{"id":2382,"date":"2024-12-31T08:42:10","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T08:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2024-12-31T08:42:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T08:42:10","slug":"2024-12-29-return-and-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shawnmeanders.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/31\/2024-12-29-return-and-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"2024-12-29 – Return and Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\r\nThis was written December 29, 2024<\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Introduction<\/h2>\r\n

\r\nHello Everyone! <\/br>\r\nMy apologies, I know it has been a while since my last post. \r\nUnfortunately, my life has been hectic lately. In particular, on top of studying Chinese,\r\nI’ve been teaching English. While the workload should be manageable, I have\r\nyet to adapt to my new schedule, where my days are bookended by school and work (I \r\nhave class in the morning, and teach in the evening). Along with transit\r\nin the afternoon, I’ve been struggling to find the required time and motivation to\r\naccomplish anything outside of school and work. However, most eggregious of all is my sleep\r\nschedule, which has become a miasma of unhealthiness.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWell, enough complaining, it’s time to discuss what I’ve been up to, what I plan to\r\ndo, along with potential improvements I would like to bring to my life.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Ongoing Projects<\/h2>\r\n

\r\nThe first thing you might ask is, what about on-going projects? Am I going to\r\ncomplete them? When it comes to the programming projects, I do plan to\r\ncomplete the study app, and to create a blog post about it. I’ve even made progress\r\non a working prototype during my spare time. \r\nHowever, it’s shifted to a lower priority lately, and so I’m not sure when I’ll\r\nactually get to it.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nWhat about drawing? It’s been shelved indefinitely, though I would still like\r\nto return to it eventually. I might start by reading some material first, and\r\nlearn the theory before fully diving into it. It’s relatively easier to find time to\r\nread, being able to do so almost anywhere. For example, I can read on the metro,\r\nwhereas drawing isn’t really an option.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

What have I been up to?<\/h2>\r\n

\r\nOver the past few months, the biggest change to my life has really been getting a\r\njob as an English teacher, and trying to adapt to it. My Chinese has also been steadily\r\nimproving to a noticeable degree. And my social life has also benefited from meeting\r\nsome new friends. But through it all, I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nWhat kind of thinking you might ask?\r\n<\/p>\r\n

My future<\/h2>\r\n

\r\nOne of the biggest things that’s been on my mind has been the desire to work on\r\nsome larger projects, an endeavour I can be proud of completing. Yet, I haven’t really\r\naccomplished anything on that front. Friends and family have pointed out that learning\r\na language and moving to Asia by myself actually IS<\/em><\/b> a huge undertaking,\r\nbut….\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nYes, it’s definitely something big I’m proud of,\r\nand will grow prouder of as I get more and more fluent in the language. Still,\r\nit’s not quite a tangible, concrete thing. It’s an extra ability I’m acquiring, but it’s\r\nnot a project per se.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nMoreover, this past year, I’ve been feeling a bit old, having gone back to a school\r\nsetting in my mid-thirties, surrounded by people in their late teens, early\r\ntwenties. It’s not a bad thing, but it does make me ponder over my own future, and\r\nwhat I want out of it.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nFor this reason, I’ve arbitrarily decided that I want to get a bigger project underway,\r\nand get it completed by my 35th birthday. Overall, this gives me a\r\ntimeline of a smidge under a year and a half. Will this be enough? Who knows! But if I\r\ndon’t try, I’ll definitely fail.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nBut…what project should I consider? A programming project? Something to do with\r\ndrawing? What about a video game? While I would love to dive into any of those, I\r\ndon’t think it’s that judicious to start with something of that scale. Especially\r\nconsidering my current constraints. As I’ve said before, with school, work and\r\ntransportation, I think it’d be best to choose something that I can work on from\r\nanywhere in small bursts. Thus, I think the first big project that I’d want to get off\r\nthe ground will be writing related: I’ll be attempting to write a novel. I\r\nalready have multiple ideas underway, along with a novel I’d started writing a few\r\nshort chapters for last year.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nI obviously have very little experience with writing, but I do have plenty of ideas (many\r\nof which I’ve been keeping track of). Moreover,\r\nconsidering I read every day, I don’t lack exposure. And once I start writing seriously, \r\nI’ll undoubtedly be looking at novels in a different light,\r\n(hopefully) absorbing ways to improve.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nUnfortunately, due to copyright\/leaking concerns, I won’t really be able to fully\r\ndocument my progress and experience with writing. However, I’m hopeful I’ll still be\r\nable to share some of the challenges I encounter along with potential solutions I\r\niterate through during this journey. I might also have regular posts\r\ndedicated to my writing journey (E.g.: Every other week or every month).\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

What about the blog<\/h2>\r\n

\r\nEven though I have this new plan, I don’t intend to give up on the blog. For starters,\r\nI recently had renewed the hosting services for this blog, and it\r\nwas roughly 150USD. While it may not seem that steep, in my current position (making\r\nTaiwanese money on a job with more limited hours, while not making any money through \r\nthe blog), it still was a non-trivial decision. Therefore, I’m not going anywhere,\r\nand I’m definitely planning to pour more energy into this blog.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nBut then, what will I be doing here? For at least the next few months, I\r\ndon’t expect to do any challenge posts, nor any big projects. Instead, I want to\r\nfocus on things getting into healthier habits, both mentally and physically.\r\nI also want to figure out how I can become more disciplined and better use my limited\r\ntime to accomplish what I’ve set out to, and maybe even more.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nFor this reason, I’ll open up a new section on my blog, which I plan to dedicate to\r\nthis journey, along with discussing my past experience on that front.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\nWhere will I start? I should prioritize based on important. First off: sleep.\r\nCurrently, I have sleep issues, some which stem from self-discipline, some\r\nwhich stem from bad habits, and some from physical concerns. While the latter\r\nwould best be handled by medical professionals, I can still focus on the first two.\r\nI’m hopeful that once I can improve my sleep, I will have: \r\n