Crooked Straight Line

your eternally awkward human at your service

So recently I've taken up something new - bullet journaling. I am perhaps a gazillion years late to jump on this ship that's been smooth sailing since January 1st but looks like I finally got the bullet-journaling-bug. I used to always see people post their layouts on Twitter, shrug, and continue my non-bullet-journaling life. And then a friend of mine showed me hers and uh the next day I was looking at micropens and suddenly had a bullet journal ready to go.

I used to draw a lot when I was younger but wow when I tell you I was rusty from not drawing for about 12 years, you'd think I've never used a ruler before with how many crooked lines I'd make using said ruler.

It didn't help that I had the mind of Picasso but the art ability of a 3 year old. I practically erased 47 times on one drawing of the House Stark Sigil (a wolf!) before actually deciding okay I think this doesn't look too terrible. I don't think I'm the only one who feels everything has to be perfect from the get-go; with learning something new 'perfection' is pretty much the pile of gold at the end of the rainbow that we won't be seeing for a while (if at all).

Daenerys turned out cute!!! Also she deserved better, Jon deserved better literally of all people to end on the Iron Throne???? can you tell i'm bitter

In some ways I like not being good at something and then slowly (uh you tell me from these pictures?) getting better at looking at a drawing online and attempting to draw something similar in my dotted journal.

pls don't pay attention to Jon's boots thank u

Progress. I like the idea of progress even if I don't like being in progress.

Eventually my crooked lines got a little straighter and I was able to compare how long it took me to get one drawing at least visibly pleasing in the beginning to where I am now. And it's just an awesome feeling seeing that the art I've drawn is something I've drawn. I haven't picked up a pencil to sketch for 12 years, it took me 4 days to draw a wolf and yet I have a full monthly spread of drawings for April?

gotta enjoy your own company me n my tripod table for one please

My friend jokes with me that I like to start things that take time.

One thing I haven't mentioned on here is that I started Rubik's Cubing a little while ago. I tend to start and stop and then pick it up again - it's probably the only thing I wish I was more consistent with. Well, I wish I was a little more consistent with my online courses that I'm taking for funzies because I like learning but here we are.

I started to get really fast at solving - I'd solve just about the whole thing but my road block was always the last side and the last row for each side. It'd take me way too long and I was a bit discouraged by how long it was taking me and now my Rubik's Cube sits on my table a little unloved.

and in other news I've run out of poses and I am confusion

I like the feeling of progression even if at the time - when I'm actually terrible at something - I don't enjoy it as much. 

In terms of learning something new, you either hit a roadblock and decide to climb over it or you let the roadblock stop you from continuing and you U-turn yourself out. With bullet journaling, I rock climbed my way over like it was a ninja gym obstacle course and the ground was lava. With Rubik's Cubing I U-turned myself away and said peace and blessings to it - I haven't picked it up in a couple of months.

I like to challenge myself and jump out of comfort zone - let's not even talk about my train of thoughts of re-learning the piano after taking a lovely i-really-don't-know-how-many-years-it's-been-since-my-lessons-gap. Although I let the lack of progress stop me from Rubik's Cubing, I am planning to eventually climb up that roadblock, maybe not becoming a ninja and flying over it but I don't like the idea of stopping something because I wasn't good enough at it yet. 

wow a stranger looking at me with my tripod this is me acting casual...

I think we can all get in the bubble of I want to be great at a gazillion and one things and don't really realize that depending on what it is you're doing, you may either progress as fast as Lightening McQueen on a race track or as slow as the snail on its way to class at Monster's University where it took him the duration of the film to actually make it to the classroom door and school was already over by then. Some people catch on quickly however eventually everyone catches on even if it does take some longer than others.

This is probably advice that I really need to tell myself but when you get to those roadblocks, change your perspective. Try and come back to whatever it is you're doing a day or so later. The important thing is to come back to it.

Easier said than done, I know I know-- trust me when I say I'm looking at both the result of doing that via my bullet journal and the result of not doing that via my Rubik's Cube.

I enjoy progressing at things and eventually I hope I enjoy being in progress.

How do you guys handle being in progress? Do you jump ship like you're aboard the titanic?

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