This month has been hectic, suffocating, and stressful due to work. Ugh! All the stress made me grumpy and complained a lot. Double ugh! To minimize the “damage,” I have started to write a gratitude journal again. It’s helping. Also, the hectic work period should be done in another week, but who’s counting?
Highlights
Seven months into living as a Melbourne expat, I think I am finally adapting to the local lifestyle. I greet the purple-haired barista by the name (of Andrea) at my favourite coffee jaunt (Nashi). I hang out at the neighbourhood watering hole (Leonard House of Love) on the weekends. I don’t get confused between City Loop and Flinders Station train schedules anymore. I drink cat brand wine (not Hello Kitty wine, though) to wind down after a long day at work. I tried the sweet Aussie-style porridge (not a fan). And I regularly get fresh flowers from the market (It was a rainbow rose the other day).
The highlight of the month was the OneDay to Conquer Cancer walk. Thank you to friends who donated on my behalf. I genuinely appreciate it.
New and Favorite Things
I did the walk with a colleague from the IT team, a guy older than Appa. Before that day, we knew each other mainly from the endless helpdesk tickets I raised, which he regularly helped fix. But we bonded on that day, walking 5 hours non-stop, braving the crazy weather of windy rain. He talked about his late wife (to whom he dedicated this walk), precious grandkids, his love of gardening, and ice cream. I told him about my previous blog, love of vintage house design, and ice cream. When the quest was over, we parted ways after promising each other to do the walk again next year. Join us?
Life Happenings
Another altering decision this month was to purge a massive chunk of my possessions after thanking them properly. After listening to Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Method of Tidying Up audible along withThe Minimalist (highly recommended) podcast, I got this idea.
I got rid of almost all of my accessories. The next step is letting go of all the books I bought but haven’t read. Yes, I am a Tsundoku, a book hoarder. And it’s time for these unread books to be more useful and loved by others.
I realized how bad I needed to declutter only after feeling the ease of owning a little fewer things. The things I accumulated after moving to Melbourne with only two pieces of luggage for seven months. It means I have to be more mindful about buying something. So I started to track my spending using the PocketBook app. Go to me!
Media and Links
There is a new TV show genre, the travel-detective-crime. It’s an essential tv crime show, which takes place in breathtaking English towns. I loved the intense Broadchurch and can’t wait for the next season. Meanwhile, I have started watching Hinterland, which I have high hopes for.
In the spirit of Halloween, I rewatched my two favourite childhood movies, Practical Magic and The Craft. And this weekend, I am renting Hocus Pocus and The Witches of Eastwick, and since it’s a long weekend, I plan to read The Witches of New York.
Speaking of all things witches, I am also attending a Book of Shadow “meeting” with fellow witches coming Sunday in downtown Melbourne. So expect some sparkly magic coming your way from this blog.
Lastly, a snippet from the tech world, I had a chance to play with the Google Pixel phone for a while. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet expectations, especially the design.
I wrote about 50 things you can do to celebrate World Food Day, which is applicable on any other day, as we should celebrate food every day! I also reposted Melbourne-related stories throughout the month. Check it out!
After reading what Sally wrote about it, I have become hooked on Reply All podcasts. I am thrilled that How To Get Away From A Murder is back, along with the new Designated Survivor and Frequency. Geez, I do watch a lot of TV shows.
Time Machine
Read more about last year’s happenings.
Thank You, Next!
I am looking forward to Halloween (technically today, but yeah). Also, Amma’s visit, Sydney trip, Jik’s birthday, and dabbing back into the photography class next month.
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