Hello All 🙋🏻♀️
Firstly, thank you for clicking on the post to spend the next valuable five minutes of your life reading about my updates 🙂 I last posted something on my blog in December, more than a month ago. I feel terrible when I skip my writing sessions, but then the creative block is real. Ok, I am lying. You’ll know why I wasn’t writing in this post.
So what have been upto? Ehhh. . . . . . . Nothing. . . nothing at all . . .
Am I busy? Probably, yes – I have work.
Do I work the whole day? I rather not answer this one.
Everything else is constant 🖖🏻
It’s been me, my showy glasses, my laptop and that cozy bed !
How is the life you ask? Going into month 11 of quarantine, I can say it’s been unpredictable! Some days are more troublesome than others. Some days pass by so quickly, and others seem to drag.
There are days when my anxiety shoots up and I start panicking about the most trivial matters. I am learning to just deal with it.
For some reason, my panic attacks are getting more acute as time progresses in quarantine. I am unable to process, remember or get through my daily schedule properly. I find myself lying down on the bed for hours, staring at my roof during the weekend. I procrastinate and do not feel like working at all — Even when I know I have a big list of items to get done. Taking a break does not help either.
I was coping to even read, leave alone writing for the last couple of weeks. I just felt too drained to do it. I came across this article by Deb Li, which absolutely moved me and gave that much-needed push for me to write this post ✍🏻
Heads up – the below pic with glasses (on the right) looks so cuteeee… I am going to simply attribute it to my 12 pro camera. I felt so good clicking that picture, and then I looked at myself . . . Umm Nevermind!
That is me – clicking selfies inside, outside, through the window, of the window, and so on and on. And those chopsticks – they have a story, and I am going to tell you about it now 🙂
I chop-chop my hair last week. That’s the shortest I have gone for all I remember. My head suddenly feels so much lighter damn it.
What is the Chopstick story?
I think I mentioned in my previous blog that I have been fascinated by Korean culture. It started because of K-Dramas. As odd as it may sound, binge-watching some series helped me deal with my anxiety. I am not sure how much these dramas reflect North Korean society – but I picked up some good habits from the shows 💪🏻
I noted that Korean people are well-mannered, elegant, and disciplined. They love their food and they eat it with all their heart. Food is the center of everything in their culture. You can say that their lives revolve around food – and the evidence can be found in various local documentaries, movies, and shows.
I believe in intermittent fasting. I try to balance my body by giving it proper proportions of food. But watching them eat makes me so so so hungry 🤯 I have never felt anything of that sort. So I decided to try their food in their style i.e. with chopsticks, slurping, and gulping the food. 🙈 One week in – I still don’t how to use it. But, I will patiently keep practicing. I swear I have finger cramps whenever I try to eat with chopsticks. I guess, I just have to stay strong … LOL 🤣
There is this famous food stop in Seoul, Korea – Gwangeng Market. It is famous for its street-style cuisine. I am dying to go there and try Spicy rice cake meals, kimchi dumplings, knife-cut noodles, and other Heritage dishes like Tkobokki, Mayak Kimbap, Korean Raw beef, Banchan, and seaweed 😁
What shows did I watch and recommend?
I am completed a ton of shit in the past couple of months. To name a few – Startup, Strongest Deliveryman, You drive me crazy, Ride your wave, Street Food Asia, Blinge Empire, 2D1N Korean Variety show, Welcome to Waikiki 2, Suits in the past month.
2 Days 1 Night Season 4 is the best reality show ever. The six guys you see below – travel to a distinct location in North Korea every alternate weekend. They have Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner games. The rules are – if you don’t win, you will have to see others eat all the yummy meals in front of you and stare at them with craving eyes 🤤. The best point about this show is that they never fight. Even if they do, it’s like watching kids fight over a piece of cake 🤓. They laugh, support each other, eat, sleep, travel, and stay bright. Positive Vibes only.
Also, note that some of the members on this show are global stars. Despite that, they don’t try to put up an image. They have their guard down and just be themselves. I love this show!
Don’t take yourselves too seriously – I have heard that several times. But, watching them not giving a fuck about their image is somewhat inspiring. Every time I am feeling down, I just watch an episode of this show. The six of them never disappoint.
I believe I have discovered a lot about the history and heritage of North Korea. I now have a list of places I want to visit there. IDC who wants to know, but I will just list the places I want to hit –
- Boseong – known for tea gardens.
- Joenju – known for hand-made pottery and art.
- Jinhae – famous for Cherry blossoms.
- Goyang – City of colorful flowers. Hosted 2020 Goyang International Flower Festival.
- Yeongyang – known for nutritious rice and the Firefly festival.
- Miryang – known for Ice Valleys, waterfalls, Alps.
My Korean Drama addiction is making me mad. But, the good thing is that I am meticulous, I control myself before it gets too extreme (At least that’s what I think). I am putting a check on this binge-watching habit of mine. I blame this obsession for my “creative-block” 😐 🙊
I am trying to balance my love-dovey-sweety-happy K-dramas, by watching some rational and stimulating shit on Netflix. I completed the Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel documentary. It had the most unexpected ending I have ever seen in any documentary. It talks about the murder of Elisa Lam in Cecil Hotel, located right next to skid row in Downtown Los Angeles. It’s one of the most dangerous places in all of Los Angeles. What started with a suspicious murder mystery just took a weird climactic turn. I felt bad for Elisa, she was honest and deserved so much more. About the documentary, it’s bone-chilling… Go watch.
I will leave you with some of my recent clicks of San Francisco, Bay Area. I am going to quote by my manager now for no reason 😼 – “Your hard work takes you to the next level, but your behavior helps you grow beyond.”
All these pictures were taken on a single fuckin day. Yes, damn it, San Francisco is Divine!!!
BTW I started this new Instagram page @skstrokes. I post all my Digital Artwork there. I am no pro – I just want to learn. I felt that if I make a page, then I will be more motivated to work on it. I have been wanting to do this for a while now but was procrastinating. Now that I feel more settled, I finally made the page and started learning different drawing techniques. At least now my iPad is getting used to something ** insert happy face ** Please support my new account 🙂
SK Strokes
Digital Art | NO0b Artist
To end this post, I’d say that I am currently surviving on random youtube vlogs, potato chips, and bread. Thank you. Bye 🥱 ❣️
Shraddha's Blog 