Glimmers 005 ✧˖°

week 14: the world is alive

Happy Sunday!

The whole week has been unusually sunny in my part of the world, and sometimes, it’s still a shock to me how much the world glitters whenever the sun is out. The world suddenly feels (more) alive, and somehow, I always find myself trying my best to participate in it. Growing up in the Philippines (where people always complain about the sun and heat), I’ve previously grown to resent it. But living here in the UK for more than three years now, where sunshine is celebrated due to the relative rarity of it, I’ve come to appreciate it more and more. In a (mostly) chilly place like this, the heat of the sun against your skin will always be a welcome feeling.

On another note, the clock shifted forward by one hour last Sunday, so now we have longer daylight. At the moment, the sun sets after 8 PM - which means more time for walks after work! I’m trying to make the most of these days, and the extended daylight gives me more energy to do more things lately. It also gives me more time to slow down, and be more engaged. It feels nice.

In saying that, here’s another list of °˖glimmers˖° from me for this week:

Portrush, Northern Ireland

✧˖° What a privilege it is to be able to smell fully¹ at this point / season of the year.

✧˖° Starting to have the energy to do things I enjoy again (i.e., decorating my weekly planner spread), and the mental capacity to finally get excited about our upcoming trip: my girl friends and I are going to Turkey this April! Yay!

✧˖° Published a blog post after a long while.

✧˖° Songs that feel like falling in love: Never Gonna Be Alone by Lizzy McAlpine, Jacob Collier, John Mayer; Touching Toes by Olivia Dean. Also, the way this line is so vivid in my head: / there’s a patch of sunlight in my room, on the carpet where I held you for a moment in June / 💌

✧˖° Clarity. Deciding. And choosing to stick with it.

✧˖° Reading on-the-go in my Kobo has been really enjoyable lately. The book I’m currently (still) reading, In Search of Perfumes, has contributed a lot to that. It’s part informative, part history, travelogue, and memoir - it has captivated me so much. I think it’s on track to be a 4.5- or 5-star read. I can practically read it anywhere (even in a moving vehicle), which says a lot, considering my short attention span.

✧˖° Cat encounters on my way home. 🐈‍⬛

✧˖° Finding a routine in the office that works - my focus and productivity have increased significantly this week.

✧˖° Reading Jess Meltzer’s recent newsletter at the perfect time. A feeling perfectly captured: “but lately I’ve been wondering if I’ve been settling into a version of life that fits a past version of me. I just feel like there’s so much more of me that I want to experience. And more of the world, too.”

Is it LA, or is it me?

✧˖° Writing and reading under the sun on a slightly chilly day, with the sound of the ocean in the background. Sitting on a bench facing the water, sipping a lovely dirty chai latte from Babushka - focusing on the warmth of the cup, while I held it with both hands. Small moments like this.

✧˖° Glorious (rare) UK sunny days. ☀️

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1. For context, I usually can’t smell anything at this time of the year, as my allergic rhinitis is usually always triggered whenever the season changes - something I only started experiencing after I got COVID.