WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO

Hello people, it is I, Nora, your blogger friend. Even though I mentioned I was going to be busy and go on a hiatus, the period still took longer than I had planned it to be. And the more I stayed away, the harder it got to sit back in front of my computer. I’m a pro when it comes to procrastination.

These past three months haven’t been easy, both mentally and physically. And I don’t want to annoy you by going into details but Turkey is crumbling down economically, politically, and socially in the most literal sense. Be it on a personal scale or a national one, even the things I love doing or do because I need some sort of escapism have turned into daunting tasks. What went on with me or my immediate family included a coronary angiography and balloon angioplasty, a wedding (don’t worry ladies, I’m still single *awkwardly winks*), frequent hospital visits, chronic headaches and migraine attacks due to stress among all the other stuff I have to figure out about my life but cannot do because even the tomorrow is bleak in this country. Add me not being in the comfort of my own home and not having some corner to breathe, and we have ourselves a party.

I was happy that I could at least manage to find some time to watch Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in theaters, and that was the sole highlight, along with the small party that was held with friends after my brother’s wedding. So it’s not all bad and eventually, everyone’s in good health!

Focusing on the good & positive. I wasn’t completely idle and have written short threads on this or that:

Here's a thread on some of my favorite BL titles that are included in the current @BOOKWALKER_GL Yaoi Week sale!

As always, you can comment or qrt with your own favorites ~ pic.twitter.com/7vz7SAPu50

— Nora | semi ia (@fujoshi_unite) June 18, 2022

I’ve been meaning to at least say a couple of words about #BlueBlackSky by Kyungha Yi, it’ll be a very short thread. You can read this series on @MantaComics ☁️ pic.twitter.com/egcmpqJOFI

— Nora | semi ia (@fujoshi_unite) April 17, 2022

A short thread about what I’m currently reading on @MangaPlusENG! 📚

I’ll be brief but you can always check out the official summaries. Pretend you haven’t seen any typos. Let’s go! (1/?) pic.twitter.com/TF9J8wJDkD

— Nora | semi ia (@fujoshi_unite) June 27, 2022

#SecondoPiatto by bestrestaurant & MangoGom#BLmanhwa first impressions: pic.twitter.com/jp1GRNtpNC

— Nora | semi ia (@fujoshi_unite) May 25, 2022

Gosh… #SunriseSnackBar by Yamamoto Rena was one of the BEST manga I’ve read recently! I’ve laughed like crazy, got emotional, and wanted to be a part of their small, lively community 🥺💫✨💞💐🌱 pic.twitter.com/bx76tDYywO

— Nora | semi ia (@fujoshi_unite) July 9, 2022

Also, I’ve been meaning to find a way to track what I’m reading (bookwise) and note down what I’ve thought about them but didn’t want to start another blog because it takes too much time, not having a word/length limit makes me feel like what I’ve written is not enough and I should elaborate more, which… snowballs into a huge thing in my head and I end up procrastinating. Or worse, end up writing nothing. A friend from one of my reading groups suggested I open an Instagram account because she’d like to check out what I’ve been reading, if possible. I said, what a coincidence! I do too! Because otherwise, I just forget and nothing sticks.

And that’s what I did! It honestly helped me a great deal because it’s been a long while since I’ve written anything in Turkish except for shopping or to-do lists. Those don’t even contain full sentences. However, as you can see from the screenshot, I wasn’t able to stay away from manga or graphic novels for too long. Nowadays, I have to write shorter to fight the perfectionist procrastinator inside of me.

I’ll slowly ease my way into getting back to regularly writing. I don’t think I’ll be writing episodic reviews anytime soon, but I want to at least put my thoughts out there on some of the shows I finished recently like Mawaru Penguingdrum, or continue some of my Part 1 posts that weren’t fortunate enough to get their Part 2’s for reasons. As always, I read a lot of manga and I’ll be sprinkling those reviews in between.

On a totally different note, my blog stats have been doing better compared to times when I was publishing 3+ posts weekly and maybe I should’ve taken the hint… but you know how I am!

There’s also the issue with my WordPress plan. I’m using the Premium and because my blog is image-heavy, I have already exceeded the GB limit for the free plan. That means, if I don’t renew my annual plan which expires in 30 days, I won’t be able to post. Or I have to delete images from my old ones, which isn’t a viable option. And now I’m seeing that WordPress has done some changes to its plans? I don’t quite get what’s going on. Hopefully I’ll be able to set some money aside enough for the Premium. If not, I’ll think of another way to continue writing.

This is all, I think. Even Canva has started emailing me like a needy partner, so I guess I really stayed away for too long but I can’t wait to find my groove again. Take care, and see you around soon ~

If it’s your first time visiting my blog, you can click on the image below to find ways on how to connect with me ~