Issue #4: Back to regular programming
Why it's ok to question your career, a book recommendation, and something I learned this week thanks to Tumblr.
Hola friends!
I’m writing this week’s newsletter from the comfort of my couch in Barcelona. We flew back on Thursday - wary of the other people in the airport. I’ve become one of those people who will wipe down every surface I’m about to touch with disinfecting wipes and who will spray alcohol in the air if I hear somebody coughing.
Earlier this week, we took a swab test. A requirement to be able to enter Spanish borders. Have you gotten one before? It’s like having my brain and my throat poked repeatedly at the same time through my nose.
On the other hand, it did clear up for awhile my constant sinus problem.
So now we’re home. And apart from Thursday, the rest of the week was just pretty much back to normal. By normal, I mean back to work.
This week though, I paid extra attention to how much time and space my work takes up from my day. And at what cost for the things I also love doing like reading, writing, cooking, and staring at the ceiling.
More importantly, I paid extra attention to how going back to my normal work life routines makes me feel. Do I still feel fulfilled? Are my days still fun? Do I have time to take care of myself?
Between my day job and my coaching business, I am starting to see the signs that this can get overwhelming soon enough. And it’s only been one week.
And I can’t help but think - should I choose between the two? Focus on just one thing and give it the attention it deserves so that it can grow? But which one should I choose?
So I signed up to work with a career coach. At first I felt weird about getting a coach. After all, haven’t I founded a community called Career Hacking for Women - where we’re the ones who’s supposed to be helping other women with their career dilemmas? Am I not one myself?
But I know this is just me trying to avoid conflict once again (this time conflict with myself), by way of being a hypocrite. Afraid of the decisions I have to make and the resulting consequences it will bring. What if I make the wrong decision? What if I regret it?
However, I am more tired of feeling overwhelmed, more curious about the potential of all of the unexplored paths I have ahead of me, and more eager to create value for other people - than I am of being afraid.
What if I finally find what’s best for me?
I start my sessions with my coach next week. And I am both excited and terrified at the same time.
So dear reader, if you’re in the middle of a career meh, there’s absolutely no reason for you to stay there.
Wanting a more fulfilling daily life can sometimes feel scary, impractical, or even feel like it’s something we don’t deserve.
But here’s what I think - spending our waking hours on things that do not bring us joy, going from one day to another constantly feeling stressed and frustrated is scarier, more impractical more than anything else. And definitely something nobody deserves to live through.
You want to know what we all really deserve? Something bright and shiny and absofuckinglutely remarkable.
Until next time ♥️
Kax
p.s. And if you’re one of those who have found your bright and shiny, why not be a good human being and help somebody find their bright and shiny too? Because other people deserve it as much as you do.
What I’m loving these days 💙
Apparently Charles Dickens really hated Hans Christian Andersen. A hilarious article that shows how sarcasm, indirectness, and feigned politeness do not stand a chance against cultural differences and fanboy tendencies. After reading this, I found myself low key being jealous of HCA. I want to be as shameless and unapologetic as he is about the things he wants. Sure he seemed crass and insensitive; but at the end of the day he seemed like he got more out of his day than the rest of us. LOL
Both books by Roselle Lim: Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune, and Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop. THESE BOOKS ARE DELICIOUS! 🤤 Really. Apart from being able to incorporate magic (yes as in the abracadabra kind of magic) into real life as if it was as normal as lactose intolerance, Roselle Lim can really write about food! Both books made me want to kiss my boyfriend and make my own dumplings immediately after I marked them as read on Goodreads.
I have to admit that I was already 16 when Lizzie Maguire first started airing. I still watched it. And loved it. Alongside Meteor Garden. So this article gave me the happies. It also kind of made me wish my early teens were as colorful and interesting as Lizzie’s. I went to Catholic school, had strict parents, and an even stricter older sister - so I just lived vicariously through her. So yes, I was also heartbroken when the Lizzie Maguire reboot got cancelled because Disney has a stick up their ass.
And today i learned -
What’s Cooking, Good Looking? 👩🍳
The best way to serve Adobo is to serve it the a few hours after you made it. In the evening, if you made it at lunch time. Or the morning after, if you made it at night. Let the chicken soak in all the sauce. Then serve with garlic fried rice.
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I started this maybe-weekly newsletter because I needed a space where I can just take a break from talking about career, working in tech, and coaching other Product Managers. I needed a space where I can show off my cooking skills, get kilig about the books I’m reading and the movies I’m watching, and sometimes even cry about the things that make me sad.
Want to share your thoughts and feelings, too? Leave me a comment below 👇
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