What gets measured gets done!
I am glad to report to myself that during the first three months of 2022, I have been very active in my creative activities like writing, sketching/painting and photography. The climax was when I launched my book The Joy of Cycling in Putrajaya on 26th March 2022 at The Cyclists Cafe in Putrajaya.
On 10th January 2022, I posted my first story to The Medium, one of the world’s biggest online writing platforms where there are more than 150,000 writers and 100m readers. It is a great writing platform for me to learn about writing and read the writings of others. To be a member I have to pay $5 per month.
During the last three months, I have posted 53 stories and gained 151 followers. To date, there are 1190 reads of my stories. This is much better than my blogs. Now, my blogs are for personal records and sharing on my social media.
Last year, I promised myself to be better at pen sketching and learn more about watercolours. I love arts but I was never good at the artwork. That is why I became an engineer. My friends told me that my left brain is more powerful than my right brain. To check this out, I attended a MENSA test carried by MENSA Malaysia and I got a certificate that my IQ is 130.
Anyway, I prefer to listen to my heart more than my brain as I get older. During this first quarter, I did 138 pen sketches and watercolour paintings. The bad ones I kept in the sketchbook but the few good ones I shared on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get feedback so that I can improve my work.
My Photowalk activities were badly affected by the rise of COVID-19 cases and strict Movement Control Order. Whenever I go out walking in Bangi or cycling in Putrajaya, I took photos using my smartphone. My mirrorless camera Fujifilm XT 20 is collecting dust at home.
In February 2022, I subscribed to Smugmug, the owner of Flickr so that I can use its better features to store my photos and sell photos. At the same time, I keep my Flicker account that curated more than 100,000 photos I took in the last 16 years since 2005. To date, I have selected about 1000 photos from Flickr to move to Smugmug. Now I am learning how to sell my photos using Smugmug.
By indulging in these creative activities on the daily basis, I get more creative and my life is getting more interesting even at my age of 69 years old.
