Miscellaneous

This page exists in response to an email I received asking me if my website was hacked when I changed my profile picture. Here's some stuff to help prevent a jumpscare if you see me in the wild. Maybe even possible ways to ragebait me.

I play the drums. I am not great at it but I enjoy doing it and hope to get better. Don't ask me how it's going. I also enjoy playing tennis, when I can find a vacant court at my disposal. This happens quite rarely. I used to watch tennis religiously back in the day of Federer, but I kind of almost entirely stopped watching tennis after his loss to Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final. I think a part of me died that day. Of late, the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry has gotten me invested in the sport again but it doesn't quite feel the same again. 

The only other sport I watch is football (soccer if you prefer), and I primarily support Manchester United. I was conned into loving this team in the late 2000s and have suffered tremendous heartbreak over the last decade. But, could be worse. I could be a Spurs supporter. Rooney is my favorite footballer ever, Beckham a close second, and Bruno my current favorite. Henry gets some begrudging respect. It is probably best that you don't engage me in conversations about why the team has performed the way it has over the last decade. 

I, am, as they say, chronically online. When not, I love going out on a long walk. Shockingly, I love walkable cities. I am happiest when I can walk 10 km a day, every day. Ask me about how much I have walked this month!

I also take photographs. I used to do this a lot more seriously back in the day, but processing photos has proved to be quite exhausting of late. If you have suggestions for photo processing software that does not involve me paying a subscription fee, please let me know.

I also generally consume a lot of media. This especially involves reading and watching movies. I love slow, slice-of-life movies where nothing really happens. A tinge of melancholia is also fantastic. My favorite movie for quite some time has been Aftersun (2022). I also enjoy movies where things do happen, eg. Decision to Leave (2022). Please leave my letterboxd alone. My thoughts on books are more complicated, but I enjoyed reading Steinbeck in grad school, especially because he often wrote about places on the Central Coast that I knew pretty well. I think any form of media is elevated when it is grounded in some physical space the consumer can relate to. In what is perhaps a cliche, I also love Moby Dick. More recently, I was very moved by Han Kang. I think everyone should read Human Acts.