It's not easy to list out 13 items so I don't always get to do a Thursday 13 post. But today, I have this idea... so I'm listing out 13 of my hobbies. 

1. Reading - Something I do since I'm little. I have occasional reading slumps but I still like doing it.

2. Watching TV/Youtube/Netflix - Not much TV nowadays but Youtube, oh yes. It started from watching some japanese vlogs to watching people play horror games. Now I'm learning how to knit from Youtube videos.

3. Surfing the Internet - Being in fandoms got me into looking for their information online. I started using the internet pretty early (compared to my peers at that time).. and, yes, I experienced dial-up connection. Internet was pretty expensive back then [for the slow speed *sigh*] so I could only use it after my mother's done using it. 

4. Collecting Things - I don't collect everything of course. But when there's something I'm interested in, I naturally want to collect them. I used to collect stamps and stickers. I still have the hotel envelopes I mentioned in a post before. Other things I collect are books and stationery... I try not to collect stuff I can't use. 
 

5. Blogging - My blog has been online since February 2005. There were years I didn't update anything but yeah, I still consider it one of my hobbies.

6. Music-related Activities (Listening to Music/Playing the Piano) 

7. Playing Computer/Mobile games - I LOVE GAMES. I wasn't allowed or didn't have much chance to play them when I was little so I think that played a big part on why I love them so much now. I play quite a wide range of games. I enjoy the Mass Effect series. I love mystery, puzzle-solving games. Adventure games. Visual novel games. Otome games. Music rhythm games.

8. Cooking

9. Writing - When I'm not lazy, I like attempting to write fanfics based on the games I play lol. 

10. Learning a Language

11. Creating Art (Drawing/Painting) - This one is really an on-and-off thing for me. But I'm trying to do more of this because sometimes I do have that urge to do some art things.

12. Gardening

13. Knitting

My first tomato plant. Why would I, who seldom eat vegetables and fruits, plant this? 

Because I was curious of its taste. 

I actually harvested (feels so weird using that word lol) three but one got eaten by me (and my mother). It tasted like how cherry tomatoes usually taste like.. a bit tangy but not too much. Somewhat salty sweet aftertaste...?  The one I ate was probably not fully ripened (I think) although it's already yellow.

Seeds are from Iris Gardening via Shopee (not in stock at this moment).

I tried planting sunflowers few months ago. My first try didn't end up well (Nowadays, I keep reminding myself that they need full sun!). This is my second try.

【 Gardening 】

You've heard the stories. The stuff people do during MCO, quarantine, isolation, lockdown etc... I didn't think I experience THAT much changes compared to last year but I confess.. I got bitten by the gardening bug this year haha. I don't consider myself a follower of fads but when I do, I get into it so bad. Now I seek for TV shows that feature plants and gardening and manga with gardening theme.. and I started getting interested in creating botanical paintings (which is fine with my being into art recently but still...).. 

Actually, it's not really new to me because I grew catnip for my cats in 2017-18. They are still alive - one flowered twice this year - although I recently pruned them to like 1/3 of their original size. I also still have my aloe vera that was purchased in 2017 at the Asia City tamu. It almost died (along with my rosemary, who didn't make it RIP) but in the end it survived and gives me aloe vera babies (they are so cute!) since then. Probably have to move some of them to their own pots because they are getting cramped again in their pot. 

I feel like I should include some photos at this point... but I'm quite nervous because I might jinx it. Maybe in the future? 

Anyway, so yeah... gardening bug... now I'm browsing for seeds online instead of books and stationery (yay?) but seeds can be expensive too because of the shipping fees. Why seeds you ask? Because it's cheaper.. and I seldom go out anymore (hah!).. uhh.. Also, I'm interested in plants that might not be available in nurseries. I get seeds for fruits/vegetables that I want to eat, plants with blue/purple flowers (it's oddly specific but yeah), & aromatic/fragrant plants... I'm also interested in weird-looking ones.. and most succulents fall under this haha (want to get some lithops in the future).

【 Anime 】

I've been watching more anime recently and one of it is "A Destructive God Sits Next to Me". The anime is so chaotic!!  ...but honestly, it's just the kind of thing I'm into *almost makes me wonder why I took so long to watch it haha*. As I watched more episodes, I find myself relating so much to one of the characters, Tsukimiya, that I had to check if he's an xNTP.. I found one site that says he's an ENTP.. which just makes me smile..er..laugh more. No wonder!

I also re-watched the first 3 seasons of Natsume Yuujinchou and now catching up with the latest seasons that I haven't watched. Got reminded again how much I love the manga...

【 Youtube 】

Saw some "Fall Guys" playthrough recently and it made me want to play too! It's so weird how fast I got interested in it (apparently I skipped some of Pocky Sweets' videos of him playing it.. lol).. I'm already planning on buying it soon. I'll just tell myself it's a birthday present for me haha