I was scrolling through facebook the other day, wasting the day away, when I noticed an alert from my Facebook page for my blog.
“You haven’t posted in 240 days.”
Wow. 240 days? How is that possible? That’s almost nine months of procrastination. And it was procrastination. I don’t know how many times I paged through my blog and was struck by inspiration to write another post. But I didn’t. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. I stopped thinking about my big plans for this blog altogether.
But then my website fees auto-renewed for another year. Suddenly my procrastination had turned into a financial reality. That’s when I decided I won’t let it run on for another few months before writing again. And here I am, putting words on digital paper once again.
In returning to my blog, I’ve also rediscovered the reason why I started this blog in the first place: I write posts on the {the hematite blog}, not for how many people I hope will read it, but to write for the sake of writing. If becoming a better writer allows me to learn new things and thereby pass on some knowledge that helps others to learn and grow, then it’s a big win-win.
So, in saying that, what happens in 240 days? As it turns out, a lot.
- You and your friends go to a music festival ranked in the Top Five for festivals worldwide, hear amazing music spanning many genres, try new things, meet new people, and make some mistakes.
- During said festival you get a call from a dude who offers you a job which starts in a week, and struggle hard to be a sober, mature, calm and collected adult while your friends are trying to make you laugh with lewd gestures.
- You pay for said trip with earnings after having complete your first project as a freelance illustrator.
- In great frustration, you miss out on running a road race due to a recurring knee injury.
- Group dating turns out to be a hilarious and awkward experience, best approached with an open mind and copious amounts of alcohol.
- You spend 75 of those days getting paid to work night shifts supervising drill rigs for a gold company in the middle of nowhere.
- This job connects you with a lot of like-minded, super cool and genuine people who you’ll remember forever.
- For four months you live between small town Ontario and big city Calgary.
- You’re finally able to take in the overwhelming complete and utter majesty of the Rocky Mountains.
- As part of celebrating finishing up at the gold gig, you take off for Costa Rica for 10 sunny days, and almost get struck by lightning.
- Experiences in Vancouver range from being rained on constantly,
- You break your wrist in a completely hilarious (for them), absolutely moronic (for you) way.
- Against all odds and against your small amount of experience, you land a five year contract working an oil and gas gig offshore Newfoundland.
- You say hello to someone new, and you say goodbye to them.
- You have your first real encounter with mental illness, and it isn’t much fun, but you confront it and beat it.
- Life re-evaluations take place two or three times.
- Goals are set, and you start hitting at them.
- You learn to stop hating yourself for not doing everything right away, and enjoy relaxation time.
- At 28, you realize that you have no idea how to be single.
- You learn about the importance of making choices, beating procrastination, choosing health and fitness, and finding your own happiness.
- Friendships are fortified, and meeting new people is exciting and enjoyable.
A lot happens in a short time, and life is good. I’m back to writing and that makes it even better. I’ll be starting off by returning to where I left off with a piece recapping the Osheaga 2016 music festival, before taking a leap and writing a transparent and honest piece about myself, who I am, what drives me, and who I want to be. It’s been fun writing under the moniker of Mr. Hematite, but it’s time to lift the veil and write with more accountability and purpose.
Until then, it’s good to be back.
Cheers.
Featured image: A panorama of downtown Calgary from a lookout outside the city. – Bridgeland, Calgary
{the hematite blog} is a blog by a very regular guy that wants to learn and write about all sorts of stuff. I’m a little rusty, and this blog is about my journey to shake some of that rust off, get better at stuff, learn, and try new things. Maybe we can all learn something along the way. Thanks for stopping by!
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