Stay, won't you? My love for you is so unwavering that I may sometimes have even taken it for granted. We may never be like we were once before, but that's okay. Of course, if you could, be what you once were, it would bring me happiness too, but that's not the way that things go, is it? So it's okay. As long as you stay. And I will do my best to keep you warm, to keep you safe. As I have, throughout it all. Not because it was some great sacrifice, but because it was simply the most natural thing for both of us.

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Things are alright, recently. There is some worry, but also some hope, in different regards. We will see if it bears fruit, or at the very least, serves as nourishment for living.

I continue to spend some time on these various things. OW has continued to be an interesting avenue to pursue. It's such a dynamic game that is demanding in both mechanics and decision-making in complex ways; there are days when I feel like I'm really not doing well, and then days when I feel like I really am. It is fun, but probably only for the sake of having others to celebrate the wins with, to witness our improvement.

That hasn't been the case for most of the other hobbies I've pursued, which is an interesting difference. I won't lie, ALTTPR =has= been a little less enjoyable now that I've taken a step away from the reddit weekly seeds, but it was honestly less about having other people to witness my performances and more just having the weekly thing to do. But aside from being busy with other pursuits (like mentoring, or working more on my website), it became a little unsatisfying to see my times stacking up against someone who, shall we say, is "unnaturally lucky".

Rhythm Quest work continues here and there, still working on backdrops. I haven't sunk a ton of time into it recently, but I managed to spend enough time to come up with something pretty decent-looking (?) for the next rework, just have to put it in-engine and see if it needs tweaking and adjustments at this point before I proceed to doing palette work.

I've been doing an okay job overall, I think. Sure, there are slip-ups here and there -- yesterday's cooking wasn't too great, for example, and I'm struggling with oversleeping on some days -- but I am getting the right things done here and there, too. Doing the groceries, as usual, handling my smog test, and all that. I could use more exercise soon, I'm sure, so there's that. But even that isn't too terrible -- the last time I went ice skating I felt like I really was getting somewhere with it.

Interestingly, I find myself less excited about tea these days, but I think that's somewhat understandable, to be honest. It's still enjoyable, just not an uncommon, novel, and exciting endeavor. It's just an everyday part of life.

I guess it's somewhat regrettable to be taking a step away from social dance, but not even that much, really. That's probably how I know it's right -- the lack of guilt, or regret, or anything like that. But then again, I've always been pretty good about just deciding what I want to do and pursue, and deciding for myself when to change course. Usually more slowly than others (in the case of social dance, extremely so), but it's often very clear to me what I want. No so much when I just feel empty and hollow and not like doing anything, but that's a different sort of affect entirely. Thankfully, these days seem to not be filled with that feeling. Maybe that is a step in the right direction.

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I still think about you from time to time. I feel sorry for you, and maybe a little guilty. It shouldn't have been like that. But what could I do, really? I chose my path, the "correct" path for dealing with it. I just hope that you were happy. You were, right?