Watch Me Romanticize The Mundane

Nothing fancy, just my November recap!

Little hi, little low, everyone! (Stuart Little reference, if you don’t know it.)

First of all, thank you to all of you who signed up. To be quite honest, I wasn’t expecting anyone to subscribe since this is something that was born out of a spur-of-the-moment decision (well, kinda). Sorry for the awkward audio above but hey, I just wanted to say thank you!

I started posting monthly recaps on my personal Instagram ever since August (although, I have done it since July 2021 for my TeaTimePlans account) but never really put anything else in the caption aside from a one-liner. And because I’m considering the audience here as a very “elite” group of people for signing up (lol), I’m going to add more context for the photos I posted on Instagram today! Planning to make this a monthly thing here.

November 2022 Recap

First half - L-R (1-5)

1. Played a lot on my Switch - In this photo is Potion Permit, one of the games I got really hooked on this month. I’m already at 80% completion but I took a break from playing because I got busy towards the end of November.

2. Trees from the park where Karl & I usually go - We walked there twice this month before DST ended. I’m sticking to indoor walking until DST is back.

3. ERAS TOUR TIX SECURED!!! That day was crazy!!! AND I MEAN CRAZY!!! I got a presale code the day before and it was so hard trying to snag tickets because I had two appointments scheduled for that day. Imagine me waiting in queue while in the car and in the clinic of my primary doctor. Not the best seats with the budget, but I’m just thankful we got them. We’re hoping to get better seats just in case someone decides they want to give up theirs. So excited for May 2023!

4. Spontaneous Starbucks Drive-thru - feat. my husband. That photo was taken on a very ordinary day but I’m just happy because we can do stuff like this now - sometimes I still can’t believe we’re actually physically together for good.

5. Getting hooked on library perks - I shared about this on one of my Instagram stories the other day but I’m just in awe with the number of free books and resources that I can access. I hope for the day when something like this is available in the Philippines.

Second half - L-R (6-10)

6. Launched Rae’s Ramblings - You all know what this is about already! Aside from launching the newsletter two weeks ago, I also worked on some of the other settings I can update. Still exploring Substack’s features and all the other things I can customize and work on (hence the very awkward audio as an intro lol).

7. Matcha date with Karl - A mini-celebration of being married for two months. Thankful he doesn’t hate matcha. A confession: Sometimes, I forget we’re married. 😅 Maybe because it’s still new? I don’t know. I tell him whenever I realize that, “Shocks, kasal na nga pala tayo noh?” And he always responds with, “Grabe siya.” Knowing how forgetful he is, I’m surprised I’m the one with that kind of realization sometimes.

8. First Thanksgiving! I originally wanted to create an entry on the day of Thanksgiving but we got busy preparing food and we also had visitors so I thought, might as well move the entry for month-end. Karl and I talked about how we’re both very happy we now get to spend holidays like this one together!

9. Still trying to achieve my 2022 Reading Goal - I’m nine books away from completing that goal (22 books) - I have two ongoing reads right now and seven I have yet to start. I’m still positive I can do this. I also got the complete month achievement on the Kindle app - I’m proud of that reading streak!

10. Finishing the Real-World Product Management Specialization in Coursera - So proud of myself for this one!!! I’m still waiting for my peer-graded assignment results for two of the courses and then I can get the specialization certificate. My goal was to finish it by tomorrow but I was able to finish three weeks worth of lessons yesterday.

The title is just apt for this month. I feel like November was uneventful except for Thanksgiving and the Ticketmaster fiasco but now I’m learning to find joy in romanticizing even the most mundane of things. I have to admit it’s hard for me to still be unemployed at this point but I’ve been keeping in mind it’s out of my control and the least I can do is try to keep myself busy with my hobbies and enjoy this season even when it feels so difficult.

I’m looking forward to what will happen this December - it’s my favorite holiday and my first Christmas here in the US. Well, I’ll let you know in next month’s recap!

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Rae’s Currently List

• Watching: Wednesday!!! I just finished it over the weekend - nothing I haven’t started/resumed watching this week though

• Reading: Kindle: The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg; Audiobook: Finding Me: A Memoir, Viola Davis

• Playing: Jenny Leclue: Detectivu

• Thinking about: the day I can finally get my work permit lol

• Listening to: my Of Viby Tunes playlist (link is for Apple Music only!)

• Hyperfocusing on: MVA’s Driver Manual - I’m taking the knowledge test tomorrow for a learner’s permit! Wish me luck!

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I hope things are going well for you! As I said in the audio above, please let me know if you try any of my Rae-commendations (nuks, may ganun) from my lists or any part of my entries and if you like them!

I’m craving for a bowl of Mendokoro’s Super Chashu right now,

Rae