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Song for Volume IV - Issue 2: Elton John - Your Song
👋🏽 Hello There
Unintentionally, this issue is more wordy than normal so I’ll keep this part short and sweet so we don’t go over 1,500 words. Life is going well for me although with the rising costs of everything I’ve become more budget conscious than ever.
I’ve cut back on my niceties at the same time I’m not going to deprive myself completely. At the end of January, I finally set my goals so looking forward to working towards accomplishing them. I’ve set them up so I have certain things to focus on per quarter and not get overwhelmed at the same time. Valentine’s Day is on Saturday so linking previous issues of the newsletter from 2024 and 2025 in case you need last minute ideas!
I’ll end with two things I’ve discovered since the last issue — Meal Prep for NYC (small business to support instead of a large company) and Kuwaj, a Nigerian women’s clothing brand.
See you in two weeks!
I haven’t posted the video on TikTok yet so you’re getting the first look into this video prompt that I stitched.
The prompt was: You get $15M but you must blow it all on travel in a year. What’s your itinerary?
This was actually hard to figure out, I started off with 48 countries/islands and narrowed it down from there to make my ‘shortlist’. My budget is fluid but at a high level I was thinking
Transportation: 3 Million
Activities & Food: 2 Million
Shopping: 1 Million
Hotels: 9 Million (I could probably do 7 million (😂) and spilt the rest between the first two categories but definitely want to splurge on the places I stay and some experiences could fall under this category).
Here are some of the countries I mention in the video: Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Antartica, Australia, Vietnam, Zambia, Namibia and Anguilla.
How would you spend 15 millions dollars on travel?
Books
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - I cried/teared up at three different points while reading this book. I did not expect this at all. The premises of the book is — if you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? Within 212 pages, you have clear and concise storytelling that will leave a mark on you passively after finishing it (or at least it did for me).
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende - This book is almost 500 pages and took me 3 ½ weeks to read it from start to finish. I savored the pages in this book because it was jam packed with moments from the lives of the characters who lived within it. By the end of the book, I felt like a member of the Trueba family. Isabel Allende has a rare talent as not many authors can do what she did with this book.
Articles
The Atlantic - The Father-Daughter Divide
The New Yorker - The Airport-Lounge Wars
FYI in case you didn’t know use archive.org if you need help reading
Paper Plant Company in Los Angeles, CA
This is a tiny store limited to about 6 customers at a time so you may have a to wait outside but there is a coffee and bakery in the same building. The staff member who was in the store was very helpful. She gave me a notebook to test out pens and highlighters etc and also gave me some good recommendations.
Broome Street General in Culver City, CA
I did not know this store existed until last month. The woman working in the store was friendly. It reminds me of an upscale ‘Things Remembered’ type of store. There was a multitude of items within the store — home goods, food/snacks, self-care products, wooden toys, books and candles
Anonymous ism in Los Angeles, CA
A well curated and very small store. It’s great if you’re looking for unique pieces. Items can be on the higher end of pricing; although there is a selection of goods like socks and ceramics that can be on the more moderate side of things.
Lobster pasta from Sal’s Place
Los Angeles, CA
Archives of Us
Azay
Sal’s Place
Tonchin LA
Sonmari
Picnic
Recommendations I’ll Share
USA
New York City, NY - Naks
New York City, NY - Ramen By Ra
Dallas, TX - Hong Dumpling House
Albums
Escape Room by Teyana Taylor (R&B/Soul) - I’m happy she is making music again. Bares all in this album post divorce. I did enjoy this album at the same time, I wish there were more songs and less interludes although I did enjoy all of the interludes too
Don’t by Dumb by A$AP Rocky (Rap) - This is weird to say but this is a smooth album with a touch of experimental moments like Robbery feat Doechii. It of course has the classic A$AP Rocky sound that we expect too
OCTANE by Don Toliver (Hip-Hop/Rap) - This album is a vibeeee in all the best ways. I was listening to it while walking and the BPMs had me moving quicker than I normally and maybe I had a slight bounce because of it as well lol
Other Albums I’ve also enjoyed and think you should check out: In 10 Years by Kassidy Adams (Easy Listening) and Things I’ve learned on earth - EP by Zalma (Contemporary R&B)
Staying In
TV
The Diplomat (Netflix) - ‘The world forgives us when they need us and that doesn’t take long’. Episode 7 has a lot of quotable moments which are very timely. You already know about my love for this show so no need to wax on about this. After the ending of the previous season, this was a great continuation of it. I wish the seasons were longer because eight episodes is not enough for me.
Invasion (AppleTV) - This season started off really well then there was a lull but the last four episodes closed out the season with a high impact. I’m excited for the next season. Although if it doesn’t happen, season three wrapped everything up well enough that I’d be okay with the show ending where it did
If this was forwarded to you and you enjoyed reading this issue of the newsletter, hit the subscribe button above. And to all the subscribers I have already, grateful for you and thanks for subscribing!
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