tea you cannot miss🍵 all things I loved in march.
spicy takes on design titles, netflix watch history & book club for one!
one occupational hazard of working in tech is that you start thinking about your year/life in quarters. at work, the Q2 planning is done and ready to be executed next week. in my own life, not so much yet.
which makes this week a perfect week to reflect back and plan for coming quarter.
like I shared last time, Q1 was a bit rocky. I tried doing a lot and I did a lot but then did I really enjoying doing a lot? I think so? what’s the golden formula of doing a lot of things but also enjoying them?
if you continue reading this in hopes that I will have answers, you are clearly new here (and hey hi I know we have a few new readers out here, welcome!👋💛)
no usually i don’t have answers because I write about things I am trying to figure out myself. and through sharing here it almost ends up becoming a long search query on the internet for people who are also thinking/figuring out the same.
…or I share the things I am doing, reading, watching, listening, being - and that THAT my friend is a good way to find friends. (everyone who can’t stop singing doechii’s anxiety please raise your hand!)
it’s a long one this time so here’s what to expect
my barcelona work trip highlights
content + notes from what I found most useful on all things tech/ AI
my netflix watch history
some nice things that I did to pull myself out of a funk
my spring/summer TBR + design tea book club?
work trip💅 work trip💅 work trip💅
honestly work trips are not that glamorous after the first two times. surprisingly, it’s a lot of work. 😅
however, barcelona is my soul city so every chance I get to be there and walk on the barcelona tiles I am grateful beyond measure.
session with lena
was my recruiter when I moved to Barcelona with N26, and we’ve stayed connected on linkedin. when we reconnected last month and had such a wholesome conversation on moving abroad and our challenges - we knew we had to add more people to the party. so we did a little sesh and around 50+ people showed up (some of you might be reading this!!)I made a rookie mistake of having a coffee right before the call which had me more jumpy jittery than I would have liked, but the vibes still ended being immaculate. if you would like a recording, comment below and I will send it to you!
lunch crew
everytime I go, I try and organize a lunch for my design team. we have moved to a new office and new barrio this time. so many work besties in this pic omg.
solo dinner dates
I was a little tired going into the trip and in a little bit of funk, so I didn’t really plan my evenings with barcelona friends like I usually do. instead I walked around and had solo dinners like I used to when I lived in barcelona (no I am not always in a funk, it was peak pandemic, so no public transport & no friends lol).
and it was SO CATHARTIC I cannot tell you. I think just my brain chemistry went back and did it’s chemical reactions to tell me that just relax and soak in how far you’ve come. anyways, highly recommend solo dinners (and to celebrate just how you kept moving!)
brunching with fellow substacker
one of my key takeaways from Q1 (again sorry, can’t help it) was talking with your kinda people helps (wow, what a surprise I know!).
Kax and I chatted on so many different permutations & combinations that we could take with our newsletter & tiny community around it. super energising, thank you
!subscribe to her newsletter if you haven’t already.
content + notes from what I found most useful on all things tech/ AI
🎙️ Notion’s founder Ivan in chat with Lenny (screenshot of my notes below)
💻 How I use LLMs by Andrej Karpathy
📝 What matters in the age of AI is taste by
📝 10 things I learned from 10 years at Figma by
also shared my 🌶️ spicy takes🌶️ on design levels and are you really a lead designer for .
do give it a read and tell me the parts you don’t agree with.
my netflix watch history 📺
Drive to Survive (+ Rush, Ford vs Ferrari)
in an interesting & some may say outcome of a very predictable algorithm - I am now into Formula 1?
I read the true fans of F1 were complaining the Netflix documentary has attracted the wrong kind of fans (I think they mean me??). so if anyone has ideas on how I can be considered the right kind of fan, do let me know.
Kardashians - Kim & Khloe Take India?
at least I think that’s what the episode was called. I am not into the new season but made a point to see this episode just so I can exchange notes with my sister.
With Love, Meghan
I thought I would hate-watch it, but if I am being very honest to you all - I liked it. It’s harmless show, she is cooking dead simple things and doing calligraphy. perfect leave it on in the background while tinkering on your laptop show.
Temptation Island - US
so I really wanted to see the spanish one after the “montaya, por favor” took over social media (while typing this I am very aware of how niche this is, so if you so wish please feel free to google it) - but paying for a VPN etc was taking my guilty pleasure one step too far, so I opted for fast forward binging the US edition.
very happy to report, that by the end I had managed to absorb S too in the drama and he too asked me to research if the couples are still together a year later (1 is engaged, 1 is together, 2 broke up). sorry if it’s a spoiler, but don’t think you care.
some nice things that I did to pull myself out of a funk🌼
making my own salad dressings. honestly I never knew this was a thing you can find recipes for and make it yourself?
digitizing my wardrobe. after being in a funk over winters, a friend suggested this!
hosting. we’ve had 2-3 weekends of back to back hosting in our new apartment, and it’s been nice.
(as I wrote this, I was like I should really write this. so maybe in next one I will write on all things I experimented with to get out of my winter funk!)
reading
like I mentioned in my last monthly roundup, I have not been reading as voraciously as I do. everytime I notice myself slowing down, I go out in the world (by this I mean actual physical book stores) and create a reading list I am excited about.
here’s mine for spring/summer 2025!
I am gonna call it a design tea reading club of 1 - will share updates here & on my instagram, so if you want to read along or share notes, let me know in comments below and I can patch up a whatsapp group or something.
here’s sending you spring-y blueberry match vibes for your april.🫐
talk soon.
chhavi
well neon pink looks fab on you!! ❤️
our brunch and snap business strategy session is still fresh in my brain 😂 I can't believe how fast we ran through so many ideas in one go.
I'd love to get the recording of your discussion with Lena please (shamikasmruthi@gmail.com)! I was planning to attend but it clashed with another design event I'd signed up for in London sadly.
Keen on the book club. I want to read more this summer and the libraries are beckoning haha.