JOURNALS

Tuesday came and went, the day before Christmas, and I found myself tinkering with the Mystical Kitty project throughout. I started off by making it conjure ideas for the last few weeks and spinning up a new iteration to see what today's celestial musings had in store. It's quite the paradox, creating something designed to reduce work yet seemingly creating more of it in the process. The morning was mostly about generating ideas and watching them unfold—kind of like preparing a canvas but letting the muse do the heavy lifting.

By afternoon, I was sidetracked when I attempted to start the newsletter. I intended to discuss a nifty bit of code I was working on, but it wasn't yet suitable for prying eyes. Code meant for personal use is like a note scribbled in haste—messy but understandable. What I needed was something more akin to a published manuscript, tidy and intelligible to others. So, the bulk of my time was spent cleaning up the code, making it friendlier for the outside world. A necessary undertaking, if not a tad consuming.

Self-care cycled through the day as I worked, mainly in the form of coding, which surprisingly acts as both challenge and therapy for me. Working on the Mystic Kitty code felt like drawing a warm bath after a long, tiring day—deeply satisfying. Despite being pulled away from drawing, my reliable e-ink tablet awaited future plans.

Evening reflections brought gratitude for my ability to code, the winter solstice just behind us, and adopting a kinder attitude towards myself. Today was a reminder of how valuable it is to create something for oneself and refine it for others. My toes dipped into the sea of productivity, occasionally rescinded by the playful tide of distractions, but mostly, I lived the day with great contentment. Until the next one.