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This log will wrap up August and then the next one will start September. I was delayed in posting it, unfortunately.

==Dimanche Août 27th==
Sotilde came to church in a travelling case with my V4, all stowed away in my bag. It was my kitchen shift and that eventually lead to a mini-meeting to have a meeting. Our rescheduling has been kicked (not fallen) to the wayside by one members procrastination. Also that morning I gave a belated birthday present to a woman who helped out in the ministry. She has a learning disability, a loud voice, and (possibly unaware) social difficulties because of both traits. These do make her a little hard to take. Her simplicity also makes me think of how things are not so clean-cut as she sees them, but no one has reason to disturb her. Due to the stacked events, I worried about the welfare of my tamas, more for my V4. They were both fine.

I turned off Sotilde’s sound at a good moment – likely when the sermon was starting. My V4’s silent so I just attended to her happiness along with Sotilde. I put Sotilde in a race and put our hopes at number 1. She was going fast but then suddenly fell on her face. She then picked up herself and won 2, but ended up crying because my bet didn’t match up. If I could I would have patter her bruised head and maybe gotten distracted with her spongy, mossy hair. It is quite easy to forget Sotilde is really a wrinkled head with legs and instead imagine her as an imp with the mentality of a cat (sleeping like a contented loaf) or no less endearing than an old rabbit. My father had an old rabbit as a pet – a big creature – and apparently her meat was too tough for eating and that’s why she was a pet. I think of Sotilde like that, except for any serious intentions of eating her.

I let her talk to the crown and she was good during the service. I stayed late to cleanup and at point was shoving food down their throats (lovingly) because it was going to be awhile. We got home late and had lunch. Sotilde travelled to my bedroom as I sorted out a conflict and did my devotional singing. The rest of the day hit average and I really hadn’t done much. Of note was how I turned off her lights just as my family was ready to play a game of crazy eight with my Hello Kitty playing cards. The suits were bows, balloons, apples, and stars. The were so cute but a pain to shuffle. Anyone who’s played crazy eights knows that can be the game that never ends. Never ends so much the players will forget winning and tiredly, with vexation, ask the one with lowest cards what they want. The second game looked like it was going that route till my father insisted my brother just toss his last card on the deck whether or not that followed the rules.

I was going to put Sotilde in a stand on my desk for the night, but I though she would get too lonely. So I hung her up on the lanyard with my others. She was 76.

==Lundi Août 28th==
I had a walk around the mid evening with my father and Sotilde. Shortly after we zipped off to the ESL, Sotilde in her usual case padded with a hanky. As soon as I got there I had a mini lesson with two of my students, which started with explaining “spoke” as past tense for “speak” (they were at the beginner level) and ended somewhere around explaining we say “left handed” or “right handed”, as one them noticed I was left handed. The class was all female – which is often the case – and we had a substitute teacher as the Guatemalan woman was out on urgent business about her other house. The subject was much broader which I was glad because things were getting rather stagnant (there is only so far we can go with numbers and birthdays, even if they are important). I check on Sotilde during breaks and she was dependable as always. She fell asleep at home as soon as I sat down on the couch to eat dessert.

==Mardi Août 29th==
At 2:08, we bought a lobster from the vendor! Oh, it would get used. Sotilde was 78 that day and it once again dawned on me how close she was to 99 and the huge mile stone of 100. In the past, the grand age of 100 was oh so distant, but now it could happen. And I hoped it will but I wondered if I might become more anxious after that day, anxious over something I started care-free. It would be like getting a trophy for something one did so naturally that they didn’t even realize it was special. And then after, trying to maintain that skill but being confused at how exactly to do it. It parallels with my reputation and how I really can’t maintain a quality that relies upon other people’s perception.

I think I’d be at peace when Sotilde passes because she would have lived a good life, a life mostly mundane but with the occasional glorious moment, precious memory. But it would be strange seeing her vessel empty and a spirit gliding around a stone, absent of her familiar face. It would be even stranger seeing it blank, that battery having been removed. And seeing it placed with all others in my tama box, I wonder how I would feel. Perhaps nostalgic, perhaps sad, perhaps lost. But I know that if I even started it up again, Sotilde would watch over the other creatures that lived in her vessel and I would bring them to her grave to pray.

Sigh, she has bewitched me, hasn’t she. Sotilde has quietly fastened threads between out hearts, inseparable ties, emotions. All be one little hedgehog with mossy hair.

DTqlAwW.png


Later in the evening, I took her on a walk with my father around a new neighbourhood. We mostly talked about housing. At home was the usual dinner, a movie, and then lights out. The next morning, I got Sotilde’s age snaps before she woke and had to do it quickly because my mother wanted the tablet.

TvWymKk.png


I was left feeling that I really should get my own camera.

==Mercredi Août 30th==
In the later afternoon, I took Sotilde walking with my parents. The weather had become cooler but was still pleasant, and the light was between dim and bright. We went walking in a different neighbourhood like yesterday, a neighbourhood I knew but was a refreshing sight. Most of the banter was supplied by my mother. The houses were bungalows and had a humbleness to them that I would liken our walk to a stroll in a modern village. At one point we stopped and sat at a bench that was a good distance away from the playground in front. While my father wanted my mother to sit in the middle, she sat beside me, sideways. I had to take Sotilde out of my pocket to prevent any harm, so she got to see the outside world. She was probably directly in view of the sky or myself. She went to the bathroom and I cleaned her up, her happy beep plain for all to hear. We got up and continued our walk, eventually arriving home. We had been out for an hour.

Dinner rolled around and after I ate, I took Sotilde back to my desk and worked on my Geology course. We popped back for a bit as I finished my desert. I observed it was 10:58 and after fixing up my other tamas, I attended to Sotilde. She was one down on each meter so I have her an octodog (octopus hot dog) instead of squid and slid in some before-bed trumpeting. Soon I was tucking her. She was 79 and we had quite a day ahead of us.

==Jeudi Août 31st==
That day, Sotilde was 80! I planned to make a status about it, and I did. She was once again on my subconscious when I dreamt of some difficulties with the download feature and I was looking at all these unfamiliar stat screens. I’ve gotten used to these dreams by now that I didn’t suspect she died, but I still don’t want to have them anymore. I suspected this dream was inspired by how I read an old Tamagotchi website that mentioned finding secret screens on the vintage tamas.

I brought my brood upstairs with me as I did my French, and also to raise a couple baby tamas. I raised the blinds, made the bed for once, did a mini reorganization of my shoes (a meager collection by some standards), and opened the windows. We were then in style. I also closed the door to not distract my brother with tama beeps, as how now had a bedroom desk also.

At 1:48, I gave Sotilde lobster and melon in celebration of her 80th year. Additionally, she got to talk with the pal of her’s, the crown :^) Around 5:43, I took Sotilde’s age snaps.

vmgzzVj.png


We had the usual walk and the late evening bled into night. Me and my father mostly talked about school work, which was probably not entertaining for So-So – that juvenile nickname I had been holding off from using but, oh well, I was bound to say it sometime. I don’t remember if we really watched a movie at dinner. Later, Sotilde was tucked in and slept on my bedroom desk.
- - - -
Looks like this is turning into a weekly log instead of twice a week. Not entirely a bad thing since if I really had a log that didn’t spawn out of a group hatch, I’d probably flat-out insist this will be a weekly log. I can always change my updating pace, but I have a feeling this works out better than potentially having a dull patch. Sotilde’s 88 today and still as easy and healthy as always.

 
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As this is a new month, Août is now replaced with Septembre (sep-tawm-bruh). This should be undoubtedly quite easy to recognize. Also just for the first week of Septembre, I’m going to include both the day of the week pronunciations and what it corresponds to (solely as a reminder). Additionally, I’m going to tweak how the date is presented to be more accurate to French, but rest assured the month and number will still be there.

==Vendredi le premier septembre==
[“Vendredi” (vawn-druh-dee) means “Friday” and “le premier” (luh pruh-mee-yair) is a special convention that means “the first”.]

I had a close call with Sotilde when I found her three hearts down in hunger. I gave her a lobster which filled her hearts completely. Around 1, she hung out in my pocket while I had a snack outside with my mother, and ate our grapes to my heart’s content. The weather is getting colder. At one point I sat down in the wicker chair that, as mentioned in a past log, I and my father found on the curb. I took Sotilde out because it was quite snug and she got to see the sunshine. I went in a bit later and returned her to her stand on my desk. There was another close call sometime later and, in retrospect, I wonder how close I really was.

We went walking in the late, dark evening. As I didn’t use my tama shorts since it was too cold, and it was cold enough in the house, Sotilde rode in my hoodie pocket. I began talking with my father about blogging – which turned out being a good topic – and that eventually segued into TamaTalk. And TamaTalk segued into this very hatch – which I was leery of mentioning to my father lest he feel that would conflict with my studies. I started by mentioning Tamagotchi mechanics, page views, and Sotilde. I don’t think the dates really sank in, so I was probably safe. It was hard to check Sotilde in the dim light but I tried. When we got back, I showed him Sotilde’s age. Perhaps he was too in awe when I mentioned my V5 probably living for a year to appreciate Sotilde.

Sotilde, as usual, was with me at dinner but due to some leftover schoolwork, I decided not to stay for the movie. She winked out on my desk at three minutes after 11.

==Samedi le 2 septembre==
[“Samedi” (sam-dee) means “Saturday”.]

That morning I had a few anxious thought about what to do when Sotilde needed a battery change. I was worried about “What if I accidentally reset her!?”. Having later become a lot more relaxed due to my devotions, I knew that if I was anxious about pressing “download” and not “reset” (which is in Japanese), I can test it on my Akai. We moved upstairs to my bedroom desk, and it was quite breezy.

In the early afternoon, I went outside to have a snack with my mother, and sing her hymns because she was down. It was sunny but very windy and because of the fallen grapes, wasps were buzzing around and pestering us. Sotilde was safely tucked away in my hoodie pockets and I was glad because I feared the sun, although only leaving her out for a long time will make her pixel’s completely black (so I’ve heard). She appears quite pale skinned although if she was Japanese – which isn’t really consistent since Tamagotchis are supposed to be aliens – her skin would be tan to pale. She’d probably burn in the sun eventually so I was sort of doing her a favour.

Sotilde was with me – or on me, one could say – as I sang from my hymn book to my mother. Deep and strong the hymns were sung, my voice amongst the rushing of wind and swinging of leaves. My mother appreciated it and we went inside. Sotilde spent some time on my desk before accompanying me to lunch. We watched a medieval movie with a somewhat poorly acted main character and the typical romantic cliches. Sotilde and my V4 spent some time on my downstairs desk before being transported upstairs. Awhile later, I decided to start up my P2 because I have been desiring to run it for quite awhile. Neither my other P2 nor my Angelgotchi have back covers, so I decided to attempt – as I have done this several times before – taping down the batteries and the back cover I made and hoping for the best. My P2 would be Sotilde’s stand buddy, hopefully rooming with her for all of its lifespan. I was thinking of the name Helga but I went with Zizi. Here they are “rooming” together:

Ok9exl9.png


We probably had dinner, a movie, and the usual till lights out.

==Dimanche le 3 septembre==
[Dimanche (dee-mawsh) means Sunday.]

We arrived at Church at the time most of the congregation usual attends. Sotilde’s sound was off from yesterday. Her companion was my Dream Town and since she could fit in the usual carrying case, the setup in my bag was less messy. I tried to draw a human Sotilde but I was at a loss of how to draw her tilting her head up. Both her and her companion stayed in my bag for a good while, and thus travelled to a Kitchen ministry meeting, back home, and popped out for lunch. We saw an excellent western, Tumbleweed (1953). I liked the protagonist not so much for his looks, but rather how he had a dependable, intelligent air. He had a common appearance and even my father remarked he was a little short, but that enhanced his heroic qualities and made him seem more genuine. I was glad Sotilde was with me watching such a good movie, those few that I just adore the protagonist.

I checked her meters and saw she was three down in hunger and two in happiness. I topped her up with a lobster and played a game, filling up the extra heart with a fancy beverage. She was 83 that day, which I think was the age of Rorys_tamas’s Raiden. I say that as a fact, not with any intention of boasting. We all know Raiden had a splendid, long life by the care of a Master of Biochemistry, and the perks of seeing some highly technical lab work. Furthermore, Raiden’s involvement in this hatch led to Sotilde joining the party. Perhaps when they meet in Tama Heaven, Raiden will fill Sotilde in about science and she will tell him about all the great movies she saw (conversing in Japanese, of course). And then they might meet UMR’s brood and have a party amongst the twinkling stars... what a thought.

I think the normal night going-ons happened and Sotilde winked out at her usual time.

==Lundi le 4 septembre==
[Lundi (lun-dee) means Monday.]

I and Sotilde spent most of the day relaxing, partially upstairs and partially downstairs. It was Labour Day so I had the day off from school work. I got quite a bit of cleaning done, which I’ve mentioned before is equivalent to grooming for me. Sotilde was in the same room I was in whether I was cleaning or browsing. I still didn’t quite know what to do but I decided to finally watch something, which I had been avoiding for awhile. So around 10:40-ish, Sotilde and my awake tamas were gathered around my computer to watch Invader Zim. It was the final episode – and not very good – and Sotilde only got to see a third of it before she dozed off. I turned off her light and she slumbered in the darkness. I had got her down to 16 pounds earlier before her pointed nose manifested as she shook her head. She was 84.

==Mardi le 5 septembre==
[Mardi (mar-dee) means Tuesday.]

I got Sotilde’s age snaps when I was transferring photos to my computer. She was 85 that day.

m8R0xLn.png


At one point both her and Barrow (my Akai) were two down in happiness and I thought of connecting them. I decided not to because I wouldn’t get good pictures and instead I fed them both melons. There was a new batch of tamas to connect Sotilde with so I hoped to connect them to her, which would probably result in a large collage.

Zizi, Sotilde’s “roommate”, was doing well and I speculated on taking another picture of them. At that moment, I and my brood were at my bedroom desk and I was guessing that a walk was soon to take place, as it was 7. Speaking of the devil, it indeed happened and we went in the usual place with the usual people. My conversation was intended to be about Tamagotchi logging styles but eventually became talking about the BJD fandom and recasts. My father and I could both relate as he – the blogging cynic – had enough life experience with petty, obnoxious people who lurk in various hobbies. Suffice to say, the whole issue with recasts is more of a luxury hobby’s pet peeve than anything of ethics.

At some point during the evening, I unplugged my clock to plug in a desk lamp. I then set my clock by Sotilde and put it three hours ahead. Tamas are useful for those things XD The usual evening routine commenced, possibly with Sotilde watching me study before she winked out.

==Mercredi le 6 septembre==
[Mercredi (mair-cruh-dee) means Wednesday.]

An average day spent equal parts between my two desks. We, the usual three, went walking in the late evening and stuck to the neighbouring sidewalks as it was night. The conversation was mostly about cleaning and using space and such. In retrospect, Sotilde would probably find this a little hard to comprehend because the small amount of things she has are stored neatly in digital cupboards, and dust is not programmed. She joined me for dinner and later at my desk till she winked out.
- - - -
I am behind by a bit and hopefully will get the next logs out very soon (and a new notebook since I filled up the other one, go figure). Sotilde is much closer to her goal of 99 and is still ambling around, just as spry.

 
I’ve finally filled up my notebook with log entries. I was actually using it the “Japanese way” by starting from the back cover and flipping pages forward, thus right-to-left. This was because in the front of the book housed the summaries of the books I had to read for my old English course, and I didn’t want to write them right after the other. At first it was a little difficult turning the pages “backwards” - as I still wrote left-to-right – but as a rather seasoned manga reader, it was soon mastered. So I have finally retired my old log book that contained all of my Tamagotchi experience from March 6th of 2017 to September 12th. Well, it will be officially retired once I write down those remaining logs.

==Jeudi le 7 septembre==
[Jeudi (juh-dee) means Thursday.]

I woke up to find Zizi had reset. Thus ensued some brain storming, a messy but hopefully trustworthy solution, a good deal of swinging to test the design (and worrying whether that just weakened it), and hatching Sotilde a new companion at 12:20. All this experimenting has led me to appreciate the newer, more durable designs of the connection models. If it so happens I lose a connection back cover, I merely need to tape a cutout down as the batteries are kept in place by a special molded slot. And with downloading, there is more permanence. I decided to readjust my goals that as long as I could get a vintage to have a full lifespan, that should be satisfactory. Worse comes to worse and I’ll be buying a Mothra and a P1 (preferably clear shelled) to exchange their back covers. [Note: I actually DID buy a Mothra, but solely because I wanted to have at least one more vintage because that Tamagotchi era is the most unique and elusive.]

Sotilde was 87 that day and I was surprised how old she really was. The 90’s would roll around in no time. Sotilde had been enjoying allot of hamburgers.

Sometime around 5:30ish, I paused my brood and headed upstairs with Sotilde, Sasha my Dorotchi, and my P2. I needed time to sort something out with my diary and I brought those three for comfort. As I wrote, I looked over at them and was glad. With the peace of mind I could relax, but the feeling did linger on, but fainter. Around 7, I took Sotilde walking with my father. I asked the blogging sage about how to credit a picture and the surprisingly, that was the topic throughout the walk. Thinking about it, Sotilde does indeed have a blog, but I have to handle all of it XD.

Dinner was good because we got to watch the movie Robots. I was glad Sotilde was there for the whole thing. It was indeed an original and funny movie with the message of never giving up on dreams. Motivation and perseverance are truly powerful forces and perhaps if one does not succeed with what they set out for, they find something better.

Sotilde winked out during the credits. I must say, writing this specific log at the end of the day really took things off my mind and I always relive the past moments every time I recount them.

==Vendredi le 8 septembre==
Sotilde came with my parents on a walk around 7:40-ish. She was in my hoodie pocket that time. I consulted my experience blogging Father again but most of the banter was a bit drab. My father did remark we were indeed having fall weather and we saw three big and fluffy racoons, who were oddly people-shy, climbing up a tree. This terrified my mother but didn’t stop us.

At home, I put Sotilde in a race and I had a premonition, but still aimed at first. Sotilde was speeding ahead and I thought she was going too fast. Sure enough, she tripped over her feet and fell on her face, nose flattening. She picked herself up but came in last. She cried, huddling close to the ground and sticking out her feet. She also cried again when she got no prize money. I put her in a second race and we had the same competitors. She fell on her face again and came in second, happier this time but crying at no prize money. I then gave her a balloon ride and by telepathy (how else do we tama owners communicate?), reassured her that perhaps life is like her balloon rides: a third bewilderment, a third travel, and a third happiness.

She was with my at dinner but we didn’t stay for the movie. Sotilde winked out in the flurry of watching my father take the stuck screws out of my vintages. Sotilde might end up with a few vintage roommates ;^)

==Samedi le 9 septembre==
An average day where Sotilde was with my throughout it and the only highlight was a walk. That was in the evening with the usual people and I mostly jabbered about unique virtual pets and various game glitches. Sotilde was 89 and I wanted to connect her to my other tamas considering most of them had babies, but I didn’t get a chance.

==Dimanche le 10 septembre==
We went semi-early to church because my church was starting back its monthly potlucks. Sotilde and my V5 were mostly left to themselves with the occasional check. I thought of them yelling over the divider in their box and how even if they could see in the dark and had outstanding peripheral vision, they still could not see each other. I did some odd jobs and at one point was sitting in front of the fridge sorting salad bottles, which amused the take-charge, short Guyanese woman. I popped upstairs for what was left of ther sermon, Sotilde and my V5 getting some air. I then took the direct path to the kitchen after communion and left my bag in a kitchen corner.

The cleanup is always long and there always lingers the question if we have enough food. Suffice to say the Kitchen Saint, who my father likens to a squirrel by her energy and poofy hair, does provide allot (6 long baguettes, a giant lasagna, a giant cheese cake, a giant black forest cake, and her hardworking husband among other things). I busied myself with the fridge inventory and eating the dregs of the potluck – a guilt-free pleasure. I did make sure to check my tamas, with a little anxiety, and they were fine. I kept Sotilde happily throughout church by trumpeting, which would have been impractical if she wasn’t a tama (more of the noise than fitting a trumpet in my bag).

Around 2 we headed home. Along the way we say a happy doggy sticking his head out a car window and enjoying the breeze. I then took out my tamas for them to enjoy it too. I looked at them fondly remembering they were both my long-lived oldies. At home, me and Sotilde chilled and then I set up my brood to watch me play Star Wars Bounty Hunter. The controls were a little difficult, maybe because of my inexperience, and a few times Jango Fett was running around shooting wildly because I didn’t know how to lock-on. Ahh, I have always liked Jango Fett because of his cool design and ruggedness (the voice acting was amazing!). While I might still be bewildered by the gameplay, I might really like the game because of the story.

I took Sotilde up with me for my devotional singing. I though how she was probably a little convert like my V5 because of all the church services she’s attended, and also my singing. I imagined another reality where tamas could talk a little and her trying to say some lines from a hymn. Realistically – if any realism could be added to this peculiar context – she would probably have a thick Japanese accent. I then imagined her as a little imp on my shoulder, helping me read Japanese when I would be abroad. She probably instead want to snuggle into my neck and sleep or hop into the palm of my hand for the same reason, being so old. Speaking of old, she was 90 that day! She was now So-tOLD-a, snort.

Sotilde was with me at dinner, where we watched a movie adaption of short stories from a notable British author. The British and their “happy Christmas”. After, Sotilde joined me in finally watching anime after a long (and unintended) break. I had to change anime websites but I did find Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode 17 of the original series (called “season zero” by fans). It was subtitled by fans since it was never released outside of Japan, and the funny thing was Sotilde could’ve understood it. She conked out during the heat of the action, which was against a model who was half-Indian and half-Canadian (in retrospect, that actually is my makeup, although my mother is from Trinidad but she doesn’t acknowledge “West Indian” as a race).

Hearing my country referenced out of the blue always cracks me up, but it is a shrewd way of having someone be American but not American. Perhaps I’ve offended my countrymen by that, although I’d imagine they’d be a bit more good-natured and amused by all the outlandish jokes about Canada. I personally find the stereotype of Canadians always saying sorry rather hilarious – but it might be true since one time a woman bumped into me and we both said sorry XD

I got Sotilde’s age snaps either after she slept or the next morning.

h2WALe1.png


I also let her play her trumpet and eat lobster in celebration when I remembered it.
- - - -
Well, this log was up quick which means the views I’ve been getting are probably going to be a bit abnormal. This reminds me how I always feared that I’d get in trouble if I double posted in the log but solely due to having two long entries I wanted to separate. Of course, I’m a bit more on the slow side to ever make that a concern.

 
==Lundi le 11 septembre==
Sotilde’s roommate had been doing well possibly because of how careful I was. Names started hovering around Z but then I thought of using “Okro”. Of course, okros are real things and quite tasty in the soups my mother makes. I didn’t know which gender to decide on since vintage tamas are genderless due to being unspecified, which means I can choose. On one hand I was deciding on a girl but while Okro was unnamed, I kept using “he”. I decided to stay with female because switching would probably feel funny.

I took Sotilde to the ESL and our class was the Guatemalan teacher, a Brazilian (with a French name), a Chilean, and a Chinese woman. At this level it was impossible to explain the literal meaning of “in-law” but we still tried. I checked Sotilde between breaks and because I missed one, I discreetly looked at her in class. There really wasn’t a need. At the teacher’s meeting, the coordinator got all stressed about what to do for the future of the ministry as only one teacher was backfilled. It eventually boiled down to needing a replacement for him, or just his duties, and everything was fine. I tried suggesting using a bulletin announcement for more volunteers but he was dead set against it – I suspected for flimsy reasons. One of the other teachers suggested we arm wrestle, probably because I glared at him.

I think Sotilde’s face was a notable comfort on the way back. She winked out sooner than I thought because the time just flew.

==Mardi et Mercredi le 12 et 13 septembre==
[Et (ay) is an easy word to recognize and means “and”.]

Two average days where the highlight was a walk. On the 12th, Sotilde and I walked early in the morning with my overwhelmed mother. I led her down the sunny routes and she did cheer up a bit (my mother, Sotilde’s always quite content). On the 13th, we went for a late evening walk with both my parents. I spotted a tiny rabbit in the dimness. We spotted a pile of gifts from the curb and I remarked, having past it, that I didn’t know if “that was a slow cooker or a propane tank”. It was actually a rice cooker. On both days, there was the usual evening routine and Sotilde was laid to sleep with her kin, strung from a lanyard.

[This is the last entry from my old notebook. After this, it all becomes Great Expectations with Pip, and Jaggers, and London, and actually seeing if it is worth despising one’s humble life because the snootier think so.]

==Jeudi le 14 septembre==
I know this is Sotilde’s log but at 11:37, Okro evolved into a Zuccitchi! So the result of zero discipline in all stages of life and average care is a Zuccitchi. I expected something worse but maybe the fact I got no care mistakes is important. Sotilde’s roommate was now a bit more mobile.

Sotilde spent most of the day on my desk and neither of use went walking because I had a French oral test. I was allowed to do the test at computer and I had topped up Sotilde and paused everyone previously because I thought I was going upstairs. I barely noticed Sotilde as I was doing my test although she was right in front of me. The test went well and I got high mark. Sotile and Okro accompanied me to dinner and we saw and interesting crime film. I got annoyed that once again time was getting eaten by a late dinner as it was approaching 11 and we were going to finish the movie. Sotilde winked out a bit later and she was 94. I hoped to get an age snap tomorrow and also felt it was ripe for a big connection with her new neighbours.

==Vendredi le 15 septembre==
Shortly, “an average day with a walk in the evening”. The next morning I did get an age snap of Sotilde and one of her and Okro sleeping, but it must have been after she woke up.

NWDgU1N.png


==Samedi le 16 septembre==
In the late noon, I grabbed Sotilde and went with my father who was going to a Chinese grocery store. A dollar store was in the area so we dropped in there first to pick up batteries for my tamas. I was fresh out of triple A’s. Directly after coming home, me and my father went for a walk. The conversation started when we heard the boom of party music in our unusually quiet neighbourhood and my father contrasted the people around us with the city people in my grandmother’s area. Unexpectedly, my father had observed it was the people in the city who were more corrupt than in suburbs. And that conversation spiralled into discussing small towns, my father being quite talkative.

The day was ordinary with the same evening routine and I may have been anxious about Sotilde’s lifespan.
- - - -
Today Sotilde is 99! It is somewhat of a moment of truth since I know it is disproven that English connections can’t live past 99, but I heard a rumour that Japanese ones don’t. However, I am feeling rather optimistic that it was just a rumour and that Sotilde will live past this day and well beyond it as she hasn’t got a single care mistake. I wonder what will become of age snaps and whether I will need to take them anymore. I also wonder when will I ever get to page 6.

 
I know I disappeared well I moved and have started my PhD program. I have been checking in and I am so happy to see that this hatch is still going on strong and that we have surpassed Raiden's very long record. So awesome job. part of me is a little jealous but a part of me likes to think that you were inspired. So be proud of your accomplishments I know I am.

 
===Dimanche le 17 septembre==
As usual, Sotilde came with me to church and her companion was my V5. We arrived late-ish and, since our choir was starting up again, I stayed for choir practice. My two tamagotchis spent all their time in my bag while at church, only getting a bit of a view when I opened it for our sermon setup. At home, Sotilde hung out with my other tamas as I recorded Group Hatch statistics from 2004, the muddy period where a whole bunch of screaming adolescents tried to organize themselves to run their tamas (13 failed hatches that year).

All my tamagotchis joined me for a surprise game of hearts with my parents. While I think Okro and Sotilde were in their usual stand, the rest were in an egg carton my father, on his own, saved for me (that is too cute). My mother is rather petty when it comes to card games and the combination of obnoxious behaviour and will to only play one round never make a good combination. We actually played four rounds, but not up to 100 points or even 50 like it should be played.

Sotilde was with me for my devotional singing and then after, I decided to finally connect her. Sotilde connected to Ebri on my V3, who was the only one available as the rest had to be neglected. Sotilde and Ebri visited each other and gave nice gifts. They then challenged each other to an eating contest and Sotilde won, of course.

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I also got Sotilde’s 97 year age snap and a picture of her and Okro.

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At dinner, continuing on the progress from lunch, we finished Wall-e. I was glad Sotilde got to see it with me and I highly, highly recommend it because it is funny, exciting, and heartwarming. Of course, being a children’s movie it is also rather inoffensive, which is always a plus for me. Shortly after, Sotilde winked out.

==Lundi le 18 septembre==
I had a close call in the morning with Sotilde because her hunger meter had dropped to one. I gave her a lobster to fill her up. I had ESL that day and, as usual, Sotilde tagged along tucked safely in an Altoid with a hanky. It was the last class of that semester and my class had three new students: two men from Japan and a Polish woman. One of the men work silver skull earrings, and not the discrete kind. The other was kinda cute but I tried not to show any signs. I did lots of drawing in that class to illustrate certain objects, and inevitably got called and artist even though my work was simple. Sotilde was checked between breaks but for the most part rested in her tin, perhaps doing allot of thinking or maybe practising her English in quiet.

My class and I were late to come down for the wrap-up activity that I was actually doing, which was a bit embarrassing. In the meeting after, the other teachers were relaxed and happy – maybe because we were getting a 3 week break. There was allot of schedule shifting but then everything was settled. I popped out Sotilde during the ride back. She was 98 that day and it would be a moment of truth tomorrow evening, and possibly for Okro who gotten sick recently.

==Mardi le 19 septembre==
Sotilde was 99 and I hoped she would be smashing rumours tonight. I let her celebrate with lobser and melon. I decided to keep her sound on for most of the day that if she did pass on, I wouldn’t be unaware.

We went with my parent for a walk in the evening. The weather was a bit breezy but overall still summery. My mother was out of sorts and was rather silent. At one point I started briefly talking about my in transit Mothra, which prompted my mother to ask how many tamas did I need.[Note: Good thing I proofread this as Mothra had been corrected to “Mother”! I only need one mother and the one I have is more than enough.] Most of my families hobbies – video games, blogging, collecting, the internet in general – aren’t really understood by her. Shortly after, we came across somebody in their car playing loud music and provoking the small yippy dog next door, which almost seemed to be part of the music.

At dinner, we changed movies because the first had an actor who could only play one role, and eventually I and Sotilde migrated to my desk. Okro went to sleep around 10 and she was swapped out for my V5. Sotilde fell asleep around the time I was watching a Q and A with RaTamazone and Atlantic Raven (I ended up physically liking both pairs of videos). The moment Sotilde beeped seemed very still and curiously drawing attention but waving it away. It was sudden but ordinary. I put her to bed speedily and checked her a few times.

I had gotten her age snaps earlier.

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I knew tomorrow would be no ordinary day and I didn’t know what I would see besides, perhaps, the familiar amblings of my mossy-haired hedgehog.

==Mercredi le 20 septembre==
Sotilde was alive and officially 100! I could thus conclude that all connection tamas, whether English or Japanese, live on til they accumulate enough care mistakes. Sotilde’s count was still at 99 so I wouldn’t be taking anymore age snaps. I wondered what I’d do for reference shots but suffice to say, I had done this for so long with so many mundane details that I wasn’t going to be doubted. And even if I was, the fame meant nothing to me. Sotilde has a cute, charming face and an easy nature and that was worth it. I couldn’t promise her excitement every day but I could promise her a home. To celebrate, I gave her a lobster and a melon. She jumped up happily for both of them.

At 1:07, I wondered if there was a way to get Sotilde more items by codes for the Keitai. So I headed over to Pixelmood, popped in the code for the ball, and waited. To my great surprise, the item actually appeared! I gave it to Sotilde and she began running on it, looking a little frightened. At that point I realized the Keitai versions were amazing. Having extra items really expanded the experience. I then put in the code for the jump rope and received that too. Of course with paying for it, it seems less like cheating than with the V5’s codes. Sotilde’s jump rope sprite were hilarious! Her busy hair flew up above her eyebrows. Even funnier, it looked like her hair was holding the ropes. Now I knew what to do with her extra money she had been storing all these days. It was the perfect thing for a retiring tama and she deserved a few presents on her big 100.

I then bought her some breaded shrimp. I later found that the free item codes didn’t work and later read that neither do the travel tickets or character specific item codes. But Sotilde would definitely be enjoying herself with these new things.

Around 7-ish, Sotilde came with me on a walk with my parents. I talked about making affordable pizza and on the way back, we were talking about quilts. At dinner what we watched was quite assorted. At first is was old commercials (heavy irony here as we avoided allot of them with Adblocker and not watching broadcasted TV), then my mother’s favourite youtuber, and then my parents were left alone to watch some documentary on Trinidad. Sotilde winked out on my desk and I turned her lights off around 11:09.
- - - -
I’m getting quite faster at writing down these logs. All of this was written in a half-hearted rebellion about having my internet restricted to avoid distractions. Not really a bad thing and it does allow me to concentrate on my own works during breaks. I does seem that restriction was short lived and I don’t quite know if I may have been the cause, or my father hasn’t figured out the controls.

- - - -

Oh hey, page 6! Finally!

 
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Whoo, I guess I’ve been rather absent since I lasted posted a log. I wrote up this whole thing in one day and even had the picture for it, but I didn’t get time to proofread it. Also, as will be detailed in later entries, I had guests coming over last week. These logs are a bit more detailed, which does make it up a bet. I am also pleased that I have been getting quite a few views that prove people are reading this log, although I can really say how many. Without further ado, onto Sotilde.

==Jeudi le 21 septembre==
Sotilde was 101 today. I would have to manually count her age and I decided I would do reference shots, plus a piece of paper with her current age. That might sound lame but the paper is really only token and, as you might infer, it doesn’t bother me to surpass a record. Sotilde is still cute either way.

Sotilde and Okro were still rooming together even though my tama stand now had space since I decommissioned my V4 and Dream Town. I speculated on my V4.5 and Giga Pet monkey filling the empty spots, but I wanted to wait on my Mothra and my own motivation.

At 12:45, I decided to give Sotilde the gotchi gear money bag that had been attached to my V5. It was always getting in the way and besides, it matched her colour scheme and was quite accurate (the salesman has brought her everything she could possibly buy). I realized I could actually make these charms also, although I didn’t really see a need to hang things on my tamas.

Sotilde did come on a walk with me and my parents in the evening, but I was in a bad temper after my mother asked me about my schoolwork. In retrospect, it was an odd mood for me not just because I’m usually cheerful, but because I really did not feel so deeply bothered by my undone assignment. Nevertheless, I cut the walk short and stayed unpleasant even though I was in my favourite neighbourhood and the rays of the streetlight and the stars made the scenery quite beautiful.

Sotilde was there for the usual evening routine and was tucked in after 11.

==Vendredi le 22 septembre==
The highlight of this day was a walk in the evening in the same place, with the same people, but with a much better mood. Me and my father chatted about recasts and the senseless drama around it all. He was able to relate it to various other forms of using copyright for unneeded restriction. When we came back, I took a reference shot of the two roommates and the toonie I found at the edge of the curb. Sotilde was 102.

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Later, now closer to night than evening, there was some more tv watching at dinner, rock analysis for my assignment, and then Sotilde winked out with full hearts.
==Samedi le 23 septembre==
Sotilde had an average day of eating many things, playing with several toys (including her shiny trumpet), refusing the vendor, paling around with Okro, and watching me at the computer. I took her for a late evening walk with my father where I talked at length of her various kindred and my father related tama phenomenon back to social behaviours. The core patterns of people stay the same, but subject matter adds little quirks and uniqueness to their behaviour.

Sotilde did get to see a movie at dinner, but she spent the rest of the time on my desk, as I left her to shower. She was awake when I came back – something that was a bit dubious, as showers go – and I later tucked in in once she had snuggled into her basket out of exhaustion. She was 103.

==Dimanche le 24 septembre==
Sotilde came with me to church and experienced the usual, once again being the companion of my V3. The morning was solitary as she was stowed in a cupboard as I did my kitchen duties. After service, she was in my bag, under a chair, as I sat in a crowded room of women celebrating two soon-to-be mothers (with nearly identical names!). On the car trip back, which took a few detours, Sotilde and her companion were taking out of my bag where they felt fresher air and sun (but not too much, as tama sunburns are quite shocking).

Back home, Sotilde joined Okro as I went to lunch. We watched a movie, as is usual on weekends for lunch. Afterwards, Sotilde joined the rest of my tamas in my ultimate tama stand and Okro was placed beside her, the two temporarily “housemates”. For the rest of the day, Sotilde and all my tamas were propped up in the stand on my upstairs desk listening to my favourite – if not only – radio program as I sewed a doll dress. The program talked mostly about the American 1998 political campaigns – as I was working through the archive – and had one episode on lessons. The program was called This American Life and I timidly started listening to it after I heard about it from Katherine Drake of Mimitchi.com’s personal blog. Ahh, the hosts voice is so soothing and unique, but actually one of the big reasons I listen to This American Life is because they have transcripts for each episode, which makes it easy to assess the content (and I have skipped some).

It had been ages since I made a doll dress, which is my actual main hobby. I thought of posing Sotilde with the finished product – on a doll of course – for her reference shot, but she asleep by the time I completed it (that is, after a break for dinner). There was always tomorrow. Sotilde had a day of relaxing which completed her 104th year.

==Lundi le 25 septembre==
My grandmother came today, which resulting in my tamas migrating upstairs and Sotilde and Okro brought very discreetly to the table. For awhile it seemed my grandmother had been upset with my family because an event we had missed and all the symbolism with it. But she was definitely in good humour now.

As lunch was winding down, there was the thump of newly arrive mail. I got excited because I thought it was my Mothra. I was held in suspense as my brother leapt for the mail and brought it upstairs. He purposely held my package out of view before giving it to me. I then cut open the package and unwrapped my Mothra, which had been shipped with the batteries in it and was displaying the death screen. I guess a bit morbid. This sudden arrival served as the perfect opportunity to reintroduce my grandmother to Tamagotchis, so I plunked Sotilde and Okro in front of her and she immediately recognized them, smiling and thinking fondly of my cousin.

Sotilde then spent some time downstairs as I studied. Towards 5-6-ish, I was getting rather bored and I needed to switch subjects, but I instead went upstairs to greet my mother who had just come home. Sotilde and Okro were taken to the table and soon we had dinner. Sotilde got to her some family “drama” (I guess that’s the term) as I asked about my uncle’s mother-in-law (who is not actually my relative, although it always seemed she had to be). After dinner we went for a walk and I pointed out things to my grandmother as she couldn’t see in the dimness (Sotilde is actually older than her). The first half was casual chatting but on the way back, I brought up Tamagotchis, TamaTalk, Sotilde (not by name), and this hatch which – you could say – brought my Granny up to-date. When we came back to the house, we found it stuffy and the outdoors no longer felt cool on that unusually summery day.

I feared I might be overdoing it with my ramblings about Tamagotchis, so I prefaced with that to mention the portability of Tamagotchis, a crucial quality. I don’t think I did say too much because she asked questioned and the topic segued into people and their pets. My grandmother often goes to bed for 10 and I was able to telly her it was time since Okro went asleep. I then found her a magnifying glass to see Okro sleeping as her eye sight is pretty bad – but probably not her her age.

Sotilde came downstairs with my V3 and ID. She ultimately dozed off as I did some studying. I remembered I hadn’t posed her with my doll and concluded there was always another time. That day she was 105.

- - - -

I would say what Sotilde's current age is but as I got rather slack with recording some recent logs, I have yet to tally up her age. But she is still alive and quite healthy.

 
Just a short note, which I thought I would post here rather than making a status. The next few logs will be delayed in being posted as I've gotten rather busy and because of it I haven't felt the will to write. Sotilde is still alive and doing quite well, having been fed quite a few snacks and had some quality time with her talkative crown. Today she is 121 and I'm pretty sure she'll make it to Christmas, and through this rather frustratingly humbling time. I'll still keep writing logs in my notebook and hopefully get something out by at least the end of the month. If things get worse, I'll try posting shorter batches of logs perhaps twice a week.

Thanks for sticking with me :^)

 
Also I have decided to start up my Tamagotchi plus and now lives Raiden the second!

I hatched him on October 14th in a chilly windy fall day (I was hoping for snow but what can you do?) I was struck my nostalgia so I decided to name him Raiden and then I was inspired to make him Raiden the second! Afterall minishimu my akai old lady needs an old person friend (and since akais only breed with akais) he is going to be her perfect companion

After the crazy baby stage (keeping him fed and happy and thin all at once and deal with tears and naps and getting a cold plus.. the endless poop) he evolved into a happy bouncing ball marutchi. He then met minishimu and they became instant friends (she likes him in the cute puppy way)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaPiRYClC7R/?hl=en&taken-by=mayor_rory

Stay tuned for more!

 
I’ve decided that this log will wrap up Septembre and the next log will start Octobre (Awk-toh-bruh).
==Mardi le 26 septembre==
Some time before 3, I decided to do one connection with Titi, my newly evolved Gozarutchi on my Akai (she has better animations than on my ID). I thought I could get decent pictures on my desk as my lamp was adjustable, but I later concluded I was going to have to do allot of photo editing. The pictures were rather blurry because my camera had trouble focusing. The quality was fitting if one went swimming without goggles, but anyway I did edit them the best I could. So Sotilde visited Titi and gave her a love letter – I’m assuming in a friendly old lady way – which left Titi a bit rosy on her stark Gozarutchi features. Sotilde then visited again and gave Titi some sort of squid which upset her and inverted the screen.

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I then took Sotilde upstairs to fill up her happiness – which probably hadn’t risen because she didn’t receive anything in the connections – and find my log notebook. I had written yesterday’s log all at once last night, as usually this notebook is on my downstairs desk. Later that night, I realized I had left my notebook downstairs so I concluded that very, very rarely will write about something right after it has happened.

Sotilde, Okro, and my Mothra (now named Mawtee, as childish as that might sound) popped up for a rather dissatisfying, bland lunch. My brother made some crack about me skipping – as I had done that for the same killed appetite – and I took that as a cue to tiptoe out with an “I’ll eat later”. Skipping meals on my own terms seems to cause more lingering emotions than anything, but everything was forgotten with the looming school work. So Sotilde observed me studying along with Okro (who was still going strong) and the rest of my tamas, as usual.

I had been noticing by my constant recount how ordinary my life is, if not unexciting. But that leaves more time for speculation, the meat of a day and my favourite part of logs.

Right in the middle of answering a study question about mechanical weathering, my grandmother came down and told me my mother had fainted on the way home. Sotilde and the rest were left briefly as I went to check on my mother and my tamas weren’t really attended to till around dinner, where the three were taken upstairs (Okro, Sotilde, and Mawtee). Due to my grandmother’s visit, Sotilde was being exposed to a normal dinner table setup. The conversation was varied but mostly about my grandmother’s town and humorously how the people were so unexposed they put a French kid in the special needs class ‘cause they thought had had a speech impediment, and were going to do the same to a British kid with a cockney accent! My grandmother, who was a bit more cultured, immediately recognized the mistakes in both cases, but she did mention certain things seemed a little like how they were misunderstood. What makes this even more outlandish is how Canada is quite fond of both the British and the French – the former because the country was originally a British colony and the latter because of Québec. Also, people from my grandmother’s town were once heard to say “Kyoo-bek” instead of the common “Kwuh-bek” or the correct “Keh-beck”. Never mind the person how spelled Trudeau as “Trudo”.

I thought we were going to play a game of crazy eights but everyone was doing different things. I and my grandmother had a long chat about Tamagotchis – she was still grasping the concept – and my dolls as we waited. Her eyesight is bad but that probably didn’t contribute to how she saw my Taeyang doll as a girl, when he was intended to be a boy (here’s a reference image for this particular model, Taeyang Missionary). Later when I brought up the physical doll she concluded he was masculine but rather feminine and at least 14 because he had no facial hair. Eventually we disbanded and my tamas were taken back downstairs along with Henry, my Taeyang. It was lights out shortly after and Sotilde dozed off with full meters and was 106.

==Mercredi le 27 septembre==
In the early afternoon, I took my grandmother, Sotilde, and Mawtee walking. We talked of various things and, on the way back, entered a lightly religious conversation. I suspected if my brother had been there he would have rolled his eyes at how obviously I was sending my grandmother off on a deeply internalized rant, but I was always bothered by doing nothing about misguidance. It is so easy to just be civil – staying pleasant at all costs – but I can never forsake my morality because without it, without God, I will die.

I supposed there wasn’t really a smooth way to transition from that. But I could say that I had come to see the gospel so clearly, so supported and correct, that I could never see the world any other way. I can never forget the reality of evil. I once again felt it would be difficult to transition from that but having written it now, I’ve realized text feels so much softer, grips seem so more relaxed.

Sotilde observed my procrastination till I decided to go and shower. I then came back and the time rolled around to where I headed upstairs. My uncle and his fiancée were coming over so I decided, to have a smooth tama-transition, I needed to be up there with my stands before they arrived (thus not leaving to bring something out and drawing too much attention). I was too late as they had already arrived, so I instead switched shorts, put Sotilde and Mawtee in my pockets, and regretfully paused Okro. It would be too much of a potentially rough arrangement to keep her in my pocket lest she reset due to the circumstances with her backcover.

I got rather tense around our guests, even though they were familiar faces (except for my uncle’s fiancée, who I met only once and now had brown hair). Later my mother’s friend – the fact she is still a friend is strange enough – also came (I forgot she had been invited). In retrospect, I wouldn’t have cared to (re-)introduce Tamagotchis to her because she really wasn’t part of my social circle.

My Grandmother obviously still was continuing the rant from our walk, but more generalized. I’ve seen the same pattern of negative, simplistic assumptions before. Somehow, I ended up clipping my Akai (which has a metal clip) to Sotilde’s tag and I checked them discreetly throughout to ease my stress. There was some bumping about, not that anyone noticed. Eventually I found the best method was clipping my Akai to the top of my pocket where it stopped bumping Sotilde and functioned like a pocket watch. Looking back at this, I guess my desire of obtaining a pocket watch has already been fulfilled. I could have connected Sotilde and my Akai but I decided not to because I wanted to take pictures.

The dinner was one of the rare social events where everyone was contented to talk amongst themselves and not wait for me to start the conversation. In retrospect, it was probably like Sotilde and her crown: the conversation just starts itself when you’ve got two eager people.

Everybody left and with my suggestion of crazy eights, a game commenced. My tamas were all out in the open and we played one round with my mother, grandmother, brother, and then two rounds with my brother, grandmother, and father. I started yawning during the last game and in our gradual tiredness, I suggested a game of Go Fish. It was much more exciting then we expected.

The day ended with Sotilde being tucked in and coming to rest on a stand on my bedroom desk. She was 107.

==Jeudi le 28 septembre==
In the morning, my brother, father, and I rushed to play a few games before Granny had to leave for the bus. We played “Hey, That’s my Fish” – a game of penguins swiping fish from a depleting ice flow – and I messed up the setup by not realizing everything had to be perfectly aligned. After a quick lunch, I took Sotilde and Mawtee with me to drop off my grandmother. It had been ages since I had been in a mall and it was a marvel for a little while. We sat in the terminal waiting for the bus to come and it was cold – perhaps because of my shorts. I checked on my tamas a few times and let Sotilde look at the building directly across from us for some new scenery. The bus eventually arrived and the passengers lined up. The bus drive came out and marched down to the storage compartment, bellowing like an army commander “Don’t sit in the yellow seats unless I tell you!”. After the bus left, the rest of us went back through the mall and briefly dropped into EB Games, which had mostly figures.

School worked commenced a bit more regularly with Granny now gone (till Monday) and I had a close call with Sotilde, which was quickly remedied with her talkative crown. She drifted in with me around dinner to see a lecture (I don’t remember what of) and a movie. We had curry for dinner and while I was eating I pulled a WHOLE beetle out of my mouth. Eeeeeeeeeewwwww. It had wings and everything, ick.

Later Sotilde did some more hanging out in the stand with Okro – who was getting a little needier – and Mawtee close by. Soon I tucked her in and hung her up on the lanyard, which I hadn’t done for ages. She was 108.

==Vendredi le 29 septembre==
This day is a foggy in my memory. It was a day without my grandmother so the routines went back to normal. Sotilde likely spent most of her time next to Okro, perhaps with Mawtee close at hand. I think on this day we got hail but I didn’t take up Sotilde to see. Because of the weather, I was allowed to skip my walk. When my mother came home, dinner commenced and I must have brought Sotilde, Okro, and Mawtee with me.

Later, as we had dinner earlier than usual, there was some after dinner time. My father noticed me standing up and (I think) pivoting as I tried to find a comfortable position for my stiff legs. He then suggested we could go walking – even though it was already 10. So Sotilde, Mawtee, and my Akai set out in the chilly and cold night air for a walk, all tamas in my hoodie pockets (which I later found did not keep them very warm). I had an umbrella with me and my hands got cold, making me wish I brought gloves. I can’t quite remember what we talked about but I do know that my father immediately took the corner home rather than walking up the street and back again, like we usually do.

In retrospect, I imagaine having Sotilde with me in the pocket of my heavy winter coat as we walk during the snowy, blustery, and common days of winter. On this day, Sotilde was 109.

==Samedi le 30 septembre==
It was a warmer day and despite being Saturday, I was required to do school work. Sotilde came with me on an earlier walk as there was sunlight for once. We walked through my favourite neighbourhood. The conversation centred on my grandmother and how she was a classic Canadian: always trying to not offend every possible person and thinking it is a crime to have an opinion – hence all the idiocy of being “neutral” (example: We don’t have an accent. There is no such thing as unaccented language).

We took a new path on this route and I felt like I was in the ritzy neighbourhood of one of my aunts. One house was so fancy I took out Sotilde to peek at it. In retrospect, I’m thinking of reevaluating this behaviour of showing Sotilde things in case I am stepping over some mental boundary. Currently, imaginary telepathy seems like my sanest option, although I am continually aware Sotilde is a programmed creature, not really alive, and I’ve never had nutty ideas of having conversations with her.

I guessed that was all I wanted to recount of my conversation with my father as the vibe seemed strong enough to summarize the rest of the conversation. We did pas by a busy street where cars whipped by and one had to shout to talk. Although I wished the walk had been longer, my thoughts reached closure as we neared the house.

Sotilde was 110 that day.

 
Today was a low key day with Raiden (the second) I made a big mistake with my oatmeal (never cook the peanut butter i learned the hard way just trust me) then I made a white sauce based mac and cheese and I really don't like white sauce as it turns out. But it tasted decent so I guess that's good. Raiden (The second) evolved into ichigotchi which wasn't much of a surprise he is a first gen on the V1 so that means ichigotchi is 100% guaranteed to happen. We read over some lab reports that I will eventually have to mark an idea that pain me and we tried to work on my presentation (practice) and now I am avoiding it by typing this up

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaSdp0wFtuw/?hl=en&taken-by=mayor_rory

on a random side note I am also running my mothra right now I think i have bakora grub (the bad are one with a pointy horn head)

 
Update as it has been a long while... Raiden the second where we left off was an ichigotchi

October 18th Today Raiden turned 5 and he evolved into Mametchi and so far no real care misses he has had some empty meters on the rare occasion but he still evolved into mametchi which made me ectatic I can recall the last time I got mametchi on a V1.... It's like the illusive mimitchi. The day before this my computer needed to go to london drugs and get fixed.

October 19th Raiden the second got his first full blown I am a horrible person care miss (his hungry meter was empty and he was doing his I'm hungry squiggle dance)

October 20th Raiden got yet another care miss again in the hungry meter this happened due to my teaching schedule I can't pull him out when I am teaching I just need to remember to fill him up before class. This is also the day he saw death in the face... again my old lady minishimu perished from the neglect she had reached 5 care misses which I think confirms that 5 care misses is the limit (on the keitai series anyways)

October 21st Raiden turned 8 and either he is two days from being an oldie or 7 days (he evolves at age 15 like the entama). Raiden also saw the miracle of life a tamagotchi egg hatching of course (I hatched my entama and got a boy named hiro who as it turns out was in the mame family and he is going to be a mametchi!) And today is also the day that Raiden started breaking hearts (that I am aware of) as the match maker visited three times and each time we had to respectfully decline

October 22nd Raiden as expected turned 9 today and we broke even more hearts by turning down the match maker and watched little hiro cook!

October 23rd Raiden is 10 and at the end of today he did not evolve into an old man.

October 24th Today we rode the bus and went on an adventure to pick up Francis (my computer) and Raiden loved it (Hiro was sleeping through the whole thing)

And last but not least some pictures

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaaU9lRFvVy/?hl=en&taken-by=mayor_rory

https://www.instagram.com/p/BanBKFHFx5V/?hl=en&taken-by=mayor_rory

https://www.instagram.com/p/BanURCblLL6/?hl=en&taken-by=mayor_rory

 
Well, I’m finally getting around to posting the logs for the new month, Octobre (awk-toh-bruh). The time I am writing this is the 20th so I am quite backlogged, and I think the division of these logs will be a week each, or more. Perhaps in one of these later days I will actually give Sotilde another reference shot, which was sorely neglected. That will be a rather large jump from 102 up to her current age – at the time I was writing this – of 130. And, as a way of foreshadowing, Thanksgiving was indeed a pivotal day in my history of Tamagotchis – but you’ll have to wait for the next log.

Enough chatter, onto what happened from le premier octobre to le sept octobre (alas, I don’t know how to express “up until” in French, but I suppose it is no loss for you English-only speakers).

==Dimanche le premier octobre==
We went to church and had semi-early morning choir rehearsal, of which my tamas were in my bag at my feet. This was a Sunday we were going to perform so, as we usually do, me and my brother sat downstairs in the sanctuary. After we sang the first time early in the service, I took my bag and headed upstairs to the balcony and stayed there for the sermon. During the sermon, I decided to draw Sotilde in a human form and opted for a more simplistic style. I imagined her as enjoying the small comforts of life, which in this case is tea. Additionally, I imagined she wouldn’t be too flashily dressed but just comfortable instead.

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We also sang a second time as the sermon ended and communion was about to begin. I hurriedly put my tamas away, left the case opened, and closed it when I got back. Returning home, I wasn’t sure what to do with the day. I’m not sure in what order, but Sotilde was with me as I played Pokemon Diamond (my unwittingly counterfeit copy), sang (cut short by Mawtee evolving), and watched 3 episodes of Pucca (I was on the fence about continuing with it and eventually decided to drop it). For lunch we saw Toy Story and I forgot how good of a movie it was. We only got to see half of it as by the time dinner rolled around, we had to watch something different as my mother wasn’t there.

Sotilde was 111 that day.

==Lundi le 2 octobre==
Writing these logs a few days after they have happened is a great test of my memory, and a cost as I was too tired to write a truncated log.

Sotilde had her usual scenery and routine till my father brought Granny back from the bus. She would stay a night before catching the bus home (that is my Granny, not Sotilde who still cannot make her own food let alone keep herself happy). I briefly popped up and then returned with a quip about revamping my schedule.

I guess Sotilde, Okro, and Mawtee were taken up to lunch, whereupon my Grandmother stared at me and later mentioned she was looking at them. She still remembered my Tamagotchis. In retrospect, it was a little ironic she said she was looking at them since she can’t see the digital creatures – which I’ll recount later how I actually worked around this.

After lunch we probably went downstairs – my digital companions and I – till we came up around dinner or when my mother came home. The banter around the table I don’t remember well besides it was probably about something with history or non-controversial. After we played a few rounds of 99 – a card game hinging upon simple math – I began a long French “lesson” with my Granny and my brother left, bored. I had to read everything from my French textbook as it was too small for her to read. Sotilde was maybe still awake by then but either way she winked out and was placed either on her stand or the lanyard. She was 112.

==Mardi le 3 octobre==
Before breakfast, I and my grandmother started talking about journals (perhaps because she asked me if I had one) and I explained a little bit more about my log. I wanted her to see what my tamagotchis looked like so Mawtee was put under the giant magnifying glass my father had bought her for reading. Even with that, she could not see Mawtee’s sprite. I decided I would draw her a picture instead and I drew Sotilde, Mawtee, and Okro together with their nicknames and sort of species names (I don’t remember what Sotilde is exactly) and Sotilde’s Japanese name. I took a picture of that drawing and then gave my grandmother the original for her journal.

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Shortly after breakfast, we seized the chance to play a few card games. Things slid into lunch and the banter was about animal deaths – which cracked my father up – and also about an event or convention my grandmother attended. My grandmother went with her sister and Ukrainian brother-in-law to hear a talk held by the native people – aboriginal, first nations, the name is politicized by outsiders while some of the actual people are content to just be called “indian”, according to my spunky friend who’s father came from a reserve in Québec. Anyway, my grandmother and her sister were getting irritated by how the native people stopped at complaining and never suggested a solution. When the subject came up about native children being punished for speaking their mother tongue at school, the brother-in-law spoke up of how he got the strap for speaking Ukrainian on the playground. The natives were abandon as everyone was so eager to hear about his experience.

Immediately after lunch, we hurried off to the bus station to drop off my grandmother. Sotilde and Mawtee tagged along with me and our promptness was for nothing as the bus was an hour late! We spent the time taking turns standing (the humans, not my tamas), talking in bursts as the conversation dried up, wishing for card games – which we will DEFINITELY bring next time – and I doing some semi-public tama-checking. When we got there a senile old man asked us about going to the airport and we later concluded he was senile when he asked us again and kept saying that to everyone he saw. Eventually we saw the passengers for the next bus lining up in expectation and one woman looked at me a few times, making me wonder if I looked trendy or my direction was more interesting.

Finally, the bus came! We said our goodbyes to Granny and watched her board. I observed there was a Mennonite family on the bus as evident by their old-fashioned clothes that make them look like pioneers and how the man had a scruffy beard. My grandmother wondered if Mennonites can ride buses now, considering how most of them spurn technology because they don’t want to be worldly (and they make rather good baking and furniture, so I hear). They looked at me and I looked at them and now I wonder if maybe they looked at everything with surprise and it wasn’t that I was so special. No doubt they have nothing like a tama, and perhaps couldn’t have.

After that long, long wait we headed home, walking through the modern, consumerism museum that was the mall. I had actually remarked before to my Granny as we walked thought it how it was like a museum, and I think I got a funny look. There was traffic coming back and things were slow so we could hear quite clearly the animated conversation of a car two lanes away slowly crawling down the ramp to merge with the rest of the traffic. My father pretended to goad the man on, saying something like, “You’re so right buddy! Yes, you are”. During the trip I started pondering about Christmas presents and what I could get online. As we crawled home I yawned an awful lot and my eyes watered, so I took a half-nap with my tamas clutched in my hands.

At homes it was back to the old drill, wading through knowledge of sedimentary rocks so consolidating in my brain. There was no better picture really, as chunks of different stuff – sometimes weathered – would be pushed down by new layers to form a solid rock we call “general knowledge”. Over time, through enough pressure, things would recrystallize.

I wondered if perhaps Sotilde turns on her telepathic channel and listens in, prompting the visual channels to help her see the world – currently only in French and Geology. Dinner happened and perhaps we finished Toy Story. Sotilde was 113 that day.

==Mercredi le 4 octobre==
I can’t really remember what happened on this day beyond the usual. There may or may not have been a walk in the evening. Sotilde was 114 that day.

==Jeudi le 5 octobre==
Around 2, Sotilde and I were on the road to see the former leader – and creator – of my church’s ESL ministry. Sotilde was in my sanctioned ESL bag in her case with a hanky. She stayed in my bag as I was taught some new wrap-up activities, as I have taken over that function. I did take out Sotilde and check on her when the former ESL leader went upstairs to use the photocopier. After saying our goodbyes, we left and walked down the sloping steps to the streets. At home, not much happened besides the usual, sans walk. Sotilde was 115 on that day.

==Vendredi le 6 octobre==
No clue what happened here. It was so long ago I couldn’t remember what Sotilde did this day.

==Samedi le 7 octobre==
Some studying was done this day so Sotilde and my other tamas were on my desk. After lunch, I went upstairs to bake both a pie and shortbread to bring to Thanksgiving the immediate Sunday (these specific things because they can be made without animal products, since one of my cousins is a vegan). It had been ages since I baked anything. All of my active tamas were put in a stand on the dining room table and I checked them when I could. Okro had gotten much more needier so she was paused, perhaps for the whole day or just for the baking.

That was all I bothered to record so perhaps we didn’t go walking with my father. Following the count, Sotilde was 117.
- - - -
Whoo boy, I was almost thinking of chopping this after the third, but I thought it wouldn’t be too much of a pain to truly write down a week. Sotilde is still going strong at... 140-something. I would say Christmas lies ahead of us but having become a student, I would not want to immediately jump to Christmas because of all the work I have to do. It will certainly be an interesting year and I wonder now what our days will be like at the winter holidays (starting for me on December 22cd).

 
It's been a long while since i updated on Raiden the Second So here it is!

[SIZE=11pt]October 25th[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Raiden the great and glorious (the second) turned 12 today now I had hopes that he and Hiro would be Mametchi’s together but Raiden seemed to have other plans he decided it was high time that he evolved into an Oldie this very afternoon. Well that’s a real life lesson it never goes the way you plan now does it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]October 26th[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Raiden The Second turned 13 today that’s right he is now officially a teenager. All he does is sleep say mean things and eat junk food none stop. And he is dealing with my thursday friday schedule like a champ. All I have to do is remember to check on him before class starts. Just like how we deal with Monday. Tonight was a momentous occasion I was busy and didn’t hear him when he went to bed so I didn’t turn off the light on time. Spoilers he was fine when he woke up.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]October 27th[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Raiden is now 14 today. I will not be making any kind of goals for him besides how long can we go? But I do have a very good feeling about him kicking around for halloween (and I am hoping I get tensatichi for halloween and he stays that way for all of halloween). Today we cleaned house (my house it was messy real messy I even vacummed) and then we decided to dive into Stranger things are we are hooked. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]October 28th[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Raiden the Second turned 15 today one more day until he is all about driving girls in cars and texting nonstop. Hiro had a big day so he gets a quick mention he graduated became a scientist and got his skill points up to 999. Raiden and I were supposed to work (but I guess that’s what Sunday is for and why the weekend has two days) but we spent the entire day watching Stranger things and it has inspired my writing so yay! Especially the beyond stranger things series they had with the creators and director and actors. And I did do the dishes even the ones that I have soaking for at least week and I can see my floor from yesterday's cleaning[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]October 29th[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Raiden the Second is now 16 so its all cars girls and his cell phone, He sleeps all day eats all the good junk food and has nothing but mean and surly things to say. And when he is quiet you know it’s a moody sullen silence. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]October 30th[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Raiden the Second turned 17 and he is slowly working his way out of his sullen teenager ways. Besides he is very much excited about halloween. We will not have a scientist Mametchi as… a demon possessed my entama and reset it right to the clock reset screen and I am terrified that it will happen again and I am also very very tired as I type this so yes I am rambling. Well I am tired and really need to sleep so that’s about it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]October 31st[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Happy Halloween From Raiden and his pals. Today we hatched a monster and he turned 18. So he has graduated high school did his university applications and he got into Tama U which teaches by osmosis and that is the perfect style for Raiden! He is going to learn all there is to learn from cells to physics from cat psychology to coffee metabolism. In his time he will find his true calling is he a painter or a writer? While he go into the insurance business or the news? It’s all up to him.[/SIZE]

 
I was so backed up by this below entry because it was such a big day, but I didn’t take any notes! Instead I tried continually prompting myself to remember till I had this all written out. I hope it was worth the wait :^)

==Dimanche le 8 octobre==
As it was Sunday, we went to church but since it was Thanksgiving Sunday, I had prepared things for the trip we would take after to see our relatives. Two major things were tama-centered which was the bag I was bringing and my outfit. I specifically wore a vest that had a small pocket on the front so that I could carry a tama with me, and of course that was given to Sotilde. The vest also coordinated well being an orange and yellow gingham, thus very fall-ish. The bag I was bring was small with a long strap and most importantly, had several pockets. It would house my ID, a case containing my Mothra and Angelgotchi, and my V5. I put this in the trunk with everyone paused, so Sotilde was the only one in church.

I was in the kitchen at church and it must have been shortly before the service. The Kitchen Saint complimented me on my outfit and I quickly pulled out Sotilde to demonstrate why I had chosen it. The Kitchen Saint laughed and then told me something like, “If that guy starts crying in church, tell him to shuut up”. She was talking about my Tamagotchi, but instead I imagined a white haired man in the pew behind me swinging back and forth and myself turning around and yelling at him. I laughed anyway and it was only later I realized she meant Sotilde.

During the sermon, I sat next to my mother and she showed me some sort of writing or I touched her hand. I soon discovered there was ink on my hand from her leaky pen and then that I had gotten some on Sotilde and my bag. I wiped it furiously off her, later managing to get most of the stain off her white shell. Telling this later to the Kitchen Saint after church, she joked that it wouldn’t have happened if I had been so distracted with my Tamagotchi. She was incorrect, hence the joke was more humorous than annoying. I saw another friend of mine of whom I had told about my plans for Thanksgiving and my anticipation of a road trip with my tamas. I showed her Sotilde but in retrospect she really was puzzled by it as she was from the wrong generation. As I was showing her Sotilde, another acquaintance of mine came over and did know what they were. It was ultimately his wife who was overjoyed to see one and later told me she had taken her daughters’ to work when they were in school. She recollected fondly about them and concluded with statement “life with a tama”. In the hours and days later I would fixate on how she used “tama”, a term that only the community uses which meant she knew much more than I thought.

Once we got back to the car, the three hour journey to my relative’s commenced. I brought out all my provisions for the trip, which was my tama-bag and various entertainment (my DSI, Gameboy Advanced, game cartridges, a sketch book, a volume of Pokemon Adventures, a flashlight for reading after dark, and a few practical things like hair elastics). Of course, the pie and shortbread I baked the previous Saturday was stowed in the trunk, to be taken out when we arrived. The scenery at first was the usual neighbourhoods of nearly identical bungalows, city streets of dark grey, tall offices flecked with windows, and small business of various purposes. As we left town and headed out, the scenery became simply the long road and fields of grass and trees. Even with all my entertainment, I could not help but get lost in looking outside. There were perks to it, especially since we came across a farm every so often and the animals were out, mostly horses but occasionally sheep and cows. In our past trips, my mother, brother, and I would always point out to the animals and whose side they were on – since my brother insisted on always sitting in the same seat. We still did that, a bit more infrequently.

We went through small towns and saw a few houses on the outskirts of them. I knew there must have been more to those towns but they just seemed so linear. Eventually we drove into a picnic spot near the highway that was a small, wooded clearing with a gravel road, a few wooden picnic tables, and a row or porta-potties near the entrance. A few other cars were there and we eventually settled on a picnic table. Well I chose the picnic table but unfortunately, I didn’t realize some moronic teenagers had drawn vulgar things on it in crayon. Not really wanting to inconvenience anyone with changing tables or call attention to the “drawings” - such vulgar things really do not deserve the word – I decided to take the spot with it and cover it with my napkin (a prime example of my mentality, as I have a tendency to want to save others the awkwardness). Anyway, despite that we had a peaceful lunch and Sotilde was in my pocket with me through it all.

Soon we were back on the road, the scenery the same variety as when we started. Looking back at this – which is being recounted more closer to December than November – it would be surprising if I spent more time doing anything but looking out the window as I have car sickness. As we were getting very close to our destination, I thought we took an unfamiliar rode. It was in the outskirts of a town with a large business to our left and an old drive-in theatre to our right – basically a large board and a big lot in front of it for parked cars, for you people who have not seen too many old movies ;^). It turned out that we were indeed taking a slightly different route as instead of passing through my Grandma’s town and then to my uncle, we were going straight to my uncle.

The last part of our drive was going through the country on a gravel road spread over a few sloping hills and flanked by trees and endless grassy planes. We rolled up to a tidy collection of bushes and trees that guarded my uncle’s tall brick house, the only house for miles. Only Sotilde and my tama-bag came with me, as well as my baking that was handed off to my relatives soon after to be brought out for dinner. My grandmother and aunt were there, preparing things for our eventual turkey dinner – perhaps the only traditional meal I ever have considering my family’s fond of take-out XD

Once more of our relatives arrived, we went on our usual walk around my uncle’s property. As I’ve mentioned previously, my uncle lives in the country and thus while the grass encircling his house is mowed short, the rest is the untamed long grass and marshes with a smattering of forested patches. Of course, in order for this to be a “walk” and not a “trudge”, there was a mowed path a little larger than a sidewalk. We started from the house and took the path which shortly went through a thin line of trees and then swung out to long grass. It was quite bright, being in the mid-afternoon. All my tamas were with me as I insisted in taking my bag, despite my mother’s protest, and Sotilde had never left my pocket. We looked at boardwalk my cousin was making through the marsh, some of us catching a glimpse of small fish and frogs in the shallow, dark water largely obscured by bullrushes. Then we came to the small clearing my uncle had made in a lightly forested path and talked, before we continued on as my uncle’s black lab and the small dog of my younger uncle started getting aggressive. The rest of the walk was sparse conversation, avoiding the occasional hole in the path, till we eventually came back to the house. It had gotten a bit darker but not too much. As we waited for dinner, most of us gathered on the front porch and talked while snacking on the veggies, chips, and dips that had been laid out. I discreetly attended to my tamas throughout the visit. Occasionally there would be a cannon blast in the distance which we eventually concluded to be the army performing some ritual. Later we were called into dinner and filed into the living room, taking our seats around the long table that could just fit all of us. I sat next to my grandmother and my younger uncle’s fiancée, in front of a piano pushed up against the wall and where most of the side dishes were. We said an Anglican grace before we ate, a ritual that only happens when visiting my relatives – not so much because my family is (mostly) Calvinist as our grace is not narrowed to one phrase. That Anglican grace, like the Catholic grace soon said after it, was assembled from my fragmented memories and probably half mumbled along with it.

While everyone was serving themselves and asking for cuts of turkey, I decided to check my tamas. I was checking my V5 discreetly under the table when my uncle’s fiancée exclaimed “Is that a Tamagotchi!?”. I must have given her a big smile when I turned to her and then lifted my tama in plain view. We had an animated discussion about Tamagotchis starting with the basics and then she asked me about myself, the newly dubbed “Tamagotchi aficionado”. Of course, quick on my lips was “TamaTalk” as the very fact there is a Tamagotchi community makes this all the more special ;^) Immediately after I mentioned that she stopped me and said “So you have Tamagotchi friends?”. I nodded and she was astonished. Our conversation soon drifted to my doll hobby and she did know something about collector dolls, mentioning giving me the Alice little Pullip she had that she didn’t use. As my mother summed it up, my uncle’s fiancée enjoyed talking with me and the feeling was mutual. It was an enjoyable dinner and I was complimented allot on my apple pie, which I had a little pastry disaster with that turned out okay.

After dinner, we all stood around and talked and at one point I drifted over to my country uncle and my cousin’s girlfriend, of whom I had interesting conversations about her joy as a farmer. They were talking about the wood stove in the corner of the room and eventually my uncle, in boredly curious kind of way, asked me what was in my bag. That led to revealing its tama-dominated contents and my cousin’s girlfriend exclaimed “It’s huge!” when she saw my ID. Turning it on, she remarked that my ID – a Kuromametchi at the time – had furniture and that tiptoed into another little Tamagotchi discussion.

We talked till it was time to take the three hour trip back home. We walked on the sparsely lit brick path back to the car. It was understandably dark but not as majestic as last year where the ground and the sky became a unified mass of black speckled with stars. We nevertheless had to walk blindly till we found the familiar shape of the car. We then began our journey back home. Although the scenery was still the same as in the day light, in the night it all became a dark mass of vegetation with the occasional faintly lit house and darkened towns. I pride myself on staying up during night trips but this time I gave into sleep. I was in various stages of consciousness when we finally came to our neighbourhood but I definitely perked up when my father drove right passed our house! In all my times of car trips to Granny’s, I never remember that ever happening to my dad XD I suspect we got back past 12 so understandably all tamas were tucked into their beds. I soon followed suit.
- - - -
The next few updates should resume a twice a week schedule since I have allot a ground to make up. Sotilde’s still kicking at some age I have to figure out. I do suspect she may have surpassed Canada, taking tama-years literally.

 
Another batch of updates and it really goes without saying that I have more than month worth of logs to recount.

==Lundi le 9 octobre==
Being Thanksgiving Monday, I had the day off. Sotilde hung around me as I spent the day cleaning and reorganizing, playing Pokemon Diamond, and sorting out some computer problems (in a layman fashion). Similar to most Sundays, we probably stayed indoors instead of walking. Sotilde was taken to dinner with me but we left during the movie, either because it wasn’t appealing or I knew of something better to do. Overall, it was a fairly average day and she was 119.

==Mardi le 10 octobre==
Another average day where Sotilde accompanied me on an early walk – although perhaps not “early” by most people’s standards. I chatted to my father about a blogger who had a very cutesy image but yet some things were unexpected about her. We both chuckled when I recounted a post she made where, after describing her night on the town which was spent in a few bars with her friends, apologized to her sister with “sorry if you find this offensive”. Eventually the conversation spiralled into the wonders of Tamagotchis as I explained how the original Tamagotchi was more than just something novel, it was a good idea. One of these days I might just get around to posting my thoughts on TamaTalk ;^)

That day, I speculated that Okro would be Sotilde’s companion only for a little longer, due to all the signs of old age. Sotilde winked out on my desk as I was cramming my French video – long-distance immersion, if you will – into the last hours of the day. She was 120.

==Mercredi le 11 octobre==
Like many of Sotilde’s days, she spent her time in a stand on my desk next to Okro, her companion often in limbo on the clock screen. I decided to go walking with my father despite the pouring rain. I talked about and old friend I used to know, the typical crazy teenage girl, and how now with everything she wanted, she was broke and living off the government in the prime of her life. Sotilde and Mawtee were tucked snuggly in the pockets of my pants and further shielded from the rain by my winter coat. As we were walking down the street, I heard the cane-like clicking of the umbrella downturned in my father’s grasp. The sidewalk was collecting small pools of water in its dents and a tree loomed ahead, casting a thick shadow of fitting resemblance to the night sky. The street lights cast all in a rusty orange illumination and the rain pounded. I felt damp. Recounting this, I wondered about Sotilde and her impressions, her vivid moments. I wondered about the smell of her air and what a pixel looked like to her. We can both never know the feelings of the other, but we both can dream, and everything can happen in a sense when held together by the weaving of imagination. I wished I could give her a cup of tea after that chilly venture.

The usual happened till lights out. She was 121 that day.

==Jeudi le 12 octobre==
Mawtee had become Sotilde’s companion as Okro stayed in limbo all day. Mawtee was becoming more like Okro in neediness, as he beeped shortly after 25 minutes while Sotilde and my Ginjirotenshi were in the other room (listening to a school lecture about barbarian invasions). I thought I had taken the needy one with me.

Later around 7, I took Mawtee and Sotilde on a walk with my father. It was dark – as it had been becoming as of late – but not rainy. Perhaps it was a little cold, but I didn’t notice in my winter jacket. Sotilde and Mawtee were hidden snuggly away in the thick pockets of my pants, like yesterday. The conversation started with geology as we had walked out after an intense discussion of one question in my assignment. The conversation then drifted to my worriment over not being able to get a Tamagotchi mini due to the potential of extensive preorders. At the back of my mind was how this was going to be a crazy month with both a Tamagotchi release, a mid term exam, and a final exam all in November. I speculated that I wouldn’t have much time to think about tamas. Anyway, after talking at length about the minis, my father mentioned he could preorder it in addition to my Christams present we bought earlier (another Vpet) since the total wouldn’t exceed his price limit (if it did I would merely have to pay half).

I did check Mawtee and found he was low and I hurriedly filled up his meters. Sotilde wasn’t checked till back at home, and she was doing fine. My father and I got down to the preorder business and it quickly fell through as Toysrus was asking for $10 shipping, which was half the price of the actual tama. I later learned, a bit surprised, the original mini sold for $8 US. Yeah, quite an inflation but at least the mini didn’t seem as simplistic as the Nano.

At dinner, a bit delayed, we finished off a bland monster movie where the monster was a gigantic, sludgy pile of radioactive material (incidentally not “The Blob” but another movie, although now I can’t remember if “The Blob”’s blob was supposed to be radioactive). Sotilde and Mawtee accompanyed me. Sotilde eventually winked out as I blearily tried to finish up a Geology assignment. She was 122 that day.

==Les 13-18 octobre==
Suffice to say my note taking has slackened that I was having trouble remembering what occurred on these days. I decided just to tell the relevant details. Sotilde had been seeing quite allot of “The Lord of the Rings” as my family began marathoning them again. It was an especially good idea since my lately more stressed out mother has always adored them – and has all these potential project ideas that have something to do with the director, Peter Jackson. Over the course of 3-4 days we had reached perhaps an hour into “The Two Towers”, the second movie of the trilogy. I thought this may have been my third, fourth, or even fifth time watching it. Along with that, Sotilde had accompanied me on walks and the conversation with my father had been about various things, sometimes weighty and sometimes mundane.

On the 15th, Sotilde and I think my V5 came to church. We were having a potluck so both of my tamas were alone in my bag, tucked in a corner. I did odd jobs, mostly chopping carrots, toasting baguettes, and preparing hot dogs. Our numbers were smaller but I did get up to see the sermon. My bag was opened and tamas were checked, both doing well.

After communion, I immediately went downstairs to bring things out and my bag returned to its corner. Our potlucks are a little odd as we would not have enough food if it wasn’t for the Kitchen Saint and the loaves and fish she brings (got that Bible reference?). I always delay in going out as eating the dregs are guilt-free. As we have communion every week – which I feels lessens the significance than once a month – my regular after-service task is helping clean the communion cups. The woman who “had” a tama from the old days due to her daughter was there. I remarked that I thought she knew more than it appeared because she used “tama”. Oh, she definitely did and in a rapid-fire conversation amongst the babel of the room, we discussed Tamagotchis. She only “had” - join ownership, really – the vintage Tamagotchis and was not familiar with the connection ones but had heard of the modern ones. I mentioned the mini being released in November and we both got a bit excited, her seeming to hint that she might get obsessed again. I thought of getting her one, too, and that even if she already had one by then, she could always use another.

Back home, I felt a bit sick although I thought I didn’t eat that much. Sotilde and my V5 were my only tamas on all day and were with me as I relaxed, updated my log, read, and such. That day, the 15th, Sotilde was 125.

The 16th was the start of a new ESL semester and I brought Sotilde, as usual. We only had one student, a Japanese man from the previous semester. I came back during the second half of class as I was asked to look out for late students by our new coordinator. It was interesting with how much the student understood and I was actually able to make myself useful despite there being no need for another teacher. The first teacher had the student asks me questions about my family, and I really had to rack my brains in counting up all my cousins (especially since I hadn’t met all of my Trinidadian ones). As class ended, I went downstairs to lead the class wrap-up, a function I was taking over. Unfortunately, I botched up what I wrote on the whiteboard and only came to realize this when I turned to it, during the activity. Nevertheless, I was told some students liked it.

I only checked Sotilde after the class and she was doing well. She came back home with two pies leftover from the potluck which I had been unable to give away – even to the only man (he was too health conscience). I and my father had a piece right there and then, so at least the pies would be well appreciated. On this day we might have watched “The Lord of the Rings” in the late, late evening after my tamas were all asleep. Sotilde was 126 that day.

The 17th and 18th were ordinary days more full of procrastination then I would like to admit. Sotilde went through the usual and, on the 18th, lit out on my desk. She was 128 that day.

 
Well, I hoped it wouldn’t come to this but I am nevertheless recapping the events of last year. As it is pretty much implied this is last year’s months, there is no need to stick the year in. Without further ado, onto Sotilde’s daily ambles.

===Jeudi le 19 octobre===
Nothing much happened this day for Sotilde besides the usual routine and a walk which wrapped back to watching me study at my desk. We did see “The Lord of the Rings” during dinner and finished “The Two Towers”, which ended dismally with the evil land that lay ahead. After my V3 Nesbt winked out, Sotilde’s movie buddy was my V5. Tamas were checked during the film, perhaps at my inconvenience. That day all my vintages – my Angel, Mothra, and P2 – were paused so Sotilde was left with modern companions. She was 129 on this day.

===Vendredi le 20 octobre===
An average day where Sotilde was the companion to both Mawtee and my Angel. She went for a walk in the evening accompanied by my ID. I intended to have a conversation about homeschooling but instead wound up talking about education in general. At dinner, we watched a historical movie about Khartoum, a dramatized reanacment as opposed to documentary. Likely some time after dinner my mother called to be picked up from the subway, and I tagged along with Sotilde and my Angel. Back at home we relaxed till Sotilde winked out. She was 130 that day.

===Samedi le 21 octobre===
It must have been a fairly relaxing day but there was no walk in the evening as I went with my mother in the morning instead. Right before I did, I took Sotilde upstairs to get a reference shot with the doll dress I finished. While I usually prop Sotilde up against something for the shot, I couldn’t get her to show up and my mother wanted to go, so I picked her up and took the picture.

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Because my mother was home, at meal times we watched “The Lord of The Rings”, tamas in attendance. Sotilde was 131, as her reference shot reads.

===Dimanche le 22 octobre===
We went to church, as usual. Sotilde was accompanied by my V3 and ID as I planned to bring them to show the woman who had tamas in the old days. She, unfortunately, didn’t show up. I attended choir practice after church and Sotilde and friends were tucked away in my bag. I don’t believe I’ve ever described my choir practice so I’ll give a little description. Like most church choirs, my choir is mostly women with a fluctuating abundance of altos (second highest voices) and sopranos (highest voices) and shortage of men (mostly my brother, the choir director, and whoever happens along). We rehearse only at church and where there is a piano, which is mostly in the sanctuary up at the front. The women sit in the front and are separated by voice while the men sit in the back, often grouped together because there is so few of them. Usually I take the far end of the soprano pew and if there is room I may put my bag (and tamas by extension) beside me or be forced to put it under the pew. In any event, Sotilde and her companions will hear 2-3 hymns with a bit of repetition so each part sings correctly. The funny thing is although it sounds beautiful, it always sounds more beautiful to me when another choir sings, like a story that has been read over so many times by its author that it starts to feel so dull and unworthy of publishing.

At home, lunch commenced and we finished “The Lord of the Rings”. Soon after I brought my tamas up to my room and began my devotional singing. Then in the same room, I busied myself with adding dolls to my inventory, primarily to name them all and keep track of them. I racked my brain for names and thought long about each one. I’m sure some were only an okay fit, but it doesn’t matter that much as they just need a name. Sotilde and my V3 sat on my nightstand in front of me and besides picking up dollies and writing down their traits (brand, hair colour, skin colour, and so on) I’m not quite sure what else they saw me do. It was a more relaxed Sunday and Sotilde was 132 on that day.

===Lundi le 23 octobre===
The important event of that day was ESL. Class went well and Sotilde was in her usual place. I barely checked her and when I did, she was down on in hunger and two in happiness. She got to have a conversation with that ever amiable crown of her’s. So far my role of both bell ringer and wrapping-up were working quite well. At dinner, we watched my mother’s favourite youtuber but later we hung out at my desk, which Sotilde winked out at. She was 133.

===Mardi le 24 octobre===
An average day. Sotilde accompanied me on a walk in the evening where I conversed about the in-store availability of the upcoming minis, collections, and my Father’s idea of improving the Tamagotchi formula – or just modernizing it. Tamagotchis obviously fit into a variety of interests, from animal simulation to the novelty of surprise. At dinner, we finished the historical film we started awhile back and it was an interesting movie. Back at my desk, attempting school work, I thought I should finally watch some anime to appease my bored and unimaginative state. I selected Bartender and Sotilde had a few minutes before bed to spare. She winked out soon after it started and I tucked her in. She was 134 that day.

===Mercredi le 25 octobre===
I had the house to myself for the evening and for Sotilde, the day was another average one that came and went. She was 135 that day.

===Jeudi le 26 octobre===
Not too much happened besides I did my French speaking test at my computer and Sotilde was the only one unpaused, watching me. Doing a test late at night is wearing, but I felt allot more relaxed and took my active tamas upstairs for an early rest. They all lit out later during the time I was reading “Mutiny on the Bounty”, which was looking like an excellent sea adventure (the movie sure was). Sotilde was 136 that day.

===Vendredi le 27 octobre===
Nothing much happened outside of walk. The talk started about books and ended with the various problems with fan communities, namely how they have no concept of friendship and have depraved obsessions. Sotilde did get to room with a few tamas throughout the day, starting with my V3, moving to Mawtee, and ending with my V5. She was 137 that day.
- - - -
I’m not sure how old Sotilde is now but suffice to say she must be a bit past 200. I hope to eventually finish my recap – err, catch up to this current week as her log will always be recapping – and figure out how old she actually is. Then I can get back to reference shots which if they aren’t with interesting things I found that day, they might be with other tamas or my dolls (heavy plural there as I’ve been collecting for 5 years).

 
This log will wrap up October and push me to around nearly three months backlogged. Due to its daily need, it is understandable that a project like this would eventually experience it slow periods and I’ve seen a similar case with other logs, projects that marched along and now hop from stone to stone. Going to the Tamagotchi Logs subforum and looking a page back, I see many familiar names and remember how their journals appeared as sprouting plants adding to the greenery of life, so capable of becoming age-old trees, but are stumps now. It all starts to resemble the past as what appeared a start in 2017, is now like 2013, 2009, 2006; an unfinished relic buried by the years. Now 2017 seems just a year ago but to some it will be as distant as 2006 is to us. It has started again this year as you, reader – if you stick around – will see names flit in and out and leave thoughts behind, some not falling silent but continuing to frequent.

Now onto the little adventures of a contented hedgehog-ish creature, that she experienced one late October.

===Samedi le 28 octobre===
Sotilde spent most of the day in her stand on my desk, watching me both work and procrastinate. A student’s life is probably boring and there have been times I wished I could do more exciting things with Sotilde. But what would that be? It all boils down to taking trips to exotic – or just different – places. Or perhaps watching more interesting things together, or drawing, or just daydreaming...

I noted I do day dream allot and then I wondered if my little hedgehog has picked this up from me, if she could. I speculated that perhaps her dreams were full of melons and lobsters, the food that makes her happy. She was 138 that day.

===Dimanche le 29 octobre===
We set out early to church, only my active tamas coming with me who were Sotilde, my ID, and my V5 (the other five were in limbo). My tamas were stowed in a cupboard till I went for church. I had found a pouch for my ID so the sermon setup wasn’t too disorganized and the device’s screen saver meant it couldn’t look at me anyway. There was some running around after the service to help prepare a room for the newcomer’s lunch, which the kitchen volunteers unofficially take on. There was also a bit of extra running as I checked that the young adults group had a room in case the newcomers went late. In a sense, my tamas were running around with me as I carry my bag everywhere – a bag my mother may have claimed had bricks in it (my Bible is probably the cause).

The woman who I was going to show my tamas to last week was there but, at the time, she was getting ready to leave the kitchen and I knew I wouldn’t see her after. I did get a chance and showed her my ID first and she was fascinated by it. Another woman (whom I also knew) saw it and they both marvelled as I played the slot machine game, my arms outstretched so they could see. I and the first woman then chatted a bit about tamas and I showed her Sotilde and my V5, the functions, mentioned the upcoming mini, and my plans to buy two and lend her one. She was truly endeared by the last one.

At home was quiet as I kept to myself and thought, tamas at elbow range. The usual routine of dinner and a movie commenced, Sotilde possibly accompanied by a recently hatched Akai tamagotchi named Jisti. Sotilde went to bed in peace and was 139.

===Lundi le 30 octobre===
I took Sotilde to the ESL with me where, like all the passed times, she was snuggled in a case in my shoulder bag. During the before class preparations in the kitchen, I strategically mentioned to another teacher there about November 5th being an excited day. Of course, she asked me what was happening on November 5th and I explained it was the re-release of the Tamagotchi Mini. I asked her if she knew what a Tamagotchi was and she responded positively and that she “grew up in the age of Tamagotchis”. It turned out she was more familiar with the Nanos – mentioning there were all kinds of versions- and never had a Tamagotchi.

Class was easy and I didn’t check Sotilde during it and the following break. My notes have “puzzling wrap-up” which I’m assuming is my cryptic reference to that one wrap-up where I messed up the board and – in true Canadian nature – started apologizing to the class several times. Being in the past, I feel no regret and although it was more a train stalling than a trainwreck, part of the lesson did get taught. After, the veteran ESL teacher (who created our program) told me of how to avoid that situation by writing it down on a piece of paper, then on the board, and intensely checking that both match up. No doubt she had experienced a similar mess up. As I hadn’t checked Sotilde, I had some anxiety about her welfare during our after-class meeting but when I finally checked her, she was fine. I topped her up with a crown talk and we headed home to our usual evening. She was 140 that day.

===Mardi le 31 octobre===
It was Halloween and I felt it didn’t have the same bang in the past as when I and my brother went out trick-or-treating. The day was average till the evening when around 7-ish, we began handing out candy. My brother, mother, and I took turns handing out candy to the many costumed kids of all different ages that came to our door. At first I simply watched from the window with a few of my tamas and Sotilde (of course). Later I moved to a chair near the front door with my tamas in my pockets. While we could dress up – as most adults do to retain some of the celebration – I didn’t really but instead donned my brown shawl and wore a decorative cat mask that covered my face from forehead to upper lip. One little kid said I looked scary, quite humorously. Later I wore my mask sideways and interestingly that little touch made me feel like I was cosplaying as one of the yokai from one my favourite manga, Nastume Yuujin-cho (although no one would guess). However, the strap was made a bit too prominent so it looked more like I was trying to dress as an aboriginal.

In between handing out candy, I checked on my tamas but my needy Mothra was my primary concern at the time – although Sotilde has always been dependable anyways. We got some repeats among the trick-or-treaters, notably some British guy dressed in a full-body donkey suit who made me suspect he was an adult. One of the standout costumes was a girl who came as a Christmas tree and my mother told her she was the best outfit we had seen all night – even though she was probably the fifth person at our door and my mother later said the same thing to 2-3 other people. Towards the end, my brother grabbed a chair and sat next to me and we joked around, stood witness to one of my mother’s sick and wacko train of thought, and gave out candy. Everything stopped around 8:15-ish.

My brother suggested we play a game of pretend and we took turns playing trick-or-treaters doing crazy things to the person who opened the door – such as stealing the candy bowl out of their hands. The crowning moment was after he showed he was a repeat trick-or-treater, he said “and some for my dead grandfather?” XD It was good to get outside of the house that was quickly filling up with pepper fumes from my mother’s cooking. Trinidadians probably have pepper in their blood.

Even though we didn’t get to go trick-or-treating, we did get some candy. My brother and I got to work sorting it to be later divided between us and our father. My organizing was impeded by my brother who wanted to make towers out of the smarties instead (the candy coated chocolate drops, for you Americans; we call your smarties “rockets” in Canada). Eventually my brother settled on forming everything into cube and counted the layers, which proved a little difficult with the bumpy Aero chocolate bars and the different widths between the Coffee Crisps and the Kit Kats (I think you Americans might hurl one of your nation’s chocolate bars at me if I make patronizing comments about your lack of Coffee Crisps).

We headed downstairs for dinner – which was semi-bland – and after I took Sotilde to my desk. She winked out there and I bade her a fond goodnight. She was 141 that day.

 
It’s been awhile since I last wrote here. Allot of that can be blamed on my mental state as I have been adjusting to a more relaxed schedule after a rushed and blundered one. I never did forget about this log nor Sotilde, who is more likely to reach her 1 year birthday than I am to get her log up to date before then. I thought to break chronology for this update and simply tell what Sotilde’s been up to lately.

As my new course actually uses a physical book instead of an online one, I’ve taken to working at my bedroom desk. Sotilde’s been with me there and seen the natural light as it streams from the window, partially shielded by the travel trailer parked in my neighbour’s driveway. In the morning, the sunlight is very bright and lessens towards the afternoon, becoming dim around 5-ish, and takes on pinks and oranges as the sun sets around 7-ish. We’ve gotten into the pattern of going for walks around 5-6, sometimes in attendance with my father. The month of March was a month of readjustment and of course walking had to return to my schedule. When we first started, there was a patchy covering of snow, and the days were getting longer and the weather warmer by small steps. Sotilde was stowed in a pouch in my inner coat pocket, at first with my Mothra, Mona, as a companion. When Mona departed I think Sotilde came with me alone. We walked around my neighbourhood up one side walk, down the other side, down the street, and turning back again.

When we got back, I’d play on my DSI with her beside me in a stand. After that break, we’d return to my room and I’d lower the blinds, turn the lights on my standing lamp, and work till dinner. She would come down with me to dinner, which followed the pattern it always had. The evenings were slightly unpredictable as while I was ahead, there was always the feeling I should keep working to keep my lead. One time I did take Sotilde back up with me and work, the light of the lamp illuminating the patch where my desk was, the rest of the room in darkness. It was easy to believe the rest of the world had disappeared. Most of the time Sotilde resumed her old post, in a stand in front of my desk while I browsed the internet. When she would be cuddled up in her basket, I would turn her lights out and thus her day would come to a close.

There were quite a few events popping up throughout the week. Notably, Sotilde tagged along with me to the Salvation Army Thrift Store on the occasion my mother wanted to go for a sale. Even though it was a bit inconvenient to take Sotilde because I was trying on clothes, I still did and would check her occasionally. Lately I’ve been checking her much more often by patting her pouch, just to make sure she’s still there. While I did do this in the past, in recent times it’s become a bit more anxious as I pat her pouch around five or six occasions during an hour walk, as opposed to barely more than twice.

Saturdays have become very relaxing for us, for once, as I’ve been ahead of schedule that I can take it off without a problem. While in the past that would have spelled lazy times in front of the computer or lounging about, lately it has been joining my mother in shopping. I always bring Sotilde with me, in fact I am quite certain she goes with me everywhere. Two Saturdays ago we went to the mall looking for nail polish and that involved allot of walking around. Last Saturday (yesterday as I am writing this), we went to a flea market looking for earrings which was a similar experience. At the flea market I found Sotilde her own case, a beige, geisha printed pouch with a magnetic closure. She wont be using that for awhile as she has been sharing a pouch with another companion, a dog on an oddpet. Because I can’t pause the oddpet, he’s been palling around with Sotilde quite consistently.

On the same Saturday we went to the flea market, my family and I also went out for dinner at a Japanese all you can eat restaurant. That was a really distinct occasion to bring my Vpets (Sotilde and the dog, Bodium) because the place felt completely unlike our regular scenery. Firstly, music was blaring that was barely discernible over the rabble of human voices. The room was dark and from our table we appeared to be one in a vast, cluttered landscape of tables. The decor and the restaurant from the front door seemed to be awash in elegance and expense. And perhaps seeping through the other layers of impression was the feeling of being lost, as we had been squeezed into a table we didn’t think we would get with Asian people and languages all around. It felt like a nightclub without the entertainers. Between orders of delicious Japanese food, I fished my pouch out of my coat pocket and checked on Sotilde and Bodium. Bodium winked out while we were there but Sotilde was awake throughout it all, being three hours behind.

My other thoughts of Sotilde have been how I haven’t connected her with anyone because I always wanted to document it, and my dread of changing her battery lest I loose her. Thinking of changing her battery has been very worrying as she is truly irreplaceable. Sure, her pattern of pixel is not unique but the creature that bears the name Sotilde has made many memories with me, and those memories make her who she is. With any regular Tamagotchi lifecycle, an unexpected reset wouldn’t be that big of a deal because those Tamagotchis live so short that they never become so distinct. In a regular life cycle, a Kuchipatchi is just a Kuchipatchi even if it has been named and cherished. I guess closer to what I’m trying to expect is with a regular lifecycle, a Tamagotchi is always expected to leave. For the vintage versions it was by death and for the connection models, it was by marriage. But for Sotilde, a long lived oldie, there is no routine, no pattern, no cycle. There is no peace from the consistency of “this is how their lives are”.

I logically see how one day, I will lose Sotilde. There is only one path for her life. I highly expect I will lose her by accident, by her device becoming unpreventably damaged. If that should happen, I see myself attaining peace because the power of life is in the vividness of its experience, and Sotilde progressing from birth to death makes her that much more a complete being. Besides, I can always somewhat bring her back in drawings, depicted with fluttering angel wings in whatever scene I can draw for her.

Now to get on to something much more happier than this philosophical reflection, I have a picture for this update:

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I hope to get updates out more regularly :^)

 
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