Monthly Recap: August 2018

This month has been a pretty crazy one, especially for change.


Where I Went
Edinburgh, Scotland
Washington, D.C., USA
North Carolina, USA

What I Read

Travels with Myself and Another: Five Journeys From Hell by Martha Gellhorn - I have been on a mission lately to find travel writing that's not just the perspective from a privileged white man. During a lunch, a friend recommended this book to me because one of the sections offers a pretty remarkable and hilarious account of traveling in China. The whole book is just crazy and funny. Gellhorn has such a great sense of humor and has clearly had enough space from her journeys from hell to have a good laugh about them.

What I Listened To

I made a great internet discovery this month - The Financial Diet. It's a YouTube channel run by these two ladies. Their videos are kind of like mini educational podcasts that I listened to while I packed this month. They have some really great financial advice and resources for people who aren't obsessed with or particularly knowledgeable about personal finance. I just bought their book and can't wait to start it!

I also got into Girlboss Radio, which is a podcast run by Sophia Amarusso, CEO of Nasty Gal and author of #GIRLBOSS (which has been on my Goodreads to-read list since it came out). She has these great interviews with badass and successful businesswomen. Some of my favorite interviews so far have been with Katie Kouric and Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first American to compete in the Olympics in hijab.

What I've Been Watching

I found this Chinese food tv show called 人生一串, and the whole show is dedicated to barbecue culture in China. There are six episodes each focusing on a different region/style. I've only watched some of the first episode but I can't wait to keep watching!

Orange is the New Black came back for a sixth season. I think the first few seasons were the best, but I like the artistic direction of the last two seasons. It's definitely more serious and takes on a lot of really important issues, which I think is one of the main reasons people really like the show. I will keep binging this show every summer when a new episode comes out.

After many months of watching, I finally finished Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I think it's one of the best shows on the air at the moment. It also tackles really important issues like racial profiling and sexuality. I can't wait for this show to come back next year. There was also a weird overlap between OITNB and B99 with issues with the prison system.

The Bold Type is also one of my favorite shows on the air at the moment. It's a total feel-good and female-empowering show. There is no girl drama, cattiness, or competition. It's a realistic show about woman-to-woman relationships, young women working on their careers, and generally what it's like to be 25. I recommend this show to anyone - especially females!

As far as movies, I saw Crazy Rich Asians the day after it came out. I thought it was hilarious, especially if you know anything about East Asian/Chinese culture. It's so great to have a Blockbuster movie starring Asian actors in non-stereotype-y roles. I think representation is really important. I can get behind pretty much any project that represents people outside the boxes we typically put people in. Also the music is amazing. My favorite thing is they quietly played one of my favorite Chinese hip-hop songs called "My New Clothes" in the car when they were on the way to the grandmother's party. I will put the Spotify link here - it's worth a listen as it's not what most people think of when they think of Chinese music.

On a related note, I also just watched To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and I think it holds the same place. It's a high school romcom/drama movie starring an actor of Asian descent and I think it's great that Netflix is also doing these kinds of projects. Other than representation, I don't think it was doing anything *that* special, which is why I think it's particularly great. These things don't need to make the biggest statement, we just need to normalize realistic representation in media. 

You can see why I didn't have a lot of books this month - clearly I spent a lot of time watching stuff. Lastly, I saw a few Fringe shows. I went to the tattoo again. It's an incredible show with an incredible price tag. We went on the day when all tickets are half price, which is the only time I think the tickets are actually worth it. 

I some some free comedy by this guy from the Ivory Coast. Like most free comedy at the Fringe, it was okay at best (awkward at times).

I saw a musical called Mao! That's What I Call Music, which was a musical about communist China. We were cheering the whole time and found the whole thing hilarious. If you're not as much of a Chinese history buff, it wouldn't have been as funny, but definitely would have been entertaining for everyone.

We also went to this spoken word/music/storytelling show called Closed Doors, which talked about anti-immigrant sentiments and bigotry in Glasgow. It was really powerful and really well performed. 

Challenges

The major challenge this month has been adjusting to post-graduate life. I moved from Edinburgh back home to North Carolina while I try to figure out what I'm going to do next. It's been hard to not be around my friends and not have any structure. I have stuff to work on, but I have to manage my own time and make it all happen. 

Highlights

Being home for the first time with no plans to leave is definitely a weird but nice feeling. It's nice to eat home-cooked food, play with my dog, and have a TV for the first time in four years (also a dryer - air drying clothes in a humid flat is the WORST). I've gotten to see some of my friends from home, which has been so, so nice. 

It's been great to have some stability to work on stuff that I need to do and want to do. I've been catching up on the blog. I have so many ideas, so I can't wait to work on it in the coming weeks.

Up Next?

Coming up on the blog are my posts from my trip around Scotland and my final thoughts on leaving Edinburgh permanently. After that, I might do an update about stuff I'm working on. 

Personally, I have barely got a plan for the day, so anything beyond that is a mystery and a surprise. I'm trying to be positive about my ~unknown~ future and working towards my goals every day.