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Hello, My (Late) Thirties

Published by Justine

In the spirit of never (or at least trying not to) missing a birthday post, here I am about to post something that reflects my current state. Subscribed to this online Substack, I decided to do answer questions from their profile series which I think is a good, short, fun way to depict the what’s currently up with me. We’re all about the low effort high impact here, right?

  1. My hometown is Jakarta, but home is currently in Cebu, and of course, the internet.
  2. I live in Cebu City, Philippines, and have been living here since 2012. That’s 13 years now.
  3. The one thing I miss most about my hometown is the privileges and luxuries that came with being a child of expats; the Indonesian food, and just my overall childhood.
  4. If I was an ice cream flavour, I’d be mint chocolate chip because it’s my all time favorite.
  5. My spirit animal is a bird because being able to fly must be a really beautiful thing.
  6. The soundtrack to my life is Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics. The song itself is a soundtrack, but also the lyrics are incredibly simple yet so profound.
  1. As a child, I used to want to become a journalist and study journalism. Little did I know I would grow up into such a scaredy cat.
  2. Now I am a Marketing Manager, which still involves a lot of writing and reporting.
  3. But, in another life, I’d be jet-setting high earning digital nomad without much fear. Or a lead singer in a Top 40s cover band. That’s like a not-so-secret dream of mine.
  4. The “pinch-me” moment in my career so far is that I don’t really have isolated pinch-me moments because where I work, I’m surrounded by quite a number of high profile people which includes those in the public eye. It’s also quite humbling to see them in their “regular” state. I’ve had many pinch-me moments in my personal life, though!
  1. I am currently listening to XG a lot these days. What a talented girl group.
  2. My last three liked tracks on my Spotify are Somedays by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy, D.O.D, Blessings by Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas, No Bad Vibes by Jazzy & Kilimanjaro. Is it obvious I’m currently on a Jazzy phase? Coincidentally it’s my childhood nickname too.
  3. The last book/movie/article/podcast/artwork that left an impression was this article on Tatler Asia that writes about how Thailand may be the next soft power giant coming from Asia, especially in entertainment.
  1. My most recent well-spent splurge was these Comply memory foam ear tips for my AirPods. The reason why it’s such a splurge coz it costs like, what, 10% of how much AirPods Pros cost? Kinda crazy. But I have this issue with my AirPods always sliding out of my ears because I have oily skin, so these foam tips have been really amazing!!! I had to wait until I needed to buy a few more things from Amazon to reach the $50 free shipping to PH, that’s why it took so long to check out, heh.
  2. I can never leave the house without any sort of lip product.
  3. My go-to outfit of the moment is a basic skort preferably in black color, a basic tee, and really comfy footwear.
  4. The shoes you’ll see me wearing most are either my dupe of Alaïa fishnet ballet flats that I got for super cheap, a variation of slip-ons or slides that’s perfect for Cebu weather and lifestyle, or sneaker days like the very comfy Nike Dunks and adidas Sambaes (yes the platform ones because I’m a shorty). I recently bought the New Balance 1906R in my last trip to Taipei and it’s super comfy, but I’m still getting used to wearing dad shoes.
  5. The scent you’ll smell on me is any of these EDTs (EDPs give me migraines!) — Miss Dior Rose N’Roses, Blooming Bouquet, or Hermes Eau des Merveilles. Recently I’ve been really loving Diptyque L’eau Papier but I’ve yet to get the full-sized.
  1. On my bedside table, you’ll always find my AC remote, a charger, and recently a mouth tape. I’ve yet to see the long term effects but recently it’s been really good for my sleep.
  2. You’ll always find some kind of lip product inside my bag. Any kind!
  1. My idea of self-care is not thinking about anything. Much of my work is related to thinking so much, making decisions, and always being in front of a screen. So turning off my brain and rolling around in bed in such a privilege that I need to enjoy.
  2. The one healthy habit I cherish most is drinking water. I drink so much water. And eating greens. I like greens!
  1. The type of vacation I crave for most is just staying at a beautiful resort and enjoying its amazing amenities without needing to go out and explore. I’ve come to really accept that I am not the adventurous type, as much as I love and get to travel.
  2. My ideal Saturday afternoon is cafe hopping, slowing down, visiting new lifestyle spots, spending an afternoon at the beach, etc.

The Sunday Currently, v35

Published by Justine

In an attempt to not let the year pass by with just 1 entry in this blog, I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a while, which an edition of The Sunday Currently!

FEELING
Weird and tired. This afternoon I had a matcha soft serve, and usually I get so alert after that bit of caffeine kick that I vow myself never having matcha after 3pm coz it’ll just jolt me up the whole night. But I ended up crashing hard and napping right after. This is how I know I’m entering my luteal phase and my main symptoms for when this phase arrives is just being always mad sleepy and not needing any sleep assists at night. It’s really good for my sleep debt because it eliminates it 😅

WATCHING
As a big Hospital Playlist fan, I’ve been really enjoying Resident Playbook lately. It fills the void that I missed when I was watching both shows. So I’ve been spending this afternoon watching clips from the show.

READING


The Celebrants by Steven Rowley is what I’ve been reading on my Kindle. I’m almost done because I made the annoying decision of marketing is a Read on my Goodreads because I felt like the quality of the story really deteriorated towards the end. The premise was great but as I kept reading it I found the characters more annoying as time went by and didn’t root for them anymore.

Maybe I’ll finish it, but maybe I won’t? We’ll see.

EATING
Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn. One of my favorite snackies.

LOVING
This morning at church I saw a girl wearing a really nice, simple leather Furla bag. I think it was this one. It seemed bigger when I saw it but it seems small now and I can’t seem to find other sizes so it might be this. Posting so I can remember!

WISHING (and yapping about how..)
..it’s my birthday month this month (HOLY SHIT IT’S MAY??? — I thought I could finish doing this entry without mentioning how time flies but here we are), and I wish the same each year. Good health and sanity. Can you believe I’m turning 37? I’ve been blogging on the internet since I was 14, a whopping 23 years ago. I’ve had this site/domain since 2010 or 2011 which has been a crazy long time. And here I still am. Still thinking nothing has changed, yet so many things have happened. Cheers to entering the late 30s stage, how did I get here?

2024 Reflections

Published by Justine

Thanks to my little assistant ChatGPT, I’m able to write this post with question prompts about what kind of a year 2024 was. A lot of things happened last year, but at the same time I feel like I was just writing about my West Coast trip last Christmas in my previous entry.

Will I ever get tired of whining about how time flies in this blog? It feels like it’s the only way I can truly grasp how time just passes like nobody’s business. Like, who gave time the audacity to go by so quick?

What was the biggest highlight of your year?

I think it would have to be my Bali trip last June where I had a big reunion with my childhood best friends—my core C.O.F. as how we used to call it: core circle of friends.

It was also the first time I’ve been back in Indonesia since the pandemic, which was interesting because Bali and Jakarta were the last out of country cities I visited before the lockdowns happened in 2020.

It was so good to finally see my best friend, Noemi, who moved to Bali for good at the beginning of 2024, and have some bonding time before she becomes a new mom and enters a new stage in her life. At the same time, I also got to spend time with Carissa before she moves to the U.S. for good as a newlywed! Plus all the Indonesian food we got to eat, don’t even tell me about it.

Bianca (and her husband, Chris), Patrick, and I flew in from the Philippines, while Norv and Patty came from Jakarta, and Gabby and his wife traveled from Australia as part of their own family reunion trip. It’s difficult to explain without dedicating an entire chapter to it, but in essence, the people I grew up with during my formative years in Jakarta all came together as adults to celebrate life before hitting several life milestones. It was bittersweet as we continued to leave our childhood behind.

Another highlight would probably be getting to meet and spend time with online friends IRL in Hong Kong last October! They have been my constant chat buddies from the thick of lockdown up to now, and our friendship has truly transcended the four corners of the Discord app.

What is one challenge you overcame?

Personally, learning to say no without feeling guilty has been a big milestone for me. A huge part of me is a people pleaser, and every time I turn down a social event, a work project, or a favor I can’t commit to, it used to eat me up inside. But this year, I’ve learned to let go of that and put myself first. Is it an age thing?

Another challenge I overcame this year was losing a freelance client I had been working with since 2019—essentially a significant chunk of my extra income and a secure freelance gig. They needed to take a break to realign their business offerings, so hopefully, it’s not a complete halt.

One challenge I’m still working on is being overly critical of myself, downplaying my professional achievements, and struggling with imposter syndrome. But 2025 will be the year I actively work on this.

What is a new skill or habit you learned?

Expounding on what I wrote above, I’m not sure if it can be considered a new skill or habit but I felt like I am really coming into terms with being okay to say no to things or situations that don’t serve me. I used to be so much of a people pleaser back then and always want to say yes or concede to avoid conflict or to make sure I don’t put myself in a negative light or situation, but I’ve really gone deeper into learning how to listen to myself first, which could mean saying no or even disagreeing to a lot of things.

What was one thing you’re proud of last year?

Honestly? Always just proud of making it through the year. Even though I’m so hard on myself mentally most of the time, I still manage to insert little pockets of grace that I award myself at times, and I think that’s enough.

Time Ticks Faster

Published by Justine
Spent Christmas 2023 and New Year 2024 in NorCal. This was a day in San Francisco.

Last month, this domain expired. It took me until the very end of its grace period to renew it again, because why would I? I had not written in over a year and seems like blogging isn’t a thing anymore. I had a phase where I wanted to open a Substack then realized, why would I? I still have this little space of mine on the internet that no one really knows anymore, so wny should I stop using it right?

2023 was the same. Everything feels just the same these days. Everyone around me is growing, adulting, experiencing life milestones, yet here I am.. still me. From extrovert to introvert.

I don’t know how others perceive me, and frankly, I’m too busy thinking about how I’m being perceived to actually realize how I’m being perceived. Does that make sense? It makes sense to me.

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything long form that’s not for work. Everything is consumed in little tidbits nowadays (you can check my TikTok watch time for that, it was literally my obsession for a good while til now) that it kind of giving me a hard time even trying to write something substantial about my life.

Anyway, I’m not going anywhere with this entry. I just wanted to see if I can still write something long. I have so many unfinished entries in my drafts too. Will I be back to write something more? I hope so.

The Sunday Currently, v34

Published by Justine

Happy New Year!! I hope you had a great new year and eve, to anyone who still reads this! I thought it would be nice to have a TSC entry today, considering the first day of the year falls on a Sunday. Let’s get it!

FEELING
Pretty good but undoubtedly still anxious. Like every new year as of late I don’t feel any different and less hopeful due to the state of the world for the past few years, but I am always trying my best to not let it get to me and focus on the good even though it gets tough at times. Storms always pass, and that’s what keeps me going.

WATCHING & LISTENING
My YouTube recommendations after I was away for a week. Us The Duo just released their hits for 2022 and it’s always a nice compilation of all the hits we enjoyed the past year.

READING
I admit I haven’t been reading books the past year, but I really want to change that this coming year. Obviously I can’t even do the 1 book a month anymore, but I’m just going to try and read some. I hope I can at least keep that up!

EATING
Nothing right now, but I had Mac & Cheese for dinner earlier.

THINKING
About how blessed I was to be able to spend a part of my holidays with a complete family unit. My dad joined us in Singapore last week for a much needed family bonding time.

HOPING
For the year to be kind to me, for me to be kinder to myself, and to not let my inner demons get me down so much like it did last year. I also hope to play more tennis and read more books this year. Most of all, I hope everyone has a better year than the last!