Blog Challenge #10: What hopes do you have for your blog?

Due to work, and other random things I didn't get to continue this challenge. I have two more posts left of it, and I'm just now getting back. I'm sorry for the long absence. I'm not going to go into detail, so let the challenge continue.

///@ig///

So, what hopes do I have for my blog? Now that's something I really have to think about. What do I want to accomplish by writing on this blog? 

Firstly, I want to gain a bit more confidence when it comes to making my opinions publicly. I think this will help me grow as a person too, and I also want to learn from the reactions I get to my posts (even if there is no reaction at all). As I said here, I changed quite a lot in the past years, but there are still so many things I struggle with. Writing on this blog helps me greatly, even if I don't write that often.

Secondly, I want to assure people that everyday struggles can be overcome, that we can get better at whatever we want to do, and a fail is not the end. Heck, I failed countless times, but that didn't stop me from trying again. Life is fickle (I absolutely love this word), but also great, and giving up would be a loss on both parts. What I'm saying is basically that I want to make my readers happy, to embrace life with all its good and bad, and never give up.

As a teenager I used to look for people sharing similar experiences with mine, to see how they handled things and how I could deal with stuff happening to me. Unfortunately I found really few blogs like that, but the ones that I did find kept me glued to the screen reading everything there could be read. I want to have that kind of blog too, the kind that helped me through my teenage years and the kind that would definitely help me now too.

When it comes to life there truly isn't a cheat code, and you need work to get anywhere. Failure is something we have to learn from. That's how we become better and better, and I think it really helps to know you are not alone in all this crazy journey.

Bottom line: my hopes for this blog is for it to become a place where I can write freely about whatever and a place that may bring a smile on someone's face. ( ◕ᴗ◕ )

Blog Challenge #09: What's the worse movie you ever watched?

/@ig/

I have to say the worse film I ever watched was Tusk. Some people might find this film to be amazing, but not for me. Tusk is supposed to be a horror/dark comedy, but I couldn't see the comedy in it and it was just bad. It's been a while since I watched it so I might not remember every detail. Still, I am going to spare myself the horror of watching it again. 

Although I must admit the film is indeed original, it feels like the screenplay lacks a bit, and the characters, apart from the main character, but just a bit, are left underdeveloped.

     Spoilers ahead.

In the 2014 film Tusk we have this podcaster, Wallace, travel to Canada to interview someone. He meets Howard Howe, an old seafarer that has quite some stories to tell. And some surgical, and metal changes to make in order to turn Wallace into a walrus. Howe takes Wallace to his home and keeps him hostage while starting to change him.

At some point Wallace manages to send a message to his girlfriend and his best friend (that are having an affair, by the way) saying that he's been kidnapped and needs help, or something along the lines, and what do they think it's the most logical thing to do? No, not calling the police or anything, but flying to Canada themselves to look for Wallace. (I'm guessing they didn't really care about him in the first place.)

Once there, after they talk to the locals trying to find Wallace, they find Wallace's car, and again, what do they do? Call the police? Now don't get your hopes up. Because they don't. They do find some cop that is pursuing the case, and even though I did enjoy watching Johnny Depp in this small role and shift from Wallace's transformation into a walrus, he wasn't of much help.

By the time Wallace is finally found, he's already turned into a walrus, he's in a suit made of... other people that went trough the same transformation but didn't survive it. He is saved, but is so merged into his new form (?) that he wants to remain like that. Which makes no sense, doesn't the police need to get all those body parts and skin off of him? Instead of doing something about it, Wallace is kept into a zoo and fed raw fish.

What happened to Howe, you might ask. Wallace killed him, but in a way Howe was the winner in all this since Wallace actually decided to remain a walrus.

I keep trying to find some purpose, hidden meaning to this film, but I can't find any. Tusk is not a horror film, as someone said in a review, it's too silly to be horror. It's not a comedy either, there's nothing to laugh about except maybe at how bad it is. And none of it really makes sense. Apart for the girlfriend and best friend not trying to get any legal help, Wallace ending up in a zoo (a freaking zoo!), and not out of the suit, there's also the skin used for the suit. Trying to make a walrus took Howe a lot of tries. He made the suit using the skin of people he previously killed, obviously not all at once, so how come the skin wasn't severely damaged?

This was a horrific post to write (yay for going beyond limits). I don't recommend in any way this film, it's cringe worthy and just so, so, sooooo bad. But since I wrote about this, please do tell me what you thought about it if you watched it or what is your worse film ever watched.

Also, this post is awfully written, but that's really the best I can on this subject. (->﹏<-)

Blog Challenge #08: What do you find most difficult/challenging about blogging?

//@ig//

There are actually two things I find really difficult, and it's not even funny anymore. The first one is staying committed to writing on the blog. I sometimes get a lot of ideas, open Notepad and write these ideas down, but when it comes to develop them on the blog, it takes months. I deleted some of those notes, but I still have enough that I could write about. Somehow I always find a reason not to. They are reasons like, "oh, I have work", "oh, there is this other thing I have to do", "oh, I spent hours watching videos on yt." 

The second most difficult thing is my critic side. I write something, and if there is even a word, a way I phrased, or if I don't find the post length appropriate, I'm not posting. And then a few months pass and I delete whatever I previously wrote and start all over with different subjects, same issues. 

When I write it's really great, but when I get to correcting I am the worse. I feel like sometimes I really do try too hard, and I should be easier on myself, but I just can't help it. Of course I can't make everything sound and look exactly the way I want to, and I should start listening to the advice I give to other people and that I strongly believe. The thing is, when you write something, you are there from start to finish, you control the whole process, and no one is going to see the things the same way you do. That's why people that draw amazingly tend to not believe you when you praise them, because they know every single line, every stroke that they erased or redid. Same as writing, you know every word you changed, every paragraph you cut off. 

Another thing that just crossed my mind that I find difficult is letting myself all out. I am a very private person, you don't ask, I don't tell (I actually got this small quote from somewhere, and I relate to it strongly), so just writing stuff about myself, about what I believe, feels like people might take it the wrong way, although I can't see one single valid reason that could happen. I wonder if anyone feels like this too, I can't be the only one, right? I also don't want to post a badly, half assed written post. It just doesn't sit well with me and it makes me feel bad even when said post lays as a draft.

TL;DR: Three most difficult things about blogging for me are commitment, being a perfectionist, and not wanting the articles to look like I try too hard or not trying at all. （ー_ー；）

P.S. again: I actually think this post could have looked better, but on the bright side this challenge seems to really keep me writing and posting no matter what. Also, I should have posted this yesterday, but I was so sleepy after work that I couldn't.

Blog Challenge #07: How have you changed in the past five years?

/ @instagram /

I was a really shy and sensitive kid growing up. I could cry because of literally anything. I bumped into a table? Yups, I would cry. You raised your tone just a notch higher that normal when talking to me? Yups, crying again. I accidentally broke a tree branch? Better hide and cry some more. 

I am really glad to say that my younger crying self is way behind me. Now I am more of a "don't give a fuck" kind of person, definitely not shy anymore, but I would, at any time, avoid talking to people unless I reaaally have to. I don't know how I come across to other people, but I am the kind that values the time spent alone, and at the same time I become paranoid and a bit lonely when there's no one around. 

Going to college roughly five years ago had the biggest impact on me. I met a lot of new people and it felt refreshing talking openly about not having money, share opinions, and talk about just whatever crossed my mind. Growing up in a small village with almost no one my age to share my opinions with and asking questions, I was rather afraid of speaking up, but the whole college experience contributed to my change. I learned so much about myself and about the world that now I can say I am a different person. 

Of course my younger self is not all behind. Even now I'd rather not speak up unless things are really unfair and affects me in a bad way. I stay away of arguments and fights as much as possible, and I generally don't let mean comments affect me. Although I never was one that cared about what people say about me. You don't like how I dress? That's your problem, buddy, I suggest you look away.

I keep noticing things I do differently than before, I notice how I react differently to what happens around me. If you'd put the me now, and my teenage self side by side, I don't think anyone would believe we are the same person.

There are also some changes that happened simply because I grew up, I became an adult (although I'm terrible at adulting). Things that seemed vital to me years ago aren't important now. If my teenage self would read every interview and every piece of information about their favourite bands, now I don't really care about anything more than the music itself.

All in all, I enjoy realizing how I changed, and I truly believe that I am a better self. I strive to change even more, and I'm certain I will, it's inevitable. (๑•ᴗ•๑)

P.S.: I recently activated anonymous comments on my blog, and now I have hundreds of spam to go through. It wouldn't have come to this if blogger would have been kind enough to notify me about the comments other than by e-mail (I use a different mail that the one on my contact form and I don't check that one as often). What I want to say is thank you to the people that replied to my previous posts. I answered to some of them and I'll check today to see if there are any more non-spam replies.
But really, blogger, is it that hard to notify authors about comments on dashboard? Spam or not.

Blog Challenge #06: Write about a movie you enjoyed rewatching

///instagram///

There are quite some films I rewatched, some because I couldn't remember much of what happened, and some because they are simply awesome. One of these films is Life of Pi which is beautifully made. I rewatched this one quite recently, I just had to see again the amazing sceneries (CGI or not). Along with the stunning views, Life of Pi is an adventure, we get to see a young boy cast away at sea in the company of a Bengal tiger, we get to see them trying to survive together in the middle of the ocean, and trying to get back to civilization.

The first time I watched Life of Pi I was amazed by everything that was going on. I enjoyed it tremendously. This is the kind of film that after a while you (or me) just have to watch it again, and be amazed again.

Another film that I really enjoyed rewatching is Kung Fu Hustle. The first time I watched it it was kinda by mistake. It was on TV and I guess I didn't have anything better to do so I said why not. I liked it a lot. Ever since I was little I was amazed by Chinese kung-fu films, I couldn't wrap my head around how they fly, or more like leap, like that so effortlessly. 

On the plus side, Kung Fu Hustle is a comedy, and man, it is one of the best comedies I ever watched. I'm kinda picky when it comes to this genre, so when I find a film that actually makes me laugh it goes right up my list of good films. 

I could probably add some more films to this post, but for now I'll leave it at these two. I highly recommend them. (˵^‿^˵)❀

Blog Challenge #05: What's the significance of your blog's name?

// @instagram //

I'm afraid my blog name doesn't have any hidden significance, and it's nothing out of ordinary. Blowing time means exactly that, blowing time. Plain and simple. 

I might have been a tad bit bored when I changed the name of my blog from whatever it was called at first (I'm not sure I remember, but I don't really want to remember either), and just thought about blowing time the same way you blow dandelions, only that I was planning on blowing time with words on top of words because sometimes when I'm writing time seems to just fly away. 

For me the title is pretty straight forward and doesn't really need an explanation, although at one point someone told me they are rather confused by it. When I came up with the title it felt natural and it fits so well that I had no doubt about it.

From the start I planned for my blog to be some place where I can fill my free time, where I can go when I get bored or when I want to do something that feels productive. Back then, same as now, I procrastinate a lot, so I figured a blog would make me procrastinate less (at least).

Actually, if I think about it, I think the initial name of my blog contained the word blog (very original), and toxic. That name is cringe worthy and I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I made it up, so Blowing time is actually an upgrade, and I feel it's way better than the original.

I have to be honest, I was expecting this post to be longer. What can you do, huh? ┐(๑￣ー￣๑)┌

Blog Challenge #04: What characteristics you admire in people?

// instagram //

I think this might be one of the hardest topics of this challenge. Yeah, it seems simple enough, clearly I didn't think too much about it when I wrote the challenge, but there are so many characteristics that I appreciate that I just don't know which ones to pick. I'm gonna try and make a list of the top five characteristics I admire and also say why I admire them. I hope it won't take me too long to write this.

01. Being open-minded.
With all that's happening around us I'm surprised to see how many people seem to live in some sort of bubble, kind of like a world of their own where everyone has to agree their opinions, where all the things they don't like don't exist, or are not happening near them.

It's really not that hard being open minded, accepting that we are all different, that we feel, act and love differently. I admire open-minded people perhaps the most because even if they don't understand why you did or said something, they accept it as your own choice and don't try to impose when there's really nothing to impose about. As long as you are not hurting anyone, by all means do whatever you feel like doing.

02. Learning from your own mistakes.

We are only humans, we make mistakes, some bigger than others, but every mistake is a lesson. Being able to learn from it is a great thing. Instead of looking for someone to blame, we should want to overcome ourselves and become better.

03. Being kind. 

Kindness is such a rare trait that often a cashier's smile is mistaken as flirting, it's so rare that we actually need video proof that someone did something selfless. It's so weird. Growing up I thought that everyone is kind, but along the years I learned that some people are mean just because. I still can't wrap my head around it, I can't see a purpose or a why. People that can't be kind are the most mind blowing for me. It takes so little to offer someone your hand to cross the street and it makes you feel so good afterwards that I honestly wonder why not more people are doing it. Just imagine how the world could look like if we all showed a bit of kindness.

04. Giving space.
There are some days when I put my phone on silent, take my PC and do whatever without even bothering to check my phone. There are days when I actually don't know where my phone is, so having someone that can understand the need for space is wonderful instead of receiving passive-aggressive texts and whatnot. There isn't always a reason for needing space, so that need might be a bit hard to explain. People that can actually understand it and are able to give you the space you need are some of the best people to have around.

05. Being honest.
Honesty is another trait that seems to be lost when it is so much easier and a lot of unpleasant situations can be avoided by being honest. Honesty is one of those characteristics that take so little, but can take you very far, and I feel like dishonesty is so pointless, it doesn't help anyone, all it does is just messing things up for everyone involved.

Writing this I realised I could actually write more about the type of people I don't like. They are just so many! It's ridiculous! Really, guys, be kind, love yourselves and do whatever floats your boats.
Lots of hugs! ╰(*＾︶ ＾*)╯

Music Recommendation #13

P!nk - Are We All We Are

Blog Challenge #03: What TV shows are you watching now?

//instagram//

I don't think I ever was a big fan of TV shows, but there are some that are simply awesome. I'm not a patient person, so when I'm watching a TV show I often lose interest and completely forget about the new episode coming out so I usually watch already completed series. Still, there are some I could wait months for and I'd still be interested. 

  American Gods

Since this is the latest TV show I watched, I'm starting with American Gods. As someone who didn't previously read the book, everything is a mystery and I have to wait for every new episode to maybe find out a bit of what's going on or who everyone really is. At this point I know everything is going to connect in a way or another, but I can't really make the connections myself. Still, it is fun trying to do so.

Now that the first season already ended, I am left waiting some more to find out what on earth is going on exactly. Round two of fun is on when the second season comes out.

 Game of Thrones

Just a bit more until the next season of Game of Thrones, so this one is the second TV show I want to talk about. I don't even know what to say about it. I started watching Game of Thrones when the first two seasons were already released, and I got hooked from the first episode. I lost quite some nights of sleep and studying watching GOT, and I don't even regret it. To be completely honest I would have stayed up those nights regardless. 

Every episode of GOT makes me curious about what is going to happen next, and it's damn hard trying to detach so you won't get your heart crushed and stepped on if something bad happens to any of the characters you like. And never, ever have I disliked a TV show character as much as I dislike some of GOT's characters. It is a great show, I recommend it to friends and enemies too. 

  NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Or more commonly known simply as NCIS is a TV show that I keep getting back to. I used to watch random episodes on TV when I was little and later, when I realised that you can actually find anything on the internet, I started watching the show from the start. I sometimes watch episode after episode weeks on row, and sometimes I don't watch any for months. I found that this kind of arrangement works really well when it comes to this TV show, I don't get an overdose of NCIS, and it keeps me interested enough. 

The NCIS team is the best team, I like the chemistry between the characters and I like their different personalities. NCIS is a really well made show, and if it kept me hooked for years. 

For me, all these TV shows are interesting and don't bore me in the slightest. Since they are all so different from each other it is also refreshing switching back and forth, maybe throwing a film in between them at times. If you watch these TV shows too, please do tell me what you think about them. I'm excited on hearing opinions. (●⌒▿⌒●)

Blog Challenge #02: Why/How you started blogging?

// nigmatillium //

I started this blog seven years ago, in 2010, and oh my goddess, that's a lot! I remember I was spending a lot of time on anime forums, and there was a topic about personal blogs, and maybe someone told me about blogs before, I'm not entirely sure, but it seemed fun and I decided to start one too. Thinking about it, at the time I might have just wanted some space where I could write about things that I like, that interest me, and to share them with people that might come across my blog.

When I made the blog I was enthusiastic about it, I wanted to write and write, but as I grew up I started not paying as much attention to it, which is a shame, shame on me, and still, at the same time I always had the blog at the back of my head as an escape place.

I didn't have a topic to write about, so I posted this poem by Mircea Cărtărescu, author we were studying at the time in school. I don't have a subject for my blog now either, I just go wild, I guess, and write whatever.

I still think blogging is fun, and I still am enthusiastic about it, I love writing on here, although most of the posts remain forgotten as drafts until enough time passes and I delete them. I even remember some of the posts I didn't publish. 

Back on topic. Another reason why I started blogging is because I wanted to read, follow, and comment on other blogs. I like it when people share stories, funny or not. There are so many blogs I could learn from, some that would brighten my day, and some that would inspire me. I like everything about blogging, thinking about what process the author went through, and relating with them in a way or another. It pulls me out of the everyday life, even though I might be reading about everyday life (and somehow almost never writing a reply to the article I am reading. Bad me.)

Bottom line, blogging is fun.  ﾟ･✿ヾ╲(｡◕‿◕｡)╱✿･ﾟ

Blog Challenge #01: Meet the Blogger!

instagram

Along the time I think I wrote quite a lot of stuff about myself on the blog, but I don't remember writing a blog post entirely about myself. I have the memory span of a beetroot, so don't blame me if I can't remember if I did or did not do it.

On my first year of college, someone had the idea of calling ourselves using nicknames rather that our real names. After looking up the meaning of the name, thinking it represents me, and also because I weirdly like names that start with an A, I picked Akira. I can't figure out why, but I always thought an A-name would fit me better, like Angela (my kindergarden name-crush), or Alex. Later, Akira turned into Aki and since then I am Aki. Pleased to meet you all! Haha!

I was born in a small village that, quite frankly, I don't want to talk about. I didn't like anything about it, starting with the people. Everyone was too focused on showing others how good their lives were, and how wealthy they were, something I could never understand. Now I live in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. I absolutely love the city, I loved it even before I first came here. If you ever visit Cluj, I highly recommend visiting Grădina Botanică, it's wonderful! 

I started the Faculty of Letters in Cluj, but I failed my first year. I decided to try again, and after another two years spent at the faculty, I realised that that wasn't what I wanted to do. Also due to financial situation I decided that it was best to get a full time job and think about college at a later time. Now I'm working in retail, and although it's not the kind of job I would like to have for a long time I am happy that I can pay the rent and bills.

I always liked writing, and even when I'm not writing I keep thinking about it. I have a load of ideas, and sometimes I'm happy writing just whatever. Unfortunately I am out of practice of actually writing, so I will save you from reading anything I would come up with right now. Well, except for this blog post. 

I also like music, autumn and rain. I am the kind of person that listens to whatever music, can't wait for the leaves to change colour in autumns, and sometimes "forgets" the umbrella in the bag when going home from work on a rainy day.  (๑ • ᴗ • ๑)

Blog challenge!

Flower graphics designed by Freepik

So, long story short, I decided to make a small blog challenge. I have a couple of free days, and I remembered I actually own a blog. I have no idea what on earth I am doing on here anymore, but at the same time I don't see why I shouldn't be doing anything at all.

I am going to post every topic of the challenge once a week, I haven't quite decided on a day, but I think I'll post them on Sundays. 

That being said, let the challenge begin! 

           P.S.: Anyone can take part in the challenge if you wish so.

           

Music Recommendation #12

산이, 매드클라운 - 못먹는 감