Part 48

Monday, June 1, 2026:  It's the first day of , and it's -8 degrees with a chance of snow! I love the cooler temperatures, but this is a little much. Kip and Uriel kept warm with me in the game room most of today. I have an appointment with my social worker tomorrow, followed by another with my psychiatrist on Thursday. I'm trying my best to look on the bright side of things and enjoy simple pleasures, like virtual pets and video games. Unfortunately, negativity still gets the better of me sometimes. I'd really like to discuss these concerns in counseling tomorrow, along with my anxiety about leaving the house, being in public, and spending time with friends and family. It's so hard being cooped up for days, and being too anxious or tired to go out. I'm very lucky to have a supportive healthcare team! I'm watching an episode of "All in the Family" before bed.

Tuesday, June 2, 2026:  It is a much warmer and, not to mention, brighter day today! I had my scheduled appointment with my social worker this morning, and it went really well. I paused Kip and Uriel during my session. I am catching *all* discipline calls with Kip to ensure he becomes a mimitchi. As for Uriel, he prayed for me twice, and I made sure to praise him. He's so cute in this stage as a little marutchi with wings!

My critters got to listen to music on the drive to and from my appointment this morning and afternoon! I took the scenic, less stressful, route both ways. This evening, they got to watch "Supernanny", a British reality TV show starring Nanny Jo Frost! I'd forgotten how much I love watching Jo whip everyone into shape! She doesn't miss a beat with either the kids or the parents, for that matter. :-P During the show, Uriel became a kodoten!

Wednesday, June 3, 2026:  Today was another gorgeous day weather-wise; however, this afternoon, we had a veterinary emergency involving our five-month-old hamster, Winnie, who needed *immediate* medical attention. We lost our previous hamster, Shelly, to wet-tail syndrome this past Christmas. :-( It was a horrible experience, and we didn't want to take any chances, so off to the vet we went at 2:30PM. Unfortunately, Winnie does indeed have wet-tail and has been started on a course of antibiotics. Thankfully, the vet told us that we detected the symptoms *early*, and she is expected to make a full recovery. I noticed she wasn't herself last night, but I was too upset to write about it at the time.

On the Tamagotchi front, I have been dedicating *all* of my care-taking energy to Kip and, admittedly, slacking off with little Uriel, who surprised me by changing into angel ginji at 7:40PM this evening. Yay! I thought for sure that Kip would be evolving tonight, but alas, 9PM came, and he fell asleep. Uriel's hours are 9AM-10PM so he got to watch another episode of "Supernanny" with me! :-)

Thursday, June 4, 2026:  This morning, upon waking up at 9:00AM, Kip evolved into a Mimitchi! Now I can relax and enjoy him. Yay! :-D On an even cheerier note, Winnie, our hamster, seems to have shown some gradual improvement overnight. We just finished cleaning her den! I'm gathering my thoughts now for my psychiatry appointment at 2:00PM. I'm fairly certain she'll be increasing my Cymbalta. Feeling hopeful!

Sunday, June 7, 2026:  Winnie has *fully* recovered! Yay! Kip and Uriel have remained in good health, though they are still young and have quite a bit of time left. They've gone out on drives, accompanied me to appointments, listened to music, and enjoyed new podcasts by various YouTubers.

This morning at 11:05AM, my Umino Tamagotch, Squishy, was born. As previously mentioned, it has been close to a decade since I raised one of these Tamagotchis, and I'm unsure whether or not he will make it to adulthood. I fed him snacks to fill his Happy Hearts during the baby stage, as I heard that it's okay to do so. At 11:34, he got sick, but he only required one dose of medicine, indicating that he's off to a good start. At 12:01PM, Squishy evolved into a kuragetchi, the cute little jelly fish. Now the real care-taking begins!

My Tams have been wonderful company since I hurt my back and spent most of today in bed. Of all three Tams, Squishy has required the *most* attention, demanding food and games every 5-10 minutes. He also got sick again, requiring five doses of medicine this time, eeeeek!! I hope he makes it to adulthood! Like my other Tams, he will be watching a lot of TV, especially now that my back is acting up. We watched Episode 4 of "Heated Rivalry" this afternoon. Then, this evening, we tuned in to a live stream on Nancy's channel, "True Crime and Moonshine."

Still Sunday, June 7, 2026:  I forgot to mention that my psychiatry appointment went well on Thursday. She did indeed increase my dose of Cymbalta to 60 mg, and I'm responding well to the increase *so* far! .::knock on wood::.

Tuesday, June 9, 2026:  Well, it has been *quite* the wild ride with Squishy, my Umino Tamagotchi, who has been clutched in the palm of my hand since Sunday. I forgot just *how* incredibly time-consuming, and at times difficult, this particular Tam is; and had moments where I felt like I was losing my cool, so to speak. I thought this would be easy since I had a bad back and was spending all of my time at home. I've been unable to focus on anything besides my little jelly fish. The "find the hidden treasure" game is incredibily frustrating at times. He even got MAULED by the polar bear last night when my tapping the screen failed to register on the Tam. :-/ By that point, I had lost hope, but Shawn and Jacob told me to hang in there. Finally, this afternoon, at exactly 2:00PM, he changed into the unhealthy teen, Kingotchi. .::Phew::. What a relief it is to have made it this far, heh! I've been calculating the hours in my head to adulthood as I've been following Shawn's character charts, hehe! If all goes according to plan, he will change into an adult by 8:00PM tomorrow. He seems to drop hearts at a slower rate in this stage, but I am not taking my eyes off him. I attached a heavy keychain to tap the side of Squishy's egg so as never to mess up another polar bear attack! Wish me luck!

Squishy has made me realize how easy-going and relaxing my other two Tams, Kip and Uriel, are, as I can go long periods without checking on them. This evening, my critters got to watch "Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice", a 1982 CBS made-for-television movie starring Carol Burnett.

Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 3:53PM:  *Just* when I thought I had everything under control with Squishy, my Umino Tamagotchi, he ended up getting mauled by the polar bear again because my tapping the side of the egg failed to register! :-( This happened once in the child stage, and then once again, today. I knew he wasn't going to make it, and he didn't. He died at 3:49PM NDT. I'd write more....but I feel like I just completely wasted three days of my life on this highly stressful, unrewarding Tam, and don't want to spend another second of my time on it. At least Kip and Uriel are still here, and no matter how demanding they might get later in life, they're nothing compared to the Ocean Tams.

I watched the Nintendo Direct that dropped yesterday at 11:30AM and was very excited to hear that "The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time" is being remastered for the Switch 2. It's so ironic, considering I recently started playing the game again on my 3DS and through Nintendo 64 Online! Rumor has it that it will be released around the holidays--meaning Christmas--so it's still a ways off, but it's very exciting nonetheless.

Well... I had a change of heart and have decided to give the Umino Tamagotchi another try. This time, I've hatched my clear purple Umino with pink buttons, and I forgot just how gorgeous this particular shell is. I named him Squishy the 2nd! I want the legged fish character, Ashigyotchi! I was really upset earlier over the sudden departure of Squishy the 1st, and I know I said I didn't want to dedicate any more time to such a demanding Tam, but I had a thought... I'll pause him on and off as I go and take breaks. It will take longer, and it's not really the way I prefer to raise a Tamagotchi. I feel that pausing is cheating, but in this case, my sanity depends on it! LOL! So far, I have missed two discipline calls, which will ensure I get the unhealthy teen, thus taking less time to reach adulthood. I also find that my clear purple Umino has better button response, and so far, I've had no issues with tapping not registering when it is in Attack Mode. .::knock on wood::..

Monday, June 15, 2026:  Well, it's been quite the adventure with Squishy the 2nd, not to mention my two other Tams, Kip and Uriel. I didn't know if I was coming or going with the constant attention required by Squishy's care regimen, which, even though I paused him at times, was still very time-consuming and difficult. I had been hoping against hope that I'd get the fish with legs, but alas, he became a Taiyakitchi this afternoon at 4:00PM. .::sigh::.. I was *trying* to get the water dirty via playing the treasure chest game over and over, but that darn squid just would not pop up.... At least I got this one to adulthood, but I really struggled with it. Given that the Umino Tamagotchi is such a needy Tam, I don't think I'll be raising another one just yet. I have Squishy on pause for the time being so that I can make the most of my victory adult character!

Aside from my Ocean Tam adventure, things have been quiet around here. Sometimes, the most relaxing things in life are replaying old games or rewatching old shows and movies! :-) I'd like to get out for more walks and drives, but I just can't seem to get myself out of the apartment lately, even after increasing my dose of Cymbalta.

I haven't been doing much with my webpages and have mostly just been goofing off by playing a brand-new save file in "Animal Crossing: New Leaf". I will never grow tired of this game.

Tuesday, June 16, 2026:  I was shocked and disappointed to see that Kip, my 19-year-old Mimitchi, had passed away late this morning while I was in the shower. He had been dropping hearts pretty rapidly over the last week or so, which seemed unusual considering I've had Mimitchis in the past that lived beyond 30, and didn't get demanding until they were in their 20's! I guess I was so preoccupied with Squishy, my Ocean Tam, that Kip ended up suffering ......... Bye-bye, little one. I'm sorry I didn't do a better job at taking care of you. I'm going to pause Uriel and Squishy for now.

Tuesday, June 23, 2026:  Uriel and Squishy have remained on pause because I was experiencing a bit of Tamagotchi burnout. However, on Wednesday, June 17, I hatched my limited-edition Summer Stained Glass Tamagotchi. I hadn't planned on starting another Tam, but the shell is so beautiful, and it feels like the perfect way to kick off the season! Naturally, I named him Sunny. This morning at 10:00AM, he changed into a Mimitchi! I am so very happy, and I made a promise to take better care of this one. We've been playing *a lot* of "Animal Crossing: New Leaf".

It has been cold and rainy for much of this month, with the temperature not exceeding 15 degrees Celsius. We haven't even needed to get the air conditioner out yet--not that I'm complaining. Over the years, I've very much become an indoor person.

Thursday, June 25, 2026:  I've really been coddling Sunny, my Mimitchi, since my last one passed away prematurely. I truly believe that the re-release Tams are tricky because they can't be fed snacks, and they seem to live longer when I keep a close eye on them, tending to their needs as they arise. I find myself playing the High-Low game even when he doesn't really need it. In and of itself, that will help Sunny live a long and healthy life. As for Uriel and Squishy, they've remained on pause while I've been focusing all of my attention on little Sunny.

Friday, June 26, 2026, 7:16PM:  Well, I've really been struggling to get out of the apartment lately, so I'm not sure if Sunny will see much of the sun, so to speak. As I mentioned in earlier entries, I recently had my Cymbalta increased, and I thought I'd be feeling better than this. I know they say it's normal to feel worse before getting better... but my hope has been dwindling over the past couple of days. I've never been very active, and lately I've been isolating myself in my game and computer room quite a bit--much more than normal. I've also been *really* tired since the increase, and I'm finding it difficult to get up early enough to go out during my "safe" hours. I hope things turn around soon. :-( I really miss driving my jeep.

Yesterday, Sunny got to watch the new true-crime documentary "Maternal Instinct" on Netflix! I can truthfully say that I haven't been this upset by a true-crime documentary since "Don't F*** with Cats". Once again, I've vowed to stay away from true-crime stories involving babies or animals.

Saturday, June 27, 2026:  Well, today was quite a success, with me getting out of the apartment and going for two drives! Matthew came with me for the second one, which was nice. I haven't gone out with that much ease in what feels like months. The sun was shining, and there were some clouds in the sky. So Sunny, my Mimitchi, got to enjoy some outdoor time after all. :-) Now, for some "Animal Crossing: New Leaf"!

Sunday, June 28, 2026:  Uriel, my little Angel Tam, passed away sometime during the night in his sleep. I took him and Squishy off pause for a short time before bed last night. Well, at least he got to enjoy some YouTube with us before passing into the celestial heavens. I'm going to continue pausing Squishy, as I don't know when I'll have the time to raise another Ocean Tam to adulthood.

Sunny is only 12 years of age and isn't one bit demanding. I have continued to coddle him and make sure he never goes without! Perhaps he'll get some more outdoor time today....... :-)

Monday, June 29, 2026:  I've not been out of the apartment since Saturday, but that's okay because I'm taking things one day at a time. I have a lot of upcoming family get-togethers, along with my cousin's wedding, which I likely won't be able to attend. I'm sad about it, but it's better than doing what I did last year and forcing myself to attend everything, only to end up looking uncomfortable and out of place.

I've been really tired today, and it's not even 5:00PM yet. Sunny helps keep me on a good schedule, but even that isn't enough sometimes. I do tend to stay up later in the summertime, so maybe I'll switch Sunny's clock so I can sleep in a little over the coming weeks. I really enjoy late-night fishin' in "Animal Crossing: New Leaf"! And late-night reruns! Oh yes, and the cool breeze coming in through the open window...

This evening, we've been watching the Members-Only Monday live stream on Julez with True Crime Reactions' YouTube channel!

Tuesday, June 30, 2026:  Another beautiful day, weather-wise, but once again I was unable to make it outside the apartment. I am beginning to wonder if the change from Prozac to Cymbalta this past February was a big mistake. My agoraphobia has never been this bad... I guess we'll see what July brings. I also find myself wondering whether I should go back and edit some of my older entries. I don't like that this topic has seeped into my webpages so much lately. :-/

On a brighter note, this evening Sunny kept me company while I prepared the HTML file for the July edition of the journal. There are so many other webpages I'd like to get started on, like my hamster tributes, and I want them to have the same look and feel as these journal entries.