Am Currently Update: What I’ve Been Up to During My Accidental Internet Disappearance

Well… guess who’s back!

I keep apologizing, but I truly am sorry that I keep returning every month or so after weeks of silence. But I’ve gotten a few of my deadlines out of the way and I’m slowly approaching the end of my semester, and I’m slowly getting back into being a bit more active in the book internet world. Things are going to be different this time, I swear!!!

Since it’s been a while, I thought I’d do an overall current update on what’s going on for me right now rather than a monthly recap. Again, not much has been happening because school has taken over everything, but there were a few things I thought I could talk about!

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AM CURRENTLY UP TO…

I feel terribly sad over the fact that I keep thinking I’ll be able to post on my blog and be at least a little active, and then end up completely disappearing. But I’m trying not to blame myself, because I’ve truly been buried under a never-ending pile of work. After I pass one deadline, five more pop up, and it’s exhausting!! I’ve just been trying to keep up with it as best I can, which means having to sacrifice my time. I still have a lot to do, and will until the end of the school year unfortunately, but fortunately things are winding down now just a little.

In terms of mental health, I’m surprisingly okay? Like I’m dying from the amount of work I have and feeling incredibly overwhelmed by all the things I have to do right now… but somehow I’m also holding up mentally. I think the fact that I can actually see and talk to my friends in person at school is really helping!

Other fun things:

  • I got my driver’s license!! I was very nervous for my test, but everything went pretty well overall. So far my experience with driving has been uneventful (for the most part…), but 1) I really enjoy driving and listening to my music, and 2) I am literally terrible at parking. I may not be the stereotypical bad Asian driver but wow I cannot park.
  • I had a dance choreography showcase, and it was fun to perform again, even if it wasn’t on an actual stage. And speaking of dance, I finally finished choreographing my solo!! It was so frustrating and even stressful at points, but when I finished, I felt not only relieved but also so proud of myself.
  • My birthday’s coming up (exactly a week from today!) and it feels unbelievable that I can say that… I’m kind of feeling existential dread because of it, but at the same time I literally do not have the time to ponder over that!

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AM CURRENTLY READING…

Book Cover  Book Cover  Book Cover  Book Cover

I only managed to read two books in October… I’d really hoped to read more but honestly I don’t know how I’d had that much confidence in myself! The two books were Obit and How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, both of which I enjoyed. Moon Fuentez is a new favorite though—it convinced me that maybe I DO need a cute little YA contemporary romance every once in a while…

Currently I’m reading Our Violent Ends and No Longer Human, the former of which you’ll see a review of soon! Our Violent Ends is unfortunately disappointing me a bit… But I still have the last fourth so hopefully it’ll end with a bang! (I’m praying I do not regret this choice of words later.) And I haven’t read much of No Longer Human but it’s really interesting so far.

Already I think I’m not going to get to some of the books I said I was going to in my last post, which I expected but am still extremely humiliated by. Honestly, I’m just relieved to be reading again these past few days after not being able to for most of October! I think my next read will be A Memory Called Empire, or I’ll finally give in and read the Bungou Stray Dogs manga…

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AM CURRENTLY LISTENING TO…

The Happy Fits Albums: songs, discography, biography, and listening guide -  Rate Your MusicI’m notoriously terrible at finding new artists and was listening to the same three artists for months. But I’ve been listening to some other people lately! So far this month, it’s been a lot of The Vaccines, The Happy Fits, and ไฮดร้า (Hydra). Currently on repeat are Wanderlust by The Vaccines, Grow Back by The Happy Fits, Heart of a Dancer by The Happy Fits, and Brand New City by Mitski!

I don’t talk about music much on here (again partly because I have very little variety), but it really is important to me. If you have any music recommendations to listen to that are alt rock-adjacent, please share them with me!!

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AM CURRENTLY WATCHING…

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - IMDbI watched two Ghibli movies in November, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, and I really enjoyed them! I was actually surprised by how much I ended up loving Howl, but it was such a thoughtful and heartwarming movie. I loved the little found family aspect, and now I understand why everyone says Howl is pretty.

I’ve also been rewatching some old Criminal Minds episodes because I found a TV channel streaming them, and I’ve missed the show so much! It’s made me paranoid about everything again but… worth it.

I’ve been really missing Haikyuu and Bungou Stray Dogs, so I think I’m going to rewatch both of them soon during my breaks this year! I also need to watch the latest season of Miraculous Ladybug, and I’ll probably continue to watch more Ghibli movies. If you have any recommendations as to which I should watch next, let me know! (I’ve seen Kiki, Totoro, Mononoke, Howl, and Spirited Away.)


shall we chat

please update me on how you all are doing!! what are the books you’ve been reading? any good music?

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25 thoughts on “Am Currently Update: What I’ve Been Up to During My Accidental Internet Disappearance

  1. Welcome back, May! I feel like this year has been exhausting and overwhelming for everyone, and there’s no need to apologize for taking some time for yourself. But regardless, I’m so glad you’re back!

    CONGRATS on getting your license! Have you driven anywhere fun yet? Like to a bookstore perhaps? And I was a terrible parker at first as well. (I still kinda am, but shhhh!) In fact, there were times where I’d double over in laughter after getting out of my car and seeing how I parked, whether it was because I was on a total diagonal, or parked 3 feet from the curb.

    I really hope that school calms down for you a bit. I hate the feeling of constant deadlines. Right now I’m in a stage where it’s the calm before the storm, so I’m not too overwhelmed, but with only about 5 weeks left to the semester….. well, things are about to escalate in terms of deadlines! Hopefully I’ll still manage to blog through it all!

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    1. ahh thank you so much malka!! i knew i’d have to scale down blogging this year but i didn’t expect to disappear this much 😭

      thank you! i’ve only been driving to school and dance unfortunately, but maybe when i’m free from the shackles of school i’ll go somewhere fun 😎 and omg that’s me, i’ll park and be like “oh this is bad” and then get out and laugh at how it’s so much worse than i realized gjskfhsj

      things should calm down a Little bit after the semester ends, so i’m just waiting for these last few weeks to be over 🥲 i hope you don’t get too overwhelmed with all your end-of-semester things!!!

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  2. congrats on getting your license!!! i’ve had mine for a year and still can’t park😂😂 haikyuu and howl’s moving castle and spirited away are all so incredible! i’m sorry you’re not enjoying our violent ends very much. i’m actually currently reading these violent delights!

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    1. thank you so much!! all my friends also have their licenses and can’t park so i’m not feeling too bad about it 😭 i hope you’re enjoying these violent delights!! i think ove wasn’t for me but it’s definitely well-written

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  3. I’m so glad you’re doing well mental health-wise. Congratulations on your driver’s license and the dance choreography as well! I have to give my driver’s license test in January and I’m so nervous because they added a new ramp and we have to stop the car in the middle of it and then restart it like what??

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  4. Welcome back, congrats on the driver’s license and happy early birthday! I hope that Our Violent Ends also ends with a bang, I enjoyed the first one so much. I also watched howl’s moving castle and spirited away for the first time last year and loved them, I need to watch more studio ghibli movies :P

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  5. Welcome back May!! Congratulations on getting your drivers license and your dance choreography! And happy early birthday! I’m sorry school has been so busy for you, but hope November goes much better! Ahh, I cannot wait to read How Moon Fuentez fell in love with the moon, so glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

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    1. thank you so much anoushka ahh!! <3 november has fortunately been a bit kinder to me in terms of school but it could always be better haha 🥲 and i hope you get to read moon fuentez soon and love it as much as i did!! it truly is phenomenal aahh

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  6. I’m sorry that school has kept you so busy, but I hope you get some time off at the end of your semester! 💕 Congrats on getting your driver’s license 🎉 Ghibli movies are always such a comfort to me! Apart from the ones you’ve already seen I also loved Arrietty, Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart, and When Marnie Was There 🥰

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    1. thank you so much, caro!! i’m on break right now and will get another one in a few weeks so i’m hanging in there 😭 hope uni isn’t keeping you too busy either! and aahh thank you so much for the recs, some of them i haven’t heard of so i’ll have to check them out :]

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  7. Omg don’t feel bad about hopping in and out of the blogging world! It happens to the best of us and it’s important to know your limits. At the end of the day, this is supposed to be fun, not stressful!
    I hope you enjoy Our Violent Ends! I really liked it and am looking forward to reading more by Chloe Gong!

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    1. ah thank you, vee!! i appreciate it <3 definitely trying to tell myself that!

      i unfortunately was disappointed by our violent ends, but i think chloe's a great writer and i can't wait for her future stuff either! glad you enjoyed it <3

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  8. It’s so good to hear from you, May and I’m glad you have been doing well, mental-health wise. I hope that you’re handling the workload okay and am sending you lots of love! And congratulations on the driver’s licence, this is so exciting! yay! <3

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  9. I’m late but I hope you had a lovely birthday May! Congrats on getting your drivers license, I’ve been able to resume driving lessons which has been quite the time. I really like changing gears when I’ve gotten into the groove of it but I don’t appreciate crossroads at the moment >.>

    Ah don’t stress over appearing and disappearing in the blogging world, as long as you’re doing ok and prioritising yourself – I’m sure we’ll all still be here for when you’re able to return <3 I'm aiming to finish Night of the Dragon by Julie Kagawa this month along with Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. My reading has been pretty slow this year and last year too. I've mostly been spending my time playing Genshin Impact, listening to Stray Kids and Ateez and just ignoring my books xD Sending you love and I hope you have a good December <3

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    1. thank you so much, clo!! i did have a good birthday 🥰 good luck on your driving lessons—once you get more practice you’ll definitely feel more comfortable!!

      thank you so much aahh, that means a lot to me <3 ooh i hope you're enjoying iron widow, i really enjoyed it when i read it! and honestly taking reading slow has made it me appreciate it a lot more, in a way, so at least there's that haha! listening to music and ignoring my books is what i've been doing too lol (though listening to the music comes with copmleting schoolwork unfortunately). i hope you have an amazing december!!!

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  10. hi May!! I’m so late here but great to hear from you, congrats on getting your drivers license; I’m actually watching Olivia Rodrigo’s Tiny Desk Concert right now so I read that line just as the song ended haha. I’ve barely read anything these past two months or just this year in general, uni has taken up all my time and I feel ya about all the deadlines :'( I’m finally done though so looking forward to summer! and omg happy belated birthday <3 hope december has been going well so far & the rest of the month is good for you :)

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