Day 28 of "Figuring it Out" - Thunder and Lightning!

Kia Ora friends! Happy Thursday. It's a gloomy Thursday here in Melbourne, lots of rain and we even saw a bit of thunder and lightning earlier this morning. Feels like one of those days where you just want to crawl up under a fluffy blanket with a hot chocolate and snacks and watch movies - personally love watching spooky movies on days like this.

PIN IT

I'm back at work today but I'm definitely struggling staring at the screens as I'm still quite dizzy. Luckily, I was allowed to WFH as my stomach is also still quite upset. But it means I don't have to brave PT today and it's a 10-6 shift so coming home in the dark on a night when Luke can't pick me up is not ideal when you're not feeling 100%. I've got a few meetings on today and a few tasks to catch up on from being away so trying to get in an early blog post today. I really need to come up with a set time to post - it's just that my brain has ideas at different times of the day and sometimes I feel like writing and other times I don't. Like my life feels like a stream of consciousness sorta thing. And other times, I start writing a post and then come back to it later in the day. Anyway, with that being said, I'd also love to get back into more creative writing such as slam poetry, fiction, and maybe even more academic-research based writing. I feel like I did some of my best writing at university - although I don't think everyone will agree but hey, I came out with a pretty cool masters degree at the end! Anyone wanna buy some poetry? LOL.

I can't believe in less than a month I am going to be 28. It makes me feel like I haven't actually accomplished that much in my life. But then I have to tell those intrusive thoughts that they are wrong and that I have accomplished a lot. Although, idk who really thinks that much of those things tbh but here's a list of my accomplishments thus far!

• A BA degree with honours with a double major in Sociology and Psychology (second class)

• A Masters degree in Sociology (by research) with distinction (A- overall)

• My university success is really a positive for me because I didn't pass year 13 high school and had to work a bit harder to get into uni but I think it worked out for the best

• Success at taking landscape and astro-photos

• Moved to a new country and started an academic career

• I have given lectures at university

• I can cook and also bake pretty well

• I'm good at finding bargains. For example, I found the most amazing saucepan/pot on Temple & Webster for $25 down from like $90AUD and it's been the best pot that Luke and I have ever used

• I can meditate (this was really hard to be able to do because I am not someone who is always good at being in the present or doing "nothing") so it definitely took a lot of practice but now it feels like second nature to me

• I can drive a manual (took me awhile to learn hill starts but thanks to mum and dad for persevering through all my panic attacks whilst learning and showing me what to do)

• I'm learning graphic design skills on canva (this one is more of a work in progress one though)

• I'm also really good at organising and tidying (this one might be a bit of a weird flex and likely due to my OCD but ya know)

• I've gotten better at looking after my mental health in general and knowing when the right time to move on from something is

• I've done a crazy overnight hike - https://www.alltrails.com/trail/new-zealand/canterbury/lees-valley-road-track

• I've finally started a blog and learned that I can post what I want online without needing someone else's approval (this was something I wanted to do back in 2020 and I think maybe even earlier than that but I was always too scared of how much I'd be judged for it)

  
  

I'm kinda struggling to think of more now but I'm sure there is but there's always that little voice inside my head being like do more, push yourself and burn out, and with my health being the way it is right now, I really can't push myself too much. Especially when I do need to rest and recover and take a step back. But while I do that, there are more things I want to focus on like more writing, making more creative content online (e.g., videos), learn more about SEO, organise the house so it's super clean for moving next year, learn more make up techniques, get back into baking and cooking and eventually, back into hiking and exercise (once I am feeling better of course). I'm really looking forward to getting back into all the things I love and learning more about the world too! It's a fascinating place.

I will end it there today! But for today's question, what's your favourite board game? Let me know in the comments below. Mine is for sure Scrabble!

Ka kite!

Much love,

Ash xx