My Journey to 500 (Pt.I)

I’m aware of the hypocrisy that this kind of movement/lifestyle has been receiving. And I know some of you might even think I’m doing this because I’m normcore/hipster.

No. I’m doing this because of only one reason, and that is to sleep longer on a weekday.

For those of you who know me, I only get to sleep for 5hrs from Monday to Friday  – that’s 3hrs less than what medical professionals have prescribed to be healthy. I wake up at 4:15am and leave the house at 4:45am so I won’t get stuck in traffic. My travel time will be 2x longer if I leave anytime after 5:30. I also don’t like being late, that’s why I’d rather be the one opening the office with the security guard than be useless on the road.

Over the years, I have improved on my sleep sched by setting my prep time on hyperlapse mode. I’m pretty confident that I might be part of the top 5% of women who only takes a maximum of 30mins to prepare for work. I’ve mastered the art of taking a bath for just 10 minutes, but what really slows me down is my “dress up” time. I’ve improved on this aspect by keeping my wardrobe in just three colors – black, white, and gray. But still, I can’t be faster than 20mins because of how much I take time deciding and looking for what to wear in my already small closet.

My shitty sleep schedule has taken a toll on my body – I feel it every day. And I’m not getting any younger. I see how this has severely affected my weight, metabolism, my level of concentration, and so much more. Every hour of sleep I miss means an hour less from my total lifetime – I want to live longer and enjoy life more, thus this project.

I will call this my #Journeyto500 as I’m planning to own only 500 things in my life – including my car, toys, books, shoes, underwear, clothes, toothbrush, bags, luggage, toiletries, etc. Basically, everything I have should be able to fit in my 2ft x 6.5ft x 3ft cabinet.

I’m planning to do this purge in 3 phases – 1st would be for my wardrobe, 2nd for my shoes (huhuhuhuhuhuhuhu I caaaaan’t), and 3rd for the rest of my stuff (books, toys, CDs, and other miscellaneous stuff).

First off, as mentioned, will be my wardrobe. I took a photo of my closet pre-purge. As you see, I already don’t have much as I’ve been incrementally letting go of stuff for the past years. It was just yesterday that I’ve finally had the courage (and time) to decrease my wardrobe by 50%.

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I have ~400 items in my closet. My goal is to half it by the end of this purging session.

I thought of only 3 things while I was removing items in my closet:

  1. There should only be one color theme so it’s easier to mix and match pieces. Obviously, my main color theme will be grayscale, aka white, gray, and black. There will be exceptions though wherein I’ll have to leave bright-colored items like orange because my job calls for me to wear my brand colors whenever there are events. Other than those plains and stripes, you won’t see any floral/hawaiian/aztec prints in my wardrobe. I used to wear those all the time, but not anymore now. I want to sleep longer.
  2. There should only be classic-cut pieces. This means no off-shoulders, fringes, plunging necklines, etc. Aside from the fact that I’m a “winter dresser” in a tropical country, I’ve decided that leaving out those adventurous pabebe clothes will give me less time to think if I’m showing too much skin or whatever.
  3. The items should look professional enough for the office, respectable enough for a presentation in business school, and casual enough for a weekend walwalan in Black Market. I hate bringing extra clothes whenever I have to go to multiple events in a day. To address this, I’ve decided to stick to my white/black/gray v-necks or even my band/festival shirts and partnering it with cardigans/blazers and signature black skinny jeans. It’ll be easy to transition from formal to casual as I only have one piece to put on/remove.

Taking these 3 things into consideration, I was able to trim down my closet from 390 items to just 175. I’M SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Here’s what’s left:

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I had the hardest time letting go of my underwear because yeah – I wouldn’t feel clean enough if I see myself wearing the same thing every week. Sorry TMI – but I’ll totally work on this aspect. But yes. I’m down to just 175 items in my wardrobe from a *whopping* 390. This is how it looks like now:

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I freed up almost 70% of the clothes hangers, 100# of the drawers, 25% of my bottom shelves. It’s so fre$h and so clean, clean!

While I was going through this process, I can’t help but feel so light and free. Now that my closet is almost empty (and I’m planning to keep it this way, and probably even purge more now that I get to assess which pieces I use most often), I feel it will be finally easier for me to decide what to wear since I basically have not much choice anyway. Financially, I already feel it’ll be a huge help for me to control my Zalora addiction as it will force me to thoroughly assess first if that item I’m eyeing fits the 3-point criteria I set early on.

So there. I’m finally done with Phase 1. Next phase – and I feel this will be an emotional one – is to trim down my shoe closet. I’m already crying inside, but if it means getting an additional hour of sleep for me and more savings for me, then game on.

Babayuuuu.

 

Come Close

Try and let you go but still I suffer. It’s a danger I could never dare.

Linadrena – According To You

I came across this track by Linadrena on Twitter when one of my followers recommended me to listen to it. I have to admit, this genre wasn’t my normal go-to music whenever I review songs. But I had to give it a try because clearly, I had to be open to other genres if I want to legitimately call myself a music writer/blogger.

When I first listened to it, it automatically struck me as too avante-garde for my taste. I’ve always been used to the cheery, dancey, electropop sound. It was the opposite of what I normally listen to – melancholic, dark. I had to listen to it quite a few time for me to better understand what it’s all about.

A deeper and more in-depth listening to the song made me realize that it’s very well thought of and beautifully made. I liked the way the song was structured  – the layering of all the piano arpeggios, guitar riffs, drum and basslines, the synths, and the eclectic and unique singing was so one-of-a-kind it’s actually hard to compare it to any other song I’ve encountered. This song is actually something I’d listen to during those times when I just want to be left alone with my thoughts on a rainy Sunday night.

If you’re a fan of Woodkid, I’m sure you’re going to like Linadrena’s music. Check out his latest single All Your Dreams as well as his other stuff here.

Kaytranada – 99.9%

Kaytranada has been one of the main staples of my iPod. I have been a fan since his remix of Janet Jackson’s If. Other than that, I have always anticipated his numerous Boiler Room sets to check what he has been up to so I can download and include his new stuff in my playlists.

He launched his album 99.9% just a few days ago, and I strongly believe it’s actually one of the best dance releases for the month. The perfect blend of house, hip hop, R&B, soul, funk, and electro in his songs just makes his album very easy to like and listen to. His collaboration with diverse musicians like Vic Mensa, AlunaGeorge, Craig David, Badbadnotgood, Little Dragon, and Anderson .Paak (my breakout artist for 2016) just shows what he’s capable of doing. He can be both diverse and approachable at the same time, synthesizing so many  genres in one album without alienating current and new listeners.

Personally, the ultimate standout would be You’re the One feat. The Internet’s Syd. The song is just plain sexy and sultry, it’s something you’d want to dance to on a lazy Sunday morning in your pajamas.

99.9% is is a electro-discotheque masterpiece – it’s something anyone would totally listen to anytime of the day. I’d recommend buying his album as all tracks will definitely end up in any classic dance playlists this year. I’m giving this album 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

Follow Kaytra on Songkick to know where his next gigs will be.

3rd Most Viewed Writer

I never thought this would happen, but in a span of only ~3 days, I’ve become the 3rd most viewed writer on Quora about Independent Music!!!!!

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Apologies if I’m e-screaming like a child here, but I still cannot believe it! My boyfriend just told me to check it out because it’d be great way for me to learn more and share my knowledge on the topics I’m passionate about. True enough, it has helped me big time. I get to interact with people who share the same thirst for music and marketing  as me. While at the same time, it is also good way to validate if my knowledge about these stuff actually make sense and good enough to serve as tips/tricks for people who know little about my field.

This is just a start for me. My next step would be more on networking. I hope this will enable me to finally realize my dream of teaching and helping indie musicians become more business-minded on their own. Crossing my fingers (and toes, even)!

Outblack – How Hard It Is (feat. Lenparrot)

A friend recommended me to check this song out as it is a side project of one the artists I’ve been a fan of for so long. I won’t disclose who that artist is as I don’t want to ignite initial biases on his first release. To be honest, I cannot help but compare it from his original works. But I tried my best to be objective in terms of giving feedback so that it’d be useful when it comes to future releases.

Putting on my neutral hat now, I believe this is a promising track as it perfectly resembles the overall vibe of one of my favorite albums of all time – College’s Northern Council. It has that dark electowave sound that completely stands out from the clutter of party-wave sounds that every one has been always used to. Moreover, one will instantly notice that it is well thought of – the sequence of sounds has a cadence structure and feel to it, starting from the bells, to the synth claps, and then triad chords played just before the chorus. I just felt the build up that the artist was trying to achieve fell short. Personally, the climax was not that impactful as it was only merely limited to the chorus and towards the end of the song already. I was expecting something more than that – probably a bridge, a climb or something to that effect.

Again, I still feel there is so much potential on this song.  It just needs a little more tweaking, but ultimately, I’m already a fan. Cannot wait to hear more of his stuff.

Santorini Dreams

There ain’t no way to rush this if we’re doing it right.

Snakehips feat. Malika – Falling

And the guys have done it again. Just a few weeks after releasing my summer fave Money On Me featuring Anderson .Paak, Snakehips came up with yet another gem of a track featuring Malika, entitled “Falling”. This is included in the 4-track EP they launched last April 15th named after the Tinashe and Chance the Rapper song, All My Friends.

What I love most about this song is that they definitely went old school R&B/Hip Hop by making use of jazzy horn hooks in the background. Malika made it even more brilliant – sexily and soulfully belting out lyrics focusing on the joys of finding new love. Despite going back to basics, Snakehips still made sure they put in their signature electro-hop flavor by properly placing groovy bass lines all throughout the song.

You can order Snakehips’ EP here, catch them in their other shows (aside from Coachella) by following them on Songkick. Or just be updated with all new related to the duo by liking their Facebook page.