I enjoyed reading through fellow writers' blog entries on how their month of May went. I figured I'd write a little update on my end as well with my many interests in life.

ART

I have been challenging myself to paint more by painting the cover photos for the blog. For the past few entries, they've all been watercolor paintings. I'm not pressuring myself though, I just paint when I have time and when I make time, as well as when I get an idea for a blog entry, or when I want to share about something that needs to be placed into writing. I'm trying to make painting and writing go hand in hand.


PODCAST


I've been listening to podcasts from Girl Boss Radio! I'm pretty sure you're all familiar with Girl Boss, whether it's the novel or the Netflix series. I haven't read the book, and I have yet to finish the series, but I certainly am subscribed to their podcast channel. I like listening to the many stories of women starting out with their businesses/careers, and also the challenges that go with it. There were many times I was able to relate, and many important lessons learned as well from their experiences.

Another thing I like about listening to Girl Boss Radio is hearing about different Girl Boss moments! Sophia Amoruso describes these moments as times when you've felt like you're your own boss, and you're really living in the moment because it was of your own choice. For me personally, it would be as recent as last Saturday, wherein I got to be the host/emcee for my company's summer outing. Hosting is something I can go on and on about, but one thing for sure is that it's one of the things that excites me the most.

My favorite episodes are the following:

Rupi Kaur- Poet, Artist and Performer - women empowerment!
Kathryn Minshew, Co-founder & CEO The Muse - it was a pleasant surprise to hear this one, because I remember stumbling upon The Muse website during my funemployment days and all the advice helped so much. I actually printed out the top 30 most asked interview questions and practiced from there. So helpful!
Grace Bonney, Founder Design*Sponge - an inspiring listen on how an inspiring blog came to be

ANIME

I've watched two Slice of Life anime a couple of weeks ago.

After The Rain
I didn't expect to like it, what with our characters having a huge age gap. I expected it to be something like reading Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita all over again. But thank goodness the middle aged man wasn't a pervert, and he was sensible enough to not make her think there was hope between them. The plot did not center on the supposed romance at all, which I am thankful for. I don't know how it is in the manga though.... but just I simply liked the parallel of the story wherein she is unable to move forward to her future, while he on the other hand is unable to let go of his past. In the end, we have the responsibility to carve out a path for ourselves.



Our main girl's fleeting infatuation for our middle aged man was apt to how it is with the characteristic of rain: strong and heavy at first yet considerably light and fleeting. She'll have to face reality again after a moments of clouded judgment.

March Comes In Like A Lion
I started watching this anime because of the the photoset I stumbled upon on Facebook. I also like the illustration because this one is from the makers of Honey and Clover, yet another Slice of Life anime that I loved. This anime is actually very deep in a sense that it reminds us that there comes a time when we make choices out of necessity and not because we truly want it, and we have to live through that and face the consequences.


I love the Slice of Life genre. I find that it is more interesting rather than having to have a hero and a villain fighting each other to no end which results to a number of anime episodes and manga chapters. It's simply a cycle, and it gets repetitive too. Slice of Life on the other hand shows us real life problems, daily struggles, and that life is not at all perfect as we want it to be or how we always aim to portray it, especially on social media.

Sadly, there's not much really good Slice of Life anime out there. I wish they'd make more!

MUSIC

I have many sources for my Korean Indie music needs, but lately I've discovered Mirrorball Music on Youtube. It's kind of sad though, I can't freely stream Youtube on my phone because the music stops as soon as the homescreen turns off. Here's a gem I've been liking lately:

FOOD 

I've eaten ramen twice this month... I think I won't be eating that for months now. First ramen is from Mensukaba Geishu, a hole in the wall ramen place in BF Homes. Second one is from Mendokorro from the Makati branch (I heard they just opened one in BGC!). The ever so loved Mendokorro. Haha!

SEASONS

I'm ending this entry with another sky photo yet again. I posted this one from my Instagram stories.

I think summer is almost over (YAY). I am not going to miss the super hot weekends I spent at home and the early sweltering morning walks from the bus stop to my office. Meanwhile, I think summer is just about to start for other parts of the globe. I do hope you guys enjoy this season. :' )