Inspired

I researched blogging as a career, affiliate marketing, ad networks, general tips for blogs and read a few blogs today.

It's almost been 2 years (or maybe 3 years) since I started my other blog and I think now's the time I should start taking it a bit more seriously.

After all the research I did today, I learned quite a few things that I should start doing immediately and I also wrote down my short and long term goals.

Tbh, I'm having a slow season this year at my day job and when it's slow, I can't help but wonder what else I could be doing during that slow period... my blog always seems to pop up. Maintaining and having a blog involve so many things, that I don't even think there's that many possibilities for there to be a slow period, period!

When I am working, I love to be busy. I love to get things done. That feeling of completing something successfully just makes me so happy and it's like I've leveled up. When I'm away from that, I feel unsatisfied and always want to do more.

It's been one of my goals to work on a blog as a career. Also to do things on the side as well. Things I am interested in.

I'm pretty sure I wrote a similiar post in the past, but today was the day I took a lot more time to do more research.

This is what I need to do to get to my goal:
- Get paid hosting/buy a domain name - It's tough not to know my statistics and I can't put Google Analytics on my blog because it's a free blog. :(
- Migrate my blog contents to the paid one
- Do as many quality posts as I can on a variety of topics that I am passionate about
- Gain readers and engagement, and once I do that, I can start reaching out to brands
- In the meantime, take a look at affiliate links, etc.

I want to try this and succeed at it. Reading the blog posts of all these bloggers was truly motivating and showed me that blogging can be a lot of fun, but of course it can be a lot of work! And I like to work, so I feel like I will be able to commit to it.

This means devoting most of my free time to creating content, reaching out, etc... as much as I can do after work hours.

Looking back at my past self, I remember how I was always working so hard to land a full time job, because that's what I wanted to do, and I wanted to get experience. I am so grateful for my day job and the many experiences and skillset it has given me so far, as well as the opportunities for growth that it has provided me. Even though I've developed a steady routine there, I'm always trying to find something new to learn. I will cherish these skills forever. :)

My personality is quite driven and I love to learn new things and to try new things when it comes to my career goals, and this is what I want to try.

Tired T_T

So this weekend didn't turn out 100% as planned... that's because I took a nap each day and things went on much longer than anticipated, but that's ok!

Friday night we had dinner with my family, played with Tofu and went to Mango Mania with some friends. It was their first time going, so it was a good treat for all of us! We were probably there until about after 11pm, which was kind of late. I was soooo sleepy afterwards.

Woke up at around 10am on Saturday and so I didn't have to go out until the evening, so I took the morning/afternoon slow. We played some PS4, and then Dan went out for boardgames with his friends. I did some editing at home and had some lunch. But then I decided to take a short break and ended up napping for like half an hour or so... I was so tired. :( Afterwards, we went to go redeem our Starbucks stars for a venti matcha lemonade, then took photos and got a grilled cheese sandwich for Dan. It was time for me to go get ready to head out with the girls, so we played some PS4 and then Dan dropped me off at Trolley 5.

We wanted patio seating as it was a really nice day out. I grabbed a buzzer and when my friends got here we grabbed some drinks first then got a railing seat on the patio. We ordered mac n cheese with an egg (3 of us) and then our friend ordered a southwest chicken sandwich. I liked the food :)

Afterwards, we walked and talked and I got to get to know more about the girls and meet a new friend. We went to Tutti Frutti, Prestotea (it was pricey but the flavours were so cool!), and then walked around 17th ave for an hour or so. It was after 11 and so we sat down and took a group photo and Dan picked me up. I was so pooped after all that walking, so I didn't get the chance to work on my blog or do editing that evening. We did play a bit of PS4 but went to bed right away since we were so tired.

Today we played some PS4, and headed out to Pet-A-Palooza for a bit to watch the bulldogs race. It was so adorable! They raced on some fake grass haha and ran to their owners as fast as they could. One bulldog ran a bit and then stopped and looked so confused... lol! We then walked around the booths and my friend was their with her shiba, so we petted her shiba for a bit and also grabbed a sample bag Pet Valu was giving out.

After that, we went and got some buns from the asian bakery but unfortunately the buns were not hot at all. :( So we ate the cold one (as we hadn't eaten lunch yet) and then went and bought some grocceries. Played some more PS4, but then we both fell asleep for almost an hour. We're making quinoa salad right now for dinner and I am finishing up my editing for today.

I want to work on my blog but I also want to do some other fun stuff too today. We were also supposed to go workout but not sure if we will now, it's kind of late and I kind of just want to go for a walk outside or go play frisbee. Hmm!!

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I left the post for a bit so now it's almost 11pm. No workout, and the only blogging I'm doing today is this one... but I thought of a few posts I could do, so I'll draft those and work on them this week.

Going to try to wake up earlier this week!!

It worked!

I used the friendship app and am seeing results! At first it took a while for matches to pop up, but the Sunday after I got my first match.

Unfortunately my match isn't in town anymore but they live close by and are coming back! And I'm hoping we can meet up.

There have been more matches since then. I have been chatting with one other person and started a conversation with someone else. Haven't met anyone though!

There's a lot of progress so far which is what I didn't expect. I'm hoping to meet people who share the same interests.

There's also a YT group I've been a part of on FB. I've never attended the events but they are starting to work on a website, doing collabs with locals and featuring a different artist each week. I want to try meeting them and make new friends and collab. I'm afraid of things getting awkward but a smile and confident thinking has been a great way for me lately when socializing with people!

The weekend is here again and I have quite a few plans with friends and I also need to edit and work on my blog and work on finding other ways of extra income. :) I've been researching for a while but now it's time to start getting things done and see results!

I feel lost?

Yup, there's a question mark in that title for a reason.

Lately I have been trying to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while. Friends I haven't really hung out with in ages.

I'm a conservative person, by that I mean that I generally don't like trying new activities that I haven't done before if they're really out of my comfort zone... like camping, hiking, pretty much anything outdoorsy, etc... I really like watching YouTube, doodling, writing in my bullet journal, gaming, doing makeup, and having a chat over good food/drinks. Ok, I'm really simple and maybe I'm really boring?

I also like to be active (sometimes), like going out for walks, going to the gym... I used to do yoga, but I found the beginner classes a bit mentally exhausting and I didn't feel comfortable increasing the difficulty level, because I can't hold poses for very long (I suck at balancing).

And where is this all going? After catching up with friends I haven't seen in a while, I've realized that they have become different people, explored new things and are overall more experienced in other things than I am, since we have become friends. I also feel like I don't have too much in common with some friends anymore... and to be honest, sometimes I find it difficult to message people and ask to hang out. :( I'm really afraid of things getting awkward, or me not having anything to talk about.

I usually ask a lot of questions so that I can get the other person talking, but there are times where I want to talk about what I'm doing too. And only are there some friends who ask about me... or are willing to listen.

Social interaction has always been something that was a challenge for me.

And well I miss that feeling of people able to talk about anything and similar interests with people.

There are apps out there that can help you find new friends. A friend of mine tried it, and hangs out quite often with someone they've met on there. It's pretty great for people who have just moved to a new place and are looking for friends.

I'm eager to try the app... I want to find someone who's like me, but also adventurous too! There are some things I'd like to do more of (like karaoking, trying fun events, etc.) so hopefully I can find a good match!

It's kind of like making online friends, but you're meeting in real life. Ahhh, I remember those days where it was all online interaction and I made some pretty cool friends. Never met them in person though. I wonder what it would be like if we did meet in person??

So yeah, I feel a bit lost...

I finished a blog post today and shared it on social media, I also watched some anime, YouTube videos and am currently doing some laundry. I went for ramen with a friend today and it's just before 8pm right now but I kind of want to go out. Most of my friends are quite busy though... lol. So I might just make dinner, sit back and relax and try this app.

Stampede!

This week was a bit slower as it wasn't so busy for me at work and I think I napped a lot this week too. I was really tired! I think it has to do with the summer weather. When it's so hot outside all you want to do is either go outside to chill on a patio or stay inside and just take a nap.

On Friday I had another half day. After work I went to 1886 with a friend for some lunch. I had an Ed's Benedict with gouda cheese and tomatoes, it was really good! Then I went to Starbucks after my friend had to go back to work, and I got the free tall size of their newest tea infusions. I got the pineapple black tea and it was interesting. Not too sweet but it also didn't have too much flavour, so I'd like to try it with the lemonade sometime. Afterwards, I went to spend time with my family and to welcome Tofu back home from the hospital. He was so happy to be home. :) It was so great to see he is getting better.

We went for a walk after and decided to head to Inglewood. We didn't know the night market was taking place, as we wanted to go to Rosso to buy some coffee beans since we were running out. We decided to check out the night market first and then we went and got our coffee beans. We also bought some chickpeas and chips so that I can make some hummus!

Saturday was all Stampede-fun! We got up in the morning and went for another Stampede Breakfast. We went much later than last time and wow, the line was really long. We had to get meal tickets first and then we stood in line for about 20 minutes or so. The pancakes were delicious and they also came with bacon and hashbrowns. We walked back with the breakfast as they didn't have any more forks available, and eating with our hands would've made things quite sticky because of the maple syrup. Afterwards, we went home for a short break and then headed to the Stampede. We watched the canine dog bowl show first, then went to watch a bit of the acrodunk performance and then we raided the midway food and BMO centre vendors. We tried the donut chata (mini donut popsicle with rice milk drink, cinnamon toast crunch cereals, toffee pieces and a ton of dripping caramel) and Mr. Crab (tempura shrimp, crab, and tempura bed of rice with nori). Then we went and watched the motorcross show, checked out the wine garden and then hung out with a friend and their friend for a bit. We wanted to go to Nashville North to go see our friend who was working there, but the line was SO long... so we couldn't go. Since we were there for a few hours already, we headed home just before 10pm but got some mini donuts before then. We ate the mini donuts at home after and played some PS4.

Today we were going to go to the zoo, but I was just so sore and exhausted from yesterday's Stampede festivities. So it was a chill day today. I did laundry, cleaned the floors, cooked us dinner and did some dishes. I also edited a little bit to minimize my workload tomorrow and well we thought we were going to have friends over on Tuesday, and so I wanted to have all my editing done before then, but it looks like there are some who aren't available that day, so we'll be having people over later in the week. We went grocery shopping today, had homemade mango, banana & peanut butter (for that kick) smoothies and played more PS4. It was surprisingly very chilly after our shopping trip and the hazy smoke made it's way into the air, the smell was strong. :(

I think this weekend was quite productive as well. I got a lot of chores done and also had lots of fun!

I was thinking about my weekday schedule throughout the summer. It varies so much and since I napped way too much this past week, I really need to plan out this week a bit better.

There's still quite a bit of cleaning to do, so I'm going to make some time to do that on Tuesday. We also need to workout, so we will workout tomorrow.

I also realized that it sucks waking up last minute. But this is only because I go to sleep pretty late nowadays. It's 11:05pm right now and so I'm going to hit the hay soon. I'm going to make it a routine to sleep a bit earlier since I want to wake up earlier and have some chill time before I head to work. I want to make my breakfast, maybe make my lunch too (I don't really like making it the night before, but I've skipped bringing in my lunch for a few weeks now, so I need to get back into the habit) and just relax for a bit. Then it feels like the day is a bit longer but also more productive.

Cooking is another thing to do again. I don't think we cooked anything last week... We did make rice bowls but that's not really cooking, haha. We also had leftovers from family dinners as well and then went and grabbed food when our friends were over. Time to cook more this week! Quinoa salad sounds really good and I have been meaning to make an apple pie as well.

I should also start bringing more snacks to work. I find that when it's a slow day I get hungry much easier because my mind is trying to fill in the slow gaps throughout the day by doing something productive... eating. And so I got some chocolate raisins to munch on, and should snack on some apples and we also got pita bread, so I could bringing in some jam or peanut butter to snack on as well.

I've also been getting pretty lazy with putting on makeup, but that should stop once I start waking up earlier in the day. Anyway, time to hit the sack!

Productive Weekend

We did quite a few things this weekend! Hung out with friends, and had a shorter work week, so the weekend felt like it came by really fast.

Friday - I had the morning off because the parade was happening and so I spent it working on my bujo, watching YouTube, having breakfast, relaxing and took some time to do my makeup for work.

I then went to work, and the work day breezed by! In the evening we went to Prohibition and caught up with a friend and enjoyed their rooftop patio. The weather was perfect! Not too hot during the early evening and not too cold later that night.

Saturday - We got up early and watched Spiderman: Homecoming for a volunteer appreciation event, went shopping and also went cheese and meat shopping as we had fondue later that night with some friends. It was great!! Never made our own fondue cheese before, so we can definitely say it was a success for our first time and we were so full afterwards. We also made bubbletea with friends too.

Sunday - We slept in a little bit more than Saturday and then went to a free Stampede pancake breakfast. We each had two pancakes and I also got a sausage. It was soooo good! I loved how fluffy the pancakes were. I think I'm addicted to pancakes now, I want to try a bunch more Stampede breakfasts this week. Maybe I can have an earlier lunch hour this week ha ha and try a few! There's also another one happening next weekend, too.

We then went to the park and I watched Dan play Ultimate Frisbee with our friends It was quite fun watching them, I wanted to play afterwards! I did some laundry and cleaning after.

Back to my weekday routine soon. I need to figure out what my next blog post will be about. I posted a summer essentials one the other day, and now I am thinking of putting up another product review, or maybe a lookbook...? Hmmm....

Going to try to cook more this week too. After having our own fondue, it has inspired me to try out more things!

Canada's 150

This long weekend has given me a lot of things to think about... and surprisingly we didn't do too much this weekend!

I am still technically on my long weekend. I have today off as well for some repairs to our place. And in between supervising and checking that repairs were made, I'm using today to be productive even though I'm not at work. I have to edit today, take some photos for my blog, maybe make a pie and start planning out how I will work towards some new goals I've been thinking of/have been thinking of for a while...

Anyway... my weekend recap:

Friday - Went to Stage West with my colleague and our plus ones to watch Murder for Two and to eat as much as possible from the buffet. Food was great as always, and the show was interesting! Two actors and one guy plays most of the characters.

Saturday - Canada Day! Went for dim sum with friends at Central Grand Restaurant and then went to Made by Marcus. We got the nanaimo bar flavour along with a half scoop of the espresso ice cream. Sooooo good! The Nanaimo bar flavour tasted like bbq, but the espresso reminded me of my childhood days and tasted very similar to this coffee candy I used to eat all the time (X.O??) when I was little. We did go to Chinook to buy some shampoo and then we tried to go to A Mart to grab some matcha butter, but it was closed. Then the car's exhaust pipe started making loud noises because of a loose part... so we drove back home and then pretty much stayed home all day. We also watched the fireworks!

Sunday - Dan played some Frisbee with friends and then we all headed out for some bubbletea at Bubblemania. I was doing chores and felt lazy that day so I didn't play Frisbee, but enjoyed my drink, "Goldrush" at Bubblemania. Mmm apple, lychee and pineapple go SO well together! Our friend drove us there and back and that was really nice of him! We then went for a walk afterwards and just chilled at home and played games.

Monday - We were going to go for a walk in Inglewood but things changed. With the car still out, there wasn't any places open for us to take it in, but then my brother called me and told me that they had found a swollen lump in Tofu's throat. Now this is really scary because he's never been sick before and when I was hearing it over the phone it didn't sound like it was as big... but then I felt it for myself in person and it's almost like a big grape. We took the car to Kal Tire which was able to fix the exhaust, and we also went to the vet hospital to accompany Tofu on his visit. He didn't want to go into the vet room, but we had to know what was going on. They did some tests and will be sending the results to the lab. I really hope he's alright. I actually couldn't sleep for most of last night, my worriedness started to kick-in... and my parents didn't sleep much the night before either. Tofu will be okay!! The vet gave us some medicine (eye drops for his swollen eyes, antibiotics and some medicine for his fever) so the swelling should go down soon.

This brings me to the thoughts I've had this weekend about my goals...

I want to be happy with what I do, but I also want to be financially stable too.

Calgary is a tough city to live in nowadays because our economy has taken a hit and it's really tough finding something that can provide the support that you need to live here. It's also tough when what you find isn't necessarily something you enjoy doing, but it's all there is right now until things get better.

I have a goal of working for multiple contracts, instead of just a full-time job, so that I can have control over what my projects are and my income. But that would take some experience and also things like that don't happen overnight. It takes time, and what I am doing now takes that into account.

This is why after a 3 month hiatus I've come back to my blog and started blogging again. This is why I started taking my bujo more seriously as well. Ever since I opened some pins on Pinterest, my bujo hasn't been bland and boring. It's colourful and has so much meaning and it helps me organize my goals and the things I need to do.

It's almost been a whole year since I've been in this weird creativity block... I had spurts of videos and blogs here and there throughout the year, but then I just took a huge break. I think because it's more like 'work' it's not really motivating me. So right now I want to focus on my interests... like playing games again, studying Japanese, colouring and reading... just small, simple things that would get me going and motivated again.

Then I can focus on achieving my goals. Also, I need to create a page for my goals in my bujo soon... it'll help me map out how exactly I accomplish those goals.

So that's why today I am being productive instead of just sitting and waiting.