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MAY 31 SUN
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May favorites

Hi everyone. How are you doing? And just like that another month has come to a close (what the hell). I guess when you work just looking forward to Friday night every week, you barely notice how fast time flies. Today’s post is something I won’t promise to be a regular thing but I just wanted to give it a try making whilst I wait for The Sims 3 installer to finish (time remaining 1hr as of writing), inspired by a youtuber I watch.

Abbott Elementary

Screencap of Abbott Elementary cast

During my evening me-time after work, a.k.a. scrolling instagram reels for two hours, I stumbled upon a clip from Abbott Elementary which was just funny and witty for some reason. Another clip I remember was the “You’re 100 years old!” which just stuck to me and I’ll never skip it whenever it gets lost in my algorithm lmfaoo

On a bus ride home, I randomly thought about the TV show and since I have free will, I decided to look it up where I can watch it. Thankfully!!! I can watch it for free in a streaming app and I have been slowly chipping away the episodes every night after work or sometimes during dinner. (I wish I can watch them on the bus rides but I easily get motion sick :<)

I’m currently on S1E8 and I’m enjoying it so much! The bits really do remind me of Parks and Recreation which is a big plus because that’s my favorite show ever! (≧∇≦) It’s funny and realistic at times because I do personally know a teacher and oof, it’s true about the fundings they talk about in the show. But of course, I love the theme despite all the challenges.

And yes, of course my favorite character in the show is Ms. Schemmenti.

Todoist

Screenshot of Todoist app

Now this isn’t an ad nor it is sponsored but I had a random urge one weekend to find an app for to-do lists because writing it down in my planner isn’t helping. It shouldn’t be hard to look for an app that has no AI (I don’t need help breaking down my task into smaller subtasks by an artificial thing stfu), simply shows my to-do list for the day, reminds me on the time I set it on and where I can dump every silly thing I think of and be able to organize it later. But holy fuck was it actually hard LMAO And no I am nawt paying $18 for a to-do list app please.

After sifting through so much AI-infested apps, I settled on Todoist. It’s free and has a paid tier but the basic essentials are already in the free tier. I open the app and I can simply write a thing or note to self and it’ll send straight to an inbox where I can organize it with tags and dates later. That’s literally all I need!

Another plus was the recurring tasks feature which I use for ‘habits’ but really it’s just reminders to do my dailies in HSR and LaDS LOOLL And it actually works! I set to do my dailies at 8:30pm and it just pops up in the notifs at that time and I (gasp) remember to do them! For someone struggling with executive dysfunction, just a simple notif that nags me to do my shit is surprisingly doing wonders for me. Who would have thunk–

I also recommend looking through the templates to see how other people use the app outside the box.

Album(s) of the month

Mayhem album cover

After being enlightened by Gagacobana 2025, I decided it’s finally time to listen to Mayhem in its entirety and holy fuck, it’s quite life-changing. I’m no music journalist so I’ll be quite bad in elaborating how the album as a whole made me feel but concisely, all I can say is that it was truly worth the wait. I’ve been listening to Lady Gaga since 2010 and in my perspective, I can definitely say it’s her magnum opus and a culmination of her 15 years since her breakthrough as an artist. It’s so, so rewarding to feel nostalgia from her Fame Monster sound to the one she found throughout all those years that solidified her identity. My favorite track is Vanish Into You, and I still feel goosebumps hearing the first note and I remember vividly how happy she was performing it live and walking and interacting with her fans.

Charm album cover

Another album that took me by surprise was Charm by Clairo. I really didn’t look for it; I mean, I know it’s been out since last year but I suppose the album found me instead. It was random tracks being played in my song radio at first until I heard Nomad and felt some sort of connection to it. That’s when I decided, okay fine I’ll finally give it a try. I do love me some Clairo but I admit I was put off of listening because Juna unfortunately was reduced into its shortform clip that I kept on hearing in instagram reels. But amongst other tracks I listened randomly, Nomad struck something in my braincells that made me forgo my assumption of Juna and finally lock in and listen to the whole album. And oh boy was I missing out. The lyricism is definitely one of my favorites–its poetry (being sung by her distinct honey voice) paired with retro-ish instrumentals was just pure auditory heaven to me. “I’m touch-starved and shameless” yeah no wonder it resonated with me lmfao! There’s really a lot of layers into the lyrics and I find part of the fun of listening to music is drawing my own interpretations and I can even sprinkle a bit of personal context into it. But yes, this album is definitely going to my musical hall of fame.

Momo Art Mart

I’ve attended art markets regularly back in South Elysium and it was something I looked forward to when I moved to North Elysium. Momo Art Mart was my second art market in Sydney. The first one was Mellow Art Market which while I had a lot of fun (plus the venue was well-thought out!) I was coming down with a fever that time and it felt like half-fever dream half-real. This time, I’m well and not drowsy with Panadol so I’m really in the present to fully appreciate all artists. I got a ticket for an 11:30am entry and there was already a long queue forming but it didn’t take much time to get inside. The venue was larger than I expected, and it was actually packed early in the morning. One of my personal peeve when attending an art market was narrow walkways in between aisles of stalls and thankfully, there was a lot of space to worm my way through the crowd so kudos to the organizer for arranging a lot of space for the attendees <3

AngelHub stamp rally

There was a variety of artists and I had so much fun browsing through every artist’s stall. I even participated in a stamp rally called AngelHub where I got to customize my own digital angel by visiting the participating artists. I haven’t named my angel yet but I was pleased with her! She will definitely be my OC that maybe will have her own lore. You can’t have enough OCs amirite.

Commission from kyufait

I also commissioned an artist to draw me and Kerotan’s WoLs in a wedding-themed chibi postcard and it was so, so cute! The artist is Kyufait (but I can’t seem to find their socials T_T I tried looking for them..) All in all, I had a very satisfying experience with the event and I’m looking forward to the next one!

(I may have spent more than $300 but no regrets I will always wholeheartedly support human artists <3)

Therapy

Perhaps the literal life-changing event this month. I started going to therapy at the start of the month and it may have been the most daunting step I took (besides rashly moving to another country) but it’s truly changed my view in life ever since. The clinic I chose is gender-affirming so it was no wonder they were fully booked for months. When I researched about psychologists near my area, I felt safe and secure knowing they’re experienced with diverse clients and it didn’t deter me from postponing my appointment when I learned that the earliest date I could get was three months away. And it really was worth the wait.

At first I was scared that I’d have to cycle through different psychologists because I couldn’t connect with one (which is totally normal) but I’m glad—and relieved—to say that I felt connected with the first therapist recommended to me and I’m truly lucky that I got it right the first time. I really didn’t think I’d be comfortable being so vulnerable with a complete stranger but here I was, at ease around her to talk about my feelings and every vulnerable thought in my mind.

Therapy really was something that’s challenging, and almost unfathomable, for me to start but once I got over the nerves and the worries, I’m nothing but grateful to myself that I made that first step.

As a personal check-in a month into therapy, I want to write here that I’ve learned to not box myself into a label, and refrain from spiraling from a single negative thought. It’s easier said (and written) than done, of course. It wasn’t an overnight miracle and I still struggle with the thought exercises I learn from my sessions, but looking back to who I was two months ago, it’s a small yet significant improvement to the way I think and feel about myself.

Songs of the day

Some songs I write at the end of my journal entries, in no particular order.

Fic recs

My comfort ship has got to be danstelle and dimileth. Whenever I feel meh, I always find myself looking at their tags, go through some I haven’t read before and get cozy in my bed as I prepare myself to binge 33k words in one night. Maybe staying up until 2 in the morning before a work day is not the best-est decision but hey I survived the work day and I feel fluffy because I love dimileth so much!!!! I love modern AUs so much, especially when it involves the Faerghus Four with the three being the not-so-subtle wingmen of Dimitri for Byleth mm mm mmm That’s my specific trope right there.

So the Phaidei brainworm still hasn’t left my mind and I’m actually the target audience for Aglaea and Anaxa as Phainon’s dysfunctional divorced loving parents. Again, love the dynamics of the two pairings. This fics reminds me of a Hallmark movie (but make it thanksgiving) and I mean this in a loving way.

I CAN’T BELIEVE I GET TO READ THIS MASTERPIECE FOR FREE. I’m just UGHH in awe of the in-depth analysis of the pairing, with such a masterful prose. I fell down on my knees I was devouring this fic even during my lunch break. Truly, truly cemented as one of my favorite fics. I can’t recommend this enough!!!

end note

So that’s pretty much how my month went! A rollercoaster, for sure. But that’s life. There may be days when it’s a struggle to simply show up and exist but looking back on my month like this feels intentional and it’s nice to take time to appreciate the little things that would have probably go over my head if I didn’t sit down and write about it like this.

I hope the next month is kinder to me and you. I’ll see you in the next entry!

-niki

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