november 2025
I feel like November has started to fly by ever since I started working, though I do think this might be because of the nature of HR work (November is one of the busiest months thanks to year-ender planning). I remember resharing on FB a post with similar sentiments 3 years ago, which I think is still very much applicable.
listening 🎵
body by Dayoung: It’s been a while since I’ve loved a kpop release as much as this. The song is so upbeat and catchy (I think it’s such a summer song tbh) and the choreography is even better. I wish I’d gotten into the song upon its release so I could’ve joined dance classes teaching the choreography to this hahahuhu.
Mariah Carey: Specifically, Fantasy and We Belong Together. I’ve developed a newfound appreciation for her thanks to Carlos and Katseye dressing up as different Mariah Carey eras for Halloween this year.
KOLORCOASTER by Maki: I loved Dilaw upon its release, but I only listened to the album 2-3 weeks ago. My favorite by far is Bughaw, but all the songs on the album are pretty good. I love how cohesive the songs are, how put-together the entire album is (I’m itching to get my hands on a physical copy of it), and the art style and mixed media elements of the music videos.
reading 📚
Back in September/October, I decided to do a reread of the Harry Potter series, and November involved bringing a close to that rereading. I read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (both of which I actually read for the first time, since I stopped at the 5th book back then), and it was bittersweet finally getting to finish the books. The past few weeks of my life have been such a happy time because I was so excited to go home and immerse myself once more in the world of Harry Potter. It felt like I was going back to my teenage years, especially since I made it a point to read physical copies of the books.
Speaking of going back to my teenage years, I read Rick Riordan’s The Chalice of the Gods, a recent addition to the Percy Jackson series. It was a quick and light read (finished it in a day or two), and I enjoyed several things about the book: its overall message on growing old, the pockets of normalcy in Percy’s new life, and the intensified sarcasm that made this such a fun read.
I finally got around to reading Etaf Rum’s A Woman Is No Man, which I bought in Fully Booked earlier this year for its cover (it had a lovely texture). I breezed through this book as well: it filled me with rage and sadness for how the women in the book were treated, and there was a good mix of suspense throughout the book which kept me turning the pages. I also particularly liked how much food/the kitchen featured in the story, which made sense actually given the story’s setting. I loved also that it touches briefly on the Palestinian genocide, not shying away from the vileness of Israel, and showing how genocide shapes people even after they’ve escaped.
I also started and finished William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies, which was quite a disturbing read. I wish it had been assigned reading in high school since it would’ve been interesting to see how my views/feelings on the book would have changed depending on when I read the book, but it was also a privilege being able to fully savor my first time reading the book, especially since people online have mentioned that they wish to read the book for the first time again. I loved that my copy of the book had forewords by Lois Lowry and Stephen King, which helped prepare me for the book a bit better.
creating 🎨
I finally got to rework and finish the Charli XCX Brat sticker sheet I started and put on hold last June/July 2024, and I made a quick cake sketch for Bunny’s birthday hehe.
I also got to bake cookies after so long! I followed Preppy Kitchen’s recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and I subbed the semisweet chocolate chips with a mixture of semisweet, milk, and dark chocolate. They were so soft and chewy, and they got raving reviews when I brought some to work. It’s been a while since I baked something successfully so I was ecstatic about this. Look how gooey the cookie center is!!
I also hand-lettered my Christmas gifts for the condo staff. Hand lettering is one of the skills I’ve learned that has the biggest ROI haha. I also quickly sketched the invite for my birthday breakfast hangout, and was so happy with how it turned out despite the very glaring error of not including the date LOL.
eating 🍴
Some of the notable meals I’ve had in November include:
Neonoble dinner with family: The scallops are always a must. The grilled pork and isaw is a staple of ours whenever we dine here, and we also tried new pork & shrimp noodles that were soooo good and chewy.
Purple Rice: I loved the milk tea with the burnt top. The bestseller for me that night was the Kway Teow - look at the interesting shape of the egg too!!
Silantro: It’s been so long since I ate here; this immediately transported me back to my early college days when this restaurant was all the rage. The nachos were as good as I remembered.
Dinner c/o Dad: Mom’s best friends came over, so he made prawn with sotanghon, sweet and sour pork, beef kamto soup, and homemade fried rice. I didn’t know where to start since everything was so good haha but I do have a soft spot for very thin noodles!
Ladycake’s Cake: My boss surprised me with cake for my birthday. The icing was just the right amount of sweet, and the cake overall was very light and fresh. Would actually consider getting cake in the future from here even without any special event…
Pizzahut Stuffed Crust: My childhood favorite, and still a favorite of mine until now. I’m glad the cheese stuffed crust tastes good again. For a while, it tasted off and I paused my Pizahut deliveries since I was disappointed for 4-5 orders in a row lol.
other november happenings
I finally upgraded my iPad!! After 7 years of heavy use with my 2017 iPad Pro, I finally upgraded to an iPad Air M3 and an Apple Pencil Pro. It’s been lovely getting to draw on Procreate and not having to charge after 3-4 hours.
I dogsat Koda again. I love Koda but sometimes I get so stressed because you have to be on alert for so many things (e.g. if there are other dogs around, if he’s already eating stuff off the ground), but I still had fun dogsitting.
Purchased some missing issues from my favorite childhood magazine (W.I.T.C.H.) and finally got to complete my favorite features (free time with each WITCH) since I was missing Irma’s and Cornelia’s. Bata pa lang ito na talaga mga hilig ko - makes sense why I love day in my life kind of posts lol.
Went to Plannercon with Dan and Camille! The amount of attendees there was overwhelming but I loved seeing so much good art. For the first time, I managed to stay within the budget I set for myself :”)
I love dressing up! Tried a brown + light blue combo and was happy with the outcome. It feels so nice to finally enjoy dressing up + being happy and comfortable in my own skin.
Celebrated my birthday! Was so soft with the heartfelt messages (I’m such a words of affirmation girl) and thoughtful gifts I received. I celebrated for 3 days lol, and for those 3 days I just took it easy: stayed at home, ate my favorite food, read, baked, played games, and spent time with loved ones. :”)
Something notable too: Didn’t dance a lot this month (just 2x) but the choreography was so good and I had such a great time!!! Unfortunately one of the songs features Chris Brown (huhu) though the song and choreography Coach Gab came up with was so catchy!
This was so long but it was nice getting to look back at the past month :”) December will feel even more fast but hopefully it’ll still be a good month hehe.