Recent Loves in June

Hello greetings, dear reader. June is coming to a close, and today is the last Sunday of the month. We're well on the way towards the second half of the year. 

Which means... welcome back to my Recent Loves series! Where I share a bit of the small but certain happiness, the recent loves I've cherished in the month of June:

Played an online escape room game

One evening after work, Sher and I tried out an online escape room game from Enchambered. Even if it was online, I still found that it was thrilling because there would be some things that would unexpectedly appear on the screen and I would let out a bit of a scream..... Pro tip: mute your browser if you're the kind to get surprised easily (like me). 

Sometimes I feel as if I've run out of hobbies or activities to do after work, so this one was definitely a fun little activity to do with a friend : - ) 

Watched a bunch of films

Anime

• Violet Evergarden film :"(
• Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso 
• Not a film, but Super Cub series is now complete!

Romantic comedy 

• Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants
• Bridget Jones' Diary
• About Time ♡♡♡♡♡

Played retro PC games

Back when I was a child, and my sister was a teenager, I would often watch her play games on the PC. These games were free from when we bought our first PC, and now years later they are still free through this Abandonware website. These are all retro games and I appreciate them even more now because there's a ton to choose from and I could really feel the retro vibe. 

I downloaded a DOS box emulator of sorts and I've been playing some games I remember. One of them would be god of thunder, which I'm happy to share that I finished just last week! I love it for its graphics, sound effects, and the puzzles that are actually challenging.

I'm not a gamer, but somehow I now understand the beauty of it. You get to problem solve and challenge your mind so you can win. I'd like to think that it's a skill. 

Too cute!

I started and finished reading A Little Life

I intended to go slowly in reading this novel, but I ended up finishing it in two weeks (It has 700+ pages). I planned to have it as a month-long read, but I'm really just an avid reader; I could spend days just reading and I will not be bored. 

I remember seeing this book in the bookstore years before; I was intrigued by 1) the title, because it sounded quaint and 2) the cover because the man seems to be in so much pain and I wanted to understand why. Little did I know that it was a sad book, and it was far from quaint. I only fully understood when I read it. I've read different kinds of novels in the past with unconventional themes, so reading through the distressing pages made me realize that 'ah, so this is what it is..'

It's a painful read and it may not be for everyone. There are scenes of self harm and abuse, and I could only be reading it wide-eyed while feeling dismayed.. but it is what it is. The book is thick because it spans the entire lives of our 4 main characters. I think the charm of this book was that we saw how they grew up and how their lives were intertwined. Although I did think there were some pages that could have been easily omitted, as if the author was just rambling on and on about one particular thing that wasn't really going anywhere, or was already covered earlier. 

My favorite part about this book would be the friendship. It definitely made me miss my friends. In this little life we have, it's the relationships we're fortunate to keep that makes everything worthwhile. 

We had a picnic

The park in my neighborhood had new picnic tables under the trees and I saw this as an opportunity to push through with a weekend picnic. I invited my high school friends over, and we brought food and had the loveliest setup.

We caught up on a lot of things; things we chatted about online, and things we haven't covered. We ended up staying late until the street lights turned on. It's been a while since I last did such youthful and creative things together with friends and I just want to have more of these in the future. 

Sher and I sent cakes to each other, just because

From time to time, Sher and I would hop on a call and just check in. Last week, it ended with the agreement to send each other cakes from Good Karma. There was no special reason for this, just that we wanted to cheer each other on, and so that we would both have something to look forward to. That's the thing, being in quarantine and working from home, we have to be creative with how we sustain our zest for life... 

I turned 4 at my workplace

I honestly didn't expect I would last this long, staying in one place for years, yet here I am. I had lunch with a colleague yesterday, and it was my first time seeing them in over a year since we've all been working from home (yes I have not set foot in the office since last year!!). It was such a refreshing time together, and I just couldn't stop talking.. it's really different when you're speaking with a person in the flesh. 

We talked about our experiences at work and the colleagues we interact with on a daily basis through Zoom. It reminded me of how I really do appreciate the working relationships I've developed and I think it's my favorite aspect with the work I have. 

Lunch @ Sushi Ninja

 

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June was eventful in a way. I'd say it's amazing, how time flew.. nowadays I try so hard not to think about the future much for now, and just keep living each day the best way I know how. 

Truth be told, I've been very busy lately. Again, I should say. I thought my busy months were behind me, however I committed myself into a project at work that blew up (in a good way) and it ended up taking much of my time. I didn't anticipate this at all, and I was overwhelmed. 

It made me doubt myself at some point, but I knew I had to get myself out of my own negative self talk. And so the first step was acknowledging the fact that I was tired. I still am, since I'm still in the midst of it, but I know that I have to see it through. So I openly spoke about it with my colleagues, my team leads, and most important of all, I sought their help in getting more hands for the project. 

Which led me to realize that it's actually a skill to know when to ask for help, when to delegate tasks, and when to sit down with a colleague and tell them that maybe there's a way to do things better, or ask the colleagues I support if they could manage some things on their own for now while I fix some things on my end. 

We'll see how it pans out, but I know I'll be ok : - ) I'll always be doing my best. 

How have you been?  I hope you're well and safe. 

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