The Anniversary

Diary, quotes, Reflections 3 Minutes

I really don’t have an anniversary date for my blogs since I went on and off for many months before starting to post regularly in May 2020. So let’s just arbitrarily take today as the anniversary date. This reminds me of my grandmother’s birthday, which is actually an arbitrary date. In those eras–before WWII–I was told, children were not given a name or considered survivable creatures before the 100 day mark–apparently child mortality rates were very high indeed. And when a child passed that mark and acquired the right to a name, the parents would often arbitrarily find a lucky date as the birthday that bode well for growth and prosperity. Incidentally, it’s also an era when the lunar calendar was abandoned and the solar calendar was adopted. It ended up everybody got at least two birthdays–one for the lunar calendar and one for the solar. So a person’s birthday can be quite messy.

So for this designated one year anniversary, I will recount all the mistakes I’ve made and am still making.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

  • Take others’ advice without considering my own preference. I tried very hard to take the advice that one should schedule one’s posts and allocate a time to write. I strive to follow, but I just can’t do it. At the allocated time, I often feel that I don’t want to write and want to do something else instead. I function better without a writing schedule. This sounds strange, but I still don’t know how to deal with it.
  • Not Capturing The Wave. Sometimes I can feel that I really want to write several pieces. Don’t let anything or anybody disrupt this wave of enthusiasm. This is really important. If I let the interruption happen, the damage is huge since I might not have another such period for a long time.
  • Continue when I feel like blocked. I continued to stare into blank space, pretending that I was think of worthy thoughts, but in reality my mind was blocked and didn’t feel like writing. This had to be stopped. When this happens, don’t force oneself. Let it go and do something else. Actually in such a time, boring house chores are a delightful relief.
  • Post it without rereading it at least twice. Actually reading three or more times will be better, but I don’t want to sound too neurotic. I often find spelling and grammar mistakes in my old posts, and people who read my posts have been too polite to point them out to me.
  • Spend too much time on pictures. Pictures are great visual aids, but I am no artist. Even if I spend hours on pictures, I still won’t be able to make much progress. It’s a futile effort and a big waste of time. It’s much better to go to Pexels, Unsplash, Pixabay to download a ready made one. Or open up canva.com to select a template that’s already there. Or my last resort–let Microsoft PowerPoint design a pattern for the several pictures I have obtained online.

  • Answer every question. The blogosphere is not a school and I am not taking a test. If somebody asks questions I don’t feel like answering–personal questions usually–I am not going to answer it. Don’t do anything that will make oneself uncomfortable.
  • Ignore the little impulses. The little impulses are the best things that can happen to me, but for a while I tend to ignore them. When an idea intrudes, try to write it down or commit it to memory. Don’t ignore them.
  • Ignore the research. I still don’t know how to do research. I know I should do it, but I have no directions and no leads. I bought two books and read regularly about how to improve my blogging experiences, but still I don’t have a clear idea how to do it. I know it is important and I am thinking of doing it…
  • Not having a break. Taking a break from WP from time to time is really important. Sometimes I just want to get away from it all; sometimes I feel that if I don’t get away I might get sick of it.
  • Not to do reblog, links, cross-platform posting. This is another big mistake. I know I should do this, but I continue to postpone it. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️. Sometimes one is one’s own worst enemy.

I’ve received a wonderful award from Herb, who lavishes his praise on me and I am grateful for his heart felt congratulations. And yes, I would like to have coffee with Herb every day–virtual coffee counts as coffee too, doesn’t it? Thank you, Herb, and a big thank you to all the people who have visited my casual notes. I feel appreciated and acknowledged and loved. Even if we are thousands of miles away, we have found ways to connect, to have rapport, to express and to enjoy. 💖💖💖💖💖

Published by haoyando

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54 thoughts on “The Anniversary”

  1. Happy blog anniversary! It is a great thing for you to make a good review or summery on your one year blog writings , which will only make your writing more meaningful , more thoughtful and more colorful. Do not feel regretful on mistakes. Doing nothing may avoid mistakes but will never pass happiness and knowledge to your readers.
    Thank you. Add Oil !

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  2. Happy Blogiversary! I think when it comes to advice you have to take it with a grain of salt. Allocating time and writing at specific times doesn’t work for me either and like you I have times when I can write multiple posts and other times when I just can’t. I generally write multiple posts when I’m in the mood to write and schedule them and post them throughout the week.

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    1. Yes, my mind just doesn’t listen to my orders. LOL. I have to learn to listen to my mind and understand its wishes. Hahaha. It feels like a little battleground right inside oneself.

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  3. Happy anniversary…do what best works for you. As long as you finally come up with the quality content you produce on your blog, then all shall be fine. Thank you so much

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  4. Congrats on the anniversary, though I think WordPress will send you a notification whenever your real anniversaries arrive. Great lessons you’ve shared here, and some of them are the exact same lessons I’ve picked up on my own journey too. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Yes, you are right and I see people display the notification from time to time, but mine is never sent to me. LOL. Glad to know that you have the same issues as I have encountered. Writing is a struggle and most of the struggle is with ourselves. LOL. 😃😜👍😍

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  5. Congratulations on sticking for one whole year without pausing!😀 It’s work that is hard to accomplish. Maybe I can also follow in your footsteps… in the near future that is😅

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    1. LOL. Thank you. Lots of love and hugs for you who have been giving me continuous support. LOL, yes, let’s do it together and encourage each other along the way. 😜👍😃💖

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  6. Happy Anniversay Haoyan! You are truly unique in what you write, I think your followers would agree.

    Freeing up the mind when blocked is something I too acknowledge. It is ok to not post for a day or two when mind keeps resetting.

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    1. That’s so true. In school, we learned how not to make mistakes in order to have higher scores, but the real life is very different. As a non-native speaker, I feel this intensely. In real life, we make mistakes and learn how to live with our mistakes and somehow pull through. So school is actually giving us the wrong idea. LOL.

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  14. To be honest, Haoyando, I believe you have figured out exactly what works for you regarding blogging. You write fabulous posts and I don’t think you need to change a thing. Onwards to the next anniversary 😊

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        1. I must have said something that’s too eager and unsubtle. You know that’s the thing. It is very hard for a non-native speaker to learn this elusive subtlety. LOL. We learn to live with our imperfection and even start to enjoy laughing at ourselves. LOL.

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  16. 🎈🎈Happy Anniversary Haoyan 💐💐

    You are an amazing writer. Although I have to accept it that I’m not able to clearly understand your stories. But your poems are clear, easy to understand.

    Keep writing.
    Happy blogging.😃🌄

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      1. You want to tell stories, and I want to hear them. That’s what matter.

        You are doing your job amazingly. I’m interested in your writing. Can’t get your series regarding Pummy. Maybe because I haven’t understood the background clearly.

        I need to improve my English.

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        1. Thank you, Lokesh. Your English is great and I think it might be the fact that I didn’t reveal the background more clearly. Pammy and her husband Pan are both Asian immigrants from Asia. They grew up in Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Vietnam respectively, and came to the U.S. after college. Pan works as a financial analyst in New York City and Pammy stays at home with some part time job. Like many people working in NYC, they live in New Jersey.

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        2. It is clear now. Yes, your story is more clear now.

          I’m very much impressed by how Vietnamese faught against colonial rule in their country. We have studied their story in history textbooks.

          I want to visit NYC one day. Not as an immigrant — I have dream to give a speech in UN. Thank you.

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