dreamsinfiction

[dreamsinfiction]

May 2025 (aka when things were cultural)

Writing this in mid-June and wow, May felt so far away alr. Maybe because I had a really bad mental health breakdown last week due to work huhu (spoilers, stay tuned for June recap! ✨ But I am better now, thank you friends and kind bosses for checking in on me).

Anyway, here's the May recap:

Office move to JE:

I am loving the new office! Yes, the desk is (much) smaller, my colleagues are seated nearer to me, but it's definitely an upgrade from HQ because a) I no longer feel like my lungs are dying/clogged by the dirty air vents, b) our view is pretty nice on the 18th floor and c) it's a 40 min door-to-door commute now 😝

I still do my 30 min walks to the LRT as much as possible to escape the office crowd and get a bit of fresh air in the morning. But because my commute is so short, I'm still one of the earliest ones in office and I enjoy the 30 mins or so of quiet time (brewing tea, quick journaling, catching up on emails) before the rest of the division comes in. The office environment is also so conducive to locking in and being productive that I now usually come in 4x a week heh (especially during the recent heat wave)

Before and after! I love how homely my new desk is - I've also bought a small collapsible storage box from Ikea and placed it under my desk for me to store my essentials and keep it within reach (eg. prayer set, tupperware and cutlery for tapao lunches)

쌤, 또 만나자! (Farewell to my Korean teacher)

Met up with the Sejong crew to say goodbye to our Korean teacher one last time! It was so nice to see everyone again (because we ended our last sem together in late Apr) and just talk about anything under the sun. The food was really good too and worth the price points! (not halal-certified but I stuck to the seafood based options)

Still thinking about the food - especially the pesto pasta and the calamari; completely out of this world 😋

Short KL trip

Made the flight up north for a short getaway and going to F's wedding! KL is always a good time - good food, large spaces and a more relaxed way of life (even in the city you can feel the difference compared to SG).

We stayed in Novotel Bukit Bintang this time round (comes highly recommended by S since she stayed there with her parents multiple times before) and okay yes I am a fan. I will definitely stay there again if I'm not in the mood to try a new hotel because the location is unbeatable (less than 5 min walk to Pavi through a sheltered walkway), the price is pretty affordable compared to other hotels in the area, and the facilities are well-maintained! I even used the gym and it was large enough for me to do walking lunges heh.

Went to TRX to check out the newest shopping mall in KL and wow it's huge. Like Ion on steroids hahaha. Checked out Chulop too since they've expanded to Malaysia (recommend! the choc churros are not too sweet). We also saw and spoke to a local celebrity who's actually one of my favourite Nusantara singers but erm, he's now embroiled in a SA case undergoing investigation...so okay I won't post the photos we took here. Sigh, if he is proven guilty under the law, then people can be truly deceiving/have multiple facets since we had such a lovely time talking to him 😔

The wedding itself was lovely! There was a GlamBot 360 thing happening too which made us feel very much like a celebrity 🤣. But again, Malaysian weddings are different than Singapore weddings haha; the customs are slightly different! I feel like our weddings here are more steeped in traditions with multiple steps but those in Malaysia are more modern (at least the ones that I've been to). I saw a TT recently which explained why - basically it's because we are very much influenced by Javanese culture and still strongly retain the traditions (which I love heh).

Cultural things:

a. Phantom of the Opera

Went with F on this as we were watching it in spite LOL (context: there were many a band practice during secondary school where we were s u f f e r i n g learning to play the theme song and the whole repertoire. Being a flutist was not easy with all the running notes).

I liked it but not sure if it was just an off day for the main Phantom guy cos he cracked at a few points and there were several moments where the stage lights and live band was a bit off/not in time with whatever's on stage. My TLDR is I like Hamilton a lot more HAHA - maybe I like my plays with a bit of political intrigue. The songs were as nice as I remembered though!

When you collectively only have one braincell...

b. Salina

This was...a miss hahaha. Went with the goblok squad (LOL our clique name) and we were all ??? when it was 30 mins to the end where the plot started unravelling hahaha. Our review was similar to others in the audience so we weren't the only ones left confused. Such a waste though cos the cast were all pretty well-established names from the industry! 🙁

When the lighting outside Esplanade is giving.

Other highlights:

a. Attending my first Chinese wake

This was an experience. Never attended a Chinese/Christian wake before and it was a bit of a culture change. I'm used to funerals being very solemn, sad and fast (since the burial is usually on the same day). But this one was different - it seemed to be more of a celebration of life with the deceased's (my grandaunt's biological mother) favourite songs playing, everyone gathering at the funeral hall and talking at normal volumes, with the casket right there. Different ways of viewing death I think.

b. Seventeen's pop-up!

Went with SR for this and omg everything there was really pretty (but also really expensive huhu). I didn't get anything but she got Mingyu's frying pan 😹. Was very tempted by Wonwoo's keyboard and I think I would have gotten it if it was in blue instead of purple hahaha.

2025 goals tracker

i. Journalling

14/30

ii. Reading

Read 6 books (3 fiction, 2 manga volumes, 1 non-fic) - Higher than my usual number of books in a month; the random pockets of time during the trip definitely contributed to it (eg. on the plane, in Grab rides, in the hotel at night after a long day out)

Highlights: I have two this month -

(a) The Hunger Games! A reread as I wait for Sunrise on the Reaping through NLB/Libby heh. It's a bit disturbing how dark the original trilogy is with this reread, especially when you consider how the books are categorised YA. We were all in a dark phase growing up huh.

(b) Klara and the Sun - I think this was quite hyped when it first came out and I can see why. How it discusses AI and having them as companions is very, very relatable to today's times when some people do treat ChatGPT as their therapist/friend etc (a trend which I find concerning when you think about all the data privacy issues it may entail). Ishiguro's writing is not my cup of tea though so I don't think I would pick up any of his other books even though the topic may be interesting.

iii. Being more active

Continued with my PT regime! But scaling it down to 1x a week to a) make my package last longer, and b) I'm doing a session weekly by myself in JE now since there's an outlet in the same building as the office (need to justify my multi-gym pass...😛)

iv. Saying yes to things that make me uncomfy

Highlight of May is definitely me co-facilitating a book club session with Maktaba! As part of the Sama-Sama Book Club we have with NLB, we usually pick a fiction book to read and discuss together and this time it was Klara and the Sun.

I usually get a lot of anxious sweats when speaking in public (even in relatively safe circles like this one) but N was such a delight to co-facilitate with and I think we made a good pair; she's more extroverted and can manage the room well while I come in with the prompts to get the discussion going.

At first, I thought I did a bad job managing the room cos I just couldn't find the right juncture to interject when the discussions were getting too heated, but actually most of the room really appreciated the balance we had. Thank you friends for being validating and affirming 🥹 IH even asked if I would like to co-host the next session but I said I would need time to recover from this one first 😹

...and that's my May! See you at the halfway mark of the year (where is the time going homg)

[dreamsinfiction]

Back in my BTS fangirl era 🎉

250613 Big Hit's Tweet

[#오늘의방탄] 613 행복한 하루였어요! 다시 꺼내보아도 반짝일 오늘, 잘 간직할게요💜 #오늘의제이홉 #제이홉 #jhope #BTS #방탄소년단 #HOPE_ON_THE_STAGE_TOUR_FINAL #HOS_TOUR_FINAL #jhope_TOUR #BTSARMY

[#Today'sBangtan] 613 was a happy day! Whenever I take it out and look at it again, today will still sparkle. I'll treasure it well💜

#Today'sJhope #jhope #BTS #HOPE_ON_THE_STAGE_TOUR_FINAL #HOS_TOUR_FINAL #jhope_TOUR #BTSARMY

Trans cr; Annie @ bts-trans © TAKE OUT WITH FULL CREDITS

[dreamsinfiction]

apr 2025 (aka when celebrations were aplenty)

April felt so longggggg. Not gonna lie, by the end of it, which is now in early May first day of June oops, I felt pretty burnt out and looking forward to my short KL break (a week more till being reunited with L's family!)

But for now, a recap of April:

Raya 2025

So many gatherings and meetups idk where to begin! Funny enough, I think I did more last-min friends' gatherings than family haha (mainly bc we had a family birthday party where everyone gathered).

From Maktaba friends to those from my previous work postings (and have gone on to be besties), the season reminded me I have a lot to be thankful for with great company supporting by my side.

Something amusing from the photo above, we all met up at H's new house (on the 34th floor homg, the night view was pretty amazing) with my parents and sister in tow bc we didn't want to end the night yet. Met S for the first time there too (he entered my previous workplace in Dec) and he was fun and easy to talk to! But even my mom and sister picked up on how he kept looking at me throughout the night hahaha.

Said family birthday party mentioned earlier! Korean-themed bc it's A2's first birthday and they had the 돌잡이/doljabi ceremony to pick an item which will supposedly foretell his career/life path haha. All for the fun of it of course, just like his older brother's first birthday party. A2 is a much different baby though, more semangat in terms of weight HAHA (idk how to translate to English) and willing to go along with whatever the older brother wants LOL.

Deciding to stop Korean

Sadly, this was writing on the wall. With work picking up (mostly in the supervision field re: XE), going to the gym frequently, having social meetups through my book clubs commitments...something had to give. I've decided to take a break and not go for Korean classes for now mainly because:

a) my initial goal with Korean was to learn at a conversational level and be able to survive without subtitles/translations for kdramas/kpop songs and concerts and I feel I'm somewhat at that level now (I may not be able to grammatically pick up everything but can roughly know what someone is saying), and

b) my Korean teacher, who is so good and effective at teaching in her quiet understated ways, is going back to Korea for medical treatment due to her condition and it's highly unlikely she will come back to SG and teach in the same school when she eventually recovers.

I'm sad about dropping Korean but I think I've made peace with it. I've achieved my initial goal and should take some heart that I spent thousands of hours, effort and money (mainly cos of the immersion trip lol) and be happy with my progress 😊 For now, Duolingo and watching kdramas/variety shows will be my consistent exposure to the language heh.

This leads me to a nice segue to...

Meetup with Sejong friends / 세종친구

A meeting two and a half months in the making because we planned way before Ramadan and it was difficult to find a common date across our schedules haha. In the end, not all could turn up too cos C had COVID (he was travelling all over Asia catching Kiss of Life concerts lol) and M was working the ground as a 🔨 volunteer.

But it was still fun! Had Meokja for dinner and we walked around aimlessly after that not wanting the night to end (very reminiscent of our time in Korea 🥹). Ended up in Swensens where we took very long to decide on our ice creams only to end up with almost all having the same flavour lol. Ngl, it was a bit awkward with Z in the beginning but we did eventually found our groove and ended up going back to our teasing banter before the end of the night. I don't really have any regrets making the first move back then because now I don't have the what ifs playing in my head anymore (a perk of being in my 30s is definitely being more secure with myself and knowing what I want to see in someone and making peace with it when things don't turn out my way)

GE duty

The thing that all public servants dreaded finally came. On hindsight, I'm glad that it's over and especially early in the year since we all knew it had to be called before Nov and were anxious on how it would affect manpower/leave plans (since things would be frozen until the new term of govt is in place).

Not to say that the monitoring duty was great because it wasn't. Very thankful that I managed to get the most humane shift in terms of working hours and that there were no cases to follow up (every party knows how to say things factually / not make wild claims anymore 🤭) but it was still in-the-trenches bad when the shifts were going on. As a morning person, I was s t r u g g l i n g to keep myself alert by the time it was 8pm and the rallies were in full swing. Never again (at least for the next 5 years) pls.

j-hope's 'Hope on the Stage' tour

This was so fun! Hobi's my biaswrecker and favourite BTS rapper so I felt so happy and proud seeing him do what he does best on stage 🥹 Very different than Suga's solo concert, in the sense that I felt it was an ode to his first love - dance. The choreography was so detailed, some solo some with his dance crew. The artistry was amazing to watch. Seeing Silver Spoon / 뱁새 live again after 6 years and a pandemic was also transcendental.

2025 goals tracker

i. Journalling

15/30 (at this point, I think I need to accept that journalling everyday is hard to do...but I will still try my best to fulfill it anyway huhu)

ii. Reading

3 (1 audiobook, 2 fiction but one is more of an illustration mystery thriller?)

Highlights: Damn I can't choose! Even though I read comparatively lesser this month, all 3 were solid reads.

(a) Ida in the Middle by Nora Lester Murad - a captivating middle grade book about how families in Palestine cope with the constant insecurities in their life, told through some magical realism; the audiobook narrator is pretty good!

(b) Strange Things by Uketsu - everyone and their mother knows about this book cos it's so hyped online! Loved this; very much deserving of all the praise. I love how the author tells his stories through seemingly innocent-but-actually-has-an-undercurrent-of-creepy childlike drawings and it kept me guessing till the last page on what actually happened. Full review here!

(c) The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez - picked this up because of J's recommendation! And it did not disappoint - this one was a bit darker with the reproductive issues and I didn't expect to be a bit tearful over it 🥲

iii. Being more active

Got back on the gym routine after Ramadan - not gonna lie it was tough with all the good food in Raya hahaha.

Progress updates - did my first barbell squat sets! The bar itself was 20kg homg...I did not realise I've progressed this far; was quite proud of myself 🥹

iv. Saying yes to things that make me uncomfy

No updates on this front because of a packed month 😆. But there will be an update for May!

...and that was my April! So far, the first 4 months of 2025 is packed as hell (spoiler alert: May is too). Wonder when I can carve out some time/mindspace to breathe and recharge.

[dreamsinfiction]

“I’d begin to understand also that this wasn’t a trait peculiar just to Josie; that people often felt the need to prepare a side of themselves to display to passers-by - as they might in a store window - and that such a display needn’t be taken so seriously once the moment had passed.”

Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun

[dreamsinfiction]

❤️‍🩹

Severance, 1x08 “What's for Dinner?”

[dreamsinfiction]

Patience, mindfulness, and compassion takes practice, and the world is full of worksheets. Each moment is a new opportunity to start over.

Grace Jung, K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television

[dreamsinfiction]

At work, you'd come in sometimes with red eyes. We had a joke that you had an elevator allergy. There was even a song for it. But I always wondered. You carry the hurt with you. You feel it down there too. You just don't know what it is.

Petey Kilmer, Severance (1x03 In Perpetuity)

[dreamsinfiction]

Started this recently bc it’s getting so much hype on my bookstagram and Apple+ has a very timely offer for three months.

Safe to say I think this will be my obsession TV show. It’s so good with its quietly dystopian and Black Mirror-esque vibes.

Also, yes Adam Scott. Loved him in Parks and Rec and even though he looks much older now, I am still digging his look 😍

BRITT LOWER as HELLY RIGGS Severance — 1x01 "Good News About Hell"

[dreamsinfiction]

Mar 2025 (aka when I felt myself being split into two)

This month was strange.

On one hand, I was handling a work crisis and trying to deal with a very difficult reportee. On the other, it was Ramadan which was a very much needed break from normal life and reminded me that while this life is difficult, there's still much to live and continue hoping for.

Work troubles

a. Crisis

The crisis blew up in the first week of Ramadan. I can't really get much into it here since there's now been a court gag order to protect the minor (if we meet IRL, feel free to ask haha). But it was...huge. Like potential riots-on-the-street huge. There was a lot of scrambling, trying to ascertain facts of the case, while anticipating the possible reactions from both sides and mitigating them where we can. Even though what I'm doing is just comms and am one step removed from the case on the ground, I was still quite personally impacted by it. The first time I felt this way since starting service.

I guessed it weighed heavy on my heart because it involved a family/child from my community and the whole situation caused a lot of emotional pain for both sides. If I take the long-term view, I know the outcome was the best, the child will hopefully grow up well being cared for in the religion. But, you can't help but wonder if things would have been vastly different if the other side won the case. She would definitely have more opportunities than where she is now.

It's no surprise that I lost some sleep over it, not just cos of the round-the-clock comms prepping and working with other agencies but because of my own conflicting feelings over it.

After ruminating over it for a while, I took solace in one of my favourite verses from the Quran:

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

"God doesn't burden a soul beyond that it can bear." (Quran 2: 286)

If everything is pre-destined (with our effort of course), then surely whatever challenges lie in each of our lives is within our capacity to bear and overcome? I can only pray that the family will treat her to the best of their ability.

b. Terribly incompetent colleague

I think I've alluded to XE, this colleague of mine, a few times on here. Honest to God, she is next level incompetent and I am not talking about her disability. Every day she makes me so frustrated and I don't know why my bosses are giving her so much benefit of the doubt when time and time again she has shown to be so lacking. I have a feeling it's exactly because she has a disability that they are being so lenient.

But as F would say it, "It's not about disability at this point, it's inability." 💀

A shortlist of the things she has done (or rather unable to do):

i. Assigned a simple event and patron assessment on two different occasions, messed both up despite my very clear guidance and email (with attachments to multiple past submissions as a reference guide), I was called in to clean up and put it up to bigger bosses instead. The latest one made me so annoyed because I was already having so many things to do, but because she messed up my boss had me to reverse gear and clean it up for her. What made things worse was when my boss and I were working on the shared doc, XE just went into the doc, pressed anyhowly and caused the entire statement to be in a weird order (eg. Para 2 went into the middle of Para 1 etc). When I confronted her to not touch anything in the doc and my boss added that she could see XE's cursor in two different places in the doc, XE could only say "Oh but I can't be in two places at once". Yeah, no shit Sherlock ugh.

ii. On the rare occasion that she does something, she will immediately jump on you to clear whatever she sent over. Woman, breathe please. Nobody is waiting around for your work and pounce on it to clear once it's in. Also, the quality of work is...very questionable. She's supposedly graduated in English Literature at uni but her command of the language is very secondary school-level and long-winded. My pet peeve is when things are unnecessarily long - if you can say it in as little words as possible, then please use your brain cells to do so, so that we don't waste anyone's time. Things came to a head last week on Mon when she was chasing my boss to clear this piece of work, but actually she already did on Fri before she went on her PM leave. I knew that my boss alr replied to her on Fri but I left it alone because a) I'm not paid to be her minder / tracking over her work and b) at this point, I need to let my bosses know exactly how aggravating it is to work with her. At the end of the day, they can't say that I haven't tried my best to work with her. She is just unable to do so.

iii. Work issues are fine - they can be resolved with trial and error if you have the right attitude for it. But...no. She hasn't shown any proactivity with the team, she comes in late and leaves early any time she wants (I close one eye on WFO days since she's dependent on her family to send/pick her up but why are you still logging in at 10.30 on WFH days??). Not to mention her sleeping in office habits which my bosses have seen multiple times. I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt that maybe her meds tire her out, but I don't think it has anything to do with it since she's so unremorseful. I still remember how it was her first week with us, we were having our weekly team huddle, and she fell asleep right in front of our big boss. Afterwards she could still have the cheek to say to me: "Did you realise I fell asleep just now in the meeting? I didn't really understand what was going on so I got bored and fell asleep." WTF. It was then that I knew that she is one major red flag and possibly couldn't gel well with the team.

Add on to the fact that she doesn't take care of her health well despite her health issues? She's a vegetarian but the things she eats are very unbalanced/no nutritional value at all (eg. fries and corn for lunch). Plus she knows she's on a strict certain amount of liquid diet but she goes ahead to order BBT and get another soft drink every WFO day. I can't imagine what her diet is like at home.

Case in point....I couldn't brain this message at 8am in the train. Like God, what level of patience do you want me to have 😭

Ramadan 1446H / 2025

Moving on from all the negatives. I know it might not seem like it but I was thankful that Ramadan was here - it gave me pause, reset my thinking and I was consciously trying to be more patient and thoughtful with what I say than in other months. Now that I'm a bit older, I can really appreciate what people mean when they say they look forward to Ramadan and not Hari Raya/Eid now. I mean I still love all my Raya food and the family visits but there's this certain type of peace and the strive to do better in Ramadan that is top-tier.

I had a few goals to maximise the precious month. Disclaimer, not trying to be boastful/riak, I want to document what I did, what I could plan and do better for next Ramadan (if I am given the chance to meet it):

Do the 5 daily prayers on time - Sigh this was tough especially when the crisis was brewing / on WFO days when everything is so overwhelming. But I did make a more concerted effort and it was a 20% improvement!

Read the Quran daily - Met this! In the end, I could only finish about 2.5 chapters but okay progress is progress. Recently downloaded the Quranly app and I love it. Builds the habit to read daily with the little notifications and again, I get great satisfaction seeing the reading streak get extended by another day.

Give to causes daily - ...this was largely a failure. Again, work consumed me leaving me with little brainpower left by the end of the day so most of the time I forgot sigh. I did still do my Friday giving on most weeks (plus Zakat) but okay this can be improved on next year 💪🏼

Terawih prayers at least 2x a week - Met this! So happy to be building up this habit again - it used to be so easy to go to the masjid and do communal prayers together but now life has gotten in the way and it takes real intention and will to even go for a session.

Highlight of Ramadan is definitely going to Al-Iman with F when Mufti was leading the prayers! We originally wanted to go for the NUSMS one in UTown but my period came and work was piling on her end too so it was pure coincidence that I realised Mufti was going to have a session in my neighbourhood mosque. The timing is so uncanny 🥹 Pictured too is my BTS tote bag because my 10pm brain was wondering if it was haram to bring a kpop Christmas bag to the mosque HAHA.

...and then it was Raya! Will touch on that in Apr post because I'm far from done with visiting and I want to have a mini collage of my bajus heh.

2025 goals tracker

i. Journalling

12/31 (Bad month 😮‍💨)

ii. Reading

7 (3 manga volumes, 2 fiction, 1 non-fic, 1 poetry collection - my very first one!)

Highlight: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross! This book comes highly raved online and I now know whyyyy. Ross knows how to create this perfect delicious mix of longing and yearning and I was all here for it. On hindsight, the world building could have been more detailed but I was fine with it since the plot gripped me from the get-go. It was so good that halfway through reading it on Libby, I bought a copy on my Kindle because I knew I would want to reread it again someday.

Haven't taken a photo for my bookstagram yet so please appreciate this accurate GIF representation of me after finishing the book.

iii. Being more active

Not much progress updates since it was Ramadan and I was ded trying to do workouts while fasting hahaha. Thankful my PT didn't tekan me too hard too.

Milestones: Squats with a 8kg kettlebell and a 12.5kg barbell; hip thrusts with a 17.5kg bar, linear leg presses with 20kg weight (on top of the 43kg weight of the machine itself)

iv. Saying yes to things that make me uncomfy

Only one for this month which is to write a poetry article for my bookclub - this hasn't been going well though because I haven't had time to properly research and be in the right mindspace to write. Hoping to get back on this in Apr!

Miscellaneous

F1 is back!

...and everything is right with the world again. It's weird to say that 20 guys driving around really fast in practically circles could bring me so much joy but here we are in 2025 hahaha. The Aussie GP was madness with the rain and so many red flags, I think it took out 2 years of my life hahaha. And still I enjoy it every week that F1 is on.

Ending this post with my favourite photo of Carbono to date! Till the next one~

[dreamsinfiction]

Reached TVD 7x14 and that Klaroline phone call has me in a chokeholddddd. Their chemistry is next level even though they're not in the same room 😍

Peak Klaroline Moments™ in the Krossover

[Caption: several gifs from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals focused on Caroline and Klaus’ dynamic during the crossover episodes set in New Orleans. First, in a flashforward, Caroline appears in New Orleans demanding to see Klaus, saying she knows he comes to that bar and confidently stating that he’ll know her. In the present, Klaus asks Stefan how Caroline is, smiling, making Stefan look uncomfortable. Later, Klaus expresses scepticism to the idea that Caroline would carry and give birth to her twins and then distance herself, sarcasticallysaying “that does sound like the Caroline I remember”. After kicking out Stefan he ends up picking up his phone when Caroline calls, greeting him with a “Hello, luv.” and a small smile.

She asks who’s talking, with trepidation; he says, with mock affectation “Ouch. Has it really being that long?” and her face is frozen when she says her name out loud, after getting confirmation it’s him. During their conversation Klaus goes on a tangent, asking what does she think of hand-me-downs since her daughter’s “outgrown onesies” are a waste of a chest he had that used to belong to Louis XV. Later he promises her to ensure Stefan will be fine, reassuring her. He also repeats her words from his last visit to Mystic Falls (“here you are, in college, building a life for yourself. Plans, a future, things you want.”), making her smile as she says “Klaus, I’m not doing this with you.“ In a charged moment, he tells her “It’s not a crime to love what you cannot explain, making her look down at one of her babies; he also tells her that he was sorry to hear about her mother’s death, and that he’s sure she would’ve liked to see Caroline with the kids.

Driving, in a car ride with Stefan he asks Stefan if he loves “her”, clarifying who he means when Stefan turns his head quickly; Stefan asks if he still has feelings for Caroline, and Klaus deflects, saying he has too many complicated women in his life. When he fins out Stefan is being chased by the Huntress for protecting Damon, Klaus tells him to let Caroline go, or “spend an eternity sacrificing everything good [he has] with her for [his] brother.” Later on Stefan is hidden in a trunk with Hayley; she asks to see his homepage, which shows Caroline; Hayley mentions that Klaus “had a thing for her” and Stefan replies “Yep.” Finally, at the end of the episode, Stefan tells Klaus that he loves Caroline, that he knows Klaus did once too, and promises to do right by her. Klaus, affected, thanks him.]

[dreamsinfiction]

If everything was easy, nothing ever broke; If everything was simple, how would we know? How to fix your tears, how to fake a show; How to paint a smile, yeah, how would we know? How good we have it, though.

The Show, Niall Horan

[dreamsinfiction]

Jan/Feb 2025 (aka when time was both a glacier freezing in the winter and melting in the summer)

Is it just me or is 2025 speeding by so quickly? Am writing this in mid-March (update: only publishing this in Apr; help my procrastination is next level these days hahaha) and it feels like the days, weeks and months are slipping through my fingers 🥲

Since this is my new year post, I'm going to start it with my goals for the year and intersperse with life updates (so that I don't ramble on and on):

a. Be clear with my intentions / do intention-setting as much as possible

Picked this up mainly from L's video on how she uses Sundays to reset for the week ahead (putting in meetings/social events she has for the following week in her Google Cal, writing to-do lists) but I've also learnt more about it when talking to my Maktaba friends! Life is funny when coincidences happen back-to-back.

I realise I have been doing some form of intention-setting all this while with me needing a physical planner each year to set my to-do lists on weekdays but I want to expand it to beyond work and incl life tasks/goals too.

So far, this has been working! I'm in a good head space when I can see what are the things I want to work on for the day/week/month/year and ticking them off gives me great satisfaction hahaha.

Side note, this has also been working in my social life hehe. Met this guy (let's call him S) at one of the bookclubs and I thought he was a pretty interesting person - he was very emotionally and philosophically mature (not sure if this is the right word but the way he thinks is very interesting). Was keen to know him more (intention right here lol) so I struck up a convo (seriously who is this 30s me who is seemingly fearless)! One thing led to another and we're now talking quite occasionally and I feel we have a similar wavelength. I also found out he lives nearby! In all my years, I've not met anyone who lives near me (who is not a childhood friend). Anyway, not going to put much expectations (case in point: Z who has been a bit disappointing to say the least but it's okay we move on) and just appreciate the fact that I have a new friend 🙂

b. Journal more frequently

I've been on-and-off journaling pretty much my whole life but keeping up the habit is hard. Part of the reason is because sometimes the empty page is very daunting. So for this year, I got a journal with smaller spaces for the days to trick my brain into thinking that I don't need to write much to fill up the segment.

The journal I got in Korea at a random bookshop in Myeongdong Cathedral. It has the different lunar phases in Korean!

Journaling tracker:

i. Jan: 22/31 (New year energy driving me to journal everyday hahaha)

ii. Feb: 14/28 (My work days were mainly taken up by XE and cleaning up her mess hence wasn't in the right headspace to journal. But proud of myself for going on a few social gatherings during the weekends to maximise time before Ramadan heh. More details in second half of post!)

c. Read more diversely

I always aim to read 20 books a year cos it seems like a manageable goal without putting too much pressure. But this year, I want to be a bit more intentional - I will still be a mood reader and pick up what strikes me in the moment (hi fantasy, manga reads) but also non-fiction and Islamic titles on my bookstagram feed do look interesting so I will venture into that space!

Also, been using StoryGraph for the past year and am going to focus fully on it because i) the UI is nicer, ii) the data insights/charts are interesting, and iii) the biggest push factor, my Goodreads account got locked out hahaha. I think it's because I used my Facebook to create a GR acc and they've discontinued FB login since late last year 🥲. Thanks friends for jumping into SG with me heh.

Reading tracker (detailed reviews on my bookstagram!)

i. Jan: 6 (3 books, 3 manga volumes)

Highlights:

None actually cos Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez turned out to be my least favourite in the Part of Your World series and Gurmit's Singh biography was mid)

ii. Feb: 3 (all books)

Highlights:

Took the Human Acts photo at the mini Han Kang photo wall/exhibition in Kyobo Books during Nov 2024

Human Acts by Han Kang - amazing, best Han Kang novel I've read so far but with heavy themes of protests, death, grief

Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan - can't believe this is actually a children's book with the war themes involved, but I loved it for telling the untold story of how other religious communities, this one focussing on the Muslims, helped the Jews to escape prosecution in WWII Paris

d. Slower productivity, but not sacrificing quality (improve where I can)

Picked up this concept from Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (a recommendation by J!) and it's reset my mindset quite a bit. It's also due to timing - my current work now is more forward-planning, strategic in nature, less of comms on the ground so I can afford to be more thoughtful behind the work I put out since deadlines have a longer runway and planned in advance.

But when crisis comes, slow productivity is vehemently thrown out the window as I sadly learnt in Mar (will touch on this at next update).

e. Be more active!

Getting older means I need to start taking care of my health better. Not that I wasn't all this while - I don't smoke, drink, can't really eat much at one go. But the main obstacle has been getting regular exercise (other than my 25-min walk to the MRT on WFO days). Since my family and extended family's medical history isn't the greatest, I think it's about time I sit down and really dedicate some portion of time a week to get some active minutes.

And so far the gym has been working! Pretty pricey since I go to FF and have a PT but I can see some fruits of my labour now hehe. If anything, the steep price point motivates me to rush out during lunchtime on WFH days and get a session in cos I need to get my money's worth 😹

Exercise updates:

Learnt a lot of new machines, some more painful than the others lol

Learnt how to do proper squats with weights

I still hate lunges HAHA

Went for a random pickleball session with the office girlies at Delta Sports Centre (It's so nice now after the upgrades! Also, don't ask me how to play pickleball, we just went with the flow - I played it like I would play badminton, A played it like she would with tennis HAHA; much chaos, super fun)

My friends know how to enable me hahahaha

f. Continue saying yes to things that make me happy / make me initially uncomfy but will be good for me in the long run

A continuation from last year! Despite its ups and downs, last year was quite eventful and looking back I'm thankful I did the things I did. I don't think there was anything that I regretted doing even though the outcome wasn't always positive. So here's to less what ifs, and more doing.

Other highlights in Jan/Feb:

i. Harry Potter Visions of Magic exhibition

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This was so fun! Lived out my dream of being a real Slytherin student in Hogwarts - loved how immersive it was with all the wandcasting and wandering across different rooms spanning both HP and the Fantastic Beasts world. Definitely worth the ticket even though it was a bit pricey (went on a weekend morning which was considered peak period), since I'm not planning to visit any of the Wizarding World theme parks any time soon.

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ii. Seventeen's 'Right Here' concert

After loving their songs for close to a decade now, I was so happy to finally see them live. Went with SR and even though our seats were quite far from the main stage, it was fine since we went mostly for the vocals. DK's voice is so amazing live 🥹. Also there was a segment where they were on carts and pushed closer to the seated areas and I got to see them nearer hahaha. DK and Wonwoo were on the same cart homg my fangirl heart could not take it lolol.

iii. JB trip for P's wedding

First time chartering a van to take us into Johor and right to the wedding hall haha. It was a pretty smooth process thanks to the QR clearance and we made it in time for the 9.30am solemnisation (our call time to meet the driver at our block was 6.00am tho huhu).

But the wedding was really pretty and it's my first of 2 weddings in Malaysia I would be attending this year (the next one is in May heh). Even though Johor is just across the Causeway, some traditions are different than Malay weddings here which was interesting to see. I also got Gigi Coffee on Grab to try and omg it's so nice and strong (reminiscent of coffee in Korea) and it doesn't break the bank hahaha. Gonna try more Malaysia coffee brands when I'm in KL this year! I have my eye on Zus Coffee cos it comes highly raved and I don't need to wait long to try since there's a new outlet in Westgate heh.

iv. Bookclubs galore

Geeking out over books will never stop being fun ㅋㅋㅋ

Went for so many just in February! I rotate between the Quiet Readers' Club (name explains itself), Meet Cuties Club (romance book club; I join it for the hehehaha) and Maktaba Books' Silent Reading Sessions and Sama-Sama Book Club (this one is with NLB and they pick regional/Asian reads which helps meet my goal of reading more diversely). What I love about them is the safe space, hearing different views than my own perspective being raised and just meeting new folks/forming new friendships.

...and that's about it! This post has gone on long enough haha. It's definitely been a fulfilling start to the year - semi-excited about what's in store for the rest of the year but also semi-dreading the challenges that are inevitably coming my way huhu.

Till the next update! I swear I will start working on Mar updates soon~

[dreamsinfiction]

2024 in a nutshell

If I was honest with myself, I would say I've been putting off doing this recap because wow last year was tough. Work has always been tough and that's fine, I can handle work stress (even at the expense of having a burnout oops) but family stress is a whole 'nother league of its own 🥲

But a recap's a recap and I know I will want to read back years later on how life went during this period. So let's go; as per usual it's the negatives first hurhur:

The Bad:

Grief - Talk about the elephant in the room. But yes, my 2024 was marked by grief with Cik Ayid's passing. His condition deteriorated so quickly within 2 weeks and it's still a shock to me when my mind inevitably thinks back to October, realising that health can be taken away so easily. Cancer is such a scary thing.

I think his passing impacted me more than I thought it would because I've been blessed to not have many people I know who passed on early while I was growing up (the last one that was close to me was probably my late grandad but I was very young then in primary school and didn't really process it well). I also had to be strong for my mom and my aunts because obviously they were distraught when he passed so I was the one who compartmentalised my feelings and was liasing with the doc and nurses for the death cert, calling the funeral company, settling the logistics, calling relatives to come help in the morning to move him to the cemetery mosque before the burial etc. It was slightly traumatic to say the least, but I think silver lining is that now I know what to do if the next death happens (trying not to think of this too much).

Another silver lining is the friends that I have who supported me through my grief. Special mention to F who sadly also had her year tainted with multiple deaths and who knew exactly how to console me and offer small words of comfort. And of course, I'm so thankful for my faith and knowing who/what to turn to when times were so, so difficult ❤️‍🩹

The Uncomfy (but in the long run will be good for me):

2024 was really the year I went all out to do things that I'm not confident in. I'll try to categorise and list them but I'm sure I'm missing some haha:

Work:

Thrown a lot of random things at work - mostly to set up structures and comms pillars in place (idk how the division functioned without one all these while). Things are better now because there are procedures to follow so I feel more self-assured haha.

Presented a whole bunch of stuff from senior management to divisional meetings. Happy to say that I get less anxious now when speaking up in these settings! Maybe because I'm amongst familiar faces, at least within the division.

Signed up to be the secy for div meetings and managing VFest. If you ask the fresh-grad-and-starting-service me if I would volunteer for all these things, it would have been the farthest thing from my mind hahaha.

Psudo-promotion by having someone reporting to me - This...has not been going well hahaha. I've been assigned with a tough-to-work-with officer and not because of her disability. More on this in Jan recap bc that was when I blew my top (internally) and taking a different approach with how I treat her (externally).

Social:

Joined a badminton club - an effort to be more healthy but I actually made a few friends!

Joined a gym and got a PT - biggest health takeaway of the yearrrr. Again, secondary school me would be shaking to hear I'm paying good money to go to a gym regularly and have someone train me hahaha. But I'm actually enjoying this quite a bit! Progress updates in Jan/Feb recap.

Joined many bookish events - from book clubs to author sharings, I loved them all. Also made many new friends through bookstagram! I want to work on this a bit more in 2025, will share more in another update.

Life:

Had my first CC! - truly adulting moment. I was brought up in an environment where money was very tight and with a frugal mindset (ie. don't spend money you don't have) so I've been resisting getting one for the longest time. But after researching about it more, sadly we live in a world of credit scores and probably needing a loan when I eventually buy a house so a CC is needed. Discipline is definitely needed to control my spendings though - it's a monthly battle to keep them in check 😂

Coloured my hair for the first time! - Always wanted to try it, very happy I got round to it. Idk if I will fulfil my childhood dream of getting red hair, but the brown I have now resonates with me heh.

Travels - Blessed to go on 4 trips this year (cruise to Thailand, BKK with U, Korea with J, S & R, and my Korean immersion trip). All were very memorable in their own ways haha. But it's time to save up a bit since I overspent quite a bit on this in 2024.

Concerts/shows - I think I went for a concert almost every other month hahaha (Jan - Coldplay, Apr - IU, May - Hamilton, June - BWS, July - Hady Mirza, Aug - BKK Summer Sonic Fest, Sept - Geng Rebut Cabinet, F1). 2024 was when things were truly post-COVID hence my excitement to go for every show. No regrets because the memories made were worth it but will definitely need to keep this in check for 2025.

Went on a dating app, put my efforts into it, went on a few dates (some of which were horrible) but realising it's not for me. And that's okay. I think as an INF/TJ, I need to be friends with someone first before even entertaining the thought of something more with them. And dating platforms are....not it. I don't like the superficiality of it, how some people on there are pretty rude with honestly shocking mindsets and the ghosting culture. I think I prefer going to physical events where you get to talk to someone and find out a bit more about them in-person than chatting behind a screen. So to more bookish events it is since that's my natural interest haha.

Segue nicely into...asking a guy out for the first time! Honestly who am I hahaha. And I felt less nervous doing it too because I knew what I wanted and there's no loss even if I eventually got rejected because then I'll have a clean break and won't be thinking of the what ifs months, years down the road. I love having a fully developed frontal lobe HAHA.

Volunteered at the Food Bank - I loved this! Even though it was just to pack stuff to send to homes/organisations, it was still fun and pretty hard work. Going to look for more opportunities in the future :)

And...that's my 2024. Marked by sadness, burn outs but I think I'm much more stronger (physically and mentally) because of them. I'm more certain of myself and the people I want to be around with too. Thank the Lord for my many, many blessings still ❤️

[dreamsinfiction]

Korea II

Edit: Realised I'm posting this on 23 Dec - exactly a month after I flew off for the trip. Love little coincidences like this haha.

Earlier this year, I was debating internally whether to go on this 2-week language immersion trip when I first heard of it. The costs, the anxiety of travelling alone for the first time. But also, the fun of it all, the wonder of being someone else, or at least a different version of me in a city all by myself.

I can now safely say that this was the best decision I've made this year haha. This year has been full of uncomfortable experiences but it's also taught me that sometimes you have to go through the uncomfy because the memories that come with it is totally worth it (more on this in the year-end recap where I will probably sound like a sap haha).

Anyway, let's get the bad of the trip out of the way cos I don't want to end a post on a negative note.

The Not-So-Good:

Travelled by taxi into Seoul but the driver was a nightmare: Wasn't a good start to the trip tbh. Not only was the driver weaving in and out of traffic dangerously, he was also having road rage and cursing non-stop because there were protests once we were in downtown Seoul. Plus I was having issues setting up my eSIM so my brain went into overdrive thinking of the what-ifs if I ended up in an accident and no one knew about it hurhurhur.

One of the most condescending people I know got paired in my group: She's a lot older so there's the generation gap but it came down to her personality and mindset of being an authoritative figure (and dismissive of people's opinions). I really tried my best to be still polite to her but I was very pissed when she just dismissed me after she sought me out on how to go/what's there to do in Suwon (a place that I solo travelled earlier)

Martial law got declared in the midst of my trip wtf: This was the ultimate lowpoint mentally for me because what even is martial law in this day and age and in a country that's supposed to be democratic like S Korea? I was saying to my friends I would expect this in Thailand (in fact I travelled to BKK the week after they suddenly swapped PMs but that turned out to be a calm non-occasion politically lol) but not in Korea. The fact that it was declared in the middle of the night so I was all alone in the apartment didn't help either. I broke down and started crying because I couldn't deal with the uncertainty of it all. My brain automatically went to the worst-possible scenarios including bracing myself that I may not be able to come home?? Terrible brain.

Realising I'm not made for solo travel/living alone: Not sure if it was the winter but the lack of sun definitely affected my mood (I alr know this during WFH days when I need the sun to be shining into the living room for me to have an okay day haha). So I was a bit sad each time coming to the apartment alone, did my best to distract myself before bedtime, and actually looked forward to the classes every morning. I can do solo days during a trip (in fact I loved it in BKK and Seoul when travelling with friends) but probably not a solo trip all by myself. Also this means that I probably can't live alone hahaha help. Or if I do get my own place when I can, I probably need my mom/sister around a lot just to keep me company 😂

The Good:

Everyone else in the trip was actually pretty welcoming! - So, so thankful for people that make the first move and include me in things (because God knows I'm too shy to do anything about it). We got along quite well and went out for lunch pretty much everyday hehe. Discovered so many good food too around the classroom area! Which brings me to...

Good food everyday: From cheap coffee with alternative milk almost everyday to discovering local joints in the area, I was spoilttt. Highlights: Dakgalbi, sujebi, that bibimbap in Suwon, Mega Coffee, that cheesecake and coffee from a cute little cafe in Insadong (this one was a bit more special because of the context behind it; more below heh)

Classes: I liked the mini exchange life! Waking up in the morning, prepping for class while having a small cup of tea, taking the train, walking to a coffee joint when I felt like I needed a little boost. Classes were intense though. They were fully in Korean and we also tried talking in Korean after class. After 2 weeks in Korea, I think my listening has definitely improved (maybe a half-second lag now compared to a few seconds before haha), and I feel more confident speaking! Even though it may still be broken Korean haha.

Kimchi-making/taekwondo experience: This was both so fun! I was most nervous about taekwondo tbh because I'm not the most athletic but I actually could crack a board in half wow.

Meeting Yati: My bookstagram friend! We've chatted for a bit here and there online but when we realised that our Korean trips overlapped with one another, it was too good an opportunity to pass to meet up for the first time IRL. She's also a BWS fan hahaha so fun to go around Seoul and spotting his ads and giggling over them together (the Kyochon chicken with the huge corn hugging is a masterpiece hahaha).

Going to Suwon: This was such a last-minute decision (bought my train tickets only a day before I flew to Korea hahaha) but it was amazing! Considered going to Gyeongju since I've been wanting to see the historical city for a while but it's pretty far and I didn't think I have it in me to travel the distance after a long flight the day before. Good decision me. Suwon is just a 30 min train ride away and it's so pretty! Very peaceful and historical too with the fortress circling the downtown area. Didn't really have much plans other than to see the Lovely Runner locations (and they're all so near each other) and I loved soaking in the local atmosphere. Will definitely visit again the next time I'm in Seoul and wanting to get out of the city life heh.

The Really Good:

Realising I can navigate a city by myself: This did give me some confidence heh. I may not like going on a trip by myself but I can do it if I need to. Towards the end, I was feeling brave to even ask random strangers for directions (in Korean nonetheless). Good job me!

Seeing snow for the very first time 😭❄️: Subhanallah this really was a dream come true! The closest I've ever seen snow was in Glasgow at Aunty Eny's house on Christmas about 10 years ago but it was hail and not snow. Real, heavy snow was actually quite fluffy and soft, especially when it's fresh. I was like a child marvelling at the heavy snow the whole entire day (it was our third day of lessons). After class, the snow turned into a mini snowstorm though and it was 10 tough minutes of walking in the snow and wind to get to our lunch spot haha. Some of my friends who had umbrellas had to shake off the snow a few times during our walk LOL.

Meeting Soyoung: Ahh I loved this day too! Went early in the morning to take the KTX to Daegu (didn't realise it would be a 2.5 hours train ride one-way haha) and it was fine! There was that one stop where this Indian/Nepalese guy sat in the seat next to me and it was so obvious he was taking pictures of me while pretending to take photos of the scenery out the window. Was very uncomfortable but I was alone and didn't want to invite more trouble my way so I just ignored him and thankfully he alighted at the stop before mine. Thankfully the rest of the day went really well! Met up with Soyoung at the train station and poor thing she was losing her voice but she still hosted me so well! We had bibimyeon (first time trying and I liked the spiciness but it could get a bit much after a while since it's pretty much just all noodles and carbs lol), went to a huge Starbucks and enjoyed the view overlooking the lake and we chatted for a really long while! Her husband was also so nice omg when we went to have dinner at her place and had an American accent when speaking English hahaha. The cherry on top of the day was definitely L checking in on me periodically during the day because I told her I was going to Daegu to meet an online friend and she was worried I may get lost/something may happen to me. She checked in on me all the way till I reached Seoul and then my apartment which was way past midnight by then 🥲. Thankful for her cos I was mini freaking out taking what could possibly have been an illegal taxi at Seoul Station to get back home (since trains have stopped by then haha).

Potentially having an eye candy/crush: This was...unexpected hahaha. So it's this guy Z. Actually when we first met that first day and he was in the same group as me, I remembered thinking oh no, he's cute. And with broad shoulders. Crap. And boy was I right. I still kept expectations low though because I thought he would go for L since she's so pretty (like classic pretty kind huhu) but as the days go by we kept being in our little bubble and it felt pretty natural, comfortable and easy...? There were also a few kdrama moments which made me LOL now thinking back:

a) Turning up in the same colour and tone of shirt one day

b) On another day, we were both hungry, digged around our bags, and at the same time placed the same red bean custard bun from the convenience store we separately bought on the table (this one made some of our classmates LOL).

c) On another another day (haha), we were trying to find this designer bag for his mother and we ended up walking about 2 train stations to get to this bag shop (which I ended up buying something hehe). I don't remember what the convo was about but just that it was very easy talking to him, and even the silences in between were comfortable and peaceful. We ended up meeting some class friends along the way and he initially wanted to leave early to get something else for his friend. But when I said to the group that I wanted to eat at this poké place we stumbled across for dinner, he immediately changed plans and stayed for dinz also heh.

d) Cute cafe in Insadong: This was after our kimchi-making class and sujebi lunch. I didn't really want to head back to the apartment (even tho we had to prep for our weekly presentations) so I said to the group that I will probably go to a cafe to chill for a bit. Very much expecting that it would be a solo thing (good to decompress too). But Z self-invited himself, saying that he wants to come along too haha. So we walked for a bit and I pointed out this banner that had a cat on it (context: he did mention previously that he was missing his cats a bit and would like to go to a cat cafe) but turns out we were tricked. There was no cats - there were cats and Studio Ghibli figurines littered all over the cafe hahahaha. But it was a cute space still and the owner was so nice! I had a latte and a cheesecake (so good homg) and he had hot chocolate and a chocolate brownie (maximum chocolate hahaha) which also tasted good! Side track but he also mentioned this was one of his favourite memories of the trip on the last class day when the teachers were asking around what we would remember most from the programme 🫣 (I was internally freaking out thinking what could he possibly mean by that)

e) Many lunches/dinners where we were eating together - even though there were empty seats elsewhere, he still went over to sit with me heh.

f) On the last day, I was having the usual nervous flight tremors (not helped by the traffic jams due to the protests and a group of very inconsiderate Filipino travellers that demanded the bus to stop just so they could go to the toilet) and reached out to him to ask if he was facing the same issues (since our flights were almost at the same timing but different terminals). Just having another person to reach out to while I was mini spiralling did help a lot in calming me down, and going back to my relaxation techniques (deep breathing, lots of dzikir). At one point, I think we were trying to reassure each other that things would be alright (and they did! We got on our flights on time)

Phew that was a mega update hahaha. I think it did recapped the trip fully and I feel like I did process my thoughts and feelings while doing so. So yay, objective of this post met.

Anyway, update on Z: J said to just ask him out if I feel so strongly. Not that I think I do at this point...he's interesting and I would like to know him better so I think it's a shame to not reach out....so I did! Plucked up the courage and did it on my birthday to end things with a bang hahaha.

20s me would be shaking - I would never have believed I would reach out to someone first, but not only did I do that I actually felt quite calm doing it?? 30s me is so interesting hahaha I love it. So, yes we are keeping it chill (his words) and going to a cat cafe on Christmas! Again I am keeping expectations low; there's a bit of a complication which I shan't get into here cos it's not my thing to tell but I did give him a few outs to say no if he doesn't want to go, he didn't, so that's something positive? In any case, I feel like it's still a win-win situation for me, personal growth in asking someone out, at least making a new friend before the year ends and all.

Hehe wish me luck!

[dreamsinfiction]

Korea I

Yes, I know I'm wayyy behind on my monthly recaps but I feel like so much has happened (both the sad and the slightly happy ones) that I think I will just make a 2H 2024 recap instead.

But first, recapping my Korea trips! (I realise I haven't even recapped my Aug BKK one with U oops - okay another thing to add to the year-end recap).

I've been posting on IG a lot because I wanted to capture the vibes and atmosphere of the trip, so I feel like I've already recapped the trip 😅

My main takeaway from the trip was how pretty compatible we were as travel companions? This being the first time we all travelled together, I think it was quite amazing how we get along well with each other, and giving space when needed. Very chill and comfortable vibes hehe.

Seoul

Some shots which didn't make it to IG :)

It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be for late Oct (truly global warming) so some of the leaves weren't in peak autumn yet but we made the best we could! My favourite memories were definitely conquering Lotte World (by my own standards haha) and solo day (successfully navigated around Seoul by myself and scouted locations for the winter immersion hehe).

Jeju

Second time in Jeju but it still gives me peace 😌

Succeeded driving here (with R) and we did pretty well considering we were amateur drivers with no car back home lol. I also realised I have this inner minah in me when I drive; not exactly road rage but I do comment a lot on other people's driving when I'm behind the wheel HAHA. The roundabouts and the hilly landscape really reminded me of Scotland heh...which means I can drive there the next time I visit? :)

Loved how relaxed Jeju always is. It got dark pretty fast around 5ish tho which meant we went back to our AirBnB early but that wasn't an issue at all since it was amazing space with plenty of amenities including a projector screen! I also liked waking up early, and reading in the open kitchen while looking at the view. Definitely missing that in busy and hectic SG.

Recapping Korea II soon! I think that one will be quite a lengthy one with more text because boy, do I need to process my thoughts and feelings HAHA.

[dreamsinfiction]

I neeeeed to watch The Originals but I can't seem to find it on any legal streaming sites. Hopefully it'll be on Max!

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES ⏤ 4.23, “Graduation”

[dreamsinfiction]

I've done more than enough. I've shown kindness, pity...because of you Caroline. It was all because of you.

Klaus Mikaelson, The Vampire Diaries (S4E14, Down the Rabbit Hole)