The first month of 2018 has come and gone, and it was definitely an eventful month.

Coding

• I was awarded Google Developer Challenge Scholarship from Google and Udacity to work on the Frontend Development Track.
  • Started learning JavaScript for the first time.
• Finished #100DaysOfCodeChallenge Round 1 – and blogged about it!  I’m making steady headway into R2.
• Attended CocoaPods NYC Coding Meetup every Saturday morning, which, if you know anything about me, is a huge accomplishment because I am not a morning person- especially on the weekends!
• I began teaching myself Python again, which surprisingly, I enjoy a lot more than I did when I tried half a year ago; what a difference half a year and a 100 day coding challenge makes 😉
  • I’d been avoiding it like the plague since July-ish, when I tried for the first time, and just couldn’t grasp any of the concepts and got too frustrated with the lack of direction and accessible resources.  Now, I know where to look for things and how to ask for resources from the Internet, so it’s going a lot smoother than before.

Financials

• I started the #100DaysOfSaving challenge in the end of December, and have been keeping daily logs of how much I spend every day. This system isn’t too obtrusive, so it’s been easier for me to keep up.
  • If you’re interested in the color-coding system, I have the Github Repo available at hiroko.github.io/100daysofsaving.
  • My goal is to have  50 “Blue Days” (No Spend Days) out of the 100.

• I opened a Roth IRA account and dumped in the max contribution amount for 2017 (you have until April to make contributions for 2017).
  • I’ll be contributing to this mostly until I max it out for 2018, and then move back to contributing to my independent investment portfolio. Might as well take advantage of tax-sheltered earnings!
• My roommate got a new job, so moved out at the end of the month.  This threw a huge wrench into my 2018 savings goal (which, according to most people, was a ridiculous attempt anyways).
  • I’ve decided that for now, I’m going to remain in this apartment without a roommate, and see how my finances are affected.  I can always get a new roommate, but it’s rather difficult to kick one out 😉

Health

• I #100DaysOfHealth Challenge, and began to consistently workout/go to the gym at least 2 times a week.  Right now, I’m averaging 2-3 times a week, which is a marked difference from big-fat-0 average.
• I did Pilates for the first time last week, and holy crap that hurt so bad good????
• I completed a 30 Day Darebee Abs Challenge. Don’t have a 6 pack, but I do see a tiny sliver of 2-pack starting…?? Just kidding. No, it’s not. But I can always dream 😛
• I also completed a 30 Day Crunches Challenge, which began at 20 (and my god my neck was in so much pain for a week or 2….) and ended at 150.
  • What a difference a few weeks doing crunches makes!! No more neck pain either! Just the burning in my upper-abs!
• I’ve been looking for ways to eat better for cheap and easily. I’m rather fond of the “microwave-steamed veggies for everything!” technique…

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Just made bunch of steamed veggies w/ microwave steamer. It's a LIFESAVER!

So easy + fast. Just chop veggies, microwave 1-3 min (dep on type of veggie) + done!

Steaming help retain nutrients lost when boiling in water! #100DaysOfSaving #100DaysOfHealth #100DaysOfX #MealPrep pic.twitter.com/7plThBAAGs

— Hiroko Nishimura (@hirokonishimura) January 21, 2018

• I am still on Chemo for my Rheumatoid Arthritis, but since my last appointment in beginning of December, my rheumatologist adjusted my appointment to once every 2 months instead of monthly, which is a good sign.
  • He told me that he doesn’t expect me to be coming off the meds any time in the next half year, but that I’m making very good progress.
  • I still have hair 😛
  • I still take pain killers daily, but since the summer, it’s gone down from 4 pills to 1. One of these days, I’d like to stop destroying my stomach and not have to take one at all.

Work & The Hustle

• I’ve started to look into what side hustles I can do now, and what I can work up to.  Especially with my roommate moving out, some months might be a little tighter than I would like, and in general, I should have some income source that I can rely on for paying for the wifi bill or the electricity bill.
  • I want to work up to being able to do paid work in the house (ie: WordPress Designing, G Suite Administration, Writing), but for now, I’ve identified a few things I can start doing now for some extra cash.
• I started Dog Walking/Sitting at Rover, and got my first client! He is adorable, and has 2 meow-siblings. I get paid, I get my puppy time in, and I get my walking in (which, according to my fitbit, puts me in “fat burning” heart rate level, which is double thumbs up for me).
  • Do you want to become a dog sitter or dog walker too? You can sign up here.
  • I get paid $15~20 for half hour walks for these (but you should set your rate to be competitive with your area; I live in NYC, so fees can be a little higher and still get clients).
• I’ve acquired a few families who are willing to have me as an on-call Babysitter.  I interviewed with them, and they will hit me up if a need comes up, for $15~17/hr.
  • They were disappointed that I was not available for them full-time/long-term/consistently, so I’m glad to find that I can still earn a decent amount of cash working as a babysitter or nanny if such a need arises, when I have a lot of free time.
• Getting clients in these “soft skills” was kind of an exercise for myself to confirm that I still am able to be resourceful about finding emergency cash if I needed to, whether it be because I am out of work for some reason, or need some extra cash for some purchase or a trip.
• Another cash source is Tutoring.  I haven’t pulled this card out yet, but this is by far the most lucrative.
  • I used to make $1000/mo tutoring, when I was tutoring 3 nights a week, back when I was making a little over 60% of my current salary (but I also worked a 9-5 instead of 8-5).
  • However, this is a little more commitment-heavy than the other 2, so I haven’t looked into it yet (as parents generally want consistent tutoring for their kids).

Writing

• An article was published at The Mighty (you can read the original HERE).
  • Submitting and being accepted to The Mighty or related publication was something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, so I’m glad that I got to start out 2018 with an acceptance and publication.
• An article was published at the Asian Women for Health Blog (you can read the original HERE).
• I want to continue pitching and writing this year, because writing has been such an important part of my life.  It’s been difficult to pick it back up after my brain injury, because I am slightly aphasic now, which makes writing and language more difficult for me.  I can no longer compose prose like I used to, which is both upsetting and frustrating.
• But with the idea that more practice = progress, I’ve been reading a lot, picked this blog back up, and in general looking for ways to improve my writing.

Lifestyle

• Watched: Black Mirror Season 4, Owari no Seraph Seasons 1 + 2 (am I the only person who thinks this is just Shingeki no Kyojin in Japan?)
• Read: 12 books
• Bought $$$ worth of furniture from IKEA, which my boyfriend built for me over a weekend, so now I have an actual dresser for the first time (in the almost 3 years I’ve been living in this apartment), and a standing desk to work on.
  • I also bought a shelf unit so I can start cleaning up my living room and make more space.
  • Having a standing desk makes working from home so much easier, because now I can raise or lower the desk every few hours so I don’t get as much back pain, and I’ve finally been able to move my workstation from the dining room in the living room.
  • And wow! A dresser! I feel so adult, having an actual dresser… And my room is suddenly so much less cluttered. My clothes in boxes were such an eyesore!
  • Also, it made me realize just how much underwear I have… Good Jesus. Why is it so hard to throw away underwear and socks?

In Recap…

A lot of things happened at work, and a lot of things happened in my personal life.

All in all, January was a very eventful month, and I’m hoping it’ll chill out for the rest of the year, but at the same time, kind of excited to see where I will be in 11 months.

How has your January been? Did it set a good tone for 2018?

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Hello, NYC 🗽
(It's raining in Manhattan) pic.twitter.com/9skkJHczvv

— Hiroko Nishimura (@hirokonishimura) January 23, 2018