It is almost seven months since I last posted an entry and I feel that my readers are well overdue an update. I have had a few posts sitting in draft status waiting to be finished, but never getting the required runway to complete, edit, review and subsequently pull the trigger and publish!
While I always promise myself I will find time to continue blogging – the real world gets in the way – particularly when you have a young family and work commitments. The tools available to me do not help – I am still struggling with our family Toshiba Satellite C660-125 from 2011. I should have upgraded over five years ago but now am in desperate need of a new laptop. Just as I find the perfect model I am keen to upgrade to, the model goes out of stock with no information available when said stock will be replenished. Plus once payday rolls around each month, some other pressing financial commitment comes to the surface which takes precedence over a luxury extravagance. Therefore I continue to work as best I can with a machine over nine years old. Having stripped the machine down to the bare essential pieces of software – performance has improved significantly but it is not a device you could use for more than a few hours before it’s age begins to show, with it creaking under the pressure of basic tasks, let alone the security risk(s) of running an older operating system.
Normally on a Friday evening at this time, as we approach midnight, I would be catching up on television I had missed during the course of the week or watching something on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Somehow I missed the return of AfterLife in April and only started watching again last month with two episodes still remaining. Michelle is not a fan of this black comedy but I truly believe this is Gervais at the peak of his powers. The first time ever, one of his shows will extend into a third series – due to the popularity but also the creative freedom provided by the streaming platform (alongside bags of money). I respect him for always being aware of the audience’s sentiment and never letting a series drag on longer than necessary. (Fears of jumping the shark) If you have not seen the show I highly recommend – a well-thought-out portrayal of how different people deal with grief and the true power of being kind to your fellow human being.
Over the past few months, with so much going on in the world, I have taken a step back and perhaps considered for the first time (in many years) how lucky I am but also how humbly grateful I am. Yes life does present multiple challenges and I am hardly living a dream existence but I am happy. Thankful to the powers that be, whatever and wherever. I am healthy, I have a wonderful group of family and friends, I have a secure job, a great employer, and some fantastic colleagues.
My usual Friday evening routine heading into early Saturday morning would have been to watch music videos on YouTube and perhaps watch an episode of a comedy or some true-crime show everybody has been talking about on social media. Tonight I decided to get into bed early, boot up the laptop (which did take a while) write a blog post, and instead of letting it languish in draft status, post immediately.
As we headed into lockdown almost exactly seven months ago I joined TikTok. Yes I know I am way outside the mark of the target demographic. My motivation was not to follow Charli Grace D’Amelio but learn some new skills. With a seemingly endless amount of time available (or twelve weeks plus) we were encouraged to try something new. To push ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I decided to become truly financially literate and learn about trading and investing. I started to follow some key people on TikTok and YouTube. However, there is more to investing than simply watching videos on the interweb. First and foremost time to invest in me. I purchased the bestselling book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and started reading last week. Only 20% completed so far but so many eye-opening discoveries that will make a difference for not just my future but the future of my children and their children. As we are often reminded by Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown – you have to think third dimensionally. Suppose during a global pandemic when the majority of the entire global population have been in some form of lockdown, this truly has given us the opportunity to take stock and focus on what really matters.