Category Archives: Uncategorized

Helloooo.

So.

I forgot to upload my video here last week. Oops. There was one. It looked like this:

I’m also going to go ahead and upload my video for this week. I normally get them done on Sundays. Thursdays were just my bloggy days so I would upload it then. But since I messed that up last week, I’m just going to go ahead and do it now.

I hope this multi-video upload helps you procrastinate your much-neglected adulting responsibilities. For around 20 minutes anyway.

Love,

J.

I have begun my transformation into my final form. It’s not quite as majestic as, say, Sailor Moon.

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Believe me, I wish it was. The process has started, however. It began with the blazer. I wanted it to say, “I am a grown-up writer. Look at me! I have stuff to say!” But instead, it says, “I am a grow-up Filipina woman who may or may not be a stockbroker in the day. And at night, I just change from slacks to jeans to show you that I am one of the regular folk.”

Now, that doesn’t seem bad, does it? But with the addition of my new affinity for glasses chains, well. I am at Old Filipina Woman: Level One. I heard the level up noise in the distance.

I’m not going to lie, I love those chains. In my defense, they don’t have big gaudy beads and baubles on them. Right now, they’re just thin chains (yes, I have multiple), with a few minimalist beads or charms on them. And yes, I made them myself. My current fave is my autumn chain. Rose gold with four maple leaves of various autumnal colors: red, brown, yellow, and orange.

You may be wondering, “Gee, Joy. What exactly are the levels of old Filipina woman?” I’m glad you asked.

Level One: Attire screams ‘Business savvy.’ Stern demeanor? Maybe, but not necessary. Round cheeks and cherubic face? Yes.

Level Two: Attire screams ‘Business professional.’ Stern demeanor? Yes. Round cheeks and cherubic face? Yes.

Level Three: Attire screams ‘I own my business. Look at all of my gaudy bling.’ Stern demeanor? Yes. Round cheeks and cherubic face? Yes.

Level Four: Attire screams ‘I have passed down my business to my children. All of my outfits are coordinated in the colors of the Filipino flag.’ Stern demeanor? Yes. Round cheeks and cherubic face? Yes.

Level Five: Attire screams ‘I walk around the neighborhood each morning in yellow slickers and a matching rain hat or in a track suit.’ Stern demeanor? Not necessarily. Round cheeks and cherubic face? Yes, but wrinkled.

Anyway, time to shop for rain slickers.

Hugs!

J.

The Bloggy Part:

Today I wanted to share some great POC creatives. Fair warning, I spend a lot of time on YouTube, so a lot of these creators are YouTubers. No shame, just letting you know ahead of time, where you will be spending too much of your time.

Kelly Stamps is a hilarious, straight-forward, tiramisu-loving YouTuber. I’m not just subscribed to her YouTube channel because of her sense-of-humor and her love for Law & Order SVU. I’m subscribed because her content feels genuine and she gives off this wonderfully confident and badass vibe that I admire. Her channel is mostly about her journey as a YouTuber, unique vlogs, travel videos, and inspirational videos where she talks about topics like self-care. I love her “Kelly’s Food Stamps” playlist. My favorite video is the one where she tries to make tiramisu. It was so honest. A lot of YouTubers just show their best takes in the kitchen (with a couple of bloopers at the end). You just have to watch it. I was rooting for her the whole time.

Tamara Woods is an Authortuber. On her channel, she talks about grammar, books, other writing topics, and #ProjectAuthortube. I have to gush her weekly write-ins. Virtual write-ins are my jam! I can write in my pajamas, listen to other writers talk about topics, and be productive all at the same time. Her write-ins are always super diverse, welcoming, and I love her energy.

It’s also through Tamara (and her write-ins) that I’ve found The Naked Firefly and KaShay Warren. All three of these wonderful ladies post writing content on a regular basis. I’m super new to subscribing to The Naked Firefly and KaShay so I can’t share too much. As far as I can tell TNF writes under the pseudonym Kierra L. Rose and has a debut novel coming out next month (how exciting!) and has write-ins every Friday morning. KaShay’s last live stream was a Self-Care Sunday Crochet chat. I absolutely LOVE that idea and I hope she does it often so I can join in. (SPOILER: she does Self-Care Sundays every week.)

I’m really new to roller skating and I don’t know much of the culture too much. I have followed a few skaters on Instagram, however:

Asia Eryan: @sk8galpozzi

Toni Nicole: @gr00vyquads

Missy Savage: @missysavage68

 

Something I’m OBSESSED About:

One word (kind of): SnailHaus.

The more formal moniker of this new development is named after the “Miskatonic University,” which exists only in H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction. Our snail habitat is called the Mollusk-atonic University Faculty Dorm.

Yes. That’s right. We now have snail tenants. Welcomed snail tenants, not the unwanted kind. I have given them the most prosperous, pretentious names I could think of. Since the cardboard facade I built (to go around their habitat) was meant to look like a brownstone, I decided our new tenants were going to be 3 Mollusk-atonic University professors living together:

• Fredrick Teague SHELLby III, Professor of Archeology
• Earnest DIGby Whitaker V, Professor of Art History
• Ansley Margaux WHORLington IV, Water Polo Coach

I also have five teenie tiny Myosotella myosotis who are, of course, four Molluskatonic University students:

• Charles
• Dexter
• Ward
• Herbert
• West

You might be thinking, “Joy. Isn’t this the hobby of a six-year-old?” And while you wouldn’t be wrong. You are… so very wrong. Apparently.

A few months ago, I happened upon one of those cute pictures of tiny snails doing adorable things in the wild by macro-photographer, Vyacheslav Mishchenko. I thought, “This must be why kids keep snails as pets.” And this thought kept nagging at me.

Why couldn’t I do it? Adults have all sorts of pets. I keep Teddy, Director of Human Resources as a pet, for goodness sakes. I should be able to keep a couple snails, if I want. It turns out, plenty of adults do this.

Most snail owners keep their mollusk friends in vivariums (an enclosed area, maintained to keep and raise plants and animals for observation). Though most of you might be thinking terrariums, which often have artificial elements for their residents. Then of course there is a paludarium which is a mixture of terrestrial and aquatic elements. Not to get confused with equilibrium which is both a state of rest of balance due to the equal action of opposing forces and a movie starring the great Sean Bean.

The difference between the six-year-old hobby of keeping snails in shoeboxes and my construction of the Mollusk-atonic University Faculty Dorm is the fact that I have put time and money into this and my parents won’t release my snails in the wild, under the cover of darkness, after they’ve grown tired of them.

 

30-Day Challenge Update:

Writing: I have been writing (and rewriting) scripts for the writing podcast I have been preparing for so I’ve been neglecting the whole “writing fiction” thing. In all honesty, that is really what I should be focusing on when it comes to writing every day. So from this point forward, I’m aiming to only count “narrative writing” for this challenge.

Skates: This last week, my time in skates has been a little sporadic. Between spending all of last Saturday with my in-laws and feeling under the weather on Tuesday, I’ve been slacking. But I still have 2/3 of the month left and I plan on spending the rest of it on wheels.

Spending: I’ve refrained from superfluously spending my money since May 31. Whoop whoop!

 

A Drink Recipe from the Two-Headed Calf:

Backstory: The Two-Headed Calf is the dry bar we inherited from The Great Husbando’s grandparents. While it’s not healthy to romanticize the “drunk writer” lifestyle of yore, it’s still fun to do. Not be a drunk. That’s not fun. But romanticizing your passion or career can be fun if no one is getting hurt. Besides, a little libation can (sometimes) get the words flowing when I find myself feeling hindered. Please drink responsibly.

 

“The Call of Kahlua”

 

I need a comfort drink. The world is on fire and I’m never uncomfortable anymore. When I’m craving a comfort drink, I don’t turn to hot toddies, I turn to my first go-to drink: Kahlua and Coke. I used to order these all the time because I could just drink them all night without having to worry about getting drunk. They’re sweet and satisfied my sweet tooth. Also coffee flavor. And caffeine from the soda. I mean, it has it all. Unless you want to get s***-faced. Then, you’ll want something a little stronger than these. Anyway, for our purposes, I’m calling this one: The Call of Kahlua.

 

What you’re going to need:

• Two parts Kahlua (or your favorite coffee liqueur)
• Three parts Coca Cola (or your favorite dark soda)

What you’re going to do with those things:

• Fill a Collins glass halfway with ice.
• Add Kahlua to the glass
• Add soda to the glass
• Gently stir
• (Optional) Squirt in a splash of lime juice to top it off.
• Drink responsibly. 
• Educate yourself.
• Get a snail.
• Get your snail a snail friend cause they’re happier in groups.