The Curious Kat Blog

So, I recorded the raw footage for my second video a few days ago and I’m editing it as we speak. While I was editing the video, however, I came to a startling conclusion: my default expression in the video is a frown. I look so...dead-eyed and lifeless. I remember having fun recording it but there’s nothing fun about watching someone look unhappy. Some of my favorite people, real and fictional, are people who are optimists. People who can always see the good in everything and everyone. I strive to be that same kind of person everyday, it makes any hardships in life easier for you and people you surround yourself with. I’d much rather be around optimists than pessimists and I consider myself much more of an idealist than a cynic. So, I’m making a promise to smile from beginning to end in all of my videos. I promise myself I will embrace the happy!

Moral of the Story: do NOT trust anyone who says they’re from a computer, technology, government or company who should have your information already, with information they pressure you to give them. These companies do not call YOU, YOU call THEM. So...be careful or you will get screwed over...royally.

I’ve begun training myself to go to bed earlier and so far, I’ve been getting better sleep. I’m getting tired at appropriate times and am no longer going to bed after two in the morning. The latest I should be in bed is 1 AM and I’ve been sticking to that to get at least six and a half hours of sleep. My ideal goal is to be in bed before midnight every night. I know that seems a little impossible for a young adult in this day and age but it’ll force me to make better use of my waking hours knowing I’ll be in bed so early. I also exercised for the first time in months last Friday; the post-workout muscle soreness is real. I’ve taken to working out indoors to avoid excessive amounts of pollen mixing with my already stuffed-up nose. I also have plans to actually cook dinner this upcoming Saturday, I’ll let you know how it turns out. 

As you can plainly see, there are plenty of good reasons to not be healthier this year. There's no reason to power through these excuses, that's why I'm not going to be trying my hardest and vowing to lose at least 25 lbs this year. I will also not be keeping track of my progress with this blog and i have absolutely no intention of succeeding in my endeavors........ ;3

I am a firm believer in the above statement. If you pay a certain amount of money for a product or service, you should get AT LEAST your money’s worth if not more. That’s why I always feel iffy whenever someone decides to go with the cheapest option before seeing if it’s the best option. Saving that little bit of money may not be worth it long term if the cheaper option leads to problems that end up costing you even more than that extra ten bucks would have. So, how do I also relate this to a job? Well, for quite some time, I've been searching for a full-time, better paying job. But, I also want a job that will utilize my skills as a writer and that offers me experience that I can invest in my future endgame career(s). Those who I live with don’t think on my level, however, and just desire for me to get a job that pays well. Our disastrous job market aside, I lack the necessary experience in order to get a job that satisfies their wants and mine. So what does that have to do with getting what you pay for? Well, the way I see it, if I get a job that pays well for the sole reason of it pays well, I’m going to suck at it, hate it, quit it, get fired from it or some combination of aforementioned scenarios. You see, I want a job that allows me to have a better future, a job that is an extremely good investment of my time and money (travel money that is). So, I want to get what I pay for no matter how I’m paying, whether it be money, effort or time.

Bad things. I've been working on several things for that last few weeks: New story, remade resume and cover letter, applying to jobs and well, not too much progress is being made. If any is being made, it's incredibly slow because...well...I've been putting things off....again.  A big reason why I find myself putting things off is because I want whatever it is that I'm working on to turn out a specific way. Problem is, I usually have no idea how to make it come out that way, so I end up sitting around and not getting anything done. That's the worst. If there's one thing I hate, it's being bored. I'd rather be stressed than bored; at least my brain is doing something. Honestly, I'm not sure what to do right now. I've been hitting so many brick walls when it comes to my projects and New Year's goals. And I feel like a lot of opportunities to make more progress get taken from me in some way. I don't live on my own so, I how much time I can dedicate to things is limited by a "higher authority" :P But even then, fate seems completely content with screwing me over at every opportunity. I wonder if things will ever improve?

Seems pretty obvious to anyone not under a rock, but the world of writers is changing. As the years go by, more and more writers are utilizing the internet to further their careers and/or sharpen their skills. I've been on plenty of freelance writing websites, have seen plenty of calls for blogging content and internships for magazines that are completely virtual. It's alright, I suppose. I just wonder if it might lead to quality writing being sort of cheapened. As technology advances, it creates a sort of safety net for people whose writing skills may not be up to snuff. The benefit being that spelling and possible grammatical errors are caught to save time on editing and before they make a written piece unintelligible. Problem is, spelling and grammatical checkers may not catch a sentence that is grammatically sound but doesn't make any sense when you read it. Personally, I've used spell check more times than I can count, so I'm not berating things like it at all. Just be careful, fellow writers, because technology hasn't advanced so far that it can do our job for us. When you write, take the time to read; you just might catch something technology never will.

Let me explain. While writing a certain fan fiction for South Park (link will be on the bottom if you’re curious), I found myself at a loss for words several times over. I was sitting there with literally no idea what to write but then I just decided to write anyway. I struggled to just get SOMETHING onto the paper, then suddenly I began to settle into a groove and I was writing more confidently. The first thing I wrote whenever I was in a state of writer’s block induced frustration, was never horrible but I would go back and rewrite it. Isn’t THAT something? Your first attempt at writing something need not be perfect; you can go back and REVISE it! AMAZING! Before I knew it, I finally had a finished story and if I had listened to that frustration in my head I never would’ve never gotten written if I had given into my writer’s block. I’m gonna remember that from now on: When writer’s block strikes, ignore it and keep writing. It’ll do you a lot more good than just sitting around and feeling frustrated.

Words I will live by

              There's a lot of things I can blame for that but instead of doing that, I'd rather do something to end that. There's so many things I want to do with my life, I probably won't have time for them all. But everyday I think about the things I want to do, is one more day I don't do them. You know why they say curiosity killed the cat? It's because sometimes wanting to know something or experience something leads to a big amount of trouble which can sometimes be fatal. So, people will keep their mouths shut. Put their dreams on hold. Play it safe to remain safe. But then, they complain about the quality of their lives. They become depressed, mope around and regret all the decisions they made to continue to survive. Because they spent an entire lifetime surviving instead of living. That is me. I am the one playing it safe. By doing nothing, I risk nothing. But what have I gained from this safety? NOTHING. Well, not anymore. If your interested, follow me as I begin my life after 23 years of surviving. Follow me as I take every step I need to to finally live. Watch me become who I've always wanted to be but was too afraid to try to become.