Inspiration

My Little Creative Corner

Categories Art, Crafts/DIY, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment on My Little Creative Corner

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My little creative corner in my apartment #vscocam

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When I moved into my apartment, my lease stated that I was not allowed to drill holes in the walls. It wasn’t until I decided to hang up my Wavelength Pop-Up Gallery photos that I decided to look for other ways to put stuff up that wouldn’t leave any marks. Then I found the entire line of Command damage-free wall hangs at Dollarama!

Anyways, I decided to add a whiteboard to my creative corner and found a neat magnetic one from The Board Dudes that has a cork board frame. Now I’m ready to organize my thoughts and to-dos all in one place. I have a really bad habit of flagging too many e-mails or bookmarking too much stuff so this is a good way to mark down what is truly important. Sometimes the ease of digital things just gets in the way.

I love having a little corner in my small apartment where I can dedicate to being creative, whether it’s making art with my drawer full of supplies or simply just writing. A designated spot to me is integral for productivity and also a lovely place to take a mental break.

Do you designate a place to be creative?

Trying Not To Give Too Many Fucks

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Teddy not giving a fuck
Teddy not giving a fuck

Today I stumbled across Mark Manson’s article about the Subtle Art Of Not Giving a Fuck. Something about it really struck a cord with me (maybe it was the 127 instances of the word fuck screwing with my brain). Anyways, what I learnt from it is that I give too many fucks, that I care too much about too many things, something we all do.

 An important point that Manson made was that  “not giving a fuck”  is not the same as being indifferent. Choosing to be indifferent still requires conscious effort to tell people you care indeed indifferent and therefore you are “giving a fuck”.

The goal instead should be to only “give a fuck” about the things that matter. For example, do more things to satisfy yourself instead of considering too much about what others might say. Or taking risks without thinking too much about all the consequences. It’s about being comfortable with being different.

I find I care (or at least use to) too much about things I read on the Internet: slactivist petitions, news stories, debates etc. In reality putting too much thought in these is a waste of time and energy if my heart isn’t truly in it. How many times have you signed a petition blindly just because your friends are doing it? Or became outspoken about something you don’t even completely understand just because it’s “the thing to do”?

For now on, I want to give less fucks about things. The events I am missing, the things other people are saying, gossip, small useless details. I don’t give a fuck about the things people think I should give a fuck about.

Instead, I will focus all my energy in the things that I do give a fuck about including passions, family and friends.

Let’s raise a glass to giving less fucks!

You Are The Star of Your Own Life

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Love you @richaucoin ❤️

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Lately, I’ve enjoyed reading a lot of autobiographical books/memoirs from female writers like Lena Dunham, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jenny Lawson, Julie Klausner and my reaction to all of them are always “man, their lives seem so interesting and inspiring.”

But when I think more about it, I’m satisfied and happy with my own life and it gets interesting too. Though it’s fun to occasionally live through the eyes of others in books (and I guess social media), it’s important to carve your own paths, interests, adventures. I’m constantly obsessed with trying new things whether it be food, music or experiences.

This blog has been an awesome way to document some of these things and I thank all my readers for making me feel like a star of my own life.

❤︎

How Do I Do It?

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The past few weeks have been a little bit crazy. I’ve hardly had more than 20 minutes to sit down in my apartment before heading out to a another event or going to work or working at an event. As summer is approaching, this isn’t really going to change much for the next three months.

My friends like to ask me “How do you do it? How do you have the energy?” There’s one simple answer:

I just do it.

If I had to question my energy levels or give up on things because I was too tired, I would literally never do anything. Thinking too much about things like that is a literal waste of energy. I would become overwhelmed with the things I need to do instead of actually doing them. 

That’s not to say that I don’t value rest. Rest is important. It’s needed. I always take a coffee break during my lunch hours, forcing myself to get up from my desk and take a 10 minute walk to Timmies. It clears my head and also allows me to soak in some sun. I also enjoy the occasional Netflix binge or a good sleep in.

However, if I have blog posts to write, places to go, photos to edit, I don’t think much about how I am supposed to do them. I just do it.

 

Let yourself have cake

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Every day there are trials and dumb things that happen and things that are beyond your control. Don’t forget to reward yourself every once and a while that you’ve survived.

15 Days of No Complaining

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Being mindful of others is important, just like in a game of Chinese Checkers!

As you know from my previous post, I am trying not to complain for the entire month of April. I am only half way into the month and it’s been a long and arduous journey. Complaining is so natural in our nature. Sometimes I don’t even notice it until after. I realize some relationships with other people are built entirely on complaining and this isn’t healthy.

I’ve observed how much myself and others complain on a daily basis. In the course of an hour, this can be hundreds of times. I haven’t completely eliminated it but I’ve become more mindful. Instead of complaining about someone, I’d consider other people’s perspective more when they did something that annoyed me. I’d also became more aggressive in taking actions to prevent things I’d later perceive as problems.

I participated in less gossip and in return people gossiped to me less. At first I felt a little bit left out, but keeping a positive outlook has actually made me a much happier, better (in my mind) person.

 

100 Days of Blogging

Categories 30 Day Challenge, Inspiration, Life2 Comments on 100 Days of Blogging

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I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for 100 consecutive days in 2015 so far! It’s a goal that my best friend and I have both achieved together. In past years, we tried blogging for a month but always failed. Now to reach 100 days is definitely an achievement. We’re not quitting either. Let’s see if we can hit 365 (or more)!

I’ve learned a lot in these 100 days. I’m now less critical about what I put out. Having to post things occasionally leads me to take a bit more risks, and not be so worried if others will think it’s dumb or stupid. I’ve also become quite efficient at writing. The written posts don’t take more than 10-15 minutes. That’s not to say they are hastily done or sloppy by any means. The words have just come easier. I second guess myself a lot less. This skill has also translated itself when I sit down to write album reviews on Ride the Tempo.

I love blogging and I don’t think I could ever stop. It’s a diary. A place to air my thoughts. A place to experiment. A world that has helped me through some hard times. To know that one person is reading means the world, let alone the fact I now have over 400 subscribers. Thank you all.

Now let’s continue exploring the world together.

How to Have a Long Distance BFF

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Recently, someone asked me how I have such a great relationship with best friend who is in another province. We actually didn’t even see each other for almost 3 years prior to her wedding in October. While it feels almost natural for me, I’d like to offer some tips for people who’s friends are moving far away and how to best keep that connection.

Talk frequently, in whatever channel works conveniently for both you. It might be a phone call, text message, FB chat, Snapchat.

Be willing to listen. Just because you’re far away doesn’t mean you can’t listen and talk your friend through life’s problems. Don’t wait until everything is fine and dandy to chat.

Be there when they need it. This sort of relates to the last point but a friend will always value those that make an effort. Also if they really want you there for a serious life event like a wedding, you do whatever it takes to get on that plane/bus/whatever.

Take challenges together. Do you have a mutual goal you’d like to achieve? For Laura and I, it’s currently blogging everyday. Having a common goal can help strengthen the bond because you can also talk about that goal or hobby together.

Make sure the feeling is mutual. Long distance friendships aren’t for everyone. An important question to ask is why the other person is moving away. Some people just want to move away for a fresh start. In that case, the friend may not want to keep touch. But you can always offer them the chance to connect if they change their mind.

April: The Month of No Complaining

Categories 30 Day Challenge, Inspiration, Life2 Comments on April: The Month of No Complaining

In February, the Complaint Restraint project took place. For 28 days people signed up to simply stop complaining. Jessica Hullinger of Fast Company wrote about this experience and provided some great tips.

I missed the month of the originally challenge because I read about it after the fact but I really wanted to take this challenge for a month and learn from it. I’ve had a hard couple of days and this will be very difficult to start and keep going but it’s worth a try to change my current (and future) mindset.

I will start by defining what I consider a complaint to be.

  • Observations will not be considered a complaint. Ex “It is cold.” Exempt also will be reviews of restaurants and music etc that make it onto blogs. These are considered observations/constructive criticism.
  • A sentence that contains the following words will be consider a complaint: “hate”, “don’t, fuck, shit, jerk” etc.
  • A statement that ruminates beyond a simple observation.  (Telling 10 people it’s cold)
  • Gossip, (non-constructive) criticism, whining, grudges, hurtful jokes

This might seem like an impossible task as complaining is inherent in our nature and sometimes we do it subconsciously. It’ll also be difficult depending on the people I surround myself with. Other people love to complain as much as I do.  I will do my best to reconstruct negative “complaining” thoughts into more positive and productive ones or simply drop them if they are unimportant. I hope to be more mindful of each situation

Example of looking on the bright side:

Starting now… no complaining!

(This is not an April Fool’s joke)

 

2 Months of Blogging

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Celebratory pizza?

I can’t believe I’ve made it to two months of blogging every day. In the past, I’ve never made it to one month let alone 2. It’s been a lot easier doing this alongside my best friend, who has also achieved the same feat. I feel like if either one of us breaks the chain the other will too, thus we’re not letting that happen.

In making myself do this exercise I’ve become a little less self-conscious. A little braver. I tried a new idea which people loved. I became more open in sharing my personal stories, thoughts and dreams.

The need for more content also encouraged me to challenge myself and try new things.

To be honest, I think a contributing factor to why blogging seems easier for me this year is the financial stability. I know that writing doesn’t necessarily require spending money, but having the option and needs to definitely does simplify things. Having a full-time job has further roused me to have life and hobbies outside of the office.

I hope to keep these posts flowing and I thank you all for following my adventures.