FUN STUFF: PARABLE

Idk if this is a common experience, but I for the longest time didn't really... customize my browsing experience... I'm a very careful person so I didn't wanna risk downloading malware or slowing my computer down. But recently I discovered that we, people, in general, need enrichment and diversity in our surroundings. Of course, going outdoors and doing sports is always healthy, but if you're like me - a completely indoor person, and it's not in my nature to work out - you can still improve your mood and help your depression from the inside of your room, and if you spend most of your waking hours on the computer, then you can basically.... redecorate your computer!

Change your wallpaper once in a while. For some reason I'm really indifferent to the wallpaper on my computer and phone, and I've had the same image on each device since like 6 years. Changing it into anything else felt weird and unusual so I reverted it. Turns out, I just really prefer my wallpaper to be made of darkish, muted greens. I use Windows 11 and Windows automatically suggests me shit like screensaver wallpapers, which I always ignore, but one day I turned my laptop on, and the suggested image of the day happened to be this oil painting of a random landscape, with maybe one or two small people in the corner, and like a field filled with cows. And I was caught off guard, like, "omg. little peaceful cows." it just seemed funny. And then the next time I turned my laptop on, Windows showed me a similar painting, clearly by the same artist, featuring a different landscape, or a cathedral or something, and once again, other than the building, the key figures depicted in the painting was a few random cows just hanging out. Now it really felt funny. The paintings were very realistic and detailed, but the recurring theme of little rectangular brown cows here and there was just so unique and charming. I ended up intensely searching for the source of those suggested images and found the museum that windows borrows its images from. I found the painting. But it was not possible to just right click and save it as a png. The image on the website was coded in a special way. It makes sense, but I wasn't familiar with it before. If a webpage displays an extremely large image, thousands of pixels across thousands of pixels, you'll be able to zoom in to see all the details in super high definition. But there's a special process going on. The image is actually cut apart into about 9 pieces, to make the image load faster. "zoomable images". So I had to download a Firefox extension that allows you to enter a zoomable image's URL, and it'll convert it into one big PNG. And that's the story of how I changed my desktop wallpaper.

But it's a big deal, because ever since I did it, I've been immediately feeling a bit sillier when I turn on my PC and see that wallpaper. Cute little cows!

Of course, if you're up for a bigger change, you can look at your room and see what you feel. If you hold something and it doesn't spark joy, get rid of it. When I had a random burst of clarity amidst my grey depressive vision, I walked into my room one day and decided that the window drapes need to be gone. Indeed, they were once black curtains meant to deter sunlight, but those same drapes have hung over my windows for like 8 fucking years, so the side of the curtains that always faced the sun had become completely bleached white. Sun shone through no matter what. The seams began to unravel too. I got rid of them. My mom was surprised because I've never seemed to show much interest in my surroundings, but she figured it's a good choice, and bought new drapes for me. Fresh and black.
I also discovered that I am someone who likes fairy lights, aka christmas lights hung on the walls/windows all year round. There's something embarrassing about it. I associate fairy lights with "boring white girls who think they're quirky". A crippling fear of being corny. How illogical of me. If liking fairy lights makes me corny, then it doesn't make me less corny to pretend that I'm 'above' fairy lights. It's actually just even cornier to act all uppity about it. I'm corny, I can either own it and be happy or be constantly embarrassed.

And here it is... the painting

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Ground – John Constable (1823)
Of course, this is one of the many, easy to find low-res photos of the painting. The official museum photo has much more vibrant colors. The vibrancy is what makes it so cozy.
FUN STUFF: THE LIST