The Move to Wordpress: The What, When, and Why.

UPDATE: LINK TO NEW WORDPRESS BLOG!

theterribleblogger.wordpress.com

Update 2.0: I will not be updating this blogger site and will be setting it to private in about two weeks. You have been warned!

Previously on the Terrible Blogger… 

I wrote a blog about my goals and expectations (somewhat) for the next year, then mentioned how I was thinking about moving to wordpress… I took the plunge!

While I really wanted my own domain, I decided to hold off because I wanted to make it a goal to blog more during this year and as a reward buy my own domain. Therefore, by giving myself more incentive, I’m going to do my best to blog more frequently. I bet you’re all wondering when will this happen, well if you read the past two paragraphs and notice my use of past tense you’ll already know it has happened already! 

Now I guess for the question of the hour… Why?

Why did I finally decide to make the switch? Simple really: The app. One of the things I was super excited about when I first started to blog was doing it on the go in quick bursts as I would travel Japan with my smartphone. But I quickly found out that the blogger app was quite limited and not as intuitive as I had thought. Fast forward a couple years later, hopping the blogger app had improved in the time I had not blogged I tried to give it a go once more… sadly nothing had really changed. That’s when I looked at the wordpress app. It was exactly what I wanted. I can upload more than one picture, better link embedding, simple yet highly efficient writing formatting, etc.  So on the days I want to blog but have no computer with me or its too cumbersome to take out, I can use my smartphone. Now I have no excuses!

Yes wordpress lacks space, only giving its free users 3GB, however I can always use flickr as a space to store my photos online to use for my blog. I can also maintain the quality of the photo with flickr, therefore giving you the people the chance to see some of my photos in all their glory (my photos aren’t that great but some of them really do benefit from not having to compress, resize and scale down the resolution). 

There you people have it. In the next week or so I will work to make sure that people who go to my blogger site are redirected to the wordpress site. I’m also moving though in the next couple of weeks so there is a good chance that the most you might hear of me is in a few photos. I should probably write a post on moving and also do a video at some point but that’s in the future… Until then, まてね！

The Horrible First Post of The Year

Once again, the terrible first blog post of the year. In fact, it is so terrible because I haven’t posted in little over a year. Therefore, this entire has been upgraded to the title of “The Horrible First Blog Post.”

Many, probably only a few actually given my viewing record, of you are perhaps curious to know how my year went. Was it exciting? Did I achieve all the things I had set out to do? Has Japan continue to be an adventure of an unknown culture? Not really.

Well, this isn’t really correct. The answer is more like, “It started out great and just went downhill after summer.” I won’t get into details as to what led to that but rather focus on the future and what I would like to accomplish in the next year.

1. Studying Japanese, Spanish, and English oh my!

I’ve been so focused on learning Japanese, I’m forgetting that I also need to nurture my fluent languages. Practice makes perfect so practicing a little each week with all three will certainly help for me to retain my language fluency. Whether it is reading a book in English or Spanish, simply talking to my mom, or even talking to friends, every little bit counts. My goal is by the end of the year to take the JLPT 5 (or 4 if my teacher thinks I’m ready) for Japanese.

My friend Eri and her mother putting on a traditional Yukata. I love this mother daughter moment. <3

Eri's mother helping me put on a Yukata! I admit, I love wearing these for festivals.

Hanami! Basically, Japanese people go out and have a picnic under the beautiful cherry blossoms.

2. Get better at digital painting and photography.

Yes although there are hobbies, it is something I would like to see improvement on.

3. Buy a new computer.

This is a big one. My little old machine is running on the hopes and dreams of my love at this moment. Trying to start up any program, open a document, paint in CS5, etc. is a chore and S      L      O     W. I’m pretty sure turtles can run around the world faster. I really need a decent computer for work and digital stuff because what I have isn’t cutting it anymore, this leads me to the last but important point of…

4. SAVING MONEY

This year, my number one goal is to save money. I’m already looking into a second job for tutoring at my new place which reminds me…

I’M MOVING TO THE KANTO AREA!

I’ll be in a city close to Tokyo so hopefully that will open more windows of opportunity for me in future endeavors. As much as teaching is nice, I know I can’t be an ALT forever so I’m taking small steps in the present towards bigger future goals. Whether it all pans out in the end, who knows? But I’m hoping that taking a small step every time will lead me in a better direction.

Some things I will miss about being in a small town…

1. Small classes. It’s easier to plan for and it’s fun to get creative!

2. Driving a car. Once I move into a big city, I’ll be taking public transportation.

3. Neighborhood. I’ve gotten to know some of the neighbors so it’ll be sad to say good bye.

4. My schools in general! I’ve learned a lot and made some great memories.

Some things I’m looking forward to living in a big city…

1. Being able to buy fashionable clothes. I’m not a really fashionable person but I love my options!

2. Makeup. Again, FINALLY MORE OPTIONS that cater to various kinds of skin.

3. Meeting more people. I like meeting new people and you are always meeting new people in the city.

Some events I’m looking forward to this year are…

1. Going to a One Ok Rock concert (hopefully!)

2. Going to the Tokyo Game Show (One of my goals in life is to go!)

3. Visiting Home

I’m also hoping to go to Tokyo Disneyland at some point! That means I’ll only have Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Paris Disney to visit then I’ll have officially been to every Disneyland Park! This is obviously one of those important life goals I’ve set many moons ago however, it is these little achievements that really help me build confidence in bigger and better things.

I’m trying to look on the bright side of moving because I will miss where I am a lot. I’ve met great people, done some awesome things, and seen some traditional culture you might not find anywhere else in Japan. As I grow older, I realize it is becoming harder to move because well you start thinking about a lot more things and responsibilities. Nevertheless, I feel that professionally and personally this move will be beneficial in the long run. 

Picture of the first day of the New Year. I can feel 2015 is going to be great!

Last day of 2014. Glad that year is over!

Nothing great lasts forever, eventually we all move on, and change in inevitable. The important things is what we carry with us into each new chapter of our lives.

Anyway, before I close this blog entry, I would like for everyone to please look at my friend Jennifer’s blog. She just started but she updates A LOT MORE regularly than I do plus she has some great advice on fashion, makeup, and Japan. 

CHECK IT OUT! ———> http://osharegirl.co/ <———Fashion, Makeup, and Japan blog!

Also, I’m thinking about moving to wordpress too. But since I like to post pictures, I’m worried about space… I could simply upload images to Flickr and simply link them in the future though. These changes will probably take place in future and I’ll be sure to write a post about it (maybe upgrade my status from terrible to barely passable blogger? lol).

New year, new opportunities, and a fresh start!