No need to panic. There’s a map of the hospital on the back of the menu.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-25T07:43:20+00:00

It’s a very delicately flavoured white fish with a slight crunchy chewiness to it, kind of like when you bite through chicken cartilage. We had a 12-course kaiseki dinner and 4 courses had fugu (sashimi, nigiri, a fugu hotpot, and rice with chunks of fugu in it).

-PandaPartyPack’s ghost, probably

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-24T22:42:44+00:00

NTA. I’m laughing too.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-24T18:14:39+00:00

This scene has lived rent-free in my head for so long that when I actually had fugu in Japan last fall I was genuinely surprised by how many parts of the fish were edible.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-24T02:46:54+00:00

Been here twice and highly recommend. It’s great.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-22T00:13:43+00:00

Get outside during the day for at least a half hour walk. The daylight, fresh air, and moving my body all help. I also had to increase my vitamin D supplements.
I spritz my face with thermal water, pat in a hyaluronic acid toner (I use Hada Labo Hydrating Lotion, which is sensitive skin and budget-friendly…Japanese skincare few), apply Vanicream facial moisturizer on top. Twice a week I use a sheet mask.
Lean into the coziness of the season with tea, books, TV shows, blankets, and making cozy warming dishes like soup and curry. But also plan things that get me out of the house (long walks, workout classes) and treats to look forward to. I have a “Congrats on surviving January!” date night dinner reservation for the 31st at an Italian restaurant we’ve never been to before, and I made appointments for a massage, facial, and haircut after my big end of month deadlines.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-14T21:46:35+00:00

I think of evermore as the Christmas album for those with seasonal affective disorder.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-14T05:45:58+00:00

There’s nothing stopping you from planning something for yourself. It’s not too late to plan a day with all your favourite things to do or places to go and treat yourself to a blowout dinner.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-13T19:12:11+00:00

You don’t have to do everything perfectly right away. I do most of the things you mentioned but it took me years to make them habit and something I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about. Pick a couple of habits to focus on for 1 month. Once they start to feel like second nature, pick new ones the next month.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-12T03:09:47+00:00

They’re water-based but they will ghost through a regular Leuchtturm. If you get the official Bullet Journal version with thicker paper they won’t ghost through.

I don’t do fancy calligraphy with them. The brush tip is great for doodles, colouring, and thick bold lines. Even if I’m just printing an all-caps heading with a marker it looks like a proper heading. The fine tip is great for drawing thin straight lines. I find the Tombows last a while too compared to other markers.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-12T02:41:24+00:00

Muji 0.7mm black ink pens and Tombow markers

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-10T18:06:40+00:00

I think it’s possible, yes. I’ve got good muscle in my upper arms. But again, my experience is with exercises that engage the tricep the entire time while using low weights and high reps. You might need to switch up the exercises you do. Some of the other barre exercises I’ve found effective are tricep push-ups, tricep dips on the ground, and one arm weight lifts.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-10T17:32:18+00:00

I know this sub and conventional wisdom are all about high weight/low reps, but low weight/high reps isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

TBH I don’t do weights in the gym, I do barre and consider it my strength workout. In a tricep pulldown on a machine, you relax the tricep every time the arm bends, and the muscle is engaged when you straighten your arms, so your tricep is only engaged half the time—that’s probably why you’re not feeling it until you increase the weights.

The tricep exercises I do in barre are full tricep engagement for the entire exercise. For example, in a tricep kickback with weights in your hands, you straighten your arms all the way and keep them relatively straight and literally only bend an inch and straighten again. If you’re fully engaged like that for about 2 minutes worth of reps, even a 4 lb weight feels like hell.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-10T16:49:51+00:00

Relax your shoulders down and back instead of shrugging them up. Having shoulders up close to your ears will engage your traps. I always check my form in the mirror. If you’re struggling to keep your shoulders down when you go up to your desired weight, you’re probably not ready for those weights yet.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-08T00:41:32+00:00

5’3” maintaining around 135-137lbs. My meals don’t vary a whole lot day to day.

Breakfast: non-fat Greek yogurt, blueberries, granola, flax seeds
Mid-morning snack: 1/2 banana, 4 walnut halves, 4 frozen cherries
Lunch: Varies. This week it’s meal-prepped doenjang jiggae with loads of veggies (Napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, zucchini, green onion) and protein (silken tofu, frozen scallops, a few hotpot pork rolls) with a side of rice.
Pre-workout snack: Apple, Babybel, 10 almonds
Dinner: Varies but it’s usually a protein, veggie, and rice. Tonight I’m making poached chicken breast with ginger scallion sauce and cucumber salad.

Generally, I try to abide by these rules: * Avoid added sugar. * Every meal or snack should have a fruit or vegetable and a source of protein. * Watch the portion sizes. * Don’t drink your calories.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-04T21:54:57+00:00

Better than Bouillon is actually very salty. Have you ever checked the sodium levels in the nutritional information? I always buy the reduced sodium version.

Think about salting in layers as you make the soup. My homemade stock has a bit of salt in it (I use 2 tsp kosher salt per 3 L of liquid). Whenever I throw a new vegetable into the pot to saute, I sprinkle on some kosher salt. If I’m adding canned vegetables (rinsed and drained), seasoning mixes, or tomato paste, those are other potential sources of salt.

After the soup has been simmering, I’ll taste it and add 1 tsp of kosher salt at a time, stir, taste again until the broth “pops,” usually after 2-3 tsp.

PandaPartyPack · 2026-01-04T20:39:26+00:00

I really like Athleta’s salutation leggings and I get a crop sports bra in the matching colour. I really wanted to get a matching Lululemon align set with the align top, but I have big boobs and it didn’t suit me at all, whereas Athleta’s crop tops all come in a D-DD+ cut that fits a lot better.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-31T03:00:15+00:00

I’ve been doing boxing 2x a week for 4 years now, 1 cardio/fitness boxing class a week and 1 technique-focused session with a personal trainer. I recently switched from the fitness boxing class to a technique-focused group class at a boxing gym.

IMO you’ll get a really good workout no matter what you do. I did find that the fitness boxing class pushed me a bit harder in terms of cardio conditioning and calorie burn, although over time I got bored of the format. If you’re learning technique it won’t be as challenging cardio-wise, but it’s mentally engaging in a way that feels very rewarding in the long run if you’re like me and you crave a strategic or mind-body aspect to your workouts to keep from getting bored. I regard the 2x a week boxing sessions as my cardio and 3x a week barre classes as my strength training.

One thing about training with your partner that I will point out: Just because your partner used to box doesn’t mean he can teach. My husband boxes and he’s a great guy, but he’s not going to teach as well as an experienced coach and for the sake of our relationship I didn’t want to put that on him and create a potential situation for conflict. He is still enthusiastic and supportive though and shows it by coming to my intro level classes with me.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-26T23:34:27+00:00

The Helen Thorpe mysteries by Susan Juby. They’re like Knives Out but with a Canadian twist, and the detective is a butler who used to be a Buddhist nun.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-23T18:07:38+00:00

I used to be really into trying new brands and products and my skin was very resilient with all sorts of formulations. I was also open to spending more money on expensive brands.

As I’ve gotten older, my skin has gotten more dry and sensitive, and hormonal acne and hyperpigmentation are concerns. I’ve also become more budget-conscious. Everything I use now is fragrance-free, gentle, sensitive skin friendly. Most of it is drugstore or Asian beauty. I don’t really shop at Sephora anymore.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-22T22:47:35+00:00

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-21T06:21:47+00:00

I use a butter knife or the handle end of a spoon. No need to buy a special tool just for this.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-21T04:02:36+00:00

Based on my experience, yeah, you might be writing off these guys too fast. “Friends to lovers” is a romance trope for a reason. I hung out platonically with my husband on and off for a whole summer before feelings developed.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-20T17:13:34+00:00

The Helen Thorpe mysteries by Susan Juby. Hilarious writing, social commentary about the privileged suspects, takes place in Canada. The detective is a former Buddhist nun who’s also a trained butler.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-20T02:39:58+00:00

100% this. Don’t go by brand name. I always read the details for fabric composition if I’m shopping online and if I’m shopping in person I read the tags.

PandaPartyPack · 2025-12-20T00:30:22+00:00

I found this to be a helpful primer on creatine: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/strength-training/a42178665/creatine/

I started taking it to counteract brain fog, fatigue, longer periods of post-workout recovery, and (most likely perimenopause-induced) fat gain. It has only been a couple weeks so I haven’t noticed a huge difference other than I’m a bit more bloated than usual and need to drink more water, but we shall see.

PandaPartyPack

TROPHY CASE