Smarting eyes, foggy brain

A painful warning that I need to move away from consuming so much content via screens, and giving myself the grace not to create.

Image generated by Dall.e

It seems rather fortuitous that soon after writing about my struggle with reading, my eyes would give up on me.

I was down and out with a massive migraine last Friday. Looking at my iPad and smartphone was like inviting an icepick to the brain. All I could do all Friday and then Saturday was to lie in bed in a dark room and avoiding all forms of light.

Listening to audiobooks was slightly better, but my brain was sunk in a state of blah-ness that prevented me from absorbing anything that was being read to me.

I rarely suffer from headaches, but when I get them, boy do I get them.

I was concerned enough to see an eye specialist, thinking that my eyes were malfunctioning. Fortunately, I’m 100% healthy; my eye pressure is within normal range. Perhaps it’s an ocular migraine, said the optometrist who gave me the eye exam. Maybe it’s the result of two weeks wearing low-powered backup glasses after breaking my glasses.

My GP, on the other hand, said that it sounds like I have a sinus infection.

Or maybe it’s a hormonal migraine — lately, I’ve been experiencing headaches closer to the time when Aunty Flo visits. I’m leaning towards this explanation as the awful pain disappeared the moment my time of the month began.…

Sorry for the ramble, but I was basically an ineffective, ineffectual, inefficient creative this week.

So, warning, this newsletter is going to be all over the place.

How I’m moving away from smartphone reading

First step: Buy an e-ink reader.

But not just any eBook reader. I bought a Boox, an e-reader that, unlike the Kindle or Kobo, allows you to install Android apps.

What does that mean? Well, imagine accessing library books via Libby on your e-reader? Or saving articles in your Pocket app and reading it on an e-ink screen?

Here’s a look at the e-Reader and a walkthrough of its features:

Second step, using the following apps in my Boox:

• Scribd, a Kindle-Unlimited-like service

• Feed Me (an RSS reader specially designed for e-ink devices)

• Libby

• Pocket and Raindrop (selected articles that I deem important enough to “keep” - Raindrop allows me to transfer highlights from articles to my note-taking app, Obsidian)

• Tachiyomi, an app that gives me access to manga and manhwa

It has been two weeks since I have the Leaf 2 reader, and it has been a gamechanger for me.

It’s such a relief not to squint into an smartphone or endure the harsh lights of an iPad! Even before my migraine, I found reading on lighted screens so hard on my eyes.

More thoughts about my new e-Reader: Unboxing Onyx’s Boox Leaf 2 eReader

This is all very exciting, but I find myself asking this question:

Am I consuming too much content?

Not being able to consume content for a couple of days gave me a rare moment when my mind had nothing to do but think, and be bored. And it struck me that it’s been a long time since I was bored.

In that void of non-consumption I found myself spinning my own stories to entertain myself.

And I remember how I used to lull myself to sleep by imagining stories … and how long it has been since I’ve done that. I’ve replaced the story spinning time with podcasts, often with people talking about things that are not so peaceful for sleep time.

I have major FOMO when it comes to reading, watching and listening to content. I want to read and listen to everything, but I know it’s impossible.

How do we keep the balance between consuming and creating? Will our consumption benefit our creativity?

If you have somehow found a way to control the amount of content you consume, do share with us. I certainly do need tips!

Being okay with not being 100%

This week, it has been challenging to give myself the grace to not be 100% at my diet, writing or exercising as I “should”. I tell myself that I’ll be back to my usual self again, but that critical voice in my head is not making it easy.

I don’t have to be a creative mission all the time. Sometimes I just need to rest and be.

What I wrote

What it means to be Peranakan
I little something about me - I am a “Peranakan” or "Straits Chinese", a descendant of people from China who moved to (then) Malaya hundreds of years ago.

What I watched (new podcast)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is not that bad but it is also not good enough. I share my thoughts about the movie in episode #2 of the Utterly Random podcast.