Volume 01 Issue 07 part 1
October 05 - 09, 2020
I’m sending this out in two parts this week, because today is the first day of BTS’ two-day concert and I will be fully focused on BTS this weekend. I took a leave on Monday to emotionally recover (lol @ self, I am serious though) and will send out the BTS portion of the newsletter then. I kinda like the idea of letting you lovely readers choose to ignore the part of the newsletter you didn’t sign up for, since there are some subscribers who are here for the BTS stuff and some who are here for the personal stuff. Or if you want to read both parts, that’s cool too! Anyway, I’ll play it by ear in the coming weeks.
This week was very very long, kicked off by the launch of the biggest project of my career (on a day I was sick!) and closed out by another big success. It’s so bizarre to be achieving in the middle of the pandemic when everything is going to shit in the broader sense but my little world is very much okay. I’m not complaining about the achievements; it’s just an odd feeling. I guess there’s no right or wrong way to feel about everything going on, nor should I minimize how grateful I am to be functioning well right now.
Real talk, is it arrogant to be impressed with yourself? Because that’s how I feel about my project. LOL. Not going to bore you with details (feel free to ask me though if you’re curious) but one of my mom’s favorite sayings -- “The dots connect in hindsight” -- is apt here because I was able to apply what I had learned from multiple previous roles to the one I’m holding now. The project I launched is a gamechanger IMHO and I’m super optimistic about the impact. I’ll know in a couple of months if it really is as big a deal as I think it is. Cross your fingers for me, would you?
Shop Small, Love Local
I mentioned last week that I’ve been working on some body image issues for a while now. Nekid Swimwear is the first swimsuit brand I tried in the past few years that has made me feel so so so sexy. I have the Kamalla one-piece in two patterns and have influenced more than a few friends to buy it too. The way it’s constructed, with the boning in the bodice, really does something for my confidence! The bottom has moderate coverage (important; conservative ako eh lol) and I am pleased with the adjustable bodice straps around the back because I have gained weight this quarantine and I know I won’t have to worry about it being too tight around the chest. Nekid Swimwear pivoted to loungewear during the pandemic, and when I wear the backless set around the house, I get the same confidence boost. The owner, Dee, is a friend from college, and she has been consistently excellent with customer service every time I needed to exchange something. Dee gave me a discount code: use PINKY15 for 15% off on non-sale styles, valid until the end of October. Not valid with other promos, but if you reach PHP 2,000 after discount, shipping is still free. And you can still exchange as needed!
Currently…
Eating really delicious kamote from Batanes! I was lucky enough to order two kilos from Fundacion Pacita before the first batch sold out. So sweet and tasty; it made me miss Batanes so much. Looking forward to going back someday. The second batch is dropping sometime next week. I highly recommend following Fundacion Pacita on Facebook and ordering via PM once they post that the sweet potatoes are available.
Drinking a sea salt latte from one of my favorite coffee shops in BGC: Harlan & Holden. I miss spending my weekends in BGC. I miss the outside world and the way life used to be. I try not to reminisce too much because it makes me too sad.
Planning some upgrades to my home office. Sakto 10.10 sale today. I was diagnosed yesterday with “Computer Vision Syndrome” - apparently it’s a real thing - when I consulted persistent eye socket pain for the past month. My doctor said he’s been seeing a lot more cases of this since almost everyone is now working from home. I do miss being at my workstation in the office, stepping away from my desk for office chika or face-to-face meetings. Now my eyes are just constantly staring at my tiny laptop or my phone or the TV. I don’t even drive anywhere or take walks, so for most of the day, my vision is classified as “near-screen.” Hoping the change in monitors relieves at least some of the discomfort.
Feeling especially lucky in the friend department, with Maxinne and Lilia sending over gifts for my nephew and being included in Trina, Virlynn, and Timmy’s monthly oils unboxing even when I don’t know a thing about essential oils.
Finishing Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo on Netflix. It was the last show I watched before I got into BTS about two months ago and I had completely left it by the wayside, right when the two leads had just gotten together. Sayang namanyung 12-episode investment ko if I don’t see it through!
Longreads
‘Most of My Friendships Were Toxic, But Now I’m So Lonely!’ -- Heather Havrilesky, Ask Polly.
“When you’re tempted to lump together depressed guys and insecure women and friends who’ve grown distant under the same “toxic” label, that’s a sign that your shame and insecurities are telling an overly reductive story about reality. When you globalize, stigmatize, blame, conflate, and distance yourself from others, you have to notice that. That’s you being avoidant: embracing extreme definitions and writing other people off entirely in order to sidestep your most vulnerable feelings. Your shame about how broken you feel, underneath all of your defenses, is creating a reductive story about reality, one where everyone else is bad and you’re good.”
How to Cope When Everything Feels Bad and Somehow It Keeps Getting Worse - Rachel Miller, Vice.
Rachel Miller is one of my top resources for mental health content, beginning from when she was with BuzzFeed covering the same beat. Highly recommend following her on Twitter and subscribing to her newsletter, “Just Good Shit.” It’s one of my inspirations for starting Pinky’s Linkies.
Is It Okay to Have Hope? - John Paul Brammer, ¡Hola Papi!
I don’t get to read advice columns as much as I used to, but ¡Hola Papi! has always resonated with me. “I hope that whenever you lose your way, as we all do now and then, you’ll be able to look at the life you’re living and know that, at least to some extent, the world is what we make it.”
so much time and none it to grieve -- Anne Helen Petersen, Culture Study.
AHP is one of my favorite writers.I try to read everything she publishes -- she’s the author of that millennial burnout story that went viral a while back -- and her Facebook page and spin-off group “Celebrity Gossip, Academic Style” are some of my happy places on the Internet.
I did not expect this section to be all newsletters, but I guess this is the time to reveal my sources: 90% of my links come from following journalists and authors whose work I admire and enjoy reading. Because I like them, they are likely to lead me to content by other journalists and authors in their circles, whose content I will probably also like. When real life is too busy for me to be catching up on Twitter, I don’t see what others are talking about, and I don’t come across any links that I save to Pocket for later reading. Ironic that I finally started a newsletter for my links only to have the well dry up completely.
Part 2 is coming on Monday after the BTS concert. Feel free to share this newsletter, it’s open to the public. I always get excited any time people engage with me about things that I post, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts. Unless it’s mean or mansplainy: in that case, no thank you. <3 If this is your first time reading this, you can subscribe via the button below and then the next issues will land in your inbox.
Yours from afar,
Pinky