Entries tagged with intro

Regular updates are one of my goals, so I wanted to make a list of things I plan to write about.

This will probably evolve into a reference list for all my posting tags. I may edit this post in the future just to keep things accurate, and I might even make it a sticky post—we’ll see how it goes.

Weekly journal

I considered the idea of posting daily. But that would lead to a lot of posts.

Weekly posts mean one long post instead of seven short ones, plus room for a weekly update.

On top of that, writing everyday is a big commitment, especially long-term.

A lot of people do journal daily, though, so maybe I’ll come around in the future.

For now, I’ll assemble a variety of daily logs into a weekly journal that I’ll post at the end of every week.

Sleep log and dream journal

Jotting down the time I get into bed and the time I get out might take some practice since I’m not used to paying attention to the time at night or in the morning.

But that’s exactly why I want to start doing it.

It gives me an incentive to sleep on time, to avoid the guilt of having to write out 4:11, 5:25, and 6:29 AM…

On the other hand, keeping a dream journal is a bit of an afterthought.

My dreams are infrequent and usually forgotten. Sometimes, they leave me shaken.

So whenever they occur, writing down what I remember to write about later might be nice.

Food diary

At first, I penned this as a nutrition log, apps track nutrition way better than pen and paper.

What, when, and how much I eat is good enough to start with.

Hydration would also be nice to log, but taking a note everytime I drink water might get dry rather quickly.

Exercise log

Bundling an exercise log into my weekly responsibilities should hopefully help me stick to it.

I have simplistic goals that also leave room for strenuous exercise, too.

Learning logs

Tracking my progress learning skills and languages is something I think would also fit into weekly logs, though I’m also considering them as separate posts. We’ll see if this type of post fits more with what’s above it or below it.

Japanese is the first language I started learning after high school (désolé, français), and I plan to continue my studies.

Cantonese is my family’s language, and I never picked it up as a kid. I would like to start learning until I can speak fluently.

Javascript, finally, is the third language I’m interested in. I want to try my hand at game development one day.

This list will change over time. I’m also interested in learning how to compose music, edit videos, and draw digital art.

Other Posts

For general posts, I likely won’t adhere to schedules. But I want to write often, about many things.

Information flows fast through me. I experience, I consume, I consume some more.

But I want to replace that process with a conscious habit: Experience. Think.

Write.

Personal posts

I don’t often write about myself. Everything I write has been for other purposes.

Dedicating time to processing my thoughts and days should be a refreshing change.

Rabbit holes

I think of rabbitholes as research and researcher: findings and thought processes rolled up into one delicious piece. These types of internet deep dive are actually the kind I personally enjoy reading the most.

Think pieces

Basically essays, but doesn’t “think piece” sound more inviting? I hate academic writing but love analytical writing, and I already have a lot of ideas.

Snapshots

This is a fun one—I was thinking about sharing old pictures and explaining their contexts. If you fancy a trip through someone else’s fuzzy memories, blurred faces and all, then this tag might be for you.

Media reviews

Reviewing games is something I think I would enjoy doing. Actually, I used to want to do that for work.

I also want to try reviewing other types of media, such as music. Something one of my research projects in college taught me is that we often don’t pay much attention to the music we listen to. I want to engage in some hi-fi listening and see what kind of commentary I come up with.

(I might even dig that presentation up, so we can tear into some of my old college assignments. That might be fun, too!)

Writing

Lastly, I’ve never actually posted my writing online before. It would be nice to share it here.

I mainly write short stories and fanfiction. The former, I’d like to post as is. The latter, I’ll only post on AO3, but I might occasionally write my author’s notes here and link to them.

With this list made, I now face the task of folding all of it into my life.

Committing is hard for me. I’m bad at holding myself to resolutions.

But I want to pull out every stop for this one.

I have a vague idea for what I’ll do. Keep a notebook by my bedside, block out some time, set recurring reminders, create notes and documents every new idea.

But honestly, it might all have to start with fixing my sleep schedule.

It’s hard to feel motivated when you’re having breakfast at noon and skipping straight to dinner.

Time ends up slipping away, and the day feels over before I’ve done anything.

That said, this marks the official beginning of hyperbole riff.

I’m nervous, worried, and excited too. But it’s time to pull myself together.

I’ll try to explore dreamwidth and make some friends too!

Sycee, signing off.

Friday | 8/11/2023

My name is Sycee. I’m the writer of hyperbole riff.

It’s 4:11 AM, and I’ve been trying to write this post for a little while now. I’m actually having a difficult time beginning, because it feels so much rests on its shoulders. This is the intro post, the first impression, and bar to which everybody is going to have expectations. Responsibility is crushing.

I hope it gets easier. I have dreams for hyperbole riff, not to become big or hit milestones or anything like that.

My dreams are just to write to it frequently. To think often.

“Oh, I should write about this.”

I don’t think that very often.

Not for years, actually.

I studied writing at a university. And it changed how I thought about writing.

“I need to write about something [for class].”

“I want to write this story [eventually, [but not right now, [not yet]]].”

But now, the validity of those bracketed excuses has dissipated into mist.

I don’t focus like I used to.

In high school, I wrote marathons across my keyboard.

In college, I wrung out my headband from the bench.

Cue pandemic. Creative spark, organized drive. Runner’s high.

But as classes resumed, I sat down again.

I’ve graduated now, and the spark has returned. But it’s different, like a cat that left for a week and came back a different color.

Right now, I envision writing like a tunnel. The ground is level. Moisture drips from brown walls and ceiling.

Before, my spark was a flashlight. It cast straight ahead, and I walked forward.

Now, my spark is torchlight in a forest. The path from the tunnel continues forward, only faintly, and I can’t see as far as before.

But around me are trails of scattered leaves and branches. Branching paths, all ultimately connected.

I think in college, something happened to the way my brain works. Something slow, gradual.

Writing got harder.

Studying stayed unrealistic.

Reading became boring, even on topics I loved.

And I can still feel it now, the way my brain works. It never turns off, but at the same time, it’s never on.

It keeps me bored all day even though I have things I want to start.

It keeps me awake at night even though I’m trying to sleep. (It’s 5:25 AM.)

If my spark is on my side, then my brain isn’t.

I can’t think.

And that’s why I decided to come here.

We’re all products of our times.

But if the people we are today are products of our upbringings, then the people we become tomorrow must be products of the choices we make.

The internet is my friend and foe. It’s how I learn, how I work, how I socialize, and how I relax. But it also keeps me captivated.

Video games. Social media. Constant background noise, the joy of multitasking. Slouching. Snacking. Staying up late.

It gives me enough to keep me digging for more. It leaves no room for time or thoughts. It roots me for hours, in mind and in body.

Am I addicted? Am I reliant? Or am I just too comfortable?

I made all the choices, fed everything into my brain. They were all easy to access, all within arm’s reach. I should have stopped a long time ago. I should have learned to control myself a decade ago.

I know I should stop, but I can’t. I need an intervention, but I haven’t gotten one.

But my brain is in my way. Because there are things I want to do, and it isn’t making them easy.

This, “hyperbole riff,” is how I plan to begin.

I’ve got goals to reach. Hobbies, languages, and skills.

I’ve got habits to kick. Scrolling in bed, gaming away the days, never letting my brain rest, never stopping to process what I’m doing, hearing, and seeing—never stopping to even think.

I want to get started, but I need an obligation.

It has to let me me sit and think my own thoughts.

It has to be easy to do, so I don’t settle back into bad habits.

It has to let me post and be seen, to feel like I have an audience.

In posting this, I’m making a commitment and a promise as a writer.

This is a space for my thoughts, where I’m going to re-center my self.

And even if I’m technically writing for myself, I’m still writing for an audience: you. So feel free to reply to my posts, tag me, message me, or interact whatever other way—I’m social, I promise! I’m still new to dreamwidth, but I plan to make it my most used site.

I plan to write about a variety of content, from personal pieces to more put-together ones:

I have some ideas for weekly posts, including a sleep journal, a nutrition log, and a learning log.

I think it would also be fun to make personal posts, fall into research rabbitholes, write think pieces, share some of my photos and their stories, and review games and music.

It should also be a good place for me to post my writing as well.

I’d like to create a more comprehensive list, but at the time of writing this, it’s 6:29 AM. Which means I’ve really fucked up. Again.

The blueprints are still in the air, but either way, you’ll be hearing from me regularly.

Sycee, signing out!

~~Tuesd~~ay Wednesday | August 9, 2023

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