Shari Creates

Books, languages, things I make and notes from everyday life.

Category: Daily life

  • 我的猫Panni | My Cat Panni

    以前，我有一只猫。它叫Panni。

    它的毛很长，颜色是深棕色，看起来差不多是黑色的。

    Panni只有一只耳朵，但是它还是很可爱。

    它很安静，也很喜欢跟我们在一起。

    我工作的时候，它常常在我旁边睡觉。

    Panni已经不在了，但是我常常想它。

    它不只是一只猫，也是我的家人。

    我不会忘记它。

    I used to have a cat named Panni.

    She had long, dark-brown fur that looked almost black.

    Panni had only one ear, but she was still very cute.

    She was quiet and liked being with us.

    When I worked, she often slept beside me.

    Panni is no longer here, but I often think about her.

    She was not merely a cat; she was also part of my family.

    I will not forget her.

  • A May Day in Várbalog: Grass Cutting and Cherries

    A May Day in Várbalog: Grass Cutting and Cherries

    In May, we drove out to Várbalog to take care of one of those jobs that comes with having a house in the countryside: cutting the grass. By then, the garden had become very green and rather overgrown, so there was plenty to do.

    We bought the house sometime in 2021. It was a period when Budapest property had become increasingly expensive and many buyers were looking beyond the capital for more space at a price they could still manage. The difference was considerable: the Hungarian National Bank reported that in the second quarter of 2020, the median transaction price was HUF 28 million in Budapest, compared with HUF 12 million in rural towns and HUF 5 million in smaller municipalities. Prices continued to rise in 2021, including outside Budapest, so country properties were hardly a secret bargain by then.

    Várbalog is a small village of only a few hundred residents in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, close to the Austrian border. It belongs to the Mosonmagyaróvár district and lies about nine kilometres northwest of Jánossomorja. The countryside around it is very flat and open, with fields stretching almost uninterrupted towards the horizon. In May, some were bright with flowers, while red poppies edged others. A small historical curiosity: early records referred to the settlement as Váras-Balog and also Csütörtökhely—two names used long before the modern Várbalog.

    The practical reason for this particular trip was the garden. The lawn needed mowing, and the taller grass around the trees and edges had to be cut back. A country house may sound peaceful and romantic, but the grass does not care how far away its owners live or how busy they have been. Leave it alone for long enough and it simply takes over.

    Fortunately, the visit was not all work. The cherry tree was already carrying dark red fruit, and we were able to pick some while we were there. There is something particularly satisfying about eating cherries directly from a tree in your own garden. They may not have been perfectly uniform like supermarket fruit, but they did not need to be.

    Trips to Várbalog often contain this mixture: a long list of things that need attention, followed by a few quiet moments that remind us why we wanted the house in the first place. On this May day, it was the open fields, the newly cut grass and a handful of cherries.

    A large garden in Várbalog being cleared with a brush cutter and lawn mower.
    A broad field of pale purple flowers near Várbalog beneath a blue sky.
    Ripe dark red cherries hanging from a tree in the garden.
  • A glimpse into Myheritage.

    A glimpse into Myheritage.

    A while ago – sometime in late 2022 or early 2023 – I decided to try a MyHeritage DNA test. It wasn’t something I did casually. Growing up, I always knew that my background was quite mixed, but I was curious to see what a DNA test might reveal.

    I was fortunate enough to meet three out of my four grandparents. On my mother’s side, the stories were quite clear. My maternal grandparents came from Javanese and Bugis backgrounds, both cultures rooted in the Indonesian archipelago. From my father’s side, my grandmother was Telugu Indian. These parts of my heritage were always known within the family.

    The person who remained something of an enigma was my Japanese grandfather.

    He was someone I never met, and for most of my life he existed more as a fragment of family history than as a real person I could ask questions about. Because of that, I was particularly curious to see whether the DNA test would show anything connected to that part of my background.

    Myheritage DNA

    When the results came back, I saw that about 28% of my DNA was identified as Japanese, with a specific reference to Japan (Okinawa).

    I have to admit that my first reaction was skepticism. DNA tests can estimate regions, but pinpointing something as specific as Okinawa seemed surprisingly precise. I wasn’t sure how much weight to give that detail. And how did my Telegu grandmother became a Bengali?

    But curiosity got the better of me.

    After doing some research – and with the help of a few kind people who were willing to assist me in looking into historical records – I eventually discovered something remarkable: my grandfather was indeed from one of the islands in Okinawa.

    That realization honestly blew my mind.

    It made me look back at the DNA result differently. What I initially dismissed as a vague or overly specific guess turned out to align with reality. Seeing that connection reflected both in historical information and in a genetic estimate was a strange and powerful feeling.

    Interestingly, it also made me wonder about the science behind these tests. The Okinawa reference appeared only under the Japanese ancestry portion of my results. It seems that in some populations—like Japan—genetic patterns are distinct enough that tests can sometimes identify more specific regional links.

    Of course, DNA percentages don’t tell the whole story of identity. Culture, language, and lived experiences shape us far more deeply than numbers on a chart ever could.

    But still, seeing that 28% Japanese – and learning that it likely traces back to Okinawa – felt like discovering a small piece of a puzzle I had been carrying for years. I wish my father is still around so I can tell him all the new information I found.

    For someone who grew up with a grandfather who felt almost mythical, it was a reminder that even the quietest parts of family history can leave very real traces behind.

  • When life was put on hold

    It has been quite a while since my last post. The past few months unfolded quickly — exams for an accountancy certification, long evenings of studying, workplace projects, a promotion, a new team. Life did not stop. It accelerated.

    Somewhere in that acceleration, I pressed pause on Mandarin lessons. What started as “just for a while” quietly stretched into months.

    Twice a week now, I am back on Preply.

    I was nervous before the first lesson. I hadn’t spoken Mandarin regularly in some time, and I wondered if the words would still come. Would my sentences fall apart halfway through? Would my tones betray me?

    They didn’t.

    Yes, I was a little rusty. But I was still comfortable speaking. The language hadn’t disappeared — it had simply been waiting. Reading aloud on DuChinese during the break turned out to be more important than I had realized. It kept my pronunciation alive. It kept the door slightly open.

    And now that I’ve stepped back in, I feel grateful.

    Grateful that progress is not always lost when we pause.
    Grateful that some things stay with us.
    Grateful that I can begin again.

  • Return from the abyss

    Life has a way of pulling us in unexpected directions, and before you know it, a whole year has flown by. But, here I am, back at the keyboard, ready to share my thoughts.

    My mental health had taken a toll. Anxiety and stress became daily companions, often leaving me feeling overwhelmed and unable to engage with the world, including my blog. I suffered from depression and anxiety for the last year. So much so that I had decided to talk to professionals to help me cope.

    Coming from a culture where mental health is the last thing anyone would talk about or ever. It’s all about sucking it up and continue with the daily grind. I wish I can just ‘suck it up’ and ignore every anxiety I feel and still function like normal human being. But the last year had proven it otherwise. I could only hide it so much, but at the end of the day I need to work on the past traumas and understand how it is effecting the way I handle life daily and how I see the future.

    One thing I learnt from talking to mental health professional is how liberating it is to talk to someone who aren’t family or closed ones about my past and they had been effecting the way I behave or how I feel. But sitting there, talking and bawling my eyes out, I also realized that no matter how much I talk about my burden it all boils down to me. No one else is going to rescue me and save me from my own thoughts.

    It’s a long journey I know. But as James Clear had written in his book, it just take a miniscule change in the trajectory I can end up else where hopefully way better than where I am at now. I’ve come to understand that healing is not linear; it’s a journey with ups and downs. It’s about making small, consistent changes and being kind to myself along the way.

    So “welcome back” to myself. 🙂 Thank you for reading, who ever you are.

  • Up my Mandarin learning game

    Today I took the first Mandarin lesson on preply. I have been learning for years but my speaking ability is not even up to par. Simply because I have no one whom I am brave enough to speak mandarin to.

    My first experience was good. The teacher seems kind and sympathetic to me. She helped a lot with my pronunciation. Something that I don’t really get when I was in the classroom. I did take weekly lessons which was paid by the company. It was just 1 hour a week and during the weekdays. And because it was not enough, I also attended classes which was twice a week at the Confucius center. The class would start at 6pm while work ended at 5:30pm. Then I would have to rush over to the class which I was always the last to arrive. In the class there were about 13 of us so one can imagine how much one would have the chance to really practice speaking.

    I am quite happy to find this because the rates are good. And having lessons over the weekend is good for me. Not to mention it is way comfortable to learn online and it is flexible.

    I registered myself and searched for a tutor – one can choose by how much they charge, where they are from and their availability. Some of the tutors are newcomers so they usually start at a much lower rate. And once they gained more students they would eventually raise their rates as they also gained more experience teaching online. The tutor I chose mentioned to me that after 20 lessons or so she would increase her price. I am actually ok with the price she suggested because from what I am paying right now, I didn’t even bother to get a free trial lesson. After the first lesson, I immediately bought more hours and scheduled for 8 more lessons. For 2 hours over the weekend.

    Look forward to the next class actually. 🙂

  • Bustafellows

    Bustafellow_switchOLED

    I have been a fan of the “choose your own ending” text-based games and romance novels for a long time. So this genre is just perfect for me. It is the only kind of game that won’t take me years to finish. Just like how I would read books right before bed, I would read a visual novel on the switch instead.

    The first Visual novel game I tried on the switch is “Bustafellows”. It is a noir mystery crime busting visual novel. Here you will play as ‘Teuta’ or what ever name you choose to give the girl protagonist. I am not even sure if it can be considered a game because you get to make very few choices. Some chapters would go on without you having to make any choices at all in fact. Few but important choices that would determine which route you will take and which Love interest you would end up with.

    What I like about this visual novel is that, there are many stories to unfold. Good endings, bad endings, and side stories as well. The character designs are nice as well in my opinion. My Love interests here are Shu and Limbo. The least being Scarecrow and Helvetica. I suppose because the characters of the first two guys I mentioned are not over the top. I also enjoy the good endings for sure.

    Now what I do no like much about it is that the stories can be pretty dark. There would be some mention of ‘suicide’, ‘violence’ and ‘murder’. Heck it is after all a mystery crime novel after all, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a little disturbing to be honest. So I would usually go over the bad ending first and later go for the good ending to clean my system with more positive emotion.

    All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend to anyone getting into visual novels. Out of 5, I would give it a 4.5. 👌

     

  • We bought a house

    We bought a house

    It’s amazing how things work sometimes. While I was missing in action here, things were happening in real life. 😀 We were just looking around to see what are the prices are these days for flats and the next thing we know, we were signing papers for a new house in a place we never heard of until last month. In a little village with less than 400 registered residents, located right at the border of Hungary and Austria. It is one hour to Vienna and about 45 mins to Bratislava, about an hour to Győr and 2 hours to Budapest. To think we were actually looking at flat prices in Sopron and not actually looking hard to buy something immediately. Looking at how quickly it all happened, a few days really, we actually asked ourselves if we did the right thing. 😆 Anyway, no regrets. Just a little shocked. 😃

    Front of house

    How we ended up buying it? It was at a good price and we just love it the moment we saw the pictures. And even more after we saw it in person. The thing is, it is actually a house with two parts. The story was that it was owned by two business partners. And once they split, they decided to split the house to become 2 flats. One part owning about 700sqm of the garden while the other part owns 1300sqm of the garden. We actually saw just one half of the house but decided we should get the other half as well. It would be a no deal if we couldn’t get the entire place. I just could not imagine to share a garden, if we are lucky we get a reasonable neighbor if not then we will have to suffer the entire time. And we were lucky enough that the other flat’s owners inherited the place recently and they wanted to sell so all three of them would get their inheritance money.

    So I bought one half of the house and my other half bought the other half of the house.😆 His half comes with tenants – though the previous owners asked them to find else where to live within a month, we decided to let them continue the lease until next year when we are ready to start renovations. We not so enthusiastic about it really, but since they said it is hard to find a place around the area with that rental price within such a short period, we decided to just let them stay on and give them more time to look. Even if they leave earlier, that would still be fine for us. My half of the house is not livable yet although it is the best looking one of the two. 😆

    Wind turbines

    And here is another reason, at least for me, as to why I like the place. I love the wind turbines that are near by. 🙂 I guess because we don’t have any in Budapest? Or simply they are majestic looking and mesmerizing as the blades go round and round? I don’t know. But I do like them indeed.

    We will only start to get it renovated in Spring next year as we are too busy this year and we need time to find the right people to do it for us. It’s all so exciting really, and I am feeling blessed.

    Till next time… Thanks for reading. 🙂

  • Farewell Kiki

    Farewell Kiki

    Our little bunny breathed his last on the 22nd of June 2021. He was short by a few months to his 7th birthday. For a lop-eared dwarf bunny, I read that 7-9 years is the average lifespan. So he was almost a senior in human age.

    Since we are living in an apartment building with shared garden, we decided to bury him at our weekend house in Gödöllő. We think he liked the place as we let him roam around a bit there. He had more space and was outside more there.

    Kiki’s resting place

    He was family to us, and I believe to him we were the world. I don’t think we were the best owners but I hope we had given him somewhat not too bad a life.

    As we are a small family and having had a few family members passed away last year, this lost is really felt. I just hope, where ever he is now, he is happy.

  • Rest In Peace

    Rest In Peace

    A couple of days after I jotted down my last entry here, someone dear to us drew her last breath. I was privileged to have the chance to be with her and watch over her on her final journey. She was my mother-in-law.

    I wouldn’t say that our relationship was always smooth sailing. But the last few years had been rather good, especially after she found someone special to share her life with. She seemed happier.

    She was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, possibly a form of leukemia, in October the previous year. Since then, she had been hospitalised a couple of times. Once, it was because of a fever that wouldn’t subside for about a month. The second hospitalisation would be her last, again because of a prolonged fever.

    During that stay, the medical team found abnormalities in her intestines and decided to operate. She underwent surgery twice. When a third operation was proposed, she refused. She had had enough.

    Interestingly, she actually seemed to get a little better for a while, so none of us expected things to take a turn for the worse so quickly.

    My husband and daughter went to visit her without expecting that they would find her on her deathbed. When they arrived, I was still at work and completely unaware of what was happening. After work, I received a call and took a taxi to the hospital.

    She died about an hour after I arrived.

    I am grateful that I was able to be there and say goodbye.

    She had been such a big part of our lives that it was very difficult to come to terms with her loss. We are moving forward, as I believe she would have wanted us to, but I am still sorry that she could not have stayed with us a little longer.

    She loved my daughter very much and helped take care of her while she was growing up. I wish she could have been here to celebrate more of my daughter’s birthdays, her graduations, her wedding, perhaps even her first child.

    Wherever you are, Krisztina, thank you for everything you did for us.

    Despite the difficult moments we had along the way, I do believe I was lucky to have you as my mother-in-law.

    “We are never ready to say goodbye forever, even though we know it is part of life. Our hearts are heavy when we lose someone so special, but as we mourn their death, we also celebrate their life.”