quick reflections on this:

i am truly blessed. the fact that i am remote working in another country, on a trip that was decided impromptu 48h before. to be able to enjoy travels and work (i like my job) at the same time is amazing. this actually motivates me way more in life in general - to have free will.

definitely a lucky fella compared to others that hate their jobs or are confined to boxes in office. rigidity kills the spirit, because free will is lost.

in our current era, real flexes have ceased to be material goods (as discussed many times before here), but instead have been shifting toward experiences, free will, and time!

i believe society still tends to conflate the two because majority are laggards by nature that tend to chase old rules -> change and realisation as a herd takes time.

money won't mean much as inflation carries on. surviving gets harder. chained to jobs. less time for self. less everything that we crave deep in our subconscious. it's not about the bags, cars, or houses anymore like it used to be for older gens, but the free will and a healthy state of mind and soul.

p.s. Korea is really interesting because they have gone the other way as a society ie. young adults are so pessimistic about their own future that they consciously choose to spend majority of their paycheck on luxury goods that they can't afford (LV, Hermes, Gucci, etc.). it's all about looking good and putting up a front here. even if it costs you a limb. why bother saving? because i'll never be able to save enough for a home anyw, so why don't i pamper myself instead and present a thriving front to others. the epitome of a superficial society.

(good watch on the history of plastic surgery culture in South Korea here, which adds to the culture of appearances)

recent realisations about Ikigai is that the 4 aspects do NOT have to come from the same source

eg. you love your job, you are good at your job, you are getting paid at your job, the world needs what you're doing

i believe the goal is just to achieve the 4 (through whatever means), and you will find happiness

you can be good at a job, get paid for it, and not love it. you can still find/practice your passion on the side (maybe cooking, knitting, pottery, etc.), while volunteering to feel a sense of gratitude to the world

the permutations and combinations are endless in achieving the 4

i'm glossing over a lot of the smaller details and possible factors that might prove this wrong, but i'm just trying to speak broadly to say that it IS possible for those that might be going through something rn

remember what they say about being delusionally optimistic about life!

"whether you think you can or can't either way you're right", said Henry Ford

How Short Life Is

https://x.com/punk6529/status/1507787390114488322?s=20

15 years ago, the internet was an escape from the real world. Now, the real world is an escape from the internet.

[cc]

novel experiences create fresh memories

keeping long-term friendships alive and fresh

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS9gVBFk6/

[cc]

Singaporeans and the culture of queueing

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNmQYUkpmF/?igsh=MWdhaGtjYXlsanFnbw==

the timing of Royal Pop is extremely interesting to me and i believe it is well planned out

this release was already in the making since 2023, when AP commented on Swatch’s IG post: when do we launch?

administrative, logistical, legal, etc. issues aside, definitely no coincidence that it comes at a time where consumers are spending more to regain semblance of control in their lives (look at popmart labubu pokémon tcg etc.)

youths have negative perception of the future:
if i can’t buy a house, i’ll buy what i want instead

luxury market is also facing the highest pressure as demand slumps globally, so the natural path forward is the compression of the luxury market (good for retail!)

what AP is doing w Royal Pop seems to be retapping into youths by making a piece of their brand affordable through collab, borrowing concepts from labubu craze, familiarity bias, and demand slumps of high end luxury items

it also works as a way of getting youths one foot in, where they might eventually turn into paying customers of AP

if Royal Pop is a blind box sale, i think it’s the perfect storm for retail

this concur w this article here as well: https://manofmany.com/watches/swatch-audemars-piguet-labubu-of-watches

i used to think retail would be unwilling to shell out big money because of inflation and rising costs, until i saw labubu and especially pokémon TCG

genuinely don’t think a secondary market price of $1000+ on these Royal Pop watches will deter anyone

making it a point to buy a book in the same blind box fashion every trip i take

i will buy based off the book cover and hope that it’s a good read🗿

this time,
The Second Chance Convenience Store

[BR]

Strange Pictures by Uketsu (translated by Jim Rion)

was nudged into reading this after strange buildings. finished it on a flight home.

i felt that this book is better than strange buildings, easy read too. was quite shocked when the murderer was revealed and how every prior chapter connected. i still don’t quite understand the rationale for drawing the mountains when the victims were about to die. both had different motivations, but still it didn’t quite make sense to me rationally speaking. also, i felt really bad for the reporter kid, especially during the narration of his death.

the protagonist is definitely one screwed up character…

4/5

[2026 NYR Reading Goal]

Total: 13/15
- Fiction: 6/8
- Non-fiction: 7/7 ✅

1. The Diary of A CEO - link
2. Purple Cow - link
3. Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop - link
4. This is Marketing - link
5. Ogilvy on Advertising - link
6. The Creative Act - link
7. The Tipping Point - link
8. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - link
9. Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts - link
10. The Twins of Auschwitz - link
11. Flowers For Algernon - link
12. Strange Houses - link
13. Strange Pictures - link