Well it’s no surprise that I have not been writing as much on this blog as I used to. 2018 has definitely been a struggle. However, the occurrences of the past couple of weeks call to mind those memes that say something along the lines of “may the last few weeks of 2018 be the plot twist you were waiting for.” 2018 has definitely been tough, but all of that hard work and blood/sweat/tears means that 2019 will be my year to really kick ass.
Probably the biggest event of the year is that I got engaged to the love of my life and we have started planning the geekiest wedding that 2020 will ever see. As in any relationship, we have had our ups and downs but we have survived so much this past year that we have grown both as a couple and as individuals. If we can survive what life has thrown at us so far, then I am confident that this next year (and all the years to come) will be a breeze.
In 2018, we started by moving out of one horrible living situation and into another. We have experienced our fair share of bad luck regarding horrible landlords and even more horrible living situations. In our current apartment we have experienced problems every single month between noisy neighbours, electrical that is not up to code, and silverfish infestations. By the end of January 2019 we are moving to a much nicer home in a much nicer neighbourhood with a landlord who actually picks up the phone when there’s an emergency (shocking concept, I know). Mark and I are beyond thrilled at the prospect of getting out of our current hell-hole and into a place where we can actually enjoy a good quality of life.
Work has probably been the biggest struggle of all. Everything that has happened work-wise for me has been good, but exhausting. If you remember one of my earlier blog posts from 2018 you’ll know that I started off the year experiencing some of the negative side effects of the minimum wage increase. I was let go from my full-time file clerk job and ended up returning to the food service industry as a part-time employee. Throughout the winter I worked little odd jobs here and there to supplement my income, but in the spring I ended up picking up some regular contract temp work for an office. Over the next few months, both jobs had me coming in more and more until I found myself working up to 11 hours a day, 7 days a week. The exhaustion and lack of sleep eventually began to have a negative impact on my physical and mental health so at least now I make sure that I am guaranteed one day off per week. The only problem is that when I have only one day off and no free time during the week, for that day off I do not have the physical or mental energy to get much done. I have not had the time/energy for writing, knitting, or hanging out with friends. Even just going out to see a movie becomes a chore when all I want to do is rest and recover before going back into another crazy work week.
All of this will change in February after the move. I will be down to one job, working only about 30 hours per week instead of 50/60. I will have more time to work on cosplays on the weekends, I will have more opportunities to hangout with friends, and I will have more time for writing. This is something that I will be aiming to turn into my “second job” whether I am able to make money or not. When I get those extra few hours in the morning I will be writing every single weekday and I will be treating it as work, instead of a hobby. My goal throughout most of my life has been to get a book published, so that will be my main goal over the next couple of years. But I will also get back to blog writing as well as exploring the other options for writing out there.
So essentially, I will be taking the hard work and struggle of 2018 and using it to better myself for 2019. I will take better care of myself and work towards improving my mental and physical health. I will spend more time with friends. I will make sure I give myself time to work on cosplays on the weekend to help me unwind from any stressors that may occur during the week. I will be working with Mark to plan an amazingly geeky wedding. And, most importantly, I will write more. Although 2018 was difficult to get through, I am optimistic that 2019 will be an amazing year.
Best of luck to everyone for 2019! You got this!
