I wasn’t supposed to post anything today, out of sheer laziness of course. But I logged in anyway, and found that Time is No Enemy had nominated me for the Liebster Award! A pleasant surprise, really!
She’d only nominated three, and being one of them really made my day. Before I do as the rules demand, I’d like to thank you, Chelsea, for the honour. I’m glad to have come across your blog, with its mix of inspirational pieces, creative writing, reviews and opinions. It’s definitely a must-read, must-follow.
This being my first ever blog, I was always uncertain of what I was doing, and had trouble finding the motivation to continue. Each and every one of you who happened to stumble across this blog became my motivation. So, I’d like to thank you for being there, and being the reason why I’m still here.
But everything comes with a price, right?
The price for accepting this award, is to answer a set of questions. Thankfully, I don’t need money for that, so I’ve accepted it.
Come at me, questions!
1) Why did you start your blog?
I started this blog to force myself to write, because I found myself claiming that I loved writing, but never actually getting down to writing anything. I hadn’t done any serious, committed writing in an entire year! When I did finally decide to hit the create though, I had the What the heck would you write, and who the heck would read that? fright. It almost made me put everything on private. Cracked self-confidence, probably.
2) How do you define happiness?
I think happiness lies in finding “the big things in the little thing”, as a fellow blogger worded it. To me, happiness is up to us; if we’re willing to be grateful for what we’re blessed, or if we’ll continue to complain about those things we don’t have.
3) If you could live anywhere, where would it be and what would you be doing?
I would probably live in a Switzerland countryside with horses, mountains and all. During the day, I would be working on some sort of invention to cure places with not-so-fresh-air of their disease so everyone can have mountain-cool and healthy air. I’d spend my leisure time writing as a published author or painting (though I’d probably portray the mountains as marshmallows or so, because my hands aren’t very good at the fine art). Or horse riding, though I have never learnt how to. Night times would have to be sky-gazing and star watching, with a telescope, if possible.
I’d have to have no wi-fi connection to actually do any of that though, of course.
4) What does an average day look like?
My day starts at 6am with a bowl of cereal and a one-hour drive. I’m still studying, so the rest of the day is the usual eat, study, fail a test, eat again cycle and another one-hour drive back home. Then, it depends on the time of the year; if it’s exam season, I’ll probably be scribbling story ideas into the scrap book with too many pages torn out. If it’s any other time of the year, I’ll spend the time texting the “Owl that got away” instead of doing my homework.
If I happen to be on holiday though, the “study, fail a test” part of the day becomes “tell myself not to get on the computer and end up on it all day”.
5) What makes you smile?
Almost anything cute can make me smile instantly, but unexpected surprises that money can’t buy keeps the smile coming back over and over again; this includes conversations, complements, coincidences, or well, surprise awards *wink*.
6) Beverage of choice?
Cappuccino, hot and cold. Minus the ice though, I hate when it melts into the drink and makes it terribly watery. Unless the ice is in water, of course.
7) Any weird writing quirks or routines?
When I’ve got hundreds of more important things to do, my brain wires into that long-forgotten novel idea and starts pumping scenes and dialogues into my head. So I scribble little notes down so I can get back to them when I’ve got the load off my shoulders, but by the time I’m actually free though, the scribbles just don’t want to connect to one another.
Brainstorming just rips it all apart and then I leave it to die out in my head again.. until the next time I’ve got a fate-deciding deadline the next morning or an exam in half an hour.
8) Who are your inspirations?
I know this may be very cliché, but my inspirations come from the people closest to me; family and close friends. This is because I know exactly what they’ve been through, and it makes them perfect people in my eyes. They play a huge role in my life, and I know I can make a difference in theirs.
9) When did you start writing?
I started writing in first grade, I think? If i wrote before that, I forgot, and I doubt I did. My teacher then (the one I want to meet again) encouraged me to write more by taking my (pathetic) stories and shelving them in the class “library”, for my classmates to read. I’m pretty sure I haven’t written that much, so confidently, in ages.
10) What is your biggest fear?
I fear the fear of failure. Though I think my cockroach, spider and public speaking phobias have greater effects on me when I’m forced to face them. I’m also scared of the dark when I know there’s a bug in the room.
11) In 10 years, where do you want to be?
I want to be here on WordPress, on this blog. But if you meant an actual location, then I would like to be where I’d described in #3. I understand that’s virtually impossible, but it’s okay to want such a thing, right? The one place I don’t want to be though, is in my non-existent-novel’s world, because I want to have finished off with it before ten years pass.
Facts about me:
1. The one time I tried to stop a fight, I ended up with a scar on my face.. It’s not too bad, but it’s there, and I’ll never forget that kid.
2. I started wearing a headscarf (hijab) when I was three; it was yellow and so were my shoes.
3. I have a short long-term memory. All I remember from first grade is the kid who puked on my first day, and my teacher Ms Eileen who I’d do anything to meet again.
4. I don’t only suffer writer’s block, but also texter’s block. Sometimes, it takes me a day or two to text normally again.
5. I don’t understand how people can “lose their appetites” when they’re sick. I’m pretty sure I eat a lot more then than I usually do!
6. I’m the kind of person who would rather stick to a strict diet than break a sweat to exercise; I’ve lost 10kg so far without working out. I can’t say no to chocolate, cakes and junk though, so the numbers are always changing.
7. I never knew Malaysia existed until the day my dad told me we were moving here.. My friends here still seem surprised that Canadians come in all colours and races.
8. When my first best friend ever, in second grade, moved away to Libya, I gave her my number and told her to call me.. She never did. I haven’t called anyone my “best” friend since. (Though Lima Bean, aka Owl, gets closest)
9. I just have to buy every cute notebook I come across, and then I put it away in the top shelf of my bookshelf to save it for the day I decide to write something “worth the covers”. Unfortunately, everything I want to write never seems to make the “worth it” cut, so I have ten notebooks now, waiting for me.
10. I miss the days when my sister was like, 8, because she’d love everything I’d write and it made me feel amazing. I wrote the most back then. But now she has her opinions and it does bad things to the flow of my writing.
11. Sometimes, I wish my Grand Fantasia account would get hacked or something, so I could actually do something useful with my spare time instead of waste it as a game addict.
Wow, I actually managed to answer all that. I didn’t believe I could!
Now, it’s my turn to nominate blogs for the Liebster Award.
I don’t know if this is allowed, but I just had to. If someone else nominated me, I’d definitely nominate you. I know you’ve already done your “duties upon receiving the award”, so you don’t have to repeat them, I guess. If you’re interested in answering the questions though, feel free to!
The Blackbird’s Nest may have a dark appearance, but it’s one of my favourite places to go; with the “button of doom”, Camila keeps me entertained for hours with the variety of her posts. Thank you for not labelling the button “don’t click this”!
In just about a month, Jane managed to pump her following all the way to 700! It’s amazing, really, but her work well deserves it! When she named her web address “fluency of words”, she definitely knew what she was doing.
This blog here is a collection of amazing pieces by Jack, and deserves a nomination. Many of his posts are thought-provoking, and kept me thinking long after I’d read it. He was also one of my first followers, and I’d like to thank him for all his support!
I know, I know, you’ve got your no-awards policy. But I just had to. You have an amazing blog, and I couldn’t hit the publish button without adding you here. Thank you for all your support!
If you choose to accept my nomination, then YOU must follow these rules:
1) Acknowledge and accept the Liebster Award by leaving a comment on the blog that nominated you.
2) Copy and paste the Liebster logo onto your blog.
3) Link back to the blogger who nominated you.
4) Answer the 11 questions posed to you by the person who nominated you.
5) List 11 random facts about yourself.
6) Nominate and link to 3—11 other blogs you enjoy that have less than 3000 followers.
7) List 11 questions for your Liebster Award nominees on your blog.
8) Inform your nominees by leaving a comment on their blog.
Nominees, here are your questions!
1) What made you start blogging, and what are your blogging goals?
2) If failure was impossible, what is one thing you’d do?
3) What is one thing you wish someone told you five years ago?
4) If you had 100 words to say to the entire world right now, what would they be?
5) What do you find yourself idly thinking about?
6) If you could live in a novel-world, which world would you choose to live in, and why?
7) If you could re-write the ending to a novel, which would you choose to change, and how would you end it?
8) Do you write better on the computer or on paper?
9) Are you a morning, afternoon, evening or night writer?
10) What is your favorite post you’ve ever written? (link too please!)
11) How many times do you usually proofread your work before finally hitting the “publish” button?
Jarrod C said:
Congratulations on your award! You should explore whiskey stones. It is a type of rock called Sandstone. They are used to chill your drink without diluting it as ice does when it melts. You simply put them in the freezer and take them out when ready to use them.
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A Space Within said:
Thanks! Congrats to you too! Wow, I never knew those existed! I’ll definitely give them a try if I can find some 😀 thanks!
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OhMyGod said:
I love how you answer the questions in such an entertaining way. Keep going gurl! Hope I still see you posting so amazingly on WordPress.com in 10 years Habibi. 😉 😛
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A Space Within said:
I can’t do any of it without your support 😉 You’ve always been my first reader for everything, and if you stop, I’ll stop. The typing style comes from our many gfo chats, ahaha ❤ I'm still waiting for you to start blogging too!
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OhMyGod said:
Ooof.
Much support.
So love.
Very cry.
😭😭😭
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Owl said:
I am mentally hugging the life out of you right now. Hope your not choking 😛
OMG KIWI I AM SO SHNOOZLING PROUD OF YOU 😍😍😍
Way to go bestie 😀
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A Space Within said:
Ahaha thank youuu!! I was gunna nominate you but you didn’t give me an un-empty link yet! 😦 eishh. Miss you ❤
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Ahmad Affendy said:
A thousand congratulations on your nomination! ^-^ Your blog and writing is motivation for me to strive to become a better writer for my own blog. I am already sticking to a weekly routine like you did and I am looking for ways to increase my blog traffic. I hope I can get nominated one day…
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A Space Within said:
Thank you, Fatih! It’s great to hear that! 😀 I’ve really got to check in on your blog more often..
I’m sure you will get nominated anytime soon! I wasn’t sure if cross-platform nominations were okay or not.. sorry 😦
Ps. I still think you should try transfer to WP, I think it’s community here’s more responsive.. 🙂
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Ahmad Affendy said:
I’ve been thinking about transferring to WordPress, but I do like using Blogspot at the same time. For me, it’s really easy to use because it’s hooked up to Google and my blog is already more than a year old. It feels rather daunting to shift all of my content to a new place… I don’t know, I’ll give it some more time. If I still don’t get the traffic I desire, then I will make the shift. So far, the Facebook page I started for my blog has increased visits, but not substantially.
Does visiting other blogs and leaving comments under their posts help? I tried doing that and it seems to work, but I could only visit so many new blogs a day.
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A Space Within said:
Alright, best of luck! Just go with what you’re comfortable with, I suppose 🙂 I heard it does help to hop through others’ blogs and leave comments, but it’s really time-consuming too I tried for a day or two, but the number of posts per blog per day is overwhelming!
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Time Is No Enemy said:
You answered the questions very well! Even if you didn’t want to :p. I definitely share your writing quirk. My creative mind always wants to work when there are a million things to do and then it just stops when I’m free. It is infuriating sometimes. I’m glad that this blog is helping you continue writing then. I went through patch when I kept saying I was a writer, but the only thing I wrote were essays and then it got to a point where I needed to just suck it up and write. I believe mostly is fear of writing is why we don’t write. At least for me. I feared it would be terrible each time I sat down.
You moved to Malaysia from Canada? How old were you if you don’t mind me asking. That’s a pretty big move! But sounds like it could be pretty great at the same time. And I definitely think your idealistic world is very serene. I would miss the wifi, but at the same time, there is a beauty in not having any.
I will happily answer your questions too, thank you for nominating me 🙂
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A Space Within said:
Thank you! Wow, I thought I was the only one 😛 It’s downright frustrating, ahaha. Sometimes though, I like the freedom in being able to escape to another world just when this one gets a little overwhelming 🙂
Ah, that fear would be a reason for me too. The mental critic seems to trash every idea that forms in my head 😦 But I think my wi-fi causes more “should have been spent writing” time..
I was just 11 when we moved here. Yeah, it really was a huge change; climate, culture, language and all. But I think the abundance and variety of food and fruits helped me get used to it all, ahaha 😛
Can’t wait to read your answers! x
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Blackbird said:
Hey there! Thank you so much for the nomination!
I’m a few days late (I think… Wait, what day is it?) in even properly acknowledging this, but I finally just managed to get my nose out of my chapter revisions. (so tired @.@)
I shall go work on answering those questions now! 😀
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A Space Within said:
Totally deserved it 🙂 sorry I didn’t reply sooner, I see you’ve already posted it! Heading over to read it right now 😀
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trablog said:
congratulations and Thank you so much for nominating me for the liebster award 🙂 I though you are a good girl who doesn’t break the rules. But you broke the rules and nominated me against my no-award policy! 😀 Thank you so much for including my name among these amazing bloggers. Your name is written in golden letters on my Award page 😀 Do check 🙂
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A Space Within said:
Ahaha, some rules are meant to be broken 😉 I mean, I feel the no-award policy is as tempting as “Don’t open” 😛 Thanks for the special spot on the page!
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trablog said:
Haha.. How did you know my secret?!! I wanted more awards and set up that policy.. shhh.. don’t tell anyone. Maybe you can also try it 😀 😉
It my pleasure to have your presence in my page 🙂
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A Space Within said:
Ahaha I think “you shouldn’t try it” would tempt me to put up a no-awards policy too 😉 but of course, you probably knew that too 😛
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trablog said:
haha 😛
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Jack Sutter said:
Thank you for the nomination 😀 (and good choice on Fluency, her blog is awesome).
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