Weird Girl Files

We all have changed our favorite colors throughout our lives?

I have always chosen my favorite color based on association. For example, when I was in elementary, my favorite was blue and hated pink/violet because I thought blue was cool (i.e., boyish for a girl lol) and pink/violet are those liked by the cheerleader-types (which I hated haha). Around high school through college, it became green because my favorite Japanese band assigns colors to each member and my favorite member’s color was...green.

Fast forward to current, favorite color by association is still true for me. My current favorite colors are *drum rolls* Brown and Yellow (and for some accessories, Olive Green). Brown is obviously because of my favorite character Brown <3 (Line Friends). 

Yellow is more interesting. It was a color that I just noticed myself ~naturally~ gravitate to. Particularly Mustard (and a bit of pastel yellow). I also gravitate towards Light Coral but I don’t have a lot of things in that color because it’s quite hard to come by?

Nothing interesting here. 

To be honest, I just bought a new mechanical keyboard so I am so hyped to type thus this entry.

Tonight, I’m writing about how Corona virus has affected me so far. It is odd to say “good and bad” but it’s kinda like that.

JAPAN

We have been planning for our Japan trip for a few months now. Oh all the instagram-worthy pics I could have taken (lol). News about COVID-19 has been there for months but we weren’t really bothered, at first. Then cases started to add up in significant numbers. Finally, we accepted that we had to cancel our trip about 2 weeks before our flight. It was really disappointing because we had really been looking forward to it as it would have been the first time we are going out of the country, Jude’s first time to go out of the country, and even our first flight together. We were in denial for a while. If we had chosen a week earlier, we could have gone before things got worse but the timing really wasn’t right.

On the positive side, we had enough savings for this time of crisis. I have even stocked up weeks before on things like medicine before people went on panic buying. Jude also bought a Nintendo Switch console, to, well, console himself. The trip should have been his birthday trip.

WORK

I love my new job. I’m not sure if it’s the organization’s image, my nice superiors, the glow-up of my salary, or just the novelty of it all. BUT I LOVE IT. Then Corona came and made me appreciate my job even more. At the first outbreak. Our office provided everyone with 10 pcs of mask and a tniy bottlr of sanitizer. It’s not too much but enough to make me appreaciate a work place that looks after its employees’ welfare. They have not stopped providing updates and guidelines since. When the number of positive cases started going up, we started discussing our business continuity plan (which I don’t think would happen in a PH government setting, where I came from, in the near future). Work from home arrangements were discussed. The inevitable happened when a single participant in one of the events in the complex tested positive for COVID-19. The office was immediately put on lock down. Work from home was fully implemented. Upon seeing that internet connection was an additional expense to some employees, pocket wifi units were distributed. Our managers are also regularly checking up on staff. The response was just amazing. I feel like I am quite the type who can be loyal to an organization and this one really deserves it.

GROCERIES

A lot of people have been panic buying since the threat of a lock down was announced. To be honest, I went once. But since then, I’ve been to the grocery three times! I then realized that I am not panic buying, rather, I am doing retail therapy! Fortunately, it had been for stuff that my family can use so it’s not that bad. It’s Switch for Jude and groceries for me, I guess. It inspired me to cook to! So I guess it isn’t that bad after all?

An officemate has recently ranted about co-parents in their Facebook Messenger chat replying to "Thank yous" with the Like Button instead of "You're welcome". I am "guilty" of doing this to, but not without a reason. I'm not sure if I share sentiments with those co-parents though?

As children, we were taught that the polite response to "Thank you" is "You're welcome". However, I'm now an adult capable of understanding the things that I'm saying and the meaning that they may imply. Although people might not think the same way I do and still use "You're welcome" simply as a polite response, it still bothers me.

"You're welcome" translates to two different things that I don't want to convey.

First, it's as good as saying "It's cool. I'd do it again.". You're basically assuring the person that they are welcome to ask for the same favor again because it wasn't a bother. Well, guess what? Sometimes it is a bother. I won't say it but I'd rather say "I hope you can do it yourself next time" or if I'd be a bit kinder, that I hope they won't have to face the same dilemma they needed help with.

Second, sometimes the favor you did wasn’t really something big at all. Saying “You’re welcome” is like acknowledging your role in whatever they are thanking you for. I just find it really awkward! 

I’ve been meaning to keep a written journal but sometimes re-reading entries my emo self makes me cringe. Just recently I burnt some pages from maybe 2015 or 2016 because it’s just too--ehhhh.

I’m probably going to start with a journal (sans excessive emo-ness, if I can) in 2019. I’m planning to use the notebook from Starbucks organizer that I’m collecting stickers for. It would be a non-committal journal which I would write in whenever I need ‘therapy’ (so I guess it would have cringey stuff too???).

Anyway, I wrote this entry because I am feeling sad lately for no reason. I recently made a studygram so I am somewhat obliged to make content for my 90 followers (lol). That keeps me occupied. Then I fall back to overthinking. It is really stressful. I even think that my headaches come from it.

Before I get too far off, this is supposed to be a somewhat (informally) an appreciation post for my husband. I just noticed that recently, he lets me do what I want, even if he’s not into it. He is generally supportive of what I want to do. I don’t know if he knows about what I’m going through. I really appreciated it though that he did not make fun of me when I told him that staying at home gives me anxiety.

Super random blog update! LOL

So this year's (and seems like for the coming years) obsession is fountain pens!!! Started with my Lamy Safari about a month after I gave birth. Haven't been on social media that much lately because I'm just looking at pens online on my free time.

Anyway, I'm still on AWOL but I'm trying to get back to school by reading stuff for my thesis and taking notes. I've been using my TWSBI Eco inked with J Herbin Vert de Gris. It takes forever to consume piston-type pens. 🤭

Starbucks-ing Your Way Through Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

I am not a big coffee drinker. But here’s the thing. When I was pregnant, I did not crave for anything to the point of being irrational, except for Starbucks Dark Mocha Frappuccino.

Pregnant women are cautioned against caffeine as it can affect the development of the growing baby. This may cause low birth weight, or worse, miscarriage. While this is true, it is mainly applicable to excessive…

Starbucks Lovers: Frappuccino Mix Recommendations

Hello! I haven’t explained yet why my blog is called “Teas and Fake Coffees”. Obviously, these are things that I like.

I like tea, specifically the classic variations such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Chamomile, and Green Tea Jasmine. I like them hot or cold. I am not into fruity or fusion tea variations. But enough about tea because it is not what this is about.

I love Starbucks Frappuccino.…

Jack: I was wondering, hypothetically speaking, if you'd go out with me this weekend.

Libby: *either pretends to think about this or actually thinks about this*

Jack: Take your time. You've got approximately two more minutes to respond.

Libby: Until the offer expires?

Jack: Until I ask you again.

I had an unusually productive day at work today. I guess it was because our first activity was quite stimulating. We reviewed our division presentation of some important project. We shared our insights on the presentation and I more than enthusiastically participated.

On some days (which becoming a normal thing lately) , I wouldn’t even have anything substantive to do. When work finally comes, I am usually too lazy to do it.

This is a very random post. I am drying my hair so I can’t sleep yet so I decided to write this. Lol

Not so recently, some friends set me up to have a blind date (which I also canceled almost last minute but that is another story). That should have been my first blind date. I was really nervous so I asked a friend, who is a serial dater (lol), for tips on how to go about a blind date.

Here are his tips:

1. Never set a dinner/movie kind of rendezvous for your first date. Accordingly, that is a rookie mistake. For any person you are meeting for the first time, you would not know yet if you would actually like the other person IN PERSON (it might still be different even if you have been corresponding via any media prior). This set up will get you stuck for an average of three hours which is a long time if you don’t like your date.

2. Given the circumstances above, best location for a first date are coffee shops. It gives a more relaxed atmosphere. More importantly, you can control how long you’d consume your coffee. With that said, if you don’t like your date, just finish your drink fast. If you like your date, that is when you invite them to continue the date to movie or dinner.

3. This one is a bit crazy: Come in the pretense that you may have to leave early at some point, but give vague details, in case you know, the date goes well. This will leave your date unpuzzled in case you have that sudden “emergency”.

4. Ask for back-up from friends. It is always safer to have an exit strategy. Cue: Fake calls. Also should anything unfortunate happens, they’ll know where to find you.