It’s been a really long time since I’ve had any sort of blog, so I’m not sure how this will go…but I’m going to try my best to build this web space into something that will not only allow me to more clearly process my thoughts than Twitter currently does, but also a reason to get me back into writing about the things that I love. I did pay for my own domain this time instead of opting for a free wordpress page covered in ugly ads…

Covid and related quarantining has changed just about everyone, so I feel it’s a bit repetitive to say that myself and my life are vastly different now in July 2020 than they were in March, or even February 2020 (those of us in the travel industry felt the changes coming a bit earlier than many industries, I think). But it’s true: so many things are different now. Being off work for two months, then back to part-time hours for about two months, and then sorta-kinda unemployed again, has allowed me to discover that I don’t do as well in a 9-5 structure lifestyle as I do otherwise. At first I thought, wow I am very lazy at heart huh, when, two months into quarantine, I was entirely unbothered, not bored, and perfectly happy to isolate in my apartment for weeks on end. I discovered I’m very much more of an introvert than I ever thought, and that I really hate the static, unchanging work week schedule. I hate it so so much; it drains me and leaves me so mentally exhausted that I’d come home after my 7 hour workday and lie in bed staring listlessly at the ceiling until bed time, barely managing to eat dinner, then getting up the next morning to rinse and repeat, barely recovering my energy over the weekend before it ended.

During quarantine I fell back to a much healthier weight and was emotionally happier and more energized than I’ve been in all of my adult memory (though this might also be because of a certain 7-member band I started, uh, stanning…I have become what you may call a “QuarantArmy”). More recently I’ve been wavering in and out of some worsening depression and anxiety as I had to return to the office for a few hours a week, as well as bouts of bad insomnia and multiple-times-weekly migraine symptoms…but overall I must admit…I’d be happy with this home-based lifestyle to continue, though it is driving me insane not being able to travel and see friends from outside my household (I know a lot of people have decided to go ahead and socialize in-person but I’m not comfortable with that since this country is even more devastated by covid than it has been in any previous time).

So all of this is to say, I’m very happy, and somewhat nervous, with my new position as an independent travel advisor because it means I can 1) set my own hours, 2) work from home as much as I want with the option of office-work if I desire, and 3) can take as much vacation time as I wish. Unfortunately, the pay structure means that I do not get paid until after clients travel…and because of covid, no clients are traveling at the moment. So unemployment and a fledgling attempt at some Etsy sales are going to be my income through at least the end of the year, probably.

This means I do have a lot of continuing free time on my hands, so it’s about time I finally set up the blog/website I’ve been thinking about doing for years. I’m excited!! I just need to figure out the self-discipline to hold myself to it. Right now if I can get one blog post and one piece of thematic writing up per week, I’ll be very happy. We’ll see.

So what can you expect to see here…ah, in the blog posts, rambling like this: my physical and emotional state in a particular week, how my danmei bookclub is doing over on discord, crafting and acrylic painting progress, how Bangtan Sonyeondan has quite possibly single-handedly salvaged my emotional state these past few months, progress on the upcoming online fandom platform I’m helping to manage, and random other things as I think of them. As for thematic writings, they’ll be grouped into the various menus at the header bar: fandom-adjacent, travel related, and art history. Perhaps other topics will be added later.

If you’re here, thank you! I hope you enjoy my ramblings and/or writings somehow :)c