Catching up after being away for a while

    I didn't realize that I had stopped adding to my blog, and some time after, I forgot about my blog. Back in March of this year, I resigned from teaching in determination to become a software engineer. I was able to get accepted into the immersive program that I have been eyeing for a while, and I made it through! Now, I've been focusing on creating full-stack applications and trying to learn more about the technologies used in the industry. It definitely is a lot of work.

    I also got into plants this past March (which may or may not have been a good thing). I once wanted to declutter so that I could free up space, but now that space has been occupied with plants. They're not as bad as materialistic items, but it's probably time to stop buying and really focus on the important issue: stop buying plants to relieve stress. Stop buying anything in general. I admit that I have a tendency to take my stress out on my wallet. I get a thrill from being able to find items (or plants) at the lowest cost. But then again, that's just the wrong way to activate dopamine and avoid what I need to get done. 

   Furthermore, I recently discovered that part of my issue with getting stressed out is that I have too high of expectations for myself. The truth is, I don't know where the line should be drawn. When is anything good enough? When is it that I am going beyond expectations? If I allow myself to have another day to finish a task, does that mean I failed for the day? Since the software engineering immersive program ended, I've been adjusting my schedule so that I could get my job applications completed and submitted, learn and review technological skills, and work on my past and new application projects all at the same time. I found that I had to adjust each week, which has been causing stress because I inherently pack my schedule. But then, when I cut down on what I deem to be a lot, sometimes I don't get my list fulfilled because I procrastinated. I know that I procrastinate because it takes time and effort to get certain tasks done. So, the bottom line is, no matter how simple my list is, if there is a task that I dread doing, it will take much more time to complete regardless of what I had previously planned the end date to be.

    I need to be more discipline about when I get my work done. This goes the same for my art projects because those take time as well. I think for this week, I can try to cut down my most-dreaded task into even smaller bite-size piece so that it isn't so overwhelming. 

    Anyway, I thought of my blog because I was inspired to create a DIY sun hat out of yarn, which led me to other videos that I had watched about crocheting blankets. I definitely would like to get back into creating art again because I have several categories of materials that I would like to use up:

  • Yarn
  • Jewelry parts
  • Painting materials
  • Drawing materials
  • Felt
  • Fabrics for clothing
  • Clothes for refashion
  • Books
    These last several months have been different, especially with the world-wide pandemic. But, I have been able to declutter some more clothes, books, and other items without buying too many materialistic items (just mostly plants). So, now I am left with my more organized categories of materials.

    My plan for the month of October in terms of creating and finishing projects are:

  1. Upload pictures of projects that I have completed since January but have not posted on this blog.
  2. Start on a gingham crochet blanket
  3. Save as much of my money as I can.
 I will check back in at the end of the week with a more specific post about my October 2020 Box and Project plans. Thank you for reading!

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