Hey guys, Vim here. The day(s) after the birthday. I know, I know, you must be asking. What fun shenanigans did this rascal get into? Well...none actually. I didn't do any of the things I said I wanted to do Lol. I didn't go to a museum, zoo, or aquarium, nor did I go to Jollibee. I did, however, go to a bookstore, two actually.
The first one is the main branch of the bookstore I went to last week, which is sadly closing down. I looked into it a little bit, but the gist is the sister location is closing down due to the owners of the building being assholes about the lease. So yeah, maybe literature really is dying (lol jk hopefully not). I went there to see if they had any of the books I wanted to buy, mainly White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the yearning book I wanted to get the day before. The lady searched it up, and sadly didn't have any copies. So, in melancholy, I was just scrolling through this rotating shelf of Penguin Classics books when I saw the author's name on a book titled The Gambler and Other Stories. Curious, I picked it up and looked at the first few pages to see what stories it included. Guys...WHITE NIGHTS IS PART OF THE COLLECTION. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW FUCKING HAPPY I WAS TO SEE IT INCLUDED. I SMILED EAR TO EAR. Note: I checked numerous sites, even the official publisher's, and it doesn't list White Nights as part of the collection, even though it does, at least in the one I bought. Did I buy a new or an old version, perhaps? So yeah, after that, I immediately went to the register and showed it to the lady, who was happy for me as well. I inquired about another book called On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, a book about having a difficult upbringing and being Asian-American. Sadly, they didn't have it, and I bothered her again this time about which text of Frankenstein I should read, the edited 1831 version or the original 1818. The lady said Frankenstein is one of her top 5 books (so the best person to ask), and sadly, I zoned out listening to her because I disassociate sometimes in social situations, being an introvert, but I remember the answer, which was that she prefers the 1818 version.
Being a bit earth-conscious and broke, I would prefer to buy used books, so I asked her if they have a section for them. She said no, but recommended another bookstore that's about 20 minutes away that specializes in them. Being my birthday so not caring about my responsibilities for 24 hours, I decided to pay them a visit. Guys...the place is a literal wonderland if you're a hoarder collector. I personally want to get into the classics, and dude fuck, they had a lot of classic authors. I'm really into animation too, especially Studio Ghibli, and they had some art books available, I think special editions too. They not only offer books, but also vinyls, DVDs, CDs, and video games. They're all at a reasonable price, too. Unfortunately, they didn't have either Frankenstein 1818 or OEWBG. I did get a few other books, which more than filled the void. I won't list them here because I'm thinking of writing a separate post about all the books I've bought since acquiring this newfound reading obsession.
Afterwards, my friend called, saying they're at the hospital (for personal reasons I won't elaborate), saying that if I wanted, I could buy a cake and candles, then head over there; their mom offered to pay for the cake. At first, I was hesitant because I thought the hospital was going to be an hour away, since I drove nearly 45 minutes away from home, but I checked Google Maps and saw it was only a 20min drive. I looked up nearby bakeries since I'm not a basic bitch going to Walmart or Publix all the time, and by luck, saw that I was very near this Filipino bakery famous for its ube cheesecake. So I drove about 10 minutes for a slice of the cheesecake and 25 more minutes afterwards to the hospital. When I arrived, we chatted about how we're doing, me with my depression and them with their medical issues. We watched with unattentive eyes and open mouths the heavily underappreciated Atlantis movie by Disney. Honestly, instead of the live-action shit they're making now, the best live-action adaptations would be Treasure Island and Atlantis. Both are marvels of animation and story. I even bought her a book from the used bookstore because I like buying people stuff. I got her Normal People by Sally Rooney because I know she likes romance, and I've heard of this book before. She appreciated it and found it weird that I bought her a gift on my birthday, Lol. Her mom bought me a hospital food dinner, which is not as bad as people say, and sent me $40 as a birthday gift, which I graciously accepted, but acted like I didn't want it because acting entitled when receiving money is just, like, eww Lol. What made the visit a bit sour, though, is that she's my ex's friend; a close friend even. So her mentioning my ex did hurt a bit.
Near the time I had to go, I blew out candles and ate cake. It was their first time ever trying this ube cheesecake, and they loved it. Loved it so much her mom searched up their menu Lol. They did dog on me a bit because I only bought a slice, but a slice is like $9. You can imagine how much a full cake would be, and I don't want them to spend that much on a cake for me. The candles were from this birthday candle app I downloaded because I didn't buy any, plus I don't think starting fires in hospitals is a good idea or allowed. It was cute and sweet, they sang happy birthday to me and stuff. I really appreciate them.
I then went home and took off all my public clothes and lay out in my bed. I was content with my birthday, a bit depressed because this is the first of many birthdays being alone, alone as in single. I still miss my ex. I had the tiniest bit of hope that she might contact me, but she didn't. I instead just admired my book haul for the day and looked at options on what to watch. I almost started a new show called Shrinking, which had Harrison Ford and Jason Segel on the cover. I heard the name and the description were intriguing, so I was about to watch it, but instead just passed out on my bed. So yeah, that's how my birthday went. Happy Birthday to me! I will do my best to have many more of these to come.
Thank you for everything!
-This is Vim, over and out :)
Note: I think I kind of still have a crush on Star, but idk I'm just so confused.