XXXVII: Started Great, Now Frustrated (A Rant)

Today, August 23, I had the day perfectly planned out. The plans are not much, but I already imagined how and when to execute them. But there are things I can’t control, and they end up scrambling those few yet important plans. (Important to me, at least.)

And I’m pissed.

Continue reading XXXVII: Started Great, Now Frustrated (A Rant)

XXXVI: The Nocturnal’s Struggle of Waking Up Early / Notes to Self XVI

If you have been following The Diary lately, you should know that I’ve been making gradual changes in my life. One of those changes is waking up early for work—ideally at 8:00am. I did just that on most workdays after ToyCon 2025, and there were times I even woke up at 6:00am. (That’s a feat for a nocturnal person like me, and even my family is shocked by the fact that I woke up before they did.)

Now it’s beyond the middle of August 2025, and I admit that I haven’t really been waking up as early as 8am lately… and that’s fine.

(Buckle up because this is going to be a long post.)

Continue reading XXXVI: The Nocturnal’s Struggle of Waking Up Early / Notes to Self XVI

Listen IV: Saya’s “Natsu Shigure”

On the afternoon of June 30, 2025, I ran a few errands in the nearest business district. And when I was about to finish the final errand, heavy rain poured. I brought my portable umbrella (I always do because I’m vigilant in a way), but still… damn.

I waited several minutes for the weather to calm down, but I also wanted to go to my favorite cafe, Satchmi, early. So, I switched on my wireless earphones, opened my umbrella, pressed the shuffle mode on “My Favorite Songs” playlist on Spotify, went outside the building, hit the play button, and started walking. During my first steps, the sun slightly appeared while it was still raining.

The first song that Spotify played was the perfect soundtrack during that sunny yet rainy walk to my favorite cafe. What’s the song? It’s “Natsu Shigure” (夏しぐれ), my favorite song from Saya (冴夜), my recent favorite singer-songwriter hailing from Japan. “Natsu Shigure” means “Summer Drizzle” or “Summer Shower” in Japanese.

Continue reading Listen IV: Saya’s “Natsu Shigure”