Television – The Diary of The Deranged Writer

The Recently II

I have been working on a new Listen post dedicated to a new favorite song (clue: it’s a new Foo Fighters song), but I’m setting that love letter aside momentarily. Why? I’m also mentally preparing for the Seoul trip with my family. Sure, the essentials have been assembled, and my flight attire is ready. But recently (I mean, tonight), I need to psych myself up for the upcoming trip through music, and that means a lot of K-pop.

Oh, yes… that’s a clue to what I listened to recently. With that, I kick off the second edition of The Recently (the newest blog series on The Diary), where I share what things I did recently (e.g., what I listened to, what I read).

Anyway, are you ready?

10-Minute Warning CXC

What can I share in under ten minutes?

Firstly, I have been drinking (and enjoying) more hot tea than ever before. Maybe it’s because I enjoyed The Angel’s Cup (hot honey/citron/ginger tea) for a few weeks while I was sick. From liking both cold and hot/warm beverages to sticking with just cold drinks, now my mind and tongue are open again to drinking hot/warm drinks. Lovely. I just need to remind myself whenever I drink a hot/warm drink: sip it slowly and not chug it quickly like a madman.

What were the other teas I drank recently? Aside from The Angel’s Cup almost every day, I drank sencha green tea at a Japanese restaurant owned by one of our business clients last Thursday. When I learned that the restaurant serves sencha green tea, my preferred type of tea and the preferred drink of Harold Finch (a main character from my favorite show, Person of Interest, and one of my favorite characters of all time), I had to order one. I was the only one who drank hot tea that night, while the rest of my family had cold softdrinks and lemon iced tea. As for today, I also drank green tea while having a puto bumbong near the chapel.

I truly enjoy sipping on it and letting the tea warm my throat, stomach, and heart. I will definitely add it to my daily ritual moving forward. Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon: sweet.

I want to talk more about last Thursday because it was my Mother’s birthday, but my ten minutes are up. See you in the next post… and that will be tomorrow!

Header image: Luke Oslizlo of Unsplash. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.

Notes to Self XVIII

Lately, aside from being consistent in my daily rituals (e.g., updating my journal system, skincare, listening to music), I have been exploring uncharted territory. Every week, I would visit a different café or watch a show I should have watched years ago. (Sorry for being late to the party, fans of the iconic action drama 24. Now I get it.)

But since September started, I need to sacrifice exploring new things—for the next few weeks, at least.

This is my 18th Notes to Self. (Also, I think this is my first time-pressured one?)