Personal reasons why I appreciate public libraries

Personal reasons why I appreciate public libraries

There is a public library near my house. It is a 10-minute walk. I used to live in the library. I would go there in the morning to read books, eat lunch, and leave work in the evening. Let me tell you a few very realistic and personal stories, rather than general comments about the utility of public libraries. 

1. In the summer, it is a place with good air conditioning.  

In the summer when heat wave warnings continue like these, there is no better place to escape the heat than a library. The air conditioning is good, so you only have to be careful of the heat when you come and go. Many residents visit on weekends to escape the heat. 

2. In the winter, it is a place with good heating. 

Just like in the summer, the heating is good in the winter, so it is good to read books and rest in the library. For a person living alone, the library is a good place to spend time in both summer and winter. 

3. I walk while I go to the library. 

It is only a 10-minute walk, but the walk to and from the library and walking around the library are the minimum amount of exercise for the day. If I just stay at home, I am very inactive. If I live like this for a long time, I will get sick and become mentally weak. I solve walking and walking for 30 minutes to 1 hour a day on my way to the library. 

4. The coffee vending machine in the library is like a cafe. 

I drink a cup of coffee a day from the vending machine at the library. It is cheap and convenient. I take a break from reading a book and get a cup of coffee from the vending machine. While drinking, I walk slowly inside the building. Since there is coffee, it is a cafe, since there are books, it is a library, and since I walk, it is a walk. 

5. Apply for a book of your choice. 

And this is exactly what I wanted to talk about today. The library has many books, but you can apply for a book you want to read. The library purchases a certain number of books a year, but the book I want to read is not always included. You can apply for 3 books a year per person. 

I applied for a purchase from the library two weeks ago, and the book arrived, and I received a notification text. I went to the library in the evening to get the book. I would not have this luxury if I were not at a public library.  I was able to spend the hot summer coolly thanks to the library. Fall will be short, and winter will come soon. Library life continues even in winter. Thank you, library. 

library-book-1

library-book-2

Three strawberries grew on the strawberry seedlings.

Three strawberries grew on the strawberry seedlings.

If I had a yard, one of the crops I wanted to plant was 'strawberries'. I remember growing a few seedlings in the garden when I was young, and I have a deep memory of that. First of all, strawberries grow well and I can eat the fruit, so it's like killing two birds with one stone. 

Every spring, I look around the market for strawberry seedlings. I thought about buying seeds and planting them, but that didn't work out either. I always felt regretful because I didn't have a garden and it wasn't suitable to grow them on the veranda.  

Then this time, I bought a strawberry seedling. Not two or three, just one. I planted it in a large pot and it produced several strawberries. I think one of them will be ready to eat soon. 

I don't know how many strawberries will come from one plant. This year's strawberries will be solved with this one seedling.

strawberry-veranda 01

strawberry-veranda 02

First Strawberry Harvest

About ten days ago, I bought strawberry seedlings and strawberries started to form, and one of them turned red and ripe. I thought about when I would eat them for a few days, and today, after lunch, I cut them up and ate them. It was my first strawberry harvest. I was so moved by the strawberries in front of me that I admired them for a while. One strawberry for lunch. What a rich life. 

Why is the first strawberry important? 

The first strawberry naturally calls for the second strawberry.  

strawberry-veranda 03

Today, I also bought some fertilizer for pots. Of the three strawberries, I ate one and there are two left, and one is ripening red.  

A person selling strawberries at the market said : 

If you plant them and water them, they will grow well~~Oh. 

I believe that~~Oh.

Video : 

Growing strawberries on the veranda, and simple harvesting 

Sudden Power Outage, Candlelight, and a Special Evening

Sudden Power Outage, Candlelight, and a Special Evening 

After work, I got home and was preparing dinner. I took out some food from the refrigerator and was just about to start, when the power went out. It was dark inside, and I was in a difficult situation. When I went outside, the power went out only on the line where I was, not the entire apartment. 

When I renewed my monthly magazine subscription last month, the publisher sent me a candle as a gift. I lit it and waited for the electricity to come back on. Unlike usual, there was only silence. I was wondering if I should stay like this until tomorrow morning, and if the boiler wouldn’t work, when the electricity came back on. Light. It was only for an hour, but the night without electricity was special. Silence. Silence. Silence. 

They say people used to live well without electricity. That must not have been living well. They lived without knowing that the inconveniences were inconvenient. Gas, the phone, the things we use conveniently now were things that didn’t exist in the past. When I think about the times when we lived without them, the world is really convenient now. 

- 2020. 12. 3.

Roses of October. She transplanted roses.

Roses of October. She transplanted roses.

A few years ago, she, who lives on the first floor, transplanted roses from a small pot into a flower bed on the first floor. It must have been a flower pot given as a gift by a family member for some kind of anniversary, and it was grown inside the house for a while before being taken outside.

At first, she was very careful because it was small. She covered it with a large bowl before heavy rain, and watered it morning and evening in midsummer. She even put up a sunshade during the hot midday. In any case, she was very devoted. 

The roses endured the summer heat, the rainy season, and the midwinter cold well and bloomed beautifully this year as well. Even now, as October is coming to an end, the red roses are blooming beautifully. The flowers will probably remain until mid-November. 

She, who is over 80 years old, transplanted the roses in the pot so that she could see the flowers next year and beyond. I, the young man next door, am more impatient than her. I get frustrated and irritated because things aren’t going well. She sees the rest of her life as long as possible, and I don’t. 

Nothing can be forced. Just work and wait as it should. If you are impatient, you can not wait. And if you can not wait, you will miss the opportunity. Looking at her roses, I reconsider my mindset.

2024.10.30. 

Roses of October 1

Roses of October 2

Video : 

October roses. Transplanted from a small pot a few years ago

A YouTuber for fun. Creating records one by one.

A YouTuber for fun. Creating records one by one.

I first uploaded a YouTube video two years ago. It was the beginning of YouTube. The first video was made by collecting photos I had taken before, and The second video was made from a video I accidentally shot when there was a wild flower exhibition on the way to and from the library. A few days after uploading the second video, it reached 5,000 views.  

That was when I started to enjoy YouTube. I thought the video would become popular, my subscribers would increase, and I would make money. But that was it. Since then, the number of views for the video has stayed at around 100~200, and my subscribers have now exceeded 100. 

At this point, you might think that hope has become despair. However, I am not disappointed. YouTube is fun itself. It is my record and growth. That alone is enough. It would be nice to make money, but it is also nice to have something to do for fun. Still, I hope that I will make money through YouTube someday and become a 'YouTuber'. 

2025.02.03.

wild flower exhibition

Video : 

wild flower exhibition

The Beginning of Coin Laundries and the Change in Lifestyle

The Beginning of Coin Laundries and the Change in Lifestyle
 
I had a comforter set that I received as a gift before. I had it stored in the utility room for several years without even opening the packaging. This time, I got to use the comforter. First, I had to open the packaging and wash it once. My washing machine at home broke down, so I went to a nearby coin laundry. The neighborhood coin laundry has been open for about two years. Before that, there was a chicken restaurant, but business wasn’t good. It closed for a while, renovated the interior, and then opened as a coin laundry. 

I started using the coin laundry a year ago. I did small laundry at home, and I used the coin laundry for large laundry. It was because my washing machine at home broke down. Then why didn’t I buy a washing machine for a year? I was planning to move. So I was spent thinking that I would buy a new washing machine when I moved, but it’s been over a year. It’s the same now. I’ll buy a washing machine after I move.

After lunch, I washed my blanket at the coin laundry. Instead of drying it, I brought it home and hung it on the indoor drying rack. Since it is dry in the winter, it also acts as a humidifier. 

I read an article about coin laundries before. Coin laundries were originally a convenience for people who could not afford to buy a washing machine at home. People who could not afford a washing machine because they had no money or had limited space in their homes used them. That is how I am now. 

The first coin laundries appeared in Texas in 1934. They began as the Great Depression caused an increase in the number of households that could not afford to buy washing machines. At that time, coins were not used, but instead, they had to pay a resident attendant. There were no dryers, so they had to take their wet laundry home to dry. The modern coin laundries began in New York in 1957. Coin payments became possible, and this led to the 24-hour operation. This convenience greatly increased the popularity of coin laundries. 

Coin laundries were an innovative idea that provided laundry services to people who could not afford to buy washing machines. Unmanned, 24-hour operation. And this service-using lifestyle has become a culture and is shown in various ways in novels and movies.  

As single-person households increase, the demand for coin laundries has begun to increase. Considering efficiency and lifestyle, coin laundries will become a convenient facility that plays an important role in busy modern life.   

2025.01.30.
 

Coin laundry view

Video : 
Rainy morning. In a quiet coin laundreis. The sound of a washing machine running.

Heavy snowfall during the Lunar New Year holidays in 2025. The snow is piling up faster than it can be cleared away.

Heavy snowfall during the Lunar New Year holidays in 2025. The snow is piling up faster than it can be cleared away. 

I looked up the weather forecast before the Lunar New Year holiday and it said there would be heavy snow during the holiday. The temperature would also drop after the snow falls. I was a little worried about going to Gyeonggi-do from the countryside to celebrate the holiday. Should I drive up when it snows or avoid the heavy snow and cold? So I decided to go before the holiday started. 

I went up before the holiday and came back before the holiday started. There was no traffic and it was quiet. Then the holiday started. Heavy snow advisories and warnings continued and heavy snow fell. Accidents occurred all over the road. Unlike previous years, it snowed a lot during the Lunar New Year holiday. 

The snowfall in my area was so severe that buses couldn't run because of the snow. I got a safety disaster text message saying that buses in the outskirts were not running. Oh my god.

Service suspension notification text

'Due to heavy snowfall, there are areas where city buses cannot operate for safety reasons. Passengers are requested to check the operation status in advance before using city buses.'

'Due to heavy snowfall today, the first bus will not be running, and all routes will be delayed thereafter. Citizens are advised to take note when using public transportation.'

I cleared the snow from the apartment parking lot. There is too much snow for the manager to clear alone. Some residents cleared the snow in the morning and afternoon, and I also helped out. It has been a long time since I have cleared snow. The snow is falling more than the amount cleared. I need to call someone. 

heavy snow

 snow removal work

Video : 

Heavy snowfall during the Lunar New Year holidays in 2025. Scenery around the apartment complex. The snow is accumulating faster than it is being cleared away. Heavy snow advisory. It is falling heavily. (20250128). 

2025.01.29