Work - Blog Posts
March 12, 2025
wow, it's the first Wednesday of my unemployed life. corporate burnout sounds silly. but i seriously feel strange without a corporate job. i feel this impending need to stay productive. my therapist and wife remind me this is a recovery period.
even so, i have enjoyed getting back into creative projects. my personal website is coming along. there is so much more that comes from launching a blog than i realized. email lists is my current headache. oh, and also the background color not matching on mobile...
how do i get this email to work? at least my initial page is up!
I am happy with my choices.
other things i am enjoying:
walking without feeling the urge to get back inside and check my work email
just watching my dog and how she navigates the world (a shame i hadn't paid more attention to it before)
moving my body more
not rushing during lunch
eating three meals a day
and not spending 8+ hours stuck at a desk
restarting the artist's way
so grateful and privileged to even be in a position where I can quit my job and take time to focus on my mental health.
How to stay friends
Befriend with the humorous guy in your class when you're 13. Let this friendship be loose and neglect each other. Then, when you hit the age of 14 or 15, start making inside jokes, watch movies together. When the others think you're weirdos, start dreaming big, believe, that the two of you can achieve antyhing. Then you'll be ridiculed by the people surrounding you, but you won't mind because they all seem to be irrelevant a-holes, since you two really WILL do something big. Someday... Then have a girlfriend, the normal teenage-love, which is idiotic and harmful in more than several ways. When your friend is against it, don't rely on his advice and make a fool of yourself. When it ends, just admit you were wrong and return to being friends. Graduate from school, go to uni. Grow up, start searching for jobs. Get acquinted with new people, who are fresh and exciting to you. Start feeling odd, then normal, then odd again and finally realise you're just a person, ergo completely like all other humans. And at the end of the day, when one dream collapses after the other and you're, again, running after your dreams from years ago, you know who's the one to call to help you out in writing a damn query letter for the thousandth time. Yes, it's them, the good old friends. They laugh at you and they always say you're just the same and repeat their old phrases over and over again but it doesn't bother you. Because they're your friends.
We all are lucky to have these people. Friendships might not be the brightly blazing fires of life but they will certainly be the most important relationships of it. Because someday you may find the girl, who used to be your closest friend, standing in front of you, lowly whispering 'I do' in a wedding dress, while your old friend keeps mouthing a joke about your favourite movie in the background...
How to fail university
First of all, attend a university, which you are most certainly not fond of. Work really hard but not as much as you see fit, instead push as hard as expectations require, and burn out. Once you're incapable of doing anything further, it won't be hard to fail enough tests to fail several subjects. I know you're smart enough to get to the exams, even if you were a total mess when you had tests. Once you're miraculously facing a couple of exams (it's wondrous because you haven't yet failed by merely the tests), make sure you're extremely busy with unrelated business and when it comes to the very week of the exams, procrastinate! More than ever in your life! More than altogether in your life! Then, when you've done enough procrastination and that voice in your head is shouting, that you should study, do some studying but pay attention to do it very skin-deeply. Okay, you're at the exam and you've completed an utterly half-ass process of learning, a.k.a no learning at all, you can be at ease, for there's a fair chance, that you'll fail. Every single subject. One by one.
There you have it, my secret recipe for failing uni.
This is an ironic approach of telling my story at how I've performed so far. OK, maybe the end was just a predection, but a very realistic one. My point is not to gain some of yourvaluablepity, and definetely not to set up an example. Well it is in fact an example but not one to follow.
What I'm trying to say with this excessive and rather sarcastic post is hidden in the very first sentence. Do not EVER give in to reasons, that lack the consideration of YOU. Every single person is unique and has a life, that has the potential to be full. However, this diversity naturally implies the pointlessness of schemes. We can't live by the guidance of movie-themes or advices of people we look up to (or sometimes ones, that we don't even look up to). We have to find our own way. And the path, that we'll follow, will eventually determine, whether we arrive at our destination or not.
Our primary aspects of considering careers are its profitability and the likelihood of being employed. But these won't make our lives worth living. Either we accept it, or not, the truth is, that we spend a major part of our days in the little boxes we call workplaces. And it matters enermously if it's right for us. And not in a sense of us being able to provide our family with everything. Our profession has to make us happy. As St. Augustine said "Love and do what you will.".
My conclusion will be hard for some of you to swallow but please bear with me. The Bible says, that we shouldn't worry about our needs for they will be fulfilled be the Divine Providence of God. And this is what makes me calm while I rerender my plan for the future. My faith gives me confidence to say all this. This is why I'm not afraid to say, that there's a certain destination I aim for. This is why I'm on the side, that says you can bravely follow your dreams. Because when you're convinced, that your dreams are justified by the Great Maker, you fear not what is yet to be faced.
"What direction - Life begins at the intersection"
It's a Switchfoot quote. OK, I know they didn't actually invent the line but it's in one of their best songs: Faust, Midas and Myself. This piece of music is more literary, than most of the contemporary novels. I'm not gonna add much about the lyrics but the basic question which it implies is whether our goals and dreams are well-thought-out - if we could have them all.
Recently I've been given/offered grand opportunities. One is: two contract offers from a good-named publishing company. It was sort of a before-the-right-time because I decided to continue perfecting my book. I don't even know why I tried to catch their attention. But the amazing thing is, that it worked easy as cake. WOW! Though there's clearly not much that I did. The whole situation is only a link of favourable but un-controlled events. For which I am really grateful.
I must admit, that it doesn't make me special, no matter how much I feel that way. At best, it's a special piece of art, which is worth the mention. But me? Out of the picture. Life often brings us to unprecedented intersections. We are to choose the direction. But do we choose wisely? No. (It was a very strong, firm no...) You know, we could be anyone. Life has no limits at all. Our beliefs, however, can lock us away from the best existing possibilities. We really do believe, that we can't be big people, successful, or simply happy. We let the popular concept take over: we are under too much weight to be getting anywhere in our lives. But in fact, there is no place, nodirection, which we could not choose. I guess the metaphor is as complete as ever...
If it leaves open questions, then answer them, it's on purpose!
Randomness rules!
Some discipline
I've finished my book. At least a thousand times but still, here I am, working on it. But now it seems too much. Why isn't it simply done?!
I'm lucky though, because I never intended it to be for me. And the true recipient of the whole story always inspires me. Always. Even when she just comes to my mind. I always feel strong enough to eventually get to the other side.
I suppose we all have this feeling sometimes. I mean, I'm extremely lucky to have a special woman in my life but I cannot picture you, yes you my reader, without at least some very distant, unreachable person, whose glimpse would not make you do wonders.
Yeah, so get up and do your homework, Loki-head (I just made that up but seems terrible, however, I'm never deleting any stupid stuff, so it stays)!
Randomness rules, by the way...
Today is my first day working in my first job ever, and im so nervous but excited
Wish me luck!!!
№7
Vlad Strain, Jan2020
This is probably fifth version of this painting, but I still can’t reach the result I want
Post this to make some point, cause I really need to move forward
Don’t worry, someday you’re gonna see the final version
Major
It's my first day back to school. Comment/tag your Major!
Sources: SigningSavvy, Lifeprint, ASLDeafined
[Image ID:
The Sign for Major in American Sign Language. Both hands in B handshape. Pinky edge of dominant hand slides forward against thumb edge of base hand. Movement is illustrated by arms that are translucent green and blue in different stages of the sign.
End ID]
Sketch of thoughts I had at work today
I am built for digging in moss and making art and exploring rivers and befriending friendly wildlife and giving out daisy chains and origami
Not like. Standing for half the day and trying to read minds and make repetitive motions while over 50 feet from windows.
New year, new job!
I’m very happy to say the year is starting off well for me; only nine days into the year I got a new job. I was a very surprised when I received a call for my employer just minutes after my interview, I immediately thought something was wrong. It was the complete opposite, he told me that he thought he should cancel the rest of the interviews, the job was mine if I wanted it. I immediately said…
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WOAHHH IS THIS MY SIGN TO START WATCHING STRANGER THINGS??? (yes I haven’t seen it 😔💔) and HARRY POTTER AHHAHSHDJEJD
reblog if you’re okay with people writing fanfics of your fanfics and/or fanfics inspired by your fanfics
Today in retail:
I had a guy tell me my body was tight, that I should have been a stripper and he hopes we meet in another life since I'm married and he tried to give me $200 cash. I kept declining, then he dropped a $20 and demanded I keep it. He asked me if I had eaten lunch yet and said he'd buy it for me.
Gotta love retail! 😂
Hello, I am not dead.
I switched (temporarily) from being a student full-time to working full time (56+ hrs/week) and I gotta say I really enjoy my jobs.
Free
I'm at work right now and I have nothing to do so..... Hey!
What does it feel like to be free?
To have no bounds, just free
What does it feel like to have no rules
To have no confines, just free?
What does it feel like?
When no one tells you what to do
When no one tells you what to wear
When no one tells you how to behave
When no one tells you who to marry?
What does it feel like to be free?
Can you tell me?
Day 45/100 days of productivity
Wasn’t doing too great today, I allowed myself to take some time this evening to make peppermint hot chocolate and to just to calm down.
Achievements:
Went for a walk in the park
Planned out my timetable for the next few days
Read some of my books
Finished reading through my essay and completed my list of sources
Not much done today but I really needed to recuperate and get focused for the rest of the week.
Day 4/100 days of productivity
Achievements:
Went to work
Did my Spanish presentation
Did my chemistry booklet
Made notes for my essay
