May 2019 Playlist

May 31, 2019

I Don't Care // Ed Sheeran x Justin Bieber
Nightmare // Halsey
Tie Me Down // Gryffin x Elley Duhe
Blow It All / Kim Petras
Cross Me // Ed Sheeran x Chance the Rapper
Doin' Time // Lana Del Rey
I Can Do Better // LOVA
A Thousand Ways // Phoebe Ryan
Blame It On Your Love // Charli XCX x Lizzo
Don't Hurt Like It Used To // Grace Carter
Badass Woman // Meghan Trainor
i'm so sad // gnash
Throw Fits // London On Da Track x G-Eazy x City Girls x Juvenile
the end // xylo
Tru Colours // Bexey
GTFO // Trove
All I Do Is Cry // Kim Petras
Not Ok // Kygo x Chelsea Cutler

May 2019 Gratitude Journal

May 30, 2019

This month I am grateful for:


☾ Advocates, organizations, activists, and select few law makers out there doing the work to protect women's rights (and uterus-having folks) to our own bodily autonomy; intersectional minorities; and help victims and survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and rape. it's comforting to know there are some people who cares about us and treats us as living human beings.

☾ Not breaking out in severe eczema flare-ups as usual during this time of year.

☾ California lawmakers passing SB 24 -- abortion care for college students, and the advocates who helped push this through the hurdles.

☾ Halsey's new power anthem: Nightmare.

☾ Servicepeople of all gender identities, ethnicities, religion or non-religion, and sexuality who risks their lives and protect our country both abroad (military troops) and at home: firefighters, EMT's, nurses, doctors, good samaritans, therapists, social workers and more.

☾ Women's rights and empowerment. The ability to have the freedom and vote that women in other countries do not get a choice in (yet). It's important to know how far we've come and how much we still have to go to truly achieve the equality we boast about.

☾ Getting to and from work safely in the worst kind of traffic and the midst of reckless drivers.

☾ Healing and growth.

☾ All the kids who graduated/graduating. Congratulations and wishing y'all the best of luck with whatever you choose to do or go.



♥ what are you grateful
for this month? ♥

#TakeActionTuesday 5.21.19

May 21, 2019

#takeactiontuesday is a weekly action tag that careaction.org started on twitter
to dedicate tuesdays to take action on issues that is important to you.
i took part on twitter and brought it onto the blog.



☾ Join a local abortion rights day of action to protect and support women's (and uterus-having folks) body autonomy, rights and choice:


☾ Urge your state legislators to defend saf, legal abortion care + rights: 5calls.org

☾ If your MoC's are co-sponsors of or voted to pass the Equality Act, send them a thank you message here: act.hrc.org

☾ (CA only) Join the call-in day for AB 932 (CA Act to Save Lives aka police reform): act.indivisible.org

☾ Urge Amazon shareholders to vote to end the company's of face surveillance + rekognition that targets POC and immigrants: action.aclu.org

☾ Keep calling your senators + reps to prevent war with Iran: 5calls.org

☾ Urge your senators to oppose Howard Nielson Jr. for federal judgeship: 5calls.org

☾ Four concrete ways to fight anti-abortion rights laws, by Alma: heyalma.com

☾ Donate or volunteer for reproductive health + justice organizations:

    ✰ Center for Reproductive Rights
    ✰ NARAL
    ✰ Sister Song
    ✰ Guttmacher Institute
    ✰ Yellowhammer Fund (Alabama-based org)
    ✰ Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project
    ✰ National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
    ✰ National Women's Law Center
    ✰ Reproductive Health Access Project
    ✰ SPARK Reproductive Justice Now
    ✰ Planned Parenthood Federation of America
    ✰ California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom
    ✰ if/when/how: lawyering for reproductive justice

☾ Pledge to protect reproductive rights, with Indivisible Guide: act.indivisible.org

☾ Donate to CARE.org in their impact on lifesaving work to end global poverty and empower women -- They are matching donations 3x: my.care.org

☾ (CA only) Call your assemblymembers to vote yes on AB 32 to end private prisons: castatestrong.org

☾ (CA only) Urge your assemblymembers to vote yes on AB 217 + SB 200 to ensure access to clean and safe drinking water in California: castatestrong.org

☾ (CA only) Call your state senators to end mass incarceration by urging them to vote yes on SB 136: action.aclu.org




Resources + call scripts provided by:
5calls.org
indivisible.org
castatestrong.org
hrc.org
heyalma.com
care.org
peoplepower.org
aclu.org
stopabortionbans.org

#TakeActionTuesday 5.14.19

May 14, 2019

#takeactiontuesday is a weekly action tag that careaction.org started on twitter
to dedicate tuesdays to take action on issues that is important to you.
i took part on twitter and brought it onto the blog.


  • (CA only) Call your Senators to support SB 24 -- Safe Abortion Care on Campus: action.aclu.org

  • (CA only) Call your state legislators to pass AB 392 -- California Act to Save Lives: action.aclu.org

  • Help flip Virginia assembly seats with this guide from Flippable: flippable.org

  • Call your reps to vote no on detention-expansion funding request for DHS: indivisible.org



  • Call your reps to pass H.R. 6 -- the American Dream and Promise Act: aclu.org

  • Ask your Senators to support and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act: action.aclu.org


  • Supboena Steven Miller to testify before congress: 5calls.org

  • Get 2020 presidential candidates on the record about Rights For All: rightsforall.us


Action guides and call scripts provided by:

{Story Diary} No Two Ways by Chi Yu Rodriguez

May 13, 2019

no two ways chi yu rodriguez f/f sapphic romanceNo Two Ways by Chi Yu Rodriguez
Contemporary F/F Romance, LGBTQ+, Filipino Lit
April 27, 2019


AJ Felipe makes the most of being the head information security engineer for a local law firm with the help of her loyal team of nerds. Their job isn't really the most fun, but things take a turn when one of her junior security engineers decides to nominate her for a makeover show.

Enter Jackie Niño, the one-night stand AJ didn't expect to meet again—who also happens to be the makeup artist who's going to get her all dolled up on national television.

More complications arise after the episode is aired and another ghost from her past comes back to haunt her: Axel Herrera, the ex-boyfriend who still thinks she left him because she's a lesbian.

Spoiler alert: She isn't.

Being bisexual is hard enough. How will AJ navigate new feelings while finding closure for old heartaches?

(Disclaimer: F/F Romance, On-page F/F and M/F only)

CW: mention of transphobia; mentions of biphobia; depictions of inappropriate workplace behavior



Metro Manila, Philippines


[Image Source]

Mekati, Philippines



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Mandaluyong, Philippines



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Pasig, Philippines



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Greenbelt, Philippines



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The Fort Strip, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines



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BCG (Bonifacio Global City), Metro Manila, Philippines


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[Image Source]

Bonifacio High Street



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  • Bisexual rep
  • #OwnVoices (Filipino, Bisexual)
  • Full LGBTQ+ Filipino characters + 1 token straight (or maybe not so straight) character
  • On-page F/F sex (as well as M/F)
  • Content warnings in beginning of book, courtesy of author
  • Author's preface of bisexual experiences and views may not be the same for others, which is true
  • MC is a girlboss
  • K-drama references
  • Queer Lola's (grandma's) in love
  • Filipino family
  • Acknowledgement of how the LGBTQ+ community is really "accepted" in Philippines
  • Filipino food


-
Utang naloob = a debt of one's inner self; debt of gratitude
Ano ba = what?
Grabe, sarap = very delicious
Siyempre, masarap = of course, it's delicious
Ayoko na = I give up; I don't want to do it anymore
Tabi tabi po = 'excuse me' in reference to filipino superstition when entering/nearing areas where ghosts or goblins live
Ano pa nga ba = what else?
Kolehiyalas = female collegian
Anak = child
Po, Tita = 'po' used before someone's name is a term of respect for older people; 'tita' is auntie
Lola = grandma
Lolo = grandpa
Kuya = term of endearment for older brother or male relative
Walang = no
Balita ko = I heard
Alam ko = I know
Tangina = expression of feelings
Yaya = care taker
Pababa na po = going down
Chismosa = gossip
Tuksuhan lang naman = only joking; teasing



no two ways chi yu rodriguez filipino food collage






-
"I do get sucked into a Pinterest blackhole a lot,"
She laughed, and the bed dipped as she sat beside me again. "You? Pinterest?"
I draped myself over the pillows so I could wrap my arms around her waist, nuzzling against the softness of her back.
"I'm more of a Twitter kind of girl."
"Ooh, she likes drama." J's hand slid under the sheet around my waist to rest over my bare hip. "Are you a stan of something then?"

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 106-112)

-

"The token straight friend has arrived!" Ren yelled.

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 272)


-
For the most part, the Philippines seemed accepting of the LGBTQIA+ community. But I always knew that there was a thin line between tolerance and acceptance, and my country rarely crossed it.
Being gay was still mostly used for comic relief, and being a lesbian was commonly brushed off as a phase. Never mind being bisexual; trans, ace, enby, or any other part of the spectrum."

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 744-746)

-

It was never the most comfortable experience explaining my sexuality to other people. Being bisexual was literally not black or white.

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 1100)


-

"You can't assume whether a person's straight or not just by how they act or present themselves."

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 1116)


-

"If I were to meet a person and they were put off by a woman wearing pants, then no thanks."

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 1180)


-

I was secure in my faith as I was in being bisexual.

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 1587)


-

I didn't waste time on people who chose to judge or question my sexuality. If they had a problem with me being bisexual, it was always an easy "good riddance."

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 1605)


-

I'd always felt uncomfortable about sharing the permanent parts of my life with temporary people."

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 1900)


-

"Sexual harrassment is sexual harrassment. Just because your friends think it's all in good fun, doesn't mean everyone else will."

--Chi Yu Rodriguez, No Two Ways (Loc 2000)


-



Chi Yu Rodriguez has many feelings. Sometimes these feelings find their way to paper in the form of short stories and fiction online. Sometimes they don't come out at all and end up as unresolved sexual tension or terrible internal angst.

She prefers making imaginary people go through these feelings for her pleasure. Her muses hate her for it, and they repay her by being forever fickle.

She wrestles with them in her head everyday.



-

-



+

Finale Launch | Roseville, CA

May 8, 2019

finale stephanie garber book launch

First and foremost -- happy book birthday to Finale, which released yesterday!

Stephanie Garber launched her Finale tour at the Barnes & Noble in town in Roseville yesterday, stocked with a dessert bar that I overheard by someone who works with Stephanie's dad that the treats were homemade by an aunt of hers. It was difficult to not eat all of the cookies and the cookies n cream dessert from the three-layer tier (if you know me, you know that cookies n cream anything is my weakness). They were so delicious. It was amazing to see so many readers come by and support Stephanie. Adrienne Young (Sky in the Deep) was there moderating.

Stephanie kicked off the launch with a (non-spoilery) talk about Finale, then went into Q&A's with fans from the audience, a quick-fire game of this or that. On the topic of villains, Stephanie said her inspiration for her villains derived from Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries, as well as Klaus Mikaelson! She also prefers enemies to lovers over the friends to lovers trope. Out of all of her book boyfriends from her books, Stephanie would choose to hang out with Julian in a zombie apocalypse, to no one's surprise. ;-) To top it off, she threw a trivia question for one lucky winner in the audience to win an advanced readers copy of Adrienne Young's upcoming novel The Girl the Sea Gave Back. It was a fun launch and I can't wait to see what Stephanie has in store next after Finale.




Title: Finale (Caraval #3)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy


♥ Are you guys excited to read Finale? ♥
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