I’m halfway through my last week before spring break (plug: spring break plans coming to the blog next Monday)! The semester has been going pretty well so far. I have a system for managing my workload, and I’m trying my best to stick to it for as long as possible. This last week and a half has been rough though, especially with professors sliding in midterms and labs just before spring break. But I’ve completed all three of my midterms, and just have two labs to go.
Now seven weeks into the semester, I’m scared that I might start slipping, but I think spring break will save me just in the knick of time to give me space to breathe, relax, rejuvenate, and get fired up to finish the semester off strong. I need to watch less TV shows. Sleep more. Ask for help when I need it. And ask for it early. Not be embarrassed. Keep making time for people I care about. And things I care about doing and making.
Books
My favourite reads this month have been Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein and Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. They’re both short story collections. It’s not a genre I typically read because I guess I just don’t know very much about where to look for them. But when you find a good collection, it’s a good feeling. Short stories are, well, short, but also powerful. Next up, I’m planning to start on The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee as soon as spring break begins. Keep up with me on Goodreads!
The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt | ★★★☆☆
Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein | ★★★★☆
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks | dropped
Flâneuse by Lauren Elkin | ★★★☆☆
Good as Gone by Amy Gentry | ★★★☆☆
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang | ★★★★★
Movies & TV shows
I still need to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I’ve got a friend who wants to watch it with me, so we’ll do that whenever we find an online stream. Might watch Hidden Figures over spring break. Saving Sherlock for then as well. Also, with March coming up, I’m getting hyped for Beauty and the Beast!
Moana | Finally! There was a free screening on campus. Loved. It. I need to watch this again and again.
Arrival | Finally! This was screened on campus as well. So glad I read the short story it was based off of (“Story of Your Life” from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang).
Prison Break | I told myself I needed to stop watching Criminal Minds, so I logged out of Netflix for a day, but then came back to binge on Prison Break, whoops.
Riverdale | It’s so hard for me to find a source to stream this from, and the sources I do find are way too slow. Not worth it :/ So I’ve taken a pause with this series!
A Series of Unfortunate Events | I watched the first episode but I didn’t like it 🙁
Jane the Virgin | Heard about this show a lot. Finally started it the weekend before midterms, of course.
The Walking Dead | Just started this yesterday. Steven Yeun ♡ Asian representation ♡
Music
I went to see Daniela Andrade at World Cafe Live with Stephanie! (on the blog here)
Also, my friend Leo released his first EP! Check out Hyphenated on Spotify. “Hyphenated is an album exploring the connection and discord between the different cultures we belong to as Asian-Americans.” Check out his Kickstarter page to learn more about the background and process of creating his first EP.
Can’t Fight It (stripped) – Rayvon Owen
Light – San Holo
Waiting on the Summer – VHS Collection
Nothing Lasts Forever (And It’s Fine) – Flora Cash
Give Up The Ghost – Rosi Golan, Johnny McDaid
My Lair – Bear’s Den
Tribes – Neulore
You’re Welcome – Jordan Fisher, Lin-Manuel Miranda
지친 하루, 당신에게 위로와 휴식을 선사할 잔잔한 음악 (playlist)
Oh, and not music, but I’ve also started listening to Pod Save America. It’s fantastic.
Eats
I have an evening class at Swarthmore on Wednesdays and don’t get back home until after 10:00PM, which isn’t always fun. But lately, Julia, Kat, and I have been making Wednesday night drives to… any place with fries. It’s not an official Wednesday night thing, but maybe it should be 😉
HMart – Foco Thai tea drink, Jardin green tea latte, Korean honey pancakes
Coreanos – bulgogi rice bowl
The Halal Guys – falafels
Ruby’s – chocolate peanut butter milkshake, sweet potato fries
Minella’s Diner – disco fries (fries with cheese and gravy)
Wendy’s – chili cheese fries
Green Engine Coffee – Spanish hot chocolate
Schmackary’s – schmore cookie, peanut butter banana crunch cookie
Shopping haul
I was hoping I wouldn’t have to include this section in this month’s post, but Abercrombie had a sale okay?? Their jeans are so soft, and I’ve been wanting to cosy up in a midi sweater dress after Chelsea’s outfit post.
Abercrombie lurex midi sweater dress, burgundy stripe
Abercrombie high rise girlfriend jeans, black wash
Abercrombie high rise girlfriend jeans, ripped light wash
Abercrombie ripped boyfriend jeans, ripped light wash
Wishlist
Stylenanda corrugated cotton cap, yellow
Stylenanda embellished wool beret, black
Happy moments
Professor gave me points “for ambition.”
Ben invited us to Green Engine Coffee to participate as background models during their photoshoot. And he also treated us to coffee!
Snow day! Bi-Co classes were cancelled, and the professor of my not-Bi-Co class cancelled, so… free day!
Watched Moana on campus and everyone sang along to “How Far I’ll Go” as the credits were rolling. God I miss being at a women’s college! I think it was the Alessia Cara version at the credits, but I prefer the Auli’i Cravalho version.
Starbucks had an awesome promotion from Feb 10 to Feb 13: I could get 80 stars for every green tea latte I purchased! Which is awesome because one star is equivalent to one dollar. And green tea lattes are my fav anyway. So I went to Starbucks for the first and only time this semester so far on Feb 13 to exploit that promotion.
Found a new favourite place to study on campus: Dining Center basement. It’s newly remodeled and also has a bunch a vending machines, including one just for Starbucks coffee. The 13.7oz glass bottles of coffee are only $1.75! What a steal!!!
Maintaining friendships through group projects.
Having tampons when I need them.
I was walking to the van to take to Swarthmore, which was waiting behind the bus that was going to Bryn Mawr, and Crystal saw me from the bus and came over to the van to say hi! Like, she got out of the bus to come to the van just to say hi !!! :’) <3 I am touched.
Running into friends. On campus, in the city, anywhere! Always good to see a friendly face 🙂
Skyping Anny, Courtney, and Jolie. We don’t do this often enough!
Lately
My view from McCabe library when I wait for my weekly evening class. Getting lost on our way to the “Making Noise in Silence” Deaf event at the Penn Museum and stumbling upon this apocalyptic view. Homemade popcorn chicken bowl and homemade bubble tea with Kyu and Alex. Low-key party at apartment with Kat, Steph, Julia, Austin, and Kevin. Cards, drinks, hugs, chats. A festive photoshoot with Austin (on the blog here and here). Unintentional wardrobe coordination calls for band photos. 1AM pancakes that I wish I took a picture of but didn’t because I was too tired.
Right, so about that Youtube video… For my American Sign Language class, I needed to make video recordings. And they’re hard! By the time I finished making my video, my face was completely sore from smiling. So, if you want to see me make weird facial expressions, give that video a look. Omg videos are so hard. How Youtubers do??
Anywho, in other news, I’ve been actively trying to do something every weekend, keeping my weekends busy with socials whilst still managing academics. Last week was a little bit heartbreaking because there were so many things going on that I wanted to go to, but there’s only one me, and I don’t have a time turner! I missed an awesome presentation about GaySL by Hayden Kristal. I missed a campus screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I missed a club-sponsored trip to Paper Source for their stamp making workshop. But I saw Daniela Andrade. And I watched Arrival. Honestly, I feel blessed that there are so many awesome things happening.
PS: january