FEB >> MAR
Monthly reflection and outlook.
February barely happened.
I know February is a short month, but damn! It felt like it was 2 weeks long. Maybe it's because I had a lot to do so time just flew by. Let's reflect.
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- Found my Switzerland-based karaoke group! Not only is it free (well, excluding the train ticket), we have a legit sound system and dedicated space to sing as loudly as we want! This group seems to be very into karaoke too, and even though our karaoke culture is different, I appreciate it!
- Choir is fun. The long hours are taxing, but because I'm slowing making new friends (hopefully!), I am more excited to go. I used to be so nervous because a) long commute b) social anxiety, which was stressful for my body so I decided to opt out of the next project. But now I might change my mind... We'll see.
- I'm officially done with German courses for now. Even if I don't pass my exam, I am confident that I can study B2 on my own before retaking it again.
- Meeting new people. I met so many new people this month! I was invited to a classmate's home to help her study German, went out for tea with another classmate and spoke Mandarin the entire time, and met more of S's housemates at Karaoke Church (that will be the official name moving forward).
- Celebrating CNY. It was fun to incorporate more of the rituals this year.
- Baking cookies isn't stressful anymore. I always get anxious whenever I have to cook/bake something that requires a lot of steps. But now that I've been baking the same cookie so frequently, it's becoming second nature where I don't stress out about it anymore and even enjoy the process.
- Body-doubling hobby night. Last Monday, Usagi, Daniel, and I started to body-double via video call to do hobbies together in the evening. I've been slacking on my iPad journaling, and maybe just MAYBE I'll make progress on Daniel's scarf again.
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- Cancelled sleep competition with Daniel. We would get into bed way too early just to beat the other person and became really mean to each other! I'm learning how competitive I can be.* Thankfully Daniel put an end to this and suggested we still write down our times, but it's more to keep track on our progress and compete with ourselves rather than each other.
- Didn't get paid until the last week of February. The technical system that the unemployment agency uses had a humungous malfunction which affected every unemployed person in Switzerland. Most of us didn't get paid for weeks! Thus, I had to use my savings to pay my student loans and essentials, and was late on other bills because I didn't want to dip more into my savings. It also triggered the financial anxiety I have and that sucked. It better not happen again this month.
*This is why I prefer collaborative games, or if it's competitive, the actions of the game have to be so silly that you forget about winning are just having fun.
Not so many lows in February (yay!) but the last point was a big one, so that counts for like 3 points lol.
Looking forward to...
- Taking my B2 test! I'm not really looking forward to it per se. I just want to get it over it! Also, BREAKING NEWS, as I was writing this, I got a call from the school and they told me they had to postpone the test due to low attendance, so it's now NEXT WEEK. That means I have one more week to prepare!
- Celebrating Daniel's birthday. I'll write about this later so will spare the deets.
- Three choir performances this month! Again, not really looking forward to it because I'm REALLY NERVOUS but I'm also excited to do this and once we do the first performance the others should be easy as pie... Right?
- Baking March's FOTM cookie. I still need to blog about February's so I'll keep the flavors a secret until the posts.
- Karaoke Church on March 28! I was able to move my D&D campaign to the following day because I can't bare to miss it! I'm also going to invest in a Karafun subscription for the group so we can take our experience to the next level. (Also as a thank you for hosting me and all that. It's the least I can do!)
- Winter being over! Fuck dreary weather. Give me sunshine, birdsong, and all the flowers!
Goals
- Study for B2 exam. I did the listening comprehension practice tests all last week, so this week I will focus on reading comprehension and sentence building. Since I have one more week to study now, I can focus on writing next week.
- Update my portfolio website. I spent two months last year dedicating time to creating it, but once I had "enough" projects I decided to take a break... And never continued. I want to add my "for fun" projects, including this blog! Maybe then I can haz job? ʕ ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥`ʔ
- Get an interview at least, damn. I don't know what else to say to this.
Conclusion
February was a blip. I wanted more time, but now that we're in March, I'm glad February is over. A new month always feels like a clean slate, a chance to use that renewed energy to get things going again. It's also starting to feel like spring, and sunny days are an instant mood booster for me. I'm ready for March!