Recent Loves - songs, podcasts, and a webtoon

It's been a while back since my last Recent Loves entry! The last one was in March, I believe. 

Here's a roundup of songs, podcasts, and a webtoon that I've been loving recently.

RECENT JAMS

• Lullatone's Leisure Gardening came up on my Discover Weekly, and I found that they have a lot of nice music that can easily just blend in the background of daily life. 
• Right after watching CatCreature's latest vlog, I fell in love with the song she used, Heartbeat by SAILR.
• The perfect playlist for rainy days would definitely be this Lo-fi Chill hop playlist. I wish Lo-fi was a thing back when I was still studying, but it does get me in the zone for while I'm working as well.
• For some cheering up, you can listen to Don't Be Sad 
• A song I've had on repeat in the previous week was Laica's Close To Me
• For some groovy jams, here's Lola Amour's Maybe Maybe 

We can also just simply follow along on each others' Spotify if you like. : - ) !! I love discovering new songs from different genres, so by all means, let's do that together. 

PODCAST EPISODES

I listen to the same podcasts more or less, but it's the episodes that I like to reflect about and I want to share with you. I realized, I have so much to say about the podcasts I listen to! I feel like I can keep rambling on about them, but for now, here are my insights--


Before Breakfast - Start With A Toast
When was the last time you proposed a toast to something you were truly happy or proud about? We often reserve such toasts for something big and monumental, but if we treat the little wins the same way, we might just appreciate our daily life a bit more. This podcast episode encourages us to take a toast before starting our meals, to let it drive the conversation towards something positive and meaningful. Often it takes us some time to think of things we're proud of, so it's a great exercise to start really recognizing our efforts. So get your glasses of water and start toasting!

The Happiness Lab - Working Your Way To Happiness
In this episode, they ask working people what keeps them satisfied with their jobs. They learned that the way people keep themselves going is to find something in it that they truly like, then they keep that certain perspective each and every time, no matter what kind of job it is. Near the end, they talk about a term they gave this technique, which would be "Job Crafting".

For example, a Bug Exterminator loved his job because he felt his mission in life was to eradicate people's stress over bugs. Another would be one of the Hospital Janitor, wherein they shared that they enjoyed keeping the hospital room clean and ready for both patients and hospital workers, because who would want to operate or rest in an unclean space?

Feeling inspired and wanting to try Job Crafting myself, I sat down with my journal and started writing down my honest thoughts about my current role. Doing this helped me keep a healthy perspective, and it reminded me that I'm doing well. I have to admit there are days when I'm not aware of how I'm doing, but through this simple experience, I realized sometimes we have to make that conscious effort to remind ourselves that we're continually improving and learning every day, and that is more than enough.

For when we find our heads whirling and spiraling around, a quiet pause and a momentary change of perspective can make all the difference.

How To Fail with Elizabeth Day : S4, Ep4 Mo Gawdat
I first heard about this from Evie Jayne's Little Things in Lockdown blog entry, and I can tell you dear reader, that it is a gem! In this episode, Mo shares with us about how we can train our brain to think in a certain way that would seek out the positive things, because most of the time our brains are inclined to looking out for the negatives, simply because this is part of our natural survival instinct.

I love this podcast, because through these episodes, we can learn that failures do not mean it's the end, but can pave the way to greater success, if we choose to learn from them.

Ted Talks Daily - An ER Doctor on Triaging Your "Crazy Busy" Life | Darria Long
This episode intrigued me, because honestly, there have been days while working from home wherein the tasks listed in my to-do list were all tagged as urgent. It can be hard to work this way when there's no other work colleague physically present with me, but I found that this podcast episode gave helpful tips. To summarize the 4 main takeaways that was imparted:

• Instead of thinking of the word "crazy", always think of the mindset of being "ready". Busy will always be a part of our lives, but how we do we get ready for it? Or do we just succumb to calling it crazy and being all over the place? 
• Realize what's truly urgent. I remember the Eisenhower Matrix, which was taught to us in one of the learning sessions at work, and it is effective. 
• Lessen your decision-making. If you can plan ahead and decide ahead, this will aid you in the long run, and will let you focus on the present tasks at hand.
• Get out of your head and focus on what needs to be done. It's natural to get nervous at times, but we can speak to our minds, and it will listen.

WEBTOON - SOMETHING ABOUT US

I never expected the day would come when I would go back to reading manga/webtoons, but here I am, upon the recommendation of one of my friends, reading Something About Us.

image source

I've been an avid reader of shoujo manga back when I was a teenager, and now reading something like this has made me feel like a teenager all over again. Imagine: after my work from home shift, I close my work laptop, then open my personal one, and I spend 2-3 hours scrolling and reading through the webtoon pages... then later on I feel a bit embarrassed all by myself because I've reached the part where both the male and female protagonists realize that they're falling for each other. *silently screams into a pillow* do you ever get those moments in anything you've been reading or watching lately? Please tell me I'm not alone. Friends turned lovers will always be my favorite trope.

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Dear reader, what have you been loving recently? I would be delighted to hear all about it, because it's simply great to share something we're truly excited about!

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