So I've had a lot of things to focus on, which can be pretty overwhelming.
My roommates/boyfriend and I have been working on cleaning up the house and making it a better living environment.
We're also all working on becoming healthier...
But it can get kinda expensive. I know I've probably spent about the same on groceries, but lately it hasn't seemed that way. The only reason I care is because I'd rather the numbers be the same because rent is becoming a concern. It's hard to stay healthy with a low income. You have to remember to consider all of your mental and emotional needs outside of your physical. All of those things can become overwhelming. Not to mention you've got a home and your transportation/car to worry about. I'm going to try and take on more shifts at work, because I really need the money. I'm exhausted knowing that I'm practically unable to save anything. Every dollar I get seems to have a place to go before I can even use it. Most of the time I save what I have to afford eating, which is ridiculous in my opinion.
I'm working on: eating healthier, exercising more, getting a tan - basically trying to look and feel good. I'm working on a career too - which is unfortunate because it's practically nonexistent. I'm looking forward to seeing some progress in my life. I can definitely multi-task, my problem is motivation.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Alright so the blog on becoming a food critic is going well in my opinion. I don't expect to get a lot of attention from it until it's more developed, and honestly won't be too upset if it doesn't get attention at all. I'm mostly just forcing myself to study and work on becoming a food critic on the side so that I can practice writing skills, build some writing samples, and work on a direction for a career. I think that the blog is successfully pushing me in the direction I want to be in, which is fantastic because I never knew I could motivate myself by not wanting to sound like an idiot directing other people (as it is a website anyone can access).
As for my book, I learned that I need the word count to be from 80,000-100,000 words. I'm checking the word count right now...
THIS IS GREAT. I'm not sure why because the book is around 200 pages so it shouldn't have been as bad as I was expecting, but I seriously thought my book was only around like - 20,000 words. I really would have been disappointed because I've been working on this thing for YEARS--and there's no way I can expect myself to push this thing into becoming published being so far behind from so much time...
But ANYWAYS, my book has approximately 58,563 words according to Word's word count. This is definitely great news because that means I only need about 21,500-41,400 words to complete this effectively. That is definitely manageable because I have a second document with a bunch of random pieces of the story that need to go back into the book (which is a lot more words to add) - and now I'm going to check THAT word count...
2,110 words... So 60,673 (ish) words is what I've got. That means I've got an even 20-40 thousand words to add. Not bad seeing as how I've got to go back in and add a little more setting, dialogue, and basically more thorough explanations to the why's and how's of the plot. My only current concern is pushing myself to dedicate the time to it. My plan is to finish the book once and for all - submit about 150-200 query letters to agents, and if I'm not accepted, self-publish my novel on Amazon. Oh, and if I can really push myself, I'd love to somehow find a way to convert the dialogue from what it is now (very modern) to something medieval - matching the setting more. Hopefully I can achieve my goals!
As for daily exercise and eating healthier, I'm loving it. I feel a little bit more energy each day I force myself to push, and I also feel a little more empowered each day as well. I like seeing results when I work hard, which is what I think I've needed for quite a while now.
I've done a lot of worrying about my attitude because I went through a lot of downs within the past few years. From crappy relationships to struggling to believe in myself throughout college, I thought everything would change when I graduated. I figured I'd get more respect, I knew I'd have half a word load, and I also thought I'd have a good job and make good money and be capable of doing whatever the hell I wanted...
Little did I know. I'm ashamed to say it's taken me six months to pull myself back together and accept that half the battle of finding a good solid career in your life is followed by college, not all of college itself. I've got the education on my resume, but now I have to build experience. This is why my whole focus is on becoming a food critic and finishing my book. I'm not even going to allow myself to try and consider other things to focus on because I know I'll throw my hands up and give up on everything if it becomes too much. This is why I am now writing a journal. I must record my efforts so that I can track my progress and consider my life much more often. I actually like reflecting like this, it kind of comforts me that I'm on some sort of path. I should do this more often. :)
As for my book, I learned that I need the word count to be from 80,000-100,000 words. I'm checking the word count right now...
THIS IS GREAT. I'm not sure why because the book is around 200 pages so it shouldn't have been as bad as I was expecting, but I seriously thought my book was only around like - 20,000 words. I really would have been disappointed because I've been working on this thing for YEARS--and there's no way I can expect myself to push this thing into becoming published being so far behind from so much time...
But ANYWAYS, my book has approximately 58,563 words according to Word's word count. This is definitely great news because that means I only need about 21,500-41,400 words to complete this effectively. That is definitely manageable because I have a second document with a bunch of random pieces of the story that need to go back into the book (which is a lot more words to add) - and now I'm going to check THAT word count...
2,110 words... So 60,673 (ish) words is what I've got. That means I've got an even 20-40 thousand words to add. Not bad seeing as how I've got to go back in and add a little more setting, dialogue, and basically more thorough explanations to the why's and how's of the plot. My only current concern is pushing myself to dedicate the time to it. My plan is to finish the book once and for all - submit about 150-200 query letters to agents, and if I'm not accepted, self-publish my novel on Amazon. Oh, and if I can really push myself, I'd love to somehow find a way to convert the dialogue from what it is now (very modern) to something medieval - matching the setting more. Hopefully I can achieve my goals!
As for daily exercise and eating healthier, I'm loving it. I feel a little bit more energy each day I force myself to push, and I also feel a little more empowered each day as well. I like seeing results when I work hard, which is what I think I've needed for quite a while now.
I've done a lot of worrying about my attitude because I went through a lot of downs within the past few years. From crappy relationships to struggling to believe in myself throughout college, I thought everything would change when I graduated. I figured I'd get more respect, I knew I'd have half a word load, and I also thought I'd have a good job and make good money and be capable of doing whatever the hell I wanted...
Little did I know. I'm ashamed to say it's taken me six months to pull myself back together and accept that half the battle of finding a good solid career in your life is followed by college, not all of college itself. I've got the education on my resume, but now I have to build experience. This is why my whole focus is on becoming a food critic and finishing my book. I'm not even going to allow myself to try and consider other things to focus on because I know I'll throw my hands up and give up on everything if it becomes too much. This is why I am now writing a journal. I must record my efforts so that I can track my progress and consider my life much more often. I actually like reflecting like this, it kind of comforts me that I'm on some sort of path. I should do this more often. :)
Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
It's 2:45, and it's Friday. I've worked these hours before, always when I was in college. When I graduated about 7 months ago, I wasn't expecting to come back to this... I imagined a dream job waiting for me. But I guess it's no different than anyone else with this economy. I hear I'm not the only one at least.
Anyways, it's strange getting used to again. It's strange forcing myself to remember to work at a blog more. But I've always heard it's good for the mind to keep a journal to record your thoughts... Helps sort through things I guess. Alright so what are my goals right now..?
Just started this journal, a blog on becoming a food critic, and I'm working on my book. I'll be totally honest, I'm really eager to work on a new topic--but I know that's how I mess myself up, so I'm going to focus on these three tasks. I don't want to end up overwhelming myself with a ton of things that need to be done and giving up altogether because of it. No, that definitely won't do. I worked on both blogs in the AM today before work, so I think I owe myself a little time to work on edits for Quintessence tonight... After all--it's been 8 years... I seriously owe myself a published novel.
10:25 PM - Back home from work and just ate dinner... And it's almost frustrating really. I'm working on visualizing my goals better, and I can definitely imagine my book getting published, but I'm really worried about when it will actually get finished... I mean, it's done--but it still needs those little edits--the ones that make everything solid and perfect and guaranteeing. I'm also scared because now that the book is much closer to being finished, I've realized that the genre it should be classified as is not what I originally anticipated it to be. ORIGINALLY, I wanted it to be an adult fantasy (medieval/sci-fi - not dirty!) novel... But I suppose there's nothing wrong with young-adult. I guess I kinda just feel like my work turned out more juvenile than I'd have liked it to be--but it is seriously difficult trying to write several characters in a medieval speak! ...So their verbatim in the book is in my opinion--more modern than I'd have liked, which makes it less authentic and a more 'easy-reader' type of read as well.
I'm trying to stay focused. I'm trying to find other job or career opportunities in my life, but when months pass by and no options come forth, a person tends to change their focus and find a new direction. That leaves me with my novel and my blogs.
So I'm working on learning and blogging about what it takes to become a food critic. I've worked in many different types of restaurants giving me broad knowledge on several different types of food and restaurants. I know seafood, steaks, Italian food, a little Greek food, American (obviously), Chinese (because I just love it so much, never worked for a place though), breakfast foods, etc. I've experienced the differences as a server working in a heavy corporation versus a family owned business. Not to mention whether or not the business was flopping versus kicking all the other restaurant's tails.
Basically, I think I've got a good start. I've got a Bachelors degree in English, specializing in Rhetoric and Professional Writing--so I'm lucky because of the confidence I have in owning up to the necessary tasks.
Anyways, it's strange getting used to again. It's strange forcing myself to remember to work at a blog more. But I've always heard it's good for the mind to keep a journal to record your thoughts... Helps sort through things I guess. Alright so what are my goals right now..?
Just started this journal, a blog on becoming a food critic, and I'm working on my book. I'll be totally honest, I'm really eager to work on a new topic--but I know that's how I mess myself up, so I'm going to focus on these three tasks. I don't want to end up overwhelming myself with a ton of things that need to be done and giving up altogether because of it. No, that definitely won't do. I worked on both blogs in the AM today before work, so I think I owe myself a little time to work on edits for Quintessence tonight... After all--it's been 8 years... I seriously owe myself a published novel.
10:25 PM - Back home from work and just ate dinner... And it's almost frustrating really. I'm working on visualizing my goals better, and I can definitely imagine my book getting published, but I'm really worried about when it will actually get finished... I mean, it's done--but it still needs those little edits--the ones that make everything solid and perfect and guaranteeing. I'm also scared because now that the book is much closer to being finished, I've realized that the genre it should be classified as is not what I originally anticipated it to be. ORIGINALLY, I wanted it to be an adult fantasy (medieval/sci-fi - not dirty!) novel... But I suppose there's nothing wrong with young-adult. I guess I kinda just feel like my work turned out more juvenile than I'd have liked it to be--but it is seriously difficult trying to write several characters in a medieval speak! ...So their verbatim in the book is in my opinion--more modern than I'd have liked, which makes it less authentic and a more 'easy-reader' type of read as well.
I'm trying to stay focused. I'm trying to find other job or career opportunities in my life, but when months pass by and no options come forth, a person tends to change their focus and find a new direction. That leaves me with my novel and my blogs.
So I'm working on learning and blogging about what it takes to become a food critic. I've worked in many different types of restaurants giving me broad knowledge on several different types of food and restaurants. I know seafood, steaks, Italian food, a little Greek food, American (obviously), Chinese (because I just love it so much, never worked for a place though), breakfast foods, etc. I've experienced the differences as a server working in a heavy corporation versus a family owned business. Not to mention whether or not the business was flopping versus kicking all the other restaurant's tails.
Basically, I think I've got a good start. I've got a Bachelors degree in English, specializing in Rhetoric and Professional Writing--so I'm lucky because of the confidence I have in owning up to the necessary tasks.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Let's see...
It's week 1 of trying a new blog.
Week 2 of working on my book again - (with attempts to finalize and publish).
Week 3 of work at Giovanni's as a server.
Week 4 of working out again.
Let's hope all this works out.
My goal is to create a blog of my own that I can demonstrate my abilities with. Hopefully viewers can also benefit from my posts too!
It's week 1 of trying a new blog.
Week 2 of working on my book again - (with attempts to finalize and publish).
Week 3 of work at Giovanni's as a server.
Week 4 of working out again.
Let's hope all this works out.
My goal is to create a blog of my own that I can demonstrate my abilities with. Hopefully viewers can also benefit from my posts too!
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