I'm looking for new blogs to follow, apply here!

Hi bloggers! I want you to advertise your blog here, seriously!

 

Let me explain. In life I work full time as a software developer thus I am on the computer the entire day...five days a week... thus providing me a substantial abundance of time free to spend blogging and reading blogs, which I admit is pretty cool. However the problem is that because I have so much free time to blog I end up reading through all the new posts of the blogs I follow way to quickly and am always left waiting for new post to appear, and when I am terribly bored at work a new post to read is an awesome time filler.

So I'd like to welcome anyone to in the comments below feel free to shamelessly advertise your blog and I will gladly check it out. There is a rule however, all I ask is that you also suggest at least one (or more) of your favourite blogs to follow, else I won't check your blog out =P Feel free to add a little description to what your blog is all about also.

I hope to discover some cool new blogs, and hopefully inadvertingly help other people discover your own blogs also =) Any cool blogs I see I will add in a list below, as well as mention your name and blog in thanks for participating:

- Stuff No One Told Me: This blog shows illustrations of this guys life in a very creative and sometimes very moving way. A nice relaxing read. A thanks for the suggest to Faith from My Blessed Life!

- Bits of Truth: An awesome collection of motivational quotes, updated I think daily. A great way to start the work day =D A big thanks again to Faith from My Blessed Life!

- Living with the Seat Up - A very humourous blog that I was very surprised to see only had one follower at the time of writing. It definitely deserves more so check it out! Courtesy of the blogs' author Shannon.

- Help a Geek - This blog was rather interesting, however I'll garner it is probably not quite to most peoples tastes, but I for some was totally hooked. An awesome thanks to Sue Lin from Bay Bee Tea (check her blog out it is awesome).

- My Life Alone - An honourary mention to Dave from My life Alone for his much appreciated participation. His blog is cool and one I'd definitely recommend checking out.



Additional notes: People I am already following are more than welcome to participate, also feel free to recommend as many blogs as you feel like =) I might run this post over the next few weeks as well.

2011: The start of a new beginning

These end of year recap posts seem to be becoming a little tradition on this little blog of mine as I have, it appears, recapped both 2010 and 2009 previously... awesome. Who knows how long I can keep it up for =)

It is now the 31st of December, the last day of 2011, and as seems to be the case in each of these yearly recaps I realize how drastically life has changed since the one before. The jump from 2009 to 2010 was enormous (2009 was a very challenging year), and while I may not have done anywhere near the amount of activities and adventures this year than I did the last, I can say that this year I have had the biggest personal growth and transformations of all, something I am very proud of.

This year was all about finding myself, finding some direction in life, to begin shaping my life how I want it to be shaped. It was the first time in my life where I wasn't constrained with full-time study having graduated from University in April... which meant that for the first time I was free to choose what I wanted to do and where I wanted to do it, something that took a little getting used to.

After some careful deliberation I settled to spend my year with full-time work simply to save money. I also moved into what has been the best share house I have ever lived in since moving out of my parents house with the awesome housemates (Massi and Jason) and the unforgettable times we had.

My enjoyment of blogging flourished further and I discovered quite a few new blogs to follow and in turn my little slice of the blogosphere increased also. I even proclaimed my love for you follow bloggers (albeit while drunk, ha!). I got more involved in the blogging community and participated in the 20-Something-Bloggers Blog Swap, received an award and then awarded it to others in turn, and have connected well with a few of my favourite bloggers which is nice (with a few cool projects currently underway).

And the biggest of all for 2011? This was the year I embarked on what is to my grandest adventure yet, a trip to New York City!

Two years ago in 2009 I announced vaguely that I think I would like to live in a city some day, in particular New York City. After hours upon hours of daydreaming about what living there would be like it suddenly dawned on me 'why shouldn't I move there, seriously?'. After failing to come upon an answer of why I shouldn't, plans were put forward and in March I officially announced that I am moving to New York City. This took up a vast amount of my free time during the year and really became a focal point for everything I did. I created the 'New York City Trip' page on my blog to gather all my researched information, I made my first steps and transferred some Australian dollars over to US dollars, and I finally applied for my visa, all with the date of March 2012 in mind for my departure date.

It is also the year I made quite a few new friends whom have all surprisingly (and seemingly out of nowhere) become quite a staple in my life; Rob, Isaac, Jim, Brendan, Polly, Carolyn, Massi (names have been changed)... that's 7 new people who I very much enjoy their company that I didn't have with me only one year before. How life could of been if I had only met them sooner. A new life has been formed that I am only recently realizing how much I will miss when I leave.

And last but definitely not least, there was the absolutely amazing, wonderful, ridiculously adventure filled holiday to China! An experience that pushed my strength and imagination to the limit, one I am truly glad I did, will never ever forget, and am a better person because of.

There was so much stuff I didn't blog about, the awesome night out with my two best mates Jason and Karl that just blew away all our expectations on what the night would hold, the reconnecting with some of my old best mates again, my new exercise regime that I have stuck with all year that has really paid off, the new sense of peace and well being that I now feel.

2011 has ended up being one of the best years I have had in a very long time and really feels to me like a 'launch pad' of sorts, where after a year of preparing myself by making future plans, saving money and keeping healthy, I'm now ready to be launched into a new beginning and adventure. And to cap off 2011 I am spending New Years Eve at a BBQ with my absolute best mates in the world... I really couldn't ask for anything more than that.

My hope and expectations for 2012? Every year I try and predict how the following one may turn out, and each time I am wrong, so this time I am just going to let 2012 be whatever it wants to be and it can throw at me whatever it wants to also.

I am moving to NYC so what is going to happen really is anyone's guess! =D

Applied for my visa finally!

I have finally applied for my American visa for my New York City trip!

But wow did it take me a while to get around to it, I would have to be the king of procrastination ha. I first mentioned all the way back in March that I had officially decided to move to New York City... March! Since then any researching, planning or preparation to actually get myself there has trickled along at glacial speeds over the last 7 months since the announcement.

We are now December and I can finally celebrate the milestone of having submitted my application, yay! Eventually after narrowing down the list of visa sponsors I chose one, sent an application which got approved, then had my introductory meeting with them the other day, cool!

The interview went well, the lady just asked me a bunch of questions like 'Where do you plan to spend most of your time', 'What skills do you have', 'Have you got a plan B'. In return I asked her a heap of questions like 'What's the job market like at the moment' and 'What tips have you got for accommodation', with all my questions being about aspects of the trip I am most concerned about (finding a nice place to live and getting a job) as with the terrible global economy lately I've heard things can be quite tough.

Thankfully she actually seemed rather upbeat about America's current employment and accommodation opportunities, mentioning that housing shouldn't be too bad right now as due to high rent a lot of people have moved out of the city area (win for me), and that there are always jobs available if I don't limit myself too much (eg. am willing to do casual jobs such as retail, which I am). So hearing that put my mind somewhat at ease.

A few days after the interview the realization of 'this is really happening and in 3 months time I will be in another country' started to dawn on me. But only slightly ha. I am still in my 'dreaming' stage where even as I am filling out visa forms the idea that this is actually going to happen still hasn't quite hit yet.

Even as I write this post I still don't truly believe it =)