October 2025 Reflections
This month I strongly felt the magnetic presence of Libra, as she waltzed in and set the harvest table with a glorious hodgepodge of tasteful foods, amazing music, and invited to it were heavenly human beings. Soo Libra!!!
People
We started October with crazy news. Jane Goodall had passed on October 1, 2025. What an amazing woman to have graced our earth, huh? It was a privilege to have her feet on this planet, fighting with elegance to protect it. A fucking icon.
I also appreciated the new and existing people in my life this month:
My dear friends I met in Victoria, Douglas and Fran. I love crossing paths with wonderful souls. Video on this incoming..
My best friend. I appreciate her for checking in on me, making the time to chat with me on the phone for hours on end, making sure I was happy and just checking in on each other. These are the type of people that truly matter in life.
Billie Eilish closed out October with a nice little full circle moment from Jane Goodall. I found her delivery in her speech PERFECT. We love women who put their money where their mouth is.
Music
Libra Season in October graced us with harmony, beauty, and sparkles. And of course, it just so happened that the best music came pouring out this month.
Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” album released on October 3, 2025
I’m not a Swiftie…but I think I liked this album the most by far. I really enjoyed the writing in her songs here! Here I note my favourites:
Honey - Really cute song that I had on repeat while biking around Victoria. It represented my feelings to Victoria. We were each other’s sweethearts. For the first time, I felt so incredibly seen by a city.
Father Figure - I think I resonated with these lyrics the most. Damn.. the things I want to say but can’t. Isn’t it always great when an artist has the balls to release a song saying it all for you? Cathartic as heckkk.
“You know, you remind me of a younger me, I saw potential” - Daaaammmmmn, I fucking love this line. The “You know” is crucial. It just wouldn’t work without it. Every time I hear this line I can see the salt-and-pepper haired man in a luxe grey suit, tailor fitted perfectly to the cuffs, back turned to his younger protégé sitting on his velvet sofa, as he fixes himself a dark whiskey by his golden bar cart. Ever so nonchalantly he chuckles, “You know, you remind me of a younger me.” DAAAMMN.
A note I left for myself in my notes the first time I listened to this song: “I feel Taylor’s big throbbing dick in this song. And I’m all here for it.”
“Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled.” The way this song made me feel..it reminded myself why it’s so great to make my own money instead of being a sugar baby..it’s that I can resonate with songs like this. So much raw feminine warrior power in the song, and when you make your own money, these kinds of lyrics hit deep within your soul, in ways that wouldn’t be able to reach someone who relied on their man for money—no hate.
In a song that is about her big dick, I love the beautiful high-pitched angelic voice “leave it with me”. I love this particular texture in songs about badass female energy sung in a cute-sexy, melodic way. Other examples: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Good Graces” and Doechii’s “Slide”
Other songs I liked: Actually Romantic, Eldest Daughter, Wishlist, The Life of a Showgirl
Trade L’s “WHEN U TIPSY” album released on October 6, 2025
Okay so don’t you love it when that cute little artist you discovered years ago turns of legal age and now their lyrics are all about letting loose and having fun? I love that for them (also me being super unc right now). No, but seriously, it always puts me back to a time when I too drank copious amounts of liquor at parties and bars, got a little baddie, and just had fun. I love that there are still parts of Gen Z living it—savour that while you can, until the generation after that completely forfeits alcohol and toxicity..lame!!!
I remember when Trade L first joined H1ghr Music as the maknae of the group. He still had his baby fat and was such a cute little talented kid. He was so quiet and tame amongst the big dogs.. Now he’s talking about kissing girls dirty in the backseat of a taxi. They grow so fast!!! 🥹
Favourite songs:
Miss Cali - Fun song about Trade L admiring an insta baddie who’s probably a second gen Asian or some fine shyt… Especially fun to listen to if you imagine the song is talking about you. Yeah, I love living delusionally, what about it?
SAY YES - This and TAXI compete for first place in my heart. I’ve played these songs on constant repeat all of October.
TAXI (feat. Sik-K) - “Kiss me 하루 종일 아주 더럽게” is crazyyyyyyyyy and I’m all here for it. Truly, just for one day I’d love to be in the shoes of a famous rapper who has money and fame to flex, just ripening into the legal age to go crazy on the liquor at parties, with girls flocking in, and then using those experiences to inspire the audacity to make a song about kissing girls dirty. I’m here for it, and by the way, BEAUTIFUL melody.
Didn’t like:
SEOULIN’ (feat. The Quiett)…Only loved the first half (Trade L’s part). Then it went downhill when someone’s part, *cough*, entered the scene..I’m sorry but not all sunbaes are created equally and I think it’s time for someone to hang their stripes..C’mon man..The youngin’s can take it from here..we really don’t need every old-school sunbae on an album
I hate to sound like a sound engineer who knows how to produce music but I have to applaud the layers and craftsmanship that went into the album:"
The songs are all “connected”, especially the first three. Each song fades out with a melody similar to that of the next, making the transitions seamless and almost like a DJ set.
I’ve heard that tune in the beginning of SAY YES somewhere.. it sounds so familiar. Sounds like something an old Drake song would have. Someone needs to help me figure this out!!!
TAXI - 2:55 where it uses the airpod transparency transition is utterly genius and I mean that with all my heart. These days, I find that it’s more common to use old-school soundbites (which I love!), but it’s INNOVATIVE when you use a soundbite representative of the current time, leaving a nice signature of the era today
Auntie Me cheering on the 21-year-old rapper in the stu celebrating his demon era:
T-Pain’s “Club Husband” single released on October 17, 2025
T-Pain, we missed you and I’m so glad you came back and gifted us this song just for shits and giggles.
As someone who is currently living in her 2000’s era and refuses to leave even when it’ll no longer be trendy anymore..this is a fantastic time for T-Pain to hit us back.
As a YouTube comment on the music video said,”T-Pain heals my dead millenial heart” and yes, he did singlehandedly carry 2010
Loved the music video and dance as much as the song. Being a Libra himself, it was a godly time to release this in October.
Food
Organic concord grapes - Extremely niche but I bought 3 pounds of organic concord grapes grown from someone’s home in Victoria. I found the ad on Facebook marketplace. It was not only a beautiful bike ride to pick them up, their house and garden was a gorgeous sight, and the grapes were amazing. It tastes even better knowing I paid the price you would get for just 1 pound at the farmer’s market. This is probably what “fruits of one’s labours” tastes like—my labour being tracking this ad down on Facebook marketplace.
Cowichan Station Creamery - I found this cheese business at the farmer’s market in Victoria. They make amazing cheese. One of the few items I bought more of to bring back home. They even have a QR code on the packaging where you scan it to see the pictures and fun descriptions of the cows that made the cheese. I love those fun little touches! The cows seem loved and well cared for.
Udon noodles + 우삼겹 (thinly sliced tender beef) + bok choy - A really quick simple meal that fills the soul. You can literally use any type of seasoning you’ve got around the pantry. I generally go for light soy sauce, sesame oil, gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes), fish sauce, sugar, and whatever seasoning/sauces I have lying around at the time!
Any variation of this holy trinity of protein + carbs + veggies works for me.
Sometimes I do steak though it’s not my favourite (thinly sliced tender beef all the way!), sometimes I use flat rice noodles instead of udon as you’ll see in the photos!!
Hobbies
Adobe Lightroom - It’s been fun playing around with Lightroom for photo and video colour-grading. And by that I mean picking the existing presets most of the time. Hey, baby steps!!
eBay..I got a new camera lens for the cheapest price I could get and it came lightning fast. I also purchased some purses and accessories..yeah, I kinda went on a spree this month and I want to leave this hobby behind in October. That, or I need to freeze my credit card for the rest of the year..until my birthday comes in which case I’ll use that as an excuse to go back to going feral.
Kim Thai’s vlogs - I’ve loved her for years and I recently came back around and caught up on all her vlogs I missed the past few months. Kim Thai is one of my favourite vloggers and she brings a nice, cozy, homey vibe to your presence. I feel my nervous system appreciating her a lot. https://www.youtube.com/@KimThai
Books
“Island” by Aldous Huxley
I started the month with this book and ended it on my flight back home (Oct 31, the very last day of October). It took a lot longer than I thought. Why? Because I was dreading it.
By the way, this novel is where the “lightly, child” quote comes from. Surprised I just got around to reading it? Same. I think I still like the quote more than the book itself.
I rate this book a 2.8/5
Conceptually, I loved it, and there are themes that will stick with me forever I think. However, I absolutely cannot get through Huxley’s prose. It’s too verbose and flowery for me.
However, he does a fun little trick where despite the insufferable writing, his novels somehow get ingrained into you for the rest of eternity. Their themes and mandalas appear to you once in a while. And that is an incredibly cool magic trick for an author to pull off.
I plan on writing a separate article on this book. It’s a bit down on my list, but I’ll get to it eventually!
Fashion
Blue Jays hats
Yeah I haven’t watched a single game. I just rock these hats because I love being patriotic. I’m in my Canadian patriotism era. Planning to write a whole love letter to Canada hopefully by the end of this year.
Vintage Coach bags
I’ve been OBSESSED. I bought two second-hand vintage Coach bags this month. One of them in the classic signature print, because as I said, I’m in my y2k era and I’m only sinking deeper and deeper into it.
I’ve been following @cyberkissvintage on instagram and whenever she posts a slew of Coach bag stories in succession, it feels like I’m doing a line of cocaine. I don’t know what it is, but there’s a crazy dopamine rush I get when I watch them.
Quotes
“Writing is defined as “a conversation with no one and yet with everyone.””
- Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
“Nothing short of everything will really do”
- Aldous Huxley, Island
