july 2024

The air in July was hot, thick, and sticky. Without an AC, walking into the condo felt like stepping into some version of hell, flameless but stifling. The heat finally drove us to buy an AC and, let me tell you — one of the best feelings in the world is walking into a cool air-conditioned room and getting wrapped in a cold embrace after spending some time outside stewing in the blazing heat.

I wanted to spend some time away from the city, so I convinced L to go to the mountains with me. We spent one night at a cabin in a campground along a mountain highway. The cabin had its own bathroom and kitchen and was essentially a glamping spot with 30% camping and the rest pure glam.

We wanted a bit of a challenge, so in the morning, we decided to fry spam using our tabletop fire pit instead of the portable stove in the kitchen. It took at least half an hour to get the spam slices to start sizzling, and another full hour to fry everything. The savory aroma of the meat hissing and popping wafted through the open air. The trees glistened from the rain earlier that dawn. The wind was barely a whisper. We enjoyed our breakfast in the crisp mountain air.

Later that day, we drove to another town to meet up with friends, and we all stayed at a chalet for the rest of the weekend. We had picnic by the lake. We went kayaking and hydro-biking. We relaxed in the hot springs. We ate tacos from a food truck and had coffee at the home brewery of a Canadian coffee brand. At night, we played games on Switch. We watched fireworks light up the sky. We chatted about our plans for the rest of the week. We crossed our fingers and sighed, hoping for the weekend to last just a little bit longer.

3. Scandal

I also spent a huge chunk of July watching Olivia Pope and her associates fix problems in and around the White House. Timely too, because the sitting POTUS irl just dropped his re-election bid and backed his VP instead. I wish I had access to the drama behind this episode in US politics, but I suppose Scandal is the best I could get.

4. habit tracking

In July I downloaded an app to help me track my habits. I started tracking minor (read: bare minimum) habits, specifically washing my face in the morning and at night. I never bothered with skincare when I was younger. My skin was — and still is — fine. It’s not flawless, but it’s not a bumpy terrain of scars and blackheads either. My skin is okay, but I know that this level of okay will not last forever, ergo the habit tracker.

I also started tracking my expenses in July, but this time I simplified the method to a yes-or-no question: did I not spend unnecessarily today? Yes or no? The goal is to have more yes’s than no’s. The longer-ish term goal is to go on two more trips this year, and the longer-er term goal is to visit V and K in their respective cities. A girl can dream.