R.E.P.O.R.T.: May 2025

Welcome to the R.E.P.O.R.T. of the month. This is a post that goes over my monthly brain dump. This will include recipes, life, and other tidbits that you may find interesting. Try them out, and let me know about it! Wanna see what I watched and read this month? Check out my reviews on Storygraph(https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/breadgloves?redirect=true) and Letterboxd(https://letterboxd.com/breadgloves/).

Listen, the country is going to shit. I have a lot to do, but let's talk about what I did over the month of May.

Reading: The Dud Test by Lizzy B.

Have you ever told someone something that was inconsequential that they tried to use against you? Maybe you mentioned not enjoying sourdough bread to someone who later tried to talk about it with others, like it is an embarrassing opinion to have...on sourdough. Can we utilize harmless information in small talk to place "duds" in your life? That is in the concept around Lizzy B's book, "The Dud Test." This can be used in working relationships and friendships. It is more a validation of how you already feel about the person. It isn't great to have that feeling of deception validated by someone who you were close to. Sometimes, it is necessary to be able to progress further into our journey of self-discovery. Establishing our ethics and morals takes time; there will be failures in your beliefs, but that is the point. Life is continuing to learn about how you were wrong about many things and to improve the knowledge and skills in them. To quote Lizzy herself, "The knowledge that can be gleaned by incorporating the dud test into your vetting process scares and angers individuals (and institutions!!!) who live in fear of being exposed because, up until this point, they’ve enjoyed continued and unquestioned access to vulnerable and defenseless populations. Or perhaps they have yet to come to terms with their shadow sides so the idea that someone might be able to categorically identify their harmful intentions, without them knowing, chills them to the bone." Her book can be found on Amazon and her Substack can be found here: https://ohyesitslizzyb.substack.com/p/the-dud-test

Eating: Fish

I am lucky to live in a city and state that have access to fresh fish. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have access to native-caught fish that are astronomically better quality than mass-farmed fish like from Costco. The transportation from catching the fish to my plate is minimal; that is a huge privilege to have these days, and I do not want to ignore that. Access to fresh and quality food has become harder and harder for the working class. If you can help local fish markets, please do. They are competing with commercial fishing, and it is getting harder to manage as the environmental quality doesn't improve. I do not feel bad for being a fish snob, but I enjoy more unconventional ways of preparing fish. Because of this, I enjoy salmon and trout mainly, but catfish and cod are also good choices. I know there is a lot of risk of microplastics with fish, but I have a high-fiber diet, and I do try to limit it to around once or twice a week. Everything in moderation, I guess, microplastics? A wonderful time to be alive. Cooking fish in the rice cooker has been a practical option for me when I am working and doing other things than cooking. Salmon does well in the rice cooker, as does cod, but cod will be a lot softer than salmon. I think if there were more instances of people fishing and hunting for themselves and not mass meat farming, the world would be a better, but less convenient, world. Convenience is a modern concept that has created a lot of unseen violence elsewhere. The "ease" of getting food out of season costs the lives of the workers who get those foods to the store you buy them from. Try living for the inconvenience of it all. 

Playing: The Sims 4

I have been a fan of The Sims for some time. I own the complete versions of The Sims 2 and 3, which are much better than all The Sims 4. I still love The Sims 4 because of the modding community, which is massive. I have become friends of a few modders and have been involved with discourse that comes up within the gaming community at large and the Sims community specifically. There are issues that bubble up with intellectual property, which always causes rifts within the community. That is something not unique to this community. It is unfortunate, though, because many gaming companies do not provide the care to their fans as they maybe should. There is nuance in creating things that could be utilized in others' IP, but it seems like companies would rather have a utilitarian-like opinion on the modding community than an accepting one. 

Obsessing: Recapping Fictional Stories

Sometimes I like listening to commentary about works of fiction more than the work itself. I like being able to hear people talking about the work and then expanding on the ideas. This is the idea behind book or movie clubs, but I don't have many to have dialogue on these things. Horror is my favorite genre in most things, and I love hearing people recap all things horror because I am able to see a new perspective on it. I find that people recalling their perspective of a movie they watch can be scarier than watching the actual movie. It is like when a movie doesn't show you all of the monster, just bits in the shadows. It is scarier than if they gave the audience a better look. I like how I recap movie plots for my reviews, but I am trying to explore different ways to do it; it does get boring after you have three or four movies to write the plots for.

Recommending: TJ Maxx

I have been really enjoying going to TJ Maxx, spending over an hour looking at different skincare and makeup, then only buying a handful of things, if anything. I have decided that I need to have some form of retail therapy even with my no-buy plan because of the state of the world. I need to pop on a podcast, hit my pen, and look at skincare for a while. I am not sure where this so-called "Third Place" exists, but this is a "Place" at least. TJ Maxx and Marshalls are the two stores that have real Korean skincare in my area, beyond an H Mart that is a decent drive away. Good brands that I like are not available in America, so it will be a massive haul if I ever travel to Korea. I have to try to not go as much, though; I can use what I have and then get new things after I have used that up.

Treating: Transparency 

Being transparent and open is difficult, though there is usually no way around awkward situations, but straight through. You cannot be loyal to openness and transparency while also being loyal to secrecy and being closed off. The loyalty only lies with one, as they cannot coexist. Having transparency can be painful, but would you rather rip the bandaid off or let the wound rot from the inside? If you have seen something that causes you to have gut feelings about speaking out, do so. Did your friend say something that you thought was a little offensive? Why not ask them about it and talk to them about how it possibly affects you or others? Can it become a learning moment? When does gossiping become harmful instead of the spread of information? Is it when you are insulting them? Is it when you credit them for their words? If you are willing to put something on the internet, there is a permeance that humans can't really grasp. Are you willing to stand by your words when it was a 2 am shitpost? If you can learn from your mistakes and acknowledge harm done, then are you "allowed" to "delete" those words? I believe that you should uphold your beliefs and be transparent in your communication. There is no need to move around it like eggshells or trench through it like a pile of fallen leaves. Be a human (or whatever you are) and have some decency to not be a horrible person towards others. Be transparent in your words, but don't attack others for no reason. Yes, do no harm, but absolutely don't take shit, especially from community members that should have some benefit of the doubt given to you, as they are in solidarity with you. 

Final Thoughts

Did you like my R.E.P.O.R.T. of the month? How was your May? Let me know by emailing me or following me on Bluesky. We are in unprecedented times; all we can do is keep moving forward with our heads up. If you are in need of help, let your peers know; you can build healthy support systems. It is a lonely world, but we can still help each other out. Have a fun and safe month!