Soft Hobbies #3: What I read, wrote, and made this week
More watercolor, dancing for fun, and journaling
Hi softies,
Does anyone actually like job hunting? I’m currently looking for my next role, and the job market in my field (and in most fields?) has been completely soul-crushing for the past 3 years. I picked a rough time to get into the field of UX writing/content design, but have managed — through the kindness of others and my own dedication — to eke out a space for myself. And now it’s that time again, the time of sending emails and LinkedIn messages to all my contacts, not-so-subtly asking if they have work for me. I wonder if there’s a single freelancer out there who enjoys the process of looking for more work.
Financial stress has a serious cyclical impact on my emotional and physical health, but I’m trying to offset some of it through more regular exercise and staying committed to my hobbies. I hope I can be an example for anyone else who is going through the same thing that you don’t have to sacrifice all your free time to chasing down a job. Things that make you happy, or even just distract you pleasantly for an hour, are worth doing.
3 things I’m reading:
I’m re-reading Circe by Madeline Miller. I recently got the most stunningggg limited edition copy and it’s probably the most beautiful book I own. I’m enjoying Miller’s interpretation of the Greek myth of the witch Circe immensely, probably even more than the first time I read it. Miller’s books are an absolute must for anyone who loves classical mythology.
Still readying Martyr! and not sure how I feel about it yet. It’s one of those books that I have to finish to know what I think of it.
Daniel Lavery’s posts about his silly little dogs always make me smile.
3 things I’m writing:
I hand-wrote a thank-you card for my physical therapist and am going to give it to her on our last session on Friday. I’ve been seeing her twice a week for six weeks now and the health of my back is vastly improved. Plus, I’m lifting (small) weights a couple times a week now? What’s that all about?
I collated all the writing fragments on my Notes app and put them on my Google Docs “frag files” instead. I usually write down random phrases on my phone while I’m walking, driving, or waiting somewhere if anything comes to mind, but I always forget to do something with them until weeks or months later. I used two of them to write little 300-word journal entries and was happy I could get so much personal writing done. I think Soft Hobbies really is helping me stay accountable with creative writing!
I wrote like five reviews on my Letterboxd. Lmao.
3 things I’m hobbying:
I had a watercolor hangout session with my friend Nava. Painting with friends is so relaxing, and the chill nature of watercolor makes it extra lowkey :3
I’ve done three dance classes already this week. I’ve been taking classes at PopRox for about three months now and I adore their classes, their instructors, and the studio’s welcoming vibe. I’m so happy that I took the chance and overcame my fear of failure and the unknown to become a student there. I don’t dance for anything other than fun and exercise, and I hope to keep dancing for a longlonglonglonglong time.
I’m putting down Pokemon Ruby because the second gym leader is too hard and I don’t want to go train my team for an hour in the wilderness. How did I rack up over 200 hours on this as a literal child? I might switch to FireRed, since that’s another cartridge we have laying around for the GBA SP.
Softly yours,
Auzin