Random Ramblings #2

Last fall I wrote a post of random thoughts and ramblings because I had nothing else to say that week. And I enjoyed writing it too, so I figured I’d make it an option for when the regular content well has run a little dry. The previous blog post was written and edited fully the night before it went live, which is a sign of desperation as usually I just edit and schedule previously written drafts the night before. So clearly I’m in need of some more ideas and drafts, but this week we’re taking it easy and just rambling.

This week has flown by. In fact, most of May has flown by. That’s part of the reason I’m doing a post like this because what do you mean it’s already time for another blog post? It feels like I just posted yesterday! Next week I have to set aside some time to focus and get some drafts in the works. It makes me feel better and it makes the posting process better, even last minute.

I’ve just been wasting a lot of time lately, I guess. I already have less time per week as I do spend a few hours commuting into work now, though I do work from home a few days, and curling is over for the summer, so I do have those hours back now. But there are silly YouTube videos to watch and mindless social media to scroll. One thing I’ve been watching a lot of lately on YouTube is Financial Audit. It’s this guy who invites people–usually in debt–onto the show and goes through their monthly expenses and highlights how they could be living a better life. I’ll admit, for me it’s kind of “poverty porn” as they call it, as I do not have bad spending habits and I was luckily raised with financial literacy so it’s not like I’m relating to any of it, but I just find it interesting to see how people justify ruining their lives so casually and how the host reacts so passionately.

Me nightly

I’ve also been watching a lot of YouTube Shorts. I was good and stayed away from TikTok, but Shorts are interesting because they’re so not targeted. It’s just mindless nonsense, and sometimes I like just zoning out and watching it for twenty minutes. I also consider it research for work because we do have a TikTok account for work, and I need to keep up with the trends to some extent.

And speaking of keeping up…one thing I thought I had kept up with more than I have is WordPress. I’ve been on this platform for over a decade, but recently I had to use WordPress at work, and I realized how behind I am. I made my site years ago, so I haven’t explored themes or styles in a while, and I sneakily choose to use a very old version to write (the Classic Editor, as it’s called), so I haven’t adapted to new editors.

This is genuinely what I open up when I start writing a new post.

I knew WordPress had made advances in their editors and I knew new themes were coming out yearly, but I didn’t feel a desire to change. And every time I tried out the new editor just to see, I didn’t like it or it slowed me down.

So when I took on the task of updating a website at work that was made a year earlier, I had no choice but to get very, very familiar with block editing and patterns and a whole new style of WordPress. But I got it done and it was interesting, even if I found some of the advancements to be more frustrating and complicated than they need to be.

I really thrive on tasks like updating/fixing that website. I don’t know what it is, but I was dialed in for two days, just focused on it fully. I didn’t even feel a need to listen to music. I think back to other projects like that such as fixing iTunes problems or working with sneeze count data, and it’s the same. I’ll sit for hours focused and content until I get to a place where I’m satisfied.

Anyway, I’m gonna go pack because I’m going to my boyfriend’s for the weekend, and we’re going kayaking, so on top of the regular weekend needs, I need to make sure I have a hat and bathing suit and flip-flops. Of course, by the time you read this, the weekend will be over. I hope I had everything I needed and had fun. (Edit as of Monday night: LOL no but that’s a story for the next blog post).

That’s all for now! Thanks for letting me spout some blabber once again!

 

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Random Ramblings Because I Have Nothing Else To Say

It’s been a while since I’ve found myself needing a blog post to go up and having nothing ready. Usually I at least have some half-written draft I can finish and publish. Sometimes I have an idea that I have time to flesh out fully. But this week, I have nothing. And you know what? That’s okay. For now. I hope it’s just a temporary outage.

And since I didn’t want to just skip a week, I figured I’d throw some word vomit down and see where that takes me. I don’t often get to just ramble because I usually have some specific direction I take my posts.

So what’s new with me? Not much. I did just come back from a long weekend up in Tobermory, though. Some friends and I rented a little cabin for a few days and had a lot of fun going on hikes and ‘roughing’ it. We had great weather for September. There were five of us, and it’s really weird to think that this friend group came together during the pandemic. I genuinely didn’t know two of them a few years ago, and now they’re some of the most important people to me. I really, really hope we’re able to maintain this friendship down the line as our lives get busy. We’re all the same breed of silly, and that’s special, I think.

The Grotto

View from the Devil’s Monument loop hike

I was never someone who had a lot of true friends, and for a while that was fine because I filled my time with TV shows and fandom and social media. I was content arranging my life around that. I remember a period in university where I genuinely had six or seven TV shows to watch on a Tuesday night alone. I loved it. I made sure homework and dinner were done by 8pm so I could dive into that. But things are different now. I’ve definitely aged out of fandom culture to some extent, but I also am not as enthralled and devoted to much anymore. I’m not even watching six shows a week, never mind one day. Has my taste evolved or has TV just gotten worse? Probably both.

And hey, speaking of TV, this is some wild strike going on, eh? I am definitely on the side of the writers and actors here. It’s ridiculous that networks and companies were able to even run the way they were. Capitalism is truly a disease. I hope this strike ends soon and marks the start of a real positive change in the industry.

I don’t want to start moaning about how unfair the world is now, so here’s a new topic: my brother’s birthday is coming up soon, and I don’t know what to get him. What would the mid-20’s males in your life like to receive? I don’t think I’m a bad gift giver, but I want to give gifts that people like getting. My parents like to remind us that “it’s a blessing to not need anything” which is true but doesn’t help me when I’m on page 7 of Google results for gift ideas and still have nothing. I don’t think I’m the easiest to buy for either, though.

My boyfriend and I have agreed so far (aka I made him agree to it) that we not get each other Valentine’s or anniversary gifts. We can go out for dinner or do something together, but I don’t want him buying me something because he feels like he has to, as such holidays often promote. I don’t need anything. And I don’t enjoy the pressure of having to find a perfect gift either. So no.

Maybe because I was thinking about relationships just now, but a show popped into my mind and I realized that I have never mentioned it on my blog. Farming For Love. It’s a new Canadian show, but it’s a variation of a worldwide franchise with the same concept: a dating show trying to find partners for average farmers. I’m not usually one to watch dating shows, but since my boyfriend is from a more rural area and I joke about that a lot, it caught my eye. We binged it recently (shout out to Rogers Ignite) and were surprised at how entertaining it was for both of us. It’s just as goofy as any other dating show out there but seemed a bit less dramatic and staged than you’d expect. To my fellow Canadians looking for something to watch in place of the normal fall TV broadcasts, give Farming For Love a try.

All of the sudden, this post has gotten quite lengthy, so I’ll end it here. I had fun writing this, actually, and maybe I’ll do more posts like these. If you liked it. Tell me if you do. Either way, thanks for putting up with this in place of my normal, more focused content.

That’s all for now.

 

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