⠀⠀hey, coffee eyes⠀⠀

@ coughin' up my cookᴉe heart

hiya, you can call me callie. i'm an 18-year-old girl who's perpetually glued to a beat-up laptop. as a person i'd say i'm indecisive to a fault, sensitive yet inadvertently frank. i wear my heart on my sleeve more often than not. unrestricted internet access from a young age has made me grow into a rather gnarly individual -- make of that what you will..!

♡ — deafening music, leverets, orchids, "yeouch..."
X — caffeine, deadlines, dry eyes, too many things.

i consider stagnant an extension of me, a personal fragment of myself that i choose to share online. it's a labour of love and a form of self-expression. creative outlets give me a sense of fulfilment i've yet to find elsewhere. watching this site shift as i change and grow is what makes the effort so worthwhile. simply put, it's an ever-changing reflection.

email — feeble.lowe@gmail.com

find me elsewhere:

pinterest | letterboxd | instagram

are.na | last.fm | spotify

@ webmaster questionnaire

made by mouseling.net, find a blank copy here.

1. Please introduce yourself.: hi hello hi, i'm callie. i go by halcalic n similar variants online. "coined" the username when i was into the j-pop duo, HALCALI. very original, i know.
2. How long have you been making websites?: 2022, but i got really into it around late 2024.
3. And what got you into the hobby?: school -- i did computer programming for a year then dropped it because i hated it. much better off as a hobby for me, really.
4. What kind of website are you most interested in?: personal sites, music-orientated blogs, art galleries, etc. i love sites with substance.
5. What's your workflow? Do you plan your websites out thoroughly or do you come up with the design as you go along?: i'll have a vague idea or vision, but i'm bound to change my mind midway through coding. i'll scrap it and try to do something different. rinse n repeat until i've finally made something i like.
6. Please link to your biggest inspirations.: everyone listed here. i love my neighbours. ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
7. What's your favourite part about making websites?: i can make anything i wanttt. even if i'm malding over layouts, i swear i'm enjoying myself. i love the feeling i get once i see the vision i had come together, too.
8. And the thing you struggle with the most?: resisting the urge to redo everything. i wouldn't say i'm much of a perfectionist, but when it comes to managing my site, i don't think i'll ever be satisfied.
9. Do you keep the same layout on all of your pages? Or do you use different ones?: at the moment, i've stuck to a minimalistic approach. i've found that it helps me clear my head.
10. How confident are you with CSS?: confident enough! css is my strongest suit, though i'm sure i still have plenty to learn.
11. Do you know how to correctly use <dl>?: no... first time using it.
12. What is your favourite HTML element?: <img> -- my goat of goats.
13. If you're making a new web page from scratch, what is the first thing you do?: copy code from a different page, then clear the body.
14. Do you know JavaScript?: barely.
15. How about PHP?: what is that..? (#1)
16. Does your website have a theme that you stick to?: i wish. i revamp my site waaay too often.
17. Are you more focused on content or design?: a mix of both -- 40% content, 60% design. i'm guilty of getting tunnel vision with design though.
18. Do you own a domain name? If not, would you ever want to?: once i have a stable income, maybe.
19. What do you think of nostalgia-focused or "retro" websites?: they're very cool! they make me feel nostalgic for a time i haven't even experienced. ┐(´∀｀)┌
20. Is your HTML valid? Do you even check?: if it works as intended, i'm sure it'll be grand.
21. What are your opinion on buttons and banners?: love them! i find making 88x31 buttons with pixel art fun as well.
22. What do you think of button walls in particular?: love, love, love them. i've discovered so many sick sites when surfing through button walls.
23. If you started over again, would you make something similar or completely different?: something different, i'd like to push myself out of my comfort zone.
24. Are you envious of other people's websites?: no, i'm more so in awe of what people can create.
25. What text editor do you use?: visual studio code.
26. Why do you use that one?: it's what i used in school, i'm familiar with it.
27. Do you host your image files on your web server, or on another host?: on my web server. i used to host my images on postimg. one day it was down and i was flashbanged with their bright blue "picture not found" thumbnail. i refuse to let that happen again.
28. This might not be relevant to you, but what's your opinion on the Neocities vs. Nekoweb debate?: couldn't care less. use whatever host you want to use.
29. How much server space would you estimate your main website takes up?: as of 17/08/26, 3.03 MB.
30. Do you keep local backups of your files?: yes, yes, yes. i'll do everything locally before uploading to neocities.
31. Do you prefer simple or highly visual websites?: simple sites are clean and pleasing to the eye, highly visual sites are super fun to explore. i don't think i have a preference, it all depends on what kind of content they're sharing.
32. Do you stick to certain colours? Do you do that on purpose, or is it your subconscious?: i find myself coming back to muted blues and greens. most likely my subconscious.
33. Have you ever thought about quitting? Why?: yeah. rest in peace, halcalic 2022-2025. i was burnt out and the delete button looked very enticing. it was an irrational decision.
34. Do you have many webmaster friends, or is it a solitary hobby?: anyone i interact with on a daily basis is a webmaster friend in my eyes. kinda parasocial of me but we ball.
35. Do people in your real life know about your website?: those close to me, yes! nasty slobbery kisses for robin and trina. mwaaah.
36. Do you update your website very often? How often is "very often"?: like, every other day.
37. And the overall design, do you change that much? Why or why not?: it changes too often... i may or may not be working on new layouts as we speak. who knows.
38. Is your website more you-focused, hobby-focused, or outside world-focused?: 50/50 of me-focused and hobby-focused.
39. Do you do web design professionally?: nope.
40. If not, would you like to? And if you're comfortable answering, what do you do for work?: nooope. i'd grow to hate web design if it weren't hobby-based. plus, i like being able to code without having to follow standard practices.
41. Do you communicate with people by email very much?: sometimes, yeah. i love me a long email thread.
42. Some people reject social media and use websites as a replacement. Do you keep social media outside of your website?: yes, i keep some. whatever is listed here, but i'm lurking on neocities more often than not.
43. How about instant messengers? Do you use a mainstream one like Discord or Telegram? Or something like Matrix? Do you avoid them?: discord, mostly to talk to my friends while playing games or something. my username is halcalic if you'd like to add me! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
44. Do you listen to music while you work on websites? If so, what kinds of artists?: hell yeah!!! i listen to way too many genres to pinpoint what exactly... i've been coming back to post-hardcore and emo music a lot as of recent.
45. Do you keep everything you make on one website, or do you have more than one?: it's nice having everything in one place, but i have another site i fiddle around with when i'm bored of this one.
46. On a similar note, do you keep to one topic on your site, or many?: not really. music is going to be a major topic eventually. candid, my blog of sorts, is full of random rants and brain dumps. whatever i have on my mind is the topic of my site, i guess.
47. Do you present your real self, or at least try? Or do you construct a persona on purpose?: 99.9999% my real self. i wrote about this here. in short, you're getting as much of me as "physically" possible and as much as i'm comfortable sharing!
48. Have you ever made a good friend thanks to your website?: i'm not sure. the thought of considering someone a friend and them not feeling the same way makes me feel a little bummed out. #Awkward
49. Are you happy with the way HTML and CSS currently work?: yes!
50. What are practices that you think people should avoid?: autoplaying music. at least have a disclaimer or warning of some sort. if you're using absolute positioning, make sure the parent is positioned too and isn't static... unless having elements flying everywhere is the goal!
51. What about under-utilised practices, or things you think people should do more?: being mindful of accessibility/responsiveness. i'm guilty of disregarding both err... semantic html, too. my code has gotten so much cleaner since using it.
52. Do you use a lot of semantic HTML? Or are you guilty of generic structure?: yeah, but i'm positive i'm using some of them wrong.
53. Do you consider different browsers?: mainly chrome and firefox.
54. Speaking of, what's your preferred browser? Convince your readers why they should use it.: chrome... no comment.
55. And what OS are you on?: windows.
56. Do you have a strong opinion on that, or do you just happen to use it?: just what i happen to use.
57. Are your websites mobile-friendly?: nope. sorry, mobile users. (◞ ‸ ◟,)
58. What are your thoughts on autoplay?: (╯# `ロ´)╯︵ ┻━┻ ... if it's not the world's loudest jumpscare, i'll live. warnings are appreciated though.
59. What are your thoughts on webrings? Are you in any?: i love them. i'm in CDring and i plan on joining more. i'd also love to create my own webring someday.
60. Do you have any web shrines? What do you like to see in that sort of page?: yeah, i just haven't uploaded them. i'm still working on one dedicated to my all-time favourite band, she's green. i love seeing blocks of text... lydels' shrines, for example. tell me more!
61. Are your websites "cliche", in your opinion?: yeah, it's not that innovative.
62. What is your ideal website? Are you striving for that, or for something else?: no clue what i'm striving for. i'll create until i'm satiated.
63. Are you an artist? Do you draw or design your own assets?: i don't draw my assets, but i do love me some good ol' photobashing.
64. What are your favourite resource sites?: everything listed in my resources tab, here!
65. Is there a habit you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try?: way too much nesting and redundant css rules.
66. What's your biggest advice for a new webmaster?: take your time and learn at your own pace. don't be afraid to get stuff "wrong", it's an inevitable part of the learning curve.
67. Do you keep all your styling in CSS? Or do you hard-code some?: all in css stylesheets, unless it's a span or something.
68. What do you think of frameset layouts?: what is that..? (#2)
69. How about table-based layouts?: seems like a pain in the ass to maintain. respectable, but nooot for me.
70. Do you subscribe to the ideas of "one-column", "two-column" and "three-column" layouts? Do you use any of these?: not really. if i had to choose, i think i lean more towards two-column and three-column layouts. one-column seems nice for accessibility.
71. Do you spend longer on the HTML or the CSS?: css, for sure.
72. Have you ever made a page with no CSS? It's useful for your thoughts.: no, but the thought of making one intrigues me now.
73. Do you ever find yourself making layouts with nothing to put on them? Or do you only make layouts when the need arises?: only when the time arises, but i'll be nitpicky and end up having nothing to put on them anyway. ('' – ⌓ –)＝3
74. Would you consider yourself a beginner? Or advanced? Somewhere in the middle?: somewhere in the middle? i can manage to make what i want with what i already know.
75. Do you have a habit of looking at the source code of websites you visit?: all the time... i'm just nosy, sorry.
76. How did YOU learn how to make websites?: mdn and stack overflow have had my back since forever. youtube tutorials are a last resort, they feel way too tech-y for me, if that makes sense..?
77. Do you ever force elements to do things they're not supposed to?: without realising, yes.
78. Thoughts on floating elements?: cool, cool, cool. i feel like i underutilise float.
79. When you're sizing stuff, what do you use first? Do you use px, em, %, or something else?: mostly px and em, rarely %.
80. Do you have a favourite font?: times new roman and arial. basic, whatfuckingever. i like stretching arial with transform scaleY.
81. Would you run a website with another person? How would that work?: that sounds fun! only problem is that i'm scared i'd end up being controlling about it... i've already mentioned how nitpicky i am with my own layouts, and i can already imagine that extending to other aspects of webmastery. 100% a nightmare to work with.
82. Do you surf the Web to find new personal websites very often?: very often. self-proclaimed d1 lurker over here.
83. Do you bookmark other people's websites? How would you feel knowing someone else bookmarked yours?: yep, sites i visit frequently. i'd feel super duper flattered if someone had mine bookmarked!
84. What do you want people to be most impressed with when they see your website?: not sure, to be honest. design, probably.
85. Are you interested in technology outside of websites? Do you collect?: i'm terrible with photography, but cameras. thanks to my dad, i have a steady collection going.
86. How often and for how long are you online?: gulp...
87. When it comes to your website, who is your target audience?: me!!!! but apart from myself, anyone into music. which is funny cause, as of writing this, i still haven't finished the first issue of my music log. (｡ᵕ ◞ _◟)
88. Have you ever been interested in XHTML?: what is that..? (#3)
89. Do you program in general? Have you ever written a program for use with or on your website, not counting simple JavaScript?: nope. i've coded projects in python and c# in the past, but that was for school. i couldn't tell you a single thing about those languages now.
90. Speaking of programs that help you make websites, what do you think of static site generators (SSGs)? Have you ever used one?: what is that..? (#4) -- i'm not knowledgeable with this kind of stuff, can you tell.
91. Do you keep a hitcounter? Why or why not?: i used to. got rid of it cause neocities' inflated view count is enough as is for me to ignore.
92. Do you frequent forums? Which ones?: no, but i'll check r/neocities every now n then.
93. Do you write your page content directly into the editor, or do you prepare it elsewhere, like a text document or a Word document?: directly into the editor. grammar mistakes and typos be daaamned.
94. Do you think you appear cool to others? A more accurate answer now: do other people ever say you're cool?: i wouldn't be surprised if i appear more like a socially stunted dweeb. but i've been told i'm cool before, which is heartwarming.
95. Are you embarrassed of your old work? Have you ever deleted everything out of shame?: very. i've deleted plenty of pages. it's fulfilling seeing how much i've progressed when i look back on old projects though.
96. Would you close down your website if you couldn't update it, or would you leave an archive?: i'd keep it up as an archive.
97. Do you reveal a lot about yourself on your website? Or are you more secretive?: yes and no. it depends! in the past, i shared way more than i should have. now, i'll delve into more personal topics sometimes, but i've gotten more cautious of what i put out there.
98. Are you willing to reveal who your best online friend is, and/or if they have a website?: i don't have any online best friends, though my irl friends (mentioned in q. 35) have sites! robin drew the pixel art for her background, isn't she so stinkin talented. ( ˶°ㅁ°)
99. And do you optimise the images on your website?: yup. i need all the storage i can get.
100. We're out of time! How do you feel after answering 100 questions? ....other than exhausted.: happy, happy, happy. this was fun! (ﾉ ˃ˋᗜˊ˂ )ﾉ