• In spite of my pandemic anxiety I was able to venture out and renew my driver's license. It was my first time commuting in a long time so I was really stressed the whole time. I rode the jeepney, and I would think things were back to normal, if it weren't for the masks. 😷After several hours of waiting, I was able to secure my license. Yay! 🚘
• I was able to practice some piano pieces for our Christmas presentation. I also was able to utilize that video editor I bought from Humble Bundle. 😄
• I won first place in the Toastmasters Table Topics club-level contest! It was such a surreal experience. I'm so excited for the next chapter of this adventure!

• HBO GO. Yep, there goes another expense for a video streaming platform. But this is just temporary. So far, I'm using it to watch all the Harry Potter content. ⚡
• Conti's Lemon Squares. I fell in love on the first bite. This is now one of my favorite desserts.
• Windows 11. I upgraded my laptop, and so far I'm loving the changes on the UI, especially the stackable windows. 🪟
• Moka Pot. I ordered one from BeautyMNL using the voucher that they gave me for that interview. I've been wanting to have one for the longest time. I already knew how to use it (because I have watched a number of YouTube tutorials 😏). I'm enjoying my Starbucks Peppermint Mocha ground beans now. ☕I also ordered a coffee grinder but I have not used it because I don't have whole beans at home. I might be able to use it next month, meaning I would be having freshly grinded coffee beans every morning soon. So exciting! 
• Apple Music. I uninstalled Spotify from my phone and switched to Apple Music for my music streaming needs. I utilized the free 6-month subscription available to me, which was just in time for my Spotify Premium expiration. It's such an exciting time for me because I was building my music library from scratch. My playlists on Spotify were already too curated for my listening preferences. This time with Apple Music, I was actually starting from scratch, so let's see which artists and songs I would discover starting from a clean slate.

• Listening to Red (Taylor's Version) album. It was such an incredible experience, most especially hearing the 10-minute version of All Too Well. Who would have thought that this fandom urban legend relic has now become a reality? Amazingly, the song was able to exceed people's expectations, given that it was already all hyped up. Only Taylor has the capability to do this. 💋
• Collaborating on BandLab. 'Lo and behold, I found a colleague with the same enthusiasm as with me with regards to singing. We bounced around ideas of covering songs. I can't wait to finalize them and share them with the world! 🎙️🎶
• Experiencing Distance Reiki. I received it from the same practitioner whom I bought my crystals from. It was a very interesting experience. It was a one-hour session. It felt like a meditation session for me. There was really nothing unusual during that whole time. But right after, after I got up to pee (😆), I felt waves after waves of shivers throughout my whole body. It was my first time to experience something like that. Even while I was in the CR, I was still feeling those tingling sensations all over my body. For the next few hours and days, I was really expectant on what the effects would be. But looking back, I think it was a slow process for me. I became more focused and productive with work, and was slowly loosening emotional entanglements. I was also feeling that I was gradually restoring broken relationships in my life. Plus, my menstrual cycle went back to normal that month. I don't know if I should credit all of that because of that session, but those are just the events that happened after. These might have been placebo, but nevertheless, I feel in my very core that I am healing. 💗
• Attending an online mask fashion show. I received an invite from ÀMEN PH to this fashion show to showcase their new line of mask designs. At first I thought it was an on-site event, good thing I got clarification that this was just going to be an online event. It was an interesting experience, seeing how the marketing industry is adapting to the pandemic, transferring all events to Zoom calls. Of course, it will never be the same as being in the event itself. But their main goal to reach out and inspire people was well conveyed and fulfilled, even on the virtual platform.
• Replenishing my makeup stash. I had to throw out most of them because they were already expired. Even though I wasn't really going anywhere, I bought myself a fresh set of makeup. 💄I brought back the habit of dressing up during work days, to condition myself to switch to work mode.

• I was able to present my podcast speech, that I prepared the previous month, to my Toastmasters club. The members lauded me for a great job. Our president even mentioned that it was the first time that a podcast project was presented in a TM meeting. I felt so fulfilled and happy. ✨
• I finally got to renew my passport! This has been a long time coming. I originally secured a slot during the first quarter of the year. Unfortunately, it got rescheduled over and over again, until finally pushing through this month. I finally got this one checked off my tasks list! I'm ready to travel again! 🗾🍁🦘🏔️

• Loop Habit Tracker. Finally, I found a free minimalist app to track habits that I want to incorporate in my life. 
• Unpacking. I stumbled upon this game on the Humble Bundle site when it was still not released and just available for pre-order. When it was finally released, I still waited for a week to assess myself if I really wanted this game. Well I still did, and so I went ahead and bought the game! It was so therapeutic. The game helped me in envisioning moving into a place of my own. I think it took me around two days to finish the game. I super enjoyed the experience! I will surely play it again soon, and be more OC with the arrangement of the items in each room of each house. 🏠

• Every day is a new beginning.
• From relistening to an old Eve's Drop podcast: It's the representation that I was missing, not the object itself... It's what that thing means to me that I needed to discover to realize what I was really searching for.
• Life is not a problem to be solved.
• Action builds motivation, not the other way around.
• Ask, and you shall receive.

• I completed the podcast-style interview for a Toastmasters speech. Thanks to Mico, now a former colleague (but a forever friend!), I was able to accomplish this one. 🎉

• The darkest hour happens closest to the breaking dawn.
• The mind is a very powerful tool.
• There is beauty in imperfection.
• The correct solution is the simplest one.
• Aim to learn, not to win.

• Listening to a podcast linking Taylor Swift songs to the Venus signs. Because I have recently learned more about my natal birth chart, and also because I am a Swiftie,  this podcast became very interesting for me. My Venus sign is Aquarius, and my Taylor Swift song is Jump and Fall. Those under this sign are very idealistic lovers, apparently. 😲🤭
• Experiencing a different kind of "loss." When something that brings you joy is taken away from you, a different kind of mourning is experienced. This month, I felt sadness like a cold blanket, and it's effect was incremental as each day passed. Kudos to myself, I faced this head on. Surprisingly, I discovered unexpected things at the end of this dark tunnel. And oh boy, I was so happy to be back in the light.
• Attending the Belle de Jour Summit. Participating in this summit was life-changing for me. I met and listened to a lot of inspiring speakers. It was through this summit that I ended up with the Everything Is Possible Planner that I now have on my hands. 
• Witnessing the Simon & Martina drama. The EatYourKimchi couple is one of my favorite people on the internet, that's why learning about their divorce really hit me hard. It was saddening to see the events that happened between them during this month. As of this writing, I'm just happy that both of them are starting to build their world again, individually. As for me, I align more towards Martina's content, that's why I subscribed to her solo channel. 

• I pushed through my Toastmaster of the Day stint! I'm so happy and proud of myself. The comments from the General Evaluator that day were very helpful to me, and I have taken note of that for my future roles in our club meetings. ✨
• Finally finished with my development tasks in a major project at work. It was one project wherein I had a lot of firsts, that's why the learning curve was a bit steep for me. But finally, I was able to complete my assignments. 
• I received a number of blog collaborations this month. 🙏✨

• WeSing. Thanks to some of our colleagues, I was able to discover this karaoke app. We've had a number of singing sessions since (even discovered a new colleague who is a great singer! 🎙️). We sure have missed doing karaoke, and with the ongoing situation, this online platform allowed us to enjoy each other's company in a virtual KTV.
• Microwave oven. I suddenly had the aspiration to buy one for our home, and I discovered that it's true when they said that this is an essential in the kitchen. 😁
• Lumosity. I subscribed for a free trial for this one, and I really enjoyed all the mind exercises that were in there. It further proved that multitasking is one of my weak areas. 😅
• 4K TV. I bought one for my parents, after months of convincing that we already needed an upgrade (we had been using our old TV for nearly a decade now). It was so satisfying for me to see my parents watch the news in high quality video. They love watching horror movies, and now they can now clearly watch even those dimly-lit scenes. I also got to enjoy our new entertainment toy. This was where I watched some episodes of Hometown Chachacha. 💓

• I will be alright, someday.
• "I am the result of the collective effort of everyone in this world, especially the people around me."
• "It's not sacrifice, it's you giving what you have in excess." - Prim Paypon, BDJ summit
• Everything is possible.
• The Universe is inside me.🪐

• Undergoing my first technical exam in years. It's thrilling to go back to the basics and become a beginner again. I failed the exam, but I learned a lot, for sure. The experience made me thirsty for knowledge. 🤓

• Attending CineSundays. It's so interesting to interact with people that are outside your circle. Through attending this Zoom call on a Sunday night, I was able to get a glimpse of the struggles of filmmakers. Coming from a technical world, with output that can be interpreted straightforwardly as a pass or fail, it was so foreign to me to listen to this world wherein everyone judges very subjectively. It was striking to me to hear them say that "filmmakers eat rejections for breakfast." Now I know why people in this industry have such strong characters. It's through these hard experiences that made them who they are. And wow, I laud them for that.

•  Being in touch with my feelings through music. There were things that I had to face during this month, and I knew I would be crushed if I didn't prepare well for it. I opened my emotions through music and also processed my thoughts through writing in my journal. I realized that this was a very therapeutic process, and looking back, these really helped me to deal with my emotions. As of this writing, I can fully say that I have moved on. 😊

• Cooking Korean food using the kits from Hello.K-Kit. I love Korean food. Thanks to my exposure to Korean cuisine, I now have the standards of delicious food from their country. I have been eyeing the menu of Hello K-kit for weeks (since seeing it on Anagon's IG). Well I finally decided this month that I really wanted to try them, and so I ordered 3 dishes from them: 

• I unexpectedly received rewards for a job well done. Thank you, Universe! 💰✨
• My training as a club leader started this month. It was my first time to see the bigger picture of Toastmasters Club. Indeed, there's lots of leadership opportunities in this organization. I also felt like the bibo kid in me was resurfacing from the vault because I felt more confident actively participating in the activities during those training sessions. Good job, self! 👏
• More pitches are coming in via Intellifluence. Again, thank you, Universe! 💰✨
• I received my second dose of COVID vaccine. Good thing I got it on a Friday so I was able to rest over the weekend. My side-effects were just mild though. I just felt tired and I had achy muscles for around two days. 💉All of us got fully vaxxed this month too. Thank you, Universe! 🙏
• I'm mastering the role of tech host during our Toastmasters meetings. 😄I'm very much enjoying all the sound effects and music that I got to play in our meeting through that role. I'm happy that I'm being able to maximize the use of my laptop for this role. 😉
• I continued my Toastmasters club-hopping activities, this time with the oldest club in Malaysia - Toastmasters International Kuala Lumpur (TMIKL). 💪

• Blinkist. I was able to listen to the gist of a lot of books. I especially enjoyed listening to the blinks of the Atomic Habits book, by James Clear. I realized that I have been applying some of the techniques mentioned there, like temptation bundling. I now want to read that book in its entirety.
• Paying Bills via Shopee. This one really was a game changer. I discovered I could get discounts as much as 100Php from my bills, and even score coin cashbacks on top of that! I'm so happy with this discovery. It would surely help me in saving up and managing my budget moving forward.
• BandLab. Until now I cannot believe that this is a free app, because it's bundled with lots of wonderful features for mixing your music. It has become useful in recording my piano covers and eventually, collaborating with friends.
• Co-star. I'm a sucker for horoscopes, and so learning more about my natal birth chart opened up a lot of things for me, especially now that I know my Sun, Moon, and Ascendant signs. 🌟
• Chordify. I have known about this website for some time, but I got to appreciate it on an extra level this month. It made it easier for me to just play some of my favorite songs on the piano. 🎹💗

• Splurging is a form of self-care. 😊
• Life lessons can be learned from the mistakes we make.
• There's a difference between being committed versus just being interested.
• There's no harm in trying.
• Playfulness erases fear.

"I'd rather be a ticking bomb than a fading light. "

- Royal Concept