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Personal Update

dragon_writing

Personal update on what I’ve been recently doing, and a quick mention of photos/material being gathered for future posts.

Hi all,

I wanted to post a quick thank you to those of you subscribing to the newsletter, taking part in the visitor QnA, and sending in (sometimes LONG…but very interesting) emails regarding dragon history and culture!

Those emails really make it worth it when I’m gnashing my teeth at all the itty-bitty website related things to see to…

Here’s a personal update on some of the things that I’ve been up to, and what I hope to have settled quite soon so that I can continue with creative projects (including this website).

Mental Health

I’ve slowed down considerably with creative projects this year. It was so bad at some points as I ruminated on some of my past doings that I sought some counselling for some issues that have been dogging me for a long time. This was back in July and the couple of sessions were very enlightening and helpful.

Astrology

For the curious, the counselor I contacted was Sarah Klein from Open Mind Holistics. Astrology has been a self-discovery tool I’ve used since my late teens, so it was important to me to get some insights through this perspective.

The follow-up session with Sarah was a really deep and eye-opening dive into my birth chart. Highly recommended if that’s something you’re into.

Skincare

This year, my sensitive skin decided to give up on the natural skincare products I’ve been using for the past few years. I’ll be hitting my mid-thirties soon (next week). You know how some people like to spend money on shoes, books, or designer bags? The things I like to indulge in are good books, food, and skincare.

I’ve thus gotten a few Korean/Japanese products to try over the next few weeks and months.

As I live in a humid area (hello, Florida weather), fungal acne is possibly something I deal with together with regular acne (hello, maskne). Skincarisma has a “fungal acne” filter in its database for skincare products, which I’ve found useful when narrowing down a search.

Eczema

Hand eczema started appearing in my late twenties. I had neck shingles as a baby and an eczema crusted “mutant toe” throughout my childhood (TMI?).

Someone on an eczema forum described hand eczema as the worst thing and described the feeling as “sweating acid.”

I think it’s an apt description — I hate the little bubbles/blisters that appear when there’s an eczema flareup. It’s a very tiresome, labor-intensive and sometimes depressing situation to be in.

If you have any recommendations for this, it’d be highly appreciated.

Some of the things I’ve been doing:

  1. Rubber AND cotton gloves underneath when I’m washing the dishes (we may look into getting a home dishwasher soon)
  2. Aveeno Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream
  3. Aveeno fragrance-free body wash
  4. Fragrance-free bar soaps instead of liquid hand soap (VERY helpful with the increased handwashing due to covid)
  5. Eating more vegetables and fruits, and not skipping breakfast (I skipped breakfast most of the time while on Invisalign)
  6. Supplements: vitamin d, evening primrose oil, cod liver oil (rotating)
  7. Gentle touch — no rubbing or tugging of skin.

Hopefully you have a friendlier relationship with your skin! It’s been a LONNNG process for me, but I’d say it’s worth it once I find something that works.

NOTE: The following video (on vegan deterioration) shows Tanel Reiman (from Estonia) who developed eczema while on a vegan diet. I think each person is free to decide what diet works best for them, but it’s something to consider if you’re battling eczema — make sure your diet is not contributing to the problem.

Personal Update Bonus: Music Recommendations

1. Eivør (singer for the opening sequence of The Last Kingdom)

2. The Struts (from UK, like Queen)

3. Greta Van Fleet (from US, like Led Zep)

4. Kylie Minogue! (new album out 6 December, Australian queen of pop…been a fan since half my lifetime ago).

Fun Fact: I was 17 when I became a big fan of Kylie M., who’s 17 years older than me, and I’ll soon be the age she was when I became a fan. Holy macaroni…

Diablo III Update

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Playing as Necromancer, with wings and half-formed golem pet.

I love to catch up with Diablo III some weekends.

I originally played as the demon hunter (but missed out on gaining lots of experience points).

This time around I’m trying the necromancer character and the big/small golem combination.

Creative Projects / Schedule

My patient boyfriend suggested that I update this dragon site on a weekend day per month to stay consistent, which is something I’ll try to stick to.

I have some pictures gathered for a “Dragons in Singapore” as well as the Bruce Lee dragons post. A cool and colorful abstract painting by a visitor was added to the Leviathan dragon post.

I’d like to focus on enjoying blogging on this site over the shop and any affiliate or related links, as the latter would be another whole thing to see to…which I just don’t have the time and energy for.

My other creative project is writing horror short stories. I’m thinking of writing a collection based in Singapore or SE Asia as that’s where I grew up.

How about you, are there any creative projects you’ve been working on?

Stay safe, and thanks for reading this personal update,

— Jess.


By Jess

Jess Chua is an award-winning writer and sketch artist. She's been the keeper of Dragonsinn since 1999. She works in the online writing/editing field and enjoys yoga, reading, and design. Shop our hand-drawn merch or join the newsletter to stay in touch with dragon news and original art updates.