sleeping-awake.net

So this past Tuesday I turned 23. o_O

I only have one thing to say: YIKES!!

I didn’t always respond to my birthday like this. But, as the years went on, my reactions have changed.

Kid years: “Yay! Party! Presents!”
Teen years: “Cool, I’m now __teen!”
Twenties: “Noooo!”

Yeah. =/ I don’t exactly hate getting older - after all, there’s really nothing I can do about it. But I don’t like it, either. I feel that time is going by a little too quickly for me. I’m in no hurry to grow up.

Anyway, Tuesday was also Earth Day. Ironically, I generated more waste. Since it is er, customary at our workplace to treat everyone on one’s birthday, I brought “veggie happy meals” for my coworkers. The food was put in disposable starchware containers, which are more environment friendly, but still, waste is waste. (To my coworkers: Not that I’m saying I shouldn’t have treated you! Haha.)

Of course, I can’t be talking about all this food without posting some pictures. My mom did all the cooking by the way, because I’m a slow one and I had to get ready for work.

Mock chicken in the foreground. Vegetarian meatballs in the background.

Marble taters! They weren’t cooked in this picture yet.

Mock chicken and vegetarian meatballs again, with vegetarian sausages.

That’s all, folks! This old lady is going to bed. Haha.

I just read Joni’s post and one particular sentence stood out to me.

I’ve only been working for roughly four years but I’m already sort of feeling burned out from exerting too much effort in waking up every morning.

Good grief. I haven’t been working full time for even a year and I already feel tired, more emotionally and spiritually than physically. (Though being stuck at my desk for long periods of time has already given me circulation problems.) And it’s not just from waking up early in the mornings. It’s… more than that. My heart is yearning for a change, but my mind is telling me to look before I leap.

Maybe I’m feeling this way because I get bored easily. Oh and let’s not forget that I also get stressed out very easily. Maybe there are better ways to handle things. I don’t know. I don’t even know where I’m going with this. I just felt like letting things out, but now that I’m typing away I’m not sure what to say.

Blargh. I don’t hate my job. But there’s got to be something else out there for me.

By gosh, I grew up to be a writer after all!!

That’s right, a writer was what I wanted to be when I was younger. Either that or Nancy Drew. I wanted to write books just like the ones I’d bury my nose in 24/7, and I’ve even written some short stories. As time went by, I acquired other hobbies, so I didn’t really think about becoming a writer anymore. It was just recently that I realized I have ended up as one anyway.

Creative writing was one of my favorite classes in uni. We studied and wrote poetry - it was so kick ass. Since graduating, every single cent that I earned so far has come from writing. My interview with Cindy Frey was published in issue 11 of JPG Magazine, and right now I’m working two jobs that require me to churn out web, newsletter and blog content. Yes, it’s different from writing books, and of course I didn’t see myself being where I am now - there was no internet yet back then! But I’m still throwing words together to create something new. And the best part is, I’m enjoying what I do.