#when i do the dishes for 30min im done after

[ningningkittie]

👛🩹🥛🐈

[why-the-heck-not]

how do you study/code everyday? Genuinely asking, like how do you maintain focus and not get distracted or stop when it gets hard? Ignore the following question if you live your major and school and all that: how do you not get sad? And if you do what do you do when that happens?

With love and admiration, a fellow computer science student who is struggling so much

Heyy and thank you for the ask!

Honestly, I get very distracted a whole lot. Like 50% of my days are procrastination bc I don’t want to do things. And I don’t study every day, but most days just bc I’m bad at taking full days off bc of The Guilt lol. Waking up early has helped me a ton, bc even if I procrastinate the morning bc don’t want to start doing things, it’ll still be early. The annoying thing to say, but it rly does feel like u have more hours in a day that way.

For stopping when it gets hard: I have this one playlist that’s like 30mins long, and everytime I wanna give up, I put that on, and it’s like a ”okay just gotta work until this playlist stops”-thing. And sometimes I do just stop after bc I’m getting nowhere, but sometimes that ”permission” to stop doing things actually makes me want to get them done. And sometimes u luck out and figure out the thing in that 30mins. (Sure a timer would work as well but I time my time with music a lot of times idk)

And yeah I get sad, bc like who doesn’t. Idk, I feel like the key is to try move on the second u can. You had ur bad days and can’t do anything abt that now, so wallowing & feeling guilty about that is not gonna do anything. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and a week or so won’t ruin things. Trying to not get stuck in it, the cycle of ”I’ve fucked this up ohno” and getting more depressed from that and then continuing to not being able to do anything is very real. At that point, u gotta remind urself that any little bit helps (if that’s either towards the school things or like washing piled up dishes; anything to move anything along helps to get urself out).

Also big thing that has helped me; no social media when it gets bad !! All that ”respect the grind” ”that girl” ”grind mindset” etc. makes it feel way more shitty. But also the mental health awarness side sometimes makes it too easy to be ”yeah so im sad, im not going to even try to do anything” (it’s fine obv when u just can’t, but when u notice 2 years have gone by bc ”i’m just having a bad day today” everyday, it’s no longer selfcare). So idk, what helps for me is to have the bad days just by myself in the bubble and at some point getting up and doing a thing. Which sometimes/usually snowballs into a couple things. And never underestimate the power of taking a good long shower. Everything seems more doable after a shower idk why. Also I think I say this in about every ask but WALKS !! Are so good !!!!! For everything !!

[lazysheepy]

Everything came out alright. Thank God.

I was looking for a place to live , on forums and Gumtree. Found a place and went there to check out the place. A Chinese big mum came to the door and greeted me. But she apparently have no idea about the advertisement online. We found out that a former resident, with good intentions, put the advertisement without the landlord knowing. However he didn’t know that the landlord has changed her house into Airbnb so it is no longer available.

The lady was super helpful and helped me asked around the area to see if there are any vacancy. Met another Taiwanese big mum that was also super helpful. (I later met her in the Chinese Sunday service!) However the places are either all full or the owner is on holiday.

The next day I tried again. Calling to another advertisement online and got a positive reply. $105 per week! Wah so cheap! Waited for another day for the guy to move out and I’m now settled in Cairns! Funny thing is up to now I still haven’t paid any rent because I have yet to meet the landlord lol. It’s a two person room and my roommate is a Taiwanese guy.

So after i moved in, I went ahead to refine my CV and printed some copies in Office Work, a stationary supply megastore nearby. Returned with the copies and met another housemate, who is a Canadian girl. After a bit of chatting I found out that she is a very experienced job hunter. I let her review my CV and she made a few good suggestions. And …. I edited and printed them out again… 20 copies of outdated CV wasted. So I went out for job hunting.

As I walked out town and looking for jobs, I quickly realised the cruel reality, that good restaurants will not even consider a newbie. Questions like “we are looking for a certified..” “how may years of experience do you have” left me speechless and embarrassed. I’ve only managed to give 1 CV out all day at the Esplanade (tourist-y area). So I changed my target to Chinese restaurants in the area. I went at the wrong time though, at 3pm , where most Chinese restaurants were closed after lunch session. I saw a sign to hire for waiters in front of a new Chinese restaurant. So I called and got me an interview later that day.

Went back home for a short break, shaved my face and put on some hair wax (for a waiter interview lol). While I was walking to the restaurant, I received a SMS. It was from the Italian pizza restaurant that I managed to give out my CV, and they asked for a trial. And at that moment, I thought: “Oh God! Not again?! Really? Really?! 1 shot 1 kill! Why are you doing this to me again? X’D ” It seems like whenever I need a job, I ALWAYS get it on the first try. Back when I just graduated, I gave out 2 CVs and both landed me an interview, and both companies offered me a job. I don’t have a fantastic CV back then, only a 2-2 honour, and with a just-pass academic profile. but God always make it so smooth… I don’t get it… But I’m indeed grateful.

So I called off the Chinese restaurant interview. And went to work the next day.

I was replacing a Taiwanese, who has done his times in the Oz and is going back home soon. So he started teaching me my responsibilities. In summary, it was super overwhelming. Burnt both of my arms on the first day from super hot pans. Today was my first day working by myself, and I have several cuts on my fingers, a piece of flesh missing from my pinky, poked into under my nails from sorting forks, burnt my palms from handling hot metal containers, crushed and bruised my thumb, and I go home everyday completely soaked from the splashing water.

Good thing is that I felt that this is a very good learning experience, and other staffs are helpful, although sometimes quite pushy like “faster faster faster!”, “Next time you should do this this this…:”, “ Don’t …..” . When im way behind of my duties, and felt super frustrated, the head chef is always encouraging me and is very supportive even I’m making a lot of mistakes.

My night shift starts from 5pm to 1am, with an 30min break. I struggle to squeeze time to take a sip of water because dirty dishes kept pouring in!

Although it is a bit tough, the good thing working in a pizza restaurant is that you get a lot of free stuff. You can ask the barista to make you coffee, ask the gelato counter for ice cream, pour yourself any type of drink from the bar, eat food rejected from wrong orders, and bring home pizzas and pasta. I think I can save a bit of money for buying food now haha! And the pay is good too, higher than working in a Chinese restaurant.