Hello! Welcome to a new segment of my blog called the Thoughtful Week. In my effort to stay consistent in writing and in expressing myself (as part of my ongoing self-therapy in getting over my perfectionism and people-pleasing), these blog entries will be a collection of snippets of thoughts that I had during that week, with either zero to minimal explanation. Basically, these were ideas that were too short to develop into an essay or too serious to post in Mastodon. Here's this week's entry:

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People who are coming in from social media, looking at the art industry, can only see the success. They don't see t he failures, the hard parts that makes the entire journey very quittable. That's why you have this gap in expectation. But anyone who are in the industry long enough will known that the stuff is really hard and that you can't quit.

What I find unfair in this relationship is his unwillingness to criticize their mayor's attack dogs when they're breaking the law but I always give him the benefit of the doubt whenever he voiced out anything he found politically aggravating. That's why he was so hellbent in proving me wrong even if it's a topic outside politics. Always grandstanding, even if it's just me. My dad once said, "You're so brave and headstrong and ready to fight here at home. But outside you cower." And that reminded me of him.

I now know why our neighbors were always noisy. They were trying to hide some things. Trying to present something else or to potentially distract their neighbors wo might be more than aware or bored than normal. It hides a kid who doesn't have the proper habits as she grows old, who doesn't have proper ettiquette and but knows how to say "oh my god" will full accent. It hides a verbally abusives husband who shouts wild claims about everything (who demands to be cooked a different food when he doesn't like the one that's on the table). It hides a superficial being whose personality is whatever's trending. It hides a couple that fights about money all the time. Of affairs and family problems. And all the while, our little home were filled with discussion that were about politics, philosophy, but we chose not to drown out our noise because we're not afraid of being perceived.

The fact that he went to me, unprovoked, to tell me that he can work despite the ludicrous noise tells me tghat he thinks he's better than me. This tells me that in the future, I need to have my own studio far away from our residence, even if it was just small, as long as it's quiet. Then I'd go home very late, talk about work, be too tired to cook, and sleep soundly.

Kilgrave saving hostage victims with Jessica doesn't make him a good man. It makes him a man who saved hostage victims. That good deed doesn't erase his crimes, of rape, of murder, of abuse. This good deed doesn't absolve him of his crimes which he need to atone form. A bad man can do a good thing, that doesn't mean he didn't do any bad thing anymore. The same is with Duterte, and I hope many of his supported would watch Jessica Jones and see this reflection of their revered president.

I'm still not convinced with this whole marketing thing. There are people already marketing in social media while working on their main work, claiming to make sure that their publisher will get to see them as they build their audience. At the same time, my heroes, the greats, are often recluses, so focused on their work, they rarely show up to people.

People around you can only be categorized into two: thoise who will treat you with ambivalence, and those who will discourage you because you've made them uncomfortable or because they're scared of what you'll be. the best away around them was to ignore them both.

Does centrism exist? Does it have the right to exist on its own, outside of being a pigeon hole for the extremes. Because pacificism is definitely not centrism.

Beware of the people who rant and rant and rant on you but doesn't tell you their exit plans. They're trying to dump some negativity on you, trying to sink your ship. Either that or they're not being truthful to you about something. The best way around it was to ignore it and continue your work. They know you're working. They know you're hard at work. They are aware of your work but choses to ignore it because it doesn't have the same value that they want to see in it. Ignore it. People like these have already an impression of you, and there's nothing you can do to change that. You just work. Ignore it and just continue with your goals and plans.

Thoughtful Week 6

5/26/2025