Volume 01 Issue 18
December 21 - 27, 2020
I was pretty down this week, and then sad that I was sad (if that makes sense) - I am normally hyped up for Christmas. But nothing about our current situation is ‘normal,’ and this year I just didn’t have it in me to be festive or do any of my personal holiday traditions (reading holiday romances, watching holiday romcoms, etc.) I spent Monday baking a double batch of food for the gods, and then Tuesday-Thursday delivering them to my friends’ houses. Traffic was bad but I listened to BTS’ discography from the beginning, so malamig ulo ko. It was fine. I did a driveway gift exchange/socially distanced catch-up with Max and Timmy; that was my one social indulgence this year. I actually kinda liked having a quiet holiday, with no big parties to attend and a completely empty social calendar.
The highlight of the holiday was my nephew and niece meeting for the first time. It’s been a tough year but all our sacrifices are for them. In my annual Christmas video call today with Den and Jus, we talked about preparing a mood board for 2021. That made me think about how I’m not much of a planner when it comes to the future, and that this trait has actually served me well during the pandemic. All my forward-thinking plans have always been centered on trips I had booked, but since those are also gone for the foreseeable future, all I have now is the infinite present.
At present, my family is safe at home, all healthy, well-fed, lazing around. Our babies are doing okay. We are all still employed. I have a lot of BTS content I’ve been wanting to watch, and a lot of time to do so. My Kindle is loaded up. My messenger apps are busy. This is enough for me.
Shop Small, Love Local
Made for Movement came through in a pinch for me when I was looking for gifts for my brother and mom. I bought my yoga blocks and bolster from them early in quarantine and that really helped me figure out a daily yoga routine when I needed that structure. My friend Jaymie has been raving about their yoga mats, too. Great customer service and excellent products!
Currently…
Eating Christmas leftovers <3 I enjoyed asking friends “What’s your ulam?” and hearing about what everyone was eating. Our Christmas eve meal was lengua from Kusina, beans, mashed potatoes, French onion soup, then steaks on Christmas day.
Trying Bubu Bars’ vegan ice cream popsicles - OMG so good!! You can’t even tell it’s vegan! Justice for lactose intolerants!
Snacking on my favorite red velvet crinkles from Just Baked by Apple. Thank you for sending, Crae!! Ubos in one evening and I ate it all.
Watching BTS’s shows In the Soop (while baking, since I’ve seen it before; it’s the ultimate comfort show), Bon Voyage Malta (the first few days after Christmas when there was nothing else to do but lay wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa), movie Burn the Stage and concert Love Yourself Speak Yourself: Sao Paulo (to put the baby to sleep - he loves their performances).
Resting. I hope you are, too. :) We deserve this.
Longreads
The Journalist and the Pharma Bro — Stephanie Clifford, Elle.
OMG, wildest story I’ve read in a while. I really enjoyed this one. Follow it up with this: The Story Behind the Story of Martin Shkreli’s Romance With a Reporter — Irin Carmon, New York Magazine.
Who Did J.K. Rowling Become? — Molly Fischer, The Cut.
It took me two tries to get through this since it’s so long, but I appreciated the context around the Forstater case, which is what started this downward spiral of hers. Reading the side stories about the people behind MuggleNet, etc. was really interesting too. I thought the framing of this was great.
No game days. No bars. The pandemic is forcing some men to realize they need deeper friendships. — Samantha Schmidt, The Washington Post.
“Way argues the lack of vulnerability in male friendships is rooted in a misogynistic, homophobic culture that discourages emotional intimacy between men. But it’s also part of a culture that does not value adult friendship in general.”
Modern Love: The Pandemic Arrived. His Text Back Did Not. — Jenna Klorfein, The New York Times.
“The world would look a lot different during the pandemic. And yet my primary preoccupations remained the same... The thoughts that kept me up at 2 a.m. remained as self-centered as they were before Covid-19: I’m lonely. I’m unlovable. What if I’m alone forever?”
The Astonishing Duality of BTS — Lenika Cruz, The Atlantic.
I’m a big fan of Lenika Cruz and her BTS content — her MOTS:7 album review, in particular — and I’m so happy she got this opportunity to interview them. “With BTS, the only constant is their duality—they’re “local” yet global, industry outsiders on the inside, equally skilled at intimacy and pageantry.”
2020 proved the 'relatable' celebrity was always a myth — Anne Helen Petersen, Insider.
“Kardashians, and celebrities in their mold, have internalized self-surveillance as their primary mode of existence: their proof of life. If Kim didn't post the photos on social media, did it even happen? Did she?”
After months of isolation, a ‘hug room’ lets Italian nursing home residents touch family for the first time — Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli, The Washington Post.
I wept reading this.
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Yours from afar,
Pinky