This month involved a lot of recovering period, due to the stressors that I experienced in the previous month. Slowly but surely, I was returning to my usual gusto with everyday life and for sure the energy that I was giving out to the Universe was returning back to me in a more positive way. It was a slow burn process, which would actually take me two months later to recover into a more functioning state.
💃 Experiences
- Witnessing serendipity vehicle in action. I've mentioned this concept previously on the blog, and this month, I was able to experience it again first-hand. I was able to reach out to a reader who apparently was collecting Nido Fairytale books, which was a fad in the 90s. He contacted me about a fairytale book that I have that's missing in his collection. Well, just like what the Universe tells us, ask and you shall receive. I responded to him, and after several message exchanges, I shipped the fairytale book to him! I was just so happy with the energy exchange that we had. And I do know that that fairytale book, that I kept for years in my childhood treasure box, is now in good hands.
- Listening to Fearless - Taylor's Version. It was also in this month that Taylor released her version of the Fearless album. And damn, what a journey down memory lane that was. I was listening to the same songs with a brand new feel. 💗 I was second year college when the original album was released, and I remember just repeatedly listening to the songs on my bed in the boarding house. I was not yet seriously stanning Taylor back then, but sure these songs reminded me of my precious college years.
- Discovering the Every Single Album: Taylor Swift - Ringer podcast. I'm so happy with the timing of my discovery of this podcast. Of course, I listened to all of the episodes starting from the debut album up to Fearless TV. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing fellow Swifties indulge their opinions and insights for each album. This experience kinda reminded me of listening to the Binge Mode Ringer podcast, which was also a deep dive discussion, but with the Harry Potter books. I'm a fan of the Ringer network now!
- Officially stanning IU. Okay so I am a fan of IU. I think she is one of the most powerful and versatile vocalists in the KPOP industry. I'm saying that I am levelling up as a fan into a follower/stanner(?) of this artist because I just fell deeper in love with her art, after watching her dingo music performance. At this point of my fangirling journey, I'll be buying a ticket of her concert in a heartbeat!
- Identifying my life mentors. There will be people in your life that will take on roles that you won't expect them to do. That's what I learned for this month. Although we have known each other for years, it was only during this time that I was able to determine the relationship that we have. I have identified my dear friend Mai as my life mentor, especially during this time of pandemic. I've shared my miseries with her before, and she has given me a lot of advices before (especially with family stuff). Ironically, we got to talk more since our work-from-home setup began. We supported each other emotionally during these times. When we get too stressed or bored at work, we'll randomly message each other on Slack just to have someone to talk to, even virtually. And those conversations actually kept me sane most of the time. So I'm really thankful for her!
- Reaching out for help. I have always considered myself as a lone wolf. I like doing things on my own, and I have a small pack of trusted friends I hide no secrets from. Being known as independent have some downsides, because other people would most of the time assume that you don't really need anything because you got your own back. And that wall affects me too because I have to show them that I indeed can do things without any help. Well, I had to break through that wall because I did need help this time. I reached out to people, and it was such a nice feeling to know that they were all there to extend their assistance to me.
- Working on my public speaking skills. I had my third speech in Toastmasters and one of the feedback that stood out to me was that I needed to make my speech more conversational and authentic. They also said I looked nervous when I knew I wasn't really. This was why I thought of really working on those areas for my next speeches.
- Hearing the most poignant statement from my mom. "Mag-asawa ka na bago kami mawala." Whew. That was a very loaded statement. 😅 If only they knew, that's one of the things that keeps me awake at night, amongst other stuff. I love taking control of things (to-do lists, planning, etc) but I have to give this one to the Universe because I totally don't have control on this. The most I can do is study the science of relationships, with the hope that when I finally get into one, I would have the knowledge to make it a healthy and authentic one. I'm also learning to expand my social circle (which is kind of challenging during this time of the pandemic). So there Universe, I'm single and ready to mingle! 😉
⛰️ Accomplishments / Milestones
I don't have anything to write on this section for this month.
🧠Game Changers
- Co-working sessions at the office. My colleagues and I are getting more creative in catching up with each other, the remote way. One of my colleagues thought of setting up a Zoom call wherein we can hang out and just see each other while working, with someone broadcasting music. When they told me they were doing this, I mentioned that I have already done something like that back in January, and that setup is actually called co-working sessions. Our group got to do this sporadically for several weeks. Most of the time, I was the one assigned to blast some music, which was of course a pleasure for me to do! I was initially only on a free account on Spotify and so there were ads that played in between the music. The funny thing was, the ads were in Indonesian because I was on VPN. Because I wanted to create a smoother experience, I just went ahead and upgraded to premium. I was so happy when they told me they liked my playlist. That's the best compliment ever. 😘
- Sagada coffee beans. I was in a cold-brew fad these days and so I indulged myself with higher quality beans from Sagada! A colleague recommended me this Shopee store that ships beans from the north! My mornings have never been the same since. ☕
- Mini-workout sessions within working hours. It's already fact of life that my line of job entails being seated in front of the computer screen for the whole day. Which just meant that I don't get enough exercise throughout the day. And so I devised a routine that would break this habit. Incorporating it into my Pomodoro technique, I transformed those 10-minute breaks into walking sprints around the house, aiming to reach 1,000 steps each round. I thought this would just be some light exercise, but when the steps really got to accumulate after 5 rounds, I definitely felt the exhaustion. I was able to do this routine for a few weeks, and as of this writing I already moved to another work out routine, which I would be writing about on my July life log (I'm time travelling a lot in these life logs LOL).
- Headspace. I subscribed to the premium account for this month, because I felt that I needed some assistance in calming my mind. I found out that there were a lot of new features added since the last time I used it. Looking back, the app really helped me reframe my mindset to a healthier one.
- Automatic washing machine. This was one of those "I never thought I needed" moments in my life. Doing the laundry every weekend had never been this easy.
- Kindle E-book Purchase. For the first time, I bought a book from the Kindle store. For months, I was waiting for this particular book's release because it was the last installment in the trilogy of books that I really got to like recently. It was amazing because on release day, I was able to immediately get my hands on a copy of the book. No more queueing in book stores! Although I admit, I would still prefer the old way of getting a book because meeting fellow fans while emerged in feelings of anticipation are all part of the experience. On reading my new Kindle e-book, I discovered new features on the Kindle Reader like those passages that were highlighted most by many readers. I'm really loving reading on the Kindle app (actual Kindle reader soon? 😉)
🎬 Movie / Series List
- The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)
I skipped a lot of episodes on this one, and just focused on her first match that led her to beat one of the long-time champions in that tournament. It was a delight to see Harry Melling, the actor who played as Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise, all grown up there in the series. 😉
- History 101 (Netflix)
I really like watching these kinds of documentary, and they are done well. I usually play this on the background while I'm folding my clothes in my room.
- Mary, Queen of Scots (Netflix)
I was interested to watch this one because it starred Saoirse Ronan, whom I really got to like after watching Little Women. I was delighted then to discover that Joe Alwyn, Taylor Swift's beau, also starred there. Even if it was just a minor role, it was an interesting experience for me to see him in his element. Even without Joe, I found the movie very engaging especially as it tackles women in power and how society eventually crucified her.
- Cardcaptor Sakura (Netflix)
I was still walking down memory lane re-watching my all-time favorite anime.
- Castle in the Sky (Netflix)
I re-watched this because I got all nostalgic after writing my blog entry about my visit to the Ghibli museum in 2019.
- Hyori's Bed & Breakfast: Season 2 (Netflix)
This is one of the most feel-good series that I have ever watched, and it all hits differently now that we are in this pandemic.
📚 Reading List
💡 Takeaways
- Just always strive to do good, and great fortune will follow.
- Focus more on what you can do to others and to the world, not what others can do for you.
- Be in the moment.
- There are more than one source of happiness. Pursue your own path. Don't let other people's life choices distract you from making your own.
- Reach out if you feel you need help.
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