When you feel like you're being carried away by the hustle and bustle of life.

Lately, I've been thinking about...well, the lease to my flat ends in May, you see.

This might sound silly but, it's my first time living on my own. As I worried about this, I figured that I should re-read the lease agreement.

But the thought of reading it felt intimidating…so much cold, formal and legal jargon.

*sigh*

Anyway, I read it. 😤

Well, it is possible to renew and extend my stay here, but since a friend suggested that I look around for other flats, the idea's been floating around in my head.

Sometimes, it's so easy to get carried away by the hustle and bustle of life.

This metro escalator is STEEP.

You know - trying to make ends meet and do well at our jobs and personal lives - that the next thing we know, one year has passed and now we gotta file our taxes, and the end period of the lease is coming up.

I know, I'm already an adult, but sometimes, thinking about these…grownup things that we gotta do (some of these we weren't taught at school, or by anyone)... It feels jarring at times.

For instance, when I look back at that D that I had in Math on my high school report card that I was so terrified to tell my Mom -- it now pales 10x in comparison to what I'm faced with at this point in my life.

And the irony is, if we look at a photo of the Milky Way, we're really just specks in the galaxy.

And then eventually, we're outta here.

I guess the existential theme in the movie Everything, Everywhere All at Once (2022) is still stuck in my brain, you know? XD

Yesterday, I read a wlw manga/comic for the first time in a while. In that episode, the main characters (both girls) go outside to the balcony of their apartment to light some small fireworks.

<Ok in case you're interested: it's about two friends who promised to try out being a married couple if they're still single in 5 years. They meet again 5 years later and fulfill that promise!>

"Oh my gosh, she has THAT LOOK!", I said.

In one frame, one of the main protagonists looks at the other girl LIKE THIS.

And somehow that makes me stop for a few seconds - the worrying, the calculating, thinking about work…

In a sense, going back to that theme in EEAAO - despite how things may seem pointless and that we're all running around in circles...

there are moments in life that are filled with beauty, that make us stop in our tracks and soften and warm our hearts.

Joy: […] Here, all we get are a few specks of time where any of this actually makes any sense.

Evelyn Wang: Then I will cherish these few specks of time.

('Everything Everywhere All at Once' by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinhert, 2022)

Have a great week ahead! :D

Much love,

Rose