#018: Why do things feel the same but also different?
Summer plans (what!), Discord thingz, ube pianono, and more tiny yet precious life moments
Hey, there! Thanks for reading OK to BE. This is a Sunday newsletter, which means it may or may not be every Sunday but you will receive it on a Sunday, for sure. Here, I share about my creative journey—from reading and writing to making art and helping other people with their projects—and a bit about me and my sometimes-silly adventures. If anything resonates, do write back or leave a comment, and I shall reply! Also, this is a public dispatch, so feel free to share with friends, especially those looking for a reader, writer, or editor to work with. Enjoy! :)
S U M M E R IS HEEEEEEEERE!
Hold on to your blankets and hoodies; I’m just kidding. But the way January is just flying by… Like, what is even time anymore? One moment I’m writing my to-do list early in the morning, and the next thing I know, it’s already night-night hour and I’m getting ready to zoom to zzz-land. Sure, I would be busy with things all day, but by the end of it, that feeling of “what the heck did I accomplish today” still manages to surface. And don’t get me started about the occasional bedtime thoughts of “what is happening with my life…our lives…the world…?” and “o m g, the daily rise of cases, the political circuses, climate change, all the injustices…”
Fine! Let’s take it easy, shall we? Maybe a “Hello, happy (if not happy, then hopefully, healthy) 2022” would do? It is a new year, after all…except that it doesn’t feel like it, does it? I’m not meaning to be the new year grump here—you know me, I try my best to marvel at small and simple joys, creating things I can look forward to and hope for—but most days can still be a bit hamster-wheely.
Or maybe I just need to finally set up my journal for the year so 2022 feels more real. Or maybe I just need a genuine change of environment, and not just fleeting “I’m in the outside world, la la la, but wait, there’s a pandemic” moments. Or maybe, we need not just a systemic change but a universe-wide overhaul. I’m not saying “asteroid, come hit us,” okay? I’m saying… Well, what am I saying? Sometimes I do feel some level of hopelessness that I truly start thinking it’ll only get worse from here. But I’m glad the believer in good things and dreamer in me continues to fight.
How is your 2022, so far?
~*Creative stuff*~ I’m up to
Trying to write poems!
Finishing this embroidery!
Working on manuscripts (reviewing them, not writing, lol)! And mini handbooks about beta reading and editing. Would you like my help/would you like to help? Let me know!
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Buy a copy of The Things We’re Afraid to Say by Arli Pagaduan
Check out BRUMULTIVERSE
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This ube pianono from the neighborhood bakery!
That’s all for now! I hope you picked up something fun or useful. See you in the next one ☀️
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these make me feel tingly for 2022! ehehehehe <3 excited to make more stuff wijuuu