Hello and welcome to yet another scorching summer, dear reader.
I write to you from the cool respite of my room, where our aircon is putting up a valiant fight against the relentless summer heat.
Despite the unforgiving sun, though, a huge part of me longs to be outside — to smell the summer breeze, take a nice walk, lounge by the beach. I think it's because I've spent the last two weeks at home — and not of my own volition.
A life update no one wanted (but I'll give anyway since it is my blog)
Without going into a lot of detail, I haven't been able to go about my usual routines these past couple of weeks. It's nothing serious - but I do have to rest up and stay in bed most of the time.
It's not the worst thing in the world by a long shot, and yet, I am slowly — comfortably — losing my mind.
LOL - god forbid a woman wanting to go about her daily workouts, hot girl walks, and flower-slash-coffee runs.
I am not an adventurous person. My cute little routines are all I have going for me most days. Not being able to do them is sad, especially in the height of summer, where my island-home comes alive.
My ideal summer day on the island
Indule me this fantasy, reader.
Here is what I'd like to do on long days like this:
It starts early with a drive through CCLEX. The morning is cool, our drive is smooth, and the city skyline is inviting.
Our first stop is Carbon market, where we pretend we're street-smart and slick. We buy cheap fruits and produce. I procure a bouquet of pink and white carnations from Freedom Park. We light some candles at Sto. Niño. We then cross the busy street and have a museum date at Aduana.
Next is brunch at one of the many small cafes around Capitol. Maybe we grab a buko pie latte from Abli and then make a quick stop at Lost Books to pick up a few titles.
I'll show you my favorite place to get salted egg tofu and empanadas (Tiffin - a cloud kitchen just behind Capitol.)
Or maybe we simply wilt under the heat of the sun and go to the mall for air conditioning. We'll pick up some abubot at Watsons whilst dodging the landmine of sales ladies. We'll window shop at Uniqlo for on-sale items. Maybe we talk the whole time, arm in arm, like we have all the time in the world. We'll share a hearty meal at Phat Pho and drop by Healthy Options for a lactaid restock.
We could spend the rest of the afternoon watching the joggers at CBP. Maybe one of us has access to a pool somewhere in the city where we take a little dip - highly unlikely but welcome. Or maybe, because we're old and have no more mileage, we part ways early and settle down at our individual homes. I'll then take an everything shower and put on a Netflix show while I munch on pizza.
I'd be in bed by 10, falling asleep on fresh sheets to the soothing sounds of a Korean ingrown toenail removal video.
That is my ideal day.
Build season
A girl can dream. But reality is a different monster.
Build season is in full swing, and honestly, I feel like I've been full-steaming it all year thus far. That's a good thing, though. After a very slow 2024, I am glad to have some momentum this year.
Here's what I've been up to so far:
Working with clients
Revolutionary, right? After working in-house for the better part of two years, I am back to hardcore freelancing. The change of pace is actually...refreshing? Each quarter, I work with one or two different projects on top of monthly retainers. So far, I've worked with a medical tourism startup, a photography studio, an organic coffee brand, and my usual fare of outsourcing agencies.
It's fun and challenging!
Biz dev
I love biz dev days. I love working on my business as much as working in it.
This quarter, I carved out time to automate processes like contracts and invoicing. I've created templates and documented processes to make things easier. Tools like Dubsado, Notion, and ChatGPT have been super helpful!
Ecosystem
Having several part-time jobs or multiple income streams rather than one full-time gig. It involves pursuing multiple passions, interests and types of work. It’s never static and always evolving
Am I crazy, or did she just describe me?
With this new knowledge in mind, I spent time getting clear on what I want to achieve moving forward. After lots of thumb-twiddling and navel-gazing, I finally organized a cohesive database for my various goals and interests.
Branding!
Ugh this gets me so excited I wanna puke. I'm really picky about visual design, and I'm so glad to have finally invested in branding for Copylang and CMCC. Check it out:
This task has been on my checklist for so long. I'm glad I've finally crossed it off!
Health
LOL spending a week in bed is not the best signifier of health, but until these recent events, I felt like I was making lots of good progress with my fitness and health.
Prior to *gestures wildly* this whole thing, I was working out at least 3x a week, consistently doing weighted HIIT with my pink 15lb weights, and walking at least 2km each day.
Reader, I'd just bought new workout clothes to match my exercise regimen.
I carried my 14kg nephew on my back for 3 miles without having to catch my breath.
My clothes were starting to fit better.
Alas, I feel like I have to readjust my expectations and goals following this, but I'm still proud of the habits I've built regardless. I can't wait to get the all-clear from my doctor and return to my regular programming (or at least a sustainable version of it).
Extra kuri-kuri
Build season is literal in some aspects! My husband and I have a small real estate project in the works. Like my workouts, my current situation has put a pause on this project, but I'm super eager to jump back on it before Q2 ends.
Editor's Note
The draft ends there, dear reader. We all know how that summer went.
I am writing to you now, 6 months later. It's the first day of the new year. Since then, we've survived a miscarriage, a major move, an earthquake, and a typhoon. We went to two weddings, one funeral, and many happier reunions with friends and family.
I look at the version of me who wrote this post with fondness. She really didn't know that shit would soon hit the fan. A sweet summer child. A harsh personal winter was going to bite her in the ass and she was none the wiser.
Be that as it may, I think that we came out on the other side stronger, wiser, more resilient. A bit banged up, for sure, but more insightful than who we were 6 months ago.
And don't worry, dear reader. I did get to have my perfect summer day - only it wasn't in the summer. I'll tell you all about it in another post.
For now - thanks for reading and happy new year!
Love,
K
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