!christyotwisty's Five Questions April 2023
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rawtext.club:70/~xiu
2023-04-07
Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia
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Answering christyotwisty's Five Questions[1] for this month:

1. What is your most memorable recent dream?

Recently, I dreamt I was about to eat a delicious cake
made of ham, but of course woke up before getting to
taste it. Food dreams are so disappointing in that way,
but leave behind nice memories of what could have been.

2. What instantly improves a sub-par day?

Nothing quite like solutions to the problems causing
sub-parity, but if there's nothing to be done about them,
I like a nice dinner, nice cup of tea, good book or game,
and a cuddle.

3. Is there an uncommon, little-known, wellness or beauty
   hack you use?

I don't know if there's a proper term for it, but I call
it "wet breathing". It's helpful when you feel that
uncomfortable itch/tickle in the roof of your mouth that
often precedes a sinus infection or head cold.

Imagine you're snoring/snorting, but breathe out slowly
and gently, pushing warm wet air through your sinuses. It
helps keep the sinus cavity humid, which I guess helps
maintain the protective lining that keeps out bad bugs.

It's not a fix-all, but I've often avoided getting sick
with this trick. I think of it like a little buff that
tips the odds in your favour if you're borderline during
dry air season.

4. What is something that feels embarassing but
   shouldn't?

Being corrected in public. It shouldn't feel embarassing,
but it triggers the physiological responses even when I'm
rationally fine with it. Based on discussions in therapy,
I suspect this kind of thing can stem from hypercritical
parenting or from spending too long in environments where
one lacks a safe space to make mistakes and learn from
them. It's funny how our minds and bodies get shaped by
the experiences we have, and yet we still place so much
pressure on ourselves to be less X or be more Y.

5. If you live in a small space, how do you responsibly
   discard or recycle excess items?

Up until recently I lived in a tiny apartment for
several years, during which time I would try to rehome as
much as I could. Hand-me-down tech to family and friends
who could get value out of them. Worn-out clothing would
get recycled into cleaning cloths or remade into other
clothes. Household items, especially unusual things,
went to my local area's Buy Nothing FB group. A lot of
stuff also went to goodwill.

[1] gopher://sdf.org/0/users/christyotwisty/phlog/2023-April-Five-Questions.txt