Holy crickets, it’s been a long time since I sat down to write anything here! What the heck!?! You’d think I’d dropped off the face of the planet or something!

Thankfully, I haven’t dropped off of anything. Not yet anyway… Except maybe the deep end, but that’s not really anything new, now is it? ㅋㅋㅋ

Actually, I just popped in for a second because I had the sudden realization that the last time I was here, I didn’t have a lot of good news to share with anyone and honestly, I made life sound pretty freaking awful. Which, let’s be honest, at the time, it was. But things have gotten so much better since then, I felt it was only right to pop in and let you all know that I’m still here, I’m doing infinitely better than I was back in January, and that even though I’m not writing anything in this particular space, I’m actually still very active in the great and glorious world of Hallyu.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that some of you read my work very frequently. You just don’t know it’s me. Because I’m actually a ninja…

Okay, no. I’m not really a ninja, just a writer who’s picked up some freelance gigs over the past six months or so. I’ve covered a few concerts in Chicago, got to interview M.O.N.T (who are completely adorable, and super sweet, and if you haven’t checked them out yet, you totally should), I have a few more concerts I may be covering in the next month or so (so if you see me, be sure to stop and say hi), and on top of all this, I’ve been working as a content writer for a certain video streaming website all you drama lovers out there will know very well. 😉

I have to say, as awful as this year started out, 2019 is proving to be one of the best years I’ve had in a L-O-N-G time. Not only have things on the work front gone surprisingly well, but on the personal front as well. I finally reached a point (thanks to a certain string of events, a handful of amazing friends, and a couple of back-to-back concerts with a band who possesses an uncanny ability to waltz into my life at the very moment I need them most) where I decided I was done letting my health (or lack thereof) control my life. So I took it back. Believe me, it’s a lot easier to write that than it is to actually live it but nonetheless, it’s what I’ve done. Or am attempting to do, slowly and steadily, over the past eight months or so, and I’m happy to report that I’m in a much better place physically, mentally, and emotionally, than I’ve been in years. I’ve found new inspiration to be creative and crafty. (I’ve gone so far as to make myself a set of plushies and even a mini-me, which felt really weird making at the time, but I have to admit, now, I kinda love her.) I planted a garden (and watched with tears in my eyes as the squirrels and skunks ate EVERYTHING I grew 😭). I reconnected with my first love, Japanese rock (Coldrain is kinda killing me right now… Then again, so is One OK Rock… But that’s nothing new!) I’ve started going on food adventures with friends, in which we explore new and delicious restaurants around the Chicagoland area. (And oh man, have we found some delicious places to eat!) I’ve even started running again! (Which is something I honestly never thought I’d be able to do again, but here I am! 10 weeks in and still not dead. Woohoo!)

(Can we say inspiration?)

I will admit that I still have bad days, but don’t we all? I’ve just decided to take a more active role in deciding just how bad those days get. Making a conscious effort to live each day to the fullest is hard (and sometimes exhausting) but a good friend and I vowed (after that aforementioned string of events) that we wouldn’t let there be any more wasted nights in our lives and though I can’t speak for my friend, I can assure you, I’m doing my best to stick to my word. Because as I’ve been made painfully aware, you only get one life so you’d better make the most of it while you still can. So I am. And I hope you are too.

((HUGS))