists, arrays, dictionaries, going over them has refreshed my memory and has made me excited to learn more in-depth. Having spent the past few years not really learning what I wanted to, this is a nice change of topic, to something I'm actually invested in learning.

2024-09-10

Writing this on my plane to San Francisco; maybe it's the fact that Americans are, on average, much bigger than I am, but this United flight feels more spacious than I'm used to. The Boeing 777 might be my new favourite plane to ride!
Praying to the ancestors of both sides of my family before departing, I realised just how religious I can be, even when I am a self-described agnostic, usually non-religious. What is considered religious in the West might be considered superstitious in Japan, but praying to ancestors probably counts as a religious act, especially when it's in front of a proper Buddhist altar. Maybe what I consider to be superstitious might just be an extremely decentralized religion? Anyways, I prayed for my ancestors to look over me and to protect my luggage from being damaged on my flight. Here's hoping they answer my prayers (I don't know if that's how it works).
I've noticed how I've been finding it more and more difficult to sleep on flights recently, I hope I can find a way to overcome this, or my future travel plans might be in jeopardy. Something intersting I've noticed is how I feel sleepier with hyperflip and other louder genres than relaxing music. Maybe the auditory overstimulation might actually help me sleep? Regardless, I've got to get myself an eye mask and some melatonin (or is it melanin?) for my next flight.

2024-09-09

Another full month of no updates... I might just be bad at blogging.
August was full of events; I embarked on a two-week trip to the People's Republic of China, visiting 5 cities (Shanghai, Wuzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Bejing) and gorging myself on the delicious food available. The image above is of the Great Wall of China, which was more tiring than expected to walk through. I didn't realize it would be so vertical, but it is, after all, built on top of mountains.
I also went on a 9-hour, 100km trip around Lake Kasumigaura, the second-largest lake in Japan. Exhausting, but really fun to do with friends; I'd recommend going early in the morning so you don't have to worry about the sun setting.
Packing my personal belongings right now to prepare for my trip to the US, I'm somewhat surprised that all my belongings fit in 2 suitcases + my guitar.

2024-07-30

I've been going outside a lot recently, whether it be to the CLAMP exhibition (pic related), the graves of relatives, or a friend's DJ event.

The CLAMP exhibition was amazing, with so many original color illustrations and manga panels on show. I was able to see artwork from my favourite CLAMP works like Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and Kobato, along with a few illustrations from related works like Code Geass.

Going to the cemetery was a relaxing experience, talking with relatives about the time spent with (recently) deceased family members. The cemetery itself was beautiful and quiet, with a relaxing atmosphere, even in the Tokyo summer.

I'd never been to a DJ event before, and although it was in a relatively small club, the flashing lights and the loud music was very overstimulating. I really enjoyed it, and I'd love to go again.

2024-02-28

These past few days have been a 8/10. I spent my time buying souveniers, going on a safari at Etosha National Park, and am writing this on my plane back to Japan.
I don't remember what i ate, but something of note is the fact this is the first blog post on here that contains an image! I'll try and add more in my upcoming entries, although they may be less frequent.
I've started reading Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate again, hopefully I'll be able to read through it soon.

2024-02-20

Today was a 6/10. I woke up at noon, and spent the afternoon setting up Syncthing on my ThinkPad, to sync my photos and music with my phone and other laptop. I was about halfway done with the 120gb synchronization transfer (at 2MiB/s) when I realized that I could just transfer everything through a cable, then let it sync with Syncthing from there.
Lunch consisted of butter chicken curry, and dinner was chicken/onion hamburg (Japanese-style), along with 蓮根、蒟蒻と鶏肉の煮物.
I need to write e-mails and prepare for going back to Japan, and I think I'll go buy souveniers tomorrow.
Interested in increasing my capability to daydream/imagine ideas and scenarios in my head. What comes to mind the most are the Sea of Lilies scene from the Chronicles of Narnia, and the forest with the ponds that each travel to their own world (also from Narnia!). The tranquility is just really appealing to me, maybe because I feel like my surroundings are so busy (even though they really aren't).
I'm also interested in the book 陰翳礼讃, I might read it to get a better understanding of my home culture before I go abroad.

2024-02-19

Today was a 5/10. I woke up at noon, and spent the afternoon on discord/instagram talking to friends, about what souveniers from Namibia to get them. In the evening, I learned how to use GitHub, and created this website.
Lunch consisted of egg fried rice and sichuan boiled beef (水煮牛肉), and dinner was sundubu, japchae, and spicy potatoes.
I should utilize my time more efficiently, reading the book I've been interested in, for example.
I don't have anything of note to write here today. I guess if I were to just write freely, I'm currently lightly obsessed over Yagate Kimi Ni Naru, because wow, the anime was good. I should read the manga soon.