peculiarish - Tumblr blog

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winter fragrance rotation: thé noir from le labo, and encens feve tonka from fragonard

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Hey btw, here's a piece of life advice:

If you know what you'd have to do to solve a problem, but you just don't want to do it, your main problem isn't the problem itself. Your problem is figuring out how to get yourself to do the solution.

If your problem is not eating enough vegetables, the problem you should be solving is "how do I make vegetables stop being yucky". If your problem is not getting enough exercise, the problem you should be solving is "how do I make exercise stop sucking ass". You're not supposed to just be doing things that are awful and suck all the time forever, you're supposed to figure out how to make it stop being so awful all the time.

I used to hate wearing sunscreen because it's sticky and slimy and disgusting and it feels bad and it smells bad, so I neglected to wear it even if I needed to. Then I found one that isn't like that, and doesn't smell and feel gross. Problem solved.

There is no correct way to live that's just supposed to suck and feel bad all the time. You're allowed to figure out how to make it not suck so bad.

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This is definitely not a google drive full of the sleep stuff from the Headspace app, including sleepcasts, music, and wind down meditation, that normally costs 17.99 a month, no siree and you definitely shouldnt share this with people

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PAUSE!!!!!!!!

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Write fanfiction guiltlessly. Do it not only because it’s good practice, not only because you don’t feel like putting your energy into original stuff, but because you do feel like putting your energy into fandom. Write fanfics of epic proportions or tiny one-shots; write fluff or angst or cliches or tropes; publish the roughest version or keep the twelfth draft for only yourself. Do it without feeling bad. You owe no one anything; the act of creation is a gift in and of itself, and it doesn’t matter if you’re creating fanfic or original stories or whatever else you want. All that matters is you enjoy it, because why else would you do it at the end of the day?

Write fanfiction guiltlessly.

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I was talking with my dad recently & we got on the topic of People Thinking They Can't Do Things, and like, he is at his core a well-intentioned person who genuinely wants the best for others, but he has definitely internalized some harmful ideas a la "anyone can do anything, the only thing stopping them is their own attitude". so I was like. I see where you're coming from, but let me tell you a story.

last year, I worked with 10 year olds- many of whom had never really spent time outdoors- in an outdoor education program where they came to spend a whole week doing shit outside in nature. the top two scariest experiences for these kids were 1) very tall metal tower, and 2) walking outside at night in the dark with no flashlights.

I tried a lot of different things to persuade them all to join me for each experience: I presented it with enthusiasm and passion, I did physical demonstrations and scientific explanations to help them understands how safe it was, I voiced my absolute commitment to their safety, I invited them to brainstorm ways to help each other and themselves feel safe, etc.

generally I always had at least 2-3 kids out of about 10 who opted out, or if they did join me, would spend the entire experience crying and freaking out. when it was over, they would conclude that even though they did not die- or even get hurt- it was so scary that it wasn't worth it and they never wanted to do it again.

then I changed the question I asked. instead of asking them to tell me whether they could do it or couldn't do it, I asked them to raise their hand for one of three options:

You can definitely do this.

It will be hard or scary or uncomfortable, but you can try to do this.

It will definitely be too hard, scary, or uncomfortable, and you cannot or should not try to do this.

suddenly, almost nobody was opting out of these experiences.

they would try, even if they were scared, because they know that being scared didn't necessarily mean that they couldn't do it at all. and more importantly, they knew that if they needed to stop, that was an option; they weren't trapped in their decision to try.

and the real takeaway here, for me, is in the nuance: people need to be able to challenge themselves and to be uncomfortable in order to grow, and people need to be able to opt out in order for opting in to be a safe option.

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What grammar should I master at each cerf level?

This isn’t a complete list and I’m sure I’ve messed some things up, but in my experience…

[copy/pasted from a different ask]

A1

alphabet specifically any different letters or sounds like ñ, ll, and rr and silent H

present tense

irregular verbs in present tense- ser, estar, ir, ver, dar and many of the -go verbs like tener, decir, hacer, venir, salir etc

ser vs. estar

the general pronouns like yo, tú, etc

very basic vocab like colors, days of the week, basic emotions, basic place names

description words, particularly with describing people’s personalities or emotions with ser or estar, like hair color, eye color, fat/skinny, blonde/brunette, strong/weak, smart/stupid… as well as sick/well, tired, happy, sad, angry, surprised, and some very basic words

using months and days together, and the rules for things like el lunes and los lunes

just the briefest of introductions to plurals and words that require different spellings based on plural like feliz and felices etc

professions

“my name is” using ser or the briefest of introductions to llamarse and reflexives, not too intense

cardinal numbers 1-10, maybe 1-20(?)

how to form basic questions

question works (especially the difference between cuál and qué)

basic greetings, titles like señor or señora

general overview of how gender agreement works, how singular/plural works, and the basics of la concordancia 

the basics of definite and indefinite articles: el, la, los, las and un, una, unos, unas

general adjective placement and agreement

how to use negatives like no 

contractions with al and del

telling time with ser [usually done when practicing numbers]

brief introduction to “I like” using gustar and how that works, and describing your preferences or things you like to do and how gustar works with infinitives

the basics of adverbs or at least being able to recognize the ones ending in -mente or the commonplace ones like muy or understanding the difference between bueno/a and bien or malo/a and mal

some idioms

A2

weather expressions, seasons

tener expressions like tener hambre, tener sed, tener suerte

numbers 0-100, possibly up to 1000

family tree

clothing and using either llevar or usar for “to wear”

comparisons with más que/de, menos que/de, mayor que, menor que

comparisons of equality with tan / tanto/a ___ como ___

stem-changing verbs: e=>i, e=>ie, o=>ue

use of modals and infinitives like poder + infinitivo, or deber + infinitivo

the use of ir a + infinitivo

use of the gerund/progressive forms of verbs

common names of countries and nationalities

ordinal numbers 1-10, specifically understanding how primer(o), and tercer(o) work

location words with estar

the basics of directions with estar and ir like a la derecha, a la izquierda, enfrente de, detrás de, junto a etc

conmigo, contigo

the basics of possessives

use of hacer with time to mean [ago[

use of hay for “there is/are”

verbs like gustar: molestar, interesar, importar, encantar, costar, etc and how indirect objects generally work

more idioms

places and especially things like “by train” or “on foot”

general prepositions specifically a, de, con, en, entre, sobre, por, para

parts of the body, usually done with doler or something like that

intro to commands

the personal a for personhood or for animate objects

intro to preterite/imperfect

-car, -gar, -zar, and -guar verbs in preterite

superlatives

adjectives that go in front vs behind aka “spotting determiners” like buen(o), mal(o), gran / grande, and other question words

“silent subject”

B1

preterite and imperfect for real, irregular verbs in each

when verbs change meaning between preterite/imperfect like poder, querer, no querer, conocer etc

more on commands specifically the irregular verbs

negative commands specifically the irregular verbs

direct objects

the Greek words that end in -a but are masculine like el problema, el planeta, el programa

alguno/a and ninguno/a

use of double negatives

words that take a masculine article but are actually feminine

indirect and indirect objects together

demonstratives

use of había and hubo for “there was/were”

use of ir a + infinitivo with imperfect for “was going to”

present perfect with haber

past participles, especially the irregular ones

reflexive verbs, usually done with daily routines or with clothing like ponerse/quitarse

por vs para

pluperfect / past perfect with haber and past participles

basic passive voice with ser + participles

future tense

intro to subjunctive mood, specifically present subjunctive

B2

more present subjunctive, especially irregular verbs

understanding the differences between indicative, subjunctive, and imperative mood

object pronouns

relative clauses

more por and para 

really understanding preterite/imperfect

conditional tense

using the perfect tenses with subjunctive

use of imperfect subjunctive with conditional

subjunctive clauses

subjunctive subjunctive subjunctive

weird irregular verbs that aren’t always stressed like -zco, -zo, and other rarer verb conjugations

conjugations that are irregular for the sake of sound/pronunciation like verbs ending in -ñir, -llir, etc

C1

more comprehensive understanding of subjunctive mood

hypothetical situations, probability, doubt, imposition of will

indirect commands

passive voice constructions vs. active voice

using direct/indirect objects and reflexive pronouns with commands and subjunctive, specifically word order

understanding linguistic intention behind certain tenses and how they “translate” differently

changeable syntax and how it’s understood

emphasis vs. subtlety

how to imply politeness, abruptness, impatience, or deference

passive se and imperfect se

regional variations and differences, particularly leísmo and loísmo

C2

coming to understand most of the accent rules and esdrújula

the use of dativo ético and how to sound like a native speaker

when to use subjunctive vs indicative

what preposition to use

verbs that take prepositions

superfluous reflexive

literary and academic Spanish

historical Spanish-historical vos-future subjunctive-the two different forms of imperfect subjunctive and what they meant in historical Spanish vs. what they mean and where they’re used today

colloquial Spanish vs. formal/professional Spanish

striking a balance between the two

regional variations and differences, just in general since it takes a long time to learn them and they show up where you least expect them so it{s an ongoing process

…So really it’s levels A and B that are most often “taught”, while C levels are more things you nail down and get used to seeing and understanding over time

C1 is probably the hardest one to explain because it’s more “make sense of all the things you learned”, and that also is related to B2. You start to feel like you know a lot of things, but you don’t understand them or why they’re that way, so it just feels… confusing. C1 is a lot of revelations and gaining mastery of things, and making sense of all the things you’ve seen but didn’t understand

And C2 is an ongoing process. If you’re at C2, there’s no higher level so it’s you continuing to learn and practice and understand, but you know the basic grammar building blocks.

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Spanish comprehensible input for beginners-

(On a scale of absolute to intermediate beginner)

Muzzy in gondoland (spanish)- old, really weird. But you will learn if you watch it. Introductions, numbers, basic vocab. Very easy.

Mi vida loca BBC- more phrases than vocab. A little tougher

Señor wooly music- has a ton of free stuff on his yt that's really good. Fan made student covers fill in the gaps in his content after he pay walled some of it. You can buy a website subscription but it's expensive

Dreaming spanish- a gold mine of stories and vlogs for people of all levels, especially beginners.

Bluey in spanish- I mean, need I say more? It's really good. Ccs in spanish too, for Latin American or castillian spanish.

Spanish after hours- LAURA MI AMOR this woman genuinely seems like the nicest person. Posts mostly in spanish but has some good explanation videos in English that will really help boost your vocab. Has videos for absolute beginners, intermediate learners, and advanced learners. She's amazing. She also has authentic conversations sometimes with people.

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How can I start learning Spanish?

If you are an absolute total beginner, my biggest recommendation is to check out www.studyspanish.com/grammar and to check out www.conjuguemos.com which are online grammar lessons

Truly what I've found is you start with the fundamentals and you just go through your language learning journey accumulating knowledge, and it always feels like an uphill battle until one day you're aware of all the things you don't know/understand yet, but you also know how to look up what you don't know - and that's how you know you've made it

I personally find that when you're starting Spanish from nothing you need to focus on conjugations and the most essential verbs; most verbs are regular so when you understand the basic rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs you can do a lot in Spanish

The most irregular verbs of all time - which tend to be irregular in multiple tenses

ser

ir

ver

dar

estar

tener

venir

decir

querer

poder

poner

hacer

caber*

haber

*caber is annoyingly irregular but not the most super common verb used; it's "to fit (into a space)" like "capacity" so it's useful when you need it, but otherwise more limited

The are other little bits of grammar knowledge that you'll learn as you go, like when to use saber vs conocer, or ser and estar... things that take practice and repetition but let me know if there are any questions you have as you go and I can help give some more insight

There are other things that are important, but less all consuming, like stem-changing verbs [E->I, E->IE, O->UE] or certain irregularities, and exceptions like conocer or little things like fingir or vencer - which are littler things though more easily understood when you have some more experience

You're also going to want to devote a lot of time to the present tense which is the very first tense you're introduced to

Also - Things You Should Know At Each Level - though for your purposes I'd say you're probably A1 and A2 and try not to focus on the rest for now; you'll get discouraged if you think of all the things you don't know, trust me I was there

Additional resources:

Recommendations for beginners

https://www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/ats/

Word Reference Conjugator

http://spanishskulduggery.tumblr.com/post/102019421622/spanishskulduggery-spanish-tenses-moods

https://conjuguemos.com/activities/spanish/verb/1

https://conjuguemos.com/tenses/spanish/

Verbs you should know as a beginner

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"aw i love your earrings, they're so cute!" i say, making the barista's day. i sit down with my coffee and send a respected mutual an anon ask reading "you look like you've got that homestuck kinnie pussy." thus i have maintained the balance of suffering in the world for another day. as i wander down the beach of life, my footsteps do not even disturb its grains

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from Drum: Sex in Perspective pub. 1966

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Filipino Grammar: verb conjugations

Disclaimer: I’m a learner, so the information in this post is based on things I found online and it might contain mistakes. Please tell me if you see some, so I can correct it ^^

Mag - verbs

Rules

Infinitive: mag + full verb root 

Past: nag + full verb root

Present: nag + first consonant-vowel sound of verb root* + full verb root

Future: mag + first consonant-vowel sound of verb root* + full verb root

* If the verb root starts with a vowel, it’s only the vowel

Example 1 - laro (play)

Infinitive: maglaro (to play)

Past: naglaro (played)

Present: naglalaro (playing)

Future: maglalaro (will play)

Example 2 - aral (study)

Infinitive: magaral (to study)

Past: nagaral (studied)

Present: nag-aaral (studying)

Future: mag-aaral (will study)

Um - verbs

Rules

Infinitive: first consonant sound of verb root* + um + rest of root

Past: same as infinitive

Present: first consonant sound of verb root* + um + first vowel of verb root + full verb root

Future: first consonant-vowel sound of verb root* + full verb root

* When the verb root starts with a vowel, you start the conjugation with um. So you omit the first step in the infinitive, past and present form. In the future form you start with the vowel instead of a consonant-vowel sound.

Example 1 - ngiti (smile)

Infinitive: ngumiti (to smile)

Past: ngumiti (smiled)

Present: ngumingiti (smiling)

Future: ngingiti (will smile)

Example 2 - uwi (go home)

Infinitive: umuwi (to go home)

Past: umuwi (went home)

Present: umuuwi (going home)

Future: uuwi (will go home)

In - verbs

Rules

Infinitive: full verb root + in/hin

Past: first consonant sound of verb root* + in + rest of verb root

Present: first consonant sound of verb root* + in + first vowel of verb root + full verb root

Future: first consonant-vowel sound of verb root* + full verb root + in/hin

* The thing I explained before about verbs starting with vowels applies here too.

Example 1 - kain (eat)

Infinitive: kainin (to eat)

Past: kinain (ate)

Present: kinakain (eating)

Future: kakainin (will eat)

Example 2 - agaw (snatch something from someone)

Infinitive: agawin (to snatch)

Past: inagaw (snatched)

Present: inaagaw (snatching)

Future: aagawin (will snatch)

I - verbs 

Rules

Infinitive: i + verb root

Past: i + first consonant sound of verb root + in + rest of verb root

Present: i + first consonant sound of verb root + in + first vowel of verb root + full verb root

Future: i + first consonant-vowel sound of verb root + full verb root

Example 1 - bigay (give)

Infinitive: ibigay (to give)

Past: ibinigay (gave)

Present: ibinibigay (giving)

Future: ibibigay (will give)

Rules for verbs starting with a vowel

Infinitive: in + full verb root

Past: in + full verb root

Present: in + first vowel of verb root + full verb root

Future: i + first vowel of verb root + full verb root

Example 2 - alay (offer)

Infinitive: inalay (to offer)

Past: inalay (offered)

Present: inaalay (offering)

Future: iaalay (will offer)

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The divine right of kings but it's a curse

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level three update for dreaming spanish! i just hit 150 hours of comprehensible input!!!!!!

if you're unfamiliar, there are a ton of comprehensible input videos out there in spanish, usually where a native speaker guides you through a story/discussion with pictures, lots of body language, and beginner-level vocab and grammar. there is proof that a language learner can learn to speak entirely by consuming video content at an appropriate level.

the goal is one thousand and five hundred hours total. terrifying, but i'm 10% of the way through!

quick facts for the curious:

i'm not speaking, reading, or writing for now. check out this page for more about the method - the general idea is immersion, with the goal of language acquisition, and the minimization of poor pronunciation and beginner-level demotivation.

it took me 47 days of study, over the span of almost seven months, to watch 50 hours of superbeginner and beginner content.

it took me 63 days of study, over the span of three months, to watch another 100 hours of superbeginner, beginner, and intermediate content, for a total of 150 hours.

within the last year i've only studied thirty more hours outside of comprehensible input videos - listening to language transfer, reading A1 level materials made for learners, and flashcard study. worth mentioning: over a decade ago i did study spanish for two years, and french for six.

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spanish checklist for a1 (and slightly a2) level: vocab, grammar etc.

hey!

i have completed covering the a1 level of spanish (and also covered 1/4? or less maybe of a2) so here is a checklist with everything i learnt.

note: at the end of the post there's a link with a google doc where every item on the list is expanded as well as i could expand it (for example, you'll find examples for conjugation etc). if you need to track your progress, please make a copy of it (you won't have access to edit it otherwise).

Greetings and basic introductions.

Personal pronouns (yo, tú, él/ella, nosotros/nosotras, vosotros/vosotras, ellos/ellas) and verb conjugation in the present tense.

Basic vocabulary related to daily activities, family, numbers, colors, food, and common objects.

Describing people, places, and objects using adjectives.

Forming questions with question words (¿qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, cómo, etc.) and question formation.

Demonstrative adjectives (este, ese, aquel) and possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro, su).

Basic verbs and expressions for expressing likes, dislikes, preferences, and opinions.

Telling time and talking about daily routines.

Talking about hobbies, interests, and free time activities.

Basic vocabulary for locations, directions, and giving and following simple instructions.

Regular and irregular verbs in the present tense, including stem-changing verbs.

Basic prepositions (en, con, de, a, por, para) and their usage.

Formation and usage of the present progressive tense (estar + gerund).

Talking about the weather and seasons.

Expressing frequency using adverbs (siempre, a veces, nunca, etc.).

Basic vocabulary for professions, places in the city, and transportation.

Describing daily routines and activities in the past using the preterite tense (preterito indefinido).

Usage of preterito imperfecto.

Usage of preterito perfecto.

Basic vocabulary for shopping, clothing, and describing items.

Expressing obligation, ability, and necessity using modal verbs (deber, poder, necesitar).

Comparatives and superlatives (más/menos + adjective, el/la/los/las más/menos + adjective).

Talking about future plans using the future tense (ir + a + infinitive).

Basic vocabulary and expressions for traveling and making hotel reservations.

Giving and asking for directions using prepositions of location (a la derecha, a la izquierda, enfrente, etc.).

Basic vocabulary and phrases for ordering food and drinks in a restaurant.

Introduction to indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) and their usage.

Indirect and Direct objects

here is the link (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WaB3cIyMbnG5uJneX7dF9PAKfU-CTdicr-QZJBqWKls/edit?usp=sharing)

did it help you? i made it for my revision before i begin classes this september and so far it has helped me a lot so i hope it turns out just as useful for you!

adiós, mar <3

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“Chill Spanish Listening Practice” is a great immersion podcast for beginners. It’s spoken in a pretty natural way (episodes are mostly improvised), but slowly. Even if you’re a higher level — the host has a really nice voice and I like to listen to it before bed jaja.

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How I immerse myself in Korean and Spanish

한국어 (Korean)

I think I’m doing so good in Korean because I’m constantly watching things in Korean and exposing myself to the language.

1. K-pop

I’m such a big K-pop fan and it really helps my learning process. If I didn’t enjoy K-pop I don’t think Id be able to comprehend half of what I can today.

I watch a lot of “vlogs” from my favorite idols. (My fav to watch are LE SSERAFIM’s vlogs, they’re just really easy for me to understand and entertaining at the same time).

ATEEZ is always doing something and they’re my ult group so I’m just constantly watching them. Recently though I haven’t been watching their stuff so I have a lot to catch up on 😅

The music makes no sense to me because obviously song lyrics aren’t written in conversational everyday Korean so I don’t even really count that as listening comprehension. Every now and then I’ll catch a word I know and get shocked though 🙏

I used to watch V-lives or whatever they’re called now a lot but I can’t focus for that long anymore. (박성화 has the best lego lives)

2. K-Dramas

I don’t watch as many dramas as some people but I feel like they’ve definitely helped me get used to listening to Korean.

I try not to take any phrases or vocab from dramas because it’s a drama… and they’re dramatic 😭

I started watching Business Proposal like a month ago but I got distracted with exams and I stopped watching it with 2 episodes left… (SPOILERS: istg if 하리 and 태무 don’t stay together I’m giving up on everything)

3. Korean Cartoons

I LOVE Learn Korean with Jadoo. I barely understand any of it but it’s helped me a lot with understanding how certain grammar points are used and how certain words are used.

I also like watching Peppa Pig in Korean because the episodes are short and sweet and they’re relatively easy to understand.

I used to watch We Bare Bears in Korean but I watched like every episode they had on YouTube so now I’m rewatching in Spanish. (I genuinely love We Bare Bears, it’s always been the best cartoon out there)

4. Korean News

I like to read a lot of Korean news to help with pronunciation and reading comprehension. It also allows me to find some more specific vocabulary that I would use in describing what I do, what I like, and what I want to do in my future because I can find real stories that are specific to my interests.

5. ASMR

Soy ASMR and Seonghwas ASMR videos have been single-handedly holding my life up. Judy ASMR is also a really good creator. I like to watch like roleplay ASMR like “friend does your makeup for a party” or whatever because it exposes me to more casual vocabulary.

Español (Spanish)

1. Classes

I do take Spanish classes at school so I get over and hour of Spanish immersion in while at school everyday. We mainly use Spanish in the classroom.

2. Spanish Documentaries

I’m a bit more advanced in Spanish than I am in Korean so I prefer to watch Documentaries as to cartoons.

Documentaries also interest me more than cartoons in some aspects like learning more about different latin cultures, hearing different accents and dialects, and learning about how other people live.

3. Cartoons

I only really watch We Bare Bears in Spanish because I just like the show, but sometimes Spanish feels like a chore to me or like I’m just learning it to pass a class at this point, so cartoons are a good way to just casually comprehend the language.

4. Spanish News

I found this really good Spanish news for kids website and it’s so incredibly helpful. I’m in the process of making a “Spanish Resources” blog post like I did with Korean so I’ll definitely link that there.

I read the articles out loud to help get more comfortable with speaking, reading and my pronunciation.

They also have a podcast that’s just like a read aloud of the article so after I read the article, I go and listen to the podcast.

The topics are really interesting, too. Like one of them was about this lady bringing her pet pig to the airport to help calm people down??? I wanna go pet a pig wdym????

6. Spanish music

There are no words in the English language to express how much I love Spanish music.

It’s literally just so beautiful.

In class we have broken down various songs, so I can understand music very easily unlike in Korean even if I have to think about the lyrics for a bit.

7. Spanish YouTube videos/ASMR

I watch a lot of “un día en mi vida” type videos and I love ASMR so I watch a lot of those. 🙏