What I've learned in 10 years of blogging

As I said previously, I've been blogging for 10 years. Mostly in Czech and on different blogs. I've learned many things through all these years and now, I'm going to share them with you.

• It's a bad idea to move your blog all the time
  When I was a teenager I was searching for the best blog name that would fit my complicated soul. Never happend, obviously. My personal blog beinblack.blogpost.cz where I post in Czech is the address where I've blogged the longest.
  
• Posting regularly helps
  The most common advice for blogger is to post regularly and quite often. Sure, posting once a month is regular but also pointless. Noone will read your blog, noone will subscribe cause your blog looks abandoned and neglected. Personally, I think posting twice a week is perfect. Of course, posting even more often is great but I wouldn't recommend posting daily because it unfortunately usually means some blog posts are a mess and not as good as they could be. Plus, it can be annoying.
  
• I never went with the flow
  That is probably the main reason why my blogs are never popular. Here in Czech republic we had a huge boom of fashion blogs, after that beauty ones and after that recipe ones and so on. To be honest, I see it as a huge plus because I wouldn't enjoy about those things. But then again, sometimes it's tough to see ugly blogs with horribly made posts that have no information value that have considerably more readers than I do.
  
• I learned Photoshop
  I'm no master in it but it's been a huge contribution to my life. Now I use it every single day and I can't stress enough how useful it's been.
  
• I learned some CSS and HTML basics
  I don't need it daily and I really do not need it to do my job. But if it wasn't for blogging, I would never feel the frustration and tremendous joy that coding has.
  
• Digital marketing, SEO and stuff
  I've read so many articles, posts and websites about the matter. I tought it would help my blogging a bit but at the end I got a job because of it and I use it every day. Great, huh? 

Busy bee

Oh gosh.
Whenever I try to be responsible about my blogging, I end up with no time to blog at all.

Shortly after my last post I've learned my collegue is leaving and my boss is very happy with me and stuff I do. That all meant I got a raise (yay!!) and more responsibilities. It took a lot of effort and time right from the moment I was told all that.

I still love blogging, I do. But when oppurtunity came I chose to put it away and be the best employee I could be.

I realize I need to organize my time better. I wish I was organized person naturally but I'm not. I'm chaotic, confused and pathologic procrastinator. ¨
That's why I didn't blog. And also that's why I don't want to stop blogging. I've been blogging since I was 13 that means ten years of putting my thoughts online and loving it.

So please bare with me while I'm trying to be more organized employee, girlfriend, friend, dog owner, blogger and housekeeper.

Difference between being ill in childhood and now

As a little kid I was poorly all the time. As a grown-up I am much better but than again, I prefer not being around people.
I used to be a little rascal and was hoping to get ill all the time. I meant I could stay at home (with or without my mom), be in bed, watch movies, be lazy and everything was server right under my nose. So where are the main changes? 

I can stay at home! × I can stay at home but I have to show up at work from time to time.
As a child the outside world was not so much fun and I loved not having to attend school.
As a adult I work from home which is lucky. But I have to show up at the office from time to time to make my boss sure I'm still (barely) alive. Plus, my brain is so full of cold-slime, my IQ has dropped all the way down to the cellar. Not fun working with that. Bleh.

I have all the time in the world. × Work, work, work.
Movies, games and books for my little past self.
Current self has to work. Very unfortunate considering the fact the simpliest tasks take much more time to do because my cold makes me stupid and numb and attention-less. 

Everybody cares and loves me. × I don't want to ask M. to make me a tea several times a day.
Oh, jolly times. My mum used to make me a tea, put everything I might need near the bed and everybody felt sorry for this sickly little girl.
Now I'm an adult still little by size but not so little in years. The only care a got was a call from my mum to ask how I am and to inform me I have a phone bill to pay, and an occaisonal sorry looks and teas from M.

I could lie in bed whole day. × I would lie in bed but I have to be where my laptop is. And my laptop is where a power socket is.
I used to hate my bed as my illness was finishing. I don't undestand it now. Bed is bliss. Bed is love. Bed is everything.

No need to do anything. × The mess grows with every minute.
Blissful laziness and tissues all around, just laying in bed with no worries. Ah, the kid I used to be...
Right now I'm watching the pile of dirty laundry grow a few centimetres every time I look. The kitchen is so cluttered I can't see the desk. The floor is full of hair, I could swear it's carpet.

I don't want to get better. × Please, please let me be healthy!
I wanted to be sick as long as possible cause it meant I could be home. 
Now my life sucks. My work is shitty, my friends are out partying without me and the only beings I can talk to are our dogs, who don't reply with wise looks, and M. who sticks to one word replies. With tired look.

Sleep. × Can't sleep. 
As a tiny little girl I hated sleep. Then I started attending school and changed my mind about sleeping. When puberty hit, my ability to sleep 20 hours hit with it. 
But now (please content yourselves, the surprise is coming) I have to work so I can't sleep. I can't even enjoy little half an hour afternoon snooze becase my bad conscience won't let me.

Can't wait to get better!


How do you survive this disgustingly cold and rainy weather? Is your poorly time any different from when it was? 

Long distance relationship advice

When I was in high school I was convinced I'll remain single until I die or at least until I finish school. The boys around me were either stupid dicks or nice but completely unattractive beings.
Then I traveled to England to learn English for a month and fell in love with a boy from Spain.
Long story short, we dated for a year and a half. 

Long distance relationship can work. It can also work out really well. But it has to meet some requirements... 

• You need to love each other a lot. Sure it goes without saying in every relationship but it's crucial for long distance ones.
• Effort to stay together must be there at all times and both of the couple should have it. If only one works hard to work it out, it all goes south.
• Also effort to meet must be on both sides. It requires a lot of money, time and planning. If one of the couple can't be bothered, it complicates things. 
• Do not be childish and give your other life reasons to get jealous. Some people do that to see if their partner still loves and cares. In long distance relationship the proof of love and care is the relationship itself. The spark of jealousy can ruin it because it all depends on mutual trust.
• Communicate. 
• Do not agree with something that might make you unhappy. Open relationship or polygamy is good as long as you both agree on that.
• You don't mind being alone. When you get home, nobody will be there. You have to rely on your friends a lot. And you're alone a lot. When I dated this Spanish guy, I didn't mind. I missed him a lot but I was living with my parents, had a best friend and smartphone so I was okay. I don't think I could do it now - I don't live with my parents anymore plus I've learned how great it is to be with someone all the time.
• You believe it can work out. If you don't see a future together, don't bother with it. All the goodbyes hurt, missing your partner hurts and you do those things a lot. If you don't have any hope of staying together, be sure you'll get tired of this painful circle really soon.

And what about you? Do you have any experience in this field?

Tip: I can build a blog

I can build a blog is a blog of a blogger and a designer Dana Fox. I won't introduce her too much, she has multiple activities and she's good at all of them. Here's her personal blog if you're interested.

This blog is full of tutorials. You can do whatever with your blog, the only thing you need is time and patience. Plus, if it doesn't work, Dana will help you in the comments which I find very nice.
Another amazing thing about Dana is she takes care of her older posts. If Blogger changed a few things, she usually updates or deletes her posts.

I also love her inspirational and motivational posts about organization, blogging and post ideas.

If you don't like to code or simply don't have the time or patience, Dana designs blogs too. Usually very spacey, feminine and minimalist. Of course you have to pay for them but trust me, they're worth every cent. 

New bill in Prague: Dogs on the leash at all times?

On the news appeared an article few weeks ago. It's about a new bill of Prague city that should 'adjust' the movement of dogs in the city.

Long story short, it's all about having a dog on the leash at all times. The main reason is safety of people and limitation at contamination of green areas.

It involves not only the Centre of city, which would be understandable (and quite useless because what kind of murderer would travel with a dog without a leash through masses of people and noisy trams I'll never know)

Of course I have several issues with it and I don't think they're all crazy dog lady based.

1.      Only a minimum of dogs is truly aggressive. Nobody wants an aggressive dog at their house as long as it's not their lifelong dream to end up in a hospital special care unit. 

2.      In Czech Republic, the majority of attacks of dogs towards humans happen at household environments and in rural areas.

3.      Dogs who need to be on a leash are already on a leash. That's only logical.

4.      Dogs need to move. It's in their nature to run around and sniff everything. Put them on a leash and they can't do it. And if an intelligent being can't do what's in its nature, it get angry, it gets hysterical, and it gets neurotic.

5.      People who don't clean up after their dogs won't start doing it just because of leash. I only can imagine more dog poop on sidewalks.

6.      Supporters say that it's a good thing because in London and Berlin already have that bill. I'd like them to remember this is Prague. Much smaller than Berlin and London, attitude towards dog is different here and, most importantly, outside of Centre there are calm areas with a lot of parks.

7.      Bill also says that city districts can but don't have to select unrestricted places where dog are allowed to be without a leash. Can but don't have to? Don't have to? Seriously??

If you agree with me, here's a petition to stop this madness or at least restrict it a little. Thanks. 

About school

It's September which only means one thing - a lot of videos and posts about school. Be positive because school is fun, school clothes hauls, stationery hauls, how to make your own stuff for school... blah blah blah.

Here's my take on school.

All I was promised my whole school attendance was that things will get better. In kindergarten they told me that I'll be a big girl when I go to school. In elementary school they told me that without high school diploma I'm shit and that high school will be full of intelligent people. In high school they told me I'll study what I want when I go to university and also even with high school diploma I'm shit because I need a degree.

So I went to university and was frustrated once again. Bureaucracy, absurd rules and professors with so many degrees they forgot how to be human. Endless stream of information that was useless. And at the end of all of this bullshit awaits the holy gold degree. After that you learn you're shit even with a degree because you're too young, don't speak at least three languages, don't have any experience, don't know Photoshop and you have a drunken photo of yourself on Facebook. Congratulations. 

So I decided to fuck all this. I'm shit with high school diploma without a degree. My way of life might seem not very wise but I wouldn't change a thing. I'm happier than I've ever been.

Moral of the story?

Don't let anyone tell you what to do. Do what you feel is right and be happy.