Esther Being Esther: Recent Episodes
Esther Elizabeth Suson
I tried to maintain 5 different blogs before realizing Esther is one person, with 5 (or more) passions integrated within her. So here I am, starring myself, with all the madness in me. #HashtagEstherBlog #EstherBeingEsther #E
Original written in May 2020. Expect a thousand spoilers and a whole lot of fangirling in this integrated review! This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/09/re-watching-and-rereading-ready-player-one-2018/
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This episode shares my main takeaways from Martin Jacques' When China Rules the World, written in 2012 but very much relevant to today. While I do read much from the original blog, I also share further insights (since the blog was written in April 2020), and explain the economic concepts a little more. (I also fangirl a little more about Nirvana In Fire and another Chinese drama, Rise of Phoenixes.) I am certain the topic will not be the most popular, but if you do listen and have thoughts about it, feel free to send them to me in an Anchor voice message! I will do my best to respond.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/11/when-china-rules-the-world-my-takeaways/
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Originally posted on June 27, 2020. It's a fun look back at what sustained me early into the pandemic. I'm thinking of making a Part II.
Drop your coping methods in the Anchor voice messages!
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/27/5-coping-methods-that-worked-for-me-in-this-neo-normal-and-might-work-for-you-too/
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On the 100th day of quarantine that I counted, I happened to drop by the office for some co-working for the first time since the lockdown. This blog was written as a reflection on how interactions had changed in the pandemic, on the 100th day.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/the-100th-day/
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Listen after the Re-reading Twilight episode. If you are still listening to me after the Re-reading Twilight episode. Cheers!
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/23/re-watching-twilight-2008/
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This was first posted in September 2019. I absolutely blame Cinema Therapy's Eclipse episodes for my decision to podcast this.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/10/re-reading-twilight/
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Written a day after the April 2019 5.0 earthquake in Metro Manila.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/but-most-of-all-we-love/
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Originally posted as a blog on April 28, 2019. A very short reflection on my gut response at seeing a workmate in a Spiderman stocking mask walking into the office.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/i-have-3-seconds-to-take-him-down/
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The tone is SO DRY but honestly this was so emotionally challenging to do that I decided to leave it in this state. Maybe one day we'll make a better production of it.
This was originally up as a blog on January 21, 2019. I took it down that same day, or the day after, because it did lead to misunderstandings and I wanted to review it before putting it up again. Two years later, I remembered it existed, made some edits, reposted it, and decided to record it as well. Like I say in the first minute or so of the podcast, the terrible title says it all. It's a blog about how conviction goes beyond reason, and although vindication would be a good thing, it's something that we might not see in our lifetimes, so conviction has to go beyond BOTH reason and hope of vindication. Something like that. I hope to be more fun in my next episodes, because this is frankly embarrassingly ramble-y and long.
Until next time!
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Sometimes I feel like people are trying to teach me my ABCs when I want to show them that I can read. It does not sit well with me. Not because I want to stop learning, but because I hope that we can have a conversation about it. I am very aware I know less about certain topics, like fashion for example, but that does not mean I haven't been thinking about them. It does not mean I haven't been doing my own research, or getting other input. So sometimes, I hope to have conversations with people whom I am aware know more about the topic, so that we can trade ideas and share our points of view and process, together, what those points of view would mean for us. This story was written on one such day, when I brought myself and my thoughts to a conversation and was promptly run over by the other person's eye and experience. Have conversations, don't hold court. This goes for me too. #WriteNow
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This is a short story I wrote sometime last year. It was for an exercise in my MA counseling class where you write a trauma-related situation, but write it so that you actually do and say what you wish you'd done and said. I tried and couldn't. A short story came out instead. If you do choose to listen, I hope it adds value in some way.
Trigger warnings: Implied non-consensual inappropriate actions, shouting (in the context of the story)
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This is a thing I wrote on April 13, 2021, about staying aware of little signs that I'm doing better today than the day before. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2021/04/13/youre-doing-better-keep-it-up/
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A wee poem born of strong emotion. Originally published January 5, 2021.
It's not easy, feeling left behind. But we can be honorable about it.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/05/your-honor-and-mine/
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SO SLEEPY WHEN I RECORDED THIS ONE but it's a commentary on a poem-ish thing I wrote, about where all my fandom references were coming from, and a bit of backstory on some of them. It's very ramble-y and I'm sleepy and my tongue sounds like I'm eating cotton but I hope you enjoy anyway. Love, #E.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/fandom/
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Exhausted but needing so desperately to create. Picked a blog / poem / thing to record that would authentically match my exhaustion and desperation. More in the first few seconds or so of the recording. Enjoy! I think.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/17/light-and-time/
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What happens when you love all that you do, but feel yourself burning out anyway? You learn how to breathe.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2021/04/17/too-much/
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I hope to make a more cerebral post / episode about boundaries and friendship someday, but for now, I'm still processing the emotions from an exhausting weekend. (In other news, what a first episode.)
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://hashtagestherblog.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/let-us-run-parallel/
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