I would like to share various updates, alongside my(long) list of apologies.

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Why I have not been able to produce (any) YouTube videos.

I firstly apologise for what seemed to be significant lapse between my last video upload.

For context, I recently moved and have settled into a new place. Alongside learning some thing(s) new.

And of the more untimely, is anxiety surrounding my industry. Not just within UX, but creative as a whole.

The news headlines on "layoffs" we see everywhere, is not fiction. This may not seem news to many, but businesses, large and small, everyone practically is “doing it tough”. 

But getting back to the reason why I have not been able to film. It is simply my new surroundings, that which I have little control.

I have never been in a position thus far, to say this. No other time in my life I can ever recall being prejudicial. But I am slowly understanding / come to terms to what it’s like living next to public housing tenants.

I live within a complex of six. Free standing villas. One day things seem safe for me to plan my recording. But next day not so much.

A quick Google on "public housing tenants" and you're not far off from the following themes : mental illness, domestic violence, alcohol and drugs.

I realise futility quickly reels in despite having submitted two cases in writing. Here in Western Australia -  it takes a lot of convincing for authorities to respond. Unless multiple police records are present by other owners within the strata (owner's corporation or "body corporate" for those outside of down-under), nothing is being done. 

Calling the cops is one thing. But trying to stay incognito ~ is another.

Provoking any attention, to not one but a group under influence of drugs, alcohol and mental illness is no laughing matter. It's only a matter of when, not if - that they may go after you.

I realize, that at least here in Australia ~ people more often than not over-casualize everything.  Often glossing-over between trivial and serious. 

But soon I will pass my very first year of settlement. Although I'd wager I won't be celebrating much in peace. And  I don't think there is any time soon, that which I shall prompt my apologies once again ~ to ably return to video content creation. 

The book rewriting & website progress.

Sitting at roughly 400 pages I still have much to do unfortunately. 

I've already begun working on the visuals inbetween propositions and elaborations. Nutrition and science often rely on analogies inbetween word and visuals. Getting these right, not once but throughout the 400 pages is difficult work.  

But the priority is always, correcting and optimising the writing itself. For context, this alone has been going for two and half years. Often requiring a lot of mental force; threading through my own embarrassments. Non-sequitors, unfinished train-of-thoughts, to name a few.

One day I am proud to have written something compelling. Then severe regrets the next day. 

Rarely do I “envy” anyone better than me. But here is an exception - I envy anyone who can string together essays to poetic and persuasive proportions, yet still having a “life” outside of being a writer. Likewise ~ anyone who can face the camera, no other takes than just one (1) ~ stringing together convincing narratives without flash-cards, notes, jump-cuts, gaps or blanks. I call that a life worth exchanging, if only for a day.   

The (new) Website.

For those not aware over how much is involved, my "plan" for the website redesign and front-end, despite not 100% "confident",  is as follows.

1. UX and UI Design first (obviously).
2. Setup a new subdomain staging site.
3. Begin re-development and troubleshoot.
4. Manual updating of new articles ~ between Nutritional Humility and the staging site.
   1. For each and every new article written, each must be duplicated manually in the staging site.
5. When all is done, (one-click) migrate the staging site to the live site.

I am open for any comments and/or thoughts whether the above makes sense.

The strength in WordPress® is also its biggest weakness. Decentralized ecosystem of plugins and themes = "wild-west" user experience(s).  There is no "middle" ground of use cases. Either you are a blogger reliant on a theme doing the majority of the work, or you simply have to know everything about coding.

In this case, even if I'm trying to strive in the middle ground ~ learning front-end from the ground up (Oxygen® builder if anyone must know) and despite all tutorial(s) available ~ I feel there are always degrees of uncertainty. There are too many variables in a project, no matter how "simple" that can break things apart.

Conclusion

If anyone can be as patient as I am, then I hope there is some mutual agreeableness here.

After all, tying together subjects of expired foods, philosophy and intermittent fasting - is not exactly your typical archetype “dieting” book. 

No matter if the goal post seem further and further away. A goal post, is still a goal post.

If the future is hopeless (which it's always been), then there's no shame at looking back. That at least, reminds me I have done something worthwhile, and to keep at it, than nothing at all. 

Live it forward,

AW.