In the wise words of Barney Stinson.
Hello October!
I can’t quite believe we’re here. On a personal level, I made it through 6 months in a new role at work. But sometimes it still feels like it’s been another year of stagnation, of putting things on pause, and of trying to wade through a pool of homemade slime (is that still a thing).
But! That’s not true. Time has passed, and progress has been made. This post will be a collection of all the things I tried out for the first time this year.
I was also partly inspired by my friend Zan for this post. She runs a weekly newsletter and she recently chronicled her journey trying out aerial hammock. Check out her newsletter here if you’re into general young adult life + cool article recommendations. And memes, always the memes.
1. Windsurfing and dragon boating
If you know me, you’d know I do not favor the outdoors at all. This year, I’ve tried not just 1 but 2 water sports!
All credits go to my friends who were patient/foolhardy enough to bring me along.
I felt a lot of hesitation leading up to both of those activities but once I was actually in the water doing them, it felt nice. It felt good to put my body through something that was so completely different from the types of movement I usually do.
A lot of my learning happens at work now, and most of the time these are problems that require extensive sitting and thinking. But sports aren’t something you can sit and figure out. And I relished that feeling of working out a whole new way of using my body.
It wasn’t easy at all.
There’s a lot more where this came from.
I have a lot of videos in my phone of me falling flat on my face into the water and I can still taste the petroleum from the boat in the back of my throat. But I can also say I've now accomplished something I never imagined I would have. And I’m proud of that.
2. Go for a F45 class
Keeping to the same vein of exercise and sports, another friend brought (dragged) me to an early morning F45 class this year. I’ve always been intimidated because everyone I know who has a F45 membership is super serious about their fitness and I’m just not sure I’m ready for that kind of commitment. I went because they were running a donation drive and all proceeds went to a food bank.
Will I be going back?
No...t anytime soon.
3. Make gnocchi from scratch
Full disclosure, TikTok planted the seeds for this one. I still haven’t downloaded TikTok because social media sucks up enough of my time as is, but I see their videos pop up on my Instagram Explore page once in a while.
I also wanted to make this because the name sounds really cute. Gnocchi!
I’ve tried baking before, but haven’t really ventured into any serious cooking, and definitely haven’t tried making pasta from scratch. This one was super time consuming, but I loved spending that Saturday afternoon just rolling out potato dough on an excessively floured surface.
4. Journal consistently
Which helped me write this post. Since I have a record of all the things I did this year and how I felt about them.
I’ve been journaling quite frequently over the years, but they were usually lengthy updates once every 6 or more months, and only happened when my thoughts were spilling over. Since I started bullet journaling, there’s now an intentional ritual that gives me space to reflect on my day. And it gives me an excuse to buy pretty stickers. Self-care, emotional regulation and retail therapy all rolled into one!
5. Start this blog
I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a blog since my last year of university, but I only really got around to it this year. I took 3 modules in my last semester but ironically I thought it was the semester when I learned the most. Probably because they were modules I truly enjoyed, and also I didn’t have the burden of having to do well looming over me anymore, since my grades were pretty much set.
I uploaded a (highly summarised) series of Instagram posts on those 3 modules, and they’re still things I find helpful today.
So now I have a space for the deluxe edition of all my shower thoughts.
I also have a list of things I want to try before the year ends. You could think of them as a pre-2022 list of resolutions - depending on government guidelines and/or my general motivation levels.
Do a 30-day creative writing challenge
Try aerial ___
Sew a scrunchie
Finish a jigsaw puzzle
Make my own pottery
Learn how to use Adobe Illustrator
Let’s make the rest of the year a good one :)
Biscuit on the side
Recently I’ve taken to solving puzzles and riddles to give my brain a different sort of workout. Some people like the crossword, some people prefer sudoku. I’ve found my favourite kind of puzzle: the Zebra puzzle! AKA Einstein’s Riddle, which Albert himself allegedly created. His version can be found here.
Basically, to solve the puzzle, you have to match the right <person> to the right <hat colour>, <shoe brand>, <favourite subject> or whatever. You get a list of clues and you have to slot everything in the right place. I can’t explain how satisfying it feels to solve them - it’s like I can hear a Nintendo Switch click in my brain every time I figure out the last clue.
Tell me this isn't the most satisfying click to exist.
There are all sorts of variations here. And if you prefer it in video form, here’s one for you to try.
I started doing this a couple of months back, but it’s pretty timely too. In true Singaporean fashion, our national exams and how impossibly difficult they are have made headlines once more. This time, one question in the PSLE Maths paper left students crying in outrage and distress.
If you want to have a go at it, here’s the question.
Image source: Mothership.sg
And here’s the answer.
As a young working adult, I’m quite far removed from the anguish this caused. But I can definitely relate. This article captures the heart of the issue pretty well, I think.
We need to learn how to be “bad” at things.
Here’s to learning more things, discovering how bad we are at some of them, and being okay with that.
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