I had the faulty Kullen drawer exchanged at Ikea but Kullen became sold out so I had picked the cheaper Lennart drawers and some random stuff for the kids so that the amount would be equal to the cost of the item to be exchanged. So tomorrow night I will building more drawers.

Then our Manila reporter, Kr, and I agreed to meet at Starbucks in BGC to work after her press conference. It was nice to work outside and see daylight while editing although it rained heavily. It was quite cooler today that I felt I should have brought a light sweater with me. Just when I thought that summer is already here, the weather decided that to go in another direction.

Kr and I haven’t seen each other in two years so it was quite a relief to work with a live human being across the table and talk shop face to face. I was so productive this afternoon that I was able to edit three stories in an hour. Then I sketched to while away the time.

I didn’t realize that my pocket watercolor pan (Classic) didn’t have black. The other pocket watercolor (Artisan) has that. Which is an excuse to buy me that one. Tee hee!

After BGC, I dropped off Kr in Estancia in Capitol Commons because she will meet with a friend for dinner. Then I battled my way into an almost-pre-pandemic traffic jam going to QC. I was a bit exhausted driving, maybe because I didn’t have enough sleep (as usual). I took my meds pretty late last night so it took a while for them to kick in and was able to drift off past 3 am. Got woken up again after 3 hours.

I wonder what kind of devil is waking me up every three hours?!

I told Kr I should try working outside more these days now that I discovered that my mind is more alert and productive when I’m outside. I need adult conversations too! I missed BGC and Makati CBD–my usual haunts on weekdays. I missed picking the brains of execs face-to-face. I should invite one of my sources for lunch in BGC one of these days as I still have a gift cheque for a buffet lunch for two at Shangri-la. We usually talked politics on WhatsApp and some scoops.

I missed dressing up, putting on make-up and jewelry regularly. Makes me feel empowered. As I told other reporters before, if I get rejected by execs or get thrown out of conferences, at least I’m not ugly and a failure both at the same time (LOL!).

My feet hurt though because I chose to wear a new pair of clip-cloppy shoes with heels today. Note to self: DO NOT break in new shoes when you’re going to walk around BGC or Makati.

Hmmm. Now my goal is to work once a week outside, probably Tues or Wednesday, and meet with sources before Edsa becomes a huge parking lot again. Staying indoors for 2 years really messed me up.