Life update: New jobs, new projects, and a very bloggy birthday

It’s hard to believe it’s already the second week of August. It seems like just yesterday I was frantically trying to write as much about FFXIV design as I could—but that was in April! I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t really feel like months have passed. But they have, and with them, lots has happened.

Since it has been so long since I posted, I thought I’d share a quick update of what’s gone on since my attempt at National Decorating Month!

The Girly Geek Blog turned five!

Time disappearing on me is a big theme right now. It was surreal to realize that back in June, this blog reached its fifth birthday! I’m really proud of it for getting to where it is; although I feel bad for neglecting writing for the past couple of months, it’s still a huge accomplishment.

In those years, this blog has seen me through a lot. New discoveries, unemployment, mental health struggles, and probably far, far too much crafting—it’s seen it all. And it’s nice to think about the fact that there’s plenty more to come.

I got (and started) a new job!

So, now that I’ve reminisced…let’s talk about why I haven’t been as motivated to write. And this has been a big part of it.

In general, I try to be a pretty optimistic person. Life just feels better that way, in my opinion. But lately, I’ve been running into some obstacles, especially at work, that were making it hard to do that. It wasn’t the work, though; that part was fine! I just learned over the past year what it’s like to work for someone who doesn’t trust you to do your thing.

It was frustrating, honestly. In a way, it took me back to the same sort of feelings I was having in the first half of my unemployment.

In a rather poetic turn of events, I ended up getting an offer (even though I hadn’t gotten to the point of actively looking yet) at the same company that hired me out of my unemployment blues back in 2018. I’m a manager there now, with my own little team of writers!

At first, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to rise to the challenge, especially after feeling like such a failure for so long. But this past week, my first one on the job, has left me feeling much better about it—and hopeful for the future, too.

I’ve been working on a new project, too.

A couple of months ago, Shane started building up a little group of regulars in FFXIV so we could do some of the high-end content without worrying about the hardcore people who tend to be unforgiving. One of those regulars, a lovely soul dubbed Darwin, is a fellow creative type—and has inspired both of us to take up some more creative endeavours.

For me, one of those endeavours is something I’ve been thinking about for over a decade now: trying to write a novel based on a short story I wrote back in school.

As a side note, I kind of hate that I have to refer to my school days as being over a decade ago. But well, the plethora of what Shane (bless his heart) calls “super-blonde” hairs on my head is a very humbling reminder.

It’s going well so far, though obviously very far from any sort of “done.” And I have no idea whether it’ll be any good when it’s finished, but I’m excited to try! Probably my biggest concern is whether I’ll have the attention span; I’ve always identified myself as a short burst writer, and have never written anything larger than a 30-page eBook for work.

But fingers crossed, and I will keep you guys posted!

What have you been up to these past few months?