Birthday Post, vol. 48

My birthday is upon us again! And once again, as a birthday gift, I'd love to hear about the memories and experiences that we've shared.

Here are some prompts if you're looking for ideas:

  • Your very first memory of me
  • One of your favorite memories that we shared together
  • Your favorite photo of us together
  • A photo you’ve taken of me that perhaps I’ve never seen
  • A memorable conversation we shared

You can leave a comment on this post, but if you’d prefer to keep it private, you can email me or use my contact form.

1 Second Everyday Q2 2024

Below are my 1 Second Everyday videos from April, May, and June of 2024. Been catching up on posting these :)

1 Second Everyday Q1 2024

Here are my 1 Second Everyday videos from January, February, and March of 2024!

How I learned to stop worrying and loved my sabbatical

You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.

–Mr. Rogers

My employer gives the gift of a 3 month sabbatical for folks that have been with the company for 5 years. I reached that mark this past April, but the planning for my sabbatical started back in autumn of 2020. At that time, I debated whether it was a good idea to take a sabbatical in the midst of a pandemic. But at the gentle urging of wise friends, I decided to go ahead and go for it.

In the months leading up to it, I was approaching my sabbatical like a project, because I wanted to make the best of this generous gift of time. I kept asking myself, What could I accomplish in three months? What goals should I set? What boxes could I check off?

Initially, I was super excited to start new projects, revisit neglected ones, learn new things, and return to work as an improved version of myself.

As a planner by nature, I made lists upon lists, only to find myself overwhelmed with the seemingly endless possibilities. Whenever I have these many possibilities, I find myself paralyzed with indecision on how to proceed. It got to the point that I felt like I really needed to reel it in and get to the core of what I wanted... not just out of a sabbatical, but from myself.

My teammates are always thinking of and are very giving to others, and I really treasure that quality about them. While this is a great and admirable quality, I have found that I have a tendency to over-deliver on it and lose sight of myself.

After some thought, I decided to lower my expectations for quantifiable accomplishments during my sabbatical, and concentrate on returning to work as an improved version of myself. To improve myself, I concluded that needed:

  • To get to know myself outside the context of work, home, and various responsibilities,
  • To treat myself with kindness, and
  • To accept and like that person I was getting to know again.

Getting outside

My most frequented park

One of the most important things I taught myself was to get outside. Not just out of the house, but outside my head. I found myself going on frequent walks, usually without prior planning for a particular route or destination. I made lots of neighborhood discoveries — gazing at gardens in full bloom; finding tiny libraries, fairy doors, and yard art; greeting neighborhood dogs and cats (and even chickens and tortoises); listening to orchestra musicians practicing in their backyards. I also spent a lot of time sitting in various parks, reading, listening to podcasts, and watching dogs play.

It turned out that it was really helpful for me to get out of the house, in order to get out of the context of the place where household chores and other responsibilities are always looming. This helped clear my mind to enable me to spend intentional time with and for myself.

Taking the idea of getting outside even further, as the time progressed I wanted to get out of the context of our town to reset a bit. We took a couple of local day trips, and eventually, once we were fully vaccinated, even hopped on a plane a couple of times.

Where the heart is

Part of nourishing my heart is spending my time with loved ones. I'm grateful that I was able to reconnect more deeply with my spouse and close friends, and I've been grateful for having family close by again. Maintaining these kinds of connections is important to me, especially during the pandemic.

The Rest

I listened to a lot of podcasts, played video games, read books, and watched plenty of movies and television shows. Because I cannot resist making lists, I published a list of everything I consumed.

Speaking of rest, I did a lot of that. It was incredibly restorative to be able to get the sleep my body needed (despite still battling with occasional insomnia, and a recurrence of some health issues from earlier this year). I wrote in my paper journal. I kept up with my therapy sessions. I meditated. I got my hair cut by a pro for the first time in 21 months. I got a manicure and pedicure. I cooked. I supported local chefs' pop-up businesses. I drove around without a destination. I wandered plant nurseries with no agenda. I tended to my house plants. I assembled furniture. I sketched. I went to the art museum. Inspired by one of the MasterClass courses I took, I even bought a DJ controller and started dabbling in DJing.

These were all things that contribute to who I am! Reflecting back on all I experienced, this is the most “me” sabbatical I could've taken.

Interlude:
A video composed of 1 second of each day of my sabbatical.

Bringing it all back

I feel like I really had the time and space to get to know myself again, and I hope to bring my full self back to my everyday work. I don't want to lose sight of who that person is, so I want to be more aware of when I am losing myself in my work and not having a good balance in my life, because that is what often leads me to stress and burnout. As I returned to work last month, I wanted to be aware of setting boundaries for myself and others, getting the rest I need, not overcommit and over-work, and asking for help when I need it.

I came back to work refreshed and ready to dive back in with a new and improved perspective, so I'd call my sabbatical a success.

Bonus: Link to some photos from my sabbatical. Lots of cats, food, drink, and parks :)

Recently Consumed

I hope to share some thoughts on my 3-month sabbatical from work soon, but for now, I'd like to record and share the media I consumed over that period of time. This should be no surprise to the folks that know I love lists :)

Podcasts

Top listened:

But also listened to:

Books

Games

  • Animal Crossing (of course)
  • Cozy Grove
  • Gone Home
  • Luigi's Mansion 3
  • Mario Golf: Super Rush

MasterClass

I signed up for a subscription to MasterClass for enrichment. Some of the classes I consumed were:

  • Steve Martin teaches Comedy
  • Will Wright teaches Game Design
  • Questlove teaches Music Curation and DJing
  • Tan France teaches Style for Everyone

Television

I didn't finish all of these series (finished series are denoted with an asterisk), but I watched at least some of the following...

Movies

  • Ali Wong: Baby Cobra
  • Black Widow
  • Bo Burnham: Inside
  • Daylight Savings
  • False Positive
  • Gunpowder Milkshake
  • I Will Make You Mine
  • In the Heights
  • James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999
  • Jaws
  • Luca
  • One Night in Miami
  • Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
  • Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
  • Surrogate Valentine
  • The Father
  • The Half of It
  • The Skeleton Twins
  • The Vast of Night

Shops Owned by Gender Diverse Folx and Women

This is second in a series of “Shop Small” posts!

This post features businesses owned by non-binary folx, genderfluid folx, genderqueer folx, and womxn. Please feel free to comment on this post or contact me if you have any suggestions for online shops to add!

List last updated on 9 December 2020 at 20:10 UTC

Art

Food Related

Games

  • Pink Tiger Games: Sweet, kind games to connect people and make them feel seen and heard.

Health & Beauty

Housewares

Kids

Wearables

Variety

  • Female Trouble: Home goods, apparel, jewelry, etc.
  • Fuschia: Jewelry, apparel, and gift boutique with a focus on affordable, hand-crafted pieces, resale clothing, and lovely things for the home.
  • Garbage Humans: Earrings, pins, magnets, stickers, housewares, and more.

Shop BIPOC-owned Businesses

As we're upon the season of holiday shopping, I have been focusing my gift-buying and wishlisting on small businesses. As I've been compiling my lists, I felt these businesses would be great to share with you all as you also navigate this season. :)

I'm kicking off this series of lists with businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Please feel free to comment on this post or contact me if you have any additions!

List last updated on 1 December 2020 at 00:02 UTC

Art

  • BubbleSort Zines are a monthly zine series filled with stories and hand-drawn art and diagrams. Their store offers not just zines, but apparel and pins, too!
  • Anaya Paints sells prints and t-shirts illustrated by Ananya Rao-Middleton, with a lot of them chronically ill themed.
  • Made With Care sells custom hand lettered magnets, prints, and more.
  • Fifty5 and Dime sells Disney-inspired cards.

Food-related

Health & Beauty

  • Ginger + Liz, a company started by two Black women, sells vegan-friendly and toxic-free nail polishes.
  • Nola Skinsentials makes skin products for melanin based skintones.
  • Vive Cosmetics is a Latina-owned and operated beauty brand. Their lipsticks stay on under face masks!
  • Shop Latinx is a marketplace of lifestyle, beauty, and fashion products.

Housewares

  • EcoVibe is a sustainable lifestyle brand selling plants, home decor, apparel, and gifts
  • Melanie Abrantes Designs offers handmade and sustainable products, kits and classes for woodworking.
  • Nipomo sells blankets, totes, and many other wares from traditional makers throughout Mexico.
  • Wing On Wo & Co. is the oldest operating store in NYC’s Chinatown bringing you the best quality porcelain ware since 1890.
  • Saffron offers beautiful flowers, wares, and art.

Kids

Productivity

  • Passion Planner, my personal favorite paper planner, was founded by Angela Trinidad, a Filipinx artist and entrepreneur.

Wearables

  • The Wrap Life is a Black-owned business that believes that wearing head wraps is for everyone, because it has always been for everyone.
  • David Quarles IV designs jewelry — “culturally inspired design that speaks from the soul”.
  • Hija de tu Madre celebrates the beautiful mess that is being Latina and Latinx. Mainly apparel and jewelry, but also offering goods for your desk and some beauty products.
  • Lingua Nigra offers jewelry with rich textures, vibrant colors and meaningful design
  • KAFI KAFi CO. has beautifully designed scarves, ceramics, and art.
  • Brass Arrow by Noel Bennetto, who is an Indigenous American artist that creates hand-made/hand-dyed apparel, jewelry, and more. She makes many of her items according to the Moon cycle.
  • Warren Steven Scott, a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, is a fashion designer that offers earrings on his site.

Variety

  • The B.YELLOWTAIL COLLECTIVE supports Native American, First Nations, and Indigenous creatives. They believe in sharing art, fashion, and design to uplift Indigenous peoples.
  • Amano Seattle creates Mexican and Latino inspired crafts, gifts, art, and jewelry.
  • Art by Ciara sells original stickers, earrings, art prints, socks, greetings cards, enamel pins, and bandanas. Ciara's art rooted her culture and the beautiful island of Guam.
  • Mau Loa Aloha sells a variety of face masks, as well as Hawaii-inspired jewelry, housewares, and shirts.

Additional Resources

Memory Card

With all the talk about the PS5, and Timehop presenting me with these photos this week, I thought it'd be cool to share them as a Wayback Wednesday post. Hard to believe that this was 14 years ago!

Being a part of the PS3 launch event was pretty fun, and everything I expected it to be — a bunch of geeks camping out to get a glimpse of the new shiny toy, with lots of fanfare.

As Time Goes By

As much as I resisted admitting this for a long time, I think it's time to call a moratorium on my 2019 in Review project. I got really stuck on June 2019 because that was a really hard month, mainly because that is when we said goodbye to our sweet Ginger.

It was also a bit challenging for me during this time of pandemic to look back at a completely different time and yearn for the “old normal”. Time to embrace my new normal.

Speaking of normal, I would like to make blogging a regular, normal habit again. I am considering this post as the marker of a new chapter. Here we go again!

April 2019

Picking up again on my “Year in Review” series for 2019. April started with a trip to London. I tried some new things, as well as enjoyed some time at home.

London, UK

At the beginning of the month, I took a work trip to London — my first time there!

  • While walking from afternoon tea, I stumbled upon the School of Life!
  • Charcuterie at Hicce.
  • Costa Coffee before the first day of sessions.
  • I was here.
  • St. Pancras, which I was staying a block away from.
  • King's Cross Station, also a block from where I stayed.
  • Wall of Dunny figures and other cool things at a hotel bar.
  • Took a quiet break for pretty Gin & Tonics.
  • Sorbet at Ruby Violet.
  • WordCamp London
  • Enjoying a couple of pints at The Barrowboy and Banker.

I took a personal day at the end of my trip to explore London on my own, and visit museums! I took a LOT of photos of the exhibits so I could remember them, but I won't share them all here — you can see them in my full trip album.

  • Breakfast at Dishoom. Bacon naan, masala beans, and chai was a perfect breakfast
  • I was very excited to go to Tate Modern!
  • The only photo I took of myself at the Tate!
  • Found the good coffee at Alchemy.
  • I made a beeline for the Martin Parr exihbit at the National Portrait Gallery!

My friend Sarah happened to be in London at the same time, so we met up for dinner at The Botanist!

I then explore a little more on my own, walking around Covent Garden, then made my way to the London Cocktail Club. I happened to be there during happy hour, so they gave me two of the cocktail I ordered (a white negroni).

  • Covent Garden
  • London Cocktail Club
  • White Negronis at LCC

I had to leave early the next morning for my flight home, so I made my way back to my hotel. But before calling it a night, I had to stop by Platform 9-3/4 one more time to take a crucial photo.

  • St. Pancras at night
  • High nerdery (and Hufflepuff pride!)

Early the next morning, I walked through a practically empty tube station to make my way back to Paddington Station. Of course, I had to say hello to my friend before hopping on the train back to the airport.

  • A very empty Paddington Station
  • Paddington bench
  • Selfie with Paddington

Modular Synth Class

In a quest to try something new, decided to take a beginning class on modular synths at The Synth Library. It was an interesting experience, but I'm not sure if continuing with it as a hobby fits into my lifestyle and schedule right now.

Dining Out

We went to Yonder multiple times, as it had recently opened (and I was a Kickstarter backer)! In April, we also tried Radar for brunch (which we enjoyed), The Garrison for happy hour, SuperDeluxe for a casual dinner, and Eem for some delicious Thai BBQ and tiki cocktails.

  • Drinks at Yonder.
  • Full meal at Yonder.
  • Short Bloody Mary at Radar.
  • Happy Hour at The Garrison.
  • SuperDeluxe
  • Iceberg salad at Yonder
  • Pretty drinks at Eem.

Cooking

Because of travel and general busy-ness, I didn't cook a whole lot in April. I wanted to use up some offerings from our meat CSA, so I cooked some leg of lamb and steaks later in the month.

  • Warm mushroom salad, lamb w/ gravy
  • Steak and Brussels — one of our favorite meals

Miscellaneous

Other photos from April without much context:

  • Chicken wings and the “Game of Thrones” finale
  • Playing pinball at Wedgehead
  • Taking a hike in Forest Park
  • Hike scenery
  • Our overgrown garden before I started cleaning it up
  • Attended a live show of the podcast “Terrible, Thanks for Asking”
  • Saying hello to Zanni of ZZZ Ranch

March 2019

March was a bit of a rollercoaster, but full of lots of activity and experiences.

Exploring

In March, we started a new habit to take walks with no particular destination. We would get a carshare (as we didn't own a car at the time) and drive to a neighborhood that we wanted to explore, and just meander for a while.

Fence mural in Mt. Scott-Arleta

One of the nice things about walking in residential neighborhoods is that you meet all kinds of friendly cats.

Ginger

Mid-month, Ginger suffered from a seizure, which had never happened before. We were terrified when it happened, but in true Ginger fashion, she bounced back and was back to her normal self within a few days. She has always been a tough cookie.

Cooking

I did a lot of cooking in March, but the only meal I documented with a photo is this half pan of Lasagna.

Dining out

  • Rose Latte at Bitter Rose
  • Cauli-Town at Proud Mary

I co-worked at a couple of spots this month — I checked out the cafe attached to my local library, Bitter Rose Coffee Bar. I also spent a few hours working at Proud Mary later in the month.

  • Katsu Sando at Giraffe
  • Khinkali at Kargi Gogo

I also tried a few spots solo, including Giraffe (a Japanese deli located inside of Cargo) and Kargi Gogo, a Georgian spot in the Alberta Arts district.

To celebrate Mardi Gras, we went to Tapalaya to enjoy some NOLA-inspired cuisine and live music.

  • The Florentine at Arleta Library Bakery Cafe
  • Pierogi at Anchor End
  • Banhattan at Wonderly

We also tried a few new (to us) spots: Arleta Library Bakery Cafe and Anchor End for brunch, and the cocktail spot Wonderly.

Entertainment

In March, I saw a couple of movies in the theater: Captain Marvel and Us (both which I enjoyed quite a bit).

I also went to a live theater performance for the first time in a while! I went to see LĒR, an adaptation of King Lear from local performance company The Reformers.

Miscellaneous

More photos from March without much context:

  • Colorful van outside of Crossroads
  • Record shopping at Crossroads
  • Small Press section at Books with Pictures
  • Willow Rosenberg comic
  • Shop kitty at Cargo
  • Cute yard decor
  • Random sticker

February 2019

This is the second post in my “2019 in Review” series! February brought snow, a trip to Thailand, and a live music show.

Snow!

  • Tiny raccoon prints in the light dusting of snow on our doorstep, February 4
  • A light blanket of snow on our driveway, February 9
  • Ginger enjoys the fireplace on a snowy day

We had a couple days of snow in early February — a good opportunity for us to stay cozy indoors with the fireplace.

Bangkok, Thailand

Mid-month, I went on a work trip to Bangkok, Thailand — and I made a seemingly foolish decision to only stay there 3 nights with a 24 hour travel time both ways. But it was a formative experience for me, as I traveled overseas alone and solely represented my team. There were a lot of wrenches thrown into my trip, but my survival mode kicked in and I'm proud of how I overcame my challenges.

  • I loved every breakfast I had in Bangkok — this is Kaphrao.
  • Siam University, where the event was held.
  • Enjoyed the renowned Tom Yum at P'Aor.
  • Taken while waiting for the train at Phaya Thai station.

View the full album of photos of my journey.

Cooking

  • Split Pea Soup and Charcuterie
  • 7 Layer Dip

I only seem to have documented a couple of meals prepared in February: I made Split Pea Soup early in the month (alongside Gouda cheese that I bought in Amsterdam!), and a 7-layer dip for Super Bowl Sunday.

Dining Out

  • Breakfast at Heim
  • “3 Little Pigs” at Jackrabbit:
    Country ham, porcini-dusted “porkcorn” & “trottertots”
  • Drinks at Jackrabbit
Dining in February 2019

We tried a couple of new spots in February: Heim Bakery & Cafe and Jackrabbit (a spot brought to us by San Francisco Chef, Chris Cosentino). Both were quite good, and the latter has great cocktails!

Entertainment

We saw Roma at the our favorite movie house, the Hollywood Theatre, where they were showing it in stunning 70mm. I really enjoyed the film's visuals and storytelling.

Beirut at the Arlene Schnitzer concert hall

We rarely go to see live music these days, but we always enjoy it when we do! On the last day of February, we went to see one of our favorite bands, Beirut, perform at the Schnitz.

Miscelleanous

I'm going to Graceland

Every time I've gone to a record shop in the past couple of years, I've kept my eye out for a copy of Paul Simon's Graceland, and I finally found one in great condition at Little Axe Records!

And now for a couple of random snaps from the month that don't fit anywhere else...

  • A very Portland vending machine
  • A very good floof

January 2019

Here's the first of my Year in Review posts for 2019! Movies, food, and a trip to Amsterdam defined my month of January.

New Year's

  • Toasting 2019 with Rosé Cava
  • Spice-Rubbed Picnic Chicken and Hoppin' John

For many years now, we've spent the New Year's holiday partaking in a movie marathon. The theme for this year was Ron Howard, so we watched Cocoon and Willow on New Year's Eve. We toasted the stroke of midnight with glasses of Rosé Cava.

On New Year's Day, we completed the marathon with Parenthood, Backdraft, and Apollo 13. I also cooked some Spice-Rubbed Picnic Chicken and Hoppin' John.

Kitty Friends

  • My caretaker
  • Trixie

I came down with a really nasty cold during the second week of January, but Ginger took good care of me while I watched soothing nature shows on Netflix.

After I got better, I hung out with a new co-worker (my teammate Andrea's kitten, Trixie).

Magna Kusina

We went to the Magna Kusina preview (they were to open a brick and mortar location later in the year). Chef Carlo Lamagna provided his takes on Filipino food. We're always happy to see more Filipino food in Portland!

Amsterdam

In late January, I traveled to meet my team in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We are a global team spread across 4 countries, so we meet once a year to work synchronously.

For most of the week, we worked on a few projects at a co-working space. On our last full day, we went on a fantastic food tour all over Amsterdam, learning about the history of local cuisine, and tasting all sorts of specialties.

There are lots more photos of our Amsterdam trip to be seen in our team album.

Miscellaneous

Before my trip to Amsterdam, I got a neat set of monochrome + negative space nails from ChiChi of Best Nails Club!

2019 in Review

Wow, this year really flew by! As I didn't really post on this site in 2019 (although there are lots of unpublished drafts), I've decided that my end-of-year project is to publish recap posts of each month. I'll be updating this post with links to each month as I go along.

New home

After lots of back and forth, I’ve finally finished migrating web hosts, setting up my new domain name, and transferred all my content. Please roll out the welcome mat for my blog’s new home at courtney.blog!

Also of note: I’ve migrated my food blog to courtney.food.blog, take a look if you’re interested in seeing all the food I cook and consume.

A blogger’s work is never done, though. I’m still continuing to edit tags, categories, fixing broken images, etc. But now that the most challenging part of the migration is behind me, I’m hoping to be posting here more often now.

As a long-time blogger, one of the ongoing issues for me is being self-conscious about my past content, and dare I say, about the person I used to be. I look back at some of the old entries I wrote, and sometimes I don’t even recognize the person who wrote them.

But then I think, that’s all a part of who I was, and those experiences led me to who I am today. So the content stays… for now. And the beauty of this being my blog is that I can always change my mind about that later. ;)

Revival

Hello again.

I’ve sat here with my WordPress dashboard open for weeks, thinking of what to write. I was thinking I needed to make some sort of grand announcement, write a massive catch-up post, or write something extremely witty and insightful.

Then I realized that this was holding me back. What I love about personal blogging is having a chronicle of where I was at, physically, mentally, and emotionally, at any given time.

Time to get over any anxieties that my writing isn’t good enough, that my creative projects aren’t polished enough, and if my daily life is interesting enough. Time to just write!