Category: summing it up

Summing It Up: August – December 2018

4 Comments

Hi there! It’s been a while since I’ve last done one of these recaps but I wanted to at least fit one last one before the year ended. XD

The academic semester has wrapped up (thank goodness!). I’ve been out of school for the past two weeks and I’ve spent most of my time of working and spending time with friends. The semester ended with a lot of stress from completing my final fall OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination-essentially a mock MTM (Medication Therapy Management) session where the student reviews a patient case for 10 minutes then goes over the patient’s medications and disease states and make pharmacotherapy recommendations/changes with that pretend patient) to my other 6 final exams. I also had a bunch of presentations (which I fretted over a lot, knowing me).

But! I really believe that my communication skills have improved and my stage fright has lessened substantially with weekly journal clubs and all this semester. I’m also more familiar/comfortable with reading medical literature and interpreting stats than I was before (e.g. when I was one my IPPE rotation this summer-honestly, thinking about how my presentation went down for that is still humiliating and makes me full of regret). Advanced drug information isn’t fun but it’s definitely made me feel a little more prepared for what’s to come next year with P4 rotations.

Speaking of those, I submitted my preferences for my rotations next year earlier this month. And I already know I got an international rotation! November of next year, I’ll be in Melbourne, Australia. I’ve never traveled outside of the States so I’m nervous but ultimately pumped, too. The other rotations that I’m interested in are infectious diseases, pediatrics (particularly NICU), and nuclear pharmacy. Of course, (as expected) I asked for a lot of ambulatory care rotations and few community/retail ones but I also put in a few weird ones like mail order and drug information for my electives since they seem different and odd.

Aside from school, there’s not much else I want to share. I’m still working my two jobs and enjoying my free time when I have it. 🙂

– What I’ve Been Reading –

If you didn’t gather by now… I’ve been a deep reading slump since the year has started.

Probably one of the best books that I read this year was Uprooted, a fantasy standalone. It totally gave me Howl’s Moving Castle (my favorite Ghibli film) vibes. I also loved the characters and the fairytale like prose. It was a pleasant surprise and I wish I had read it sooner than I did. I gave it 4/5 stars.

I also finally picked up The Star-Touched Queen, which had been on my TBR list for forever. I had tried starting this book several times before, and I have to admit with this nth time trying to read it… I found it a struggle to immerse myself into the story. But I, ultimately, enjoyed it by the end after all the twists and turns that were revealed. 3/5 stars.

I was reading Vicious but, ultimately, I wasn’t enjoying myself that much as I was reading it so unfortunately I’ve put that one on an indefinite hold. I think it’s slower paced than I anticipated and I really need to be in the mood to read for those kind of books and I just wasn’t at the time. Plus, I had no clue the main story would be about two guys challenging themselves to near death experiences in order to reach superhuman strength, and I typically dislike most things vaguely related to superhuman/superhero type of stuff. (Don’t hunt me down.) I’m not going to put it in the DNF pile; I hope to maybe reach for it again another time.

I began To All the Boys I Loved Before after the immense hype it’s gotten when the Netflix film released this summer. From the 1/3 I read, it’s super cute and definitely a sweet and comical contemporary worth reading in the summer. Realistic fiction just isn’t my cup of tea so I sort of fell out of wanting to read that title, too. (I know, I’ve just been in a MAJOR reading slump.)

As I mentioned on my Instagram and my last posts, these recent months (or entire year, really) I’ve been more into manga. Consequently, I’ve started a ton of series. I’ve been rereading one my favorites, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet and Daytime Shooting Star. Actually, the latter is going to be serialized in America starting the summer of 2019. It’s an understatement to say that I’m pumped.

I also started several ongoing series including Queen’s Quality, Living with Matsunaga-san, You Got Me, Sempai, Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Perfect World, Let’s Play (webtoon), I Love Yoo (webtoon), The Jinx’s Lover (webtoon), Waiting for Spring, and most recently They Say I was Born a King’s Daughter (webtoon). I would say that all of these are enjoyable-some more guilty pleasures than others. Although if I had to choose one to spotlight it would be I Love Yoo for its unique characters, addicting storyline, and swoonworthy romance. I’m not as familiar with the webtoon verse having only read about a handful (<10)… but I would say this is the best one I’ve read so far!

– Blog Posts – 

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: April – July 2018

5 Comments

Hi there! It’s been a while since one of these posts, hasn’t it? I’ve been tied up with school and work, and on my days off I mainly spend them hanging out with friends or visiting bookstores. It doesn’t help that lately I’ve been more into manga than actual novels so I also haven’t had much content to write on for this blog. Perhaps, I’ll make another manga review when one of them is finished (a lot of the ones I’m reading are ongoing). Anyway, I’ll try to briefly recap each month under this paragraph! I imagine that this post will be pretty long… but skim/skip around as you wish!

April was probably the least eventful and most stressful with wrapping up the end of the spring semester. Like I expressed in previous months’ Summing It Up posts, I did have some classes I was concerned about but, ultimately, I did well after factoring final exam grades and bonus points.

In May I didn’t have any academic worries since it was my “chill” month. However, I still didn’t have much free time as I was working a lot to save up for my rotation in this month in June. (Yes, unfortunately, students pay tuition/housing while they’re on rotation.)

June went by real quick. This year’s rotation was my IPPE (Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience) at an institution; I was placed at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to going, everything about the experience was daunting to me because I had never left home-let alone drive for 10 hours to somewhere I was not familiar with and didn’t know anyone. Plus, aside from the didactic curriculum of my school, I had little exposure to hospital pharmacy. Needless to say, my time here has been inspiring and will probably help my future studies/career. (Although, I did do more observing than hands-on work, which is understandable with St. Jude being a place that is highly specialized, working with pediatrics and oncology.)

While on rotation, I learned a lot more about myself and my learning style than I ever did before. I was given an opportunity to do a presentation, and I was extremely nervous. Since taking speech class in undergrad, I think my stage fright has worsened drastically. Anyway, I was given great constructive feedback, and I hope to make some steps to improve by becoming more involved with my school in ways that will push me to be more verbal or present in front of an audience more. Talking in front of a group of strangers is almost an irrational fear because in theory there’s no reason to be afraid but it’s still a very real one for me. And I think it’s about time for me to address it before I continue on in my studies and commit to a profession that does require one to do some form of leadership and presentation.

Anyway, with that mini spiel about fear and self-awareness, I had a good time while I was away at home in Tennessee in June.

Mid-July I was in Winder, Georgia, which is about an hour away from Atlanta, for Camp Breathe Easy, a camp for kids that have asthma. I was there assisting with the medication side of things but I had a ton of fun and memorable moments while I was there. I love kids so it was wonderful (although my 11 to 12 year old girls were so boy crazy, lol). I even got to ride a horse and paddle a canoe for the first time. The latter was intense since it was about a 2 mile journey but it was a great workout. I also participated in other activities with the kids including capture the flag, which totally reminded me of The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, haha.

But that’s been my summer so far! A lot of traveling, which is cool since I don’t do it often!

– What I Read –

Thanks to my friend Amy, who is very much into anime and manga, I’ve been reading more manga (and even some comics!) again.

ReLife | Orange | Emergency Contact | Queen of Shadows | The Wicked King |  QQ Sweeper

– April/May/June/July Blog Posts –

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: March 2018

17 Comments

Hello, hello! Happy April! 🙂

Okay… so those promised book reviews never did happen, huh? Turns out I put the wrong year since a lot of them were drafts originally created in 2017. Sigh. (That is proof of how rusty I am with the whole (book) blogging routine, haha.) Anyway, I took them down for the moment and don’t plan to reschedule them just yet since I want to re-edit them at least once more… and since April is a heavy exam month… those aren’t going to go live anytime soon, unfortunately. (I have hopes for May though!) :’)

Anyway, time for the recap! March was a meh month for lack of better words. A lot was going on in my life but I felt like I was wading through water since it also felt like I wasn’t really accomplishing much of anything. I didn’t do so hot on several exams that month so my spirits were kind of low. (And I’m trying to recover my grades in those two particular classes-looks like I’ll be working extra hard in April so I might not even be as active on my Instagram. I had plans of actually trying to limit my use with that app to twice daily anyway since I felt like I becoming too dependent. LOL, this makes it sound like a drug addict. XD)

But the good news is… I started reading again! I began marathoning the greatly popular fantasy series, Throne of Glass. The first few installments (particularly book 2, Crown of Midnight) wowed me because I, honestly, wasn’t expecting to enjoy this series after some criticisms that I had heard with Maas’s stories and characters prior to picking the series up. To my relief, as I said, I quite liked them… that is until I got to Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. The later drove me nuts because I was so mad with a certain character’s characterization and development (or lack of) and I have it on a temporary hold so that I can solely focus on school (and calm down after that traumatic turnaround mid-series).

But yeah, (I didn’t realize that I said this so much until people commented about it on my Instagram stories, haha.) that was an abridged version of my March!

– What I Read –

I could have easily finished Queen of Shadows by the end of March to include in last month’s “read” list since I’m nearly done… but, as mentioned before, I’m taking a break since that sequel is vastly disappointing and I kind of need to prioritize school first. (I’m literally on the brink of not passing Pharmacotherapy II with a C. It is that bad, to my dismay. T_T)

Anyway want some initial thoughts? Literally:

Me while reading Crown of Midnight

Me while reading Queen of Shadows

I feel so betrayed right now. Sigh.

– March Blog Posts –

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: February 2018

8 Comments

Hello there! I hope you’re all having a splendid March so far. I’m currently on my spring break and thought today would be a good time to release February’s monthly recap post. (Also, I know I keep making empty blogging promises but I DEFINITELY will have book (and manga!) reviews coming this month-I guarantee these will happen because I’ve actually already have them scheduled to publish on their own.)

I didn’t read all that much in February. However, I did participate in my first readathon (on Instagram)! The #ForeverReading 24 hour reading challenge (hosted by Cherry @_forevermint and Lissa @rabidreadings) was interesting since I was documenting my progress in the form of Insta stories. (I’ve always thought that if I’d ever join these reading marathons it would be via the blogosphere, so this was unexpected, haha.) I had a really good time though, and it was a positive experience  since the rules were flexible. In total, I was able to read nearly 400 pages of A Court of Wings and Ruin despite still getting a full night’s rest, working part time, and meeting with my friends from out of town for a long brunch. In my stories (which is still up as part of my Instagram Highlights by the way, if you do want to check those videos out. I believe you can only see view them if you’re using the app on your phone though) I talked about my thoughts on ACoWaR, the book itself. ACoWaR‘s a kind of meh read and I didn’t find myself enjoying it as I did its predecessor, A Court of Mist and Fury. As of where I left off (which is about halfway), I’d say it would get 2 out of 5 stars from me. For now, I don’t have interest in picking it up so I’ve put it on hold until further notice.

– February Blog Posts –

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: January 2018

4 Comments

I just posted my wrap up for December a couple of days ago so it feels sort of funny posting this one today, but if I don’t do it now who knows when I’ll do it. (I’ve been a very bad blogger, sigh.)

– January Events –

January was a wonderful month for me. I was ready to start the new year since 2017 seemed kind of rotten. January 2 marked my three year blogiversary with this blog; although, I’m not the blogger I used to be that would post 7-10 times a month… I feel very fulfilled and proud that I was able to post at least once a month for those three years. That month, I also came to decision that I would be continuing this blog and accepting the fact that my blogging may be more sparse and sporadic; the frequency dwindles down to if I feel inspired or motivated to post when I do.

I also celebrated my 22nd birthday, which is crazy. This has been the year where I have had the most correspondence with bloggers outside of the blogosphere. I use Instagram a lot and I feel like I’ve really gotten to know people personally more that way. In fact, there are more than a handful of bloggers that I talk to almost every day or at least several times a week through that platform or Goodreads. I even write letters and text some of those friends. I don’t know. It really blows my mind how close I have become to some of you all.

As for school, I’m back for the spring semester. The students have already hit the ground running and we have lots of work. I’m already nervous for my summer rotation in June because there’s already so much material that I feel like I need to retain. I’m not complaining though but I know that this semester is going to be tough, for sure.

And that’s January in a nutshell. Overall, I’d classify it as one of the better months and already a bright start to the new year.

– What I Read –

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet (full manga series) | Hatsu*Haru (full manga series)

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet’s lovely art. ❤

I was reading a bunch of books in January (Shadowsong, Tempests and Slaughter, The Bear and the Nightingale, and The Emperor of Maladies) but, ultimately, put a lot of them hold and finished only two manga series, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet and HatsuHaru. (The only one I’m still continuing to read into February is Maladies, if you’re curious.)  Both of them are still ongoing but I read up to the most updated chapters that were available online. The mangaka, or author/illustrator, of TLP is the same one that wrote Daytime Shooting Star, a series I read and greatly enjoyed last year. Mika Yanamori’s art style is so pretty; it’s definitely one of my favorites. The story of this one is extremely similar to Daytime Shooting Star but I didn’t mind since it still had some originality. Plus, I like the sensei in this one way more, actually. (How can a 2D character be this hot, omg?) For HatsuHaru, it doesn’t have many chapters released yet, just a mere 5 chapters. However, it’s proven to be a good start so far.

– January Blog Posts –

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: December 2017

8 Comments

Looks like I’m squeezing this in in the last hour of January. XD I really have to do better with these wrap ups. (Although, it does reassure me a little bit that I’ve already started drafting January’s recap, so hopefully I won’t publish that one as late as I did with this.)

Anyways, for December, I’m going to have to admit I was extremely burned out, stressed, and bummed. It may not seem like it because I try to conceal it with my internet persona, but I’m honestly a natural worrier and quite a pessimist. This semester has been challenging. Overall, I did well academically but I had to work really hard, and, subsequently, I started having really bad bouts of insomnia. But I am glad that I managed to survive, and it does feel nice to say that I’m (now a little over) halfway through the didactic curriculum of pharmacy school. There is only three semesters left of classes and an additional year after that for P4 rotations. Somehow time feels as if it’s moving both slow and fast. Slow because I’m looking forward to graduating (even though it still a long two years away) and fast because… well time is moving fast. (Like, how is it already February?)

However, I did also have a restful second half of December when I was on my winter break. (We had three weeks off this year, which is one week shorter than in the past. The undergrad students at my university still had a full month, and I might feel slighted by this even now actually, haha.) But, unfortunately, during the holiday season I also learned of devastating news. If you follow me on my Instagram, you probably already know that I was really affected by SHINee‘s Jonghyun‘s passing last month. Though not formally diagnosed, I feel like I have been depressed at some points in my life. And if not depression, they were moments where I’ve felt lost, sad, unhappy, or all of the above. Music has always been an important, integral part of my everyday life (whether it be playing the piano or listening to music), and both Linkin Park and SHINee were bands that have helped heal me during times when I was insecure and/or dark. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it was hard losing both Chester and Jonghyun, both wonderful artists, to a silent killer in 2017. It’s difficult to accept the reality that they’re gone forever.

Anyway, I don’t want to start this recap too somber from me being stressed with school and then Jonghyun, etc, so I also want to mention that I’ve definitely have been feeling a lot better and I don’t want anyone to worry about me.

– What I Read – 

The Water Dragon’s Bride (full manga series) | The Cruel Prince | Horimiya (full manga series)

 

 

December was a rather good reading month, I think. I started the month with beginning a new manga series called The Water Dragon’s Bride. I’ve only read up to the most recent chapter, which is 17, and I think it’s a bit cliché but still okay so far. I’ve set it as 3 or 3.5 stars on Goodreads, but I’m going to reserve my full thoughts for now. Then I read The Cruel Prince, which I loved and raved about a ton on my Instagram the end of last month and early this month in January. And, lastly, Horimiya was the one I picked up at whim and I was so glad that I did since it’s utterly fantastic. There’s a perfect balance between comedy and romance. I may have belly laughed out loud so many times while reading it. It is also currently an ongoing series and I’ve read up to chapter 85. Without a doubt, it’s become a new all time favorite manga that I’ll be following closely with each chapter/volume release.

– December Blog Posts – 

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: November 2017

3 Comments

Sigh, I am 24 days late with this post but I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m finally getting around to it than never at all. (I’ve not mentioned this before but I’ve made this silly promise to myself since I’ve started this blog in 2015 that I would always at least post once a month; and so far, I’ve been good with that vow.) But it still feels kind of moot to post this now when I’ll be sharing my December wrap up in a few days, but I hope that you all don’t mind anyway! >.<

Unfortunately, like my sparse blogging I hit an all time low with my reading last month in November. I didn’t read a single book-not even a manga. (Well aside from my four chapters of ReLife, an ongoing webtoon that is posted weekly.) Subsequently, due to this slumpy reading period, I’ve felt a lack of motivation or inspiration to log onto WordPress and blog. (I didn’t even have a chance to draft a Yallfest post like I promised. I’m sorry!)

To be honest… for the past few months… I have truly struggled and debated with deciding what I plan to do with this blog anymore. I feel like blogging isn’t quite the same for me as it used to be. The community has changed a lot from when I started. A lot of the friends that I befriended at the beginning are on hiatuses or no longer blogging at all. Although I would love to meet new bloggers I feel like my enthusiasm to blog hop has waned a ton. There’s also the problem that I haven’t even been reading all that much, too… I have started to read more again this month in December while I’ve been on winter break (especially after reading The Cruel Prince, which is brilliant by the way), but, I don’t know if this is enough for me to continue.

Anyway, I’m not sure what will become of Xingsings for now. But I do want to make a decision by the first of 2018 about whether I’m going to continue to blog or say goodbye permanently, at least on this platform. At the moment, I’m leaning towards continuing because I feel like I’ve invested so much into this blog over the years (even though it may seem like I haven’t lately); just thinking about saying goodbye is so hard.

Either way, whatever I decide to do in 2018, thank you guys for all the love and support you’ve shown me throughout the years. The friendships I’ve made on here have been irreplaceable and for that I am so, so thankful.

– November Blog Posts –

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: October 2017

8 Comments

Happy November, friends! I hope that you all have been doing well. After I finish typing this post and it goes live, I will be replying to comments and (finally!) blog hopping the rest of the evening. (I seriously bookmarked blogs from, like, five months ago.)  And while on the subject of drafting blog posts, this is actually my 200th one! :’)

The next coming weeks should be like the calm before the storm (because school will lighten up a bit since final exams are in December) but I also have lots to look forward to. I’ll be attending Yallfest again this year, and I actually have my fingers crossed that I’ll be meeting Cassandra Clare and Marie Rutkoski. Clare will probably be a wristband author with her books’ popularity so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to see her, but we’ll see. Anyway, do expect an event recap for that later this month. 😉

Also, it’s not much longer before I’m off for winter break. This semester flew by so quickly and was probably one of the most stressful ones I experienced academically (pharmacotherapy is very challenging; I wish medicine and therapy were black and white but there’s so much gray), but I’m praying that I’ll survive till the end, haha.

Anyhow this month’s recap will be on the short but sweet side, because I really didn’t indulge in too much aside from the crazy shopping. And I suppose this is a good moment to put in a self promo plug like last month… If you do want to see my hauls and keep up with me (since I’m kind of inactive in the blogosphere nowadays), Instagram is the best way to do it! XD

– What I Read –

I’ve been feeling really slumpy in terms of reading so I picked up a manga called House of Sun (3/5 Stars) in October. I finished all 13 volumes in a week. I think the best aspects of the series was the romance and family. Also the comedy was A+; Daiki, my favorite character, was so deadpan about everything and therefore absolutely hilarious. I really wanted to buy this after reading it online but, to my dismay, the series has yet to be released in English aside for the electronic version. (And I don’t see the point in collecting e-manga when these books are so expensive as it is.) I’ll add it to my list to purchase for the future though. It was such a joy to read-despite my relatively low rating.

Edit 11/4/17: Oh my gosh, I totally forgot that I also read They Both Die at the End (4/5 Stars) earlier in October as well. It wasn’t until I logged onto Goodreads did I notice it on my profile. You guys now know to what extent of how out of it I am with my reading game. I can’t believe I forgot what I read, and a 4 star book at that, lol. XD

– October Blog Posts –

No surprise here. I’m still publishing once a month on the blog. >.< But hopefully this will change when I’m on winter break December-January.

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: September 2017

6 Comments

Gosh is this belated… But better late than never, right?

Life in September was the usual in that it was hectic, busy, and stressful, but I’ve decided to not bore you guys with the details because it’ll be just repetitive at this point. I feel as if I always begin my monthly wrap ups saying my life is crazy, and I feel bad doing this because I’m sure you’re all living just as busy lives. Anyway, if you do want to see what I’ve been up to with all the specifics, do consider following me on my Instagram account. I’m rather active on that platform these days and I enjoy updating my Instagram stories a lot. (You’ll even get to hear and see me flail over buying new books. It’s embarrassing but I thought I’d advertise it anyway, hah.)

Anyhow, I do sincerely hope and wish that you guys are all still doing well and hanging in there in your daily lives. #don’tgiveup #youCANdoit

(I think I’m feeling especially emotional while typing this up because a fellow grad student at my school recently died from suicide this month in October. I don’t want to talk about this either because I feel like it’ll bring down the mood of this post even more. But please, everyone, remember to take care of yourself! You’re not alone. Seek help if you need it. I’m always here to talk. Shoot an email or send me a direct message on Instagram.)

– What I Read –

A few months ago, when school first started back up I remember complaining about reading 1 book… but now I’m starting to realize that completing 1 book a month might be a miracle. The rigor of this year’s classes has definitely increased (PCT (pharmacotherapy) is so killer) and I guess I’m resigned to the fact that I’m going to have to read less during this period of my life. It is sad but it could be worse? XD

And it’s unfortunate that the one book I did end up finishing last month… I was not a fan. You can read my thoughts in my Goodreads pre-review or unedited review or whatever it’s called, but yeah,  I Believe in a Thing Called Love did not work for me, sadly. (And I really want to love it; I mean, you all know how much of a crazed Asian drama watcher I am.)

– September Blog Posts –

I’m not sure why I’m still keeping this section if I’m only going to post once a month, but oh well. Maybe I’ll feel more motivated to publish some book review drafts if I do continue, haha. Who knows?

Continue reading →

Summing It Up: August 2017

7 Comments

Sigh. I haven’t been the best blogger lately. There are so many books I want tor read, so many reviews I want to write, so many blogger friends I want to check in with, and so much I want to share but, ultimately, I can’t find the time to do these things anymore.

Last month, I mentioned that I was offered an internship at where I did my rotation in June. I work about two to three days at that job and I still work a day at the salon in the week. Of course, now that the fall semester has begun there’s school, extracurriculars, and volunteering as well… (Tangent: I thought I’d be done with extracurriculars after I got into grad/professional school but nope. The possibility of applying for residency programs (unlike med students it is optional for pharm students) makes me feel like I ought to stay involved with those organizations… I love them but they eat up my time like crazy.)

To say the least, I’m a little overwhelmed with life right now. I have very little down time to enjoy much these days. When I get home I’m too tired to read. I know, what kind of reader am I to say that?! Well, I need to be able to think when I read and, at the end of the day, that’s the last thing I want to do after attending classes and studying. Instead I’ve only been indulging in mindless entertainment like watching Asian dramas before I fall asleep. (The “What I’ve Been Watching” section is massive this month.)

Anyway, with all that being said, this inactivity in the blogosphere is going to have to be the norm for a while until I can adjust. Count on me still posting these monthly recaps/wrap ups/favorites posts and the occasional book review (I hope) though, because I don’t want to disappear completely yet. Blogging is still a hobby I cherish, but sometimes it’s important to prioritize real life over the internet one. I hope you guys can understand. And so that explains where I’ve been and why I haven’t been on here at all.

Read on if you want to know more specifics like what exactly I’ve been watching. There will be a few things bookish but not really. (I mean I haven’t been reading so…)

– What I’ve Read –

Good and bad news on the reading front in August. The bad news is, as you can guess, I only read one book in August: Lord of Shadows. The good news is that I enjoyed it a ton. The story picks up right from Lady Midnight and I found it greatly entertaining. Although, I think this is a 3 star range kind of book for me because I didn’t quite love it as much as LM.

– August Blog Posts –

Continue reading →