study-sycamore

[study-sycamore]

another pen that has served dutiful but has ran out of ink 🫡

april 17, 2024 - day 7 of 40 days of APES

today i:

finished pollution units for apes

did my russian hw

had to cancel a meeting with one of my clients :(

[study-sycamore]

u know i'm tired when the notes get sparse and i pause the music

april 16, 2024 - day 6 of 30 days of APES

today i:

did 4 pages of APES notes (~1.5k words)

(traduje la canción Si Me Voy de Cucos y The Marías, y entonces lo escuché mientras estudiaba) translated the song Si Me Voy by Cucos and The Marías and then listened to it while studying

wrote the rough draft of 3 paragraph/mini-essay answers for an application

[study-sycamore]

<3 zip ups

april 15, 2024 - day 5 of 30 days of APES

today i:

went to swim practice

finished chem work from when i was absent

wrote the first draft for an internship application paragraph (~350 words, will definitely need to edit down)

washed the clothes I bought yesterday

did some apes

dropped off old forensics stuff

[study-sycamore]

omg the editing *chef's kiss*

first video !

i recently made a youtube channel and i just uploaded my first study vlog! i’d appreciate it if you guys could go watch it !

i spent lots of time on it and i couldn’t wait to show you all. does anyone have any requests for videos or any improvements ?? im so excited!!

[study-sycamore]

My top Russian Tv-Shows

Despite this being mainly a mandarinblr, I still try to practise my other languages so here are some of the most interesting tv-shows in russian for my fellow russian-learners and speakers and anyone interested.

Kitchen - Кухня This show has several spin-offs including Hotel Eleon and Grand which I will not mention as by the end of the last spin-off there are literally no characters from the original cast and the plot slightly goes of the rails. The actual show is set a french restaurant in Moscow where Max Lavrov, who just finished his military service decided to work at. The show follows the various challenges that Max faces at his new workplace, including the foul-tempered but very talented Chef Viktor Barinov who has a drinking problem and other interesting characters. It's quite funny and heart-warming, and it's a must-watch imo.

Youth - Молодёжка A pretty standard sports series tv plot. The hockey-team "Bears" are a meh team at best, but that all changes when a former National Hockey League player turned coach shows up to make a proper team out of them. I only watched the first season because after that the plot got a tad boring for me, but as far as sports series go, pretty good.

Law of the Lawless (Not the 1964 film!) - Бригада A cult-classic staple of only 15 episodes. The plot is a bit over the place at the beginning, as opening episodes sequence is a flashback to the start of the final episode but after that it's chronological, with the first episode w english subtitles here. 4 best friends start out as youths from early 1990s to 2000s, with one returning home after finishing his army service with plans for uni and the others just starting their lives. However, the Perestroika had significantly changed their lives, so eventually the gang turns from racketeering and petty crime to slowly becoming the mafia. The opening theme is worth watching alone, but then again I'm biased.

How I became Russian - Как я стал русским This comedy show is quite dear to me, as it follows an American journalist with russian and slavic roots navigating life and work in Russia as he works on a story about life in Russia for a major newspaper back home. He's back in his homeland but as a foreigner who finds his heritage utterly confusing. This series resonates with me, as despite having a good grasp of my cultures languages and customs, I still feel disconnected from my heritage at times, and this show has been a reassuring reminder that not being 100% attuned with your heritage is okay, and that there are many different ways of re-connecting with your culture.

Closed school - Закрытая Школа I was slightly tramuatized by this show when I first watched it 4ish years ago, in part due to how unhinged and off the rails the plot slowly but surely becomes. A descent into madness. Andrei and his sister are sent to study at the Logos boarding school, but are then informed that their parents have perished. Andrei doesn't believe this, so he sets off to investigate with his new friends and investigate he does. There are also some other background shenanigans going on, but the unraveling of the schools mystery remains the main interest, including its odd passageways and deeply disturbing history. As a thriller series, it honestly deserves that title.

Here are some shows that came out more recently that I think deserve a mention.

The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt- Слова пацана кровь на осфальте I've only seen a few episodes out of the 8, but it's very Brigada-esque so far. During the mid-late 1980s when Perestroika is going on and the USSR is soon to be no more, 14 year old Andrei is trying to survive as he's constantly bullied at school and by gang-members. He makes friends with one of said gang members Marat, as he slowly descends into the world of street life. I'll finish watching this series sometime probably.

The new guy - Новенький 16-year old Max moves from his glamorous life in Moscow to a small-town Yurovsk due to his parents constant arguing, where he immediately doesn't get along with his clasmmates who think him stuck-up and start bullying him. One day Max goes missing and his classmates are the obvious suspects, as slowly but surely secrets start to emerge revealing everyone's lies. A pretty good suspense/thriller show, which covers the topics of bullying, coming of age and what it means to be an adult pretty well, despite the 4th and final season being kind of lackluster.

Central Russia's Vampires - Вампиры средней полосы Where to even begin with this show. I don't know whether I should introduce the trailer or the opening theme song mv. Basically the life of a small and unconventional vampire family living in Smolensk, presumably in central Russia, who get disturbed when bodies with distinct bite marks are found nearby. This results in the Guardians (aka the guys keeping vampires a secret and ensuring that no one acts out) taking over and investigating with the vampire leader Svyatoslav Vernidubovich given a week to find and punish the culprit. My odd plot description aside, the cast is why I adore this show. The recently turned Gen-Z wannabe blogger Zhenyok, the thousand year old grandpa Svyatoslav, the constantly annoyed Dr. Zhan Ivanovich (who is actually french and decided to hang around after Napoleon was defeated) and his ex-wife The Countess who honestly should have a spin-off show and many more characters.

Doomsday - Конец Света Satan decides to come back to Earth and start the apocalypse, for which he needs his son Dimyan who should become the Antichrist but to his dismay, Dimyan doesn't really care about world domination and money, he just wants to get married to his fiancee Galya and live happily ever after. Chaos ensues as satan tries to persuade Dimyan to join him, whilst Angel vs Demon shenanigans occur in the background. I honestly had no idea that this type of show could even be produced due to the censors and yet it was. It's kind of slightly similar to Good Omens with all the apocalypse stuff and the Angels and Demons eventually teaming up? Good Omens adjacent. Except more gritty with much darker humour. The actor who plays satan is Yuri Kolokolnikov who actually starred in game of thrones so if you're a fan of his acting, do try this show.

Alisa can't wait - Алиса не может ждать Alisa is a 15-16 (don't remember her exact age) year old girl who is going blind and she decides to do something really drastic to ensure that her life will be comfortable after she loses all sight. There's a noticeable build-up to what she's actually planning during the episodes, as her homelife is less than ideal, with her older sister stuck in an unhappy marriage and a turbulent relationship with her parents. This is one of the few shows that really left a deep impression on me but it deals with some very sensitive and potentially upsetting topics so be aware if you're giving it a go.

This list may be updated in the future, so if there are any other shows that I may have missed do share them!

[study-sycamore]

late night study sesh

april 13, 2024 - day 3 of 30 days of APES

today i:

had an online volunteer meeting

mer with my english tutor

started pollution unit for apes

tried to find the clarinet edition of solo de concert op 77 but failed

finished s4 of breaking bad (screaming, crying, throwing up)

[study-sycamore]

if you look closely you'll see a bunch of ladybugs in the grass

april 12, 2024 - day 2 of 30 days of APES

today i:

did some apes flashcards

went to a swim meet (improved my 100 free time by 3 sec)

continued to become more entrenched in the webtoon im reading

[study-sycamore]

the grand APES to do list

april 11, 2024 - day 1 of 30 days of APES

tbh honest i already have been doing apes a lot its just now we're in the last month of grinding

today i:

finished apes unit 6 and made my apes to do list

finished my music theory hw

зделала словарь новых терминов из русских песнь (made a dictionary of new terms from russian songs)

got ready for tmr's swim meet (prepped my bag and informed my 6th period teacher that i'll be missing)

[study-sycamore]

pink + yellow pair well as bright, happy colors

april 10, 2024

today i:

started reading a book that has been on my reading list for a very long time

finished metamorphosis by franz kafka

went to swim practice and swam my 100 free at meet pace at the end of it (i can not emphasize enough how crazy this is)

finished my russian hw

continued studying unit 6 of APES that i started yesterday (2/3 done)

[study-sycamore]

average is the best note font

april 9th, 2024

today i:

started reading a webtoon my friend recommended

texted with a client

finished my portfolio project for english

went to my piano lesson

did a page of APES notes in half an hour, a pretty good rate for me

[study-sycamore]

nothing like a beat up library book from 1946 that cost 3.95

april 8, 2024

today i:

returned to my classes after spring break

had swim practice for the first time since spring break

studied APES for 1.5 hours (finished unit 5)

began reading my first kafka book!

[study-sycamore]

my dirty lab coat 😭 (mysterious yellow stains)

april 6, 2024

today i went to a science comp. medaled in all my events (3rd, 4th, and 5th) but sadly no silver or gold for me. it was easier than i expected tho and i really enjoyed it!!

[study-sycamore]

plastics o plastics, how dear u r to me

april 5, 2024

today i:

became obsessed with "stayed gone" from hazbin hotel

practiced plastics id

finished my chem and forensics cheatsheets

did 2 chem practice tests

did forensics practice test

ruined 5 sheet protectors (pretty satisfying to cut them though)

[study-sycamore]

nothing like getting a fresh new tote bag for an old beaten-up notebook

april 4, 2024

today i:

went out with my friends

corrected my mcq from a chem practice test i did yesterday

completed and corrected some frq for chem

finally finished my chem cheatsheet!!

[study-sycamore]

cozy, but probably will have to change it up once it gets warmer

april 3, 2024

today i:

went to a study hangout/cramming session

worked on finalizing forensics notes

sorted through chemistry practice tests (which ones i finished, which ones i should do, which ones arent good enough for me to use)

did a chemistry practice test (will correct tomorrow!)

[study-sycamore]

google doc to do list >>>>> notes app to do list

april 2, 2024

today i:

went for a walk on the coast

finished my chem notes

wanted to do a bit more today but i finally decided to watch hazbin hotel, so the binging didnt really leave room for anything else

[study-sycamore]

i love lavender paper and doing calculations on the carpet

april 1st, 2024

today i:

did some fingerprint practice w the henry and american classification systems

added to my forensics notes

started relearning some old chopin pieces i used to play

finished up some post-lab questions and added to my chemistry notes