It’s back to 2005 for me. 📻 I canceled my Spotify subscription last month and haven’t even missed it. Although, I’ll say that Spotify lets you find all sorts of smaller artists whose music you’d otherwise never come across. The free tier isn’t even that bad. But I digress. A couple months ago, I got the itch to go back to having an old school mp3 player. Then I found out those are called DAPs now and the nice-looking ones are very expensive. Just around that time though, one called the HiBy R4 was on pre-order for $250. I like the retro 2000s look and got the orange color. This DAP is just another device I have to lug around, but it’s gotten me off my phone a lot. She’s also a chonker 👀

I’ll use that $10 a month to buy new music. Already bought a few albums, some singles, and went back to my peg-legged roots. 🏴‍☠️ A lot of my favorite artists aren’t huge, so actually buying their stuff feels nice. I like Bandcamp enough since it seems like they only take 10 or 15% when you purchase music.

All this has also reminded me that last.fm is still kicking.

My scrobbles are now in the sidebar. What a blast from the past. 😂 I started over with a new account though. Last time I used last.fm was in 2013.

Some summer staples

Everyone is busting out their fans, and lots of shops are selling them. I gave in and got this fan that was only 2,500 yen. This muted minty green color is nice, and it has around 4 speed settings. No more arriving at work with my face wet. 🤩

It’s also time to keep up with SPF application now that the UV index is high every day. 🌞 I also have a little UV parasol I bought a couple years ago that I’ll be bringing with me on commutes. Parasols are super effective at mitigating sun damage and making your walks outside cooler—enough to be worth the hassle.

And possibly in related news, this dork left her Dr. Martens Gryphon sandals all the way back at her family home. 😫 Shipping would probably cost as much as buying a new pair, soooo hopefully they survive until the next time I visit. I have another pair of Docs that are white (the Voss ones?), but that pair isn’t as sturdy and it’s just different. 🙃 I don’t like how the foam-like bottoms of those Docs get ripped up so easily on the pavement.

Anyway, all my other summer shoes are just heels, and with the amount of walking I do, that’s no bueno. So I finally bit the bullet and got a pair of Birkenstock Arizona sandals.

I really wanted the plain black leather Arizonas, but of course when I finally decided to purchase days later they were out of stock. 😅 The color is called ginger brown. So far, I’ve worn them for about a week, and it feels like they’re already broken in. Might be a fan already… I’m hoping these last a good 4 to 5 years.