farewell, july
is it just me or has this past month been exceptionally long? it’s definitely because i’ve been doing the same thing over and over and AM VERY OVER IT. much of july was spent either 1) in a ballet studio, training, 2) working out/doing BBG, or 3) churning out videos and blog posts and photos but still feeling like i’m behind schedule. what else is new, really.
i make it sound awful, but in all honesty, the month was swell. weekdays were slow and never-ending, but weekends were wonderful. i actually spent a lot of time doing things i truly enjoyed like hanging out with friends, enjoying nature, taking time for myself, etc etc etc. i watched my favorite ballet company perform; went to 626 night market with a few of my friends; planned and participated in a picnic (10/10 would recommend!!!! FOR REAL!!!!); supported friends in a dance competition; and finished up my ballet summer program. i also got to hang out with kailtin for a hot sec before both of us parted ways – her to seattle, and me to vegas for vacation!! here for it.
watching the royal ballet :””) 
the work continues 
these fries from 626 night market (that i did not consume for reasons explained in an upcoming vid) 
THE DREAM PICNIC 
with kaitlin !!
chelsea:
it has been…. an exceptionally long time since i participated in a wrap up. it’s not like i have a concrete excuse. months come and go and the ebb and flow of time exhausts me endlessly, that when i see the 30th or the 31st approaching, i just think huh. it’s almost 2020. and then i move on. so i apologize for being incredibly absent! i’m trying to get back into the swing of things.
the majority of my july was spent working, hanging out with my friends, helping my grandparents move, and, suprisingly, reading. i did other things too–i got my first credit card, i met my cousins new girlfriend, i went to the grand opening of my city’s new korean supermarket, i officially ended things with my ex-girlfriend, and i unhauled about 120 books from my shelves. it was a successful month, if you’re into getting things on a to-do list done. i also got a nasty sunburn, but that’s a typical chelsea summer.
priscilla:
july is over, and i don’t really know how to feel. like june, it wasn’t the greatest month, but i guess it’s been a tiny bit better. i think i kinda settled into the rhythm of working at boba guys, hanging out with friends occasionally, and chilling at home. but honestly, it hasn’t been a great month, physically/mentally/emotionally and in terms of blogging. if you remember my summer goals post, i’m sad to say that i really haven’t been keeping up with those 🙁 i really just lost steam about a month in, and i don’t have the motivation or energy to work on growth and self-improvement anymore 😩
a few highlights from the month, because it definitely wasn’t all bad:
finally saw got7 live!!!! they were so beautiful <3 
satisfying my dimsum cravings hehe 
the sky was really pretty this day 
went to the beach for the first time in forever!! (and got very soaked) 
a pic i took on a walk 🙂
in general, i’ve just been feeling disconnected, despite meeting up with people. having so much alone time after being at school for a year has really been rough, and i’m looking forward to being reunited with all my friends in a month! i wish i was more okay with just being alone, but i really don’t know how to get there. maybe it’s just a matter of perspective, but i feel kinda stuck in the way i think/feel…. definitely something i need to work on.
media consumed
i didn’t have a lot of extra time on my hands BUT i managed to watch movies!!! and finish books!!!! who the f am i?!!! i don’t even recognize myself. first, the movies:
i got to watch spider-man: far from home on america’s independence day and i enjoyed it very very much – even though there was an earthquake in the middle of our showing lmao. it was hilarious because i was watching the dolby version so the seats were shaking during action seats anyway, so we couldn’t tell if it was the dolby or if there was an earthquake. 🤪 then, i rewatched spider-man: homecoming while on my picnic with friends since some didn’t watch the first movie. (i can’t understand why you would watch far from home when you only watched one of the mcu movies but,,,,,,, sure.) finally!! i watched the farewell AKA ONE OF MY MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES and it was so wonderful i’m emo. the amount of asian-american (specifically chinese-american) rep in the film!!!! i’m in shock. i wanted to watch this with my mom immediately after, and also visit my grandma.
as for books… i read the poppy war by rf kuang, the diviners by libba bray (both of which were rereads), love from a to z by sk ali, and the starless sea by erin morgenstern!! these were all 4 to 5 star reads for me so it made me very happy.
chelsea:
i feel like i did an excessive amount of media consuming this month, but i was in a reading slump for like, the first half of the year, so who knows if this is just a fluke or if it’s the norm. i went to see rocketman and spider-man: far from home in the movie theatres, both of which i enjoyed very much, and i also watched pride and prejudice, little women, and murder on the orient express, which were, of course, stunners. as for books….
i read seven whole books between july 15th and july 31st, which is bonkers to me. i’ve found that i’ve gotten a lot more critical with my reading, and i don’t give four and five stars out very much. anyways, i gave two can keep a secret two stars, one of us is lying, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, the couple next door, sadie, and the infinite noise three stars, and i gave pretty girls four stars. i have a plan to read through my tbr (about 20 books) in august because i don’t have many shifts and my friends are on vacation, so we’ll see how that goes!
priscilla:
i went out to the movies more often than i usually do, since they were all free / paid for by boba guys! i watched yesterday, spider-man: far from home (as xan and chelsea also did…. so popular haha), lion king (not my favorite – the cgi was good, but the lions’ faces couldn’t really express their emotions so it was weird to watch), and kiki’s delivery service (actually watching this tonight, haha. i’ve seen it before but i’m excited to see it on the big screen!). i also really want to see the farewell -i’ve heard so many good things about it!
on netflix, i watched into the spider-verse, which i enjoyed 🙂 i also finished watching all the seasons of how to get away with murder and the good place that are available on netflix, and….i need more
in terms of books, i’ve been reading mostly self-help/psychology books (my usual choices these days). i really liked the year of less, which has inspired me to start my own shopping ban: basically, i’m not going to buy anything i don’t NEED for the next year! i’ll still spend money on food/going out to eat with friends, but i won’t buy clothes, books, accessories, etc. i’m actually pretty excited for this experiment – hopefully i can actually stick it out for 12 months!
foresights of august
AUGUST I AM READY FOR YOU. or actually: VACATION I AM READY FOR YOU. that’s right. i’m going on an actual family vacation and i am SO EXCITED for it. because in all honesty, i can’t remember the last time my family went on a vacation. (three day weekends to vegas do not count because i’m underage and that’s the only place my parents go whenever we have time off.) we usually travel/do stuff in related to work so it’s not TRULY a vacation. (another example: going to london, australia, or barcelona which was great and fun BUT i was there for auditions/ballet/work so does it really count???)
after that, i’m planning on going to universal studios/harry potter world with a few friends (i’ve never been to hp world and am READY), catching up with other friends i haven’t seen in a year, and going back to my regular schedule. aka i’m a free willy.
chelsea:
august is most likely going to pan out exactly like july. a lot of reading, a lot of hanging around my house, a lot of eating bowls and bowls of cherries. i got an armchair for my bedroom yesterday so i’m planning to power through my tbr pile in the chair.
the biggest difference about august is that i’m going to prepping for my first year of university! i start as a classics major and comparative literature minor on september 2nd, and i’m not sure i’ve ever been so nervous in my life. i’m getting my book list sometime during the month and have a few meet-the-faculty type events, so hopefully it won’t be to hard of a process. also, one of my two best friends is moving to toronto at the end of august, so i’m going to try and hang out with him as much as possible before he leaves! aka, it’s gonna be a month of tears and goodbyes and hopefully, a ton of reading.
priscilla:
i’m so ready for august! i’ve been counting down the days until i finally go back to my home away from home – nyc <3
i’m flying back on august 21, but i still have a few things planned before that. i have a church retreat this weekend, which i’m looking forward to, and i’m also going down to socal with my family for a few days next week! after wrapping up at work, i’m just going to pack and hang out with friends until i leave!
also! i’ve been thinking about buying a dslr for a while so i just…..went ahead and finally did it! (yes, i know this is a bit contradictory to my shopping ban, but i decided to do the ban after i bought the camera haha.) i’m very new to digital photography, so i’ll probably spend a good chunk of august figuring out how to work my new camera. i’m a bit overwhelmed, but also very excited to learn more about photography!
i’m hopeful that this will be a better month than the past two have been, and i wish the same for all of you!
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