1. Reading & Study
ChatGPT has basically become a little assistant for me—super handy. I finished all the August issues of The Economist and built Quizlet word lists and notes along the way. I skimmed through the finance and fiscal policy sections too quickly, so I’m going back to basics with my finance textbooks. Right now I’m working through Bodie’s Investments (13th edition). Back in the day my English wasn’t strong enough for Mankiw’s Economics, but now I’ve picked up the newest edition as a refresher. Another reason I’ve been focused on finance is that global stock markets have been soaring in strange ways. A lot of the commentary online feels like hindsight bias, especially since today’s market trends look nothing like the gloomy forecasts from six months ago (Trump risks, inflation, decoupling, etc.).

2. Movies & Shows
This month I watched Dead by Rights, a 2025 Chinese historical drama film set during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, K-pop Demon Hunters, The Island of Siliang, Takopi’s original sin,a documentary called Kontinental ’25, and continued with Frieren. A mix of drama, pop culture, and fantasy that kept things lively.

3. Cycling & Fitness
I logged over 280 km of rides this month. I also updated my 2025 New Yorker playlist—perfect songs for cycling. Some days I skipped because of thunderstorms, and honestly cycling has been my only exercise lately. My weight dropped to 73kg, but so did my muscle mass. Riding and strength training really are two different things.

4. Social & Community
August had a few rough moments. Two friends I used to chat with from my high school days slowly stopped interacting—citing age gaps and different lifestyles. I felt a bit down about it, even removed them from my contacts before adding one back again. On Rednote, I started connecting with some new office-working “Weeb (Otaku/Fandom）” friends. They’re amazing people, but chatting isn’t easy: they’re busy working, while I’m studying and binge-watching shows. And when they feel any uncomfortable, they blocked me directly even I tried to embrace difference.

5. Health
I finally went to the dental hospital for X-rays and orthodontic consultation (a little late, I know). The doctor actually praised me, which felt good.

6. Games
Identity V was just loss after loss—I got so tilted that I uninstalled it. Now whenever I feel like gaming, I just go cycling instead. I did buy Forza Horizon 5, but haven’t started it yet.