I’ve always been good at saving money and not spending it on items I don’t necessarily need. I do buy things for fun and I make sure to spend my money on experiences that will be worth it, but I also always try to find the right deal for me.
With that said. I’ve never actually had a savings account. So last year I opened one up and I did a quick google search of how much I should have in savings by the time I’m 30. I found a few random numbers that people thought you should have by 30 and I saw some percentages for savings based off income.
In the end of that little research I decided to focus on my savings using the 50 / 30 / 20 rule, which is also what I am currently setting up my budget to be. 50% in necessities, 30% in wants, and 20% in savings. Since I didn’t really start my savings til this year I’ve been a bit more aggressive than 20% of my income every month. I’ve been making sure to divert any extra cash that way to build it and I’ve made sure to have my paycheck split into two bank accounts. That way I don’t even see that 20% ever in my bank account. Makes it way easier to save when it just happening. Bless direct deposits.
My plan right now is to use a portion of my savings to invest once I get to a more comfortable amount in my savings and have it grow that way. As for now I’ve made it a solid year of straight habit to put money in my savings and I feel like that’s a goal worthy accomplishment!
Immediately I knew I wanted to make it. Luckily for me it also consisted on some leather work and therefore lines up with my goals list. Which gave me the perfect excuse to make this tome of a book.
Now mine is nowhere near as incredible as this girl’s, but mine is something I’m proud of for it’s simplicity and the fact that I sat down and just made a book by hand! That right there has got to give me some bragging rights.
There were a few things I did differently (read: wrong), but I think mine turned out alright.
Pic montage!
Though mine is simple and isn’t quite right I’m proud of it’s quirkiness and even though I don’t know when I will ever use this I’m happy I made it! The leather work on mine isn’t nearly complex as what I was hoping for, but to be honest I’m not that artsy or crafty so when it came down to trying to design something with the leather I came up blank as to what I should do. I could have copied the video, but even that was kind of complex for me and just finding leather and getting it on the book and staining it was a bit harder than I was expecting. It kind of felt like I was struggling more than I should have, but I didn’t know what I was doing and by the time I finally got near a finished product I was already super happy with it from where I started.
So there is my book! I’m still trying to decide what to do with it, or if I should just leave it on my mantle as decorations of something. Perfect timing for me to finish this up since spooky season is upon us!
Ladies and Gentlemen the girl who does not drink is now a bartender.
Yes you have read that right. Me and alcohol are a no go. All of it smells and tastes the same to me. Which kind of makes being a bartender a smidge difficult, as far as trying to give recommendations and such. I’ve been getting by surprisingly well off just with cleverly named beers (such as Spaceman and Jetman Jimmy) and interesting bottle names (such as Hoover’s Revenge).
This goal wasn’t initially on the list, but I decided to change one of the items to Bartending because an opportunity came (more like thrown at me like a curve ball) for me to learn how to bartend.
Let’s rewind 2 weeks ago when my brother had sprung it on me that he would need me to cover his bar shift for a weekend so that he could go on his anniversary. Okay can’t really argue with him for missing work cause that stuff is important, but why leave me with a bar! I didn’t know how to make cocktails, couldn’t tell the difference between vodka and gin, not to mention I could not for the life of me pour a beer, oh and the most obvious being that I don’t even drink!
So with all that panic happening in my head I changed one of my skill goals to Bartending to motivate me into getting serious about being a bartender.
The Bar
Que a training montage everyday that week with my brother at the bar where he showed me that I just wasn’t pulling the beer tap handle far enough, so it was just coming out foamy. So thank goodness I figured out that one, cause I was getting a lot of flack for not being able to pour a beer. Any way once we figured out my beer problem we decided to practice my 4 count for pouring liquor. Had that down no problem and then he focused on teaching me some cocktails specific to the menu. Which I did not feel super confident in, but he said all I had to do was look at the menu if I needed help and it wouldn’t be a problem.
After that he focused my attentions on the wine list. The wine list consists of over 50 wines and I had to figure out where each one was stored and which ones were already open. Had to study up on a lot of wines very quickly and the problem even more so with wine is that wine has a whole culture with it, there is more descriptions, more everything when it comes to wine. Did I remember any of these things? No.
By the weekend I still had absolutely no idea what I was doing and then it hit me that we had practiced cocktails on the menu, not basic cocktails that any regular person would know ie. margaritas, martinis, manhattans (for some reason I can only remember drinks that star with m). So about an hour and a half in I had a mini panic attack once I got an order that was different than mimosas or bloody mary’s (thank you brunch people for easy drinks!). After stumbling through a cocktail that I am not really sure was correct I started to realize that it was just a drink.
I know this sounds dumb, but it hit me that if it was really bad they would complain to the server and I’d just remake it. Sure it wouldn’t be great to waste alcohol, but I was learning and I didn’t know what I was doing. I just gotta make the drinks the way the customers like them and no harm in asking if they want me to remake it or try something new. That was when I learned that a lot of bar customers really do enjoy teaching a new bartender their favorite drinks and their favorite bar tricks.
I spent that weekend learning the ins and outs of certain cocktails and generally learning the area of the bar (plus I had one guy stay at the bar for a few hours teaching me bar magic tricks!). I had spent a full 5 days freaking out trying to learn everything without just jumping in and that was dumb. You learn how to make drinks, just by doing it and if you screw up you just fix it and move on to the next drink.
Do I know every drink of all time? No not one bit. But with my new found bar knowledge and knowing the basics I feel confident in being able to figure out how to make any drink.
This one was important to me as far as health and fitness because back in 2016 I signed myself, my brother, and my dad up for a Tough Mudder and I remember it being brutal, but every time I recall the experience I remember having an absolute blast.
So I convinced 2 friends of mine to do an obstacle course race with me. I told them we shouldn’t go for a Tough Mudder as that is a commitment, but I wanted to do a smaller one and just something we could do for fun. Which led us to find a 5k Terrain Race with around 15-20 obstacles. Which was perfect for us and price wise much more affordable than other races.
These kinds of races are the best because there is no pressure and it’s just the perfect excuse to play in mud and be a kid. It’s like adult field day or just playing on a bigger version of a playground and it just makes me so genuinely happy.
Today we did the Terrain Race and we got muddy, climbed, jumped, crawled, and fell off quite a few obstacles and every bit of it was perfect. I encourage everyone to at least do an obstacle course race once in their life because it’s not a competitive atmosphere and even if you aren’t in great shape it’s still worth it to go and try your best. Plus it gives you a perfect excuse/opportunity to go play in some mud!
Which speaking of mud… After our 5k we were an absolute disaster and instead of waiting in line for the 1 hose to clean off we went on an adventure to a car wash and used the power sprayer. That in itself should be considered an obstacle cause that spray stings! Yet surprisingly does not get the mud off as easily as you would think. Also yes there was a line for the car wash and yes as we were spraying ourselves down with the power sprayer we were getting judgement from this guy behind us. No we don’t regret our decision, the car wash was the right move to get a proper body wash.
I was never born with a green thumb. Killing things has been more my area of expertise…. And wow that’s the start of a terrible young adult novel. My bad.
Anyway! I took upon me the challenge of learning how to garden. Courtesy of my dear friend Ashley whom bought me herbs to start off my gardening (and became my go to gardening guru). Cause I believe if it’s an herb that I will be using for cooking and such that I will be less likely to kill it. Hopefully.
Here is Ashley being my gardening guru and teaching me how to pot my herbs and such. Giving me the full basic breakdown cause lord knows I need any and all the help I can get.
Oh and my brother’s dog Diesel is sniffing the soil hoping that it’s a snack. (Spoiler: It is not.)
Anyway it’s been 2 months now and I just wanna say they all were alive! They really were and I was so proud of myself.
Look at em all alive!
See y’all look how content and proud I am of my herbs!
Let me tell you the story of my herbs. I have Spearmint, Rosemary, Thyme, Cilantro, Basil, and some Marigold to keep the bugs away. Perfect simple set up for me! All things I would care about and I did!
But tragedy struck.
THE CILANTRO AND BASIL WERE MURDERED!
And I loved them the most.
You see a bear resides near my house and he (or she I don’t really know, but from here on out I’m referencing the bear as Mr. Bear) climbed onto my deck at around 9pm and stole my basil that was in the center of the cilantro. Mr. Bear did not care for the cilantro, but he went after the basil and the cilantro became a causality because of it.
Am I getting a bit to over dramatic about this?
No! NEVER!
Y’all I am saddened by my loss, but I still have successfully taken care of plants and even thought it’s only been 2 months I am counting that as a win because I fear for the next plant Mr. Bear goes after. Also I did acquire some gardening skills, which was the main point of this (not emotional attachments to herbs).
Y’all I have discovered Racquetball and I am in love!!!!!! It is honestly one of the most fun and stress relieving things I have ever done. Plus as a bonus I end up going for an hour to an hour and a half and don’t even notice. It’s nice to do something exercise focus that’s fun, I don’t know why it has always been a struggle for me to find activities to genuinely enjoy.
So since that was such a short declaration of my new found love of racquetball it’s time to tell how it came to be.
Story time!
A couple months back at pool league my captain mentioned how in the winter he plays racquetball for exercise and I immediately asked him to teach me. He being happy to find someone to play with gladly took on the task of teaching me the ropes. Day 1 of racquetball did not go well, but by day 2 Captain had told me I had improved by 110%. I was really uncomfortable the first time and I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but by the next time I had already gotten some confidence and decided to fully throw myself into learning racquetball. Since then I’ve slowly gotten better.
Now with that said I actually am not good even with improving 110% since I started, but I found out after I started playing my Dad apparently is super good at racquetball. So I challenged him to a match today (also today is my bros bday!) and let’s just say I got absolutely destroyed multiple times. It was a stupid decision trying to play in the big leagues. My Dad hasn’t played since I was born (probably) and I swear he didn’t even release half of the beast that he probably is on that court. In fact he saw me scrambling around and gave me 2 pity points (and we played 3 or 4 games)!
Moral of that story is that I have a new goal in mind: Beat my Dad (or yeah know actually get well deserved points and not pity points). Actually I would suffice at just getting better at racquetball all around, but defeating an opponent is such a satisfying goal too.
Also on a completely random, but still relevant note racquetball has made me buy an actual gym bag and it’s got a special compartment for my shoes. It’s so nifty.
Guess who stupidly didn’t realize she accomplished this goal a long time ago and while looking over her list had the revelation that she was already in a type of club!?
If you guessed me you are 100% correct. If you did not guess me, I have no idea what state your mind is in, but based off that one question I can assume you need coffee.
Honestly, I had actually fulfilled this goal while the original list was in the making and it didn’t occur to me until today. Ya see I am on a pool league. Meaning I meet this group of people weekly and I pursue this hobby of mine. Sounds like a club to me.
I have been a part of my pool league for a year now and it’s one of those things that I am slowly getting better and is a place to hang out with people. When I joined it was cause my brother signed me up and got me a spot on the team he was joining. At the time I thought I would just do it for a session and then find out it wasn’t my thing and quit. Which is around the same time I started this blog, so it never really hit me that I was in a club already because I didn’t think I was going to initially stick with it.
The thing is after that first session I realized I really liked playing at pool halls. I mean I am not the best pool player, but the people on my team are pretty good and I learn so much just by watching them. I liked pool before joining, but I have learned so much more than I would have on my own just by talking to them and watching them. Which I mean that’s what happens in a club you learn more about your hobby and just enjoy it.
I’m really happy to know that this just sort of happened to me naturally and I didn’t have to force my goals to be a reality. It just kind of aligned to what I already value and just worked which is exactly what I want out of these goals. I didn’t want to be just doing things for the sake of doing them, I wanted these goals to be meaningful to me and fit who I am.
Y’all I am getting behind on my goals I gotta buckle down on some of these. Luckily I have just went through my kitchen and have discovered that I am quite healthy. Meaning: I have completed a goal!
What I have learned about me and my healthy recipes is that I buy the same groceries and just mix it up differently. Which means a lot of this crosses over, but it allows me to consistently eat the same things and have them be different. Keeps my kitchen stocked with the basics and still have a variety of choices.
Also, a lot of these things can easily become unhealthy if you over do them. So when I am focusing on cooking healthy meals I make sure not to go ham on any thing and try to keep portions low for heavy carb things. Cause not all carbs are bad.
I wasn’t sure how to go about learning Art History, so I started by just going to art museums. Which I will say art is nice to look at (obviously) and I saw lots of interesting pieces (such as a Picasso exhibit when I was in Budapest and when I was in NY I visited the Met), but without actually having someone there they kind of fell flat on the history aspect of it. I saw a lot, but I felt like I didn’t learn any proper Art History. Though, as a side note I do make sure to visit art museums every time I travel to different countries as I find it helps me learn the culture.
To expand upon my knowledge I looked up Art History classes on Coursera. There I found a Modern Art and Ideas course by the Museum of Modern Art and enrolled in it. Sadly it was only a 5 week course and it only took less than a day to cover all the material in it.
Though, from there I discovered that the Museum of Modern Art website has a learning section. I went and scrolled through the material and did research there for a little while.
But I still didn’t learn enough.
So with my still slim knowledge of Art History I moved onto Khan Academy. I used Khan Academy back in high school and at that time it was just a place with math and science courses. Now it has expanded to all sorts of subjects; including an entire art history section spanning from prehistoric art to neoclassical art to modern art. Needless to say Khan Academy was exactly what I needed.
Except that once I finally got into the Art History sections and lessons I realized how utterly dull I found it. I made it through 3 sections of Khan lessons and through each of those lessons I kept asking myself why do I keep forcing myself to keep going when I clearly find it boring and am not enjoying myself.
To change-up my perspectives a bit I looked up art history documentaries on Netflix and see if a different style would help me find focus. It didn’t. I couldn’t get into anything I watched and nothing seemed to click with me.
With that I came to a revelation that I didn’t want to come to. I’m not going to be an awesome Art History buff. That isn’t where my skills or talents lie and I will say I started this challenge bull-headed and convinced that I would be able to learn and master art history, but at the end of the day I don’t actually have that much interest in it.
I will say that this challenge is complete on the account that I have learned way more about Art History than previously. I just did not get to the level at which I first imagined when I came up with this goal. I would like to believe I will continue learning art history, but not seriously.
Ladies and Gentlemen I have been to Southeast Asia and it was absolutely incredible!
My best friend Ashley is currently doing a semester abroad there and when she initially told me she was going to Singapore for school I knew immediately that I would find time to schedule a trip out there to see her and have an excuse to go to Singapore. Thus a few months back I got Sammi (who does all the things with me, so I can’t not have her be my travel companion) to agree to come along with me and we booked flights out there for October 2nd, 2018 to October 23rd, 2018. We also booked a side trip to Vietnam from October 10th to the 15th once we had landed in Singapore.
Boom! Cue photo collage:
Right off the plane and straight to Old Airport Food Centre Hawker
Reunited with my beautiful blonde one
First day in Singapore thought: Let’s take a 11km hike!
Treetop walk
If you are ever in Singapore go to Haw Par Villa
We freaking love Haw Par Villa and we think of it often whenever we see Tiger Balm
Just me taking a stalker pic of my friends strolling through the Botanic Gardens
Landplants Unite (our team name)
Proper cliched photo of me at Marina Bay Sands
Wandering around Old Quarter
Ash got this shirt and after this photo the most ridiculous events of other tourists taking a lot of photos with her
Waiting for egg coffee!
Traffic is super entertaining here
The ideal Vietnamese Night
On our way to Ha Long Bay
Kayaking Ha Long Bay
Imperial Citadel
Market
We took a cooking class and this was the finished product
Lemur just chilling next to us
Sammi pulling off leopard print and me hiding in a corner
This is her leaf. Leave her alone
Playing around with cannons at Fort Canning
I have so many more pictures, but I didn’t want to bombard you all, so I just picked a variety of random pics. I’m so grateful I had the time to go spend 3 weeks with my best friends and that we got to spend it in 2 incredible places.
Commit and Venture 