welcome to the azalea garden!

Daily life, reflections, writing rambles, book talk, & media analysis.

  • Something should happen to everyone who uses generative AI to make “art”

    This is a final post for my blog. It took me nearly half an hour to figure out that the AI chat box present when making posts here can’t be removed, so I’m finished using this website. Generative AI options are, unfortunately, a feature of just about every platform, despite being fundamentally incompatible with creativity.… Continue reading

  • May 2026 reading wrap-up

    Warning: Mentions of disordered eating (due to health issues and medication side effects, not an eating disorder) in first paragraph. I read less than usual in May. The cramping from my probably-endometriosis has a negative impact on my appetite, and while the codeine helps significantly with the pain, it also nearly entirely eliminates my appetite.… Continue reading

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  • The year so far, and some blogging goals to attempt

    I want to start keeping up with this blog more, but if I forget to do something for too long or don’t get an opportunity to for a while then it kind of ceases to exist as a thing to do. That might be the ADHD but I really need to get better about trying… Continue reading

  • April 2026 reading wrap-up

    I had this finished on 2 May, but I guess I just… forgot to post it, I guess? Anyway, I don’t remember April much aside from a few unpleasant events, and honestly, I’m glad it’s over. Also, I read a couple of godawful books, one of which might be the worst thing I’ve ever read.… Continue reading

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  • March 2026 reading wrap-up

    Now that I’ve gotten this written, I’ll be trying to write about what I read throughout the month instead of pulling my thoughts together once the month is over. March was a good reading month! One of the books I read sucked pretty bad but I’m glad it exists and didn’t consider it a waste… Continue reading

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  • February 2026 reading wrap-up

    A month late, but such is life. I’m hoping to start writing enough over the course of each month that I’ve got wrap-up post ready to go the first, but that certainly wasn’t the case for February’s reading and it won’t be for March’s either. But it’s no big deal if not, considering this is… Continue reading

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  • January 2026 reading wrap-up

    I’ve started this year off pretty strong, reading-wise. I forgot how much reading I can do when I don’t have to worry about having a job or trying to find one. And I definitely do miss working, but it’s really nice to have basically all the time in the world to read and write most… Continue reading

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  • Starting the new year, 2026

    The new year has begun, it’s so cold, and the apartment I live in has gone from a top contender for one of the worst places I’ve ever lived to the worst place. When I was in elementary school, I lived in a really shitty condo; I shared a room with my sister when we… Continue reading

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  • Immigration, marriage, holidays, and the end of the year

    It’s been a while. It’s been an eventful year—March, I moved across the US; September, I moved to the the UK, despite the fact I’ve never been to Europe at all prior; and over the past few months, I’ve been settling into my new home with my partner. It’s been kind of difficult getting used… Continue reading

  • Settling into Boston, finding employment, & the frustrations of immigration

    So I haven’t posted in a while! I meant to write a wrap-up post for March, and then for April, and now I’ve decided I don’t care too much about writing those. I might make mentions of what I read and wrote for those months if I write a wrap-up for May, but we’ll see… Continue reading