Facebook Marketplace and its Customers

I've really enjoyed drinking Coke Lime No Sugar recently.

It's unfortunate that they're not sold commonly in the University convenience store at my workplace. Maybe that's a good thing, it means I won't overdose on it. (- . - )



Our air conditioning unit at work is a mess. I work in the back office and the system is connected to the front counter service desks. There's no way to adjust the temperatures separately. For some reason, if it's hot out there, it's freezing in here, and vice versa.

I'm wearing socks right now with shoes that look strange with socks. The colours match at least. I've never been good at fashion anyway. I'm cold. But then I need to take them off when I go outside. Ahh.

It's going to be 43 degrees (109F) outside today so I guess it's better to be cold.

That was a bit of a random start but what I wanted to write about today is Facebook Marketplace and my experience with its buyers.



It is an extremely frustrating experience.

Maybe it's the type of things that I sell. They seem to attract a largely non-English speaking demographic. What tends to happen is a series of conversations with very poor English communication skills. I wouldn't mind as much if they had better attitudes.

I recently had to block a few of them. One of them got verbally abusive. Another wanted me to do everything for them; look up how to get from their location to mine, tell them things over and over again that were already clearly written in the listing.

I've tried eBay in the past but the fees on there mean I lose more money than I earn. And I'm not looking to start a big business or anything.

The thing I dislike most about Facebook Marketplace is the fact that buyer reviews are not always visible but seller reviews always are. And because they don't have a linked transaction system and payments happen off-platform, you don't necessarily have to buy something to be able to review a seller. Which in my opinion, is EXTREMELY unfair to the seller.

You just have to reach a certain number of back and forth replies in a conversation for the review option to open. So buyers can leave negative reviews when sellers have done nothing wrong. The seller can negatively review back but it won't always show so the buyer's reputation to the rest of the world is untainted.

Anyway, that's my rant for today/now. I'd like to think of these as healthy emotional outlets rather than just complaining. :')

Decorating

I have no idea how to make my blog look nicer for the time being but being able to type on here is definitely therapeutic.

I have all these notebooks at home but I never have the motivation to write in them. It's much easier for me to type something and enjoy the sound of my keycaps compared to tiredly writing writing with a pen. I wrote with a pen for most of my time up until high school so it's not that I just was conditioned to type earlier. I'm older than my maturity shows heheh.

I found the section to change the background image and the theme. I have an idea that I'll draw chibi versions of Aqua and Sephiroth's heads and have them repeatedly strewn about. Maybe I'll make it slightly faded too so it's not as hard to read the text? Idk, I'll fiddle around with it.

The bunny moods are cute. I chose the white one because I grew up in a Chinese family and interestingly, the Chinese tend to gravitate towards albino/white rabbits. I didn't realise that it wasn't a globally common thing until my peers pointed out that the red eyes made them look scary. Children's stories about rabbits in China were typically white with red eyes so it's been normalised for me.

When I have the motivation, I'll see if I can do an icon too so I can post a softer looking image compared to Aqua's dp that I have right now. Argh, Aqua's just so pretty...I really wish we had more of her from the FF-style animated openings. It really is such a huge contrast. That way I can make more seamless AMVs of her and Sephiroth match better.

And yes, if you haven't guessed by now, that is the crack ship that I'm currently hyper-fixated on. Welcome to my weird, weird headspace.

Was gonna attach another image but it was too big.

Which image-sharing sites do people on here use?

Noise

Changing the scenery will hopefully do me some good. ☕

I've been fluctuating between a slump and vaguely functioning for a good while. Don't even remember when it started. What hasn't helped is the environment at my parent's house during key times where I want to relax after a hard day's work.

I don't like the sounds at home. It's a perfectly nice place. But my grandparents have different living styles and cultures. And we've got possums in the walls that even professionals couldn't keep away. It's not the possums that bother me, it's the ultrasound Dad's installed that does. It gives me a headache. But if we don't have that switched on, they'll wake us up at 5 in the morning.

Though even before the possums, that was already a problem. I still wake up at precisely 5:40am every morning because we have this family of birds that's been with us for as long as I can remember. They'll start chirping very shrilly at that time daily. When I get woken up, I have to put earplugs in because I just can't go back to sleep with that sound. They typically stop within an hour.



Then it's earplugs back in at around 8:45am when my grandparents come back upstairs to brush their teeth.

I'll be staying at an apartment in another suburb for the next two nights. It's a little nerve wracking because I've been driving alone for less than a year due to my overprotective parents and I have yet to park in the underground carpark by myself. It's just a little awkward turning in at the security gate and there's poles there that are very easy to bump into. The car that I'm driving already has a literal hole in it from a screw up once early on when I was parking at work. Don't want to get it fixed anytime soon either since it costs so much and I'm sure I'll dent it some more trying to park in other areas with poles.

We'll see how we go. Poor car. It was pretty much spotless before I started driving it. But you gotta start somewhere.

Weight

Well, I made it.

I’m typing on my iPad right now so adding images won’t be as easy. I may add some later depending on my mood.

There’s four buttons on the garage door remote, I had no idea which one would open the door and I just clicked the top left one and it worked out. The initial turn into is a little awkward because you drive down an alleyway of sorts and then have the angle the car just right. Thankfully no dents this time (that I’m aware of).

Sitting in the apartment at the moment with the AC going. I haven’t ever paid for AC before so I’ll finally find out how expensive it is in this month’s bill. ^^; I know it’s every Asian’s worst nightmare, Dad typically never let me turn it on unless it was over 26 degrees (79 F). And I’m the type of person who feels it’s too hot when it’s over 20 degrees.

I saw the Huntrix girls performed yet another Golden live. I’m hoping for them to do some other songs from the movie soon. Soda Pop wasn’t bad, but I’m really looking forward to What it Sounds Like.



From their initial live performance at The Tonight Show
Couldn't find one from the one I was watching

Been dieting again for a while now. Managed to get back down to where I was at by the end of 2024 before the New Year’s. I had gone back up after a rather disheartening visit to the GP. I have fatty liver disease and apparently after a 10kg drop it didn’t get worse nor did it get better. I let myself go a bit because my mind entered a state of “Why bother trying?” And it shot back up. Thankfully, my appearance didn’t go back though.

There was this random moment where I was walking around campus during lunch break and noticed a side profile of myself in a glass window. I think I chose a hoodie that was a little tight that day and it just reminded me of how bad I look from the side view. After seeing one of my colleagues (a lady approaching her 60s who had a fall recently, bless her) going from a larger body to less than my weight from the effects of weight loss medication, I finally starting getting inspiration. I’ve been on many diet/exercise plans but could never commit. Ever since I got diagnosed with lupus, my weight’s been all over the place.

I had also seen a photo of myself before I went through puberty. I had forgotten how I looked as a semi-skinny person. It did also give me that little nudge again that it is possible.

I started listening to my GP’s advice and made sure I had at least half a bowl of veggies every night (this was tough for me because I typically don’t eat that many) to help with excretion. I started watching sugar and oils more intensely. This started in October 2025. By December 2025 I was down 5kg. I achieved what took me half a year in 2024 in two months. This was particularly surprising given how many New Year celebrations I attended towards the end. I hope I can keep going down.

I’m about to head out again to do some cleaning. Tomorrow’s the Sabbath. I’m glad it’s finally cooling down.