blogging – Tiana Feng

Some things don’t stay the same

December 1, 2019LifeLeave a Comment

Recently, I announced my decision to end Ride the Tempo after 9 years of music blogging. You can read the full entry here.

When I first started blogging, there or in any capacity in general, I was HOOKED on the internet attention writing gave me. I needed the audience to validate my every passion, purchase or daily life happenings. I loved recording everything even the mundane things and having everyone read about it. I lived half my life online in front of a computer.

Somewhere in the past few years, I grew up. I wanted to be less online, out of exhaustion from recording everything all the time and that I started to want to appreciate the moments more as they happened. I think getting a dog had a little bit to do with that. I wanted to pay attention more to someone who was giving me his undivided attention. Not to mention I got married and I wanted to be more present with my family too.

I began to feel that the value of time as something that you can never get back and I want to spend less of it in front of a computer.

That being said, this blog isn’t going anywhere any time soon. I still love having it to document how I’ve grown and perhaps it will occasionally feature some music blogging when I miss writing about it. I think 2020 is a great chance to start something new.

Broke my blogging streak

August 13, 2017Life1 Comment

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I spent the past week semi-offline and it was nice. Returning to civilization today. Sorry if you started following after sappy for band photos but all you got were nature and food #landscape #nature #shotoniphone

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Aug 13, 2017 at 3:03am PDT

In January 2015, I started a blogging goal to post every day. I posted over 840 days in a row, but this week, I broke the streak. It was partially not by choice as internet on my East Coast vacation was sparse. It mostly required walking to a neighbourhood pizza place and looking like a weirdo on my computer at the beach if I was that desperate to post. It was hard at first, but I decided to break the streak.

What I discovered was a new calm. I didn’t feel the stress of needing to find content to post. I enjoyed every minute offline with friends in the beautiful scenery and taking small road trips. I have plenty of stuff to share and have a backlog of real posts (and not quick cop-out posts).

I know I previously didn’t want to break the streak, but I think quality is greater than quantity. I’ll still post as often as I have content, but getting rid of the need to fill every day with a post will be better for my mental sanity.

I’m currently sitting at the airport, but get ready for bunch of adventure posts in the next few days!

This is the 896th Post In A Row

June 15, 2017June 20, 2017Uncategorized1 Comment

Since January 2015, I’ve been publishing something daily here. Sometimes it’s hard after an exhausting day of work. It’s an exercise in the will as much as it is thinking up subjects and words. There have been a lot of short, lazy posts, but I made it. I didn’t give up.

Though some days I really want to.

I know that if I stopped the streak, there would be a lot of days between posts, or I’d stop for a while altogether. For now, I’m not going to stop even though I’m currently in the middle of preparing for a move and planning a wedding. I want to continue posting my thoughts, feelings and life adventures even in the busiest of times.

1000th Post!

June 24, 2016LifeLeave a Comment

Screen Shot 2016-06-23 at 9.17.31 PM

Yesterday, I made my 1000th post here on my personal blog. It is a huge milestone. I’ve also blogged more than 540 days in a row so far, starting from January 1st 2016.

I’m a very different person than I was in November 2010 when I started this blog. I’m not as afraid of the world and took awesome risks that I would never regret. Not to mention the awesome people the internet has introduced me to.

Let there be 1000 more blog posts to come!

Thank You For 500+ Subscribers!

January 8, 2016Life1 Comment

I don’t know what kind of crazy people follow this blog where I do nothing but talk about myself and other random subjects, but thank you all for your support!

I love everyone and all your comments and encouraging feedback. Blogging has changed my life in so many ways: socially, professionally, personally, mentally. I couldn’t even fathom what my life would be like if I didn’t blog.

Is It Christmas Already?

November 27, 201530 Day Challenge, LifeLeave a Comment

The other week I was in the Distillery District and realized the Christmas market was already set up. Had another year passed by so fast already? I can’t believe I’ve almost blogged 365 days in a row. It was a feat that in previous year couldn’t even get through to the first month, but I’m almost there guys! Super proud of my best friend and I!

Passed Halfway

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Cheers! This is my 184th blog post in a row this year. That means I’ve more than passed blogging every day for the entire year. The most incredible part is my best friend has also achieved this goal.

It hasn’t been easy. The last month and a half or so have been some of the craziest in terms of work and festivals. There were a couple of times where I became super close to forgetting (like seriously I was blogging at 11pm) but I managed to get in a post every day. Having a smartphone really helps when you are in a bind. The WordPress app for iOS isn’t perfect, but it’s sufficient enough to at least upload a photo and type some words.

Though sometimes the quality isn’t the greatest, I am super happy with all my posts. I have become less critical about publishing my work and find it a lot easier to speak my mind. I like to write down ideas (or even entire posts) as soon as they come to mind, so a lot of my writing has been happening on the go on my phone. I contemplate carrying around a notebook (and you know I love Moleskines) but having a digital notebook in my pocket is just so convenient.

The summer business stretch isn’t over yet! But I’m not quitting. Besides the busier I am, the more ideas and photos I have to blog about! It’s a win win.

Life is a continuous adventure and I love sharing it with all you here.

100 Days of Blogging

April 10, 201530 Day Challenge, Inspiration, Life2 Comments

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.

2 Months of Blogging

February 28, 201530 Day Challenge, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset — 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.

One Month Of Blogging

January 31, 201530 Day Challenge, Inspiration, Life1 Comment

I did it. For the first time ever, I blogged every day for an entire month. I came close a few times (in previous Januarys) but it never happened, until now. Here’s what I accomplished so far:

To get out of my own head. A lot of the times, you are your own obstacle when blogging. Hitting publish or sitting down to write a post (because you convince yourself you are tired) is the hardest part. Thoughts like “This post isn’t perfect yet” or “This sounds dumb” frequent my mind. But this year, I decided to hit publish and leave no idea unpublished.

Write first, edit second. Typing the ideas out as they come is a priority. Sometimes I’m out in public, waiting for the train and not at a computer. However, I write whatever I’m thinking in OneNote and come back to them later. Other times, I’m at a computer and write an entire post in less than 10 minutes.

Everything is an idea. Especially on a personal blog, ideas are not a problem. Everything can be a post. The food I ate, the really random thing I bought or any art work to show off. There’s inspiration everywhere. Posts don’t have to be the same and I found that variety works with the followers.

Write for me, not anyone else. This is my journal. I stopped thinking about whether a certain post would be popular. I do this for my enjoyment first and it’s a bonus if everybody else enjoys the ride too.

I’ll continue blogging every single day and continue to learn from the experience. I’m not going to break the chain and see if I can make it to 365 posts this year!