mikaylamahan

[mikaylamahan]

Day 30 of 30

Saturday 10.9.21

I started the day with a few cups of coffee and some studying. Later in the morning, I went to my local coffee shop called Mocha Monkey, and I got a sandwich. My mom put up our Halloween spider decoration. I watched some basketball and listened to "chill lofi study beats" and my "fall 2021" playlist.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 29 of 30

Friday 10.8.21

Another day, another morning cup of coffee...and another long study session. Nothing much happened today, I just tried to get as much school work done as I could. I listened to "chill lofi study beats" while I studied. Charlie was my study buddy yet again; he's not a very helpful study buddy but he makes up for it by being cute.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 28 of 30

Thursday 10.7.21

I started my day with coffee and yoga yet again. Then, I headed to campus for the first time in over a week! I met up with a classmate at the Graduate Hotel and studied all morning until 2:30. Then, I walked to the campus connector bus stop to head to St. Paul campus a little early. I had some crackers on my walk to the bus stop. I listened to “chill lofi study beats” and “fall 2021” throughout the whole day, depending on if I was studying or travelling (driving/walking).

[mikaylamahan]

Day 27 of 30

Wednesday 10.6.21

I had some coffee this morning, did some yoga, and got started on another day full of schoolwork. I don’t have any classes on Wednesdays, which is really nice. Later in the morning, I wanted a little more caffeine, and I decided to try making my own chai tea latte (pictured). It was actually really good and I’m definitely going to be making that more often; its way cheaper than Starbucks. Right after I made that, I thought I could take a picture of my desk setup as my daily blog photo, since that’s where I spent most of my day. Of course, Charlie had to jump on my desk while I took it (and jumped off as soon as I was done). Maybe he’s so used to being in the blog that he thought it was his queue to jump in the picture.

I listened to “chill lofi study beats” all day long. Literally.

Later, I watched more of the Squid Game…why? I’m not sure. Am I going to keep watching it? Probably. It’s kind of disturbing but they also do a good job in developing the characters so I am now interested in their lives.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 26 of 30

Tuesday 10.5.21

While I was drinking my daily morning cup of coffee, I got started on schoolwork. I had some classes and some meetings today, so I just attended those and did schoolwork in between. As per usual, I listened to “chill lofi study beats“ while I studied.

In the morning, there was a hornet on my screen, so I decided to try to take a close up picture of it because it looks so cool. Of course, the screen got in the way, but I still think it’s cool. His face is kind of scary.

Later in the afternoon, I played Spotify’s “Mellow Bars”, because I wanted some more mellow music but I didn’t want to play any of my music…I wanted to switch it up. But then in the evening, I listened to my “fall 2021” playlist, which isn’t mellow. I watched the first episode of the Squid Game and…oh my. I don’t usually watch TV shows or movies, but I decided to give this one a try since it’s been so popular. It is VERY intense. Yikes.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 25 of 30

Monday 10.4.21

Yet again, I started the day with some coffee. I was trying out this app called Greg this morning, which is for managing your plant and getting reminders to water it. I didn’t end up keeping the app on my phone because it costs money to add more than one plant…probably because it learns the more you use it and it’s able to identify the plants just by taking a picture of it. But, the only pictures I have today are these screenshots I took of the app; as a UX designer, I am always paying attention to app interfaces and I thought this one was pretty cute.

The entire rest of the day I did schoolwork. Non-stop. I listened to some “chill lofi study beats” and “fall 2021” as well. Then I watched Cody Ko on YouTube.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 24 of 30

Sunday 10.3.21

I started off the day with a cup of coffee, as usual. My quarantine was officially over today, and I was craving banana bread, so I made some! It was delicious. I did some homework and watched some football. I listened to a new playlist I made called "fall 2021" that has some new music that I like because I'm really sick of my "2021" playlist. I’m really grateful that (somehow) nobody in my life got COVID from me. Everyone tested negative, which blows my mind but again, I’m so grateful.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 23 of 30

Saturday 10.2.21

This morning, I had some coffee and did some homework. I cleaned my room because I've been in quarantine all week and I knew it would feel refreshing to have everything cleaned. I listened to my “fall 2021” playlist while I cleaned. My image today is of Charlie hanging out in the laundry baskets that just had my clean laundry that I put away while cleaning. I put the Gopher game on at noon, and continued to work on homework. My mom made meatloaf, which I ate for lunch. I didn't listen to any other music all day for some reason. I did homework and watched sports the rest of the day.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 22 of 30

Friday 10.1.21

It's October! I had coffee this morning, did some yoga and read a little of this book I was reading before the semester started called 101 Essays to Change the Way you Think. I really like the book, but I am so so bad at making time for myself to enjoy any hobbies when I'm in school. It feels like there just isn't enough time, and maybe there isn't most of the time, but I could make time here and there.

I got started on homework and that's all I did all day...again. It feels like I could do homework all day everyday and still have endless amounts of homework to do. That's what gives me anxiety and stresses me out like nothing else. But, I've really been trying everything I can to manage that stress and change my mindset. So, today I tried to take it easy and just stay present in what I was working on rather than stressing about other things I had to do.

I took a fat nap in the afternoon, which I never do. They usually just kill my motivation for the day, and this one wasn't much different. Then I spent an hour watching YouTube videos, which I also usually don't do during the day.

I listened to quite a bit of random music today, because I was doing some research on my collection project for this class and I was looking into what other people have developed using the Spotify API. It was inspiring and it made me excited!

[mikaylamahan]

Day 21 of 30

Thursday 9.30.21

This morning started with some coffee. No meditation or yoga; I figured I could do it after working on some school work. I focus best in the morning, so I've been thinking about incorporating my yoga and meditation throughout the day when I'm home to break up the day, rather than delaying the start of my day to do them. But, I also find it hard to give myself breaks once I get started on school work for the day. The sun was beautiful shining through the trees this morning. I'm wanted to be a little more creative with my pictures today instead of just using Charlie as my model.

After studying all day for the last four days, my lower was super stiff and I was literally craving to go for a walk to move my body. I thought this would also be a great opportunity to get another picture. I live in a pretty small town and I walked around an area that didn't have any people, so I didn't expose anyone. It was pretty nice; there were some big machines working on the land next to me, but it didn't bother me. There were also an unbelievable amount of geese chilling at the pond, who seemed a little confused to see me. During my walk, I listened to a podcast episode from the podcast Hidden Brain, which is about the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior.

Later, I listened to a new release from Joyner Lucas and J. Cole called "Your Heart," and I really like it, so I added it to my playlist. I finished the night with some Cody Ko on YouTube.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 20 of 30

Wednesday 9.29.21

Started the day with some coffee, meditation, and yoga (big surprise). Then, I had to start preparing for the career fair that was today. I soon realized I didn't want to invest my time in researching each company only to talk to them for 10 minutes and probably get nothing out of it. I went to the first one on one, and she didn't ask a single thing about me. She just talked about the company. So instead, I spent all day working on my website portfolio. I always put it off for some reason, but I really need to have something that's at least "finished" so I can show someone if I need to. I enjoyed taking a break from school work and just working on my portfolio, because it reminded me of the bigger picture and the reason I'm doing all this school work in the first place. It also showed me that as my senior year progresses, everything is falling into place. I get anxious about the unknowns of the future and feeling like an imposter in my field, but I'm slowly becoming the person I need to be as a professional in the field and that's exciting.

I literally worked on it until I needed to go to sleep, and then I took this picture of Charlie. I watched a few YouTube videos on productivity because I needed some inspiration for managing my workload to help with the unnecessary amount of stress I always feel. Then, I went to bed.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 19 of 30

Tuesday 9.28.21

After having some coffee, meditating, and doing yoga, I started my busy day of classes and studying. I did this all day long. Interestingly, I didn't listen to any music until the evening. I was just really focused on my school work and I really didn't care to listen to any music when I thought about it. Since I'm in quarantine, I don't have a lot of interesting things to take pictures of right now. But, anyone who has a pet knows that you can never take too many pictures of them. So, Charlie gets photographed most days. I mean, he really is a huge part of my day while in quarantine because he just stays right by my side all day and he's so cute so I can't forget he's there. Later in the evening, I listen to my "brb" playlist which just has really chill, kind of sad songs because I was just so tired and it was relaxing. Then, I watched some Cody Ko on YouTube and went to sleep.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 18 of 30

Monday 9.27.21

I started my day off with coffee and meditation. As my meditation ended, I received a text that I am positive for COVID-19. This was quite a surprise, as the doctor really didn't think my symptoms were COVID-related, and I am vaccinated. It is quite a bummer, but I'm grateful that I am not too sick. I planned to stay home today anyway, as my only class was on Zoom and I needed to study the rest of the day. Since the weather was unbelievably beautiful (again), I figured I'd study outside in my backyard. My cat, Charlie, was super helpful while I studied. I had some noodles with chicken broth for lunch. I listened to "chill lofi study beats" while I studied.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 17 of 30

Sunday 9.26.21

I started off my day with a trip to urgent care because my tonsils are so swollen and painful; even my eyelids are swollen! Yesterday, I figured I would be calling an ear/nose/throat doctor on Monday to make an appointment, but this morning I realized it was too painful and unbearable to wait another day. I tested negative for strep, so they said it is likely some other infection and gave me some steroids and antibiotics. They said it doesn't look like COVID-19, but I got a test done just for peace of mind. When I got home, I had some noodles in chicken broth, as well as a little more of that chocolate cake my mom made. I placed an order for Drive Up at Target, as I've been running out of necessities left and right but have been putting off going to the store. I worked on some homework, doing the best I could while not feeling well. I made some Annie's white cheddar mac and cheese for dinner and continued to work on homework.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 16 of 30

Saturday 9.25.21

This morning, I got Mcdonald's for breakfast. I got a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle with a hasbrown and a mocha frappé. It was a lot of sugar for me. My boyfriend and I watched the Gopher's homecoming game on TV, which was hard to watch because they weren't playing great. We played some darts, because I have a dart board at my house. I never use it, but I would like to use it more. It's one of those things that you get used to having around and you lose your appreciation for it. I ate a turkey burger that my mom made for lunch, with onions, lettuce, ketchup and mayo on it. I ate it out on the deck to enjoy some vitamin D, because the weather was so so beautiful. She also made some chocolate cake, which I enjoyed after my burger. I appreciate her cooking/baking so much. I really didn't do a whole lot today, because I still am not feeling well. My cat, Charlie, didn't do much either; he took a nice nap, laying on all of his toys.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 15 of 30

Friday 9.24.21

This morning, I went and got some coffee from the gas station. Then, I studied for my statistics exam, which I took at 11am. Right before the exam, I had some Hippeas, which are white cheddar chickpea puffs. They look like puffy cheetos. I absolutely love anything made from chickpeas so I think they're really good. Then, I listened to "The Melodic Blue," Baby Keem's new album in the car. Around 4pm, I had a late lunch; I ate some tortas that my boyfriend's mom made. I relaxed most of the afternoon, as I wasn't feeling too great. My mom bought me a hat that she said reminded her of me because of the light pink color; I am always drawn to that color. That was really sweet of her. I had Noodles & Co. for dinner. I tried the Roasted Garlic Cream Tortelloni, which was pretty good but nothing groundbreaking.

[mikaylamahan]

Day 14 of 30

Thursday 9.23.21

My morning started off as it has been for the last few days: coffee, yoga, jaw stretches, and even meditation. I met with my classmate at Bordertown coffee near campus around 9:30am, where I ordered an eye of the tiger, which is a chai latte with two shots of espresso. The vibe at the coffee shop was lovely, so I took a few pictures for the blog. We stayed there and studied until 2pm. I listened to a few playlists at the coffee shop and throughout the day: Spotify's "Discover Weekly," "Lorem," and "chill lofi study beats." Once I left the coffee shop, I went and got a Jimmy John's sandwich. I was walking to a place to sit and eat the sandwich outside when I ran into a good friend that I haven't seen much since the pandemic started. So, I talked to her for maybe an hour. Then I had to get to this class, so I ate half of my sandwich while I waited for the campus connector, and then I ate the rest of the sandwich outside on St. Paul campus. The drive home after class was so nice, with the beautiful weather and my window down. I am so grateful for this weather lately and I will definitely be missing it later in the semester.