Grogu?

I purposely brought my sister to a local Miniso store because of their Grogu merch on June 28. I had just finished all The Mandalorian seasons a few days before (sadly a month too late for the new theatrical movie) and was sharing some clips with my sister to entice her to watch the show. She seemed way more excited about buying the merch, hence the photo below.

This is the way.

The last time I watched new Star Wars content was in June 2024, when I tried Disney+ for a month. Honestly, I started to get the Star Wars fatigue before the Solo movie (2018) was completed. New films were released every year since 2014, some featuring characters I was indifferent to, so I lost interest. So when I had Disney+, I only watched Obi-Wan Kenobi, my favorite Jedi. But it was underwhelming.

Then this year, my sister's friend added us to her Disney+ account. As always with these streaming sites, the movie library is huge, but the good choices are limited, with most of the classics I have already watched and the new releases uninspiring. That's the reason I tend to subscribe only when I have enough in my watchlist.

But back to Disney+. It was in April when I finally ran out of good movies to watch. I scanned the Star Wars section and found Andor, which I knew was highly rated; not to mention Rogue One, for me, is the best Star Wars film. It got me invested, for sure. There were slow episodes early in season 2, but after the Ghorman incident, my father (and TV buddy) and I were glued to the Senate… in Coruscant... and in the Philippines. The similarity of events was uncanny! Fiction becoming reality.

"Andor" has a more serious tone compared to other Star Wars media. I noticed that there were barely any alien races; the story is more human-centric and political. I was also waiting for any mention of the Force the entire time. So imagine the warmth I felt when at last Senator Organa said the famous phrase, "May the Force be with you," at the finale.

I mentioned this show to a friend when she asked me what I was currently watching. She then recommended "The Mandalorian." So after getting impressed with "Andor," I was excited for another one.

And "The Mandalorian" WAS Star Wars! From the opening scenes alone, I felt like a kid again—the creatures, the foreign languages, the music. Its episodic structure reminded me of the 90s TV show "Xena: Warrior Princess." I did not even know Baby Yoda was another character. I am so enamored with this series that I can't name which one I love more. Grogu? Best fictional father Din Djarin? Their relationship? The simplicity? The fun family theme? The practical effects? The adventures? Pedro Pascal? All of them!

I think "The Mandalorian" stopping at Season 3 is perfect. However, they should not have included important Mandalorian and Grogu scenes in The Book of Boba Fett, because the three seasons by itself is incomplete.

Now I'm waiting for the movie to be released on Disney+. Hopefully within this quarter.

Sewing and a Crochet Sling Bag

Last February, my sister bought a sewing machine for my mother. For several weeks, she worked tirelessly on her curtains, while I ordered some fabrics online to complete the quilt I had been working on since last year. One side of the quilt was from a damaged malong of my mother's, and I sewed the usable parts by hand.

I always sewed by hand. Growing up, I have been hesitant to touch the sewing machine ever since my mother recounted an incident when she was young: the needle broke, pierced her finger, and... yeah, I'd rather not continue. Suffice to say, it was not a story you tell people averse to needles.

This time, though, I was determined to learn. So when my mom was done with her project, I sat down and she taught me. It was initially really hard and needed more hand-eye-foot coordination than I thought. I can already imagine how difficult learning to drive a car would be.

But I eventually got the hang of it, and I am glad that (finally!) I now know how to use the sewing machine. I'm still on the straight-line phase, though.

I finished the quilt last April.

My sister modelling the crochet bag.

Then last month, I crocheted a sling bag using a local thick cotton thread brand. The pattern was from a Japanese book, and as always, when using different materials from what the pattern required, I ended up changing some things.

The final bag fits my phone, a small wallet or notebook, and maybe a couple of pens.

Trivia Night

Last Saturday, I went out with two of my high school friends (one of whom I haven't seen for more than a decade) for trivia night at The Daily Table in Ma-a. Tin has been inviting me since last year. Recently, she has been putting off her weekend travel plans because of the rising fuel prices, so we finally had the chance.

That's us to the left of the host. (Photo courtesy Trivia Nights Pinas)

I genuinely thought I wouldn't be able to answer anything, but it's surprising what random things we have stored in our brains. And we won the night! We were lucky enough that some of the questions catered more to our age group. Most youngsters would not have heard of Diana Ross, much less know what group she's in. It was overall a very enjoyable game, with a funny host, and great company!

After the game, we went to Starbucks to chat. Tin and I meet yearly, so it was mostly Jeck who gave us life updates. But the highlight every now and then... was BTS. I'm not really a fan, so they ended up trying to convince me. Just so you know, I'm not a hater. I'm more into vocal groups like BtoB, Beast, Pentagon... and my favorites have goosebump-inducing voices (Changsub, Yoseob, Jinho, Sandeul). The sole BTS song in my K-pop playlist is a ballad called "The Truth Untold" sung by their vocal line.

I got home at around 1:30 AM. That's how much we needed catching up. Next time, we'd have to meet earlier.