Today was my day off and I had such a relaxing and fun day by myself.

Started off the morning right with an epic 40min glutes workout. I’m always surprised by how much I sweat because I don’t expect to while I’m previewing the workout. I normally don’t do morning workouts even on my days off but I decided to today so that I could shower before my laser hair removal appointment in the late morning (you can’t sweat or shower using hot water after the treatment until the next day).

The laser hair removal appointment was SO fast (I was in and out the door in almost 5 minutes)!

Since I was already in the area, I went to the food court next door to eat a couple of filling onigiri (meat-filled rice balls). Definitely hit the spot.

By the time it was starting to warm up (summer is definitely here now), I walked down the plaza to a cafe and had the most delicious iced strawberry matcha drink. It was fun sitting by myself at the bar to people watch, browse my phone, and spend some time reading on my Kindle.

Afterwards, I drove to the mall to enjoy the luxurious air-conditioning and went shopping! Found some great clearance stuff and spent $20 for 4 items haha. It’s always nice being able to take your time browsing on a hot day when you’re trying to avoid the heat in your old house (we have no A/C).

Then I headed over to my 2 favorite grocery stores – Trader Joe’s and Aldi – to buy some snacks and ingredients to cook for next week (I like to cook in bulk at the start of my week).

Once I got home it started to cool down inside the house, so it was a pretty pleasant temperature to do some chores and relax at home while listening to my audiobook.

What an awesome day. So simple but totally needed. And nice that I was able to enjoy it on my own. Sometimes you just need some me-time and time away from friends, significant others, family, etc. It’s good to be able to enjoy quality time with people you treasure, including yourself!

Today was the first time I’ve ever attended a “virtual rave” online from my couch lol! A virtual Nocturnal Wonderland hosted by Pasquale from Insomniac. Pretty cool that they’re doing this. I love how all the DJs are wearing masks and gloves. They even have “Disinfecto” cleaning the DJ table in between sets lol!!!

Pork tacos with pickled onions and Mexican rice

In other news, I ordered some materials from Joann so that we could make some reusable masks. It’s been hard getting any supplies. I had to order maybe 3-4 separate times due to them running out of stock and canceling my order multiple times. In the end I got less than half of the supplies I ordered. Better than nothing. I did a curbside pick up today and asked my mom if she wanted to come with me. She did not hesitate in saying yes haha. Although it was a sad order that I picked up (only 3 items were in stock), at least my mom and I were able to get out of the house by driving around in the car. It’s crazy to think it’s gotten bad enough that driving around in our cars feels like a breath of fresh air and freedom.

I’ve been cooking a little more often these days since I’m just at home. I made meatloaf a while back and recently made pork tacos with pickled onions and Mexican rice. The story behind the Mexican rice is we had purchased 2 bags of rice online for delivery; we’re used to eating steamed jasmine rice and had a huge shock when we tried eating these bags of rice in the same way. Horrible tasting lol. So I learned how to cook Mexican rice properly and it was pretty good! So much better than the dry and bland and disgusting rice we had the other day ha. Today, I made chicken marsala. I wonder what will be my next recipe!

• My friends and family are all healthy.
• The cozy feeling of my bed – and the fact that I could be in it all day if I wanted to.
• I can experiment with new recipes and reconnect with old recipes in the kitchen.
• I have the time to complete long-awaited projects that were constantly pushed aside.
• I’m able to work on becoming healthier (exercises in my bedroom, going out for long walks, eating less due to rationing food).
• A lot of opportunity to talk with and catch up with friends and family.
• More time (even if it has to be indoors) with my boyfriend, whom I didn’t have much time with for a while prior to the pandemic due to his family, grandmother’s passing, and my busy work schedule.
• Enjoying lazy activities like reading, watching shows, playing video games.
• I’m super thankful that I already have my doctorate degree and worked for a year (so that I could have emergency savings). It is very frustrating for those who are still in school and unable to finish their program. Finding work is going to be pushed back and very difficult with the tough financial times everyone will be experiencing.

Today was President’s Day, and since I work at a government hospital, we had Monday off (whoo hoo!). Boy does it feel amazing to wake up and then go back to sleep – without setting an alarm for a definite time to wake up at. I typically sleep late enough & it is quiet enough at my apartment to sleep without earplugs…and then when I wake up in the morning & want to sleep in, I’ve learned to put in earplugs to block out my roommates banging around in the kitchen, the loud carwash going off across the street, neighbors running around upstairs, etc. I wonder how it will be at my next apartment. Hopefully noise won’t be an issue, but trusty earplugs will be at my side, lol.

Today I made a gnocchi w/ shrimp lunch (thanks to my homie Trader Joe’s lol). I’m trying not to buy any more food since my last day will be next Wednesday before leaving Tucson.

Also made a trip to Costco (borrowed my roommate’s card since she’s out of town & I don’t have membership. Luckily we are both Asian and they didn’t check for my ID at all haha) & bought 3 miscellaneous things:

1. A package of 2 bralettes: if you are a gal and haven’t tried out bralettes before, you’re missing out! Sooo comfy without the constriction of underwire. It does depend on the construction of the bralette & your size though.
2. Some instant packages of Starbucks coffee: my attending doctor loves coffee. She can down three cups of coffee in one day with zero effect. I’m putting together a little gift package to give her before I finish my externship and I figured she’d appreciate some instant coffee during desperate times haha.
3. Low-cut sock liners: I have exactly enough to last me the week, but I realized I’m stuck wearing no socks when I don’t do my laundry often enough. I have a pair of Tieks that I absolutely love and wear every single day, but they can no longer be worn without socks due to my feet stinking them up every day haha. Costco has a huge pack of 12 pairs so I think I’ve got my socks covered ;P

Afterwards, I went to a new coffee shop to get a little bit of work done and sip on a tasty javaccino.

Cozy Cafe

It was a relaxing Monday. All very mundane but very relaxing. Just a reminder that I can still function and still be content. I remember one of my favorite YouTubers saying when you’re depressed, just taking a shower and getting out of the house can be the day’s battle. Happiness is relative.

My drive home from the cafe. It’s been raining the past few days.

We’ve been hitting the road around 7am to get to clinic early and get prepared for the day. Today was the first time we saw such a pretty sunrise. The sunrises here seem to be a bit of orange and purple. Never seen purple with a sunrise back at home in California.

Sunrise – Orange-y

Sunrise – Purpley

I totally got a kids meal at a popular fast food chain in Arizona called Eegee’s. I had no idea it would come in a bucket. Aren’t the characters adorable?!

Kids Meal

After getting dinner with a classmate and my roommate, I went to a cafe to study a little bit. It was a great environment for studying, besides the dim lighting. Lots of people drinking their coffees and chatting quietly or people getting work done. I’m hoping to go back again. It’s a nice environment change from studying (and falling asleep) at home.