Lately we’ve got so much rain. It’s almost like constant 24/7 rain that won’t ever stop. So, we’re always cooped up inside our home, wondering what to do. It’s ironic, isn’t it? We live in a time of abundance where something like that shouldn’t be the problem— there’s always something to do.
Typically, I still would go outside from time to time and see the outside world when the weather allows me to. As you can see below, is the picture that was taken about a couple days ago, the rain had just stopped and I wanted to get that caffeine fix as I finished another bag of coffee at home.
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I’ve never liked excessive rainy days as I think it is pretty depressing and always makes me want to escape somewhere, particularly any place/areas without rain.
The other day, I was reading a blog from 
Rainy days are always perfect for a warm bowl of soup, brothy ramen or simply a hearty humble porridge. I recently made a stock from chicken feet, I learned this from YouTube a couple months ago and that really helps during rainy days when I am craving anything soupy.
Back when I was living alone, I would be so crafty with my limited tools and ingredients to make the best comfort meal I could get my hands on. Now, things are a little different and I have more tools that I can use to almost make anything I want. The perks of living in a proper house have been the kitchen and its various tools that helped me perfect the meals I like to eat which are mostly Chinese, Korean or Western cuisines.
A warm bowl of humble porridge...
About a few days ago, I successfully made a proper bowl of hearty porridge. I finally perfected the recipe. This soothing meal was made with added champignon mushroom and some fried shallots as a garnish. I didn’t use any chicken because I didn’t have anything ready at the time and was just wanting a comforting and classic bowl of porridge.Even with minimal ingredients, when you put effort to it, a meal becomes delicious. This has been my go-to these days especially when it rained the whole night and I wanted something comforting in the morning.
Rainy days make the day go faster as it tends to go really dark. Sometimes I feel like despite having plenty of time trackers installed around me, I am still disoriented. Morning feels like evening and vice versa. The cats have been cooped up too and they spend more time lounging around than roaming outside.
They are lazier and often stay around my table, under the table, or anywhere around me as they watch the raindrops from the balcony. Sometimes they also run away inside when the heard a loud bang from the lighting strikers.
NGL, 4 hours work week is still relevant in 2025...
The rains affect my mood and productivity more than I’d like. So, I’ve been taking this down time to re-think about my approach to life and venture into something new. As I spent more time on reading, I was reminded of the 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris that I read a long time ago. The irony is that, I could only grasp the whole idea of the book now, when I am at 27 rather than the first time, I read it when I was in my early 20’s. The book also made more sense as I have lived that life. Now, the question is, should I just remain in these strange ways of living within the idea of 4 hours work week or join another new thing that people consider normal?
I know, our productivity shouldn’t be based on the weather but mine kind of did for the whole time which is why I used to do something called “hacking the weather” which involves traveling to a place where the weather inspires and motivates me. I still have the luxury of doing so but as I get older, some things become a bit too cumbersome, I have to adjust to a new environment, the way I eat, etc. It’s probably an equal amount while fighting the rainy and gloomy day but with some newly acquired responsibilities, I felt like for the first time, I shouldn’t be selfish.
So, how do I deal with trying to be productive? A good old-fashioned timer. I time everything I do and that leaves me feeling a lot more satisfied knowing that I have done something for a certain amount of time in a day. If you find yourself struggling to feel productive just start with 20 minutes, heck 10 minutes of doing something would do and that would create a snowball effect to your productivity.
Conclave, I'd recommend it but....
When the evening comes, I try to watch one movie/day these days. I have the luxury of doing so and I recently watched Conclave, which was nominated for an Oscar. I think Conclave makes us ponder a lot of things. It’s not insulting at all but it makes us question the “IF” possibility that definitely is contrasting to the current Catholic faith. Afterall, Robert Harris is known to make us think of the “IF” scenario based on historical fiction. That movie was cinematically stunning and I would recommend it especially if you love any Vatican/Rome based movies. However, the story can either make you uneasy or reflect on that possibility presented as the premise in that movie.
I don’t know when the rain will stop around here but I wish it would be sooner. I can’t wait to see more of my plants grow and even feeling like life is once again a little brighter.
 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. |