A Quiet Hello
Hello! It has been an embarrassing amount of time since I last updated this blog. How are you doing? Will anyone even read this update? Who knows, but I’m going to try and pick this blog back up as another creative outlet.
I’ve been particularly inspired by friends like Ame, Job and April who have been sharing snippets of their lives in written format either on Patreon or their own blog(s). Not only are their posts so nice and cozy to read, their writing also reminds me of how much I enjoy written content. In the age of and quick clicks and swipes, it feels intentional to sit down and slowly scroll through a post from my friends.
Analogue Journey
In the year and four months that I have disappeared from this blog, have I continued journaling? The answer is absolutely yes. My current planner and journal lineup is the following:
PLOTTER (A5) for personal planning
Hobonichi Day Free (A5) for memory-keeping
OURS Research Project (A5) for Korean journaling
Traveler's Notebook (Standard and Passport) for travel, local favorites, meetups, and stream journaling
Surprisingly, I have switched completely to digital planning in Notion for work. There are far too many daily changes and updates for me to keep track in an analogue way (e.g. a meeting gets rescheduled last minute because one of the crucial attendees has to deal with a bigger problem that just came up). I’ve also been dealing with back and wrist problems this year, so having a speech-to-text option for noting my work to-dos was much more helpful than having to write it out by hand every single time.
I’ve been incorporating a lot more PET tapes into my journaling over the past year than ever before. Although I have to cut out the design I like from the bigger roll, I like the texture of the various PET tapes - clear, matte, or crystal ink (designs are slightly raised) - and how using a few designs from the same roll really pulls together a page cohesively.
I also dipped my toes into fountain pens just a bit more and purchased my first Sailor at the SF pen show back in late August. The one I chose is the Nagasawa Sailor pro gear slim from the Onomatopoeia collection in the color gray (kasha kasha). A lot of the details on the pen sold me: the ink bottle finial, the rooster engraved nib, the Nagasawa specific band and the subtle sparkles. I got to try a few nib sizes at the Nagasawa booth and picked the M (medium) in the end because I personally preferred its smooth writing experience in comparison to the F (fine) or MF (medium fine).
Creative Projects
Aside from journaling in my spare time, I have continued to stream stationery content on Twitch! We have built a kind and fun community around the Stationery Brew team and I’m so grateful for all the friendships that I’ve forged. The funny thing is, many of us knew each other or knew of one another before streaming, but communicating through Twitch and Discord has really brought a number of us closer together. I can’t believe it has been more than a year and a half since my first stream in March 2021. As they say, time flies when you’re having fun.
Last but not least, I began co-hosting a new stationery podcast called Words and Roses! There are five episodes out so far and I’m having so much fun talking all things stationery with my wonderful co-host Miranda. Miranda is also the creator of the aforementioned Stationery Brew team on Twitch, and I’m so happy to have become close friends with her in the last few years. Hosting a podcast was at the back of my mind for a long time, and I always told myself, “maybe one day if I can find someone to co-host with me…” and now we’ve made it happen. Special thanks to Ame for connecting us on this topic when it came up, and to Job for creating such pretty branding for us.
That, in summary, is what I’ve been up to during this blog’s absence. I’ve been diligent about filling my creative cup and it has helped me feel fulfilled despite various stressors in life (as they inevitably come and go). I’m hoping to pop back in here with more updates and fun snippets every once in a while. Until next time!