jan '26

in early january, I read this in the new york times morning newsletter:

The original Roman calendar had 10 months, starting with March and ending with December. What we now call January and February were an unnamed expanse of dark days, useless to the agricultural and military concerns of the state, which would recommence when the weather improved.

so basically january and february don't really count. they suggested using the first two months as a trial period for your resolutions:

It’s a finite period, a testing ground for the rest of the year. If making grand declarations for the year feels destined for failure or just too much, you might try a goal for the next two months. If the resolution sticks, you can extend it.

but I've decided to do the opposite and put off setting goals for the year for a bit. (if you see a post with resolutions before this, I actually published it after this post...) at the same time, as we transition from january to february, I feel inspired to check in.

what did I do in january? let's see.

• I leaned into my crafty hobbies! 
• brian gifted me some sewing accessories for christmas, and when I came back in january, I pulled out the sewing machine a few times. I finished a plaid wool mini skirt, hemmed cargo pants, and started altering the potato sack shift dress I got in thailand for $10.
• I also spent many hours on my ipad drawing a gift for brian and my second anniversary.
• in the first week, I worked on a crochet unicorn amigurumi in hopes of finishing it before willa had her second baby. it didn't happen. but I should finish the plush, it's so close! yeah the first week of january was crochet and watching shine on me.
• I read two books (kinda, let's just call it january hehe): intermezzo, first book on the new kindle, and stay true, which I picked up at a thrift store on MLK. I love reading my kindle in bed, in the dark. part of me wants to keep it a clean, "bed-only" electronic. but I will have to bring it on the plane to enjoy the benefits of that some time right? my shelves are now filled with memoirs (current count is 5), including two by asian americans that feature prominently death.
• I've reconfigured my apartment to be more cozy! the biggest thing I'm missing is a floor lamp to light up the couch area and make it more suitable for reading and crafting, but overall I greatly enjoy both my bed and living areas these days. I know I've moved beyond the P1s when I look around and feel like I really need a... clock.
• one of my publicly stated goals, a trivial one to commit to, was to decorate my apartment. I've acquired five frames for $10 (!!) and will work on filling them with art next!
• I've been cooking more meals. I'm always more inspired at the beginning of the year. and I also have a letterboard that I've been udpating with dishes — partly because when I see something, I crave it, and I want to dictate it myself instead of letting instagram dictate it, and partly because brian doesn't believe I can keep it up. this month, I've rotated through vodka sauce rigatoni, doenjang jjigae, and most recently I've been DEVOURING cottage cheese. I have a really good thing going right now with a crispy flatbread + tomato slice with salt and pepper + dollop of cottage cheese + home pickled red onions YUM and alternating with a simple smoked salmon variant.
• I've hung out every weekend with janet and yinran, and some friends have also visited from california!
• I fell off the volunteering tutoring train :( but I think I want to volunteer in person somewhere

for february, I already have plans lined up all the way until the last weekend, when brian will arrive. I don't know that it will always be like this, the way SF was always like this. for now, I'll enjoy the busyness without burnout. my biggest goal for february is to stay healthy!! eat nourishing food, get enough sleep, exercise my body, wash my hands, and pray for the best.

here's what else I'm looking forward to...

• gifts for my friends. ok, this will technically be in march, but I'll be prepping in feb. I'm not the best gift giver, and sometimes it stresses me out because a good gift hits so hard. but I've stumbled into some nice gift ideas for aries pals. for brian, I've booked a color analysis section. it was quite pricey and some people think a hoax (indeed, perhaps I could even look at colors and decry whether they look good or not), but overall I think it could still be a fun personal styling experience to share. and I feel lucky to have a boyfriend who cares about style and aesthetics, and is supportive of "wasting" money on fun. and for janet and yinran, I think I shall gift the cute korean cosmetics I accidentally randomly bought. it's kind of nice to receive makeup as a gift because you get to try new things I think!
• maybe I will try to meet some new friends! I feel buoyed by the friendship with janet and yinran, and I want to branch out, and I have hope it will go well.