Dancing My Way Through Burnout

 You remember how in my last post I said that from Monday to Wednesdays I feel like I have a drill sergeant yelling "GO GO GO GO GO GO!"? 

Well, that's how it felt consistently throughout the past weeks I've been MIA. But today, I can finally sit down to talk to you (I'll catch up with your blogs soon enough!), before it starts all over again. 

Uni is starting to pick up and if I don't get ahead, I'll be behind because there's no in-between. The past weeks have been full of late night visits to my 92-year-old great-grandmother at the hospital, who fell and needed to get surgery (she's finally back home resting!); editing articles for the student organization I'm senior editor in; rehearsals for a dance event this Friday, and my new Jazz (and Ballet!) classes from ANOTHER dance academy (Let's call it academy B); and trying to help my dance academy A's director with editing his backlog of raw footage. 

I often ask my mom why she takes on so much workload and extracurriculars when she knows she'll get way too stressed, yet look at me. De tal palo, tal astilla.

Plus, I'm unemployed with a long list of unanswered applications, so I figured I'd make the "best" of my free time until it's my time to work again. 

One of the things I dislike about myself is how easily I burnout, and how avoidant I become (I promise I'm working on it). 

But as usual, what makes these phases bearable are my hobbies!

I promised I'd show you the outcome of Ziggy's embroidery, so here it is! My best friend laughed so hard she cried, so I guess it's safe to assume she loved it. The crossed eyes are 100% intentional, by the way.

The letters were a last minute touch that I loved to do.

I finally sat down to scrapbook my trip to Texas this Summer. I spent a month with my boyfriend but it went by so quick, and I can't wait to see him again. ♡ 

There is something so therapeutic about making a mess when crafting.

I have also printed out this banana oatmeal cookies recipe from Cayley's blog (hiii). I have yet to make it, but I can already taste them. I love oatmeal cookies and I don't know why I never thought of adding bananas to 'em!

However, since I picked up dancing again after a looooooooong hiatus, my afternoons became pretty booked and I haven't dedicated time to my crafty hobbies. But oh my gosh, it feels so good to move again. I feel like a rusty tool that's been power-washed and now I'm squeaky clean. With proper warm-ups and stretching and I've been able to improve my knee situation. 

I've danced for a long time now, but after quarantine, my consistency died as I started developing other interests. And since then, my comebacks didn't last that long. But when I did, I forgot about the outside world. 

Friends from left to right: Julie, me, and Marco!

Can you guess which songs we're dancing to? 🤭

Friends from left to right: Meredith, me, and Kyo!

The world didn't stop spinning because I was sad or burnt out, but once I was inside the classroom, it did. I will dare to compare the feeling to whenever I have the chance to cuddle with a book I'm obsessed with while it's raining cats and dogs outside. 

I've only taken 3 jazz classes, but I already feel the improvement in my balance and flexibility. Also, I can finally do a pirouette! 

well... sort of LOL

As if it wasn't enough already, I decided to try ballet this past Monday and I loved it as well. I was lost of course, but nothing fuels me more than the challenge to master something I know nothing about. 

Also, can someone please talk me out of buying ballet outfits so soon? I got the slippers because I didn't want to keep ruining my socks but these outfits just look so cute. 

I think both jazz and ballet will definitely be helpful for improving my posture as well, since I've grown more aware of my anterior pelvis tilt. I read a woman on Reddit saying she also had it and her tilt was almost gone after a few months in adult ballet, so I'm thinking of taking a before and after picture, LOL. 

I think part of the reason I feel like I'm going insane is because I haven't had the time for leisure reading. I've been assigned pretty interesting readings at uni, but man... sometimes I just crave some so-bad-that-it's-good mafia romance slop, you know? So, I started to read The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori; I'll tell you I'm surprised that it's not corny as hell. W!

To end this on a positive perspective, although I'm very stress about my job search, I'm grateful for my boyfriend and family's support, and that I get to do all these things. 

How do you cope through burnout?

Have a great rest of your week, my friends. I'll go catch up with my reading list now. ♡ 

When it's finally Thursday

 Hi friends, this week was definitely something.

Despite some foot pain, missing my buses to uni, abominably stinky public transport, and keeping company to my best friend as she mourns the recent loss of her childhood dog, Ziggy; we were able to find some good moments in between, and those are the ones I remember the most. 

I started working on embroidering one of her sweaters. For context, I drew this absolutely horrible picture of her dogs. For some reason, we consider these type of drawings as the peak of comedy.

So, naturally, I thought it would be just as funny to recreate it in embroidery. 

Listen, you can tell I'm trying to wing the short and long stitch, but it's just so bad that I'm comforting myself by saying that it resembles the overlapping marker strokes we always did as kids. And the purple pen? it was the only thing I could find and everytime I look at it I shake my head at my rookie mistake. I have faith it can be removed, but my boyfriend says to leave it because it's his "aura." To which I responded, "fair enough."

That wasn't the only crafting I've been up to this week; I made my first cat plushie! I got this free happy cat sewing pattern from Ann Wood Handmade and didn't hesitate about starting this project. I had some extra fabric and filling lying around, so I immediately got to work. 1 hour and a half later, I ended up with this little guy!

I love him

I don't know what to name him yet, but I'm already thinking of making him a friend. I don't want him to be alone with my dinosaurs on my bookshelf!

I don't know what I'm gonna sew next yet, because lately I've been doing more low-energy hobbies since my university workload is getting heavier. I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 Online with my boyfriend and it's been great!

I'm reaching one of those points where I feel myself burning out, and it's these activities that help me slow down and take it easier. Thursdays are my favorite days of the week, because from Monday to Wednesdays I feel like I have a drill sergeant yelling "GO GO GO GO GO GO." So, yesterday I met with my best friend in the afternoon and went to the bookstore together.

One of our favorite things about coming here is buying nothing but comfort food. Especially the 3-cheese grilled cheese!

Actually, this time my best friend ended up getting it; instead I had the brioche french toasts with fruit. Since I already satiated my luteal phase cravings for cheese by walking to the grocery store for Velveeta Mac n Cheese, I decided to go for something sweet.

And ooooh my gosh, was it good.

I was also highly tempted by this cheesecake (as someone who doesn't really enjoy cheesecake), but maybe next time ;)

The newest reason why Thursdays are my favorite is because of my jazz dance classes! I recently bought half-soles so I didn't have to dance barefoot and miss my chance to improve pirouettes in class. They're so weird but so cool, and were a little more within my budget [and prettier] than the actual jazz shoes (why are they so hideous, by the way?).

My best friend is on her way to pick me up because she wants to watch me. So I'll leave you for now, until next time! ♡ 

Do you have any favorite days of the week?

Update: The class got canceled today so… maybe the week will get better before it ends. 😭😭

Turning 24 and My Knees Already Hurt

 Hi, friends! ♡ 

It's been months since I updated this blog and went through my reading list (if I haven't been to your blog yet, I'll be there!), but I'm always happy to be back here! I hope you are liking the new look ;)

On September 2nd, I turned 24. By some miracle, I didn't cry as I usually do on my birthdays, but nevertheless I enjoyed reflecting on everything I learned, achieved, and lost. Also, my new favorite thing to tell myself is "time will pass anyway."

My best friend made me a homemade birthday cake, flawlessly decorated by printed pictures of my–and our–favorite things. I cracked up when she pulled this out of the fridge. 😭

I still don't know how to feel about turning 24, if I'm honest. But I do know that I am excited too keep trying new things, like embroidery and jazz classes!

I don't remember mentioning wanting to try embroidery on my hobby blog post, but during my summer Texas vacation, I finally gave it a try! I started with a sample stitch kit, and I knew there was no going back as soon as I started reaching flow state. I kept thinking about how perfect it would be for my sewing projects.

As for dancing, I used to dance years ago, but the more I kept going back after burnout, the more inconsistent I became. In Puerto Rico, dance styles such as hip hop and reggaetón are the most popular, so 90% of dance schools offer classes of these styles or variations of them. I was honestly sick and tired of it. However, I was able to find a school where they teach jazz and ballet for beginners, so I went to my first jazz class last Thursday! 

I had the best time during the class; finally, I thought, something new!

The heaviness on my knees was also new.

As someone who regularly goes to the gym, I was very surprised about this. Well... not really, but I don't remember feeling that before when doing a squat! I just kept telling myself that I need to stretch better next time before class. 

What do you think? Is the knee pain part of a prophecy of what's to come after I turn 25 next year? 

All jokes aside, I think my favorite thing already that I've learned after turning 24 is that it's never too late to try new things. 24 is very young, but in a society where they make turning 30 seem like having one foot in a coffin, I feel weird. 

But at the same time so excited, I wonder about all the books I will have read and I'll the things I will have crafted by then! These are very small things to think about, but seeing where the world is headed, it's these little things that make me feel a little optimistic.

New Winged Friends ♡

 Friends, this week I learned it's never too early to become the "crazy" pigeon lady. 

me in 50 years if global warming allows it

My university's campus is HUGE, and in it roams all different kinds of animals, the most notorious being cats, grackles, and rock pigeons.

Last week's Friday, however, was a special kind of day. There's a deli at the Uni Plaza that I rarely visit, but I was craving their sandwiches, for some reason. On my way there before class, I found this little guy–or girl, I think–loafing on the steps.

As I carefully walked down the steps, it didn't move at all, making me wonder if something was wrong. There weren't any physical signs of injury so I decided to walk into the deli for my sandwich. 20 minutes later, I walked out to find it under the bench across the deli's entrance.

I decided to approach it this time, thinking something was actually wrong. I happened to carry a bag of dry rice with me, so I gently tossed it in front of the pigeon.

And she immediately ate it. 

Okay, so maybe she was just lounging and minding her own business. Because she quickly got comfortable getting close to me and eating from my hand, and words can't describe the joy I felt in that moment. It turns out she has a case of string foot, and my heart broke because I can't help her. It seems too late.

I left that Friday hoping to see her again when I came back on Monday. People can be so cruel to pigeons, and since she was inside the plaza, I was worried they were gonna try to get rid of her.

I didn't see her that Monday, but I ended up making a BUNCH of new friends. It all started with me feeding these brown loafing pigeons outside the plaza, and then all their friends decided to join in on the dry jasmine rice feast.

Before I continue, you need to know that as an exhausted college student, I dread waking up. No, I'm not depressed. The action alone of opening my eyes to another day at 5:00am because I need to take the morning bus so I can make it on time for my morning class is dreadful. Especially when it's the most boring lecture class ever. HOWEVER– things have changed. Throughout the rest of the week, I woke up so excited (without snoozing my alarm, okay?!), because I had some pigeons to feed. 

I was so eager; it's so nice to have something to look forward to at seven in the god forsaken morning. I fed them religiously until Friday, and I hoped they started to recognize me as I did them. 

There's one with a case of avian pox. He's so adorable, and I try to feed him seperately because he can only see through one eye. Therefore he's too slow to notice the food, and the others waste no time to eat it all. It seems his warts have taken over the side of his face, making him lose an eye. 

There are some signs inside the plaza asking the consumers from the other businesses to not feed the birds. So I hoped me doing it outside wasn't a problem. Yes, they ended up pooping everywhere, but they were fed, and the rain always washes it away, anyway. 

On Friday I saw the one with the stringfoot again! I forgot to take a picture, but it seems now we're on lap-sitting basis? Either way, I was so happy to see she's doing okay, and her feathers are so soft! 

I hear them often being called 'rats with wings,' but I see highly intelligent creatures who are just trying to survive after being domesticated then abandoned. 

They deserve to eat, too. And I can always wash my hands.

What I've been... Hobbymaxxing

 Hi friends! ♡ It has been such a long time, I know. When uni isn't drowning me with assigned readings and papers/exams to turn in, you can be 100% sure I'm hyperfocusing on a hobby to keep myself sane. 

Anywhoosies, I'm very happy to tell you the past month has been productive! As you already knew, I picked up knitting and sewing, but this time I'd like to add drawing and watercolor painting to the list. People from my generation are calling it hobbymaxxing. At first, I was like "wtf is that," but it really makes sense: hobbymaxxing refers to the practice of maximizing one's engagement in hobbies to improve mental health, productivity, and personal fulfillment (definition courtesy by Google's insufferable AI Overview). 

In my case, I decided to dedicate time to ALL of my hobbies throughout the week, depending on my energy. For example, lately I've been carrying around a totebag (that I made btw 🤭) with my yarn and knitting needles. But more on that later!

I wanted to preface this post by telling you what inspired me to write for you today:

A few weeks ago, I was waiting for my italian class to begin, so in the meantime I was chatting with my classmate. She's always seen me carry around my books and this day she told me, "I don't know how you read so much without getting bored. I could never, I prefer movies and series." 

I simply laughed it off, because it's something I often get from my family members. I respected her opinion, even if she was denying herself the pleasure of understanding why books are so much better than movies. 

Then she brings up TikTok. Mind you, I have deleted the app AND my account a few months back. 

"I also love watching TikTok, but you said you don't have it, right?" She asks. I tell her no and she proceeds to ask me: "What do you do with your life, then?"

Her question made me blink.

Obviously she didn't mean it in a bad way, but I was shocked to learn that there are people with no hobbies. Doomscrolling doesn't count.

How else would a person keep themselves sane without hobbies? I can't wrap my mind around it. So here's what I've been up to!

Watercoloring and Drawing

This has been my most recent hobby. Back in 2020, I was a fashion design major, so for my illustration classes I had to invest in watercolors to begin. But after I switched in 2021, my supplies have been long forgotten in a big plastic bin in my mom's "stuff room." 

I might have still wanted to independently learn watercoloring beyond fashion illustrations. I remember when I was an avid Skillshare user and ran into Anne Butera's courses. Plural because the first course I took was her blogging course (which is the reason I'm here today!) before I decided to try watercoloring again. But I was really burnt out, so I did her maple seeds excercise (that ended up kinda looking like testicles) and moved onto something else.

But here I am, 5 years later, giving it another chance.

I've always been convinced that I'm not the most creative person. But I learned that creativity is something you look for, not the other way around. I was also scared of being terrible at it, until the 80-year-old version of me I've made up in my head told me, "girl, who cares?!" 

So I dusted off my watercolor palettes and tried. I felt myself healing a little bit as I allowed myself to make mistakes and just... have really bad attempts. Here are some that I liked how they turned out:

Knitting

We finally have a franket update!

I have been making some slow but steady progress, and it's thanks to me carrying a totebag with my yarn and needles so I can knit on the go.

My favorite part about this is that since I take public transport, it has sparked conversation between old ladies who asked me about what I was working on. They always made my day because this would often lead to them telling me about how much they used to knit when they were my age and so and so. I am never beating the "old soul" allegations from my mother by the way I'm most comfortable talking to elders.

Here's how my practice blanket is going!

I feel like the mismatched colors make it more wabi sabi :)

Coloring

Whenever I don’t have the energy to draw or watercolor but I still want to do something “artsy,” I reach for the Crayola coloring book I’ve had since 2020. I’ve seen the ones trending on social media with the alcohol markers but I think I’m sticking to my crayons for now. 

The coloring book usually comes out when I’m too stressed and also want to wind down with an audiobook.

Sewing

When I got back to sewing, I’ve completely forgotten how 75% of sewing was figuring out what is wrong with my machine LOL. Despite a few hiccups, I’m very proud of the practice I’ve gotten. 

To practice making a totebag, I decided to cut up an ugly NEON hello-kitty-patterned sweater from my closet. I love hello kitty but I hated this sweater, so I figured it was perfect for this practice.

I still hate the print, so I'm not cure I'll ever actually use it 😭.

I wanted to replicate a nightgown my greatgrandmother made for my grandmother when she was pregnant with my mom (wow that's a long sentence). Since I couldn't afford to get new fabric at that time, I chose some bedsheets I never used, haha. 

And this is the actual totebag I made when I was able to buy some new fabric! It turned out bigger than expected, but it fits my big watercolor paper pad, so that's good! ♡ 

Video Games

I don’t think I’ve talked about it here but I also love playing video games. I’m currently going through my quarterly Stardew Valley phase, thanks to my penpal (hi Kaja! 🤭💗) whom I share a farm with! 

This is not my farm but this is an example of the game <3

This game is so cozy and relaxing. Perfect during my mid-semester chaos!

So that's all I've been up to! What have you been up to lately?

I have a looooooong reading list to catch up on so if I haven't commented on your blog post(s) yet, I'll be there soon! 😂

I hope life is treating you well, my friends. The current state of the world is terrifying, and what helps me is reminding myself that we have each other.

And these silly hobbies to keep us sane while the world is on fire.

Love like a crow: happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you're able to spend time with your friends and loved ones. I, on the other hand, will be yearning for my lovely boyfriend through FaceTime until we're able to see each other again in some months. Long distance ain't for the weak but he's so worth it. Once we finally have a Valentine's Day date for the first time, you will not hear the end of it LOL. 

In the mean time, I like to look at pictures of crows and think this is us:

Since crows, ravens, and grackles have been my latest favorite birds, I'd like to include more wholesome pictures. I don't know why but although they're generally known as mischevious and for holding grudges, they're so intelligent and sociable. To me they're so mysterious and loyal to each other, it's so adorable and romantic.

This was a very random post, but I wanted to write something even though I find myself without any words to share lately. I have picked up sewing as well, though, so I might give you an update on what I've been up to later.

I hope you've had a great day! ♡