On My Playlist: No Reason (沒有理由) by Ryan.B & Effie

 
Ryan.B and Effie - No Reason (沒有理由) Album Cover

“No Reason” (沒有理由) by Ryan.B and Effie is a melancholic R&B/electropop duet released on April 10, 2018. The song explores fading love, emotional distance, and the silent breakdown of a relationship where neither partner is at fault. —Google

The lyrics is basically talking about a relationship losing its warmth, indicated by how the text messages lose their sweetness and conversations feel routine and distant. There’s really no dramatic fight or big betrayal either. Just two people realizing that they are slowly letting go of each other without a specific reason or someone being in the wrong, but still choose to stay because none of them have the courage to end the relationship. So they grow complacent and stop trying even though they know things have changed. And staying in a relationship that’s dying without any effort to fix it can make one feel really isolated and lonely inside.

Personally, it also begs the question of why do you keep staying then? Does staying in a dying relationship and feeling lonely inside better than letting go of a dying relationship and being single? Does relationship status has anything to do with it? Or is it just simply the cowardice of not being brave enough to end a relationship?

Ryan.B & Effie - No Reason (沒有理由) LYRICS:

(Mandarin / Pinyin / English)

🎵 Chorus:

沒有人可以去等待
Méiyǒu rén kěyǐ qù děngdài
There is no one to wait for

不知不覺的放開你
Bù zhī bù jué de fàngkāi nǐ
Unknowingly, I let you go

我們都沒有那勇氣 baby
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu nà yǒngqì baby
None of us had the courage, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely

*

我們都沒有錯與對
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu cuò yǔ duì
There is no right or wrong for us

找不到任何一個原因
Zhǎo bù dào rènhé yī gè yuányīn
We didn’t find any reason

沒有理由的離開 baby
Méiyǒu lǐyóu de líkāi baby
There’s no reason to leave, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely (yeah, yeah)

🎵 Verse 1:

看見信息不是不想回你
Kànjiàn xìnxī bù shì bù xiǎng huí nǐ
It’s not that I see your messages and want to respond

只是我們的對話少了一些甜蜜
Zhǐshì wǒmen de duìhuà shǎo le yīxiē tiánmì
Our conversation has just lost its appeal

看似很正常的語句 但透著距離
Kànshì hěn zhèngcháng de yǔjù dàn tòuzhe jùlí
We seem to talk normally, but, in reality, there is a distance

我不知道該怎麼對你 也許是正常的關係
Wǒ bù zhīdào gāi zěnme duì nǐ yěxǔ shì zhèngcháng de guānxì
I don’t know how to deal with you, maybe it’s just an ordinary relationship

*

我每時每刻都在告訴自己
Wǒ měi shí měi kè dōu zài gàosù zìjǐ
I keep telling myself all the time

我還是很愛你的只是 lonely
Wǒ hái shì hěn ài nǐ de zhǐ shì lonely
That I still love you, but feel lonely

不知道微信什麼時候開始沒有表情
Bù zhīdào wēixìn shénme shíhòu kāishǐ méiyǒu biǎoqíng
I don’t know when WeChat started lacking your emojis

你的上班時間多了 沒有那麼多的高興
Nǐ de shàngbān shíjiān duō le méiyǒu nàme duō de gāoxìng
Your work hours increased and you’re not so happy

🎵 Pre-Chorus:

回想起來 剛開始的時間
Huíxiǎng qǐlái gāng kāishǐ de shíjiān
I stop to reflect from the beginning

倆個人都在
Liǎ gè rén dōu zài
We were there

都想辦法離開
Dōu xiǎng bànfǎ líkāi
Trying to escape

沒有理由的
Méiyǒu lǐyóu de
For no reason

🎵 Chorus:

沒有人可以去等待
Méiyǒu rén kěyǐ qù děngdài
There is no one to wait for

不知不覺的放開你
Bù zhī bù jué de fàngkāi nǐ
Unknowingly, I let you go

我們都沒有那勇氣 baby
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu nà yǒngqì baby
None of us had the courage, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely

*

我們都沒有錯與對
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu cuò yǔ duì
There is no right or wrong for us

找不到任何一個原因
Zhǎo bù dào rènhé yī gè yuányīn
We didn’t find any reason

沒有理由的離開 baby
Méiyǒu lǐyóu de líkāi baby
There’s no reason to leave, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely (yeah)

🎵 Verse 2:

理由 理由 理由 理由
Lǐyóu lǐyóu lǐyóu lǐyóu
Reason, reason, reason, reason

再多 理由 無法 挽留
Zài duō lǐyóu wúfǎ wǎnliú
No matter how many reasons, we can’t reverse it

愛情 愛情 愛情 愛情
Àiqíng àiqíng àiqíng àiqíng
Love, love, love, love

再多 理由 說停 就停
Zài duō lǐyóu shuō tíng jiù tíng
No matter how many reasons, if it stops, it stops

🎵 Pre-Chorus:

回想起來 剛開始的時間
Huíxiǎng qǐlái gāng kāishǐ de shíjiān
I stop to reflect from the beginning

倆個人都在
Liǎ gè rén dōu zài
We were there

都想辦法離開
Dōu xiǎng bànfǎ líkāi
Trying to escape

沒有理由的
Méiyǒu lǐyóu de
For no reason

🎵 Chorus:

沒有人可以去等待
Méiyǒu rén kěyǐ qù děngdài
There is no one to wait for

不知不覺的放開你
Bù zhī bù jué de fàngkāi nǐ
Unknowingly, I let you go

我們都沒有那勇氣 baby
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu nà yǒngqì baby
None of us had the courage, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely

*

我們都沒有錯與對
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu cuò yǔ duì
There is no right or wrong for us

找不到任何一個原因
Zhǎo bù dào rènhé yī gè yuányīn
We didn’t find any reason

沒有理由的離開 baby
Méiyǒu lǐyóu de líkāi baby
There’s no reason to leave, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely

🎵 Bridge:

Yeah-yeah, woo-oo-oo, hum
I’m so lonely
Yeah-yeah, woo-oo-oo, hum, uh-hum
(Ah, ah)

🎵 Chorus:

沒有人可以去等待
Méiyǒu rén kěyǐ qù děngdài
There is no one to wait for

不知不覺的放開你
Bù zhī bù jué de fàngkāi nǐ
Unknowingly, I let you go

我們都沒有那勇氣 baby
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu nà yǒngqì baby
None of us had the courage, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely

*

我們都沒有錯與對
Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu cuò yǔ duì
There is no right or wrong for us

找不到任何一個原因
Zhǎo bù dào rènhé yī gè yuányīn
We didn’t find any reason

沒有理由的離開 baby
Méiyǒu lǐyóu de líkāi baby
There’s no reason to leave, baby

I’m sorry, I’m so lonely

🎵 Outro:

(Woo-oo-oo, woo-oo-oo)
(Woo-oo-oo-oo)
I’m sorry, I’m so lonely
(Woo-oo-oo, woo-oo-oo)
(Woo-oo-oo-oo-oo)

See the live performance of Ryan.B singing this song in Hangzhou in 2025.

I think I’ve first heard this song years ago when it first became popular but never really found out who sang it and what the title is. Last year (or maybe the year before I can’t exactly remember), the song’s popularity resurged again (or maybe it never went away and I just didn’t know) and it went viral on social media because a lot of people is using this track for their videos. The song got stuck in my head because I saw so many online videos using this track and at some point, it actually made its way to my playlist because Spotify recommended the track to me (and that’s also how I found out who the singer is and what the title of the song is). It’s a 8-year old song but it’s one of the tracks I still play these days. Anybody else still has this song in their playlist too in 2026? 

 

 
 

On My Playlist: Take My Heart (ฝากใจ) by Ink Warutorn

 
Ink Waruton - Take My Heart (ฝากใจ) Album Cover

“ฝากใจ” (Fak Jai) or “Take My Heart” in English is a Thai pop song released by Ink Waruntorn under Boxx Music on May 9, 2025. Celebrated by fans as a rare, genuine sweet love song from her, it captures the deep feeling of being lucky to receive someone’s love. —Genius.com

Official MV:

I actually first heard of this song when LingOrm (Lingling Kwong & Orm Kornnaphat) performed a cover of the song during their ‘Only You, Only Us, Only Now’ fan meeting (on July 19, 2025, at the MCC Hall, 3rd Floor, The Mall Lifestore Bangkapi in Bangkok) which served as a major launch event for their second series ‘Only You’. I liked the song so much, I ended up searching for who the original singer is and that’s how this song made it to my playlist.

See the fancam below of LingOrm’s cover performance from the fan meet.

Ink Warutorn - ฝากใจ (Take My Heart) Lyrics:

(Thai / Royin / Phonetic Romanization / English)

VERSE 1:

เธอชอบพูดว่าเธอนั้นโชคดี
Thoe chop phut wa thoe nan chok di
Teēr châāwp pôōt wâā teēr nán chôūhk-deē
You always say you’re lucky

ที่ชีวิตได้พบเจอกับฉัน
Thi chiwit dai phop choe kap chan
Têē cheē-wít dâī póp zheēr gàp chăn
To have met me in your life

แต่รู้บ้างหรือเปล่าว่าฉันโชคดีกว่า
Tae ru bang rue plao wa chan chok di kwa
Dtàāe róō bàāng rĕū bplàāo wâā chăn chôūhk-deē gwàā
But do you know I’m even luckier

ที่ได้รับความรักจากเธอ
Thi dai rap khwam rak chak thoe
Têē dâī ráp kwaām rák zhàāk teēr
To receive love from you

*

เธอชอบพูดว่าเธอไม่เข้าใจ
Thoe chop phut wa thoe mai khao chai
Teēr châāwp pôōt wâā teēr máī kâu zhai
You often say you don’t understand

ว่าฉันนั้นชอบเธอที่ตรง ไหน
Wa chan nan chop thoe thi trong nai
Wâā chăn nán châāwp teēr têē dtrong năi
Why I like you or which part of you

ก็ชอบที่เป็นเธอ
Ko chop thi pen thoe
Gâw châāwp têē bpen teēr
But I just love that you’re you

แค่เธอเป็นเธอก็พอแล้ว
Khae thoe pen thoe ko pho laeo
Kâāe teēr bpen teēr gâw paāw láōu
Just being yourself is more than enough

PRE-CHORUS:

ฉันก็ไม่รู้ว่าอนาคตเป็นอย่างไร
Chan ko mai ru wa anakhot pen yang rai
Chăn gâw mâi róō wâā à-naā-kót bpen yàāng rai
I don’t know what the future holds

จะไม่นึกย้อนเสียใจ
Cha mai nuek yon sia jai
Zhà máī néuk yáāwn sĭā zhai
But I won’t look back with regret

เลือกกี่ครั้งก็เหมือนเดิม
Lueak ki khrang ko muean doem
Lêūak gèē kráng gâw mĕūan deērm
No matter how many times I choose

ใจฉันเลือกเธอไปแล้ว
Jai chan lueak thoe pai laeo
Zhai chăn lêūak teēr bpai láōu
My heart already chose you

CHORUS:

ฝากใจฉันไว้ที่เธอ
Fak jai chan wai thi thoe
Fàāk zhai chăn wái têē teēr
I leave my heart with you

ฝากให้เธอช่วยดูแล
Fak hai thoe chuai du lae
Fàāk hâi teēr chûay doō laāe
Please take care of it for me

ฉันไม่อ้อนวอนอะไรเธอมากมาย
Chan mai on won arai thoe mak mai
Chăn máī âāwn-waāwn à rai teēr mâāk-maāi
I’m not asking for much

แค่ช่วยอยู่กับฉันตลอดไป
Khae chuai yu kap chan talot pai
Kâāe chûay yòō gàp chăn dtà-làāwt bpai
Just stay with me forever

*

ฝากใจฉันไว้ที่เธอ
Fak jai chan wai thi thoe
Fàāk zhai chăn wái têē teēr
I leave my heart with you

ฝากให้เธอช่วยดูแล
Fak hai thoe chuai du lae
Fàāk hâi teēr chûay doō laāe
Please take care of it for me

ขอเธอไม่ลืม ขอให้เธอจดจำไว้
Khor thoe mai luem khor hai thoe chot cham wai
Kăāw teēr mâi leūm kăāw hâi teēr zhòt-zham wái
Please don’t forget, please always remember

จากนี้ หัวใจฉันอยู่ที่เธอแล้ว
Chak ni hua jai chan yu thi thoe laeo
Zhàāk nêē hŭūa zhai chăn yòō têē teēr láōu
From now on, my heart belongs to you

VERSE 2:

เธอรู้ไหมที่แท้โชคชะตา
Thoe ru mai thi thae chok chata
Teēr róō măi têē táāe chôūhk-chá-dtaā
Do you know fate only

ก็แค่พาเธอพบเจอกับฉัน
Ko khae pha thoe phop choe kap chan
Gâw kâāe paā teēr póp zheēr gàp chăn
Led you to meet me

แต่ที่เรารักกัน
Tae thi rao rak kan
Dtàāe têē rau rák gan
But the reason we fell in love

มันเกิดขึ้นได้เพราะฉันกับเธอ
Man koet khuen dai phro chan kap thoe
Man gèērt-kêun dâī práw chăn gàp teēr
Is because of both you and me

PRE-CHORUS:

ฉันก็ไม่รู้ว่าอนาคตเป็นอย่างไร
Chan ko mai ru wa anakhot pen yang rai
Chăn gâw mâi róō wâā à-naā-kót bpen yàāng rai
I don’t know what the future holds

จะไม่นึกย้อนเสียใจ
Cha mai nuek yon sia jai
Zhà máī néuk yáāwn sĭā zhai
But I won’t look back with regret

เลือกกี่ครั้งก็เหมือนเดิม
Lueak ki khrang ko muean doem
Lêūak gèē kráng gâw mĕūan deērm
No matter how many times I choose

ใจฉันเลือกเธอไปแล้ว
Jai chan lueak thoe pai laeo
Zhai chăn lêūak teēr bpai láōu
My heart already chose you

CHORUS:

ฝากใจฉันไว้ที่เธอ
Fak jai chan wai thi thoe
Fàāk zhai chăn wái têē teēr
I leave my heart with you

ฝากให้เธอช่วยดูแล
Fak hai thoe chuai du lae
Fàāk hâi teēr chûay doō laāe
Please take care of it for me

ฉันไม่อ้อนวอนอะไรเธอมากมาย
Chan mai on won arai thoe mak mai
Chăn máī âāwn-waāwn à rai teēr mâāk-maāi
I’m not asking for much

แค่ช่วยอยู่กับฉันตลอดไป
Khae chuai yu kap chan talot pai
Kâāe chûay yòō gàp chăn dtà-làāwt bpai
Just stay with me forever

*

ฝากใจฉันไว้ที่เธอ
Fak jai chan wai thi thoe
Fàāk zhai chăn wái têē teēr
I leave my heart with you

ฝากให้เธอช่วยดูแล
Fak hai thoe chuai du lae
Fàāk hâi teēr chûay doō laāe
Please take care of it for me

ขอเธอไม่ลืม ขอให้เธอจดจำไว้
Khor thoe mai luem khor hai thoe chot cham wai
Kăāw teēr mâi leūm kăāw hâi teēr zhòt-zham wái
Please don’t forget, please always remember

จากนี้ หัวใจฉันอยู่ที่เธอแล้ว
Chak ni hua jai chan yu thi thoe laeo
Zhàāk nêē hŭūa zhai chăn yòō têē teēr láōu
From now on, my heart belongs to you

BRIDGE:

ฉันขอสัญญาว่าจะไม่ไปไหน
Chan khor sanya wa cha mai pai nai
Chăn kăāw săn-yaā wâā zhà máī bpai năi
I promise I won’t leave you

เธอไม่ต้องกลัวว่าฉันจะหายไป
Thoe mai tong klua wa chan cha hai pai
Teēr mâi-dtâāwng-gluūa wâā chăn zhà hăāi bpai
No need to fear I’ll disappear

ฉันพร้อมและมอบหัวใจฉันฝากไว้ที่เธอแล้ว
Chan phrom lae mop hua jai chan fak wai thi thoe laeo
Chăn práāwm láe mâāwp hŭūa zhai chăn fàāk wái têē teēr láōu
I’m ready and I’ve already given you my heart

ฉันขอสัญญาว่าจะไม่ไปไหน
Chan khor sanya wa cha mai pai nai
Chăn kăāw săn-yaā wâā zhà máī bpai năi
I promise I won’t leave you

เธอไม่ต้องกลัวว่าฉันจะหายไป
Thoe mai tong klua wa chan cha hai pai
Teēr mâi-dtâāwng-gluūa wâā chăn zhà hăāi bpai
No need to fear I’ll disappear

ฉันพร้อมและมอบหัวใจฉันฝากไว้ที่เธอแล้ว
Chan phrom lae mop hua jai chan fak wai thi thoe laeo
Chăn práāwm láe mâāwp hŭūa zhai chăn fàāk wái têē teēr láōu
I’m ready and I’ve already given you my heart

CHORUS:

ฝากใจฉันไว้ที่เธอ
Fak jai chan wai thi thoe
Fàāk zhai chăn wái têē teēr
I leave my heart with you

ฝากให้เธอช่วยดูแล
Fak hai thoe chuai du lae
Fàāk hâi teēr chûay doō laāe
Please take care of it for me

ฉันไม่อ้อนวอนอะไรเธอมากมาย
Chan mai on won arai thoe mak mai
Chăn máī âāwn-waāwn à rai teēr mâāk-maāi
I’m not asking for much

แค่ช่วยอยู่กับฉันตลอดไป
Khae chuai yu kap chan talot pai
Kâāe chûay yòō gàp chăn dtà-làāwt bpai
Just stay with me forever

*

ฝากใจฉันไว้ที่เธอ
Fak jai chan wai thi thoe
Fàāk zhai chăn wái têē teēr
I leave my heart with you

ฝากให้เธอช่วยดูแล
Fak hai thoe chuai du lae
Fàāk hâi teēr chûay doō laāe
Please take care of it for me

ขอเธอไม่ลืม ขอให้เธอจดจำไว้
Khor thoe mai luem khor hai thoe chot cham wai
Kăāw teēr mâi leūm kăāw hâi teēr zhòt-zham wái
Please don’t forget, please always remember

จากนี้ หัวใจฉันอยู่ที่เธอแล้ว
Chak ni hua jai chan yu thi thoe laeo
Zhàāk nêē hŭūa zhai chăn yòō têē teēr láōu
From now on, my heart belongs to you

Lyrics Source: Genius.com & Woooobk Youtube Channel

 

 
 

Moview Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

 
Greysuitcase - Movie Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Greysuitcase - Movie Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once | Photo Courtesy: A24 & Max

Synopsis

“A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.” —IMDB

“Joy (Stephanie Hsu)’s villainous alter ego Jobu seeks to destroy the universe, fueled by anger that her mother, Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), does not accept her. Evelyn searches universe after universe to find Joy and overcome the divide between them.” —NYFA.edu

 
Everything Everywhere All At Once Poster

Photo Courtesy: A24

Greysuitcase - Movie Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

My Take

Watching this after hearing and reading many of the rave reviews online, I honestly don’t know how I feel about this movie.

Yes the plot and the way they shot the movie are different and interesting. But for me, everything feels a bit too much (although it may well be the creator’s main goal to make the viewers feel everything all at once).

Throughout the movie, I kept questioning where the story is going and what are they trying to say because everything seemed to be somewhat random to me.

And yes, by the end of it, I kinda got what they’re trying to say—love, acceptance and all that—but it felt like so much work watching everything unfolded just to get to that final message (or maybe I’m just tired and this isn’t the right movie to watch when you’re tired and trying to unwind).

My Rating: 5/10

Also, found this version of the movie poster that I thought is pretty cool.

Everything Everywhere All At Once Poster

Photo Courtesy: A24


 
 

On My Playlist: Yesterday by Jay Park

 

“Yesterday” by Jay Park (박재범) was produced by Cha Cha Malone & Chucky Kim and was released on February 13, 2023.

This was actually the most played track on my Spotify playlist in 2023. 😆

“On February 13, the 35-year-old musician dropped his new single ‘Yesterday’ alongside with a music video featuring South Korean actress Lee Yoo-mi, who is best known for starring in Netflix series Squid Game and All Of Us Are Dead.”
NME.com

 

 
 

K-Drama Review: Queenmaker

 

Greysuitcase - K-Drama Review: Queenmaker | Photo Courtesy: Netflix

 
 

Synopsis

“After a crisis of conscience, a powerful fixer uses her skills to boost a civil rights lawyer’s mayoral campaign and take down her former employer.” —Netflix

 

My Take

Starring two strong female leads, the story focused on the partnership formed between Hwang Do-Hee, a former powerful fixer for a chaebol family (the Eunsung group), and Oh Kyung-Sook, a human rights lawyer who often went up against Eunsung Group to fight for the weak.

This was the first Korean drama that I watched that has the plot revolves around a powerful fixer (I think there were other dramas where the scenario of a fixer came in, but the story never really focused on the fixer themselves).

The progression of the first three episodes were a little slow for me. But afterwards, I think the drama hit the right pacing of unfolding of the story. It’s not too intense but it‘s not necessarily slow either.

The characters are interesting, the actors acted well, and there were plenty of interesting sub-plots that made me want to keep watching. They definitely dramatized the incidents that happened, but they all still believable enough to have happened in real life (at least for viewers like me who doesn’t know a lot of or work in Korean politics). Nothing feels overly dramatized, which I appreciate.

There are also some moral issues and dilemma that are being discussed throughout the drama with the main message being the fight between the good and evil and how much sacrifices you have to make for the good to win the war.

I also like the fact that they show how somebody who has done the wrong thing ended up taking up accountability for their actions and not just skate by while still having the message of there’s hope of a better future ahead.

Being a big fan of Olivia Pope (who here also watched “Scandal”?), Hwang Do-Hee’s character certainly reminded me of Olivia Pope. They both are helping somebody to get elected to one of the most powerful office in the country, their fashion and appearances are always put together and their war rooms are definitely reminiscent of each others’,

Overall, I quite enjoy this drama and would definitely recommend it to those who like political drama.

My Rating: 8.5/10


 
 

Bad Book Or Bad Movie

 
Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie
 

Sometimes ago, I did a poll on my Instagram asking my followers which one would they rather do, read a bad book or watch a bad movie (and why). The result was 25% of people who voted would rather read a bad book while the other 75% would rather watch a bad movie.

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

I also got some response on the reason why from the people who rather watch a bad movie. One person said “Movie is easier because it moves and you’re forced to move along, unlike a book where you can’t get past a bad page. I’ve watched a lot of bad movies but I haven’t finished a lot of bad books,” and another person said “Movies are usually a shorter investment time-wise than reading a book”.

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

(Text version is under the image)

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

I personally rather watch a bad movie as well. On top of the two previous reasons, with movie, I can always fast forward to skip the boring part or watch it in 1.5x or 2x speed to get it over with. 😆

Or if the plot is bad but the cinematography is good, at the very least I can learn how certain scene is lit and shot.

With books, if the writing is bad, I can hardly pass the first couple of pages, let alone finish the whole thing. The writing style and the plot need to be interesting enough to keep me hooked. Plus since there’s no visual with books, if the writing and plot are bad, then that’s it for me.

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

For the 25% of you who voted for this, curious to know why would you prefer a bad book rather than a bad movie?

Now that I think about it, reading a bad book can probably be compensated with your own good imagination maybe? If you visualize the words way better in your head, perhaps the story won’t be as bad as it is in words? 😆

Also, I devoured a lot of books when I was younger and I think that also made me a little bit picky about what I read later on because some books are just too predictable, unrelatable (even if it’s a fiction, I want my fiction to be somewhat realistic) or some books are just plainly bad and I can’t bring myself to finish it.

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

In any case, whether it’s a bad book or a bad movie, the one thing that I CAN stand is probably listening to people who review or recap these bad books or movies in their own words and make them fun (part of it is also probably because I can do other stuff while listening to these reviews so it doesn’t feel like my time is wasted since I can still be productive).

If you don’t already know, there’s a whole genre of this kind of videos on Youtube.

The first channel I found a couple of years ago and started binge watching (hearing actually, since I usually listen to her while editing) was probably @KennieJD who usually talks about bad movies that she watched in a self-proclaimed series called “Bad Movies & A Beat” where she does her story telling while doing her makeup.

Almost all the movies that she reviewed are bad and I would probably never watch in real life, but she’s funny so it’s entertaining to hear her comments about the movies. She now does recaps/reviews on reality shows too which is also pretty fun.

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

My next find was Stephanie Soo’s channel @MissMangoButt “Baking a Mystery series where she retells and reviews thriller/mystery/horror movies and books. Usually the good ones, but there are some not so good books/movies that she reviewed. The script (if there’s any) is very well-written and she’s very expressive so listening to her telling the story is very fun.

I actually know her initally as a mukbang Youtuber, but then my sister told me that she started a true crime story channel called Rotten Mango (@rottenmangopod) and I should check it out.

I did and I love it. She talks about true crime cases that are pretty well scripted and well researched and she’s a pretty great story teller overall.

Rotten Mango also has its podcast on Spotify which have more episodes than the Youtube channel. She put up cases that have more explicit and gruesome details on the podcast. So if you want to listen to more episodes, definitely head to Spotify.

Greysuitcase - Read a Bad Book or Watch a Bad Movie

After I discovered Rotten Mango, it led me to her other channels, @MissMangoButt and @StephanieSoo where she talks about lighter, non-crime related topics such as celebrities’ real-life dramas. Most of her recent topics have revolved around Asian celebrities/public figures and I gotta say, I learned a lot of new things about Chinese public figures’ recent dramas from her stories. Very entertaining.

Anyways, a little bit of a tangent there inthe end but as always, thank you to those who voted on the poll and DM-ed me your answers. 😊


 
 

On My Playlist: Sweatpants by Lauv

 

Sweatpants is the 12th track of Lauv’s debut studio album ~how i'm feeling~ that was released on March 6, 2020.

 

 
 

Intentional Pursuit of Friendship

 
Greysuitcase - Jane Fonda on Intentional Pursuit of Friendship

Photo by: Paola Kudacki for TIME

 

So a couple of day ago, my friend Juli sent me this article and ended up reading and watching the interview clip embedded in the article.

My Take

(Text version is under each image gallery.)

After finishing reading and watching the article and the videos, it led me to reflect on my experience on women’s friendship and the intentional pursuit of friendship and I wholeheartedly agree with this.

I’m all for intentionally pursuing people who I want to be friends with.

I think I’ve always been.

Not in middle school though because I was a pretty shy and awkward kid back then and social hierarchy and peer pressure were real.

It started after middle school after I left home for Australia. The moving class system over there might have something to do with it because I didn’t get to spend most of my day with the same group of people, which in hindsight, is a relief honestly. But on the downside, if I wanted to be friends with someone, I had to put an effort to hang out with them during breaks or during the weekends outside school.

There’s also the fact that I was introduced to a couple of different social groups outside school (church, basketball team), which meant I have to make friends with at least one person in each group if I don’t want to be that loner girl during gatherings. Again, peer pressure was real guys. And honestly, it was pretty awkward and nerve-wracking for me.

But it’s okay.

I survived.

Looking back now, that period kind of forced me to start honing my social skills, so it’s all good.

Then after high school, it was the start of my (somewhat) transient life. Went on to live in 6 different cities in the span of 10 years. Not to mention the amount of travel I did every year after that (I think my busiest year was visiting 11 cities in a year). Throughout those years, my social skills got better, meeting new people and introducing myself have gotten easier (anything gets easier with practice, really), and making friends is something that I actually enjoy in every city that I lived or traveled to.

But because of my transient life, I always think that my time in a certain place is limited (including in my hometown sinceI traveled so much). It unconsciously made me prioritize things in my life, including friendship. Friendship for me is pretty high up on the list.

So, with the limited amount of time I got to spend in certain places with certain people, I became very intentional in pursuing people who I want to be friends with. I’d try to meet and spend time with them as much as possible.

Doesn’t really matter what we do—whether it’s spending a whole day together doing everything or doing absolutely nothing—as long as we get to talk and know each other better, I’m always down.

I don’t remember when exactly, but there’s a point in my life where somebody or something someone said made me feel like what I’m doing—this whole intentional pursuit of friendship thing—was weird. Or at the very least, uncommon. It bothered me for a while, thinking I was weird, and afraid that people will find me weird when I want to be friends with them (oh the beauty of self-doubts in your 20s).

But then I met Soo Zee.

The whole self-doubt thing still nagged at the back of my mind during our budding friendship. Plus we initially met on a project so I didn’t want to accidentally cross any line or overstep. But we’ve been meeting for a couple of times, talking about non-work related stuff over food and coffee and desserts and I ended up asking her a question about whether this is a work hangout thing or a friend hangout thing.

I remembered she told me something along the lines of “Yes, we’re friends” and “If I don’t like you, I wouldn’t have asked you to hang out with me.”

I don’t know if I’ve ever told her this but her words brought so much comfort to my then self-doubts because hey, there’s actually another human being who’s also intentional in pursuing their friendship.

I guess in the past, I always felt like I’m the only one doing the pursuing in a friendship. Or at least initiated the pursuit (which later is reciprocated, obviously, if we became friends). And nobody really said that to me explicitly before so I didn’t know if anybody else is intentional in pursuing their friendship, let alone a friendship with me.

Most of my friends, my Indonesian friends at least, usually became friends either because they grew up together, went to school together, or went to church together. Like, their friendship naturally (or sometimes forcefully) formed because they’ve spent so much time together in certain settings (at least from my observation). And growing up, that’s whatI experienced too.

But then after I moved to Seoul, I mostly made friends with people who I met on the internet (which some found weird and I understand. But hey, it works great for me so far, so I don’t think I’m going to stop anytime soon. Also, shoutout to the old version of Instagram for connecting me with these awesome people. It was really an awesome time where I saw real people’s photos more than I saw ad posts) or during my travels.

And the biggest thing about making friends with people on the internet or during my travel is that they could come from a very different walk of life than me.

Sure, there are probably some common grounds that we bonded over during the initial stage of our friendship. But if I didn’t put any effort in pursuing them, the budding friendship wouldn’t have grown, especially with the limited amount of face to face time I get to spend with them since I traveled a lot, we all live in different cities and countries, and most of my friends prefer in-person hangouts or calling over texting. Not to mention that everybody has other (usually more pressing) things that are going on in their lives—work, family, their partner, other friends.

With no intentional pursuit, they’ll just become another face I met during a time in my life that I probably soon forget.

Anyway, after what Soo Zee said, I’ve became very aware of the fact that there are other people who are also very intentional in pursuing their friendship.

I don’t know if it’s the city or just pure coincidence, but all my now close friends who I met in Seoul are very intentional in pursuing their friendship with me. Same with the people who I became friends with from that period onwards.

Some said it explicitly, some said it loudly through their openness and vulnerability when we talk to each other, or through their efforts and actions to spend time with me or check up on me from time to time if we couldn’t meet.

But either way, I’m grateful for every single one of them.

I guess what I’m trying to with this impromptu essay is:

being intentional in my pursuit of friendship has led me to making strangers to become some of my closest friends.

And although intentional pursuit is an important part of forming a friendship with someone, opening up, being honest and vulnerable with each other are as important if you want your friendship to grow and last.

Dig deeper than the usual surface level conversations. Talk about things that make you happy, or sad, your hopes and dreams, your fears and struggles and find strength and comfort in each other.

It really did wonders for me in forming new friendship as well as maintaining old ones.

Anyways, didn’t know that this was going to be this long but if you made it ‘til here, thanks for reading! :)