After my super wonderful visit at the Ghibli Museum, I decided to roam around the area. My next destination was this store that sells Totoro Cream Puffs (as seen from the Eatyourkimchi YT Channel) within the area, but I saw on Google Maps that there were also places of interest along the way, like the Inokashira Park Zoo. But since this time I don't have a set appointment to rush to, I just went at my own pace and leisurely took a walk in the area.

At this point, cherry blossom trees are a common sighting for me. But damn, I will never get tired looking at those beauties. 🌸

I literally stopped and smelled the flowers. 🌺

As always, Google Maps was my best friend during the trip. And thanks to this sign, I now know that I'm close to my destination!

I can't remember anymore how much I paid for the ticket, but I remember showing my passport because you get a tourist discount! 

There were not many people in the park. I think it became more of a photowalk for me. I took photos of everything that interested me. 😂📷

I told you, there were no people in the zoo. 😅

One of their attractions here is this Squirrel Trail. The squirrels were kept in an enclosed area and visitors are the ones who will enter that area to take a closer look at them.

Good thing there were English instructions. I didn't know what I was doing most of the time. But good thing I didn't do anything wrong to disturb these furry animals.

Aaahh just look at this cutie! 😍

Yes, I spent the next several minutes of my life taking photos and videos of these cuties. I suddenly remembered that statement one of my thesismates said to me during a zoo visit also in Seoul during that time. He told me I tend to always take photos and videos of animals. He asked, "Are you filming for a National Geographic documentary?" 😂 I remembered it while I was taking photos of the squirrels. Yes Rey, I'm again shooting for a documentary. 🤣

After the squirrels, the next animal of interest are these apes. Okay, I think I won't qualify for a documentary job post because I wasn't able to take note what these apes (or monkeys?) were called. 😅

A break from the animal photos: here's a cute photo of Pikachu in one of the playgrounds in the park

a leopard cat(?) inside a cage (again I wasn't able to note what kind of cat this was)

There were lots of interesting animals inside the zoo, and I really enjoyed taking photos of them. 😍

Even chickens in Japan look slightly different, right?

Shoofie! (did I say it right, shoes selfie?)

As much as I enjoyed meeting those animals, I kind of felt sad for them. Their eyes were sad, especially that leopard cat and those monkeys. 😢

We have finally arrived at my last Sakuraco box for my current subscription. 😢 I must say it's been a wonderful experience indulging and munching on each box's snack because each item was unique. Even before the box arrived on my doorstep, I already had an overview of the snacks through their website. I must say this marketing strategy really worked because already-subscribers like me are also hyped up on our upcoming box when the details are revealed on the website.

Is it obvious that I had fun unboxing this month's snack box? 🤣

Mini Salted Tofu Chips was also a favorite.

The Snow Salt Chinsuko was one of the tastiest biscuits I've had among the snackboxes I have tried. I wanted more of these!

This is their Issa Senbei. I was not that of a fan. The seaweed flavor was too strong for me.

Beni Imo Tart The sweet potato flavor is a timeless taste. I also loved this one.

Brown Sugar Manju I guess because the majority of the treats in this box was of brown sugar delicacies, I wasn't really able to appreciate the flavor of this one. But it's obvious that they used a special kind of brown sugar for this. 😁

Yuzu Monaka This had such a fruity and refreshing taste. The citrus feeling definitely gave that kind of vibe.

But hey, what a journey it was experiencing Sakuraco boxes for the months of June, July, and August! I'm really happy I allowed myself to experience tasting these wonderful Japanese snacks. 🥰

My October started with bang, a virtual explosion that is. I took the courage to join a virtual hackathon called Space Apps Challenge, organized by NASA. Thanks to my friend Mai, because through her, this event came under my radar. Upon registering for the event, I found out that I actually signed up for last year's event, but I didn't push through. Well this time around, I'm more determined to participate.

my virtual souvenir from the event

Taking in one day at a time has helped me to cope in the past two years. I have been into journaling even pre-pandemic, but I poured myself deeper into the habit ever since I started working from home full-time. And I now know the benefits of journaling: it's a form of self-care that I know I will carry on for the rest of my life.

With the ever continuing rise of influence of Korean culture in the country, the influx of establishments that cater K-foods has been inevitable. We know the story already -- a lot of Korean restaurants have popped up everywhere, offering delectable choices of those cuisines that we see in those K-dramas that we craved for. Lucky for us, there are a lot of these foods available and are just an order away.

Honey Butter was a bit overwhelming for me, but after a while it grew on me. 😋

Gochujang and Honey Soy.

Soy Garlic & Yangnyeom

I barely remember the things that happened during this quarter. Everything seems like a blur now. Honestly, I wasn't able to focus much on my goals this year because I was preoccupied with other things. But still, I had the chance to accomplish some of them, while most others are still works in progress.

I'm feeling anxious more frequently these days because of some life events, but I hope I will still feel grounded and be able to focus more on how I can help myself to live a more fruitful life today and tomorrow. I wanna thrive, not just survive. 🙏

As we continue to stay at home because of the still ongoing pandemic, we really need to have creative ways to entertain ourselves. For me, this is a form of self-care. 

Lots and Lots of Card Games

Solitaire.org also has a vast number of collections of card games, some of which I have never encountered before (maybe because I have always been loyal with my Solitaire? 😅) and I had the pleasure of trying them all out.

Pyramid - This is one of the memorable ones I got to play, because it involves Math! The basic rule is select a card that when added to either one of the two cards at the bottom, the resulting value is 13.

If you don't know how to play any of these games, you don't need to worry. Solitaire.org has the instructions also for each of them. 😉

Beyond Card Games

But wait, there's more! To my delight, the site doesn't only showcase games based on cards. There are more of them available to be played for free! Here are some of my favorites:

Mahjong - I used to play this on my Gameboy Light (kids do you know what that is? 🤣) not knowing that it was actually mahjong. The text was in Chinese, but through trial and error, I figured out how the game actually worked (but not after several rounds of me being  confused wondering why it was game over already). So it was really a joy to find this game here on the site. It was like reconnecting with a childhood friend again. 🥰

Pacman (but make it Cookie Monster 🍪) - Of course, Pacman will always be a classic arcade game. But Solitaire.org gave it an interesting twist! In lieu of our yellow pacman is this blue blob with googly eyes that is our beloved Cookie Monster from Sesame Street! What entertained me the most is the ghosts turn into cookies when Cookie Monster gets to eat a power pellet. 😂

Here's Cookie Monster running after a ghost that has turned into a cookie. 🍪 (shown in one of the stage transitions, just like in the original game)

Word Search - This is another blast from the past! One of my core memories as a child was solving these word searches! I have several workbooks of this, each page with different themes on the words to look out for. I missed doing this on pen and paper, with me proudly encircling the word that I have found. For now, dragging the mouse pointer across the letters would still work. 😜

Proud finisher of the 16x16 grid!

The set of words differ each day (just like on the newspaper 📰)  which is great because it means I can go back to the site everyday with fresh words to encounter each time! By the way, there's still the option to navigate to the puzzles on specific dates, so really, there's a wide array of puzzles that are available.

Tennis - Again, this is another walk down memory lane. I also have this Tennis game on my Gameboy, which I really enjoyed. I love how this game really tests my hand-eye coordination. This game would really come in handy when I want to wake myself up during after-lunch hours of my work-from-home week days. 😴

These are my top favorite games from Solitaire.org. But aside from these, there are still a lot of games in there, like hidden object games and connect 3 games (think zuma and candy crush).

Since most of the games here reminded me of my childhood days, one of the games I miss playing is Minesweeper. I hope they make it available on their site too. Another kind of game that I can use to wake me up is any car racing game. That would definitely shoot up my adrenaline, making me alert and energetic for the rest of the day.

Solitaire.org is such a nice discovery. I have already added it in my bookmarks so that I can quickly access the games that I love, as my pick-me-up method for those low-energy days. This sure sparks me joy! ✨