Long-Lived Oldies Hatch IV Log here!

[UMR]

Hey! I’m so glad Sotilde is still alive! To be honest I thought she might have died and you stopped logging. Also, not to burst your bubble or anything, but the don’t the records only count with no time changes or pausing? (Sorry.)

Well, anyways, here are Jerry’s stats:

STATS

Name: Jerry

Machine: V3

Type: Ojitchi

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Weight: 58 lb

Stage: Adult

Will evolve next: Never

Happy hatching!

 

[UMR]

Hey guys, Jerry died a while ago and I hatched a new Jerry. She’s a girl! Her nickname is Niffler. Right now she is seven! I absolutely love her adult character: Mimiyoritchi

I have been watching her wight like a hawk too. That’s the reason Jerry the First died.

STATS

Nickname: Niffler

Machine: v3

Type: Mimiyoritchi

Age: 7

Training: 4/9

Gender: Female

Weight: 30 lb

Stage: Adult

I also just found out I’m gett8ng a v5 for Christmas! Yay! Happy hatching!

 

[UMR]

Hey! I’m still alive and so is Jerry Jr. AKA Niffler. She is currently sleeping but I am worried that she might die as soon as she wakes up because of the two poops next to her and her one remaining heart on hunger and happiness.

She is an oldie living strong at 12 tama years old. Since it is finally Christmas Break I can spend more time taking care of her instead of a few short moments during lunch at school. Merry Christmas break everybody! Happy Hatching!

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

*Waves ecstatically* Hey, hey, I’m here again! Boy, oh boy, has it been awhile. The chief reason is, as some of you might suspect, that I’ve been behind in school work. I’m still not quite out of the doghouse – as my worried parents remind me – but I’ll try not to turn that into too much of a disaster like... last semester. Interestingly my grades are still good, but enough of this. So Sotilde is still alive and well and approaching her second birthday. However, UMR brought up a very important point about Sotilde’s age record. Now as I understand it, raising a long-lived oldie is a test of an owner’s ability to take care of a tamagotchi for the longest they can, a test of endurance. Naturally, pausing poses a problem because it both makes the record inaccurate and makes it easier to keep a tamagotchi alive with no effort. Among people who have done the same, saying I raised a tamagotchi for 6 months would lose its prestige if I have paused that tamagotchi for 3 months. And that’s solely because I haven’t really done what I have said.

Now we use the concept of days to measure the age of a tamagotchi because that is the most natural measurement. Because it overlaps with our own concept of days, I believe there is some leniency on how much time is needed for a period to be considered a day. If a day was 21 hours, it doesn’t really seem like a big deal for 11/12 was still lived, and that’s enough to make the statement “a day has passed” adequately truthful. The effort not used in that 1/12 is insignificant compared to the effort in the 11/12 that was. Therefore, the test of endurance still holds because there still was effort put in and that effort is what will be commended when someone says “I raised a tamagotchi for six months”. Thus, the spirit of raising a long-lived oldie is still present.

Now in the case of Sotilde, the rare times she has been paused has been a very small fraction of the time she has been alive. I only really pause her for exams which are probably on average four times a year and around 3 hours in the morning. She never goes to bed paused and wakes up every morning, thus having a proper day’s cycle. Adding to this, occasionally I change her clock going half an hour forward or back so that she will not sleep in her... messes. This works as a time credit because she has lived half an hour longer either by going to bed half an hour later, or waking up half an hour earlier. Also in regard to this, she thus gains half an hour for each consecutive day because she continues to wake up earlier or go to bed later every single day. For example, say I pause her for three hours one day and adjust her time to the current one. That means she has lost three hours of active time but, if I put her clock back half an hour, then 3 hours – 1/2 hour = 2 1/2 hours lost. And the same time the next day without any pausing become 2 1/2 hours – 1/2 hour = 2 hours lost. If she had continued with no time adjustments after the three hours she was paused, she would not gain back any time but since she rises half an hour earlier than she normally would, she gains time back.

Another thing worth noting is that the most effort one puts into raising a tamagotchi is when they are awake as when they are asleep nothing can be done. Thus, increasing the waking hours increases the effort which makes definitely certain that one has put in an adequate amount of effort to be praised for raising a long-lived oldie. In Sotilde’s case, I’d estimate her pause time might possibly be enough to put her a day off, taking into account an estimation of time bonuses. If I was being super strict about the record, I would take three days off her current estimation to be perfectly safe. Alternatively, I could give her extra waking hours by making her go to bed at 12:30 a.m. and having her wake up at 7 a.m. - basically adding 3 and a half hours to her current record and I would only need to do that for 8 days to gain her back a full day of time. However, I feel I have indeed put into Sotilde enough effort to say that I have reasonably kept her alive for how old she really is. Also, Sotilde has always had a morning and a bedtime, thus making her days structurally complete.

Having said all that, I would also extend the same leniency to anybody else’s long-lived oldie record as to me it seems trivial whether their tama has lived for 200 days when actually it has been 199 days and 8 hours; at the heart of the matter, it’s all the same.

/ / / /

Time for some updates (no pun intended, snort). Now originally, I planned to make an update post on February 22cd – almost two months ago – with this picture:

That was my current brood at the time of that remarkable day. I decided to take the plunge and clean Sotilde’s unresponsive buttons. I was terrified of it because that would involve turning her off and I was afraid when I turned her back on, the data would have been deleted. I had replaced her batteries but her device was so efficient that being deprived of a battery for 10 seconds didn’t cause the screen to go blank, like it does for an English connection. This was out of my comfort zone as her screen would indeed be blank for a long time and I always foresaw that moment as being a reminder of Sotilde’s eventual passing. Now reflecting on that destined event, her passing, I would truly miss her and her little ambling ways. Back in the past (ha ha), I worked up the courage and decided to take the plunge. I grabbed Sotilde, a few q-tips, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and a miniature screwdriver set. I was sonervous I prayed before I started!

I unscrewed her back cover and popped out the battery, only to soon put it back in and download her again to prove that she was still there. She was, of course. Then I popped out the battery and began loosening the screws around the battery dock. I had to really pry her open since whatever adhesive or good design was keeping the red point of her antenna in, it was really doing its job. Then it was a matter of undoing the screws on the circuit board, popping out the circuit board with care to the sound wires (honestly, the sound wires seem so fragile to me!), and then easing off the buttons to see the contacts underneath. I think I put the battery back in again to test and further made myself nervous because repeatably putting the battery in and taking it out might delete data, as my Dream Town is a testament to. I wet a q-tip and then started scrubbing the contacts, inside the button pads as well, and took some dust off the buttons also that had gotten behind the face plate. Then I put Sotilde back together and popped in her battery. A black spotted egg appeared with obvious missing pixels, indicating I hadn’t screwed everything together tight enough. Being paranoid, I left her like that for awhile being just glad that she was still there! I think we even had lunch together with her like that, her being her usual ambling self but with sections missing and icons not displaying.

Later I got around to fixing her up and man, it took a few tries where I thought I must have tightened her fully. That picture is thus a reminder of that faithful day. Sotilde had been palling around with my Ganbare Ryuuta-kun, a dinosaur I called Rufus Benjamin. Dear little Rufus died one day for unexplained reason and seemed to not achieve adulthood. That colour tama is a 4U with a Nenetchi, a tama I really wanted to get because she is so girly and plump (a rare trait). In some senses she was the tama version of myself and while I did give her a name, I can’t remember it. She eventually got married and had a baby girl who also got married and I think is in limbo now, since I deactivated my 4U. That V4 was one I think I started up in the middle of the night and decided to run. Sotilde’s last companion was Sandy who has returned to her state of limbo since I wasn’t certain about starting a new generation (resetting). Now Sotilde’s companions are the ones below:

It’s really dropped and honestly I got quite tama-lethargic. I took that picture this Easter, today, while we camped out at my desk with some Easter chocolate (one of my few candy holidays). Having gobbled a few chocolate eggs, I speculated on getting Sotilde some chocolate but I think she can only get the kind for Valentine’s day. The V4 is now a Young Memetchi named Mully – I’ve been cursed by the meme family – and she’s rather recent. I deactivated my V4 only to start it up again. That slick looking Vpet next to Mully is my Qpet, a relatively cheap Chinese Vpet. It’s the cat version – there is a dog and rabbit version – and that fluffy little fellow is Gink. Sotilde’s seen him for quite awhile since he’s been around for about a month, so low maintenance, and doesn’t seem to change at all. Lately Sotilde’s been rooming with Mully during meals while Gink lies alone. Mully’s even accompanied Sotilde and I on a few walks. The weather has been getting warmer and warmer – a nice change from the treacherous winter – but its been rainy these last few days. I’m not sure how old exactly Sotilde is but she is approaching 730 days old, 2 years, which she will arrive at on June 13th.

I hope to eventually make enough consistent logs updates on Sotilde’s life to actually give my readers some certainty, consistency, and not be such a broken record :^)

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

Here we are with another update post because on June 13th, Sotilde turned 2 years old in human years! I was planning to make bookmark in honour of her but never got around to finishing it, unfortunately (I still plan to). For the sake of celebrating her, I’m going to recap her birthday and the day after.

==Jeudi le 13 Juin==

Sotilde graced my daily time sheet (which I didn’t stick to as well as I wanted to):

At one point I took her upstairs and downloaded Takoyaki (a Japanese snack of fried dough balls with octopus inside) and toast for her.

She snacked on those all day and I was quite surprised that the toast was actually a snack. She didn’t play any games that day but rather relaxed with her toys and toast. I did put her in one race that wasn’t in her favour.

In the morning I went to my “job” of taking care of the neighbours’ puppy but I didn’t bring Sotilde. That was more in service to her as it was raining and with a dog and what not, who knew what would happen. I sent her off to her palace later in the evening to enjoy herself. I’m not sure if I mentioned this item before but it is a big pagoda that cost 9999 gotchi points and she always bounces up and down excitedly and then blushes from her outburst. Her reaction to it is always cute and since it was her special, sending her off there was fitting.

Sotilde winked out while I and Brother Ballad were playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Between matches, I turned off her lights and she drifted off to sleep. I had planned a connection with my V4 that had another squinty-eyed tama, but I never got around to it. To make up for that, I planned to do the connection the next day. As it was her official second birthday, Sotilde was 730 that day.

==Vendredi le 14 Juin==

I had another dream that Sotilde somehow accepted the matchmaker and had a baby. She then left and I though, “well, that’s the end of this hatch”. I was disappointed and confused. The exact events were hard to remember. I woke up believing this was true and I guess I fell kinda empty. Then I realized she was still there and I was glad. At around 1, I took a picture of Sotilde talking to her Buddah statue, or the “demonic, cross-legged sitting man” as his sprite appears.

Then, I connected Sotilde and my squinty-eyed V4, Olin. First they competed in a balloon pumping contests and then an eating contest. Olin came out victorious in both (Sotilde seems to never win these contests)

Then Olin visited Sotilde twice. First she gave her a nasty present that made her hopping mad (I love that face!), and then she had a change of heart and gave her something nice. They had a final balloon pumping contest where Olin maintained her winning streak.

Window shopping at a nearby plaza was the only other major event of that day. Sotilde was with me of course and I lost my self in browsing through the various things at Ardene (it’s a Canadian store kinda like Claire’s). It was hot outside and a nice clear day. When we returned home, the door opened suddenly and there was Papa Ballad. Apparently a friend from church needed some emergency babysitting and I was stunned, being somewhat awkward around children. Lo and behold the somewhat doltish Brother Ballad was there with his school books under his arms to save the day. And that was the last I saw of him till 6-7 hours later. In the meantime Sotilde watched me perform the mundane and was then whisked away to the dinner table while Papa Ballad and I watched an In Search Of episode about the Dead Sea Scrolls. In Search Of is a documentary series on various mysterious events, creatures, and phenomenon. It is narrated by Leonard Nimoy, the same actor who plays Spock in the original Star Trek (the 1960s series, which some people don’t even realize exists). Mama Ballad was stewing throughout the whole time she came back as she doesn’t like people ordering us around, and that is what it seemed like to her. I left Sotilde alone to go and chat with her, console her, and I wished I had brought my little hedgehog with me as I spent a long time.

When I came back down stairs, I found Sotilde had already gone to sleep. I smiled and told her good night. Later that night, I reflected upon my dream which came to mind as I wrote out details for this log. This is what I wrote:

”I have speculated about marrying off Sotilde and not letting her meet her eventual death. But now I’ve realized life without her would be strange. I would be checking for her always and find she isn’t there at all. I couldn’t pull her out of my pocket on a walk, or out of my bag at church, or find her pouch on me. Looking over at the tamas on my desk, her face would not be there. I would be searching only to remember there is nothing to search for. She has left me all alone and gone far away forever.

There would be no little ambler, no contented peaceful face, no downward curving nose, no springy mass of curly brown hair. No little hedgehog to be found. Her polka dot stand would be empty. Her log book would be untouched. And all I would have are memories. I would truly miss her.

So now that she is 2 years old I have realized she is a special part of my life. She means something to me. I see her as a genuine companion and I imagine her [,if she was alive, as] almost as a little copper-coloured pom-pom that might dart out of my pocket and snuggle up to my neck. If I was to picture myself, it would always be with her hidden somewhere. We are inseparable and with her I have a special delight. The kind of softly burning joy that while not overpoweringly present, it has burned for so long I can’t help but smile fondly that it has persisted still. I’m glad that while Sotilde and I do have a connection, I still see her as a pet. She hasn’t become one of those virtual people that others claim happen to modern Tamagotchis. She remains unique and truly her animal natures make our bond that much more unique. We haven’t said a word to each other and there are things neither of us could even understand about the other – such as I have to get an education and she just likes to amble non-stop. But yet we have a bond”.

She was 731 that day.

- - - - - - -

I felt emotional writing out that excerpt. I would truly miss Sotilde and all the things she would leave empty by her absence. It might be a very unexpected thing that I keep talking about her death so much but then her ability to stay alive is the sole reason for this hatch. It really makes one appreciate life when all days are numbered. It is a similar sentiment to the one echoed by Moses in Psalm 90 verse 12, “So teach us to number our days/ that we may gain a heart of wisdom”.

More log updates are coming. I just keep forgetting that some things have to be actively fought for to be maintained (I still enjoy doing this, however).

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

==Vendredi le premier decembre 2017==

[Note: If November is “novembre” (noh-vawmb-ruh), then December is of course “decembre” (day-sawmb-ruh).]

For some reason I am incapable of remembering, Sotilde and I tagged along with my father on a routine trip to a Chinese grocery store. English being foreign language resulted in some funny labels, such as “headless pineapple” and “semi-cut broccoli”, as well as the somewhat funny “Ya pears” and “Yo choy”. We also tagged along in picking my mother up from the subway and it was likely dark out at that time. Sotilde was 172 that day.

==Samedi le 2 decembre 2017==

Today was a memorable day as once again my church choir took to the streets to sing Christmas carols. I dressed warmly and tucked Sotilde in my inner coat pocket and then headed off with the rest of my family to the church. We were late but thankfully found the group in front of the church, singing. Not just our faithful choir singers were there but a few others, notably one of the ESL teachers (Mellowchi, because she’s so mellow :^).

We preformed up and down the street, a long road flanked by various little shops, tall vintage houses, and wide brick businesses. It had a quaintness to it juxtaposed against the modernness of glass bus shelters and the slick white streetcars that slid down the street. The choir would first select a spot, form a loose line, have someone choose a song, and then perform. We would sing a couple of songs and then move on. Before each song, my choir director brought out this strange metal piece that looked like cutlery and would hold it up to his ear. I thought it was some sort of medical device since from time to time he seemed to have issues with balance. I later learned that this was actually a tuning fork! So he was actually helping us and not trying to stop himself from collapsing XD While we were singing, the senior pastor’s mother, a kind elderly British lady, was handing out cards about the church, booklets, and candy to passersby. There was also a little donation bin for our Christian school which really shouldn’t have been there, since our singing was a gift to the community. Our carolling was appreciated as many people smiled, stopped to listen, videotaped us on their phones, cars rolled down their windows, and some people told the British lady how they hadn’t seen carolling since they were young! There was joy indeed for our gift to them.

At one point, we all huddled in an area of sidewalk that lay in front of intersection and it had a short, half-circle of stone wall edged with bridge-like benches. Our choir director called for on unfamiliar song, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. We all mumbled along, not knowing the words, except for one woman who sang the melody loudly to help us. The carol had a clear and easy tune but yet, it was soulful. It started out plainly enough describing church bells ringing and the accompanying refrain of “peace on earth, goodwill to men”. But then, out came the sombre, haunting words of “and in despair, I bowed my head, ‘there is no peace on earth’ I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song, of ‘peace on earth, goodwill to men”. The music drooped and stretched out to nothingness as the line finished. Then upward soared “then pealed the bells more loud and deep, ‘God is not dead, nor doth he sleep’ for the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with ‘peace on earth, goodwill to men”. The haunting melody took on a cheerful character as it suggested everyday life swirling peacefully, joyfully, merrily with the enthusiasm bestowed in “peace on earth, goodwill to men”.

We sang more songs, of course, resolved to camp there for awhile. Out came this middle-aged Jamaican man with bad teeth and dressed commonly. He smiled broadly and started singing silent night in the rhythmic choppiness of his accent. We obliged him with Silent Night and thus finished our carolling with its reverent, delicate melody. We all went into the nearby Starbucks for complementary hot chocolate before returning to the cold. Somehow, Mellowtchi and I ended up talking about virtual pets – she was distantly familiar with the nanos – and then I showed her Sotilde. The moment was spoiled when my mother, in her typical downplayed mocking, butted in and asked Mellowtchi, “Is she torturing you?” That, naturally, killed what would have been a good conversation. We drove home and at home, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Sotilde was 173 that day.

- - - -

I’m stopping here because I really wanted to get some sort of update out (and stop the topic from getting locked). By the way, I finished my Sotilde-themed bookmark ages ago:

It’s made from paper, glue, cardboard, markers, crayons, and stickers! And it’s quite broad, way more than a regular bookmark. At the moment, it’s lodged between the pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which I’m rereading. It’ll probably take me awhile to finish it as even though it’s a great story, I currently have more pressing matters.

Outside has been blanketed by thick, white fleece of snow. Sotilde, other virtual life, and I (of course) are keeping cozy inside. Her much more than me as I am naturally more stressed from digging myself into a hole again. But, we will be keeping up with some semblance of the holidays, even if that just means making copious Christmas cards and relaxing on Christmas, only to fall back into the fevered state of studying constantly. On the plus side, there’ll always be a study break to dive into books and manga, and secretly peer over the shoulder of a wizard, shinigami, or perhaps even a state alchemist. Of course, we will also be reliving Sotilde’s past days in the log entries that will be typed out. Speaking of Sotilde, today she is 2 years and 176 days old. Or, as for human beings, 2 years and nearly 6 months. Or to be consistent, 906 days old. Wowza.

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

The notes start getting really sparse here to the point two weeks got reduced to a paragraph.

===Dimanche le 3 decembre 2017===
The usual church activities commenced with Sotilde, as usual, accompanying me in my bag. There was a bridal shower after the service and the ladies, I and Sotilde - because men can't be expected to do these events (y'ever here of a longstanding men's biblestudy? Exactly) - filed into a room with a ring of chairs and two far tables with an assortment of food. Sotilde lay underneath my chair for the most part as I chatted with a few other ladies and then was hanging from my shoulder when I talked to another group. At home, I busied myself with updating Sotilde's log, her within arms-length, and then we enjoyed more of Huey Freeman's adventures in the Boondocks (the comic... not the show).

Sotilde was 174 that day.

===Lundi le 4 decembre 2017===  
Sotilde and both of my minis accompanied me to the ESL and I nearly forgot them because I was in such a rush! In preparation for the upcoming Christmas party, the other teacher and I rehearsed the carols in the deserted fellowship hall. It was a wide room with rows of supporting columns covered in blue padding, since it doubled as gymnasium for the Christian school that ran during the week. We sat at round wooden table and I sang from a small paper booklet while she played her guitar. Sotilde was in my bag, as always, and either at my feet or hanging from the back of my chair. After finishing a song, the other teacher adjusted the key on her guitar and when I began to speak, she cut in asking if it was okay. I quickly agreed and told her doing this reminded me of the times my mother used to do the same.

We had two students in our class and at one point we had to run through L and R sounds as one student was getting them mixed up. The other teacher would always emphasize her R to the point she seemed to be a motorcycle. We finished the lesson on the parts of the body early and started adding extra vocabulary by way of "brainwash" and "brainstorm". Apparently the final wrap-up activity was immensely enjoyed but I can't remember what it was. We eventually headed home and amongst the calmness of dinner, Sotilde fell asleep.

She was 175 that day.
===Mardi le 5 decembre 2017===
The major event for Sotilde on this day was accompanying my father and I on an evening walk. Her roommate was reduced to my blue mini as Bill on the clock face one had passed away.  My father and I chatted about the purpose of news websites, as I remarked about the pressure to "read the news", and he noted people only read the news because they liked it. We talked also about the personality of Kolchak from The Night Stalker and I believe I noted there was something amusing about how he got all irritated when the police gave him a hard time, or he ended up in tense situations. My father probably remarked about Kolchak's actor carrying the part of a tough guy well despite looking rather small and weak. My notes tell me we also talked about "social thinking" and aside from possibly noting people are too easily influenced to go with the crowd, I'm not sure what it means.

Sotilde was 176 that day.

===Mercredi le 6 decembre 2017===
Sotilde and the rest of her tama neighbours joined me in watching episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. (Chances are most of you people actually know the show has some merit that I don't have to explain its not in the same category as that annoying Mexican girl who wont stop yelling at you/Dora.) Another one of Sotilde's companions passed on as Okro, an aged Zatchi on my orange P2, left in a spaceship that went hurtling through an endless expanse of twinkling pixels.

Sotilde was 177 on that day.

===Les 7, 8, et 9 decembre 2017===
The irregular format above is due to these days being part of a general paragraph that described what the week from the 4-10th was like. As the 10th was a very notable day for Sotilde, it gets its own section. For Sotilde, these days were characterized by staying indoors and ambling on my desk as I studied for my upcoming exam and French oral test. [I do laugh weakly here reading my sparse note that says "tudying and trying too" as being roughly two year in the future, my procrastination is still a problem, although I am fighting it more.] I paused Sotilde on the morning of my exam and later unpaused her after I got back. She may have been muted for my oral test that week but I don't remember when that happened [(Future note: why would I want to? The only thing worth remembering about school work is that its finished and I don't have to do it)].

Sotilde went from 178 to 180 on these days.

===Dimanche le 10 decembre 2017===
It was a potluck Sunday and, after pausing my other tamas, I prepared Sotilde and my long-living Sunnytchi to be taken with me. Mama Ballad, as she characteristically is, was late in coming up and thus I took it easy in packing. We finally left and headed to church. I stowed my bag in the kitchen and after putting my apron on and doing some work, I returned to check on them. I searched through my bag for them but they weren't there. They had been left behind.

I remember standing in the back as my mind filled with panicked. I was fully aware that she could die today. Feeling so helpless, I internally projected to give anything to get her back, as if there was someone I could bargain with. If I had been able to drive, I would have immediately rushed to the parking lot and driven home. I closed my eyes and prayed that God would protect them till I could get back. It felt a little silly asking my Almighty Father for such a trivial thing as maintaining the lives of computer programs, but it does direct us in 1 Peter 5:7 to "[cast] all your anxieties on him, because he care for you". I calmed myself and resolved to ask my father to head home early and not stay for the potluck. I was more relaxed but still had an undercurrent of anxiety running through me.

After the service, I told my father that I wanted to go home because I left my Tamagotchis behind. He laughed and then I told him that they could really die. I wasn't hysterical at all and tried to express this fact in light of their programming. My mother met us near the doors and when my father told her about going home, she wasn't happy. My mother, in her typical way, tries to downplay her displeasure by talking about a negative situation as if its a joke, ultimately being insensitive. As we waited for my brother to come down, she did this to a passing friend. She pointed a finger at me, and, with a smile, told the Filipino lady that I was the reason we weren't going to the potluck. The Filipino lady, in her choppy English and plingy rhythm, asked me why this was. I was too embarrassed to tell her it was because of my tamas and didn't want to struggle to explain to an outsider what a virtual pet was. I just said I left something on at home. She probably didn't understand what I meant and insisted we go down to get something. My mother wanted to get the usual hotdogs and I apologetically said she could. She left and came back with some and then we waited and waited for my brother. We thought he was taking long with video when actually, he was waiting for the choir practice to start. My mother brought him down out of things and he was confused. I didn't want to inconvenience anyone so we left it up to him for what he wanted to do. He went up to choir practice and I went with him.

After that confusion we finally headed home. I was still anxious, my mother was grumbling, and Brother Ballad probably snorted at the news. When we got home, I ran inside and found Sotilde and Sunnytchi in a case on my bed. I brought them over and discovered they were absolutely fine! Sotilde had only a heart down in each meter while Sunnytchi had evolved into a member of the ninja family due to neglect. I praised God and smiled. My mother came over and said something to the effect of "that's all we came home for?" It felt odd after so much anxiety to now be put in a situation of absolute peace. There was no further obligations and it felt so weird. It was as if I had been yanked out of my life and put in some serene, mystical place.

Nothing else remarkable happened and Sotilde was 181 that day.

===Lundi le 11 decembre 2017==
Sotilde and I headed to the ESL.I think we had a potluck which lead to me staying down to man the kitchen and cut up things while Sotilde was stowed in a cupboard. After the mid-session break, the Christmas party really started. The students came to the fellowship hall where there was a long table with all kinds of food and a cluster of wooden tables spreading out from it. Conversation was awfully sparse at our table since one of the students couldn't really speak any English (hence she was put in our class). After a while, we handed out song booklets, the other teacher brought out her guitar, and I led the singing. We sang a couple of carols and then small gifts were handed out to the students. Although the event was officially over, students still lingered and socialized. I wandered over to the Brazilian group and after happy goodbyes, one woman gave me special Brazilian tea. Sotilde and I then took the long subway ride home.

Sotidle was 182 that day.

===Les 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, et 17 decembre 2017===
All these days were reduced to a paragraph of notes and therefore are being clumped together like this. Truthfully, I see time allot more like weeks than actual days. It is continuous, after all, and especially when the whole system can be tweaked by staying up when nobody else is and seeming to have "more day" when, really, we all have the same hours (we just spend them differently).

These days were average with very few walks and Sotilde saw me... somewhat slack again. She enjoyed her crown and other toys, an infrequent snack, and some weight fluctuations. It all evened out in the end. There was some baking during the week (likely short bread cookies for my relatives) and while I stood in the kitchen, Sotilde was directly across. likely in the tama stand on the living room table. The tama count was low at that time so perhaps she was in a small stand. My notes say I had a "missed event" and that's even more true, considering its missing from my brain. For a short time on Saturday I was away from Sotilde and doing a French oral test. After a successful completion, I rejoined her and it seems we watched Rin-ne/Kyoukai no Rinne to cool down. [Future note: We finished the entire anime last year but the series is still present in our lives by way of the manga :^).]

Sunday was church as usual but Sotilde and her companion were brought in a pouch instead of the typical case. After the service, I lent my transparent blue mini to that friend who raised her kids'. I had tabbed up the mini and wrote out some little instructions about pausing and the invisible heart meter. It made me a little nervous lending it, although the friend in question was an adult so I was surely going to see my mini again. At home, Sotilde and company enjoyed lots of anime with me.

On these days, Sotilde went from 183 to 188
-------
Whoo, that took awhile. I've been writing this all up for weeks! Well, I hope you all appreciate the long update. I could have posted it sooner but I thought I should just write it all out as I had planned and really break the silence.

Not so much has changed since those days aside from there has been allot more reading and more of a daily schedule, thanks to bullet journaling and necessity. It's in my habit tracker to log and hopefully that lead to allot more updates. Sotilde has been running as usual and I don't have any plans to put her in limbo. She's become my comfort animal in a way (although I have a floppy, snoozy kitty I adore, too). I have taken to doing more psychologically nice things to her, such as giving her snacks even though it just increases the frequency of playing games with her, and sending her off to her palace. Her companions have changed allot and I'm gradually introducing more oddpets since I've stockpiled quite a bit. Speaking of her companions, here are some old photos of them:

And one with Mister Floof:

Mister Floof is growing old and his brilliant green eyes have faded to cataracts, but he will always be cherished. I see a loveliness others would have difficulty seeing in this aging, sickly, cranky creature. Even with all his sickly crankiness, I would truly not give him away for anything – and that's okay 'cause nobody else wants him, snort! It's a little like Sotilde since the bond I have with her makes her more valuable to me than her functionality, while other people would likely use her device to continually raise tamagotchis.

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

Another log update! It's Christmas in September... from three years ago!

===Lundi le 18 decembre 2017===

In the evening, my mother, myself, and Sotilde were driven to the church for "tea with the bride to-be" - a bridal shower. It was very relaxed occasion as women were milling around and chatting, tea and other light refreshments in hand, while others were gathering around an album to write thoughtful messages for the bride to be. Sotilde was with me in the usual manner and likely spent a little while on the floor as I hunched over to draw a picture of an angel for the album. We were all called over to the fireplace to where the future bride sat. The album was brought over and the bride was tasked with figuring out who wrote what. They just asked for the "artist" when it came to my page. We then prayed, cleaned-up, and left. My mother left much calmer and I'm not sure about my mood but I do know Sotilde was her usual contended self.

Sotilde was 189 on that day.

===Mardi le 19 decembre 2017===

Sotilde was 190 that day. Yeah, not allot probably happened here.

===Mercredi le 20 decembre 2017===

Starting that morning, I found Sotilde talked to a lipped Christmas tree.

In the evening, Sotilde was the only virtual life form left unpaused during my final french oral exam. She saw me get worried when I got the busy signal, take the exam, ponder and speak determinedly, and then finish. I passed but I still felt I did badly since, by virtue of learning long-distance, my verbal understanding is the weakest [Future note: I later dropped French and now, I can real read and write it competently, snort]. After that, Sotilde and I joined Papa Ballad in picking up Mama Ballad from the subway.

Sotidle was 191 on that day.

===Jeudi le 21 decembre 2017===

Sotilde may have tagged along with me in picking up batteries from the Dollar Store and later picking up Mama from the subway again. My notes just speculate but at least I know she was 192 on this day.

===Vendredi le 22 decembre 2017===

Sotilde was a bit overshadowed by Sandy, the Akai I was running for a Christmas hatch at the time. It was an average day for her but with lobsters, toys, and crowns to keep her happy.

She was 193 on this day.

===Samedi le 23 decembre 2017===

It was another average day where Sotilde was with my other tamas chilling on my desk, ambling away, while I studied.

She was 194 on this day.

===Dimanche le 24 decembre 2017===

Sotilde came to church with Ruth, my V4. It was destined to be a church-filled day as not only was it a Sunday, it was Christmas eve and that meant a candlelight service in the evening. We went to the church kitchen, as usual, and then were up for church where I was on projector - possibly that one time I was actually allowed to lead it on a Sunday even though I never joined the schedule. That involved sitting at the sound board desk amongst the crowd of pews and simply clicking slides of song lyrics. Of course, my tamas were close at hand and I check on them occasionally. We had choir after the service and then we went home. Back at home, Sotilde and the tamas were with me as I submitted assignments, freeing up time, and generally relaxed in front of the computer. Then it was off to church again. Like all other independent services, we had a brief rehearsal up to the last minute. The sanctuary was darkened for this event and a sea of heads surrounded us from our perch of the sound desk. There were songs and readings and the people would stand up like rows of towers, then fall at a command to be seated.

There was a short Christmas message that emphasized the constant repetition of life's demands, which made me think of tamas (cycles and all). Upon later recollection, I vaguely remembered a gospel angle. After the message, Silent Night began to play and the crowd stood and sang its gentle tune, grasping their thin, white candles beneath the paper guard, and watching for the flame passed down from candle to candle to reach them. It was a little less idle for me as I had slides to look after but I nevertheless got my candle lit and kept it that way till the song was over, the crowd was dismissed, and the lights came on. We went to the car and it was snowy and gusty outside. As we rode, Mama Ballad was flipping through the Christmas stations on the radio and settled on a Caribbean song imploring Santa to come to the ghetto. I took my tamas out and it was a special moment being surrounded by a sea of cars and a blackened sky, feeling half warm and half cold, and my skirt billowing around me like a blanket. When we got home, we watched more of Gone with the Wind, a drama about a determined southern lady who perseveres to keep her childhood manourhouse at all costs (that's all I remember of it any way). Time seemed to just slip away when we returned to my desk.

Sotilde was 195 on this day.

==Lundi le 25 decembre 2017== I

'm pretty sure I woke up before my tamas that day. I actually had breakfast at the dining room table instead of my desk which meant my tamas didn't see me have breakfast, as they usually do. Awhile after, Sotilde and my others made it to their stands and were all set to watch the batch of anime I had downloaded for the occasion (Inuyasha and Kyoukai no Rinne, incidentally by the same author). After that, Brother, Papa, and Knighttchi's Ballad went sledding. It was definitely a white Christmas. Naturally, tamas were left behind as I thought it was going to be rough and, indeed, every singly ride resulted in at least the sled being buried a quarter full with snow. We didn't exactly have wipeouts but there was allot of trudging, both to the site and up the hill. One time ago, I went sledding through a loose string of trees and this huge branch snapped off and came down with me XD We also tested all three of us piling into one sled and more or less 600 pounds rushed down the hill and bulldozed a path. 2-3 hours later when we returned, I unpaused my brood.

Sotilde and my V3 accompanied me to lunch and were also present for the gift unwrapping fiasco. "Fiasco" because my mother insisted on the bothersome tradition of taping us, did a mad video shuffle of finding different music for everything, and was both vocal and tried to annoy me. The mad video shuffle made everything more irritating by its constant racket. But I was glad for the gifts and Sotilde got to see the "birth" of my new Giga Pet Yoda. I brought all of my virtual life back to my desk and focused on Yoda. It was a very peculiar Vpet as besides the absurdity of "raising" Yoda, its concept was that the owner is Yoda's apprentice, a Jedi Knight in-training, who maintains their apprenticeship by keeping him happy - which I later learned is by letting him nap, giving him soup, appeasing him with skill training games, and cleaning his hut (as opposed to cleaning up after him, quite thankfully). After that was sorted out, we enjoyed more anime and relaxed. [Back then, I wanted to get an age reference shot of her with Yoda, but that never came about and now probably wont because Yoda's on the bland side.]

Sotilde wasn't pampered but I treated her well. She likely had two races that day. The first was against two boys and I got a bad feel but set my hopes on first. She lost that one but won her "rematch". Things wound down as the day progress and eventually Sotilde winked out. She was 196 that day.

- - - -

What would this log be without talking about Sotilde's birthday? On the lovely day of June 13th of 2020, she turned 3 years old! When I woke up that morning, I wished her Happy Birthday and fed her some Christmas cake which made her overjoyed, although it doesn't restore her hearts. I called her the Birthday Girl throughout the day:^) In the afternoon, I wrote down a couple of codes and then took her upstairs to mail order them.

Her presents were a wind chime, a travel ticket (It didn't do anything), a sweet potato, and Valentine's day chocolate heart that she absolutely adored. She spent the day feasting on the latter two.

Next to that, I started working on a book of drawing prompts called Create This Book. It's written by one of my favourite Youtubers: Moriah Elizabeth. Having seen her own series of filling in the pages, I went straight to the rule page after decorating the cover. I decided to make my rule adding Sotilde and the date to every page, as can be seen below:

I spent quite allot of time staring at Sotilde and making mental halfway points on her to make sure I got the proportions of her device correct. I applied the same level of study to her sprites. The cool thing about this page is that her screen inside the border of her device is actually inside the rule box template. I just couldn’t resist playing off of the original design of the page. I haven't made much progress on it but I might have more free time in the coming weeks. Speaking of modern times, here's a shot of Sotilde's semi-current companions:

The orange tama is my most run P2 who was a Zatchi named Paul. He passed away a week ago and throughout his life, he accompanied Sotilde in the odd walk and at meals, since I tried not to pause him so much. Next to Sotilde is my Akai, a Tengutchi named Nagisa (a girl), which I started afresh a couple of months ago. Sotilde and her had a bit more prominence in the thread about the Mysterious Keitai Minigame. The V3 has, of course, been a mainstay and at the time was a pointy, ridiculously happy Nikatchi. The two Dream Towns were started up because I hadn't used that version in ages (it was the first version I ever purchased since my interest in tamas rekindled). They're only on the second or third generation since I highly delayed starting the next generations and they're from the lot I got dirt cheap from a naive, little fool on Ebay, so I hadn't run them that much. They've got custom faceplates and the one with the cats on it oddly has no sound, so I consider all the tamas on it to be deaf.

I'm still a student so nothing's really changed except I've gotten much more serious. Sotilde's probably really seen no difference aside from we haven't gone to the ESL since I had to drop it because of course work. I never had much of a real life social circle apart from church, and my pastor as well as some other churches in the province and a group of rabbis had to challenge the government to be allowed to meet. Of course, since God is the highest authority, we would have taken up civil disobedience if we had been forced and the days are coming when we probably will. In thinking about those days, my mind drifts to the little things and, of course, to Sotilde. I wonder if a Sunday will come when I get ready to go to church and instead of putting Sotilde in a pouch to take with me, I reach for the screwdriver instead to take out her battery because I wont know if I'll be coming home or being arrested. Or, more saddening, if I might choose to deactivate her for an unknown period because it wouldn't be safe in Canada anymore. I trust God for the future since, after all, he's protected the multitudes of missionaries who vulnerably went to hostile places all over the globe to share the truth of evil payed for, minds renewed to purity, and death conquered. And he's perfect and knows what he's doing as he controls the world to bring about his kingdom.

 

[Knighttchi's Ballad]

I've decided to try updating once a week with shorter updates. Although it looks better to have longer updates, it's not feasible and my entries are already fragmented as it is. Let's just get on with it...

==Mardi le 26 decembre 2017==

{Note: If you read the Christmas 2017 hatch, the opening of this entry will sound familiar but the rest is new content.}

Ritually, my family and I go to see my father's family every boxing day and this means a 3-hour car trip. In the morning, I hurriedly packed and put all of my active tamas in a single bag and a few things in my sanctioned travel bag. We then headed off. Unlike my last document trip to my grandmother's (and my father's family by extension), this trip felt a bit more relaxed. The scenery was the same - a long road flanked by grassy plains, the occasional house, and linear-feeling towns - but it was all softened in an abundance of white snow. There were fewer animals but we did see some horses. I mostly amused myself with my tamas, checking them all periodically. The ones that got primary attention were my Giga Pet Yoda and my Akai Sandy, although my tama bag was always on my lap.

As it was winter, we ate lunch in the car rather than freeze outside. We definitely felt the cold when we drove up to my grandmother's house and then busied ourselves with collecting gifts out of the trunk. When we got into the house and started to defrost, my father started lightly teasing the dog behind the door in the next room. I then opened the door and was received with bewilderment by my cousin sitting across the room (perfectly reasonable as we just walked in unannounced XD). We found the rest of our relatives in the living room around the corner.

The whole reason we go up to my Granny's every boxing day is for a gift exchange. That happened in a more disjointed fashion than the previous years and then devolved into conversation, as dinner was the upcoming event. There was quite a bit of migrating between chairs and I finally secured the big blue arm chair in the corner with the Christmas tree, since the black lab had stopped sleeping in front of it. I was sitting next to my aunt and when I checked my tamabag, she remarked upon my Tamagotchis. She asked me how many I had and then told the others in the room - my cousin, his girlfriend, and his older brother - that I had 17 Tamagotchis. They all seemed quite happy about it as they all had one when they were kids. My cousin remembered how he had given me and my brother them and was glad - much like his parents on one visit - to see I still had it. His brother recollected about his Digimon and how his friend reset it after losing a battle. I was able to explain that both Digimon and Tamagotchi were made by Bandai but gave up on trying to explain the eras of Tamagotchis as the conversation drifted. There was a funny conversation about the grotesque Russian Christmas ornaments hanging on the Christmas tree that looked like indecipherable creatures moulded out of a glossy, white material with some irregular pastel tinting. Apparently, some friends of my grandfather tried to sell them but because they were so misshapen, nobody wanted them. A little later, my eldest uncle asked me what I was doing in my bag and I showed him my V4.5. He was confused at first but then seemed to recognize it.

We assembled at the table for dinner and I sat in a corner with two of uncles, my aunt, and a ham. Then my cousin's girlfriend, who was a photographer, conducted us all for a family photo on multiple phones. Finally, we said the Anglican grace (which I remembered better this time) and ate. Along with the ham, we had baked potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, leftover turkey, and rolls. My tamabag never left my side and I occasionally checked them. At first, I let my tamabag rest under my chair but as I felt the dogs in the house running underneath the table and poking my legs, I kept it in my lap. Likely prompted by the glimpse of my Giga Pet Yoda, my uncle began repeating the information I had told him about it earlier and I got to show the device to our side of the table. Somehow, that spiraled into a brief Tamagotchi conversation with my mother later remarking how it was the same story with all the women: they had one in a drawer somewhere. That paralleled with me as well since despite all the time I cleaned up my room and reduced my old toys, my tamas were always kept.

My father often remarks that going up to see our relatives is like another world. It's true as culturally, we're very different but not just because of genetics (all of them are white while my mother is East Indian and I am thus mixed). Rather, I and my family have Christian morals of how to live that were instructed to us while their morals come from the beliefs of those around them, the sensitivities of the people they meet. This dividing line is most often manifested by how some of them feel it is acceptable to swear, even at the dinner table. At one of those times, I was glad the fabric of my bag "shielded" my tamas, as if they were my children.

We left a while after dessert instead of an after dinner game, as my mother had to work the next day. We greeted the cold again, but were a bit warmer. The scenery was the same, except it was dark and the fields simply became a vacant, uninteresting blackness. I had forgotten my flashlight and with an LCD screen and infrequent light, I had to improvise and so my ID became my flashlight. With my "tama-light", I kept Sotilde and company well cared for. We got home much earlier than normal but it made sense due to the circumstances. All my tamas were asleep and I left my tamabag on my bedroom desk, feeling too tired to put them all away. Sotilde was 197 that day.

==Mercredi le 27 decembre 2017==

Sotilde and her virtual associates joined in me for some anime and we primarily watched Inuyasha where likely the tsundere half-demon, his loud and bratty love interest, and their similarly powerful friends took down a host of evil creatures and recovered one of the gazillion pieces of the scared jewel. [Future note: I think I've watched somewhere around 70 episodes of this series to date and while it is of course supposed to be a full-fledged adventure, it got to the point of being pointlessly long-winded.]

We had a shopping trip in the evening as I had taken a renewed interest in doll collecting [Future note: which used to be my main hobby] and wanted to take advantage of the boxing week deals. I tucked Sotilde, Sandy, and Yoda in a pouch and headed off with my father, my only means of transportation. I could only go when it was conveneit for him and I got that opportunity riding awfully close to the the time he was supposed to pick up my mother. As the ToysRUs building was in sight, I looked at the time and grumbled that maybe we should turn back as all I was going to get was 10 minutes. My father laughed and said we could have a little extra. I still entered the store slightly bitter. The store was somewhat reeling from the holidays with a partial disarray and depleted products. That had nothing to do with their electronics setup listing the 2DS prices so out of the way. We walked through the doll aisle where I recognized most of the selection, frowned at the expensive prices (sometimes due to the underserving product going for it), and hung onto a discounted fashion pack with a green-haired, green-skinned, green-eyed cyclops (Monster High, of course). The things I may have considered, like a Barbie Fashonista or a Shibajuku Girl, weren't there and as I realized on the way home, neither was a single Bratz or Lalaloopsy (far less a Little Charmers). After we got home, we immediately headed for the subway since my mother had called and wanted to be picked up.

I suspect we had some after dinner relaxing for the rest of the day and eventually Sotilde winked out. She was 198 that day.

- - - - -

Time for an update on Sotilde's current roommates:

The V3 is a Kuchipachi called Malachi, the 4U is a Melodytchi (currently taken over by her infatuation with Oyajitchi) named Ava, and the OsuMesu pair are deceased and have thus become Obaketchis. I've taken up keeping my deceased OsuMesu tamas around for a few days since they have a hidden feature where during the really late and really early hours, the usual graveyard sprite (visible on my orange Mesutchi) will be replaced by the spirit of the departed pet (visible on my green Osutchi). It's kind of like they come back and visit me, although we can't interact with each other any more and its still the death screen. The western vintages always removed this ending screen to downplay the fact the pet died, but I find it comforting because their presence is literally still there. It also kind of fits with my own beliefs since when anything dies, the soul leaves the body and likely returns to God who created it, while the body is left in the physical world. In light of this, I don't really see natural death as complete destruction of the person or creature that once was. This is especially the case with Christians since the Bible tells us that till Jesus returns and officially reclaims his dominion over earth, our souls are taken to God to wait for that fateful day where we will also be resurrected. Turning to Sotilde, when her death eventually comes it will be nicer than the OsuMesu because since I bought her the special item of a grave, she'll be escorted to Tama Heaven by Chestnut Angels.

I thought I might as well include a photo of where my brood hangs out ever so often (I recently got a laptop for school work so I can move around now). That's my bedroom desk with my stationery holder and an empty chocolate tin so my Vpets aren't directly heated up be the radiator. Its nice to look over at them and feel a little less alone by their special, virtual presence. Sotilde usually hangs from my collar by way of a threaded clasp I've attached to her so she's even closer :^)

 

[Kikichi_Star]

Fam has died

IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY FORRR U!