The Adventures of the Little Indian Girl

(Catchup - 2 February 2026)
Hello, Dear Readers. Today, I have another opera review for you. This one is very different, because it was written before bel canto! It was quite an adventure, but a great one.

( Il Mondo Della Luna, 1959 )

(Catchup - 2 February 2026)
Hello, Dear readers. It's time, yet again, for another monthly Friday Five! All of these can be found at thefridayfive. I had to remap the apostrophe key on this keyboard, until I wait for the new one to arrive, so I may have typed the correct key which does nothing. If so, I apologise.

The Friday Five for 2 January 2026
These questions were written by [livejournal.com profile] tabular_rasa.

1. Do you mostly drink tap, filtered, or bottled water?
Filtered. I love Water Chef! It has all the correct certifications. But I also have bottled water from Aldi.

2. Is it safe/recommended to drink tap water where you live? If not, why?
They say it's okay, but the EWG's readings would give you nightmares, and probably cancer just looking at them!

3. What does the tap water taste/smell like where you live?
Bad. Most people may not notice it, but I certainly do. You would have to pay me in the six figures to drink it, and even then, only in a very small amount.

4. Do you collect rainwater? If so, what do you use it for?
No.

5. Do you/have you ever had restrictions on water use where you live? What did you have to change about your lifestyle?
Weve been told to boil wter, which didnt affect me, since I cook and drink with filtered water. But we have also been told not to shower, and that definitely did affect me. I have often wondered how I would even know about such things, since I obviously can't see brown water and dont watch the news. As it is now, Mom tells me such things. Fortunately, none of this has ever lasted more than two days at the most.

The Friday Five for 9 January 2026
These questions were written by [livejournal.com profile] losseloth.

1. Do you have a favourite cause that you support?
I am not usually one for causes, advocacy, etc. But I have always felt strongly about homosexual rights, even before I knew about my parents. I dont know why. That and animals. So I always post things supporting both, be it gay pride events or posts from animal shelters asking for donations, etc.

2. If so, how do you support it?
Whenever I find a brand that is kind to the gay community, I either buy from them or promote them. (Try Barefoot wine. Its delicious.) I also never donate to the Salvation Army. As for animals, I post as much as I can to get them adopted, to encourage people to adopt instead of shopping if they're thinking of adding one to their family, etc.

3. Have you been an active member of an organization (attending meetings, volunteering, etc)?
No.

4. Have you ever led any group?
No, other than subreddits, Facebook groups, etc. But none were about any causes.

5. If so, how was your experience with it?
Being an administrator is interesting. I had more problems on Facebook than on Reddit, but most were related to people not reading the aims of the group i.e. posting things about Latin (Spanish) music in a group that was about the Latin (ancient Roman) language.

The Friday Five for 16 January 2026
These questions were written by [livejournal.com profile] frieliegh.

1. If you could change one life-changing event in the life of someone important to you, would you?
Yes, but I would need a time machine for that. I would make it so that Beau Brummell never contracted syphilis, or if I couldn't prevent it, I would try to come early enough that I could cure it with very little affect on him.

2. Which do you think is easier to do, being friends for many years, or being life partners for many years?
It really depends on the people in question. To me, if your life partner isn't your best friend, you're doing it wrong. So looking at it from that angle, I suppose I would say friends.

3. Have you ever walked away from someone you considered a friend?
Yes, but he mistreated me, and I don't tolerate that from anyone. I gave him at least three chances to change, but he didn't. Note, this was not any sort of abuse. I just didn't like how he treated me.

4. (grammar corrected) If you had to choose between telling the truth and hurting a friend or lying and making him happy, which would you choose?
Under almost all circumstances, I would tell the truth. The only time I wouldn't is if someone were literally dying and this would help him rest in peace, unless, of course, he always preferred honesty. But I am not a liar by nature, and I always say"if you dont want the truth, don't ask me".

5. Which would you rather hear--the truth which will hurt, or the comforting lie?
The truth. I can work with truth, however painful it may be. I can't work with lies, and I refuse to keep liars in my life.

The Friday Five for 23 January 2026: Hair
These questions were written by [livejournal.com profile] destined_dreams.

1. What type of hair do you have? (Thin, Normal, Thick, Frizzy, etc.)
I guess normal (I've never seen other people's hair), but its very thick, especially on the top. It's also very annoying for that reason, plus the cowlics!

2. What color is your hair currently?
Mom calls it a mousy brown, but there are also streaks of grey through it.

3. What colors have you dyed/highlighted your hair?
When I was younger, I allowed Mom to use herbal highlights to turn it blond so she would stop bothering me about it. Now, fortunately, she's given up on it.

4. If you could dye your hair any color, what would it be?
I don't believe in dying hair. But if I did, it would be something sensible and natural in appearance.

5. What is your hair's length?
Its very short, definitely well above my shoulders. Right now, though it's longer than I would like, particularly on the top. I haven't had it cut yet due to the horrible weather. (Note. This is from 2 February.)

The Friday Five for 30 January 2026
These questions were suggested by [livejournal.com profile] twirlandswirl.

How many times a day do you . . .

1. Brush your teeth?
Once.

2. Shower?
Usually, once.

3. Check your E-mail?
Once, if that.

4. Check LJ? (or DW?)
I wish I did this once a day, but sadly, I don't.

5. Eat?
Usually, twice.

Hello, Dear Readers, happy first of the month. I haven't written much aside from musical entries because not much has happened lately. The weather is still horribly cold, even for Mom, who claims not to mind the cold. Joanie is another matter. She says she is completely fine and loves her new job as a crossing guard, because she is able to stay outside. As for me, I hated being downstairs so much due to the cold that I am now sleeping in another room on the middle floor. It was actually my bedroom as a child, and then, it became Grandma's. When she died, it basically became a bit of a storage room. Anyway, all of my things are still downstairs, because this room is tiny, but it has a radiator in t, so at least it's warm. But I am also reminded of why I don't like being on this floor. Aside from having no privacy, unless I close the doors to this room, I can also hear everything that my parents are doing, which is annoying and distracting at ties. I really am a loner and don't like living with people. A partner would be the exception, of course. i can't wait until all of this is straightened out soon and I get my own place back.

Of course, I shorted out yet another of my CUQI Mini Keyboards with my hyperhydrosis, so now, it is only partly functional, with few keys having to be remapped. I still have my ProtoArc XK04, but it is far better suited to phones than to Windows because it is natively missing some essential keys, such as f1 through f12. Plus, I had to reverse the left alt and Windows and add an Applications key. They claim it is able to work with Windows, but why they would eliminate those keys and not have a proper way to access them, instead choosing media keys, is beyond me.

BUT enough negativity. I have been watching various documentaries about all sorts of different things, from my usual ones about nature, to things about ancient Egypt, Rome, and even the lives of people in an African country today. I can't understand how or why religion and superstition still thrive in the twenty-first century, when science has come such a long way, but at least, in third-world countries with very little education, it makes a bit more sense. My thoughts on religion are that it exists first, to explain the natural world when science is lacking, and secondly, to act as a control on the people to gain one thing or another, be it money, power, respect, a feeling of superiority, etc. in many cases.

In other news, I finally made the full switch from Android to IOS. I decided that I didn't really need to wait for my parents to go to have the sim card changed in my phone after all (Joanie was having trouble putting it into my iPhone), so I switched to an e-sim and within minutes, my new iPhone Se2022 was connected to Mint Mobile. It feels wonderful not to have to worry about keeping two phones charged, etc. Now, I can just carry one phone and my Orbit Writer keyboard and be done with it.