Aurelius

No, not Dumbledore. Although that was probably where I truly first heard of this name.. I remember relishing the way Johnny Depp enunciated it for Ezra Miller (start at 3:59).

Had not even registered it while watching Gladiator... He was already put in such a good light in that movie... What an unfortunate way for a great man to pass but his death as shown in the movie is not verified.

It is just this year when I was reading "The Power of Now" that I first came across the wisdom of Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism. I was so blown away by how it resonated with me that it earned an entire page entry in my bujo. 

That was my reminder to dig deep into stoicism but it is only just now that I remember and make another resolution to get the book! Which is really saying something because books are one category of things that I do not really buy anymore. Although I love reading physical books over Kindle, they often feel like clutter at home because they are so rarely picked up. I only kept a very small selection of books that I do not think I will ever let go. And now I am certain, this book has earned its space in my house before I have even read it entirely.

So, what jolted my memory again? For the month of June, I have been reading one book a day according to a suggested "30 Must-Read Books before you turn 50" list. Really not a speedy reader so just summaries of the listed books. 😅 Really gained quite some useful knowledge, even from books I would never have picked up from a shelf ("The 48 Laws of Power"?!?!) on my own.

Recommended book for day 24 is "Meditations". The list does not include authors (and there was no need to because it is always evident which best seller the title refers to) and I had thought this was going to be a yoga-related book but it is actually by that Aurelius this post is dedicated to. 😍 Also interesting that I am currently writing this post on the same land where his wife had died...

Usually, I would peruse a few summaries for the book of the day and draw up my own summary, noting the key points, into my bujo. For this particular entry, I noted that this book is "a collection of personal notes which was never meant for publication" and a command to "READ IT!"

I can't wait to get my hands on it! But first I need to decide which translation.....

All the crafty things I did in 2020

I hope the first thing you thought of was nothing deceitful; I am referring to decorative stuff that I DIY!

I do not consider myself to be a creative person. To me, a truly creative artist innovates and produces something out of nothing with pure inspiration. I am not at all that way. Sometimes I really envy the artists I come across and drool over their artwork which seemed to come alive so effortlessly. I am a huge fan of My Modern Met!

That said, I am relatively good at copying, adapting and following the creative works of others which sometimes also produces some aesthetically pleasing pieces. At least in my eyes. 😛 In any case, I do enjoy art and crafts very very much. 

As mentioned previously, I started a BuJo in 2020 and I certainly poured most of my "creative" juice into it throughout the year. Pinterest had been an enormously helpful resource for many pages. I practised both faux calligraphy and brush calligraphy and small little doodles in odd spaces left blank within the pages. However, for the monthly covers, I really tried to plan and "perfect" them. So here is a look at all of them at a go!

Other than using it for my BuJo, Pinterest is also where I found inspiration for the following design I pencilled into this little concrete corner of our newly renovated kitchen! Although it is quite a hidden corner that you don't really notice the white patch but it just feels like the perfect spot to make a home for my non-existent pet rat.

 

 

Another favourite platform of mine is Canva. It is so user-friendly and the best thing is that it has such a treasure trove of templates!! Best for someone like me who is better at modifying than creating. So for the whole year of 2020, my friends received Canva-designed birthday "cards" from me. Hahaha... Besides birthday cards, I often fall back on Canva to create non-copyright version of images I want to use on this blog. Real lifesaver. Here is a sample of other stuff I made, including a work proposal, my birthday invitation and some cheer-up notes for migrant workers.

When Circuit Breaker started, the thought of having to stay home for long hours compelled me to purchase these Diamond Art sets online. I am pretty certain that I had been scammed as they turned out to be much smaller (and therefore blur images) than expected but at least they arrived instead of getting mysteriously lost after payment. However, the environmentally friendly me does not approve of the amount of plastic involved in the production of these sets. More microplastic getting into the stomachs of our fishes. 🙁

      

 

 

 

Finally, just before the year was done, I got down to completing this DIY zero waste craft that I was inspired to do. Upcycled an old and overused but perfectly sized chopping board after scouring through numerous suggestions on Pinterest and deciding on my own preferred design. So spoilt doorbell is now successfully replaced and it will never spoil again.. 😏

So what do you say? Am I creative? Or crafty?

Something I Would Tell Myself From The Beginning of 2020

I started a brand new bullet journal at the start of this year. One of its first pages was my "word of the year". The word of the year helps set one's intention for the year which I suppose will fit right in with today's reflection. 

Although that one word is very prominent, as indicated on the top left hand corner, I wanted to:

 - feel magical

 - be magical

 - stay magical

 - make all things magical

When I was choosing the word, I realized that I did not want anything too rigid but something that could apply to everything. 

The fact that I'm a Harry Potter fan probably played a part too. Sometimes I feel I'm too logical and should instead have a little more faith but "faith" still does not quite resonate with me. I also was inspired by Einstein's quote to choose to see everything as a miracle except I prefer everything to be magical rather than miraculous. 

So there it is. And I think the word surfaced quite dramatically in January (see here). However, after the pandemic reared its ugly head, I had sort of forgotten about it.... Shall keep it in the forefront of my mind now for the remainder of December. After all, it is almost Christmas. 

My ideal CB day

 

Can we uninstall 2020 and reinstall it?

This one has a virus.

We are only one-third into the year and it already felt too long and too wrong. I should be on vacation in Germany right now but I am back home which I have not left since Monday. No work, no yoga, no meet-ups, null.

Had tried not to make too big a deal out of it in the early days but when weekly WCS classes became officially unavailable, it became impossible to ignore. I started a coronavirus timeline in my BuJo. It listed major events worldwide as well as in Singapore and I continue to update it..

As restrictions under the Circuit Breaker measure get tougher, I, like most Singaporeans can only stay home. Not that I am complaining as I can be quite happy doing my own things at home and it is quite amazing the variety of activities that can be done at home with internet access.

• free movies/concerts/musicals/performances online
• yoga and zumba via ZOOM
• cooking with online recipes 
• clap/sing for #SGUnited
• volunteering (MADWISH) and doing good (SG Assist)
• online gathering and even an online wedding!

Yup, a very dear friend of mine got married! She calls it "Love in the time of corona" and it was beautiful. She looked gorgeous in an exquisite dress while her husband was all decked out in a traditional barong while her friends and family from all over the world celebrated with them via Zoom and a live YouTube screening.

However, the days spent within the same four walls do get blurred together and it is so easy to lose track of time... I decided to do one of the collections that I have been meaning to do, with a twist...
Hopefully, I can follow it better now because I have been sleeping at 2 am lately...... 👉👈 And the opposite page is also dedicated to CB because so much time and so many free movies now!!!

New (organised) Life in the New Decade

I first heard of Bullet Journal (BuJo) when I was still a teacher. Pre-BuJo, calendar planners are essential lifesavers because there are soooo many aspects and areas that a teacher covers and these planners really helped me to organise and manage in a timely manner. However, looking back on the many planners I used over the years, there always seemed to be an incredible amount of waste in terms of the unused pages. So BuJo offered a very attractive solution to that especially when I became more and more particular about the aesthetic design of a planner. Moreover, I love writing!

very well used!

In 2017, I began a very basic BuJo using a beautiful journal with blank pages courtesy of NUS. It was mainly for work and the concept of index is so simple yet so effective in finding all the minute details that popped up anytime anywhere in my role as a teacher! It is also so usage efficient that I continued to use the same journal for 3 years even as the whole ball game of bullet journaling evolve and become oh-so-gorgeous. Don't take my word for it, just search Pinterest on it! 

I wanted to start a new one but there was so much information and so many possibilities about it that I constantly felt I'm not ready. So I began a prototype version in the final pages of the same grey journal in September 2019 before I can finally say to myself "let's do it!" for the new decade. 

I decided to indulge in a Leuchtturm 1917 dotted journal in Nordic Blue and the hubby is very pleased that it is an excellent product originating from Germany. Love that it is already paginated and even come with a pocket on the back cover. I even bought a matching calligraphy brush!

I am incredibly proud of my BuJo thus far. So much so I considered opening an Instagram account just to document my progress in it. Nah... I will share my "achievements" here instead... 😊

What is a BuJo without the KEY?

Here are some collections I decided I must have after doing up the prototype..

My favourite part of BuJo-ing is definitely having the space to unleash some creativity! 

Forgot my dive log during the trip so this page became it!

Should I blog about future pages of my BuJo?! Yay or Nay?