Volume 01 Issue 11
November 2-8, 2020
What a year this week has been. Somehow I was able to sleep a little, work a little, eat a little, just enough to endure a 120-hour-long Tuesday. Every morning, I’d check my group texts first thing for any breaking news, and then keep phone-in-hand pretty much the entire day. I shudder to think what my screen time report looks like.
As if my anxiety about the US elections wasn’t bad enough, my sister went into labor also on Tuesday, and because of complications, my newborn niece is still in the NICU. She’s improving, but not out of the woods yet. Appreciate your prayers for baby Clara’s and my sister’s healing and complete recovery.
I’ve been a frantic mess this whole week, but oddly, it was also the first season this whole pandemic that I felt like the old me again. Doomscrolling through Twitter day and night, neck-deep in political minutae, enjoying niche jokes such as this pitch-perfect Sister Act 2 meme, and the glorious mess that was Four Seasons Total Landscaping. I’ve been away from what I call my “real” Twitter for the past few months, avoiding the stress and despair the daily news cycle was causing me. I had kept my head buried in the sand of ARMY Twitter, and yes, it was joyful. But in a weird way, returning to my private Twitter during the slog of waiting for vote counts felt like a return to myself and the things I used to be interested in and care deeply about. Maybe this is the trauma of the last four years manifesting, that I find it comforting to be surrounded by similarly anxious people on Twitter? Who can say…
The work isn’t over (least of all here in the Philippines) but today, we celebrate and we rest. Trump and his monsters are on their way out, and I am enjoying every minute of their downfall. There’s been some debate around why we Filipinos should care so much when it’s not even our own elections. I’d like to think Biden’s win sends a strong signal that authoritarianism can still be defeated. That it’s not hopeless, that we still have a chance. Biden picked a running mate - a woman! of color!! - who challenged him in the primary; who is strong, independent, and accomplished in her own right. It makes this victory all the sweeter. I wept when they said “Vice President-elect Harris” on CNN, and wept again at her speech. Lots of weeping going on over here, but the first time in a long time, these are tears of joy and relief. Wish we could bottle up this feeling and carry it with us every day as the fight continues.
Shop Small, Love Local
Patti, who owns Imelda’s Jewelry, has made not just one but two of my best friend’s engagement rings. She also came through for me a few years ago when I urgently needed earrings for another wedding - these tassels feel so luxurious every time I wear them. Imelda’s Jewelry is having a one-day sale next week for 11/11, with almost 60 items on sale. I’m excited to see! Check them out at ImeldasJewelry.com on Wednesday.
Currently…
Watching some holiday movies! On Fen’s advice, on Saturday, I turned off “the map show,” brought out a jigsaw puzzle that’s been in storage for too long (I’ve moved on from that phase I was in early in quarantine) and started with Midnight at the Magnolia on Netflix. Predictable plot but great chemistry and banter. I also watched Aaron Tveit and Laura Osnes’ movie One Royal Holiday where he plays a prince and she’s a small-town girl. I liked both!
Listening to Pod Save America’s episode on Friday, titled “We Won,” and crying. I’ve been a fan of this team and their work since before the 2016 elections, and have admired from afar how they mobilized political engagement and activism through their Vote Save America initiative. For many listeners, it was their first time to participate in phone banking, voter registration, and the like. “Sana dito rin, may katulad nila,” is something I’ve thought pretty often over the last four years. This little snippet about the impact they made, from their Thank You Volunteers email, made me emotional.
Marveling at how creative, introspective, and intimate the teasers for BTS’ upcoming album have been. Every night this past week, each member dropped the photo of his room along with audio notes for why he decorated it that way, what he wanted to convey; asking us what we thought about it. It feels like we’re inside their heads. The latest teaser that dropped just now is extremely my vibe, musically. The album comes out November 20, and yes, I have already filed for a leave. I didn’t get to watch BTS content this week because of the aforementioned all-consuming anxiety, so it’s just a one-part newsletter this time around. And not many longreads below either!
Longreads
How Stacey Abrams turned heartbreak into a career plan — and romance novels -- Nora Krug, The Washington Post.
Stacey Abrams, who deserves huge praise for organizing to flip Georgia blue, used to be a romance novelist! I get so kilig every time I remember this. There was a tweet going around to buy her books so that her personal finances can be stress-free and she can keep doing the work she wants to be doing now. If you want to buy her books too, here’s the link to the Kindle versions.
They're Honking and Cheering in New York Because the Great Weight Has Lifted -- Jack Holmes, Esquire.
The photo they picked got captioned on Twitter as “sailor kissing a nurse but make it 2020” and I laughed. “For one glorious day in November, the 70-degree afternoon of November 7, we can dare to believe for just a little while that today will become tomorrow, not just another ugly rerun of the permanent present.”
How to register to vote in the time of a pandemic -- Rappler.
We can feel this way again in 2022. Make sure everyone you know is registered to vote!
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Yours from afar,
Pinky