The hallowed evening approaches, and what better time of year to revive a dead blog?

Happy Halloween, readers mine, should any of you be left. Summer was rougher than I anticipated and, unfortunately, and this blog ended up buried under my other responsibilities. I regret that. I let myself believe that taking a break from the blog was the ‘healthy’ thing to do at the time, but it took months to realize that this just wasn’t the case – but more on that next week.

So, yes, I am unearthing this blog and trying to bring it back to life. No one told me necromancy would be so hard though, or such a long-term thing. In any case, themed jokes aside, I am attempting to put this blog back on track, and this time around, I’m going to try a new format: a post every Saturday, and if I have any creative work to share, I will post it on Wednesday. So, that means I’ll have a mandatory write-up every weekend, and maybe you’ll all get a mid-week treat.

However, to keep to this blog’s focus on self-improvement, let me share with you some of the lifestyle changes I’ve gone through in my absence, most of them favorable:

• After a week of month of pilates and a return to a college where everyone sits slumped over, I’ve become more aware of the alignment of my spine. Posture, posture, posture – watching Ballroom e Youkoso! probably helps with motivation though, ahaha.
• Home cooking for myself! As I write this post, I’m actually waiting for my turn to use the kitchen to make some eggs and also bake some oatmeal-walnut-chocolate-chip cookies. I’m confident in this recipe, so I’m really excited.
  • Update 1: I’ve received nothing but praise for said cookies, and I’m extremely pleased with myself.
  • Update 2: I’ve baked my own bread for the first time, and I am satisfied with the results.
• I’ve gotten super into tarot cards. Maybe eventually I’ll introduce my deck to this blog. I will make clear, however, I do not believe tarot cards can divine the future. I use them more like an emotional sounding board or a Rorschach test. Think of them as a catalyst for understanding yourself with randomized stimuli (though also, isn’t life more fun if you believe in the mystical a little?)
• Freelance work! I’ve been making a tidy profit finding freelance work on the internet, though it’s often boring and menial work.
• Started posting my more complete short stories to Archive of Our Own – not sure if things will stay there, but I’m willing to see how it goes.