Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2025

August 4, 2025August 2, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

July is somehow already over and I already can’t seem to recall what I did this past month! 🤣 Honestly, I have zero social life and most of my days I’m at work, sometimes going to the gym, and then coming home to blog and read. That might sound sad or miserably boring to a lot of people, but I kind of love my quiet life. Or maybe in true panda fashion, I’m just too lazy to do much of anything (this is actually very true too)! 🤭 I struggled to get myself back into the gym this month with life getting in the way but I did at least manage to go about half the month, and I hope to continue the streak in August. Other than that, I think it was a pretty quiet and uneventful month!

Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2025

July 3, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads24 Comments

I can’t believe June has already come and gone, and with it goes the last holiday I have before the end of the year. 🤭 We held the annual Bali family summer holiday mid-June to celebrate my nan’s 94th birthday and this year we also had family photos (*shudder*). My sister flew down from Japan, and the rest of family flew in from where we’re spread out globally. These years, family holidays feel less and less like a ‘holiday’ due to overly hectic schedules and trying to pack everything into a 1-2 week period, but it’s always lovely to see everyone. Even though I came back feeling the need for a holiday from my holiday, it was also nice to get a break from work!

Monthly Wrap-Up: May 2025

June 2, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Well, if you’re a follower, you may have gleaned from some of my more recent posts that the month ended heartbreakingly with a big loss. Other than that, May was quite uneventful although it seemed to pass in a relative blink. I had a birthday and I treated myself to many things, such as new bags and books. I also went shopping to cheer myself up at the end of the month because I am that retail therapy girl (it partly worked). 🐼 Is it too soon to wish that this year was already over? Or that I could sleep for a million years because I feel completely exhausted and as if I will never stop being tired, lol.

Sorry this recap is a bit of a downer.

Monthly Wrap-Up: April 2025

May 8, 2025May 8, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

I feel like I just posted my March wrap-up so how is it already time to post my April wrap-up!? 🫣 I honestly don’t have much to say about how April was because I really didn’t do anything. Coming back from Japan was rough and of course, getting back to work was diving straight into the deep end with no time to slowly sink back in (I’m pretty sure my office doesn’t know how to do that, lol)! It was tough but we managed. From my trip to Japan, I think I’ve developed a minor obsession with Pop Mart—the toy company that makes the popular Labubu dolls. I didn’t think I’d be into Labubu but after getting one in Japan, I’m finding them oddly adorable and hard to resist, lol. I’ve also developed a fascination with Hirono figurines! Please indulge me as I share photos of my small toy collection. 🥹

Monthly Wrap-Up: March 2025

April 7, 2025April 6, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads25 Comments

I can’t believe that March has already come and gone! I can’t even remember what happened in the first two-thirds of the month because my trip to Japan felt like it lasted the whole month of March, and I’m not mad about it, though I’m sad it isn’t true lol. I’ve shared pictures and updates from the Japan trip in my last two weekly wrap-ups (here and here), but I think my favourite parts of the trip were definitely Disney and visiting the town of Kusatsu outside of Tokyo. It’s so hard to choose though because the whole trip was fantastic—except for the moments of family drama and tension but that’s to expected when you put all of us in close quarters for so long, haha—and I’m so bummed that it’s over. On that note, I’m just going to share some of my favourite moments from the month:

Monthly Wrap-Up: February 2025

March 1, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

February felt like it went on for longer than 28 days but I also can’t believe that the month is already over. Life was not much different in February compared to January and I didn’t get up to much. We celebrated my SIL’s birthday at the start of the month and my brother’s birthday at the end of the month, I took more bookish photos this month than I have in a while and enjoyed it, took care of my little Kiki who keeps coming back with funky lab test results but seems to be doing very fine otherwise (she’s so cheeky and chonky).

I know March is going to be so busy as I’m flying out on the 21st with my brother and SIL to meet up with my parents who will be there a week earlier than us and my cousin flying in from America the day before, for my sister’s MA graduation! 😍 I can’t believe she’s already graduating—time really flies, eh?

Monthly Wrap-Up: January 2025

February 6, 2025February 23, 2025 Dini @ dinipandareads24 Comments

Okay, where did January go? Seriously, this month felt like 100 days but it also passed by in a blink! 🤭 In fact, I can hardly even remember what I did in January because what was even time last month? I can’t seem to recall a thing _{(I’m really too young to be this forgetful)}. That’s why I’m going to leave it to some photos to cover the highlights, lol. It’s mostly my catto, Kiki, books and food (and my new hair!) but it does sum me and my month up nicely.

A thing I was quite proud of in January was how active I was on bookstagram. I guess you can say that I was there at the start of the rise of bookstagram and I burned out really hard when I tried to do too much. It was to the point that I stopped all of my social media and stuck to Twitter to only share my blog posts. One of my goals in the last two years has been to try and get back into the scene, regardless of how much engagement my posts get. Most years, I’ve failed at this goal after a brief reappearance but this January, I was on there a lot! Obviously, that has pros and cons as I wound up spending too much time mindlessly scrolling but I’m enjoying my time on there and while I don’t think I’ll ever get the same level of engagement as before, I like the chill low-pressure vibes. 🤭

Monthly Wrap-Up: November 2024

December 2, 2024December 2, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads14 Comments

Do I even remember what I did in November? Not really, LOL! Honestly, this month just flew by and I have no idea at all where the time went.

Most of the month’s highlights had to do with material things. I bought a bunch of stuff online and my parents were able to bring it back from Japan including keycaps for my keyboard and vinyls. Plus, they surprised me with two bags from my favourite brand! I must admit I am a material girl and I love the goods, so these things made me very happy (especially the vinyls)! 🤭

I also went to see Wicked and I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried buckets. I think what surprised me most was the scene that made me the most emotional because while it made me sad when I saw it on Broadway, the movie scene hit so much harder! I won’t share when exactly but it has to do with a certain ballroom (iykyk) and wow, how the tears flowed! 😂 I was trying hard to not be a sobbing idiot in the theatre, haha (I think I succeeded).

Monthly Wrap-Up: October 2024

November 4, 2024November 4, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads28 Comments

October passed by in a blink of busy work days/weeks, but thankfully, it was massively less stressful than September. I’ve felt slightly jaded lately about my work—what we do, our impact, and the purpose of everything. It’s been making me feel quite demotivated but I’m hoping to shake it off as we near the end of the year.

Other than that, it was a quiet month. I got into a new hobby (mechanical keyboards), bought new vinyl (Gracie Abrams + Sabrina Carpenter), started a new anime (Re:Zero), and made minor upgrades to my desk setup. I also went to the cinema for the first time in years to watch The Wild Robot and loved it so much! 11/10 would recommend. 🥹

My room is beginning to get overcrowded with too many things, especially all the books lying around, and I feel like it’s high time I start trying to reorganize everything. Perhaps I’ll even do a proper unhauling? Let’s see if I can swing it before the year ends!

Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2024

October 21, 2024October 19, 2024 Dini @ dinipandareads29 Comments

I’m well aware that there are a little less than two weeks left in October and I’m just now posting my September wrap-up. Better late than never though, right? 🫣

Going into September, I knew it would be a hectic month but I couldn’t have predicted the amount of stress I would endure or the impact it would have on me physically and mentally. It was a lot and I spent the tail end of the month coping with illness as the stress and adrenaline that kept me going throughout was let go all at once. It wasn’t all bad though! I got to watch Wicked on Broadway and I did a whole lot of retail therapy to get things that aren’t available or would cost 2-3 times as much in Indonesia. I know it’s not much but sometimes it is those things that make me feel better when I’m feeling overwhelmed, lol.