I know it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but I’m back! I really think that posts like this are very important from a reflective standpoint, so I’ll try to keep up with them a little better. It’s always cool looking back at moments of my life and seeing the things that made me happy or made life worth living.
june meditations:
June was a very action-oriented month for me, surprisingly. I used this month to focus on establishing healthy routines and habits in my life. But with balance and self-care (of course), as it’s now Cancer season. Funnily enough, although Cancers are a sign of comfort and homebody-ism, they are also very hard workers. So I tried to embrace that energy more in my own life during the month of June. And I must say, it went pretty well!
movies:
I didn’t watch too many movies this month, but I did get a chance to finally see The Watermelon Woman, a movie that I’ve been wanting to catch for quite some time. It’s a funny, documentary-style film made by Cheryl Dunye, following her journey to find out more information about an obscure 1940s Black actress called the Watermelon Woman for a documentary that she’s making. It’s a fun, romantic, and (mostly) light-hearted watch. Always nice to watch something less serious and take my mind off of things for a while, and this movie did exactly that!
books:
As far as books go, my tastes were all over the place this month. I jumped from WTF Is Tarot?, which is more of a spiritual tool technically, to George Orwell’s dystopian science-fiction novel 1984, to the fiery feminist comic (that I wrote about in a separate blog post) Femme Magnifique. I actually read a lot of comics this month, so I guess you can say the concept for June was…comics? I feel like comics and summer just go hand-in-hand. I have no idea why though… And speaking of books, I actually had a few favorite words this month as well. They included salacious (thank you Hotel Del Luna), ascetic (more spiritual stuff), and aesthete, which is literally a beautiful word! I can’t wait to use these words more in the future~
spiritual tools:
I purchased a few new decks this month as well, mostly pertaining to plants and herbs: The Green Witch Oracle, The Herbcrafter’s Tarot, and The Herbal Healing Deck; but I also got the Prism Oracle, which combines two of my favorite things: oracle cards and colors. I’m really in love with the Herbcrafter’s Tarot right now though, but I adore them all. I’ve even been doing a nightly practice where I’ll pull from the Herbcrafter’s deck to learn about a new herb and choose a relevant night meditation to fit the theme. I’ve had really good luck with Sleep Cove so far for said meditations. Sleep Cove pretty much has a podcast or bedtime story for everything! I will definitely be utilizing their meditations more in the future.
And something else that I intend to take into the future with me is Pilates. I’ve spent the past month doing Moving Mango’s 30 Day Tropical Burn series as a way to ease myself into Pilates, and I am hooked! I want to start more strength training next month since I finally got some resistance bands, but I will definitely be balancing it out with Pilates (and yoga, of course).
And last, but not least, reading Tynan’s blog post on convenience really helped to change my mindset this month and get more things accomplished. I’m really into stoicism and self-discipline right now (hence the word ascetic), so reading things like this post really resonate with me right now.
youtube videos:
I probably watched a lot of good YouTube videos this month, but I forgot to bookmark them, I’m sure. I’m a human. These things happen. (OTK Reference, anyone?) But two videos that I did remember to save were Dogen’s video on 29 signs you’re ready for JLPT N1 (very funny to anyone who has ever studied Japanese or lived in Japan) and sosobaking’s video on how to make mini cereal versions of croissants, macarons, and cookies (sooooo cute!). I watch a lot of YouTube, so yeah… If I actually listed everything that I enjoyed this month, it’d probably be its own blog post.
social media:
Speaking of posts, I actually enjoyed a social media trend (for once) this month. There was an Adult Swim trend going around on TikTok, and when I say it was packed with nostalgia and good vibes…MAN! And speaking of nostalgia, G4 had a bit of summer-themed programming on Twitch this month, but the only stream I caught was the Summer Meltdown charity stream with a lot of random streamers and online personalities. It was basically a more scuffed, more corporate LA version of SH*TCON. SHIT* CON was truly a pleasure to watch, as most crossover content generally is. And last but not least, OTK’s Schooled wrapped up this month after nine long, drama-filled weeks, and I must say, it definitely made my Mondays a bit brighter. I can’t wait to see what shows OTK come out with next! The gameshow meta is a refreshing change of pace with all of the other meta dramas currently taking place in the Twitch-o-sphere right now. Haha.
gaming:
And speaking of Twitch, the Nintendo Direct E3 Showcase, which I definitely did not watch on Twitch *cough* thoroughly impressed me, as well. I mean all they did was nostalgia farm (shocker), but hey, I’m easily impressed; so it worked. And with games like WarioWare, Mario Party, and Breath of The Wild 2 coming out, how could I not be excited? A good bit of my childhood is wrapped up in like two of those games! I deserve it, okay? So yeah, the first time I’ve been excited about video games in a good little while. Thank you Nintendo.
music:
And finally, time for some music! I mean, to be honest, I’ve still been listening to a lot of 24/7 bossa nova streams on YouTube, and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. But I did venture out a little for some Japanese and Korean music this month, so I’ll put you on. If you’re looking for some of my June bangers, check out Showa Idol’s Groove, PINK BLOOD by Utada Hikaru, Alcohol Free (every performance if you want the authentic experience; definite song of the summer) by TWICE, FIRST by EVERGLOW (the outfits, wow!), NCT DREAM’S Life Is Still Going On (very cute and summery as well), After School’s Reunion performance of Bang and Diva (they still got it), 2PM’s performance of Hands Up (the nostalgia once again; 2011 where you at, girl? 2PM are truly the ‘Chads’ of the K-pop world), and 三代目 J SOUL BROTHERS from EXILE TRIBE’s R&B Trap Remix of TONIGHT (very steamy; so summery by proxy, right?). Anyway, lots of good music this month. I believe good music is truly the way!
television:
As far as TV goes, Penthouse 3 came back, and it’s just as messy and just as makjang-y as ever, perhaps even messier this season after that… So yeah, I’m still tuning in and crying every week. But I really hope they wrap it up after this season because I can’t keep doing this! And I finally watched Hotel Del Luna this month, as well, and wrote about it here (shameless promo much? nah.). I also cried every episode watching that, but for a different reason. That show was literally a spiritual experience, and I think that everyone should watch it at least once in their life. And last, but not least, I binged Netflix’s High on the Hog as soon as it was released on Juneteenth weekend. I saw a lot of familiar faces from chefs whose cookbooks I owned, and it made me very happy to see them in their respective elements. The show was a nice little combination of food, history, and travel: three more things that I absolutely love!
food + drink:
And speaking of food, I made a few delicious things this month, as well. I made some earl grey tea cupcakes (the frosting could’ve been better…), lots of oat milk, BBQ sauce for Memorial Day, and BTS-inspired Cajun mustard to go with my karaage cauliflower. I also kept the cold-brewed teas on deck this month, as it’s quite hot most days, and it’s such an easy thing to keep in the fridge at all times.
july manifestations:
So, as you can see, my June was filled with lots of highs. I look forward to taking all of this good energy into July with me as well. Like I said, I want to start strength training on a regular basis to complement my yoga and Pilates, while continuing to work on my flexibility because I definitely need it. I also intend to stay on top of posting on here regularly, so at least once a week. And I bought a new camera this month, so I think YouTube videos are definitely back on the table. So we’ll see how things go next month. I’m excited as to what each day can possibly bring me, and I’ll just keep a positive outlook on things. See you at the end of next month for another check-in. In the meantime, stay safe, all~
Blerdabytes 