The TV Roundup #6

Busy, busy week. I only had time for/was in the right mood for just one show.

She Would Never Know | E12

11 and 12 are probably the most enjoyable episodes yet. Lots of OTP cuteness and kisses, quietly supportive colleagues, cute kiddos, minimal screen time for the feral fiancee, and best of all ZERO screen time for the annoying mother... And then I saw her in the previews and wah wah wah. Ugh.

I'm really liking the development of ex-bf Lee Jae-shin. I like that he's not interfering with Song-ah anymore. He's got a fuckton of his own problems and demons (like that banshee of a woman he very wisely dumped) to contend with.

I am sad for Lee Jae-shin's friend though. Lee Jae-woo seems like a good guy and a good friend. Jae-woo is rightfully grieving what looks like the death of his longest friendship. But Jae-woo has to realize their friendship had too many strings and the dynamic was too uneven, especially after he and his family forced Jae-shin to date the banshee.

This was so adorable.

Kdrama unicorn man. Where can I get me one of you?

The TV Roundup #5

So a life update. I am back to doing physical internship, but with much more favorable hours than I would've had pre-pandemic. Today marks day 5 of hospital work. Things are hectic but honestly a lot less stressful and tiring than I was expecting. Basically my anxious self overprojected the potential physical and mental toll physical internship was going to put on me. Don't get me wrong, I am still tired as a dog at the end of each day, but it could be a lot worse. The consultants, residents, and nurses were all SO NICE and supportive. That alleviated a lot of anxiety honestly. It is such a different culture here than I am used to and it fucking blows my mind. I'm so grateful that I chose to intern at this hospital. Also because of the work hours, I still have some time to keep up with the blog. For now I can see myself, posting at least the TVR each week albeit with much less shows on it.

To All The Boys: Always And Forever

This is probably the most boring of the 3 films, but it gets by on the oodles of charm of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo have individually and together. I appreciate the messaging though, and I'm glad Lara Jean chose New York, chose the path that lead to self-growth and development. For a hot minute there, she was turning into THAT girl, who gave up her dreams for her SO, and we know that rarely ever ends well. Because few people, let alone teenagers, know themselves well enough at this age to know if this was what they truly want out of life. You need to get to know and love yourself first before you can be in a healthy, loving relationship. And part of that process is opening yourself up to new experiences, new places.

Peter K also did some growing up and patched old wounds. As much as he loves LJ, I disliked that HIS vision of their future, his growth, his needs, seemed to take precedent over hers. I don't think he did it intentionally, but it felt like he made plans without considering if this was the best move for her objectively. It could've been, yes, but it wasn't. To be fair, before Lara Jean went to New York, she didn't have any solid plans or anything she wanted for herself beyond being happy with her beautiful boy. When she finally did realize that, Peter K was surprisingly mature about it. He was sad but he didn't lash out (much) or insist that she come with him. It was surprisingly less dramatic than I was expecting. A breakup was expected. Their paths were diverging, they were moving literally cross country from each other.

During this difficult time, Peter K reached out to his dad. And he gave some pretty solid advice about putting in effort and not giving up too easily on a person you loved. He has apologized for his past actions and they've formed a tentative relationship.

At the end of the day, alls well that ends well. LJ and PK get back together and agree to LDR. Will they survive the distance? Who knows. They're certainly confident. We're different, says Lara Jean. I may have rolled my eyes so hard I had to manually unstick my eyeballs from the top of my orbital sockets. Probably the the tropiest, most cliche thing in the entire movie. Really wish they hadn't added that line. Oh, well. 3/5 stars for this film. Solid, enjoyable YA fare.

Lana Condor is cute as a button.

She Would Never Know | E10

Hurray hurray they're together and we have lip contact! I am enjoying everything about this couple. They talk, they listen to each other, they consider the other person's needs. Lovely.

The director person and the designer noona are my other favorite couple. They're actually even cuter than the OTP. The director is so freakin' earnest and forward, he's like a puppy on a mission. He knows what he wants and he goes for it without hesitation. It's adorable. It says a lot that I can call him adorable because the actor played a very effective cheating asshole in My Name is Kim Samsoon and I still haven't forgiven him for it. He has that classic asshole face you love to punch. But it's all good because my gosh he's really selling madly crushing on Wang Bit-na. Can't blame him though. She purty.

Song-Ah's cheating ex - I keep forgetting his name - is surprsingly a non-issue. He has moved on essentially and busy dealing with his own demons. Lashing out at his entitled fiancee (and wow she's going full Harpy in the previews). He's still scum, but he's almost pitiful now. Almost. He needs to learn how to cut off toxic people in his life. That's his biggest problem. After a certain point, he can only blame himself for not being decisive in cutting out the cancers in his life (his dad, the obsessive fiancee then suicidal admirer). He's his biggest obstacle. 

The most annoying character on the show is Song-Ah's mom. I have zero patience for her and her pa-victim (playing victim) ways. Even more than the cheating ex and the harpy, this character is the one that inspires violent passions. I can't help but feel for Song-ah and scream my support that YES, SHE SHOULD LEAVE YOU. The mom's an emotional vampire sucking all the joy out of Song-ah's life, a dead weight pulling her into the miserable black hole the mom lives in. Their relationship is a perfect example of not liking someone you love. And it sucks.

This is my face whenever the insufferable mom shows up.

Mr. Queen | E18

I think I managed to watch half an episode before I got busy for work. I'm going to savor this and watch when I have more time.

I am going to miss them. [cries] Source: IG @zzang_cowdragon

Currently reading Frankly In Love and Rich Dad, Poor Dad

For quite a while now, my non-academic reading has been reduced to English translations of Chinese novels. My fun reading list lay ignored -- remembered only when I would add yet another book to read that I never get round to doing. Since most of my current dramas were finished and I wasn't in the mood to start a new one, I thought I'd start with the latest addition to my TBR.

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

This is the story of Frank Lee, a second generation Korean-American, who fake dates another second gen Kor-Am, so that he could "freely" date his white girlfriend. Because his parents are bigots and had already disowned his older sister for marrying a black dude. Hijinks ensue. And soon Drama.

Frank has a fun, engaging voice and what I initially thought was going be a breezy read turned out to be a much heavier, nuanced take on dating someone outside your race. I usually read very fast but I have to frequently stop and take a breather because I keep getting intrusive flashbacks of my own experience with my extended family's particular brand of low-key/not low-key racism. This when I'm not Korean nor American. I was not expecting how strongly I would identify and empathize with Frank's dilemma and conflict. 

I just finished chapter 15. Drama just arrived with a capital D. Reading chapters 1 through 12 was fraught with tension for me as I kept expecting the other shoe to drop, the ruse to fail. Without spoiling anything, something happens that kicks up the tension even more. I am excited and worried.

A sad but true state of affairs. I fight when I can, but some times, often times, it's just not worth it. Better to save my energy for the battles that count.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

I am listening to the audio book. I am slowly going through this and savoring the lessons. I listen to a section or up to a chapter a night before I go to sleep. I forget what chapter I'm on now but so far it remains very good. It has been very enlightening on many levels.

The TV Roundup #4

 

It's been a sparse TV week. I wasn't really in the mood for a new show although I did pick up a new book that was very engaging but unexpectedly hits too close to home. Lunar niú year snuck up on me and mooed its way into my consciousness. No, really. Mooing cow videos were my clue that it's the year of the Ox we're welcoming.

Mr. Queen | E17

Best episode yet. Pistons firing on all relevant cylinders: the romance, character development, even the political machinations did not suck. Color me surprised.

I love love love how comfortable the OTP are together. They don't always understand each other (him more than her), but they "get" each other. There's a lot of trust and love implied and obliquely referenced. They haven't outright said their iloveyous, but their actions speak louder than Lady Choi screaming her frustrations into the bamboo forest. It's wonderful to behold.

Sad Orabeoni is still on his dark merry path, but surprisingly hasn't completely turned his back on the Queen. I thought he was ready to go scorched Earth spurned lover but he's still scheming, protecting her in his own way. I know other people are done with him and want to punch him in the face, but my soft spot for him remains. I acknowledge my bias and don't care. His sorrowful puppy dog eyes won me over completely pretty early on. Eh. What can I say? I love what I love. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The even bigger surprise is Eui Bin Jo Hwa-jin. She finally stopped being in denial and accepted that she was losing herself, turning evil due to greed and selfishness. Then she had the self-awareness and bravery to get herself out of that situation. Gossip and reputation be damned. Brava, lady! First time I've liked and admired the ovaries on her. Now I see the woman Cheoljong fell for.

I haven't seen episode 18 yet, and don't plan to until the final two episodes are out. It's going to be a fun binge watch come Monday.

This whole scene was probably my favorite sequence in the entire show so far.

She Would Never | E08

The story has settled into a nice pace. Cheating ex seems to finally be accepting his lot in life and trying to move on. Song-ah is putting herself first and trying to heal before getting into anything new. And rightfully so for her own sake and for the sake of any future relationship she'll have. It really is just bad timing on Hyun-seung's part that he fell for and confessed to a woman who just got out of a serious relationship. (Or good timing depending on your view point? At least he confessed at the tail end of her relationship rather than when she was actively, blissfully in a relationship.) Never fear though. I have faith our cute OTP will pull through. That preview certainly has me hopeful.

Cutiepatooties.

Currently listening to Stacey Ryan

I've been listening to young jazz musician Stacey Ryan for a while now after her cover of Just The Two Of Us (delicious ear candy!) blew up. Most of her other videos are in the 5-35k range in views, with the occasional 50k and up, but I think she's poised for a major breakout. Beautiful and relaxed tone, good vocal control, musicality is 👌. Perfect music to listen to during a rainy afternoon or when you're relaxing after a long day.

She currently only has 20 songs up on her YouTube Channel but every single one is a bop. My favorite covers from her:

• Just The Two Of Us - Bill Withers, Grover Washington
• Blackbird - The Beatles
• American Boy - Estelle ft. Kanye West

How I track my monthly bills (and shameless plug)

In the olden days when we received our bills via snail mail, I would collect and file each billing statement in neatly labeled folders. Those folders are still around somewhere in my house, collecting dust as I type. I much prefer electronic bills but only a few companies offered that option until recent years. Thankfully all my billers now provide digital bill statements and convenient online payment options. It has made it much easier for me to pay my bills on time.

I then started tracking my bills on a spreadsheet. After each payment, I automatically logged it in my tracker. I thought it was just me but apparently there are lots of other people who spreadsheets everything. You can even buy ready to use tracker spreadsheets on stores like Etsy! *hint hint*

My 2019-2020 spreadsheet looked like this. I didn't just track how much and when I paid, I also put in the bill number, consumption, and which platform I used. I liked having it all on the spreadsheet so I could see all the information I wanted at a glance. It's not the cleanest or even prettiest looking tracker but it worked for me.

With 2020 being an unprecented shit show, I had time to work on my tracker and spruce it up a bit. It looks like this now. I put the overview table on top and color coded each biller company. Certain cells lit up based on the date or if I already paid so it's easier for me to see which bills are paid or unpaid. I do have calendar alerts reminding me to pay my bills but those are individually set and I don't always automatically pay. Sometimes I'm busy and defer until evening or the following day, or I may forget altogether. So it helps me when I pay for one biller, log it in the tracker, and see that I overlooked paying another biller. Very helpful trackers are.

I use this tracker (both on my laptop and my android devices) a lot so I thought maybe someone else who likes no fuss spreadsheets would like it too. I put this and the vertically stacked version of this template up on my Etsy if you want to buy the template and support me. It's PHP 100 or about USD 2.00 so it's very cheap. You don't have to of course, but it would be much appreciated it. :)

Here's a closer look. I know I'm biased but isn't it pretty? <3

The beginning of my journey towards financial freedom

A few weeks ago, bored and with nothing fun better to do, I clicked on and watched a personal finance-related video that popped up on my feed. One video turned into another, and another, and another. It was a black hole I could not and did not want to get out of. It was like I was living under a rock and I finally saw the light. These videos made me realize how bad the state of my financial health was and how little I knew about finance in general.

Both my parents are entrepreneurs who grew their business from nothing. They're quite good at it too. Not Henry Sy (SM Holdings) levels, and let's face it not very many are, but good enough to improve our family's financial status and now we're a comfortable middle class. This distinction is important because my parents both came from poor farming families. As their eldest child, I can look back and see how much our station has improved over the years --from living in an apartment and not being able to afford vacations that required air travel, to buying our first home (with a lot of help from HDMF and bank loans), my dad being able to afford a "nice" car, to my mom buying investment properties as pamana (inheritance) for her children. I am very, very fortunate. I know that and I am thankful every day.

I mention all this to illustrate that while my parents did alright for themselves, they didn't really put much emphasis on educating us, their children, about money. You could say they are street smart and business savvy but they didn't teach us those skills that are mostly instinctive to them and that they learned through trial and error. They were too busy earning a living and our duty as children was to do well in school.

My mom often told me to save, and she opened savings accounts for all her children, but she never really told us why and what for besides the vague "para may magamit ka" (so you have something to use). "For your future" was the unspoken implication.  My high school and university education weren't any help either. I went to a science high school and my university education was in the health sciences. For all intents and purposes, I had no financial education to speak of. As a young professional, I did I wanted with my income. I saved some of it, I was generous with gifts to friends and family and to myself. I spent and spent because I had no plans for my money. I didn't think to make plans.

Going back to the YouTube thing, I learned a lot about personal finance that I never knew before and that I'm still learning about. There were steps I should have and could have taken when I first started working, mistakes I made along the way that I could have avoided. I'm just glad my eyes were opened now rather than later. So following their advice, I made a plan. My personal finance journey starts here.

Financial health check

I took a close look at where I am in life and the state of my finances, my assets, and my liabilities. I am in my early 30s, recently graduated from medical school, unemployed but with no debt or liabilities thanks to my parents who graciously underwrote my tuition. I don't have to pay for anything. I don't have to worry about food or utilities. I have a small amount of savings -- a depressingly small figure when I compare it to my younger siblings. Yes, they're gainfully employed and I'm not. That's entirely beside the point. In my culture, the eldest child usually leads the way. But when I went back to school full time and my siblings graduated from university one by one and entered the work force, that dynamic reversed. My youngest brother and I often joke that he's my kuya (older brother/chin oppa to you kdrama-loving folk) who works hard to give me spending money.

Anyway, I digress. I wrote down what I had - cash, e-wallets, savings accounts, foreign currency gifted to me by relatives, and my only real liabilities, which are app subscriptions and voluntary "contributions" to health insurance and retirement fund programs by the Philippine government. I have property in my name but I don't really consider it mine. It's my mom's. I put it all on a spreadsheet I got off a free template made by a finance YouTuber. It was really helpful and gave me a good overview of my finances.

Goal setting

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" sayeth a famous Chinese proverb. And now that I knew my starting point, I could decide on a direction to take my first steps in. I thought about my financial goals. This is important because having goals will set the tone and direction of the entire plan.

• What do I want out of life? Be financially comfortable.
• What age do I want to retire? 55-60 years old. The earlier the better.
• Do I want a family/have dependents? I don't know. But I plan to take care of my parents as much as I am able to.
• Do I want to own my house? Yes, if I can afford it.
• Do I want to be a chill retiree or travel the world? Definitely travel the world if I can afford it.
• How much would be a comfortable amount to retire on? I'm still researching this. What works for others, may not work for me.
• Do I still want to be working past my retirement age? Yes, but only because I want to, not because I need to.

Making a plan

Finance resources and experts would say that, at my age, to achieve my financial goals I can be more aggressive with investing depending on my risk appetite. Caveat is I have to be somewhat financially stable and have disposable income. I am unemployed. I'm technically a postgraduate medical intern, but everything's virtual and I won't get paid (a nominal amount) unless we go back to in-person internship. It doesn't feel real. You know what I mean? I can only work with what I currently have and make semi-concrete plans.

Short- and medium-term plans:

• Make a budget and stick to it. This one's easy since I don't have many personal expenses.
• Build an emergency fund: Save X amount that I'll store in high yield savings accounts. (Digital banking is the way to go. Traditional bank returns are peanuts in comparison.)
• Capital preservation + modest growth: Set aside X amount and invest in relatively low-risk instruments with short-term horizons and money market funds. (The former is higher risk than the latter but the ROI is decent and I get my money back plus interest in 9 months. I'll hold the initial capital there to reinvest and save the dividends.)
• Build my credit score: Get a secured credit card by "holding" X amount in a savings account, then after a few months to a year, apply for a regular credit card. This is necessary because I've never had a credit card and would not be approved for one now. I grew up in a family that feared bad debt and the many horror stories of credit card debt did not help. It wasn't until a few years ago that my family as a whole started to look at credit cards more favorably. Credit cards are the easiest way to build up my credit score and potentially help me secure loans should I need it in the future.
• Capital growth and learning opportunity: Use a small amount of seed money and invest in crypto trading. The plan is to grow that small amount and reinvest any gains back into crypto and repeat cycle. I realize that I may very well lose the initial capital and that's fine. The main goal here is to get a feel for crypto and trading. Crypto is, I feel, easier to get into than stocks because of mobile wallets and lesser entry requirements.
• Diversify my investment portfolio: Study index funds, mutual funds, bonds, stocks, etc. I don't have much money to invest so I have to carefully pick promising instruments that are also within my budget.
• Generate income: I can fiddle my thumbs and rack my brain all day thinking about how to grow my savings but without steady cash flow, I won't get far. I have started plans that'll hopefully generate passive income over time however small, and I also plan to start an online shop. My youngest brother has found modest success there and it's something I can do part time even as I study for the boards.
• Pass the physician licensure exam, get a job: If I can take the licensure exam (at this point I'm not sure my batch will be allowed to due to COVID-induced problems) and if I am fortunate enough to pass on my first try, I don't know yet if I'll immediately go into hospital residency (specialty training). Right now I'm leaning towards starting immediately just because I feel like this pandemic has been one really long, stressful "vacation." I want to be gainfully employed again and have a steady stream of income. But, and this is a big but, I'm also deathly scared of contracting COVID-19 and passing it on to my family, so I'm not  averse to the idea of postponing residency and moonlighting for a while. I came to terms with the possible consequences of delaying my career development last year when I was considering postponing postgraduate internship.

Long-term plan:

• Retirement fund: Set aside X amount each month and invest in low-risk, medium to long term instruments that assure capital preservation. Right now I only have Pag-ibig MP2, which has higher yield than even digital banks AND is tax free but the capital is locked in for 5 years. The amount I invest within these 5 years will be the starting point of my retirement fund. I even made a 10-year projection on Excel assuming I could continue investing a set amount for 10 years (two investment cycles). As I earn more, the amount of money I can put in my investments will also increase. After 10 years, depending on what I gain from this plan and my then financial status, I will make a new RF plan. The goal for my RF investments is to generate enough passive income/dividends to comfortably live on after retirement.

There's my plan for now. I failed to mention figuring out what kind of investor I am, my risk appetite, and time horizon but this post is long enough. For the record, I am a moderately conservative investor. I really can't afford to be more aggressive than that. But with time (and disposable income) who knows. You'll notice I currently do not have provisions in my plans for a car, house, or even children. I know I want to set aside money for my parents too. I just figured it's too early to make those plans given the current state of my finances, so this plan will suffice for now.

Resources

There are lot of resources on the internet but these are the ones that I found particularly helpful for me as a beginner.

• Blogs and websites: https://katiescarlettneedsmoney.com/, crypto and secured credit card articles on Moneymax.
• YouTube: Thea Sy Bautista (millenial tita - her budget spreadsheet video was my gateway into this world), Nicole Alba (personal finance for beginners - she's funny!), Minority Mindset, and many more videos on individual topics. Not my favorite but I did learn a lot from them: Vince Rapisura, Rampver Financials. This video on how to read the mutual fund fact sheet was the easiest to understand. Humbled Trader for a look into day trading.
• Books (only listing the one's I'm reading/planning to read soon): Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (Very insightful. It's a long time best seller for a reason!), Increase Your Financial IQ by Robert Kiyosaki, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, Trading For A Living by Dr. Alexander Elder.
• Reddit PH invest community, specially their FAQ. There are more resources in this FAQ link sorted by topic and by medium.

Currently listening to Ukulele rock star Taimane

Her name is Taimane Gardner, a ukulele virtuoso hailing from Hawaii. Listen to her RIP that ukulele. She makes it look so easy and effortless and FUN. Excellent technique and showmanship too! There are other videos that demonstrate that even better if you can believe it. She's just an absolute joy to hear and watch in action. On her channel you'll find a good mix of classical, rock, musicals, pop songs, and her own music. I've already added her to the roster of YouTube music channels I listen to regularly. The video below was my introduction to her music: Carmen meets Phantom of The Opera but rock star. Enjoy!

Cute new game alert! "Nonogram Mon"

Recently discovered this cute new puzzle game. Griddler games are kind of like Minesweeper, where you click squares to reveal the "safe" squares and avoid the "mines." This particular Griddler game is called Nonogram Mon. Each correct square reveals a small portion of a pixelated picture and you have 9 lives/chances per puzzle to make mistakes. The game is free with unobtrusive ad banners on the bottom edge of the screen and a 30-second video that plays after each successfully completed puzzle. You can choose to upgrade to ad-free play for PHP 155 plus tax.

Pro tip for Philippine users: Use GCash to pay instead of your credit or debit card and buy app upgrades/in-game items tax-free. This applies to any purchase on the Google Play App Store in my experience. (Can you tell I've wasted spent quite a bit of money on in-app purchases?)

P.S. I'm not shilling for Google, GCash, or the company behind Nonogram btw. I'm just a girl with a phone and e-wallet funds I'm trying not to spend.

The TV Roundup #3

Mr. Queen | E16

Lots of amusing things in the last 2 episodes.

1. The eunuch pissing his pants at the littlest non-threatening things the king says. Spineless spy is feeling very guilty.
2. The "sexy times" music that plays whenever SoBong and Cheoljong have a heated moment is HILARIOUS. Imma find that song and add it to my kdrama OST playlist.
3. The Three Musketeers thing the king's got going with his trusted left and right hand.
4. On the opposite end, we've got the Queen and her ladies maids channeling the Three Stooges. That "crying" gambling scene was a hoot.

I still dont give a damn about the palace machinations although I do find Sad Orabeoni's political savvy very sexy. And with Eui Bin shedding her white lotus* mask in front of the King, I wonder if after "finding herself" she'll go back to being the flawed but overall good woman the King fell in love with. She hasn't done anything iredeemable yet. Sure she almost got the Queen killed, but the King himself once tried to off the Queen and he received forgiveness. Or will she persist being a white lotus (trying to fool others AND herself that she's not a selfish bitch) or perhaps embrace the dark side she so clearly has?

*'White lotus' 白莲花 (bái lián huā) – a person, typically female, who appears pure as a white lotus, but her true nature is the opposite. (definition adapted from Written Chinese)

No white lotus here. Just a thorny black rose out to prick anyone who dares harm her. Image source: MDL.

She Would Never Know | E06

I binged 5 episodes last weekend and now that I'm all caught up, I'm sad. This is the kind of show that's perfect for mindless, feel good binge-watching. There isn't much plot. It's basically two incredibly good-looking people falling in love and navigating the problems that arise from work place romance and a cheating ex who also happens to be their boss. It's the perfect vehicle to launch Rowoon to A-list romantic leading man status. Emphasis on man, because while high school romance Extraordinary You was his first big break in the acting scene, She Would Never Know is the one that I think is going to take him to the next level. Boy got helluva lot hotter playing a namja. Rowoon has natural charm and presence on screen. He's still quite green, but he's actually not a terrible actor all things considered. He's already improved some since his first acting foray. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Won Jin-ah I have no complaints about. This is the first project I've seen her in. The more I see her, the more attractive I find her. She has a peaceful elegance about her and I am digging that energy and the quiet dignity with which she portrays Song-ah. She and Rowoon have cute chemistry together and that's already a win my book.

Ship ship ship! Gif source: The Qoo.

Run On | E16 Finale

The ending was rather anticlimactic even for a relatively low stakes show. This show is like a journey where I enjoyed the process more than the destination/ending. I'm glad it ended well and am thankful for the comfort it gave me. I'm also really glad we have couples who frickin communicate (such a rarity in kdramaland) and the main couple in particular are so sweet together and make a lot of effort to cherish and understand the other. Couple goals!

The other OTP...ended as I expected them to. Oh well. At least I got several weeks of watching Soo-young be awesome.

Zoey's Extraordinary Play list | E05

I watched episodes 3-5 over the course of 2 days. Still charming and winsome. Episode 4 was by far my favorite of the season for giving me Simon absolutely slaying Juice by Lizzo and Alice Lee singing. I don't even remember what she sang. I just remember stopping whatever I was doing with my hands and closing my eyes to enjoy her lovely singing.

Can you blame Emily (Alice Lee) for being Team Simon? Lol.

My Cooking Dash Daily Goals Cheat Sheet

I wrote the original post a month ago. When I was writing the intro, I did my due diligence and found out that the OG list is back but on a different site. A dilemma for me. I didn't want to take away any traffic from them when they helped me so much with my game play and my current list would not have been possible if I didn’t have their data to build on anyway. On the other hand, I felt it was a shame for the work I had put in to go to waste. I couldn't decide at the time so I shelved this until I could make a decision. Ultimately, I chose not to post my version since the OG list worked just fine -- it just wasn't tailored to my use case. I'm sharing the original post I wrote but removed the Cheat Sheet portion. Instead I added a screenshot of the word doc I use so you have an idea what it looks like. The list still gets updated occasionally but it'll be kept for private use.

OG Cooking Dash Daily Goals Cheat Sheet here.

--- Original post below ---

Confession: I am a Cooking Dash junkie. Or maybe junkie isn't the right word. Fanatic? Avid player? Loyal customer?

I've been playing the Cooking Dash reboot since its launch in 2016. I enjoy it because it allows me to disengage and focus on the game without requiring too many brain cells. Even when school got really busy, I would play the game during my break times. I’ve long since finished all the restaurants/shows but I still play the game from time to time to collect gold. I have a tendency towards completism, so of course I want to purchase all the auto chefs, outfits, and shop upgrades. 

When I first began playing the game regularly, I got frustrated having to keep searching for specific episodes to achieve the daily goals so I started a list. Years later I realized other people probably did the same and already did all the finger work. I searched good ol’ internet and there it was: my holy grail. 

My old list was left in the dust and rarely updated, and I became a frequent visitor of that website until May 2020 WHEN IT SUDDENLY WENT POOF. Gone! Disappeared! I was dismayed. After I spent days doing it the old-fashioned way and occasionally using my lackluster list, I tried my luck on the internet, and nope it's still gone. But I did stumble on a community forum where one kind commenter linked the dead site’s Web Archive. I copied the info onto a word document and have since added info from my old list, reformatted, edited, and personalized it for my own ease of use. Which I am now sharing to you. Because sharing is caring! This is not an exhaustive list and it is far from complete. I still play the game regularly but I don't update my list every time. I promise to do better and will update *this* posted list whenever I can. 

Before you jump into the list, a quick primer. Restaurants and recipes are listed alphabetically. The 3-digit numbers refer to season and episode, as one sometimes does when referring to multi-season TV shows. Numbers in parenthesis refer to number of recipe appearances. 

Example: Candied Brain - 312 (5x) means Candied Brain appears 5x in Season 3 episode 12 of Adventurous eats. 

P.S. 

Don't judge me too hard. I had months of pandemic quarantine downtime and anxiety-driven procrastination to work on this (instead of, yunno, something actually productive like studying). XD