On the first Friday of the month, my colleagues and I spent a day volunteering at the Foodbank Victoria. I have always wanted to do this but didn’t know where and how to start. We helped to pack more than 7,000kg of food to feed more than 12,000 people. To say it was a soul-satisfying day would be an understatement. As a result, I wish to do more volunteer work regularly, and it would be even better to do it with my loved ones.
Highlights and Happenings
This month I learned that I like taking pictures of people instead of things and scenery. It’s been a big revelation for me as I usually wouldn’t say I like having people in my scenery pictures. Still, after some soul-searching, I’ve got to admit street photography is where my interest peaks. So another photography goal is to submit a photo of Richard Renaldi’s Touching Strangers series.
Still, about photography, I registered and have been uploading my pictures on SmugMug, hoping that it will push me to keep practising photography, which comes with a bonus of some me-time.
If you ask me about one of my life regrets, it would be not consistently keeping a diary. I have tried many things, but they kept getting pushed back on the daily priority list and eventually got neglected. I recently made a new rule to write in a diary before I step into the shower at night. No dairy entry = no shower. Hopefully, it works.
I finally collected the Apache bowl I bought last year and left it at my parents’. I will write more about it and other woo-woo stuff that has been filling our apartment. Speaking of which, I also have been using crystals to cleanse our home’s energy. The effect has been lovely and lasting.
The crystal of the month is called Chevron Amethyst. It’s like the regular Amethyst, but with the additional superpower. It enhances intuition, repels negativity, cleanses the aura, and soothes anger. It’s freaking fantastic!
Kitchen update: I perfected the 10-minute pantry pasta, a weekly staple in our household ever since. Also, all the chilis for this month’s cooking came from our chilli plant.
The tiny house movement has inspired me since I read it on some blogs and knew Beth of Little Red Tarot lives in one. I have already chosen the one I will buy, and I need to convince Fafa.
My tarot consultant, Sandra, once advised me to connect more often with nature. Her words fueled my love for trees, and I have made an effort to have regular contact with them ever since. I also bookmarked world-famous trees and planned to see some of them before I died. Fingers crossed.
Travel and Trips
This month’s road trip destination was Daylesford. Compared to other road trips we have done, it’s my favourite. We went to the Wombat Hill Botanical Garden for brunch, visited and had drinks at the Convent Gallery, and packed a bottle of delicious spiced cider from the Daylesford Cider Co Brewery, which has been polished off by yours truly by the time I write this.
Another highlight of the month would be when our couple of friends invited and fed us the best fish biryani of my life. They make living in Melbourne, far away from my family, easier.
Mid-month, I went to India for the second time! This time to Goa with a stopover in Chennai for my cousin’s wedding. My cousin’s wedding in a word was gorgeous, and so was she. Everything was perfect and magical.
It was great fun to hang out with my cousins after a long time. We had multiple heart-to-hearts, gossiped, got drunk, ate as we had never seen the food before, took too many pictures of ourselves, wore matching PJs, danced the night away, and passed out on the bed. It had been a non-stop laughter-filled weekend from the time we met at Singapore Changi Airport until we crossed Chennai Airport immigration on the way back.
By then, it was past midnight, and we were too tired to acknowledge each other.
The day after returning from India, I attended Gala Darling’s event. Even though I no longer relate to her, I thought the younger me, who was a fan, would appreciate seeing her IRL. I ended up having a great time, and to my delight, Julie Parker was there! OMG, major star crush! I told Julie I was a huge fan and always listened to her soothing voice on the Priestess Podcast. In return, she hugged and enveloped me with her warmness.
In honour of Leslie Knope’, I threw a Galentine’s party at my place and invited my Tree of Trust teammates. They all came and brought too many wines (my love for cheap wines is public information at work), chocolate, doughnuts, flowers, and cats post-its (Thanks, Manda!). We spent the night getting to know each other better using the conversation cards from Kikki. K.
I will make this Galentine’s party a yearly thing and align it with the Lunar New Year to tap into extra blessings.
New and Favorite Things
NGV Melbourne is featuring Flower Obsession by an 89yo Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. It’s an absolute visual treat. Check out if you are in Melbourne anytime before the end of April this year.
I discovered the delicious Badam milk at Chennai airport and Feni in Goa. Both have become instant favourites. Liz’s point rings true about the best ways to experience a new place’s culture through eating or, in my case, drinking. So here is an idea, maybe I can make a beverage pilgrimage throughout India.
I am revisiting India this year, starting from Chennai. I have bookmarked the oldest bookstore in Chennai to visit the next time I am there. Hopefully, they sell Badam milk there too.
On Lunar New Year (not a holiday in Australia, boo! Yet another reason I miss Singapore), I got an Ang Pao from the boss. He gave it in a red packet symbolizing good luck. Inside there were two $5 bills representing double happiness. It made my day! I also got a little nostalgic about the company I worked for in Singapore, where we get Ang Pao in a green packet during Lebaran and a red packet during Lunar New Year each year.
Liz dragged me to hot yoga yesterday. Of course, I came prepared with a water bottle and a hair tie. Still, I was entirely unprepared to do downward yoga in between other positions repeatedly I didn’t even recognize while sweating profusely. Hot yoga isn’t easy! But it gave me such a happy high that I plan to return tomorrow.
Media and Links
I thoroughly enjoyed Good Me and Bad Me, which I finished over a weekend, and am currently in love with RubyTandoh wrote Eat Up, which I have been savour-reading for half an hour every night. Meanwhile, I am forcing myself to listen to A False Report, which I have to finish in two weeks as it’s the theme in our subsequent book club discussion.
As a super fan of Legal drama TV show ever since Ally McBeal, it was such a joy to discover The Good Fight, the spinoff of The Good Wife, on the flight back to Melbourne.
Other than that, I have been watching Scandal, HTGAFM, Law & Order SVU, Criminal Minds, and Grey’s Anatomy. I have also played Deadly Women in the background throughout the month while doing this and around the house. I was bummed for a while thinking that I finished all 38 episodes of it, but it was just the 1st season, to my utter delight! There are more than 100 episodes to accompany in the upcoming months.
This month, I wrote about leaving my legacy in writing, my Postcards Project, Hokkaido breakfast and Hyderabad Biryani, Valentine, and that little things matter a lot, also about Liechtenstein.
With the above posts, I have crossed the 500 blog posts milestone, thinking that I want to retire from the blogging world after I write 1,000 posts. I have been pondering about this for a while, about when to stop or will I ever stop blogging. But, for now, 1000 posts feel like a good number, milestone, and measurable goal. So, here’s to 500 more posts! How about you? Do you have a blogging milestone, deadline, or endgame?
If you are into monthly recaps, here are some of my favourite bloggers’ monthly recaps, such as Setarra’s Little Happenings, Erin’s How To Know It’s, Richelle’s Freedom Life series, and Kate’s monthly recap.
This month’s video is called the 160 characters. Check it out. Still, about the video, I don’t get why YouTube would restore an ignorant public figure’s channel?!!! I mean, seriously?! Word of advice, please choose your idols carefully, you guys! Better yet, look up to the best version of yourself and strive to be that person every day.
Time Machine
Read more about last year’s happenings.
Thank You, Next!
February has been an epic month, and I wish March would be even better!
As a starter, I plan to train weekly to prepare for the mid-year marathon, which I signed up to push myself to exercise more. Speaking of which, I have officially joined the gym now. So yeah, the 2018 version of me is doing great! I hope these short Audiobooks will be a good companion while working out.
We will be flying to Sydney for the weekend to hang out with Jik in her Pineapple House. Hopefully, during the short visit, we will get to tick off Devon Cafe, Shalom, Blue Mountain, Kinokuniya, Tea Cozy, and cat yoga.
It will be two years of me living as an expat in Melbourne at the end of March. I am planning to celebrate it by eating crocodile meat. Because why not?
Time Machine
Read more about last year’s happenings.
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