june 2026 wrap-up
On this month of June, I attended three birthday parties/celebrations and three meet-ups with friends. I can go as far as remember these because my homecomings and general weekend schedules have been designed around these events.
For ate's birthday we went to a farm and met turtles. For my brother's birthday, which was also his highschool graduation celebration, we went to the mall and ate a bunch of chicken wings. For tito d's birthday we went to a very fancy restaurant for an intimate dinner. And the food was woah. It was the first time that I had tried the potato dish. You know this. The one where the potato pieces are stacked thinly and baked together. I also spent a lot of time with kids this month, r's nephew and her two cousins.
I had a lot of laughs and also collected gossip in these gatherings. Unfortunately, on my brother's graduation I caught something and it felt like I was carrying the weight of the world whenever I stood up. It was two days of feeling like this but I still went - I had worked from home in my parents' home and started the work week there so I can attend the ceremony. Only that, whenever me and r are away from each other for more than three days we catch a random illness. The other time it was r with an upset stomach. It has never been disproven true as of writing.
Our outings has also been great opportunities to use our new action camera. It had come so handy! Me and r are still getting used to it but it certainly is fun having it around and I don't have to use my phone anymore. I borrowed my dad's motorcycle and we took it for a short ride one night around town with the camera in hand. The other afternoon, r was editing our videos with her headphones on. She just started maniacally laughing across from me because of things I said in the videos. It should be noted that she had not laughed on the actual clip, so for that reason I now think that I am somehow funnier in post-production.
While also in our home city me and r went to the vet for our cats' anti-rabies vaccinations. The cats were silent throughout the ride which was about 30 minutes each way, but there was a moment where r was telling me about how one of the cats gave her a hard time getting into the cage and that specific cat of the two really just immediately started slowly meowing as if he was talking! To defend himself!
And more:
- Me and r went for a short food crawl around the neighborhood for a dinner date. I had started thinking that we have chosen a part of Manila to live in that is becoming a foodie melting pot. I did not know this until on the commute home from the office I had essentially became a tourist ambassador to my co-workers when they asked about Vietnamese food. Our area has 3 options for that cuisine alone.
- Still don't need to get back to office for more than once a week but that might change this July :'(
- Mini Metro, becoming addicted to this game
- Watching the world cup
- Locking in at the gym (my third month)
- Attending 0 pride events this month, because we felt it was enough that we were on the May 31st event (narrated here) TT Local evangelicals pride march attendance: > 1, me and r: 0
- I have finished zero books. A travesty...
- I have posted on the blog this month that any other month of the year. We cheer...
links
Some notable youtube links I've collected this month ~
Obsidian: The King of Learning Tools (FULL GUIDE + SETUP)
- This was how I started with Obsidian and it has been effective to getting me to write ~
Why the Philippines’ Birth Rate Is Crashing Faster Than Japan | AB Explained
- I never realized it was this bad and I never would have thought the lack of a divorce law had anything to do with it. The Catholicism that the Spanish had forced on our lands is still the cross we have to carry after more than a century, it seems. While the data shows that Filipino men are being outpaced in everything and that more women are running the households and bringing the money in, the patriarchy and the church has not moved an inch; nor the corruption or incompetence of our government.
The Greatest Debate in Design History | The NYC Subway Map
The Greatest Subway System in the World? | New York City Subway
- I also clicked on the videos above and watched it back-to-back, finding a more obsessive interest on rail systems after the many hours I spent playing Mini Metro. New current addiction along with the game: the NYC/MTA subway nomenclature and design. I am thinking about this a lot I have half a mind to incorporate some elements in my blog. I also started a design on Figma about this, jesus it is that serious. I also realized our country's liberation from Spain was on 18981. Then only 6 years after that, the NYC subway opened (1904)2 🍃
Taichung Taiwan Travel Guide 2025 | Ralph & Sam
- For trip planning purposes. I absolutely love it when travel vlogs give me this newly found perspective on a city. This video by Ralph and Sam had me in awe with the art and the creative hub of Taichung. I would never have thought of it because well, other creators and influencers had been drilling Miyahara, the Gaomei Wetlands, flower garden spots and the like into itineraries which made me mentally perceive Taichung as merely a jump off point to other beautiful places. Incredibly false! (also came across the concept of a Second City)
meta
I will no longer use logs and snaps in my blog (see my changelog). I realized some things on my blog that I want to change and would be unsustainable practices in the future like my growing list of posts that I do not have any organization system for. And my links that do not look like links ~ I might really overhaul the whole thing and all the design and nomenclature (newly found favorite word) may change. Into something else entirely!
I began to think about people who abandon their blogs and then start a new one elsewhere. But I will be brave and would rather go through each one of my posts (I say this now because they are still considerably manageable in numbers) than start a new one from scratch. I don't want to abandon what is already here ~ and I love you my old me despite it all.