Aether_Q

S1E6 My Love-Hate Relationship with My Mom, Love and Hate Intertwined and Indestructible

不叁不肆

Life#

Don't Get Caught Up, Let Go!#

I have basically had the most energetic week since returning to work in February. The project I am leading at work has gone through some initial turbulence, but after continuous patching, it has finally started to go smoothly. I can now return to a normal and relaxed life, and I can devote more energy to self-growth and learning. Once you broaden your horizons and let go of your mindset, you won't often doubt or question yourself. The time and energy spent on self-doubt can be invested in more positive things, leading to a positive feedback loop. This feeling is wonderful, and it also enhances the ability to deal with unexpected situations and emotional fluctuations.

Life Needs Food, Drink, Fun, and Play#

• Exploring Restaurants as a Hobby
  When I got off work on Friday, the Pazhou Exhibition Center was temporarily closed due to the epidemic. The three of us took the opportunity to bypass Line 8 and find a place to have fun and have a long-awaited dinner together. I, who had lived in the university town for half a year, finally set foot in the third floor of GoGo New World in the university town for the first time (I had never been there before, so lonely 555...). We had a meal of Northwestern cuisine full of noodles and carbohydrates hhh!
  

  1. The liangpi noodles have a northern flavor, not the compromise of Cantonese flavor. They are heavy and spicy, refreshing!
  2. The potato noodles in the big plate chicken are a perfect match, which has received a lot of praise, while the chicken is neglected. 😂
  3. The "Tofu Beef Pot" and "Yangrou Pao Mo" are highly recommended, delicious and satisfying!

• What Should I Cook?

  1. Sweet and Sour Crispy Potato Shreds: I learned this recipe from Wang Gang on Bilibili, and it turned out to be crispy and delicious when I made it. However, I managed to control the sourness well, but due to the improper ingredients and proportions, it wasn't spicy enough and was too sweet.
     

  2. Cold Tofu and Thousand-Layer Tofu: A simple dish, blanch the bean sprouts, spinach, and tofu shreds in boiling water, then rinse with cold water, and season with minced garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil to enhance the flavor. However, it's not refreshing enough to eat, so I need to find a way to make it more refreshing!

  3. "Yunnan Mouding Fermented Bean Curd" is really delicious. Just put it in a steamed bun, and you're good to go!

  4. Eggplant and Green Pepper Stir-Fried with Sliced Pork: Heat oil in a pan, stir-fry the pork until cooked, then stir-fry ginger and garlic until fragrant, then cook the eggplant for about 15 minutes, add green pepper, scallions, and pork, and season with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and salt. Stir-fry evenly and serve. Two points to note: ① Use plenty of oil because although eggplant has no bones, it's difficult to cook it until soft 😭; ② Don't add scallions at the beginning because cooking the eggplant takes more than ten minutes, and the scallions will become scorched and affect the taste!
     

  5. The best-looking dish this month is this plate of Cold Beef! However, my knife skills are not good enough, and the slices are not thin enough, which makes it a bit difficult to chew, but the seasoning is quite good.
     

  "Seven Steps to Completion"

  1. Marinate the beef slices with light soy sauce, cooking wine, oil, and starch, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
  2. Cut the coriander and dried chili into sections, and slice the onion for later use.
  3. Blanch the marinated beef slices in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Put the blanched beef and the prepared ingredients in a large bowl.
  5. Add roasted sesame seeds, chili powder, oyster sauce, vinegar, and light soy sauce to taste.
  6. Heat the oil in an empty pan and pour it over the seasoning to release the fragrance.
  7. Mix well and serve.

• Going Out for Arbor Day
  I got up early on Saturday and rode my bike from home at five o'clock to enjoy the flowers and spring scenery on Arbor Day! The first surprise was the sound of birds chirping along the road in the early morning, making it lively and surrounding me in stereo sound 😊. I went to "Zhoutouju Park" to admire the beautiful golden trumpet trees that lined the streets. It happened to be the flowering season, and even in the early morning, there were people stopping to take pictures. The flowers on the left were dazzling, and the river view on the right was also beautiful. It was a pleasant morning for those who came for a run!
  
  After crossing a bridge to the other side of the river, I arrived at Shamian Island. Unlike the vibrant golden trumpet trees, there are mostly banyan trees here, adding a touch of antiquity and tranquility that matches the European-style architecture on Shamian Island. As the sun rose, the shade under the trees became a cool place to relax. People were drinking tea, playing ball, and playing cards. As Yang said, the people of Guangzhou know how to live!
  

Joys and Sorrows#

• Go Play Basketball After Work
  Last weekend, when I was extremely bored at home, I mentioned in the group chat if anyone wanted to play badminton. We are all bored people, so we organized a game after work! Fortunately, the Pazhou Builders' Home next to my building allows free reservations for the court, so we saved some money and had a place to play. This is really great. That night, I immediately ordered badminton rackets 🏸!

  I couldn't wait to go down for the first time. Although it had just rained, it didn't affect the three of us playing clumsily and awkwardly! It's great that I can still meet two interesting souls after leaving campus.

• Team Building Day on Thursday
  Since the last Double Eleven, it's finally time for a small department team building day again. This time, there weren't as many activities as last time, so we simply went to Pazhou to have a meal after work. The chosen restaurant had a good view, with a river view on one side and the light rail passing by under our feet from time to time. With the candlelight on the table, the sea breeze blowing, and the river view around us, the atmosphere was quite good.

  I have to complain that the food was really not good, especially expensive and small portions. The dishes were very salty, and the dessert after the meal was too sweet 😫. I also had my first cocktail, the classic Old Fashioned. To be honest, it didn't taste great. It felt like drinking ordinary liquor hhhh. Next time, I'll try a Long Island Iced Tea 🥤!

  

Captures#

1 Litre of Tears#

On March 9th, someone recommended the song "March 9th" on Twitter, saying that every year on March 9th, they would think of the drama series "1 Litre of Tears" - 一公升的眼泪. I felt that this series must be very special if it can make people remember a specific date. Since I took a day off on Friday and woke up at 2 am on Thursday, I spent the whole night watching it. I cried with every episode, and by 7:30 in the morning, I had used up almost a roll of tissue 😭. I think I will remember this film every year on March 9th, remembering the liter of tears I shed.

Observations#

Where Does Worry Exist#

There is no shortage of joy, but worries have been bothering me during these two months. Once certain seeds are planted, if you don't face them and resolve them, they will only hold you back. I am willing to face them, so bring it on!

• Work Worries
  On the one hand, after dealing with a few difficult people, I increasingly feel that I should not willingly associate with them and waste my precious youth and life with such people. Life is short, and encounters with people are rare. It is a waste of life to spend it with such people, and "if you stay in the mud for too long, you will become a loach." I need to seriously consider this.

  On the other hand, my enthusiasm is gradually diminishing. This is due to the mismatch between my ideas and those of the boss, as well as my inexplicable insistence. I know what I am doing, and I know it needs a strong driver. I am willing to be that person. Although it is troublesome, difficult, and annoying, I know that what I am doing is right. However, if the leaders don't understand what you are doing, what's the point? I won't even speak up about this, which is definitely not a wise choice. But who cares? I have already seen the upper limit of this profession, and most importantly, there is no challenge or prospects left. This is the root cause of my lack of motivation.

• Laziness in Planning
  I still haven't been able to stick to my study plan for a whole week. This state of being restless and indecisive has been going on since the beginning of the year. I know that this is partly due to my subconscious feeling of insecurity and anxiety. I have always been able to study without worry in a peaceful atmosphere of everything going well, but when faced with something, I often appear calm on the surface but turn my life into a mess.

  Whether it's the postgraduate entrance examination, job hunting, or studying when feeling frustrated, I am easily inclined to give up and indulge in shallow and fragmented things to satisfy myself. Perhaps I am too used to freedom and have never been able to cultivate my focus and perseverance. I always hope for a feeling, and I have never been able to create a feeling of focus and perseverance. I need to find a set of methodologies!

• Emotional Fragility
  In fact, most of the emotional disturbances come from the accumulation of dissatisfaction with the current situation and the deep sense of insecurity that arises from the constant emergence of worries about family, friendship, and love. They constantly exert pressure on me and tear me apart, making me caught in a state of confusion and self-doubt, PUA-ing myself.

  Don't avoid yourself, don't hurt others.

  If I choose to escape at this time, I would be very disappointed in myself. In fact, when looked at from a different perspective, there is nothing to worry about. I think I have become braver in dealing with these things. Come on, young man 🐱‍🏍.

Reflections#

My View on Tool Usage#

• Let Go of Obsessions and Use Tools Lightly
  As I have started using more and more tools, I have clearly felt a shift in my mindset from pursuing minimalism in a verbal sense and pursuing an All-in-One solution to finding containers that are suitable for different forms of content.

  Knowledge itself is rich and diverse, and no single tool can meet all needs 100%. Forcing it will only lead to constant tinkering and jumping around. Moreover, knowledge itself, although it has a certain order, is often chaotic. Trying to arrange scattered knowledge according to a predetermined pattern is a foolish move in my opinion. It will make these treasures lose their vitality and lead to the solidification of thinking. There should be some breathing space left for them.

@Kenshin: After rejecting All-in-One, you will have a truly efficient working environment.

• Needs First, Content as the Core
  On the other hand, looking back, I often fell into a strange logic in the past. I would see a tool first, understand its features, and then create my own needs and use cases to try to meet the software's requirements in order to achieve a certain effect. This reverse logic of creating needs without actual needs is often passionate and short-lived. After three days of enthusiasm, I often give up.

  For example, the act of keeping accounts. I have been trying since high school, but the result has always been a failure. After reviewing it, it is not difficult to find that I have the intention to keep accounts, but the scattered payment scenarios and the need to add and categorize them daily have made it difficult for me to persist. At that time, accounting software was popping up like mushrooms in stores, making it difficult for me to choose. These software have their own focus and advantages. When I focused on myself and realized that what I wanted was an automatic, seamless, and real-time smooth accounting experience, "Yi Mu Accounting" naturally became the most suitable choice for me. Thanks to this choice, I have successfully kept accounts since the middle of 2021, and the experience is very good. As my compatibility with it increases, I can now simply scan a QR code to pay and automatically record the bill without adding any additional burden. I have successfully completed the task of keeping accounts without increasing any additional burden. This is the value of a tool, the power of compatibility! If I had insisted on using Excel, Notion, or other accounting software to do this, because it did not solve my pain points, I would still be struggling and tinkering, wasting a lot of mental energy and not achieving anything in the end.