The days are getting shorter, the morning air has a little chill, and the jackets are coming out of the closets… if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was winter again. The skies go maroon at seven, we drink hot chocolate on the weekends, and the mid-terms approach. (Of course, there had to be a catch, didn’t there?)

Anyway, today’s post is a log of the last couple of weeks – we went picnicking, my sister and I have been binge-watching Gilmore Girls, and we did an assembly at school… it’s been a great deal of fun. Life’s had its ups and downs (and things have been leaning towards the latter lately) but I have been trying, and I’m just hoping that’s enough.

Life’s been a bit on the quiet side lately, with extended hours of school, holidays, and studying with Midnights streaming (constantly,) long, handwritten notes to friends, and it feels a little bit like hope again. Winter is slowly setting in, but through the mist, through the rain, I can still see flickers of light – of hope.

the picnic🌼

It was a great deal of fun, honestly – the whole place had this cottagecore aesthetic, and my friends and I found a tree, the tree we proceeded to spend the rest of our afternoon under, blasting music. The food wasn’t all that great, but it’s true: (more often than not) the people make the place. And there was ziplining.

Another highlight was, of course, the three-hour-long bus rides on the way there. We spent quite a bit of time surfing the subways of Shangai, staring out the window, making stories about the people we saw there (there was a college dropout on a motorbike speeding through the city, home to his kitten, according to my best friend.) And we shared a pair of earphones, blasting music all the way back, almost asleep.

I absolutely adored the entire day… even if it meant we had to get up at a quarter to six in the morning, and I hope these pictures did it justice. I can’t even begin to stress how picturesque the place was.

---

the little things 🦋

Besides the usual school chaos, the days have been quiet, and beautiful. My favourite time of day is walking home alone from dance rehearsals; it’s often just before dinnertime, the park is deserted, the moon is high, and it’s so tranquil. It’s almost as though everyone’s silent, and just listening. It occasionally strikes me how much better of a place we’d be living in if everyone listened a bit more; myself included. Those with the most to say, often say the least, and that’s a sad truth.

A couple Saturdays ago, we went to one of the most quaint streets in our city – and spent a whole afternoon there, bowling, eating, and getting custom-made sundaes at the local Baskin Robbins. It’s the best place to eat in our city – innumerable cuisines ranging from the tiniest bistros to entire buildings dedicated to serving high-class meals.

Then, of course, Halloween evening; the first time I didn’t go out all dressed up, but instead went cycling around the area. It was one of the better evenings to go out as there was so much to see, and then came the gorgeous sunset. Halloween eve was also the first time I saw an old friend… after maybe 2 years and realised how much we’d both changed. Sometimes it’s crazy how fast time flies.

---

gilmore girls & wednesday: the new obsessions 🍁 ⚰️

Ever since my friends hounded me to start watching this, I’ve been in intrigue – what was this show about? A couple weeks ago, I gave in to my curiosity and my sister and I started watching it – and I am in love. Every episode is better than the last – it’s the perfect chick flick loaded with drama.

For those who haven’t heard of it, Gilmore Girls is a series chronicling the lives of Rory and Lorelai, a mother-daughter duo (with a sixteen-year age gap between them.) They live in a very close-knit community, the village of Stars Hollow, where everyone knows everyone. We’re at the latter end of season four at the moment, and Jess just made a reappearance. I love every aspect of Rory & Lorelai’s relationship and the whole vibe of Stars Hollow.

Wednesday was released just a couple of weeks ago on Netflix and we’re watching it parallelly – though it’s a completely different theme. I highly recommend both of these shows, they’re both unique and hooking in their own way – I especially loved the characters’ personalities in Wedenesday. Wednesday and Enid really fit the premise of Midnight Rain.

---

And that’s about it: my life these past two months. It’s smack in the middle of my mid-terms and I’ve got my English paper on Monday, so I guess this counts as writing practice? There’ll be a lot to write, that’s for sure – wait till the finger cramps begin. I’ve been meaning to read, but just not finding the time or the right books either – in a perpetual slump, you could say.

Spotify Wrapped came out two days ago and I’ve been listening to the playlist of my top songs on repeat. I listened for over twelve thousand minutes last year which is just crazy. You can look at it two ways: how much time you spend listening to music or how much time you’ve wasted. I prefer the former option:

And here we are, again. It feels like yesterday I was collating pictures and songs for my farewell, 2021 post and I’m just about a month away from bidding adieu to this year. In my head, we’re still in 2019 – and that was four years ago. How?!

“I guess you could say I’m waiting for my ‘good day,’ my metaphorical spark of light,” I wrote, in a letter to one of my best friends. “Because right now, it feels like eternal night.” She wrote back, “An eternal night can be beautiful if there are stars to adorn it.”

That made me smile so wide because it reminded me that life isn’t about the big picture. It’s about the little things. The stars. It’s the journey. And I’ll leave you with that thought. Until next time xx