I recently saw a tweet that said, "I cannot overstate how much I miss recognizable linear time," and I was just... SAME. Days just keep coming and I feel like I'm in a Groundhog Day situation while being in a bunker ala-Blast from the Past (if you haven’t seen this movie, you should. it’s fun).
How's the outside world, everyone? I hope you're all being safe whenever you go out.
I miss haircuts, I miss massages, I miss going to the grocery, I miss wine nights with friends, and I miss weekly Sunday dinners with the family. It's been almost a year. This is the longest we've ever gone without Sunday dinners literally since I was born. I miss my baby cousins so much. I don't want them to grow up not knowing who we are. That sounds dramatic, but a lot of my favorite childhood memories were spent with my cousins. Videos calls just aren't the same.
Weekly Snippets
Not a lot has been happening outside of work and BTS, so here we are.
1. Riso Print Fairy
Now that I’m working, I finally get to start on something that I've always wanted to do — give back. This year has been such a shit show. At the start of this pandemic and when the typhoons happened, I rage donated to a few of my trusted orgs because it really does feel like we only have each other to rely on. Not that I earn a lot and that I donate large amounts, but I've always just been so iffy about money. And I personally just feel like anything in excess of what I need is better spent on helping other people, even if it's just maybe a few hundred pesos a month.
With that said, I recently decided to start a small fundraiser for two causes that I hold very dear to my heart — the arts and the PWD community. I am currently selling a few copies of my Weightlifting Fairy Kim Book Joo Riso prints (my very first batch). Last October I attended Bad Student’s first batch of online Riso workshops. These prints were supposed to be part of my shop opening gift for next year, but I think it’s more meaningful to use them to give back.
Bad Student's studio got badly affected during the typhoon and they are currently rebuilding their studio through workshops. This Abled Heart is a fundraising initiative of artists and speech therapists. They've recently been helping out with typhoon victims get back on their feet with donations through quiz nights and other fun activities.
This might not be much, but it's just a little something that I can do with what I have. So if you know any kdrama fans, please share it with them in case they're interested! :)
2. Return to the fangirl life and Stan Twitter
In a span of 2 weeks we've celebrated so many BTS milestones. Topping Billboard charts, a Grammy nomination, Jin's birthday, TV show guestings, magazine features, and V Lives in between. So. Many. Things. Even sports aren't this busy! I now literally follow a BTS calendar. To top it off, we had an awards show weekend with MMA (Melon Music Award) and MAMA (MNet Asian Music Awards). MAMA was aired on a Sunday and it was 6 hours long. SIX HOURS. I have never in my life really cared about any of this until I got into Bangtan Sonyeondan, and it has all been so worth it to support these men in their journey to conquer the world because aside from being the great artists that they are, they are good people. And good people deserve all the good things. (Kim Namjoon! Kim Seokjin! Min Yoongi! Jung Hoseok! Park Jimin! Kim Taehyung! Jeon Jungkook! BTS!)
I will never be able to articulate all my feelings for them in this form, but once again, thank god for Pinky and her newsletter for always putting our overwhelming feelings into words. Someday I might be able to, but for now I will cling onto hers lol. We often find ourselves on ARMY Twitter until 2-3am and it’s still never enough time to catch up on everything. But even then, we are truly living our best fangirl lives and we regret nothing.
There is so much joy. And I think that for me, a big part of it is really being on this journey with Pinky and fellow baby ARMYs on stan Twitter. It’s not without flaws, but I didn't have this kind of community through all the other artists that I have obsessed over. My small and precious group of mutuals on stan Twitter are so engaging, and it's more than enough for me to really give into my full blown joy and excitement without being shamed for being too loud or annoying. I will really never shut up about the things I love and everyone on stan Twitter is exactly the same way. They just get it. This mix of old online friends and new acquaintances seem to understand me best. It’s so hard to explain BTS and kpop outside of this bubble. And it's so fun because we are a mix of new and veteran fans, so it feels like we're virtually holding each other's hands as we experience this new chapter of Bangtan. I love this for us. We all share the same level of enthusiasm for our faves. And even though it's technically new, it still feels very, very familiar. We’ve been here before. Only it was 2008. And it was Tumblr. I am home.
Weekend Recommendations
Some great tunes to drown in over the weekend. (Click on the album cover for Spotify links.)
Daybreak by Leanne and Naara
Admittedly I haven't really listened to a lot of their songs. I just know that they did a cover of Nina's Someday. However! All of that has changed because this album is so, so good. Top to bottom — no skips, just vibes. (And quiet prayers.)
Fragments EP by Clara Benin
This is the EP of my soul. It includes my top 2 Clara Benin songs, Wine and Araw't Gabi. Wine is one of my horcrux songs. I even covered it a few years ago and I was so scared to ask Clara permission if I could lol. In this EP there is a duet version with Charlie Lim and it has given the song a new life, a new depth. I didn't think I could love the song even more, but here we are — RUINED.
Clara is one of my favorite singer songwriters. I was very lucky to have been in college the same time as her (along with Poch and Jam from Ben&Ben, Fiona, and a few more other faves). To me, an acoustic stripped down genre lover, it was the golden age of MINT campus gigs. Our school was small, but you just knew you were in the presence of greatness. I treasure those small campus gigs very dearly.
folklore: the long pond studio sessions
This is the album of my entire heart and soul. If you think the regular album was great, wait 'til you hear it stripped down even further and recorded live. Her writing and storytelling really shines the brightest in this album. And if you watch the documentary, you get commentary and insights on each song. It's what folklore deserves. I only ever dreamed of this genre from her and I'm so glad we got it. Just... *chef's kiss*. There is really no one that can translate my soul into songs like she does. I will forever be grateful for her mere existence.
She is also currently re-recording her old albums and I'm so excited to relive all of it.
Today is apparently a holiday. Which in “Work From Home standards” doesn’t really feel any different. But today I am reclaiming it as a free day, and I will be making my Christmas gifts in the hopes of feeling a little bit of normalcy from the Before times.
Hope you get some rest today, dear void. Treat yourself to something that brings you joy. It’s what you deserve.
Yours from afar,
Aia