Kia Ora friends! Happy Fri-yay! I hope you're enjoying the Melbourne sunshine and have many exciting weekend plans for this weekend.
Today, it was announced that I will be stepping away from my current role as a student advisor, which as my manager said, a bittersweet moment. But, it has to happen for my health. And that absolutely sucks a**. But hey, health comes first right! And thank you to Luke for looking after me in this short term break I am going to have. I wrote a spiel on Facebook that I'll share with you all too:
"Kia Ora friends and whānau,
As many of you may know, both my physical health and mental health are two things that I've struggled with in my life from IBS to panic attacks and the rest, and when I moved to Melbourne, these got better. And I was feeling like I was on top of managing my symptoms. I went 6 months without a panic or anxiety attack. However, recently my physical health has taken an extreme decline with further IBS issues, chronic fatigue, deficiencies caused by IBS, unexplained fainting, hospital trips, dizziness, pain from nerve damage etc., and in turn, caused so much more extreme anxiety for myself. Some days waking up without being able to stand up from how dizzy I was. As you can imagine - this is not fun.
With a lot of doctors appointments (and many different doctors), back and forth with an HR department/managers, and the support of my partner Luke, the best thing to do was to leave my current student advisor role. I will be finishing up on the 3rd November to help them out in the final busy period of the year.
My plans following this are to take a short term break to help my health in the long run, where I will focus on recovering, resting, experimenting with more creative work and freelancing, a bit more travel and a summer for once, and really finding out what my purpose is in life. Once fully recovered, it will be back into the 9-5 job hunt grind as routine is something I need to help manage IBS symptoms and I also like working (for those of you who think I'm doing this for reasons that I just don't want to work - that is definitely not the case) I'd love to be able to not be struggling physically and just continue to do the job I am in. However, at this tine, my health is only going to get worse if I continue to push myself and burn myself out. So in order to be able to continue to do all the things I love in the future, a short term break is required.
Feel free to watch this space for any creative work I continue to do so in my newly found free time as Melbourne is going to continue to be the place I call home. Health should always come first and hopefully, I can manifest many more exciting opportunities for myself over here in Aus.
Thank you all for reading and for your continuous support over my journey.
Kia Kaha,
Ash"
I think that spiel pretty much sums everything up, it absolutely sucks but hey, health is important because if we don't have our health, then what do we have?
In other news, I am trying to work on getting this blog monetized but I don't think Google Adsense is very interested in it at the moment (I'm not sure whether it's due to the content I post or if it's just not getting enough engagement). It makes me wish I started doing creative work when I was studying but there's that voice in the back of my head that keeps going it's never too late. So I'm thinking of somehow attempting to sell some digital prints or designs online and set up some sort of shop like that through my blog. It's definitely a whole learning curve - blogging. Like how much should I post online? What are future employers going to think if they look me up? All things that I probably shouldn't worry about right now because I'm sure I will find my purpose, but at least writing is helping the mental health aspect for me right now. And maybe it will help lead me in the right direction. And also boredom breeds creativity (although I have a few plans to tidy a few of the cupboards first around the house because some of them are not very organised and I have OCD so I do not like that).
Anyway, for a more light-hearted post today, I thought I'd share some of my favourite TV series and YouTubers. It also means I don't have to think too much tonight. So let's start with TV series!
My Favourite TV Shows
Dark - if you know me, you know I love a good sci-fi show or movie, and Dark is just that. This show is from Germany and it's about time travel in ways that you had no idea were ever possible. It start's with a mysterious child's disappearance until they uncover the truth. It's a must watch. There's only 3 seasons and it's dubbed so I suggest just using subtitles but don't worry, the story is conveyed amazingly. Available on Netflix! (Gah, I sound like a walking advertisement).
Ragnarok - This is another TV show that's not in English as it's Norwegian (and dubbed again, so subtitles) BUT it's about how a teenager is the reincarnation of Thor and follows the more traditional Norse mythology of the God. I've only seen s1 and s2 but I am going to have to go back and watch it. Also on Netflix.
Blindspot - the FBI finds a woman in a bag covered in mysterious tattoos and they have to figure out what happened. I liked this one more than I thought I was going to. Some weird episodes too. I think it's on Netflix but originally from the NBC.
Black Mirror - I loved all the episodes until this season where it got way too real with the first episode so I've yet to catch up. But absolutely loved the rest of them. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's an anthology series (meaning no episode is tied to each other and each have their own story), that is speculative fiction. Give it a watch if you haven't seen it and tell me how uncomfortable you are afterwards.
Red Dwarf - currently re-watching this with Luke because it's amazing. Super silly sci-fi show. I'm now starting to see a theme in the shows I like (mainly sci fi and crime related).
Only Murders in the Building - omg this one is hands down amazing. I love it and I am all caught up on it all. Selena Gomes, Steve Martin, and Martin Short are the trio you did not know you needed!
Tuca and Bertie - a super cute adult cartoon about a Toucan and songbird and all the adventures they get up to.
And one last one, Inside Job - another adult cartoon that unfortunately got cancelled but it was really good!
My Favourite YouTubers
I think I've probably mentioned all of these Youtubers in this blog already, but you can see them again!
Sam and Colby - for their crazy ghost hunting adventures (even though not much actually happens, the hype is fun and gets you hooked).
KallmeKris - because she's hilarious and if you are feeling sad, you should watch her impressions.
CelinaSpookyBoo - for funny sleepwalking videos and spooky tings!
Michelle Platti - for conspiracy theories, Mandala effects, scary stories and more.
Cjades - for all things spooky.
Kendall Rae - a whole bunch of true crime and advocacy for victims.
Kara and Nate - an American travel couple doing crazy travel adventures around the world.
Flying The Nest - An Australian travel vlogging family that go on heaps of cool adventures and keep viewers interesting, they also share facts and prices of places they go too. Definitely super cute.
That's all for today really! Although I am still trying to think of a question. Let's keep it simple today, chocolate or vanilla? I'ma have to go with chocolate. Let me know what you prefer in the comments below.
See you tomorrow!
Much love,
Ash xx
Vanilla for me for sure but context is needed. Ice cream? Milkshakes? Something else etc lol