A Poet @ Heart Monthly

What I am obsessed with this month.

Tucked away in my high-rise Bangkok condo I feel the guilt creeping in. As I think about the horrifying scenes I’ve scrolled past on Instagram of Los Angeles falling apart and fighting the ICE raids. A full-blown attack on my people – and on some level an attack on me too. Sometimes it feels truly impossible, like I’m doing nothing to help. While I am not out on the frontlines what I can do is write – contribute to history. Be another source.

I didn’t mean to start on such a grim note, but something in me felt like I needed to address this and driven likely by own guilt. How much awareness is too much? I ponder that too as I scroll Substack headlines, one catches my eye, Am I a bad person for tuning out the news?

To that I say, I don’t think so.

There comes a point when you must protect your own sanity. As long as you try to make your little piece of real estate in this world something positive, you are at least a contributing human being.

On that note, but somewhat related, I’m switching gears and sharing some more things that I have been using to distract myself and maybe they’ll entertain you too. Here are the things I am really loving this month. What I’m learning, reading, consuming, loving this July, or mid-June to mid-July. Although I did spend the second half of June traveling through Japan. It was my first time, but perhaps that’s a story for another blog.

Xoxo,
SWAK

Professional Business Women of California (PBWC) Annual Conference: We Will!

I decided to virtually attend this year’s PBWC Conference and it is always enlightening to hear from various female business and thought leaders. I found this year’s line-up of speakers engaging and fun. I think it's worth sharing some of the insights I took away.

Vivian Tu: My New Rich BFF

Vivian’s talk which called women to action by encouraging them to plan for the future through intentional budgeting and investing. Vivian was relatable while sharing tips for financial planning. What I loved most were two stand out questions that her interviewer asked, which were:

1. What is the financial trend you’re most currently concerned with?

2. What is something that you splurge on guilt free?

Her replies? The trend we should stay away from is the buy now pay later trend – warning us never to spend money we don’t have. What she splurges on guilt free is high thread count sheets because we spend a third of our life sleeping on them. Endearing and lighthearted, I walked away a fan.

Alison Fragale was a Likeable Badass

This presentation moved at a great pace and delivered just the right amount of energy. Alison Fragale shared her views on the importance of cultivating a network of professionals that you deeply respect and who also respect you. She touches on the importance of always saying positive things about others and getting others to talk positively behind your back too. Something we can all benefit from.

One of the most profound thoughts came later in her talk when she touched on negotiation. She said we often think of negotiation as getting what we want, but negotiation isn’t about getting what you want. It’s about detecting whether there is mutually beneficial ground for both parties. Boom. Mind blown. I will be keeping that thought in my back pocket. I will definitely give her book a read.

Stacy Abrams was Remarkable

Between starting her address with a few minutes to pose for photos mostly to ensure that the audience would listen without distraction, to the recounting of her Grandmother’s experience voting for the first time a few years after women were given the right; Stacy Abrams stood out as a force to be reckoned with reminding us all that there is still power in numbers.

The Workshops Placed a Deep Importance on Personal Brand

I remember hearing once that the future of work would start to rely heavily on what you can provide and maintaining a following of your own. At least 3 of the 4 workshops featured on PBWC’s on-Demand library dealt with the importance of cultivating your own personal brand, how to find it, put it out there, and even how to try to monetize it. It wasn’t just about selling yourself as a brand, as many of the speakers touched on, but also about being aware of the brand you are advertising at your own workplace and how this can affect the way you show up.

Vanessa Errecarte’s really detailed program about finding your niche and homing in on your service first personal brand was thought provoking. I couldn’t stop taking notes and I do hope to put some of her recommendations into practice.

Karla Blanco, a career coach, spoke about navigating the unwritten rules of success, which is a subject that always fascinates me. What is one unwritten career rule that you had to learn by experience?

Melissa Schwartz shared five tips for improving the way you show up professionally. Stressing the importance of being self-aware and always asking for feedback, and explaining how to cope when receiving it.

I even got value from a program on a topic that isn’t one of my faves, but the networking workshop led by Lisa Braithwaite about the discomfort of networking and sharing advice for getting out of the “you” zone was a good reminder of the importance of meeting new people. I tend to be a wallflower at networking events, but in the past when I have been intentional with networking it has led to some very nice connections.

Sarah Jessica Parker on Call Her Daddy

There are a few television series that I cycle through and watch over and over again, and one of those is Sex and the City. It’s the familiarity of each episode that makes it perfect to have on in the background when I’m multi-tasking at home. When I don’t want to face the silence, or maybe it’s the noise in my head I am trying to tune out, but there is something so comforting to me about re-watching these episodes.

I’m not a religious follower of Call Her Daddy but, I do peruse the list of guests from time-to-time, and I was so excited when I saw that Sarah Jessica Parker was on one of her recent episodes. I had never really heard SJP on a podcast before but she was in some of my favorite movies growing up like Girls Just Want to Have Fun and LA Story. OMG. Am I dating myself RN?

All that to say I really enjoyed her interview. I know the word demure has been grossly overused lately but it is what comes to mind when I think to describe SJP’s composure on the podcast. I learned some fun facts about the SATC wardrobe, and what occurred behind the scenes. This interview has coincided nicely, as I had just begun my yearly rewatching of the show. If you are as interested as I was, check out the episode on You Tube, here.

I Started a Poetry Challenge

I set out to challenge myself to write a poem a day for one hundred days. Mostly driven by the excitement of having 100 pages or 100 poems in hand at the end of it all. Follow me along the journey to see if I can make it through and what comes of it. You can follow my journey on my blog or if you prefer, on Substack.

Also, coming this fall I will be self-publishing my very first poetry collection. Join my newsletter list to be informed the minute it drops.

The other things I’m Obsessing Over

Blood Orange Manicure or Pedicure

I often struggle with choosing colors for my mani/pedi and often leave the salon thinking is that the color I chose!? Swearing that it looked different under the florescent lights. This month, the blood orange nail polish trend caught my eye on Vogue’s feed who was branding it as Selena Gomez’ go-to summer color - and since I am really loving everything Selena right now, I went with it. It was a sound choice.

I Said I Love You First…

Speaking of Selena Gomez, have you heard her new album with Benny Blanco!? They are the cutest couple. It is one of those albums that you can listen to front to back which is rare it feels like these days. Give it a listen even if you are not a fan, you might be surprised.

Special Edition Truffle Flavored Lays

Now this is unfortunately specific to South East Asia, where I currently am, but if you happen to be traveling across, or know someone who is, try to get your hands on a bag of these special edition “Truffle” flavored Lay’s potato chips. I can’t eat too many of them before my stomach starts to hurt, but they are SOOO worth it.

Sex and the City

Again, finding lots of new layers to all the Sex and the City episodes post SJP interview on the podcast. I am re-watching all seasons again this summer, and finding many new lawyers. Including the fact I had forgotten that Samantha made a pass at Mr. Big in the first episode, even after Carrie had expressed her interest in him. How did I not catch that before?

British Romance Coming-of-Age Novels

I had been eagerly awaiting the release of Lena Dunham’s new Netflix show Too Much! which I may touch on in a future post, but there is a scene in the first episode when Jessica is hanging with all the women in her family, and they are watching Wuthering Heights. This scene reminded how sophisticated British romance coming-of-age literature really is. In honor of this, I picked up Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park which is one of the books that I brought with me abroad with intention to read it while aboard, this and Persuasion. I’ll let you know how it goes, but if you’ve read either of these would love to hear about it.