009: It's still January

And yet it feels like I've lived ten different lives already

Latest Recommendations

📖 Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I know, I know. I am so late to the party, the train left the station ages ago, etc. I’ve been meaning to read SOC for ages now, and the snippets I’ve seen on my timeline alone, plus the stellar casting of the Netflix adaptation, were enough to give me a working knowledge of it before even purchasing a copy of the book. I fear I have nothing new to say about this novel that hasn’t already been said—the banter, the dynamics, the heist itself? Stellar. Zero notes. No mourners, no funerals.

📺 IT: Welcome to Derry (2025—): There is no nice way of saying this, but this show was what truly tanked the Stranger Things finales (tbh, i have yet to see the entire final season and idk if i ever will find the time for it). Welcome to Derry seamlessly fits into Stephen King’s macabre universe and features a solid cast of characters with compelling storylines that keep you engaged with each of them until the very end. True to form, the narrative is spliced with various nods to other King novels and flawlessly ties together the many plot points by the final episode.

☕ Dot Coffee: Okay, so funny story. Whenever we’d place our coffee orders at Dot back at my old office, literally anyone but me had to do it because, for some reason, every time I was the one who started the group order, the store would mysteriously close for the day. Fast forward to three weeks ago, and I found a stall literally right next to my new office. I was elated. And then earlier this week, the barista told me they are closing at the end of the month, so I guess the weird fluke followed me all the way here. Maybe that isn’t as funny as you guys expected, but it is to me. Anyway, Dot Coffee. Great drinks. May I find another store near my workplace again soon?

💿 Heated Rivalry’s Soundtrack: Like the rest of the world, I was giggling under my covers, watching Heated Rivalry in the dead of the night. And while you would think that would be enough to make it my TV show rec for this newsletter, I felt like the soundtrack deserves flowers of its own. I mean, for the past three weeks I have been listening to “I’ll Believe in Anything” (aka the new hopecore anthem, honestly) every morning on my commute.

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The Many Many Lives of a Twenty-Something Girl

My last newsletter update was in March of 2025, while I was neck deep in my final semester of law school and floating in and out of wanting to be seen, trying vs. choosing to stay vague, and keeping my cards so close to my chest that I could barely even see the hand I’ve been dealt (I feel like my goodbye to my golden year post is a good example of this). Since then, I have quite literally lived what feels like multiple lives.

During the tail end of that final semester of law school, I volunteered for a non-profit dedicated to truth, justice, and good governance during the Philippine mid-term elections. I also added more pilates classes on top of my running. I managed to continue this habit for the rest of 2025, yay! Hopefully, I can bring it back once I’ve reworked my routine this year. I graduated in June after five years of pursuing my Juris Doctor degree. What followed then was my grueling bar review, until that fateful week in September when I sat for the most important three-day exam of my life.

I feel like the week I took the bar exam deserves a separate post altogether—I’m planning on dropping a cutesy carousel type of post on my Instagram since I promised to be more active there this year—because my laptop broke just days before the first day. I basically survived the review stage through the kindness of others. It came to a point where I did not have to do grocery shopping for two whole weeks because I was receiving a ton of care packages.

After that week in September came what I then dubbed as the period of my life when I would have the most time on my hands. It had been a while since I had completely nothing to do, and while the first two weeks were fun since I mostly spent them sleeping in, recuperating, and playing Stardew Valley, the need to establish routines and do something came crawling right back.

So I travelled to Bacolod with my partner. I also ran some more and even started hitting the gym again on top of my pilates classes. After that, I caught up with friends. And then, and I swear I will make a post about this, I finished my second manuscript.

By the time December rolled around, I’d exhausted myself to a point that I quickly realized I had to sit and reflect on the uncertainty ahead of me. And that wasn’t always a bad thing because that meant I’d also have to reflect on how far I’d come. It was mid-December when I got word that I got the job at my current law firm, and my bosses were kind enough to let me start on January 2nd. The bar results were scheduled to come out on January 7th, and again, they were the first to tell me that they’d give me that day off. Personally, I hate gambling. And taking an underbar job while you’re waiting for the bar results is not only nerve-wracking, it’s a huge gamble. But for once, I bet on myself.

On January 7th, I spent the entire morning in church. I made my peace. Hours later, I learned I passed the bar examinations on the same pew I’ve spent the past ten years bargaining with god and praying for guidance. As soon as I found out, I headed to look for my family, who had insisted on waiting in the Supreme Court’s compound to see my name on the list in person. I feel like I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life.

I’ve been everywhere since then, and I mean that in a good way. I’ve attended a couple of hearings now and am drafting so many pleadings. It’s funny because I spent five years training for this, but I feel like there’s still so much to learn, and fortunately for me, I love learning.

As for my writing, I sent copies to betas for my second manuscript, and they—thankfully—adored it. I’m looking to start brainstorming my third manuscript in a month or two; hopefully, my creative genes will be fully recharged by then.

I’m still perfecting a new routine for this new life, but I’ll get there. I always do.

I hope this first month has been kind to all of you, and if it wasn’t, well, we have eleven more tries out of this year. I wouldn’t worry about it.

This Year’s Outs

• Perfectionism when it comes to the craft (mistakes give you personality);

• Being my own first hater;

• Too much coffee;

• Skipping skin care nights;

• Sugarcoating;

• Being afraid of being seen trying, and

• Canceling plans.

This Year’s Ins

• Being seen trying;

• Creating more;

• Fully believing in the power of my delusions (I can do anything because I am insane);

• Moving more;

• Taking more photos and videos;

• Laughing until my face hurts, and

• Simply being more.