Heya!
If you've found your way to this video, you're probably connected to us in some way—whether through friendship, family ties, or just pure curiosity. We're Janine and Patty, sisters who want to keep strengthening our bond through timezones and continents, as we navigate life in Sydney (for Patty) and San Sebastian (for Janine) in parallel. Our global journey has sparked an exciting endeavor that we can't wait to share with you.
Embracing Life Abroad
In this video, we're opening up about how living abroad sparked newfound motivation to write and share our thoughts and experiences. From the bustling city of Sydney to the picturesque landscapes of Northern Spain, we're embracing every twist and turn of life abroad.
Blogging and Podcasting Ventures
So, what are we up to? We've taken our excitement and transformed it into two distinct avenues of expression. I’ve (Janine!) created this personal space on Substack, to capture thoughts, anecdotes, and lessons learned. The beauty of it all? No need to navigate, just subscribe to get updates delivered directly to your inbox.
Stay Tuned: A Piece of Patty Cake
Let's talk about my incredible sister Patty and her exciting blog: www.apieceofcake.au
Patty's been quite the wordsmith since her LiveJournal days. I’m so happy that she's back at it, pouring her thoughts and stories into this new digital haven. With the backdrop of her move to Sydney, Australia, Patty will be documenting the highs and lows of her adventure down under. We'll keep you updated through my Substack newsletter when she’s got more up on her blog!
Teaser: The "I Suck at Smalltalk" Podcast
That's not all (Eeps! So nerve-wracking!)—soon I’ll be diving into the podcasting world with "I Suck at Smalltalk." It's my way of tackling imposter syndrome and my social awkwardness through meaningful conversations with amazing people I’ve come across throughout my life.
Sharing Insights from Life Abroad
As sisters experiencing life in different corners of the world, we want to chronicle our unique journeys living abroad. From cultural revelations to personal growth milestones, we're here to share it all while keeping conversations with YOU buzzing.
Join Us on Our Global Journey
This is just the beginning of an incredible adventure, and we'd love for you to be part of it. Whether you're curious about life abroad after growing up in Manila, eager to gain insights from diverse experiences, or simply seeking connections with like-minded weirdos, hit that subscribe button.
Stay Tuned to Our Lives Abroad
As we continue to navigate our lives abroad and explore our creative projects, we're thrilled to have you join us for the ride. Our journey is a testament to the power of connection, growth, and seizing the opportunities that life abroad brings.
Hope to see you soon!
Janine
A little behind-the-scenes tidbit: this article was born from a collaboration between me and ChatGPT. Yep. I’m not just sharing our stories, but also learning how to maximize AI tech to churn out content. It's like having a witty AI sidekick with SEO powers helping me whip things up quick. In all honesty, AI makes it easier to take this life experiment from mind to Substack. Also! Music credits: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade | License code: EABLCJ7UCKLAQGZJ
Video Transcript
Hello!
Whoever you are that's watching, who's probably a friend of Patty or fam or my friend or whatevs. But if you're not, I'm Janine.
I'm Patty.
We're sisters that grew up together in Manila. And are now living in opposite sides of the world.
Patty’s in Sydney.
Yes. Baddies from Downanda.
And I am from Northern Spain, the north.
So, yeah, This is just a really quick. We have to make it quick because we recorded before this. It was, like, forty five minutes
And this is a quick, like, rundown of what we're up to and why we're doing what we're doing.
No. Okay.
So there. Take two.
This is take two. And it has to be really quick.
Okay. Patoots. Do you have a question for me? Yes. I do, actually.
What was the Substack thing that you've been posting about?
That's a really good question.
Okay.
So Janinay Ramirez dot Substack dot com. It's basically like a blog or just a space where I can post my thoughts and what I'm up to, what's happening with my life, since I am so far away from a lot of people that I really, really love and care about. And I feel like sometimes people don't really know what's up with me anymore.
Because I don't really like posting on social media anymore. It's, like, has to be filtered. I don't really know who's on there Right? So I want, like, this genuine authentic space and safe space for me to share my my life, like, what I've been learning, because I feel like I've been learning so much from so many people.
And also, like, my random thought and life hacks and things that they have helped me decide the life that I now really love. So there. And then so it's that, but the great thing about Substack is it makes it so easy for it to become a newsletter So when you subscribe there, you don't even have to go to the blog at all. Like, my post will go into your inbox, and you can read it from there.
So it's like you don't even have to worry about Substack at all. You just get updates from me. And in my first post, I put a poll about how often you wanna get, like, updates from me? And now I think the weekly is winning over the monthly and the whenevs.
So I think I'll start weekly for a bit until people are sick of it, and then I'll do a monthly rundown with links to my posts so people can just choose if they wanna, if they wanna learn more about whatever.
So there, and it's there. A way for me to connect with people again. I know it's it sounds one-sided because it's just me posting crap, but my idea is every time I'm going to be like, hey, like, comment or message me or give me a call if anything that I posted resonated with you, or you wanna comment about it, or you have something similar to share with me. And that way, when we talk, like, you know now what's up with me, and then you just make me kwento what's up with you.
So there.
I hope it works. If not, whatever.
Oh, oh, oh, I got a share, and this is why I gave Patty a shout out in my first post is because this has been in my tabs of Chrome for so long, like, project, Substack. Like, but I never really did it. Like, I never went for it. And the reason that I went for it is because Patty shared that she put up the blog.
And she like shared it with me and then I stole her thunder because Yeah.
She posted first.
I posted first. I got my article out and the voice over. Guys, if you don't like reading, just click play because it’s me making kwento the article to you. So, anyway, but, yeah, like, I just made it, and I promoted it.
It's like crap. Think it was the last night, like, oh my god. Is Patty, like, pissed at me because I stole her thunder?
I'm sorry, Patty.
Not pissed at all because
I love your girl.
And I'm super happy that, like, you know, whatever, like, we were both sort of, like, being pushed into doing this.
And I guess, like, I can share also, like, you want Yes. Wait. Like, tell us what is the name of your blog.
Do you want to share it na ba or not?
I can share it, but I guess at the moment, I'm not yet sure, like, exactly what the blog is going to be like it and, like, how often I'm gonna post and stuff like that. But basically, it's called a piece of cake dot au. I guess I’ve been blogging ever since before, like, as a millennial, it's just been such a thing, like, in my generation, like, from live journal and, like, all of these sites.
I've always, like, had a blog, but then I kind of want to commit to this one and, like, really make it happen.
It's called a piece of cake because I'm Patty, patty cake, and it's sort it's like a piece of my life, a piece of patty cake. So anyway,
You're a super sweet tooth also. Right?
So you know that it's going to be a little bit more about the shift of moving from Manila to Australia to Sydney. Right?
Yeah. Like, that's the main thing that I wanna document with it. So, like, the title is, like, living abroad diaries. Like, that's what I've, like, titled page.
So the reason why I, like, wanted to start a blog was, one to just, like, do something You know, like, you were saying, I know we've been sitting on ideas and stuff. And so it's just like, just do it. Like, just whatever.
I also, that's why I, like, just did it bigla. But, like, you know, I wanted to sort of, like, find a little space to document my time here and just, like, have a space to write my thoughts and, like, you know, something that I can, like, easily look back on of, like, oh, these are the core memories that I've been making. Plus also, like, you know, any, with the ups and downs, but I'm not just, like, the cute, nice moments, but, you know, also, like, the other things that I experienced. And then also just wanting to write again as a family of writers.
I don't know. Like, I've had that itch of wanting to just to write again lang for myself. And so, really, it it start it's starting out to be just, like, for myself at the moment, but then we'll start but, yeah, it's called the piece of cake dot eight. But they yeah.
I understand that completely. Like, the it being for yourself, first. Like, I feel like for me also, this bra like, if no one looks at the Gabs, you know what I mean? Like, This is for me to look back on and just comparing it to social media, like, one, sometimes I post things.
So social media so that I can remember, like, I learned this. But then to get to it, I have to, like, scroll through so much crap, you know? Think it's weird. It's just not categorized for you.
It's created for scrolling and absorbing so much more information than what you actually just wanna learn. Like with Instagram.
It's so curated. Like, you feel like it's not really You have to be, like, a certain Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.
Yeah. I mean, the fact that they're the the fact that there are so many filters to choose from is kind of like symbolic of you having to filter yourself and Okay. Like, what's the artistic? Which sometimes, like, in the start, I liked it around Yeah.
Let's see. Like, I had a Pinterest where I would just like, practice my copyright thing. For example, like, I'd be like, okay, what does this image, like, this image, how, like, how, like, what headline would I put on it, you know, which is great for a family of writers. But, by, after a while, it's like, but it's not really my thoughts.
It's like what I think people will click on or like or. Right? Yep. So I also removed the the heart count on Instagram and stuff like that.
Same, I think.
And, yeah, I'm reading digital minimalism, and I'm trying to figure out a way to, anyway, like, more on that. That's also why I started the blog is because I I'm going to reduce my social media time and -- Yep.
And with that, I still want to connect with people. So, yeah, like, the more I reduce my social media time the more I want my friends and family to subscribe because, like, how else are we going are you gonna know what's up with me, right?
But yeah. So there.
And then. And it was also something that you sorry. I checked the time, and I was like, who? And then, There's another thing, like, in the pipeline for you. Yes. There's another thing in the pipeline. And it's going to also be distributed through the, the Substack, and that's why I'm liking sub stack.
Yes. I've been thinking of podcasting for a while, and at work, I actually was given the project of creating a podcast and having to, like, interview people and stuff like that. And that's why I have all of this to, like, record the mic and stuff like that. But he has a mic because of Moan. Thank you, Moan. This is Moan's Mike.
Thanks. You should see my setup here. I, you know, oh my god. Let's post it. We'll post a photo of of the setups, wherever this is gonna be posted, I guess, on my cell stack. For Adta to invite me to a bot. Yeah.
She bought for another mic for one and for herself. Wait. Thank you for me to start the podcast.
But, yeah, so I've had the name for a while, and it's gonna be called ISOC.
At small talk. And it's just this idea of I've always felt really awkward meeting new people and having to small talk, especially in, like, social events or if I just, I don't know, if I'm not feeling it that day, And this is a way for me to have the deep conversations that I crave with One, the people that I already really connect with, I feel like I know so many people that I find really amazing, that are up to things, that I really love to learn about. Like, I remember I would meet up with with friends, like, from Boveda and stuff like that, and then be like, okay, What's your project? Like, tell me about your project, you know, because it's just so interesting, and this is a way for an an excuse even for me to reach out to people and be like, hey, can we have a conversation? Like, and these are the things I wanna learn about. Here are the guide questions.
If I reach out to you, I hope you're open to to sharing.
And on the other side, there are also people I felt like, oh my god. Why didn't they just talk to them normally? Like, why weren't the words coming out of my like, I don't know. I there would be people.
Maybe if I feel like they're so galling, and we don't really know each other But, like, why would they even wanna talk to me? Or what should I say? There's so much pressure, and I just freeze. So The imposter syndrome thing.
Yeah. Yeah. I think it's the imposter syndrome. And I think that's why I wanted to call it ISO.
And then at small talk because it's me, yes, getting over my small talk, but it's also getting over all the things that I feel like I suck at. Right? Yep. And, so there.
Like, I wanna reach out. I think in the start, it's gonna be kind of the safe people first and then later on the people that I still have in my mind, the pam cringe. Like, why didn't I just freaking ask them something, but Yeah. So I think for me, because if I have a structured conversation and they're an excuse, then it's a lot easier for me to have a really good insightful conversation with someone and get to know them better.
So there, it's more it's that. And I'm really excited.
And yeah. I'm excited for you. I think it's gonna be really nice.
And, I want you to be on it regularly.
So Oh my gosh. I would love Yeah. Because they're impostor syndrome. Right? It's like Yeah.
And also they're living abroad. We also have, you know, same seem, seem different. Oh, it seems same with different, experiences when it comes to, living abroad family life, you know, all that stuff. So if you ever have a topic that you wanna talk about and not just write about, then just message me and we shall, like, have that episode up and running for you.
So there, So there, before we end, I know I said fifteen minutes. It's already fifteen minutes, but I guess, Pat, you don't you don't wanna invite people yet. Right? But you want people to kinda Yeah.
Like, maybe it's more of a teaser of, like, coming soon, but then it's not like they can it's not really a subscription thing, like yours anyway. So, like, yeah.
Stay tuned. I don't know. Yeah. Stay tuned. I do share the link. It's linked on my Instagram as well, like in my bio already.
Okay. So people can check it out.
Yeah. So for now, the call to action is subscribed to my sub stack, janina from US dot sub stack dot com. And there, I will also update when Patty's is is, like, up and flowing because, yeah, because, I mean, our lives are intertwined even if we're far away, or at least I want it to be. And so that's what we'll do.
Yes. And, okay, thank you to the twenty four subscribers.
And thanks Pat for having this convo with me and this recording, and I'm excited to have more if we go off the wire sometimes.
Oh.
Next time with Unbun, the wire. That's He he's done a few podcasts, I think. Really? Or something. So I think he has some experience.
Oh my god. Let's get them to start a blog.
Let's let's get Anton to start a blog also, and we have our or, I don't know. Family of writers. Family of writers on. Okay, guys. Thank you.
Bye.
Thank you!
