.png)
Happy Valentine's! This month was filled with love all around the air and I'm excited to share everything that happened this month!
Lifestyle: Back to Back Festivities
Friends
Joshua Tree Glamping
My OC friend group was able to make it out of the group chat and take on glamping in Joshua Tree! We stayed at an accommodation called a "yurt" and it was really comfy and cozy. We had so much fun cooking up kbbq, playing games all night long, and enjoying each other's company. I'm so glad we were able to make this trip happen and I can't wait to go on more trips with them. It felt weird to be the only couple that was not married, but it also felt nice to be in a group of couple friends who also get along so well!
Galentines
Valentine's is never only for lovers but also for the girlies! I made sure to celebrate Galentine's with my close friends as well as coordinate a girls night out! It's been what feels like forever since I went out with the gals so this was such a fun and special quality time together. Although I realized I truly love a cozy night in more than going out, I realized the fun and intimate memories that are created when the gals get together!
Codenames
I hosted a game night with all my close friends who live nearby me to play Codenames! I happened to be in luck because everyone knew and loved the game, so we had such a fun time splitting up and trying to guess all of the words for the team. People were able to spend quality time with their usual close group of friends as well as rekindle some friendships, which I always support! Although hosting can get overwhelming at times, I truly feel so full once I see all my friends having such a good time.
Basketball Game
This month I got to go to my very first basketball game with my boyfriend! To be honest, it was me truly trying to make lemonade out of lemons because I had accidentally bought two parking spots for the concert I went to last month, but I was able to edit one of the parking spots to a different time when they were having a basketball game! The whole journey was quite an adventure because first we ended up driving to the wrong parking spot (apparently there's 2 same addresses in LA at completely different neighborhoods) and then it was pouring so we were quite late to the game. Despite all this, my boyfriend was such a calm and positive light that we truly had the best time once we got there. I was sad to see that we had lost for my very first basketball game, but I'm still glad we were able to make the most out of all our situations.
Love
Valentine's
This was my second year celebrating Valentine's with my boyfriend and he did such a great job planning! I'm usually the planner in the relationship (which I love the role as a type A person) and so it was a little switch to have him fully plan the Valentine's day dinner as well as the full Saturday surprise date. For dinner, he took me to San Shi Go in Newport Beach for omakase and it was truly the best omakase I've had in my entire life! My standouts were the toro and uni! As for Saturday, he planned out matcha flight testing, lunch place I've sent him a tiktok of, and took me to a boardgame cafe where I've been meaning to go to! We had so much fun learning and playing this new game called Ticket to Ride, which was recommended by my manager at work. He also later surprised me with my very own set during gift exchange.
Family
There's been quite a few changes with family throughout this month and I'm so sad that I couldn't spend as nearly as much time as I wish I would've with them. My dad is going to be closer to me in distance so I'm excited to carve out more time to spend with him throughout this year!
Work
Work has been filled with many different emotions! First off, we had a team brunch, which we'd had scheduled since December but only finally made it happen due to our busy schedules. It was perfect timing in the end because it was one of the last times for our team meal before one of our coworkers left to Germany for our work version of "study abroad." We were also able to do a larger team dinner at the Father's Office, where I had one of the best burgers ever! During the dinner, I also found out about some exciting news regarding an employee retreat that might happen in May! Despite all the fun events at work, I had faced some stress when it came to trying to figure out my future goals and current expectations during my role ambition cycle. I don't know that I fully figured it out, but I'm trying to learn the balance of excelling at my job, continuing to grow, and learning to climb up the corporate ladder. All in all, I'm trying to keep myself positive and tell myself that I'm doing a good job.
Lows: Health Anxiety
To be quite honest, the health anxiety continued to trickle into this month as my check-up wasn't until the end of this month. I was quite convinced in my head that there was something bad that was going to show up on my check-up. I'm honestly really happy and glad to report that all my check-ups came back as normal. Although I feel a huge burden lifted off my chest, this has been a big wake-up call to take care of my body. I've been pretty bad doing check-ups on my body or going to the doctors regularly, but I realized it's something I need to take more seriously as I'm growing older. I also realized how thankful I am to have health insurance because some of these were costly even with one! I'm so thankful to my body for letting me live the life I live, and it was a sign to take even better care of it.
Lessons:
This month, I learned that I need to stop trying to rush things. I think the work thing got me stressed because even when I was content at my job and pace right now, I was worried that maybe I was still lagging. To be honest, the past few years have been crazy growth for me due to job hopping and leveraging job offers and I took significant hops to be at the place I'm at. However, I know that these hops aren't going to happen so regularly now, but I think I felt a little panicked when I realized that maybe I won't have the same big growth this time around and started questioning whether I was falling behind. However, I was able to talk with some of my coworkers and learn more about their experience with their careers. I realized that I didn't need to rush things and that it's more important to figure out what it is that I want in the long run. I think I'm still trying to figure out everything, but I feel less stressed about feeling like I'm not doing enough. I'm also super grateful for the peers around me who have been so open to me about their career journey and given me so many useful tips. I hope that I can also become that resource to someone as I continue to grow in my career.
Songs on Repeat:
luther (with sza) - Kendrick Lamar, SZABMF - SZALove Hangover (feat. Dominic Fike) - JENNIE, Domonic FikeMy Pick of the Month: Free Corepower Classes
Corepower has been having free 11 am Sunday classes all over different studios and I've been trying to go pretty regularly every time I have free time! It's been so much fun to incorporate more hot yoga, which was my first love! I'm thankful that they're doing this to bring the community together and I believe the instructor said that they're doing it for the whole year, so I can't wait to continue taking the classes.
This month was filled with love whether it was from the girlies, from my boyfriend, or myself. It's so easy to go on with our daily lives and forget to cherish one another and ourselves. I'm so glad I had this month to remember all the love I have for my friends and family as well as feel loved by them.
Talk to you next month,
-- Jin
Such a lovely and wholesome recap of February! 💕 From glamping at Joshua Tree to Galentine’s and an amazing Valentine’s surprise, it sounds like a month filled with love and good vibes. Also, taking care of your health is so important—glad to hear your check-ups went well! 🙌 Speaking of things we love, nothing beats the excitement of ผลบอลสด keeping us updated on all the latest matches!