A bout of nostalgia

I've been seeing random clips of AI-generated videos of old scenes. You know those POV clips of a typical local mall in the 90s or Sunday mornings in the province? I love those. I'm writing this as I let my smart speaker play songs by Air Supply to set the mood (a typical weekend-morning staple on radio stations back then). Another thing I always feel nostalgic about is food. I missed Filipino style deep-fried breaded pork chops and so I decided to make it this evening for the first time and it was immensely successful! We had the fortunate experience of having a household cook when I was younger and her pork chops were savoury, crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside. Thanks to the interwebs, I learned that the key to success is the marinade. I only had white pepper, sea salt, minced garlic, and apple cider vinegar. I poked the raw slices of bone-in pork chops with a fork then bathed and soaked it in the marinade. Before deep frying in canola oil, I dredged each slice in a mixture of flour, Old Bay seasoning, and white pepper. Dinner was like being transported back home in the late 80s to 90s at our dining table with everyone present and alive. As a nostalgia booster to Earth, Wind & Fire on this 21st night of September, here's Air Supply:

For leisure

'Idleness in this sense does not mean inactivity, but instead nonproductive activity. “Leisureliness,” says Daniel Dustin of the University of Utah, “refers to a pace of life that is not governed by the clock.' (Headlee, Celeste (2022). Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving. Harmony Books, p.xix)

How I've been trying to ameliorate the feeling of being overwhelmed is by borrowing books and magazines that are meant for leisure from libraries. We're talking about a variety of magazines like Cosmopolitan, Hello, Scientific American, Wired, or Consumer Reports; books like an atlas, The Magical World of the LOTR, or the book I just quoted above. An equally important part of the borrowing aspect is the act of walking from one library to another. That's not a surprise to you, because I've written about it before. 

My eldest currently has an affinity for libraries in terms of his program of study and part-time occupation. I'm immensely proud of that. He also just recently returned from an esteemed university in England for a summer course on Shakespeare. They weren't allowed to use devices in many of their sessions. And he was able to visit The Bod Old library! I'm super proud! I'm equally proud of my other children who also have their own different interests in the humanities. Libraries are all around you! You can borrow anything for free! Support your local library...including your nearby university library that likely offers public patron options. 

My eldest gave me this tote after he came back from his trip!