Journal 80 More Spraying, Watching NYCC, Olive Tapenade
Hello girls!
This week we got the first real tastes of cold weather here in New Jersey. The socks went on.
We are preparing for winter. After such a brutally hot summer, I do not feel like being cold this winter. According to the weather forecasts, it’s going to be a bitterly cold winter here in the Northeast. So I am going to try and make the house and our daily life as comfortable as possible.
Unfortunately, this week someone came to spray biocides from a neighbors property into ours again... it is so frustrating! The person, who looked like the same one as last time, came and just stood there spraying our plants through the fence. I don’t blame the residents of the house yet. I think sometimes people get taken advantage of by predatory businesses. “All the nice houses get landscaping done and fertilizers and pesticides sprayed on their lawn. Look at your neighbors’ lawns, they are so clean. Don’t you want a clean lawn too?”
This weekend I watched a few livestreams of the New York Comic Con. I wanted to see the artists’ alley. I went to this convention roughly ten years ago, and I remember a giant hall filled with row after row of tables with so many artists displaying their work. I remember they were nearly all black and white comic book style illustrations. I kind of wanted to go squarely to see that again, but it seems very different now.
All of these conventions seem so different now. I don’t know if I have changed, or if they have changed. They feel... cold... corporate... popular... desexed... unsafe... If I was a young lady, I wouldn’t feel safe going to one alone these days. And what happened to the anime girl boobie mousepads? Who did they ever hurt? And when the event was on the news, it went something like this: “You may have noticed some interesting people on the streets today. Do not be alarmed, the city is not being taken over by blue aliens or giant Pikachu. It is the annual comic convention, where enthusiasts of comics and maynga come dressed up as their favorite characters.” Nowadays, the reporters come dressed up and it’s just so different.
Maybe among the smaller conventions, there are some that are still cozy and friendly?
I also played outside a little bit this weekend. It was nice to have a hot cup of black coffee outside on such a nice autumn day. My partner even made me a delicious sandwich. I heard there would be homemade olive tapenade in it, and I thought it was a cruel (but probably well-deserved) joke. I like virtually all food, I will eat anything, but there is one surprising thing I don’t like... olives! I will have them in cooked food, pizza, or the elixir that has kept me alive: extra virgin olive oil. But not plain!
Yet somehow, this sandwich was delicious, even with olive tapenade.
Please have a super great week ahead!
Asya Carrino