A lot of people mention podcasts, but what really helps me do boring tasks are audio dramas. They are shows meant to be listened to. These are different from audio books where you get a narrator, they have sound effects and several voice actors playing different characters.
Some good starting points IMO (all on Spotify)
Is your thread cotton? I personally always have trouble with cotton thread snapping, so I prefer poliester.
The thread snapping might also be fixed by rethreading the machine, so you can try that as well.
About the back stitch, it's a shame your machine does not have it. I consider it an essential feature, but I understand you're just dipping your toes. Most full size entry level machines should have it, and they can be pretty cheap second hand.
If you are turning your piece make sure you lower your needle into the fabric before lifting the presser foot.
If the top thread is the black one and the bobbin thread is the white one then your top tension is waaaaay too low. Set the tension to a middle value and adjust from there. Don't forget to rethread the top thread after adjusting the tensions by big amounts. In general it's also a good troubleshooting step.
About finishing the end threads, part of the issue is the tension. If you fix that it will get better, but the correct way to finish the seam is with a back stitch. Most machines have a button dedicated to that function, see if you can find it on yours.
In some situations it is also acceptable if you pass over one of the threads to the same side as the other one and tie the ends yourself. The back stitch is preferable because it's faster and less fidly
Welcome to the hobby, have fun! :)
Before Your Eyes. I was going through some major stuff at the time and I'll associate the game with that summer forever. It has a very unique mechanic and it ties into the game really well without feeling like a gimmick. Takes about 3 hours to complete, so not a huge investment either.
I personally like fanfiction.net better than AO3, but I believe AO3 is the bigger one
I just buy notebooks to keep by my side and serve this purpose. This prevents me from having loose sheets everywhere that can get lost.
I keep the three on my desk, the most recent two filled ones and my current one, and it has happened to me to go search one of the old ones for some random info I know I scribbled in there and need later.
I don't know if this is normal, I can sometimes remember the side of the sheet I wrote something in, the approximate height, ink color and sometimes how far along the notebook it is. This helps with search, but even without memory like this I still think it's easier to search a notebook than a bunch of loose sheets
Is this from the Finch app? I should re-download that at some point
My mom had her driver's license at 18 as soon as she was able to. Then she went on to stop driving after having a license because she did not have access to a car to drive. Later in life she had a car to herself but had forgotten a lot of how to drive and is a worse driver today as a result. She had her drivers license already, and classes are expensive, so she relearned how to drive all on her own.
I learned form her and took my driver's exam later in life, when I felt like I was being held back by not having a car or driving. I had a car of my own a couple of months after my exam, and drove a lot late at night with my boyfiend just getting used to and confortable with it safely. I learned to drive more in those late nights after having my license than in classes. I did not feel super confident driving when I took my exam. It took months to get truly confortable, and thats OK.
Now you decide what lesson to take from this. It's fine if you don't drive ever, but if you intend to later I would advise you to practice more soon to really cement in driving, its habits and have it become second nature.
I hope this one is just the right amount of interesting for you. I particularly like that there are recurring characters and you can keep up with, and "cameo" style apearences and references if different episodes. Easy enough to ignore if you're not into that. My favorites are the baker and the cat Marmelade. Best of luck sleeping!
If you haven't tried it yet, I've listened to "nothing much happens" podcast for years and years now and it helps me fall asleep faster. If you don't like this one in specific, there's plenty of the same genre online for you to try. I prefer sleep specific content because the audio does not have any sudden changes or loud noises. Also screens on while sleeping decrease sleep quality, IIRC
Stardew valley, minecraft and sometimes mass effect 3 multiplayer. I'm still impressed I can regularly find matches in such an old game.
If you have the option the borrow one form the library that's a great! In my knowledge those small sewing machines are really lacking in basic features, you'll probably save time and frustration borrowing the library one.
If you have more questions ask away :)