Sundaze 142

Just a moment ago I breathed a palpable sigh of relief that the thick of the Black Friday rush is over. Not only from a consumer perspective, but also from work: these monumental dates in the retail marketing diary always see a flurry of incoming work for me and whilst of course it’s work, I’ve also felt a bit odd towards the event. On one hand, I thoroughly understand that for many it’s the only time they may be able to afford a particular luxury, but on the other… I’m uncomfortable with the push-and-shove mass consumerism mentality. Are we really saving money, or are we spending it because of these so-called ‘too good to miss’ discounts? Maybe I’ve worked in the industry for too long!

I feel absolutely manic and oh so stretched at the moment. In fact, I’ve all but given up on trying to make things click in 2019 because everything feels too much. 2020 will be better 😉 Amidst moving madness (more on that later), I feel like I haven’t had any headspace to manage much else. In my crazed packing mood I managed to pack lots of stuff that I still imminently need to use, so that’s fun…!

The moving saga continues…

The main story at Chez Chai this month is that our moving dates have changed a hundred and one times. First it was the 16th, which felt wildly unmanageable but we took the challenge on and packed two entire rooms in as many days. Then the estate agent told us the 4th which felt even more unmanageable and led to us completing almost all of the packing and throwing our Christmas plans out of the window. And now, well, now we’re not moving until January because somebody further up in the chain has decided to stay put over Christmas.

What does this mean? Well… All of my books and 95% of my belongings are packed, so I’ve been trying to navigate the whole blog content front and trying to find where things like ‘extra tampons’, ‘my good gym bra’ and ‘2020 bullet journal’ have been stashed. It feels like I’m wading through water and just trying to get through things right now. Send help.

The Book of Dust: Volume Two, The Secret Commonwealth

I finished reading The Book of Dust: Volume Two, The Secret Commonwealth on Friday night!! It took longer than I anticipated but I’m so glad I decided to read it slowly because that was one intense book.

Part of me is sad that the quiet, meandering vibes of La Belle Sauvage haven’t entirely followed through, but I’m excited to see where Lyra goes next. It also felt like a really far jump from both the His Dark Materials trilogy and La Belle Sauvage, tackling more adult and complex themes, like Lyra’s life in the aftermath of all that happened, her adult relationships and even some more traumatic events. In fact, I was worried in the opening chapters that nothing was happening and it all felt very… loose? Nevertheless once I hit the halfway or so mark, I found myself completely immersed in Lyra’s adventures and I’m so eager to read the next book.

Vegan Chinese supper club at Phung Kay with Emmie!

On Monday, Emmie and I met up for a catch-up over dinner. We had a reservation at the Phung Kay pop-up supper club and I’d been so excited all month! Thankfully I just-about felt better by then so I could actually taste the food. Phung Kay create authentic vegan versions of Cantonese food, so I was incredibly excited to eat some classics. We ordered so much food and it was all delicious: I didn’t know how much I missed Pan-Fried Turnip Cake and Siu Mai! Totally keeping an eye out for their next one!