Hello! It has been quite some time since I last posted anything. Those that follow my social networking will no doubt have some idea of what I’ve been up to. For the people that don’t, I’ll post a quick overview and move from there.
I haven’t done much reading or writing of late. I stopped playing Final Fantasy XIV and started playing Elder Scrolls Online instead. I got sucked back into social networking but am trying to cut back again. The garden that I started earlier this year consists of several garden beds now. I am still horribly unfit, which has likely contributed to my recent bout of the flu kicking my butt for longer than it should have. I think that sums it up as succinctly as possible.
Whilst I haven’t done much reading and writing, I’ve found renewed vigour after starting ESO. The story-rich world of Tamriel is one that I am sad that I didn’t play months sooner. Much in all as I enjoyed FFXIV, it still lacked the level of depth and community that works for me. Recently, I also tried my hand at running a few events for one of my guilds. I would have done so again this past weekend if not for the flu. In any case, I am really enjoying the game and am also making some progress fleshing out one of my story worlds.
Which comes to the world of Lurra. Lurra is a fantasy world that is the product of one of my old freewrites. Whilst the initial story has been scrapped, it spawned a vibrant, living world with its share of political intrigue and romance. I also got to create some interesting cultures, religions, etc… It is by no means fleshed out enough to start working on, but I have the core characters for the first series now fleshed out. I just need to get the plot laid out ahead of filling in the gaps. After all, those fine details can either make or break a story. Anyway, I will try to post updates about it again soon.
In lieu of my interest in gardening and a desire to improve my health, I started working on my first real garden beginning in mid-March. I set up a compost, got a worm farm for my birthday <3, saved seeds, bought seeds, planted, grew, prepared beds and other things in order to encourage myself to get outside more. I also expanded my knowledge by watching lots of videos (some of which were college material uploaded to YT) and read lots of articles in order to make informed decisions. I have easily spent more than a hundred hours learning about this stuff. That being said, there was some redundancy in these materials.
Alas, winter came along, delaying much of my efforts. Due to the decreased rainfall and temperatures, I also noticed lots of insects and other wildlife (I’m looking at you, Joe the Bush Turkey!), scrounging for food sources. Seeds were taken and beds were dug up, leading to some frustration on my part. However, I was forced to adapt. Whilst I don’t have a perfect system, I now have ways to deal with these annoyances. Problem-solving is an important part of this little adventure and I’ve received quite a bit of help from some friends living across the road.
Whilst I don’t get as much physical activity as I would like, I have placed garbage bins in the front yard rather than the back of the house. Why is this relevant? It encourages me to check my plants whenever I put stuff in the bins. This method was a result of learning BJ Fogg’s TinyHabits method. It is a simple idea but it makes sense. Just take one action that you’d like to create into a larger habit and attach it onto another. Simple, but it works.
So, what is my plan for the blog in future? Given how little I’ve been posting of late, I’ve decided to knock down the schedule a bit and build up as feasible. I doubt I will post as regularly as I used to. However, I am hoping that it will be more manageable and provide higher quality, more entertaining posts.
