Evening Thoughts: Overthinking Stuff

I discovered today that spending an afternoon reading through 'How To' blogs and articles on the internet is boring as Hell. I think that's part of the reason I never did this before - every time I started getting up the drive to start working for myself, I jumped into the books and guides and thoroughly psyched myself out. So, as of tomorrow, that's off the table.

Stop Thinking, Start Doing

A problem I've always suffered from is that I over-think things. Anything from interactions with people, to test scores, to whether or not I can/should/want to do something. Thinking before you act is all well and good, but there comes a time when you've spent so long thinking that you're not actually get anything done.

For example, where I could've been writing blog posts all day today, I instead spent the whole day thinking about writing blog posts. Funnily enough, I realised this evening that I was no closer to having written a successful blog than I was this morning.

That's not to say that I haven't achieved anything. I found something to write about in this post, after all. I also discovered - according to multiple sources, coolest among which was startbloggingonline.com - that blogging is simple. You get a domain, set it up and just start writing about your chosen topic.

That's all I really needed to know. Thinking about it more isn't going to get me any further.

Overthinking Writing

While I'm on the subject of thinking too much, I thought (...) that I might as well cover one of the major pitfalls I've encountered as a writer. Overthinking your work.

Many writers I've spoken to (and whose journals I've read) are like me, in the sense that we're very rarely happy with what we write. There's almost always something about that chapter (or passage, or conversation) that doesn't feel quite right. Sometimes, I come back the next day, see a genuine mistake or pit that I've written myself into, and work my way around it. Other times, it's just an invisible problem that I'm pretty sure is there, but can't actually figure out.

It used to be that those kinds of 'problems' would leave me in a perpetual state of writer's block. I would re-write and brainstorm and re-write, over and over and over again. But no matter how long or hard I worked, that chapter would never be quite perfect.

About six months into the most notable of writer's blocks from which I've suffered, I had an epiphany. "Maybe I'm seeing a problem that's not there. Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much, and what I had originally... actually worked fine." So, I published the original chapter online and asked people to feed back on it.

Funnily enough, everyone loved it. If there was a problem, no-one to whom I showed the chapter could see it.

Get A Second Opinion

Since then, I've come to realise something very important about my writing. Analysing my work is only good for the first one or two editing passes. After that, anything more that I do is OVERanalysing. Without exception, it'll get me nowhere but deeper behind the dreaded wall that is writer's block.

If you find yourself in the same situation, seriously consider asking someone else to look it over. Writer's groups or communities are great for this - filled with like-minded people who are reasonably unbiased. Friends and family are conveniently quite willing to help you out, but be mindful that they won't always be as objective when reviewing your work - they're less likely to find issue with it, because they want to tell you that they like it.

But if that's all you've got, then it'll do. Better to get a biased opinion from a mate that convinces you to show your work to the world, than to sit at home staring at your chapter for the rest of your life.


Just my two bits! Hope it helps someone out.

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Fallen into this trap yourself? Any other advice for those that have? Hit me up in the comments section below!

Homecoming

I've just woken up after a much-needed sixteen hour nap to cure me of jet lag (not sure whether it worked, but at least I don't feel so exhausted any more). I'm back home with my family, my room, my guitar and, most importantly, my Playstation. Haha! Seriously though, I can't wait to see all my friends again and catch up with everyone. Going to be a busy couple of months.

My last day in Vancouver wasn't all that eventful. The week of exploring and seeing the sights had caught up to me, so I spent much of the day curled up in the Lodge armchair. It was there that I made my holiday's last great epiphany...

I need to get an armchair. Armchairs are amazing.

Campfire

I was supposed to meet my brother for coffee today, to catch up, but I severely slept in and missed it. So we changed our plans and had a campfire in the garden and a couple of beers instead. It was a brilliant idea and a great night for it.

We talked about lots of things. Where I'd been, what I'd been up to, how work was going for him (he's successful) and so on. Eventually, the topic turned to what I was planning to do now that I'm back. Usually, when someone asks me that question - "What're your plans?" - my answer is along the lines of "Er, well I'm going to the pub this weekend with some mates" or "Not much. Workin'". 

This time, I said, without a doubt, that I want to write. I want to write lots. I want to practise my craft and live my passion. I know it's likely to be a long time before I learn the ins and outs enough to start making a living (or even paying my rent) from writing. But it's something to aim towards. Something that I genuinely believe is possible. And something that I really think I'm going to love.

Touch wood, that's probably a good sign.

Going Forward

As I said, it's going to be a very busy few months for me. There are so many things that I'm going to be working on - my studies, podcasting and music, to name a few. Oh, and writing. Expect posts about all those things in the coming days. Maybe not so much about studying. That one's fairly predictable and uninteresting.

I'll keep a journal of everything I've done towards making this blog 'work', hopefully to the point where someone will be able to scroll through it and get a clear picture of what was involved in the journey from 'casual writer' to 'guy living his passion'. I can't tell you how excited I am about this whole premise. Finally, I'm going to be doing what I love.

Even if it may take a while to get there.

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I'll ask questions here and there, but the comments section is always open to... well, comments! Any feedback or suggestions are welcome. Otherwise, feel free to just say "Hi!" and introduce yourself. Or point out other blogs/interesting articles/anything you think might help me out. I want this to turn into a social thing, if at all possible!

Travel Journal: Return to Granville Island

That title sounds like a pirate movie... Yarr!

So, I revisited Granville Island today, deciding to give it a second shot after my somewhat disappointing visit during the week. Matt from the hostel staff was running a tour there today and invited me along, saying that it would probably be more lively on the weekend.

And he was right!

Random Sights

The first thing I'll note is that it was WAY more fun checking out the island with someone who knows what there is to see, rather than just ambling around on my own. Matt guided us around several different points of interest which I'd missed before. The kids market, the trash mound, the food court and some of the more interesting stores, to name a few.

The Kids Market was as you would expect – a big market for kids. It was full of puppets, plush toys, wooden toys, car toys... basically lots of toys. We didn't spend long in there (though I did spy some pretty decent looking Pony key rings).

Next stop was the Trash Mound. This was aptly described by Matt as “Basically a big mound of trash, covered in dirt and grass” (that's in an Australian Accent, if anyone's counting). He explained that when the peninsula was originally cleaned up to be commercialised, all the rubbish was put into a massive pile. This pile was then covered with dirt and grass seeds, which has since grown into a lovely little hill (you would never know it was a trash mound unless someone explained it to you) with a Canadian Flag on top. Pretty darn cool.

Oh, Canada~~

Diagonally

So we checked out some of the more interesting shops too. For a short while, it actually felt like the kind of thing I imagined when reading the Harry Potter books for the first time.

"OMG! The New Nimbus 2000!"

...In no small part because the first shop we went into was an honest to goodness Quidditch Broom store. There were wooden-carved brooms of all shapes and sizes lining the walls and shelves. One of the ladies on staff walked around, testing each of them in turn and using them to sweep dust out of the entrance. The other was in a little workshop section in the back, piecing together several different new brooms. Seriously, if they had been wearing witches' hats it would have been the second most amazing shop ever.

As it is, it's just somewhat interesting.

A couple of paces along was a candle shop with a tonne of really interesting 'flavours' on display. I took a whiff of a random one off the shelf, and a second later realised that it was 'Dr Pepper' (the soft drink). I proceeded to try a bunch of different candles, with names such as 'Enchanted Forest', 'Whiskey Dream' (easily my favourite – white chocolate with a hint of bourbon) and 'London Fog'. Weirdly enough, all of them smelled roughly how I expected them to – which was pretty amazing.

The only exception was 'Monkey Farts', which was clearly a gag one. It smelled of bananas and strawberries.

The last place we checked out was a glass-blower's shop. I wasn't so much interested in the artwork inside as I was in the forge that was attached to the building. There were windows to look through, giving a fantastic view of all the blazing forges and smaller bunsen flames that were being used to create these pieces of art. I tried to get a decent photo, but the lighting was all wrong and the windows blurred the shots – sorry, Owen!

Taco Sunday

After our brief sortie into wizard-land, we hit the food court to dispel our hunger (wha-hey!). I picked up a cup of hot apple cider (absolutely delicious) and a soft-shell chicken and bean taco. I've never tried a taco before, but the plethora of internet-related taco jokes convinced me to give it a go. It's a tortilla type thing, but smaller and a little thicker. It was really good! Didn't last long though...

While we ate, we sat outside by the bay and watched some of the live entertainment. There was a comedian lady whose act we caught the tail end of. Very outspoken with jokes about money and calling out members of the audience. Not really my kind of humour, but it was still good entertainment.

Ah, and then came the music. I was hoping to see some more than I did last time around, and I was not disappointed.

I got a great picture of the guitarist who came on after the comedy act had finished (he looked a little bit like the prince of darkness). He was animated in a subtle kind of way – just walking around and nodding his head as he played – that's the kind of stage presence I imagine I'd have if I ever got into performing music properly.

He started out playing some laid back finger-style guitar tunes, then moved on to some faster-paced ones. I didn't recognise any of the tunes – I actually think some of them (if not all) were original – but they were all really excellent. I hope I can find him online because I'd really like to learn to play like that.

Wandering around the Island a bit more yielded at least half a dozen other performers. I didn't like them quite as much as this guy, but they were all great. There was another guitarist, a guy on what I believe was an Oboe and another on Pan-flute (not the same guy I saw the other day, either). It was nice to check out the local music to wind down after all the walking.

After all was said and done there, we rounded up the few of us who hadn't wandered off throughout the day and headed back over the bridge to the hostel. Today was a little bit more physically stressful than walking on my own, as there was a pace to be kept, so I've just had a shower and settled down for some R&R.

For those who don't know, tomorrow is actually my last day in the city (I've gotten what I came for – blog on that coming soon)! I may hop on board with whatever activity the hostel is throwing, or I may check out one of the few remaining things on my 'recommended' list. Or I may spend the day writing, though I keep reminding myself that I can do that when I get home!

Either way, you'll hear from me soon. Catch you next time!

Travel Journal: Urban Woods

I'm writing this from the Prospect Point Café, up at the very top of Stanley Park. The atmosphere and the view here are absolutely gorgeous – a testament for just how beautiful this place is.

It took me a bit longer than expected to get here. I underestimated just how big the park was! From the entering at the south edge to making my way up here, it took me about almost two hours. Got to admit that I'm pretty exhausted – going from sitting at a computer desk all day to exploring a city all day is a bit of a drastic change!

Market Island

I spent today exploring Vancouver again. I started by visiting Granville Island, which was supposed to be a big public market with lots of outdoor entertainment. I had this picture painted in my head. I was looking for a tightly packed bunch of stalls, outdoors-like, with fabric roofs to keep the rain and Sun off, you know. I expected musicians up on benches playing guitar and singing and dancing and so on.

However, it turns out that the 'public market' is actually indoors. It's like Blunsdon Market back home, but on a way smaller scale (and with no boot sale outside). It was a bit underwhelming. The music was fantastic though. But... there was only one guy playing it at one part of the island. I think I may have chosen to visit at one of the quieter times.

Still, it was a nice walk there and back, with some lovely views across the Granville St. Bridge. I've figured out how to add pictures to my blog, so check it out.

View from Granville St. Bridge

Natural Beauty

Now the afternoon, that was something else. A mate on the Vancouver group Skype chat said to check out Stanley Park in the evening (Golden Hour, he said) rather than morning, so I decided to go there later in the day. That's where I am now – at Prospect Point, on the very north edge of the island – waiting in the café for sunset with a bottle... okay, two bottles... of delicious peach cider. And a local salmon burger which is extremely filling.

The Park is a beautiful place. Once you get in far enough that there are no more buildings and you can't see the shoreline, it feels almost like some of the woods back home. I walked up and down the trails, around the 'Beaver Lake' in the centre (though didn't get to see any beavers) and then up to the Point, listening to some Five For Fighting as I went. I tell you, the time just drains away in places like this – I could walk for hours on end and hardly notice.

I got to see a bit of wildlife too. I got my first ever view of a raccoon (they're bigger than I expected). Also, Canadian Squirrels! I wasn't expecting to see any, so it was a really nice surprise to see a whole bunch of them flitting about on the trail.

SQUIRRELS!

Best-Laid Plans

It's been nice to let loose and just not worry for a while, exploring a new place and trying new things. I never really had a 'plan' coming here. I just wanted to see what came up and do whatever I felt like doing. Seems to have been a pretty solid policy thus far, as I'm having a fantastic time.

The only thing I had set in stone for coming over here was a visit to the Metrotown Mall to meet up with the local brony group. That's scheduled for noon on Saturday. Pretty excited for that. Not only because I'll get to see the Mall, but because the group seem to be a fun bunch.


All in all, I'm really enjoying myself over here. The walking is doing me good (although my feet beg to differ) - I feel well-exercised, for once in my life. I have no doubt that I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight. And with that, I'll say goodnight and see you soon!

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Any thoughts on the layout of the blog by the way? I'm going to be playing around with positioning of pictures and text, so any feedback/advice is welcome!

Travel Journal: Double-size McDonalds!

Hey! Finally managed to settle down with some wifi to write this out. I am officially in Canada - I can tell because I'm sat in McDonalds and the drink is LITERALLY twice the size of one back home (with free refills) and my staple double cheeseburger is actually delicious. I'm not sure British Maccy-D's will ever be the same...

So this is just a practise journal entry for my travels. I'm going to keep a proper journal over the course of my stay here, and will be uploading regularly, so stay tuned!

Okay, so some good times and bad times. First the bad times, 'cause I want to get them out of the way.

Forty Hour Day

Turns out that deciding to stay awake overnight at the airport and then sleep on the plane wasn't as great a plan as I thought. I think I'm now forty hours into my day, haha. But yeah, only managed to get a wink of sleep on the plane, so I'm real groggy and moody and looking forward to crashing at the hostel.

The journey was overwhelmingly uneventful. There was nothing to do at the airport, so I just kind of hung around trying to keep busy - reading a book or wandering around. I was too tired and bored to get into anything, which is a little ironic.

And then customs was an unexpected pain in the ass (feel free to rip into that, Clare). I was in there for an hour waiting and justifying that my couple of weeks' trip was just that. But eventually the guy let me through. He wasn't in a very good mood though.

However, that's the end of the bad times! For now, at least.

The Important Bit - Beautiful City

Good times roll! Like I said, the McDonalds is twice as great for half the price (zero exaggeration on either count), and that's really the main thing I think we should take away from all of this.

Besides that though... Vancouver is gorgeous! From the moment I got off the plane - putting Customs behind us - I was taken in by the beauty. It's a lovely day as well. The Sun came out just as we were coming in for a landing, giving me a fantastic view of the entire city.

Jumped on the skyrail (never thought I'd get to say that outside of a sci-fi novel) as soon as I got out of the station, making my way into the city centre. I don't think I'll be staying here long - probably going to make my way around and find the cheapest place to stay. Lodging is pretty cheap by the way, though the listings I got from the UK were a bit misleading. Even so, I'm looking at $30 a night (which I think is about £18).

I've taken some pictures and will Facebook them in a bit (when I can get this SD card working). Next stop though is to check in at the nearest Hostel, get showered and cleaned up and decide on a plan for the night. Spoiler alert: It's going to involve me sleeping. Like, a lot.

Random Pleasantness

First thing to note is that no-one has said 'Ay' at all thus far (I guess the trip is still young though). Second thing, the city isn't as busy as I expected (it's downright comfortable). Third, the people here seem really bloody nice.

Example. They have pigeons here in Canada too. I kid you not, one bloke here saw a pigeon on the street in front of him, actually went out of his way, said "Excuse me, little buddy, comin' through!" and moved his luggage in a wide berth around it. That has made my forty hour day. That and the McDonalds of course (I'm sure I'll get over that eventually. But... half price, double volume and goodness).

Oh! I met a lovely couple on the plane - Craig and Judith - who were just coming back home to Canada from a holiday in Europe. They gave me a whole bunch of places to put on my 'to check out' list. The first Canadian folks I met and they were really friendly (not weirdly so, just normal friendly), as fortold.

I think I'm going to have a good time here. I'll do a bigger journal tomorrow, tonight is sleep time. Thanks for reading all! I'll keep you in the loop! (And feel free to hit me up on Facebook)

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Any interesting stories about your first time travelling (or any trip to Vancouver)? Things to watch out for? Let me know in the comments section below!

The First Day of The Rest Of My Life

"How do I find my passion?"

There are so many things we enjoy doing, so many things we're good at or that we maybe, might, possibly be able to do if we put our minds to it. But do we really want to pursue these, to take them beyond being just hobbies?

Today, I'm finally setting out to find my answer.

Lost In Space

I'm in my early twenties. Like many people my age, I have no idea what I want to do in life. Sure, I'm studying Computer Science at college, because I'm good at it and because there's a lot of potential income in that sector. Is that what I want to do, 'Nine to Five, Monday to Friday', for the rest of my life? Uh, no.

Fair play to those that do, but it's just not something I can see for myself.

I've started this blog because I know there are a lot of other people in my position. People who are passionate about something - be it writing, drawing, music, sewing or something else - but don't know whether they want to pursue it. Or even if they CAN pursue it. I'm hoping to share my own journey with all of you. The journey towards finding that special something that I love doing, and that I WANT to do for the rest of my life.

I'm not saying that 'something' will be writing. I'm admitting, here and now, that I don't know whether I want to be a full-fledged writer ten years from now.

But you know what? It's a possibility.

The First Step

I've worked in hospitality for about two years and in hardware assembly for just over three months. Both had their good times, but I knew right away that these were things that I did not want to be doing in the long term. Likewise, I've been studying IT for three years - in various different sectors - and have come to the same conclusion. Knowing that, I have two choices. I can keep unhappily studying and working those jobs, or similar jobs, over and over, hoping that something is going to change (see: definition of insanity).

Or I can try working on something new. Something I know I enjoy doing, and something that I could potentially turn into a career.

Something like writing.


So, with that, I'll say welcome to my blog - tentatively titled 'Ryan On Writing'. I hope that you'll all enjoy reading about my many stumbles, good times, bad times and new discoveries. And by the end of it, we'll have the answer to our question.

"How do I find my passion?" Let's find out...

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Do you have a hobby or passion you're unsure about pursuing? Or maybe a story to share about one you've already embraced? Let me know in the comments!