uncategorised – One Chance to See the World

People of Melbourne, what should I do?

Things for me don’t often hit home until they are right there in front of me. I don’t get the urgency until I have no choice but to act. It used to be revising for an exam, one of my earliest examples of this… That pastime is pretty much non existent. Then just organising my life in general and ensuring things went to plan, such as not agreeing to two events on the same day. I have often realised only the day such a mistake before and well, shit. I usually don’t find the motivation to address something ahead of time, this only really occurs when it is right there in front of me. I can visualise it much better when I see the end of the track, and too often it’s too late I go right through it.

It’s just who I am. Not that I necessarily want it to be this way, I struggle with the planning phase and this has made me into the person that I am today. The kind of traveller I am too. But I like to take each day as it comes on the road, plan little but make the day productive. I don’t know if any of you can relate but I am very stuck in the ‘now’ in life… And this has good and bad aspects.

This is part laziness, part mental health and low mood. In the past when I have had free time I just liked to do nothing. But the ‘nothing’ was often something unseen, like waiting for certain feelings to pass or get stuck in a never ending abyss of deep thinking. But other times I have tried to escape certain demons holding me back and kept busy, blogging for example. But again, it is rarely scheduled posts and more posts I just type up there and then. These days are behind me thankfully however my day to day living stays somewhat the same. It has moulded my behaviours I guess.

Thank goodness I am on a two year visa, I have plenty of time to find out what I need to do. Six months in Melbourne gives me ample time to see what needs to be seen in Victoria’s Capital. If it was a two week holiday I would probably have a bigger ‘What I Should Have Done Better’ speech in old age. And despite it seeming like I don’t like the way I do things, I find it much easier and more enjoyable to just travel with very little plans. Speak to locals and fellow backpackers and go from there than wonder the web and the seemingly infinite websites aiming to guide me.

But on the other hand, I am thinking damn… I’m going to live in another city in just three days. What have I planned, or worse, what haven’t I planned?!

In three days time, I will be in Melbourne. I cannot wait to get there, meet some people and take in some of these recommendations. And potentially working in hospitality will benefit me greatly here. I have been to Melbourne previously, for two days, and can be seen in my post about the train journey from Sydney here and my brief time in the city here.

I saw a few things whilst I was there. The street art…

The cool little streets with cafes and restaurants…

This building…

St. Kilder…

And a day tour of the Great Ocean Road…

However this was an unexpectedly rushed trip for the reasons I mention in the posts linked, and will make sure to give Melbourne the time it deserves this time around.

I know I have been speaking to a few of you that are either from Melbourne or have visited, thank you for the suggestions and I would love to have more recommendations you and others have for the city. Again, I would much rather speak to those that have seen it for themselves instead of find an article online that could have been written by someone that has never stepped foot here. I have taken on board some of the places you guys have mentioned before, however if I have some of these in one designated post for me to refer back to every now and then (with a shoutout to you if I do it!), this would be greatly appreciated and something I will make sure I do if it is within my ability. I will try my hardest to make it possible, and asking for your advice is me planning more than I have done prior to many trips, so I guess I am improving on this pre-planning thing ever so slightly.

Hello to you in Melbourne if you are there (and to everyone that isn’t of course) and if you have something you feel is a must then I would love to hear it. Who knows, I may even see you there!

Have a great Wednesday,

Sam

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section and Travel Diary

Follow me @samest89 on Instagram and @octstw on Twitter

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Cheers!

Sam

Blogging + time = positive mental health

I really do love scrolling down the Meet and Greet section of my site. Every single day I am getting new additions to this and people seem to really enjoy introducing themselves and having a browse of other blogs. It is great to see and I am pleased I have it on here.

As I have said a few times because of the number of comments I receive here I am not going to try and respond and clog up the feed, I would prefer to leave it clean. I can barely keep up with daily blog comments and my about me section, not that I would consider this a bad thing for a second. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

However every now and then I will spot a contribution that catches my eye. Elizabeth over at Living with Mental Illness asked me a question that I have answered recently in comments, however with the theme of mental illness I will try to answer with this topic incorporated.

How do you reach a larger audience with reads and follows? I would greatly appreciate any advice you can share! Thank you in advance.

I have always wanted to expand my blog as much as I can. Not really out of an ego although we all have one to some extent, but because I would love to reach as many people as possible with my thoughts and opinions. The further we reach, the more people we will meet with the same outlook on life. We will also reach people that disagree but are willing to engage in interesting conversation. The more people I reach, the bigger the audience that would potentially read a book that I may publish further down the line. Also, the opportunities through blogging increase as it grows. Would I like to have a living outside of the 9-5? You bet.

In my late teens and twenties I started suffering from anxiety and a mild form of depression. Not to the extent that some people have it but enough to see me go to therapy for a few months. I realised that the more time I had to be in my head, the more these conditions manifested into something ugly. As a result this totally demotivated me to blog which only went and gave me more free time to think negative thoughts and a whirlpool opened up below me.

Another factor was the nature of my blog. I had a blog that originally started out just as I was leaving religion, and many of my posts would reflect on existential questions and philosophy. Naturally, putting my non religious views out there to the world caused occasional debates and I often went out to seek them. Not to be a troll but because I really wanted the truth. But because of this blogging wasn’t always fun, and when I was feeling very low I needed something (no pun intended!) to raise my spirits. I ignored my blog for this reason as it didn’t appeal to me when I was at my worst.

This inspired me to change up my blog style and theme. I wanted a happier blog full of colour and photographs. I also decided to travel to Australia as I felt this would be a great distraction from my anxiety, and at the same time I could give much more positive blog posts to the world. I am so glad I did this.

One thing that helps keep my my mind stimulated is continuous blogging. I now spend many hours a day here and it is something I love to do. I love watching it grow and everyday is a new challenge to write about something which is a great mental exercise. Now this is the beautiful part. Blogging frequently does more than just keep us stimulated and- hopefully- free from mental anguish. It means more and more people are able to find our blog. People in the same boat and people that would love to see life from our perspective. No one is perfect, and hearing from others with daily struggles reminds us that we are all human and that we shouldn’t strive for perfection.

Despite having this blog since 2014, it was only in September 2017 that I started to really put effort into this website. That was when I landed in Sydney and my motivation to blog increased tenfold. I had a two year working holiday to show family and friends back home and every day was a new experience. But I couldn’t just post and expect people to come over and read. I had to engage too. This is half of what I do everyday, crossing over to other peoples blogs and introducing myself. If I didn’t do this my blog wouldn’t be as popular. I realised that people enjoy conversation. We all do, we are social creatures and a conversation unites us. No one wants to spend all their time reading in the same way we don’t want to simply listen to someone wanting to speak all the time. We like to have a say and make it a conversation rather than a lecture. I have found some amazing blogs and people this way.

I then found myself with a much larger community of people that I was engaging with. The same thing happens when we decide to leave our house and explore the neighborhood… the people that didn’t know we existed do now and are happy to say ‘hey’! It isn’t that people don’t want to speak to us, it is that they aren’t aware that we are here to speak to us in the first place.

I thanked 600 people whilst I was at the Blue Mountains in November 2017 for following my blog, and I expect at the end of the month I will be thanking 7,000. A huge change in 13 months, and that change is all down to the time spent on my blog and engaging with others.

I keep blogging as it has been a great form of therapy, and if I stop I am unsure whether or not I will sink to those depths again. Keeping busy is a great remedy, and I can see why so many people blog. It is the chosen method for many to keep their heads above the water, and at the same time be creative. It is truly turning a negative into a positive and is great to see.

I hope this answered the question, and if anyone has any thoughts on this topic please feel free to let me know. As always, I will see you in the comments!

Sam

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section and Travel Diary

Follow me @samest89 on Instagram and @octstw on Twitter

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam

I need a beer.

Today has been hectic. I haven’t had the chance to blog at all and I was have really enjoyed riding this wave of motivation. But it wasn’t the motivation that got me, it was work.

I was woken up by a voicemail from my manager at 8.30am. I was expecting to be off so I set my alarm for a little later.

‘Hey give me a call back, I have a shift for you’.

I have been begging for shifts recently as hours are scarce, so despite hardly being able to open my eyes I called straight back.

I didn’t know that this shift would be in an hours time…

Thankfully the hostel I am staying at is in viewing distance of my hotel, so time wasn’t an issue. I honestly cross a crossroads and I am there, waiting for the green man probably takes as long as the walk itself. It is weird being so close to work that I can be given an hours warning of a shift I wasn’t aware of, and still be able to take a long shower. It has certainly been a pro amongst the cons of hostel life.

I had walked into the hotel during the check out period (up to 11am), but being such a huge hotel check in’s were occurring. Some VIP groups, some airline crew. Two guests checking in asked me what the emergency services and media were doing on a nearby street, I didn’t know. Hospitality can be like that, we can get so much information from people around us and at the same time be so busy that we have no idea what is happening around us.

I do more check in’s at this hotel before 11am than I did all day in other hotels. This one is huge. There is just a constant buzz around the place and always something going on. We had Chinese New Year celebrations happening in house, with a huge dinner taking up a whole ballroom. Dancing dragons and beating drums took over the reception area at 6pm, before making their way up the escalators and leading the huge group to their event. This occurred as airline crew were checking out for their next flight, I wish I could take pictures at work to show you how active the lobby was during this moment of organised madness.

As I am trying to keep my work and blog life separate, I do not want to disclose where I work or too much information about my job. I’m no MI5 though, honest.

We then had a another VIP arrive, however as the concierge team were so busy I left the desk and assisted with getting the tour group’s gear to the room. This is the kind of thing I love about hotel life, we get to mingle with people that are literally idols to their fans. It makes me grateful despite the hectic nature and having to stay back longer than I should have isn’t a big deal.

I was planning to leave by 6.30pm latest, however I ended up staying until 9pm. Not a bad days work considering I was going to be off today. But sadly my time in Brisbane is coming to an end and I need all the hours I can get to fund me until I find a job in Melbourne mid March. So despite being grateful for the hours I gained today, I wasn’t blogging. I have spent so much time on my blog that it feels weird when I have a few hours away from it. I still think of posts to write about, I just can’t start them. But a quick draft entry to come back to later on will do.

So sorry for being a lot less present today than I have been, I feel like I have been engaging a lot with you all and then suddenly went cold. But I need to remind myself that it was only for one day, and the reason was out of my control. But I hate when I can’t blog as it is something I have done for years and it is just weird not doing it. And for that reason a day feels more like a week. It is a hobby that I enjoy, and I don’t enjoy having it taken away.

But here I am having a beer, with a whole day off tomorrow. I hope…

I’ll speak to you all again soon.

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary or follow me @samest89 on Instagram

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam

Can you see the $170 trap?

So in recent months Brisbane has received these Lime Scooters. And before I get into the post I just want to say I love them. I’ve been scooting up and down the streets of Brissy like nobody’s business and they can hit some pretty high speeds, not to brag but I am sure I heard a sonic boom as I put my thumb down on the accelerator riding through the Botanic Gardens.

But you have to be careful as many people have been hit with hefty fines for not sticking to the rules.

I was at a barbecue recently with my work friends as a colleague finished his employment with us. Two friends rocked up on these Lime Scooters, you can pretty much find them anywhere and the app allows you to locate where they are. After getting off the scooters and sitting down, one of the riders and someone that arrived by car both stated they have been fined in the last few days. The reason for the fine was riding without a helmet.

One colleague mentioned that as he was in line to pay the fine, the line was ALL people waiting to pay a fine. Thousands of dollars in fines right there for lack of helmet use.

The problem is hardly anyone uses the helmets, and many of the scooters- like the one I uploaded above- don’t have one. Probably thrown in the river by drunk people. But people get on them and ride off, not realising the risk of being fined. There are so many I just cannot warn them as they ride by, I just have to hope an officer isn’t waiting around the corner.

Whilst on this river walk the another day I saw for the first time someone being caught. An officer caught up to the riders on a push bike, using a modest bell in replace of a siren to catch their attention. Funnily enough if they just rode off at full speed they could have probably got away, not that I would promote that kind of GTA style behaviour on my blog but without a number plate, what could the officer do? Maybe track the scooter ID and the user, I’m not sure. On top of that, they were helmetless and riding the same scooter, hopefully that didn’t increase the fine. I tried to take a shot of the low speed chase but couldn’t get them all in whilst walking by. Shame.

Every single day dozens of people ride by, blissfully unaware that at any moment they may lose $170 in the blink of an eye. A lot of them tourists using their limited time in Brisbane trying to have fun, which is a shame. But on the other hand they go fast, and coming off would hurt. A lot. And Australia is big on it’s health and safety.

I wonder if the other cities that have these scooters are as strict on helmet use, and are being fined as much? They are being trialed in Brisbane before being introduced in other cities, looking at their website it seems like they are also in Sydney. The whole list of worldwide cities can be seen here over on the Lime website.

Does your city have these?

One of my favourite vloggers, Casey Neistat, uploaded a video about these. Interestingly he mentioned that where he was in the States they require a photo of the front and back of a drivers licence which isn’t the case here.

Here is the video.

Let me know what you think of them, and if you have them where you are, I highly recommend them!

Just wear a helmet.

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary or follow me @samest89 on Instagram

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam

Growth is more important than the view count

Yesterday I mentioned in my post Accidental Anniversaries that I was very close to my record view number for any day I have had in the four years I have been blogging. I also mentioned that as I only had 15 minutes until midnight, posting about it probably wouldn’t help achieve a record view count as most views would spill into today’s statistics. However funnily enough I had a quick surge in views, more than usual for the first 15 minutes and I did in fact achieve this, so thank you to everyone that viewed the post. Seeing a record broken every now and then shows progress and growth and it is great to build momentum and motivation to keep pushing. I am very grateful.

As a result I received some lovely comments from followers in support, with some stating the view count and how they are a little way off this number. For me, the number isn’t the main focus, it is the continued growth.

I remember having less that ten views a day on my blog, I had it for a long time in the first couple years whilst I was blogging much less. I only blogged a couple of times a week and wasn’t consistent with it. Only blogging once or twice a week is fine if you are consistent with it. That is the key to growth. I then remember when I started devoting more time to the site and these numbers grew to the 50’s. This only occurred when I devoted an equal amount of time to my blog each week and if I fail to post for a couple of days my views will easily reduce to that number again. I mean look at my views in the last few days… my views went from 126 two days ago as I didn’t post to 563 the next day!

If I don’t post for a week my numbers will drop down to 10-15 views, from previous experience. Readers enjoy consistency as much as content which is understandable as if I am following someone, I need to know that they will deliver consistently and on time. Our lives are way too busy to tolerate inconsistency and we get bored easily. That and there are too many bloggers out there being consistent for people to choose from.

So for me, the statistics aren’t that important, that isn’t the key to success. It is staying and being consistent with the blog and ensuring that delivering no matter how frequently that it is consistently. You will notice that the daily stats will rise like a set of stairs on the chart which is very fitting because it is a great visual to observe, showing that the blog is on the rise. Stop with that routine and it’s like a game of snakes and ladders… Before you know it you are at the bottom again.

This shows me how hard people have to work to get to where they are and for the most successful bloggers, I salute you. Our success depends on how much we want it and as long as today’s stats are higher than yesterdays, the number isn’t important.

I also have two posts that you may want to read here, not too in depth but they were popular regarding this topic. Feel free to have a look!

The Waves of Motivation and the Reason I can Blog Daily

Daily Blogging and Why Consistency is Key

Featured Photo by Mikito Tateisi on Unsplash

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary or follow me @samest89 on Instagram

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam

Rainy days

This morning it poured down here in Brisbane. In fact it may have rained all night as I was caught in it at midnight after watching Newcastle get beat by Tottenham… a goal that really shouldn’t have went in. The weather cleared up nicely by this afternoon.

I am not sure about you however I love a rainy day. The soothing sound of rain hitting the ground chills me right out, I have been using rainfall soundtracks on Spotify and YouTube to help me concentrate on writing too with great results. I also love that it gives me an excuse to wind down a little and just stay in one spot without the urgency to get out the house and into the world. It doesn’t feel so much like a wasted day if the sun isn’t blazing.

But it doesn’t mean the day is unproductive, more that it is just productive in a different way. Less physical and more sit and read a book or blog. It gives us a different way to go about the day and I like that. Rain has been rare in Brisbane recently so it was a positive change.

How was the weather where you are this weekend? Are you a fan of a rainy day? I feel my fellow Brits will be strongly against me on this one!

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary or follow me @samest89 on Instagram

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam

Thank you for your contributions

Another thank you to everyone that has contributed to my meet and greet page since I have introduced it, everyday I am reading your comments on this page and I am pleased so many people have been excited to share their blogs and interact with others.

As I have said before I am not able to respond to submissions here due to the continuous flow of comments that would be impossible to keep up with, however I do read them and there are some fascinating blogs being promoted. I have opted to not respond to stop my comments from clogging up the page too. But reading the page everyday is fascinating as it truly shows the diversity of blogs and your reasons to blog. I am very grateful you have chosen to share your blog with me and the world and I do hope this helps you to both find new readers of your blog and discover new ones.

What I love about blogging is that it is 24/7. It is a worldwide phenomenon that is carried out daily in every timezone. It isn’t a 9-5 thing and like a major city this site is busy and full of life in every hour. When I wake up on a morning I love getting to read from those that are seeing their day come to an end and life in all corners of the world. For me this diversity and seeing the world outside of my bubble is what makes life interesting.

Thank you again, and if anyone wants to contribute or find blogs here I will link above and at the end of this post. If you have posted before feel free to do so as much as you wish, there isn’t a limit here… it’s a blogger free for all. With every comment posts will get pushed down the page so you are more than welcome to post again and again if you feel it is worthwhile and check out other people that have stopped by.

There is literally one minute left of the morning here, and I am going to grab another coffee. I hope you have a great day wherever you are and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

See you all soon!

Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!

New to this site? Click here to visit my A bout My Blog section

Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diary or follow me @samest89 on Instagram

Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.

Happy blogging,

Sam