But, throughout the Great Vagabond year that was 2014, I was hounded by the quiet certainty that I had at long last, too many projects. Zines, short films, poems, spoken word, a novel, a blog, and trying to pin down those basic necessities: a flat & a job.
By the end of 2014 I had a room in a little basement flat (see above) and a mad-cap job at an renewable energy company (no, I'm not sure how that one happened either).
And 2015 began. The basic needs are covered: after nearly 15 months, and upwards of 50 beds/tents/sofas/floors spread over two continents, working on and off as a dish washer, I now have my own roof above my head and my own pillow under my neck. And a stable income.
So - what's next? Deep inhale. What's next is the barrage of click-bait articles telling me helpfully how to MAKE THE MOST OF THE YEAR TO COME! HOW TO KEEP YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS! And more such self-help inanities. Until... Oliver Burkman's brilliant, cynical piece on the Guardian telling me with great certainty:
"[...] select something to stop doing this year. I don’t mean bad habits, such as injecting heroin or picking your nose; I mean something worthwhile."And I found myself falling down an 'open in new tab' rabbit hole, of productivity-themed articles that all had one message, loud and clear: Do Less. Focus.
From the Steve Martin Method ("Be so good they can't ignore you") to Warren Buffett's "Avoid At All Cost" list, and finally the "Power of No", that quiet feeling that I was spreading myself thin became a crashing wave of reality.
Lists were drawn up, gut feelings were assessed and decisions were made.
It's time to put a few things down.
STREAKS has had many incarnations, since it's first posts as a style blog, I've written about everything and often nothing at all. It was briefly an arts magazine when my ambitions took over and then slimmed down to a music blog when some sense was knocked into me. Everything is still online and will remain that way. But for now, there will be no new posts.
I'll still be listening greedily to all the things (or as many as I can find) so please, if you are curious add me on Last.fm & if you ever want suggestions of things to listen to, I'm on all the social media (check the links on the right hand side) so by all means! Ask!
There's no knowing if or when I'll be back posting reviews here, but for now - that novel won't write itself.
Until next time - Kate x
