inspiration – Page 3

15 Days of No Complaining

April 15, 201530 Day Challenge, Inspiration, Life1 Comment

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

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.

My Life is a TV Sitcom

March 23, 2015Life3 Comments

Do you ever feel like you are the embarrassing character in a sitcom? There are times where I feel like I am such a clutz that everything bad or terrible always happens to me. Sometimes at the same time. I can never seem to catch a break.

I was having such a great weekend and then I dropped my external hard drive. Thankfully it still works. Then I lost my Metropass somehow. My Monday is off to a great start.

Sometimes these things would send me into a downward spiral . It’s hard not to want to cry, and sometimes that’s okay. But really whenever bad things happen, I think about times where I have had it worse. When there was a fire on the subway and it is delayed followed by buses that couldn’t make it up the hill because of a storm. The time I was cleaning the house and then tripped over the broomstick and hit my head on the counter. A slip and fall on ice that scraped my knee, another in front of a packed bus.

Somehow thinking of myself like a weird character in my own life story makes me feel a little bit better. I can laugh it off and know that I’ll live to tell another episode.

Found Treasure: My World Map Desk

February 9, 2015February 9, 2015Design, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

probably should have moved all those cords for the photo

When I moved out on my own to downtown Toronto in October, I literally had no furniture of my own. Most of my apartment was furnished by IKEA and Walmart. My favourite piece of furniture however, was found. It was a wooden desk with a world map as its table top.

Dad found it the week I was about to move out. The neighbours across the street had chucked it to the curb. He knew he had to sweep it up right away. The desk was in perfect condition with hardly any scuffs. It was also very clean. However, a closer glance at the tabletop would prove that it may be retro considering the divides in Europe reflect that of the 50s.

I love it though. It serves as a great place for inspirational thoughts and artistic creations.

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!

Hesitance and the Idea of Perfectionism

January 22, 2015January 22, 2015Art, Inspiration, Life1 Comment

I’ve always wanted to be a creative person. I always thought that it was a goal to work towards. I love buying countless notebooks, pens and art supplies to encourage myself to explore different creative avenues.

Many of those things remained untouched.

And it’s not because I am lazy, or that I didn’t have time. The reason for this artist-block (for lack of a better term) was that I was hesitant. I was waiting for the perfect idea to draw, paint or write down. I thought it would be wasteful if I used any of those supplies on an idea that wouldn’t be good enough (to show someone and/or blog about) or that I would mess up.

Now I’m realizing, it’s more wasteful that these things sit in my drawers. I won’t get better at drawing, painting, writing if I just sat staring at the things in my desk in perfect condition. I should stop fearing that I’ll “waste” these supplies, as they can always be replenished. What can’t be replaced is the time I spent thinking this way.

Just as I am challenging myself to hit “Publish” more on this blog, I will get over the same hesitance when putting a pen (paint, crayon, whatever) to paper.

Looking Forward Not Back

January 18, 2015Family, Inspiration, Life1 Comment

By the end of last year, I accomplished many personal goals. I got a new job, I took a trip to the East Coast, bought a new laptop, and finally moved out and got my own place in downtown Toronto.

I’m determined to keep the momentum going and remain optimistic about the future. However, there are always emotion hurdles to face. I’m technically on contract for my job and my parent’s still say things to me like “Don’t buy a couch in case you have to move back home”.

So I bought a couch. Failure is not an option for me. Neither is looking back and moving back home (at least to me) would be seen as moving backwards. I will work my hardest to either have extended employment or create a new opportunities elsewhere. Though well meaning, I will not let less than positive thoughts affect me. In the wise words of Yoda: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

Quoteskine Volume 1 by Lee Crutchley

February 12, 2014Art, Books, DesignLeave a Comment

I forgot how exactly I stumbled across Lee Crutchley’s Quoteskine project but I loved the idea and bought the book.

Crutchley started the Quoteskine project on Tumblr as a creative way to visualize thoughts and quotes. Some were completely random and others were from songs, TV shows and movies.

The book is collection of his best works (at the time of publishing). The Tumblr is still going so maybe there will be a Volume 2.

The drawings in the book retain their original hand-drawn quality. You can see marker and pencil crayon lines and I adore that he left them unpolished like that. It has convinced me to start my own quote drawing. I have already written down a few ideas. Maybe I’ll share them with you in a later post!

Reflecting on Freewriting 1000 Words A Day

February 5, 2014Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Back in November of 2013, I stumbled on an article on Medium that talked about making a habit of writing 1000 words a day. Around the same time, I also started to freewrite 1000 words a day and did so for the past few months. Most of it was total freewrite, so any words that came to my fingers or the dreams and thoughts that went through my head.

Some became album reviews, blog posts, tweets and Facebook statuses. The majority were rubbish. I started each morning with the exercise, not ceasing until I had indeed reached at least 1000 words. In the end, it became exhausting. I ran out of things to write and it became repetitive. I also often found myself ruminating in negative thoughts over and over. Sometimes it would take up the entire morning and would leave me with little energy to do anything else (though I think that partially has to do with winter SADS). The quality and my enthusiasm for the exercise had plummeted. I didn’t want to write to fill a quota any longer.

That doesn’t mean I’ll stop writing, hell I’m writing this blog post right now. However, like I said in my New Years Resolutions vlog, I don’t want to set strict guidelines for myself that will make me hate things that I normally enjoy. I’ll remain living in the moment and writing the second inspiration hits, like 11pm right now. I’m sure the 1000 word writing challenge can be helpful and useful to some, but it isn’t for me!

When All Else Fails, Hit It

October 9, 2013Inspiration, Life, Technology, Video GamesLeave a Comment

Recently, I dug my original Nintendo Entertainment System out of the closet because I wanted to experience the nostalgia of old games once again. Like all old NES systems, I was cursed with the infamous flashing blue screen.

I Google the problem on the internet. I cleaned my games with alcohol and a Q tip. I took the system apart and attempted to repair the 72 prong connector. None of this worked, the blue screen still flashed.

Then I decided to use the method that made the least sense. I hit it. I gave the system a smack and lo and behold, Mario 3’s curtains appeared on the screen. Sometimes what works is not always what can be easily explained.

I think it’s an interesting life lesson to live by. The road we choose may not always be the most logical, but they may lead to something awesome. The answer to problems might require thinking outside of the box (or in this case hitting the box). However, giving up should never be the conclusion.