Any song

I don’t really have any topic to write about today, so this will just be a train of thoughts. It’s important to keep up the writing even when I have absolutely nothing coming to mind. Often times I would troll twitter to look for news topics and whatnot, but this morning I am drawing a complete blank. I don’t want to write about former President Trump getting deposed in New York today. Hey look, the markets are up so far!

There’s a natural ebbs and flows when it comes to working in education. The middle of August is sort of the deep breath before plunging back into the bustle of the regular academic semester. But we don’t get to relax, at least not for those of us in IT support. We are busy getting things ready: the multitude of computer labs on campus, and making sure incoming new faculty have computers ready to go for Fall. With a week and half to go before classes begin, the deadline is quickly looming.

And then once I get home from all of that, I’ve got my own round of things to do. I imagine most other single people would simply collapse onto a couch and veg out of a bit before even thinking about dinner. Well, I don’t have a couch. Soon as I enter the home and put my stuff down, I start a pot of a rice cooking. In between that 30 minutes of cook time, I put my stuff away properly, wash up a bit, clean the floors, and cook the rest of dinner.

I take my time to eat dinner though, because that is never to be rushed. Not after an already long day at work. Once I’m done eating, then it’s an hour of piano practice. And after that I would get some reading in. Then it’s already time for bed. In a way I’m like a kid that have an evening of homework to do. That’s why I jokingly refer to my weekday nights as school nights.

That’s it for today! Off to work.

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The two great loves and hates.

The really small stuff

What I’ve tried to do lately is not procrastinate on the small things. To take care of the small niggles and matters soon as they pop up. Simple things like refilling the soap bottle right as I noticed it’s running low, or cutting up the cardboard and throwing it into recycling soon as I receive a package. I have to say the effort is worth it, because the future me is not rueing the present me for not having done the simple task already.

Try not to make the future you hate the present you.

I guess I’ve always been somewhat okay in that regard, proactively handle things as they come instead of putting it off further down the line. What I’m talking about here then is the really small tasks, the ones that takes no effort ignore. It’s no pain to leave that coffee mug unwashed until I come back from work. But when I do return in the evening, I do hate seeing that mug still in the sink, wondering why I haven’t washed it already.

Preparation is key here: to get as much done as possible so that I’m not piling on stress for my future self. Again, I’m talking about the small stuff: checking the tire pressure on the BMW M2 on schedule, or filling it up with gas soon as I notice the gauge is low (instead of waiting for the next drive). The future me is going to appreciate getting into a car with an already full tank of gas, and proper tire pressures.

Because the small annoyances of life that’s easily ignorable, like a squeaky door hinge begging for a blast of WD40, will compound into something significant if you don’t get it fixed. What’s better? Fixing the squeak right now, or having to listen to it every single day indefinitely? Easy choice to be sure, but in action it can be surprisingly difficult to not procrastinate. So that’s what I’m working on lately.

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Very Titanic.

Daily break life

During the winter break, unable to travel anywhere, daily life wasn’t all that different compared to working-from-home. Obviously, I didn’t have to keep tabs on the work portal, but that’s about it. I’m still sat in front of the computer for most of the day, starring at a refreshing screen, hoping to be entertained. This is why I didn’t request additional time off: there’s only so much YouTube videos to watch before I’m really just wasting time.

On a few of the days, however, I did get a pseudo experience of what it would be like to be a freelance writer. I had two big pieces to write: reflections on 2020 (insane), and December update for the M2 Competition. The inertia of laziness is strong; I was surprised at my own discipline in finishing those articles on time. It all starts with getting the daily tasks out of the way. I’d wake up (not so) bright and early, and studying Korean for an hour. Then it’s reading for another hour (The Gulag Archipelago volume 2. Fitting for our times, am I right?).

With the two daily tasks out of the way, it’s time for breakfast. After the stomach is fed, then it’s time to start writing. One trick that really helps me stay focused is to set some soft boundaries: how many words in total? How long am I writing before breaking for lunch? These soft goals makes the project seem manageable and less daunting. It keeps me concentrated on the process: let’s just write for two hours; lunch will be the reward.

After lunch, I’d write for another two hours, before breaking once again. This time it’s to workout. There’s truly no better antidote than the euphoric high that comes after exercising. With that done, I would then write some more until it was time for dinner. By that point, I was already (largely) done with an article. A night’s supper is extra sweet when you’ve had a productive day.

Perhaps someday I’ll find a way to get paid for this sort of work. In the meantime, it’s all for fun; exercising the creative mind.

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This is where the magic happens.