My last year of my 20's

 Hello, 

I resigned from my job with no job lined up today. I lasted 7 months in an environment that I felt was so toxic. I need to work on setting boundaries in the workplace. Life is quite uncertain right now. I looked at my past entry and looks like I am still lost. Although I have grown so much as a person, I feel like I spent my entire 20's being lost. 

I quit my previous job in June last year, shortly after my last entry. I loved that job; I had an amazing boss, coworkers whom I truly called my close friends, work I actually enjoyed. I left in pursuit of more money and a better title. I learned a lot in my role and this probably would open me up to many more opportunities (that I may not realize now), but ultimately, I am unsure if it was worth it. If anything, this experience taught me how to navigate difficult situations in the workplace. I will never let anyone nor a job take my softness and kindness away from me. 

Although I am lost, I am also excited to see what this new chapter of my life will bring. I am turning 29 in two months. I didn't want to spend the last year of my 20's being miserable and burnt out from a job. It's just a job. It will be ok. Everything will be ok. I have no choice but be ok. This is all temporary. 

So much has happened since the last entry, but I am tired. I will write a more thorough entry next time. Maybe when I turn 29. 

Bye now, 

Catherine

I started this blog in high school, I'm almost 30 now.

It's time for another yearly update for future Catherine (and whomever stumbles upon this blog). I realized I have had this blog since I was in high school. When reading my entries, I can see how much I have changed, and have grown from a girl to a woman (that was the point of my constantly journaling and blogging). I always record and take pictures of everything, so I wouldn't forget. 

I moved out last year in September. I finally bought a place (with my dad's help) and moved out. I decorated my home as I would have loved when I was a child. Life is peaceful and I have grown to appreciate my family more. I think we just needed the space. 

After I moved, I would only wake up to silence, not the sound of my dad's tv or my mom on the phone. My cat, Jiji, is no longer there to wake me up. I also would come home to silence and darkness, not my dad cooking dinner or my cat coming to greet me. But it is peaceful. 

My best friend, Sam, sent me a flyer about a black cat who needed a home. She was already called Gigi so Sam thought it was funny that there's another black cat with a similar name. 

I put in the request for her adoption and finally got her in November 2023. Now I have two black cats, Gigi and Jiji (who still lives with my parents). Gigi is so cute and affectionate, just like Jiji (although she doesn't like other animals). I found out she had aids in January :( but she is still a healthy cat otherwise. 

She taps you when she wants pets, she's very vocal, and she loves being cradled like a baby. I now wake up to her screaming (I can not sleep in because she knows the time that I wake up each day). I also come home to her screaming. Life is still peaceful. 

Other life updates -

I went to Japan for the first time with my family last summer! It was one of the best moments of my life. We went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Osaka within two weeks. The food was great, the places were beautiful, and the people were kind. 

I performed twice last summer. I injured my shoulder over training and it wasn't the same since. 

I also went to Sedona and Phoenix last winter. Sedona was great! Phoenix was meh. 

I started tattooing early this year. It's something I've wanted to do for so long. I read a post that if you receive a calling, don't ignore it or it'll come back when you're in your 40's, and that is your mid-life crisis. At least if it doesn't work out, I know I have done my best. 

Tattooing isn't easy. It is as if I'm working two jobs (my full-time and this one). I'm still improving my skills, very slowly. I just starting tattooing humans last month! My work is on IG: @inkedbycatherine. I made this page last year not knowing when or if I will become a tattoo artist. It feels so great when people want to get my flash art tattooed on them. I feel so appreciated. 

I ended my five-year relationship about two months ago. My relationship before that was also five years. Hm. The relationship ended a week before my birthday. We usually celebrate my birthday together, but because I am now single, I didn't want to be excited for my day (even though I always did). My coworker suggested we go out for drinks. I had lunch with mom, took myself to a solo date to the bookstore, got myself flowers, and then went to the restaurant with my work friends. They got me presents and cake. They sang happy birthday, and I honestly truly felt so loved and grateful in that moment. 

I wonder if I am going to a quarter-life crisis. To be honest, I still feel pretty lost in my life right now; not as much as when I was in my early-twenties. Compared to my early 20's, life is so much better now. I have more confidence, independence, money, and experience in life. I have a lot more friends (good ones too) than I had eight years ago. I also definitely look better than I did when I was younger; I wear less makeup now and stopped dying my hair. I am financially stable and am no longer a broke college student. I know life isn't that bad, but I still feel like my life is in 'limbo' right now. I wish there was a manuel or spoiler alert of how my life will turn out. 

Ok bye! See u next year. 

BTW, I saw cherry blossoms for the first time in my life last month. For the past 3 months, I have taken allergy shots every week, and two separate allergy pills, nasal spray, and eye drops every single night. 

My Yearly Update

Hello, 

I will be 27 on April 10, it doesn't feel like my birthday is coming up to be honest. Time feels like it's flying by although our days feel long. 

I'm making another update because it's about 8:40pm and I don't really know what to do until I sleep at around 9:30pm. I go to bed early on nights where I have to go to the office the next day. 

It's crazy how I created this blog when I was in high school at 16 years old, and now I am telling you that I have to be in the office tomorrow lol

Now that I am closer to my 30's than to my teens, I found a need to be in touch with my 'inner child'. I have been drawing again, an activity I loved doing when I was little but had to stop because my parents told me to "put my damn interests away" and be a doctor whatever. I've also been reading A LOT. I read a total of 44 books last year, and so far I have read 14 books this year. 

I've also been trying to reconnect with old friends. Now that I am older, I value friendships more than ever. It is so hard to make new friends as an adult. I am so glad I have my pole community where I have made so many new friends. 

I feel like so much has happened since my last blog post, but at the same time it also feels like not much has happened because all I did was work and work. 

Well, I had a lot of family issues and I really hope I get out of it soon. I don't want to say anything about it yet. 

Other than that, the only interesting things I can think of are:

1. I went to Arizona with Nancy! My first time venturing out so far out to the west coast. It was just over the Labor Day weekend, but I had so much fun! Everyone was so nice and the food was great. It was 110F everyday and I LOVED it. Definitely my type of weather. 

2. I went to Miami with my partner! Also had a fantastic time. We went in the last week of December so it was great to be in 80+ degree weather when it was so cold in NYC. 

3. I got two tattoos in February. The skull one was for free, I won a giveaway. I totally manifested that shit. The crescent moon was a matching tat with my bff Sam. 

4. I went to see my favorite band, Pond. I had discovered them during my college days. It's crazy to finally seeing them perform in-person. It was my second concert and the first one that I went alone. Another thing that I noticed as I grow older is that I really value solitude. I used to be so scared and uncomfortable with doing things alone, but it's great lol

Anyway, I feel like 2023 really sucked for me besides the month of March. I feel like I'm cursed with extreme bad luck sometimes. I'm only saying this because it's always the small inconveniences that build up into a mountain of stress and inconveniences, and it only takes another small bad thing to happen that makes it the cherry-on-top, causing me to cry in an Olive BBQ Chicken. 

Also, the last quarter of the year to now is me trying to get out of my family situation. I feel like my life is currently in limbo. I ran away from home in September 2022 like a teenager. I feel like I wasn't the same ever since. Maybe that's also why I wanted to tap into my 'inner child' again. I missed the Catherine I was before. I am so bitter and full of rage now. 

Lastly, if you are not me and you are reading this. Thank you for reading and stopped by my blog! 

I don't get a notification for comments for some reason, so I apologize if it took me 2-3 years to get back to you lol

See you soon, 

Catherine