REFLECTING: JUNE 25
this month has been lovely; pretty active yet not too stressful, unless you consider my ever-growing expenses…
highlights
when it comes to highlights this month, on the top of my list is the vacation i went on with my dear friend. we travelled to the austrian countryside, by car (she drove, bravely yet not entirely fearlessly xx) as a means to celebrate our birthdays together. hers is in april, while mine’s in may but we didn’t find the time with our uni deadlines to get together properly. we both think that organising birthday parties becomes sort of stressful once you graduate from your childhood/teenage years because now friends are scattered around the country (if not the world…) and we’re not of the drinking & clubbing sort. so, we enjoyed a few days in the mountains, spending a relaxing nature-connected time together – hiking, knitting, reading, baking, bathing (yk, your average grandma activities) … our airbnb host was very sweet, gifting us sachertorte and homemade strawberry jam and we had many many encounters with cows. a lot of photos on seenarin v2 are from the trip!
other than that, the uni dance courses that i took this semester are coming to an end and we performed at the dance festival along with the other dance courses. i tried “dancehall” for the first time, a jamaican music genre from the 70s, which involves a lot of sexy hip movements. it was fun and i’m glad i tried it but i think i will stick to hip-hop in the future! my other course danced to a kpop mash-up, we performed a part of 2ne1’s “i am the best” and blackpink’s “as if it’s your last”. that one was fun too, maybe a little cringe but let’s not dwell on that. the people are kind and i had a lot of fun, aiiyl is one of my first kpop songs actually which was a cool coincidence! the performances themselves were super fun and i dearly love girls & gays hyping each other up (mwah!).
the summer heat tends to render me tired and useless because i can’t get up and do things, it’s too hot! so my weekends are a little calmer, i’m not going out much, mostly spending my time watching tv, building this website, reading… it’s not too bad though! during the week i spend a lot of my time in the library working on my bachelor’s thesis and it’s been kind of … fun? my job involves a lot of research that leads nowhere and feels a tad bit useless or unproductive so i’ve been enjoying my self- and interest-driven research and writing. i usually see my friends for lunch in the cafeteria, it’s great. maybe... there's a future a career path in store? not making any promises on that one though haha, a big part of my enjoyment probably comes from the fact that i don't have a set deadline for the thesis (i'm staying in the undergraduate program for one more year).
i had a dermatologist appointment at the beginning of the month and i’m already seeing changes with my skin because of the treatment! I’ve been battling hormonal acne for about two years now and it’s the WORST! i keep wanting to hide my face in photos, i can’t go out without make-up and i spend so so much money on expensive-ass skincare products. turns out, just go to a dermatologist – and go regularlyyy so if something doesn’t work for you they can adjust the treatment to what might. i have the next appointment in three months and i truly hope this problem will be solved by the same time next year...? (involuntary getting my hopes up)
been loving sticking physical items in my commonplace book. random flyer from an exhibition? — cut out the photos and write notes!; went to a festival and got a little bracelet thingy that would collect dust in your shelf because it’s a shame to toss but too odd to wear? — glue it in and write about the experience!; got a sticker from a jar of homemade jam? — put it on a page and write about who made it and the notes you tasted!
my appreciation for cats has skyrocketed this year, i consume cat-related content like a lovesick person. whenever i see a cat on the sidewalk (and they look chill) i give them some pets. always a highlight.
saw a local swing band at a festival my friend and i went to because our dance course
performed there too (we got in for free because we were just that important). we
sat under a massive tree, i had a way-too-sweet strawberry mocktail and there were
colorful spotlights all around the area. people stood there, swaying and enjoying the music.
we kept trying to figure out what covers they played (we never really did, usually it just
went like "aaaa i know that song, what's it again?" "me too aa, i don't know!")
"premium experience" to say it in my friend’s words xx.
what i have learned
☆ don’t do sports if you’re feeling under the weather! during the last days of our trip, a cold has been announcing itself with a sore throat (as usual) and i’ve ignored it, stupidly. the last hike we went on was our biggest, and i had the worst time. i didn’t want to waste time and money so i told my friend that i’m feeling good enough to go… i felt horrible and was sick for a week afterwards (and my friend caught my cold, too). sigh, but in the end, getting sick while on vacation is just such a shame, i think i’d always feel regretful after the fact no matter what.
☆ meal-prepping might be something to try out this summer. my appetite has been weird, and i’ve been eating more junk again because i feel too hot to cook! my appetite schedule (?) has been off too because my times are so flexible these months that i get up at a weird time and go to bed at a weird time as well (on a positive note, at least i’m getting enough sleep!). plus, i want to take tupperware to the cafeteria with me so i don’t have to toss my leftovers all the time.
☆ the recognition that i should prioritise managing my expenses. it’s been bad. my banking app scolded me, lmao 😭 i’m not in debt or anything but i seriously need to stop spending my money on things i can’t afford. the biggest offenders are clothing, beauty products and groceries (the expensive kind yk). i really want to buy birkenstock next month because i need shoes for summer and i have been eyeing them for a year now but that’s IT! no other big orders, girl, you can’t, i beg you.
i hope july will be good to me!
let's chat, i'd love to talk to people who are taking the time to read through my stuff! ₍՞◌′ᵕ‵◌₎♡
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