Highlights
☾ Employee Appreciation Day celebration at work, filled with treats, food and "swag" from the managers before they left us.
☾ Volunteering for Elizabeth Warren by phonebanking just before Super Tuesday.
☾ Dropping off my mail-in ballot in time for Super Tuesday.
☾ FINALLY getting my hands on Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco and it's everything my little Pinay heart wanted. Please go read it!
☾ With the state of California under shelter-in-place, I've been spending a lot of time with my family and learning how to navigate distance learning at home for the little siblings.
☾ Joining in on the Sac Restaurant Challenge and Takeout Tuesday, as well as donating to Sacramento restaurant fund to help local restaurants.
☾ Having my hours were reduced at work cleared up some free time to do some much needed spring cleaning and decluttering. It satisfied the Virgo in me.
☾ My partial EDD (unemployment) claim was approved (after the hassle of paperwork and accounting) pretty quickly as our senior director said it would be. Hopefully the little I get from EDD will help make up for the loss from reduced hours.
Lowlights
- Due to COVID-19 that led to the requirement of sheltering in place and closing down of non-essential businesses, it seemed like life completely shifted which was difficult to adapt to for the first couple weeks. And it affected my mental health for a bit, but I've since gotten a better hold of things now.
- My hours at work have been reduced, due to *gestures around* so that affected my paycheck by half.
- Halfway into the month, the COVID-19 got out of control in the U.S. and it was hard to find toilet paper and paper towels due to people panic-buying and hoarding them all.
- If people thought January felt like 84 days, March felt like 8,000. So much has changed and still changes every week and it's mind-boggling trying to keep up.
- Our hours reduced and the rest of the coworkers on furlough meant that I don't get to see my work friends anymore, which was the only way I could physically see them with the whole social distancing/shelter in place thing going on. And it sucks not seeing them outside of FaceTime anymore!
Book Haul
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna [eARC from Netgalley]
I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre [eARC from Netgalley]
Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco [bought at B&N + on Kobo]
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo [bought on Kobo]
The Heartless Divine by Varsha Ravi [gifted]
Thorn by Intisar Khanani [listened to on cloudLibrary]
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout [bought on Kobo]
The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawa [listened to on cloudLibrary]
Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, edited by Celine Frohn [bought on Kobo]
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare [borrowed from cloudLibrary]
Reborn Yesterday by Tessa Bailey [gifted]
Infinity by Jus Accardo [Free on Kobo]
What I Read
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The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
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I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre
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Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco
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The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
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Thorn by Intisar Khanani
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The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan
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The House of Sundering Flames by Aliette de Bodard
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Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, edited by Celine Frohn
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The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
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From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
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The Heartless Divine by Varsha Ravi
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When You Ask Me Where I'm Going by Jasmin Kaur
What I Listened To
the other girl // Kelsea Ballerini x Halsey
Hold On // Colby O'Donis
New Me // Ellee Duke
not ur friend // Jeremy Zucker
Mistakes // Jonas Blue x Paloma Faith
changes // ili
Healing // Arlissa
Knew You // Kailee Morgue
[Full playlist in March 2020 playlist]
March Purchases
Hairatage ACV Hair Rinse | ($7.94) This apple cider vinegar hair rinse was all the buzz and had raving reviews by beautytubers and influencers alike, so I decided to try it out. It's said to help your scalp, oily or thick, unruly hair. Oily roots is something I've dealt with ever since I can remember, so I jumped at this product. The smell was not bad at all; it did not have much of a apple cider vinegar scent which is a really good thing. After using it for 3 weeks between showers, it's safe to say that it did help some of my oily hair problems.
Sweet Chef Ginger + Vitamin C Serum Shot | ($4.99-19.99) I'm surprised to have found this at Target, but it was so exciting to find it there and at a more affordable price. This serum shot is for evening skin tones and brighten dark spots. It is lightweight with antioxidant rich ginger and vitamin C to brighten and hydrate your skin. I bought the small trial size so I'm not sure that's enough to see actual results, so it's hard to say if it helped my uneven skin tone as I didn't notice much of a difference, but I can say that it did hydrate my skin. So if you have dry skin and need a little natural hydrating, this product may be for you.
Elf Hydrogel Under Eye Mask | ($7.99) Elf is definitely stepping up their game in not only their cosmetics but their skin care as well. It's why Elf is such a cult favorite, other than it's affordability. Elf's Hydrogel line works well for the skin and is reminiscent of their Hello Hydration line and Neutrogena's HydroBoost line.
Elf SuperHydrate Moisturizer | ($12.00) (it's on sale for $7.20 at Ulta for a limited time) Another Elf favorite that is perfect for dry and sensitive skin in need of hydration. This moisturizer has Squalane which helps improve moisture while hydrating and nurturing the skin. A dry skin savior I highly recommend.
Caboodles Mini Hanging Valet Bag | ($5) This mini hanging toiletry bag is great for an overnight trip or long distance travel and the perfect size to fit in your handbag or carry-on. You can lay it on your hotel/Airbnb bathroom counter to do your makeup or hang it on a hanger rack for easy access to your deodorant, then close it and pack it back up pretty easily. Keep in mind this is small, but if you've got a lot of stuff there is a bigger version that can fit a lot more.
Derma E Scar Gel | ($13.99) Ulta and Derma E regularly sells this for $20 but I found this at a local grocery store for $14, which I am so excited for! I've had some visible acne scars since my teenage years mostly around my temples area, and newer ones since going to LA last year that did not go away since, so I needed something for the scars they left behind. There's a lot of buzz and glowing reviews about Derma E's products and I have been waiting until I could afford it to try it out. Quarantine and
allergy season Spring happened which gave me more lovely bumps around this time along my cheeks and so it was time to finally bite the bullet once I saw it at the grocery store. I've only been using it for almost a month, and saw a little improvement but it's still too early to tell.
Posts in March
March 2020 Playlist
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Crip Camp, Thorn, & the other girl
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Self Made: Inspired By the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, Super Adjacent, & Asian Enough Podcast
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Devs, A Phoenix First Must Burn, & Colby O'Donis
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Juju, Wicked As You Wish, & New Me
#TakeActionTuesday It's Super Tuesday!
{Watch, Read, & Listen} Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, Unspeakable, & Asian Boss Girl
February 2020
Looking Forward To in April
- #YALLSTAYHOME! It's a virtual YallWEST that will be online for the first time, and I'm still so excited!
- Getting more reading and blogging done.
- More FaceTime hangouts with friends.
♥ How did March treat y'all?
Share your recaps in the comments below! ♥
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