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There are many thoughts running through my head, none that I can make sense of that I could be summarize in this blog post. I guess it is true what they say that as you get older, celebrating birthdays just happen to be a more of a chill, no fuss occasion rather than a big bang affair (though I’m never one for showy celebrations). But it still remains a fact that today marks a year of getting older, and hopefully, wiser. 🙂

I hate to admit that every time my birthday approaches I would get into this weird emotional train wherein I’ll be sad and unsatisfied being where I am now, then slowly but surely as my birthday approaches it’ll be transformed into a overwhelming feeling of gratitude and love. As I’m writing this (October 30th), I’m in the “What am I doing with my life?” station and I feel like it’s going to be a few days before I can move on in this stopover.

Breakouts and Brownouts

The past week my skin started acting up in the worst possible way. Though I’ve never run out of skin issues since hitting puberty, my breakouts have somehow lessened over the years. I knew something was wrong when my skin looked like I was flushed out drunk with multiple cystic acne battling for dominance on my face. Anyways after several breakdowns, sighs, denial and consultation with my fellow skin problematic sister from another mother Ema, we’ve concluded that the cause is *drum roll please* The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% serum that I purchased a month back when I was feeling experimental and bored enough to try something new in my skin care routine. I was happy to finish my current supply stash (Nutriherb Retinol and Vitamin E and The Face Republic pH balancing toner ) that worked quite well and I felt my skin is ready for something new. Oh boy was I wrong…

Second Chances (on art materials)

It’s such a euphoric feeling to be chosen to create a painting for a very special occasion. Especially when your clients are all the way from Singapore. Michael and Phyllis have been long-time collectors of my paintings and they were one of the very first to commission me when I was just starting out with botanical painting. For that, I am always grateful to them.

This post is mostly about the materials I’m using for this commission.

Books I’ve read during the pandemic

A Small Change

It’s that time again when I feel like something needs to change; and that something happens to be the current table in my room. I’ve longed for a standing desk but never really went through the purchase until recently. I blame the boredom instituted by this crazy 7-month long lockdown. And my back pain, of course.

I initially preordered a standing desk from a supplier suggested by my friend Ema, but after a week of placing that order we found a different supplier that has on-hand stocks. I immediately cancelled my preorder and switched to this new supplier. They delivered my standing desk (with a free foot rest that I don’t know what for) after just a week of confirming. I’m glad I switched else I would need to wait until middle of November to get my new desk!