~ I Will Take It Slow Today And Reset My Heart And Mind. On The Days When Time Feels Too Hard To Catch

As often as you need, disconnect from the noise of the surrounding world so that you can listen to yourself clearly. 🌺

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(Picture of a page before the words were written.)

~ This is becoming my current favorite journal to craft and write in.🥰

This is my 'Book Records' journal --- a space where I plan my reading for the week, jot down thoughts I have while reading a book, any sidenotes on building a reading habit and keeping a memory of books picked/completed/left unfinished.📝

I've been using the Undated Weekly Schedule Notebook (A5) from Muji and it's perfect. I wanted to deco simple with my favorite girl and dot stickers or pair the freebies I (very kindly) get from stationery shops I order from. 🙋🏻‍♀️💫 ~

~ Favorite stills from Episode 2 of Traveler (S2). I think I fell as hard for Tango as the three boys and for some reason, it was so believable that Kang Ha Neul would shop a turquoise charm necklace and carry it like it belonged to his body. ❤ ~

©anvidoshi

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Image 1: @duxuebing 

Through ‘Goblin’ I Learnt Life Is Beautiful In Both, Colors Of Light & Dark

Ah, where do I start with this show? The 'Goblin' was my first 2021 drama pick. I had heard SO much about it -- one of the highest drama ratings ever scored, the love story of Eun-Tak and Kim Shin and of course, the hardcore shipping of Wang Yeo and Kim Sun. 

My YT recs were spammed with "Goblin: funny moments" featuring the Gob and Deok-hwa. And then, I happened to read a Google Review by someone who was raving about how the world built is so vast, so intricate and so fascinating. My mind instantly packed in high expectations for the show.

I get why Gong Yoo is so popular but can I say I love him more when he's doing off-screen interviews? (Have you seen his recent one with IU on Palette? *adorbs*)

The show has everything for a fantasy lover like me --- Korean mythology, magic, fantastical characters and badass Gods. 

What I didn't enjoy very much, contrary to popular opinion, was Eun-Tak's character. I found her obsessive and more of a crybaby than anything else. No offense to the actress, who I'm convinced is massively talented.

The story revolves around Kim Shin, a cursed 900-year-old Goblin who was a general-of-war in his last life and is seeking his wife in the mortal world. The latter is the only one who can help him end the treacherous curse and send him peacefully to afterlife.

Eun-tak, an orphan since she was 9, can see ghosts and converses with them. She's also very aware of her destiny as the Goblin's wife. A high-schooler, she meets her destined husband (Gong Yoo) and  soon enough, the tale gets complicated as the two battle fear of death, their growing love for a each other and the wretched curse.

There is Wang Yeo, a scaredy-cat of a king who is similarly cursed to be a Grim Reaper for repenting his past-life sins. I must say, the GR (Grim Reaper) is hot.🔥 He's also one of the most fascinating characters in the show for me -- shy, reserved, melancholy, with a soft lover's heart. 

Personally, I liked his bromance with the Goblin more than the latter's love story with Eun-Tak. (** insert: the MIB'ish slow-mo scene where the two of them walk towards Eun-Tak to save her. Also, the beaut BGM**)

But I am also heartily biased towards 'Sunny' aka Kim Sun, Wang Yeo's queen and Kim Shin's sister in her previous birth. Sunny is everything that Yeo is not -- bold, courageous, unafraid of chasing the man she dotes on and a strong woman with an even stronger pool of self-love.

The story is slow-paced, highlighting how transitory life is and how beautiful it is to be alive. We see the gradual progression of days as the Goblin and Eun-Tak fall in love and how the latter shows our hero what it means to live fully. Just following this up with some of my favorite learnings from the drama now:

1. You cannot change the past but you can learn from it. Something Wang Yeo does so beautifully when he regains his memories as a GR and repents for his past acts of cruelty and injustice.

2. Choose yourself, over and over again. Ah, I learned so much from Sunny, especially about how sometimes, forgiveness is not the answer and you cannot force yourself to offer it.

3. Through pain and discomfort, we grow. I could see this with Kim Shin's character --- first a deft goblin with a cocky attitude, we see his heart open up to the vulnerability of being human, of loving someone even when there isn't a guarantee of a happy ending and letting pain help him rise to be a better man, to himself and those he loves.

While Goblin is a fascinating drama, I wouldn't call it a favorite nor something I'd like to re-watch. Maybe because the expectations I set for it were too high and the show felt a little too long and intense. Another lesson learned: never read Google reviews of a drama before you happen to watch it yourself.

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GIF Credits: | 2 - Yahoo News Singapore | 5 - Wattapad | 6 & 17 - Giphy | 11 - Pinterest | 

~ Kodoku No Gurume ~ Ep.3, S7, Favorite Moments ~

Goro’s encounter with Zucchini Pudding:

~ At first, I thought I’d do a Jang Ki Yong appreciation post, but now, I think I’d be super unfair to not do an overall appreciation for ‘My Roommate Is A Gumiho’ because, all of them were SO stellar and loveable. ~ ❤

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Credits: 1: Tumgir | 3, 11 & 14:Bitches Over Dramas | 5: Kdrama Kisses | 7: Kdrama Quotes Galore | 13: @dramaintherain | 15: Soomi Forums | 16: Tumblr

~ Someone from Finland, over a Zoom call, said something that helps me change my life. . A conversation with a friend, on his terrace, can stay with me and help me embrace all that sparks joy. . A spring playlist appearing as a suggestion from YouTube turns out to be exactly what my heart needs to feel warm and hopeful. . If this isn't magic, I don't know what is. . Those inner, persistent nudges that illogically, consistently, lead to a spring of joy, each time listened to. . My body talking to me about how it feels, what it needs, how I can I provide for it. . A spontaneous text conversation at 4 pm on what scares me turns into a safe space for not just me, but for another one too. . If these aren't miracles, I don't know what are. . Remembering someone who has never left my heart despite more than a decade of not meeting each other. . If this isn't love, I don't know what is. . . ~ notes from everyday ~ . . P.S: A beautiful boat ride. 🌼

A Japanese Vlog that Reminded Me of the Beauty of Life...

I discovered a YouTube video from the creator Takasu Tile named ‘[Country Life in Japan] An Amazing Trip to Kyoto with My Best Friend in the Fall’. 

It was peaceful, lovely, and reminded me of all the beautiful little things life offers.

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🌸 A retro Japanese train with a retro driver’s cabin.

🌸 Fall colors with trees and mountains as far as the eye can see.

🌸 The ‘best friend’ (Oku-chan) of this video’s creator enjoying a bowl of Udon.

🌸 A noodle-bowl appreciation moment which was so nice to read.

🌸 The hues of orange-yellow that only Fall has copyrights to.

🌸 Two best friends who enjoy walking. 

🌸 The kind of red you don’t want to stop looking at.

🌸 Staying at an inn and watching a canopy of golden sunlight.

🌸 Back home, making Matcha tea for the grandmother.

🌸 Holding a warm cup of tea on a cold night.

All images are screenshots from the video & belong to the creator. 

~ To build something with care requires time. It requires infusion of your spirit. Things built slowly smell of love and patience. Haste has no room when time expands, and you create from the well of joy in your heart. ~🌼