The State of Things | Edition #2: May 2023
I started writing this series after I lost my job when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on March 10 2023. See the The State of Things #1 | the company I work for no longer exists. The crash and loss of employment was so sudden and so very out of my control that it was a real wake up call to being employed in the 21st century.
The State of Things is a monthly blog post where I talk about how my life is going partially through a business lens and partially through a whatever the hell I want lens.
The purpose of this series is to keep myself accountable on my journey toward financial independence by making a steady stream of income outside of my day job. Although these blog posts have the same goal (accountability).
Table of Contents
The State of Things | Edition #2: May 2023 What’s Been on My MindConcept 1: House hunting and the state of the housing marketConcept 2: FriendshipSince the last The State-of-ThingsTasksLast TimeNext Up
What’s Been on My Mind
Concept 1: House hunting and the state of the housing market
I’m a first time homebuyer, and I’m not an economist. While working I’ve been living with my parents and that’s allowed me to save up a reasonable amount of money for a down payment.
I started the house hunt at the beginning of January. Its now mid-may. I’ve probably seen at least 20-30 properties. I could’ve seen myself living in around 5 of those.
I put in offers on 2 houses. (Well, 1 townhouse and 1 condo). And I got rejected both times. Other people put in offers above the asking price. Anywhere between $15k -$50k above asking. And they paid with cash. Where do these people get their money?
Concept 2: Friendship
I’m lonely and I don’t have many friends. And its my fault. Not in like a sad emo way “its my fault :(”, but in a self-recognition way. Like, I haven’t been going out of my way to maintain any of my relationships, and its time that I turn that around right now.
I want to start dating one day, but I don’t even feel comfortable with basic friendships. I want to work my way up to a point where I have a large (or small-medium, I would be cool with that too) network of people who I can really connect with before I try to find someone to settle down and spend the rest of my life with.
That being said - I’ve decided to try using Bumble BFF! I used Bumble a couple of times to date in the past, and I saw that they had a friendship mode. I really enjoyed their user experience, and about 2 weeks ago I gave it a shot for the first time!
Here are some of my first impressions: Everyone is really friendly! Its 95% girls (so if you’re looking to make male friends - it might not be the best platform for you). Since its primarily a dating platform, people tend to be shy about reaching out and maintain a conversation. Tbh, I recommend initiating a friendship date after chatting for a little bit; sometimes even just a few messages (like 2-4) back and forth is enough to gauge that the person you’re talking to is real and that you’re OK to meet them in a public place for the first time. My strategy has been to go online around Thursday, then ask the new people I meet to get together for dinner on Friday or for really anything on the weekend or in the coming week.
Since the last The State-of-Things
Mar 21, 2023 → May 17, 2023 (8 weeks)
💥 3 new comic chapters arq's practice grounds | WEBTOON (webtoons.com)
🪶 8 new blog posts Nicole’s Website (heliablog.com)
📄 7 new Notion templates Arq (gumroad.com)
✒️ 0 new illustrations
👯 1 new friend(s)
💵 $0 made
Tasks
Last Time
Finish my personal website
Start posting links to my blogs on social media (Twitter, Instagram stories)
Finish the rough thumbnails for my first comic
Next Up
Fix slow loading images on heliablog.com
Fix the social images so I feel more confident to post
Complete at least 3 more comic thumbnails within the next 4 weeks (due Jun 12, 2023)
Post my Notion templates on public forums (ex. r/Notion)
Make 1 more new local friend
Test out hiring 1 person (PAID) to help me make my comics