ToyCon – The Diary of The Deranged Writer

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.)

10-Minute Warning CLXXIX

All right. What can I share here in under 10 minutes?

Or better yet: How am I feeling right now?

My legs hurt like hell from all the wandering around ToyCon 2025 last weekend, but my heart is so happy… and I did not even buy a single figure.

Why? That’s a story for another time. But for now, let me rest. See you in the next post.

30-Minute Warning V

Well, what can I share here in under 10 minutes?

Last Friday, I said on my 10-Minute Warning XIV post that the 11×17 print I ordered from Riki “Riddle” LeCotey, my favorite cosplayer, will arrive in a few weeks. Guess what? I got the print last Saturday – a day after! That was fast! I’m excited to finally have the print, especially since it has the message “Happy Birthday!”. It’s a very late birthday gift to myself. And paying for the print is a form of peace offering to Ms. Riddle because I greeted her “Happy Birthday!” way too late. (She told me through Instagram that I don’t have anything to apologize for, and she thanked me for buying a print.)

And not only did I get 1 print – I got another 11×17 print and a smaller print. That makes 3 prints! Thank you so much, Ms. Riddle, my cosplay hero! I hope ToyCon can bring her back to Manila as a cosplay judge and guest this 2023. Meeting her at AsiaPOP Comicon 2016 was one of the happiest moments of my life, and I would love to meet and talk to her in person again.

Last Sunday, I had my favorite affogato at my favorite cafe Satchmi for just a few minutes, then I went to Mass and prayed with my family. Afterward, we bought some El Pollo Loco, dim sum, and a chocolate cake, and celebrated Elder Brother’s birthday a day early. Happiest birthday to my kuya! I love you so much and wish you all the best in life!

And then today, after I inquired about something from the city hall’s PWD office, I went to pick up my cousin’s phone from the mall chapel. After my errands, I dropped by Satchmi again, and in over an hour I had spaghetti al pesto and house blend iced tea for merienda and I got to write in my journal and Evernote as well.

It has been a while since I got to hang out at Satchmi for an hour and more, so today’s visit is pretty special. Why? For the past several weeks, I had a hard time getting a good spot with a socket nearby because there are more people who are eating, drinking, and working with their laptops there. In fact, on my visit last Sunday, I had my affogato at one of the tables outside the cafe. I’m not complaining about enjoying my drink at the table outside though. I’m actually glad that business is doing great at my favorite cafe. But a part of me misses getting a nicer table easily.

Speaking of Satchmi, I have been working on a post about the cafe for the past few years – what I like, and what I don’t like about the place. I hope I can finish it soon. (But that’s what I said about my Cagayan post, among other drafts. Oops.)

And time’s up.

Header image: Marina Utrabo of Pexels. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2022.