Today I Turned 27

Presents from the boyfriend

I turned 27 today. 27 is such a weird age. Nobody writes happy songs about it (I looked). It felt a little weird to be nearing 30. A lot of the people I went to school with are now married and have children. Though I one day want those things, I’m not ready for that yet. I feel like there’s so much of life to explore first. It’s just hard to get caught up in societal expectations at times.

But screw that.

I will make 27 special in my own way. I’ll go on new adventures, try new things, make new memories to make this year as special as the last.

Video Round-Up: Fail Nails, A Normal Monday, Wavelength Pre-Party

Another 3 Vlogs up on Youtube. First I tried that dumb nail kit:

Then I had a pretty boring Monday

And lastly I went to the Wavelength pre-party show with Speed Ortiz, HSY and WISH

 

Wavelength 15

 

Today’s a holiday here in Toronto. It’s Family Day, but I am using it to recover from a very busy weekend at Wavelength’s 15th anniversary music festival. Find all photos and reviews here.

Mondays…

You know those days where a series of unfortunate events happen in movies? Sometimes life is a little like that. It’s not funny when you’re in the experience. In fact I almost want to cry a little when they’re happening but when you look back at the events you can laugh a little.

Last night it actually snowed. The weather people have been warning us of snow storms all winter but have been wrong about it. But this time they were right. Without looking out the window, I unexpectedly walked out into a few snow banks.

Then I waited for my first bus in what felt like -20 temperatures. My toes were already beginning to freeze. When I got to the subway, someone pressed the emergency alarm at two consecutive stops on the same train. It stalled 10-15 minutes each time for emergency personnel to arrive. Then immediately after that all trains on same line I were held for a fire investigation at one station. In Toronto, when one train on the line stops, all of them are screwed. Our system is inefficient that way.

Anyways, after quite some time, I finally made the destination of my last bus, only to find out that we couldn’t leave the station. Cars were stuck trying to go up hills and as a result, so where some buses which led to a big traffic jam.

At that point I just wanted to yell STOP. Which was kind of funny because (after 30 minutes of sitting in freezing cold) eventually took a detour. On the detour I snapped a photo of a van with the word STOP on the windshield.

There’s not actually a point to this story. I did end up making it to work and the rest was normal.

However, I now have a fever. Maybe I’ll wake up fine and tomorrow will be a perfectly regular day. I mean it can’t go worse than today right?

One Month Of Blogging

blog

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!

Video Round-up: Rib Time, New Couch, Peanut Butter Bars

Hey guys! It’s time for another Vlog round-up. Here’s what I’ve been up to..

I made some ribs:

I bought a new couch:

I made Reese Pieces Bars:

 

Looking Forward Not Back

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”.

couch

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.”

yoda

Vlog Round-up: Cooking Calamari, Octopus and a Surprise Dinner

Last week, it was super cold so I stocked up on a whole bunch of groceries. The only problem was I didn’t buy anything “normal” people buy.

First I cooked calamari

Then Octopus

And lastly, Nash made me a surprise dinner!

 

Learning to Declutter

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I recently moved downtown Toronto into my own bachelor apartment. It’s a tiny but a perfect place. Plus, it’s finally my own  place.However, I’ve had to learn to downsize, in order to keep my place tidy and not clusterphobic. Here’s a few tips when downsizing to a smaller place:

Take only the books you need:
Back home at my parent’s house, I have so many books. Many of them, I’ll probably never read again but I linger on the possibility that I might reference them.

Throw out the packaging:
I’m a sucker of cool packaging and am guilty for keeping it all. Sometimes for this reason, I’ll leave things in their packaging for too long and they don’t get used. Open everything (if not than give it away), so there’s a greater possibility it will be used. Recycle the packaging if possible. This will also prevent you from buying future things with cool boxes.

Find Multiple Uses For Things:
My little sister bought me a miniature Christmas tree that’s been sitting on my windowsill. Instead of throwing it out, or taking up space in my closet, I think I will keep it on the windowsill and call it the “Occasion/Theme Tree” where we will decorate it with different things year round. If you really want to keep cool packaging, make use of it. They can be storage boxes for loose art supplies or a environmentally friendly way to wrap gifts. I also re-used this Christmas chocolate wafer tin to hold my pens.

Have you ever downsized? I’d love to know your tips.

This Year I Want To Blog More

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Actually dressed up for a show #selfie #nye

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Happy New Year!

Every year, I seem to have a new opinion on the whole idea of New Years Resolutions. Last year, my new year resolution was to have none. And it was awesome. I wasn’t disappointed for breaking promises to myself. In fact, I had a pretty great year and finally achieved a few milestones that I’ve been struggling to reach for a few years.

I was finally employed (twice) and for the first time ever, moved out of my parent’s house. I travelled and attended my best friend’s wedding in PEI. I took on more collaborative projects and forced myself to leave the house and make new friends. I was truly really busy for the first time. This led to putting a lot of blog posts on the backburner. I have plenty of content in the queue that is my mind, but I just haven’t put the pen to paper (or I guess the fingers to the keyboard). My excuses were plenty. I’m too tired after work. I don’t have time. I could be watching more movies on Netflix. The problem is they were all stupid excuses. The more I pushed writing, the harder it was to get back into it.

That’s why for 2015. I want to blog more. Blog more here. Blog more on Ride the Tempo. I’ve already pushed myself to start over the holidays. As much as I can, I will blog everyday. Whether it is a photo blog , a drawing, or a piece of longform writing, I will hit the blue publish button and send something into the interwebs. It will encourage me to find time for a bit of time everyday to be creative.  Afterall, to improve at something is to do it every day and here on my personal blog, there are no boundaries.

Hi, people of 2015, you will be seeing much more of me.