April 2023 Check-in

I know these posts are more broad in topic than some of my other ones (and my anxiety brain warns me that means they are probably boring as a result) but I'm clinging to how nice it feels to look back later and see what I was up to at different times in my life. 

As far as mental health goes, the month has been a bit tough but there have been brighter days recently, so I'm hoping things will improve. Summertime can be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing for me but I'm trying to stay productive + positive as I can. Chatting with friends online, dinners with some combination of grandparents/parents/our uncle/my sisters Devon, Alex, and Maren (when she can come down from grad school); and hanging out with our in-town friend Kaitlyn biweekly has helped a bit. I'm still social distancing and masking as much as possible (and to be honest, balancing that with current expectations of socialization has been tough), but I'm trying not to be as much of a recluse as I usually am, haha. 

Theatre:

Something fun that is happening is that I'm participating in two staged readings for the Live Arts Waterworks Festival at the end of May. The casts and directors for each play are different, which has allowed me to grow as an actor and to learn new, important skills. I'm grateful to get to work with new people and try new things, especially since it's been about a year since I've done in-person stage work. In one play I get to portray a pig (technically two pigs, actually), and that has been a liberating acting challenge for me. My insecurities about my abilities are still there, but getting to have fun playing a role I've never tried before helps me break out of that. 

My sister Alex also put together a fun video project and invited me and some of my actor friends to participate--the theme was exploring womanhood through Shakespearean monologues, and she assigned me Ophelia's monologue about flowers. It was awesome to see what the other people on the project came up combined with Alex's editing magic. I really appreciate Alex always providing acting opportunities for me (and the amazing actors I know!) and for supporting our creative freedom and ideas. 

Books:

I slowed down a bit on reading in March and the first two weeks of April because work got pretty hectic + depression hit me kind of hard, but I'm doing my best to pick it up again. One of my and my sister's favorite post-work activities is to visit the library (it closes at 9pm) and I also have a huge stack of family/friend-gifted books on my bedside table that I haven't read yet. Last year I was really feeling the memoir and nonfiction genre, but lately I've been in the mood for fluffy fiction instead. So, I've been honoring that with picks from the rom-com genre...which aren't always my cup of tea because I am not a spice girl + apparently I have pretty high standards for male leads. Let's just say the results are a mixed bag, haha. 

I've finally worked my way through The Emma Project, the final book in Sonali Dev's 'Jane Austen-inspired but Bollywood-style' series. It was probably my least favorite of the series but it was nice to complete the set. Yesterday I finished Good Morning, Love by Ashley M. Coleman and felt motivated enough to get 50 pages in on Sari, Not Sari by Sonya Singh. To be honest, I can't say anything I've read lately has compared to what is still my favorite book of 2023: What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. But then again, maybe I shouldn't be comparing a memoir about complex trauma to a romantic comedy anyway...

TV and Movies:

My sister/roommate Alex and I are moving to another unit in the neighborhood in the middle of May plus June will be a busy month for both of us, so we tried to make the most of what downtime we had in April to cross some items off our watchlist. 

Firstly, Miraculous Ladybug (which was actually a March watch but I'm including it here because I love it so much) is currently ongoing and episode updates are slooooow, so we're only caught up to episode 9 of season 5. Can I just say, I am continuously impressed by how every season the love square gets more and more complicated? Also while I didn't have as many issues with last season as some people did, this season is addressing a lot of those audience concerns!

After months of slogging through mediocre Pinoy movies (do yourself a favor and skip Labyu with an Accent) we finally found a good one the other night: Love at First Stream. It certainly doesn't reach the level of Isa Pa with Feeling, but overall the acting was strong, the story was fun and balanced emotional moments with humor well, and the characters were easy to root for. 

No Doubt in Us is our first donghua and a surprise winner for the month of April! I don't normally enjoy historical plotlines (because people always die) nor am I a fan of body-swap plots, but this rom-com animation absolutely sold me on it. The romance between the couple was very sweet and I LOVED the female lead's characterization! I've never seen a show where swapping bodies actually helps the characters achieve their goals and protects them from dying instead of causing problems, so that was a delight. Also the varying degrees of awareness from the people around them regarding said body-swap led to some hilarious situations (I almost died at the uncle's gaffe during the finale of season 2, and if you've seen it you know what I'm referring to). Hoping for a season 3, even if it's just Detective Jinmeng running the streets with his Imperial Astrologer boyfriend. 

Last weekend, we enjoyed rewatching Hilda for my third time and Alex's fourth. It's a wonderfully weird little show, and every time I watch it I notice new background details and funny dialogue. 

Gameboys season 2 was a quick but lovely experience--the whole season is only a little over three hours in total, and since the first season was basically the same length we were able to do a season 1 re-watch and complete season 2 over a long weekend. While there were just as many tears this go-round (a gay love story set in a primarily Catholic country + a plot revolving around the Covid crisis will do that to you), the storyline was so sweet and heartwarming. Cairo matured so much in season 2, we got to understand Gavreel's struggles more deeply, and I actually ended up liking Terrence, which...wow, did not see that coming. Also the music was fantastic! 

Live Up to Your Name was my Kdrama pick this month, and wow! We've never done a genuine time-travel plot before and although it was a bit darker/grosser than I anticipated (the Japanese invasion of Joseon + so many heart surgeries!!!), overall it was a good time and a nice change of pace from our usual fare. Just to brag a bit, we've been killing it with the drama picks so far this year! Gameboys (see above), MIU404, I Will Be Your Bloom, and Hometown Cha Cha Cha were all excellent, and our 2023 starter, Hello the Sharpshooter, was pretty enjoyable despite being a bit long---but Chinese dramas almost always are, and it gets points for starring Fair Xing and Hu Yitian. We'll see if we can keep the momentum going for the rest of the year...only eight months left to go. 

As far as anime goes, Alex chose Kimi ni Todoke as her pick for the month of May, since we are currently awaiting the rest of the Kodocha English dub--the rest won't be out until the end of May. We spent about three and a half months of 2022-23 watching both seasons + the two films of Cardcaptor Sakura (LOVED it) and almost a month completing the dubbed episodes of Kodocha, so it will be nice to have a shorter anime to balance things out. The first few episodes so far have been absolutely adorable, so good sign! 

Speaking of anime, my friends started a new anime-focused podcast called AnimeBaddiez--if you like anime a lot, I recommend you check it out! Their first episode was super entertaining and informative. My anime/manga education is quite limited (although as you can see, I am working to get myself up to speed), so I look forward to getting more of their recommendations and hearing more of their related opinions.

Music:

The usual culprits. Everybody either had an album release in April or will have one in May, so my playlists are definitely getting updated next month...although I will certainly still cling to my favorite jams from the early 2000's, lol. 

-"Just a Friend" (2002 Radio Edit), "How Could You, "Music for Love", and "Crying Out for Me" by Mario 

-"Told You So" and "What Am I Missing" by The Band Camino

-"rn" by Tuan Le

-"Lost Ember'" by YongYong

-"BAD" by Kasia ft KARD

-"Super" by Seventeen

-"Face-off", "Set Me Free Pt. 2", and "Alone" by Jimin 

-"Closer" by RM with Mahalia and Paul Blanco, "seoul", "Change", and "Change pt. 2" by RM

-"Think About You" by Sture Zetterberg, Shy5

-"Come Again", "Melody", and "Forever or Never" by 8loom

-"Save This Love" and "Stay for a While" by Leroy Sanchez

-"Vandalize", "Let Me Let You Go", and "Save Yourself" by ONE OK ROCK

-"Purge Day" and "Rollin" by Vanner

-"Star Ceiling" by Paul Blanco

-"Iyong Iyo" and "Pano" by Zack Tabudlo

-"Last Last" by Burna Boy

-"Smoke Sprite" by So!YoON ft. RM 

-"Ritual", "Funeral Grey", "SELF-SABOTAGE", and "F*ck About It" by Waterparks

-"Sugar Rush Ride" and "Devil By the Window" by TXT