Hi readers! It’s been awhile. Eighteen whole months! Or more!
Long enough that I really should re-introduce myself.
I’m Astrid, a 31 year old Sydney-sider with myriad interests. I spent my twenties trying out many different careers, and now I’ve settled into a 9-5 reception/admin job because I realised that I work well with that kind of structure.
That job is the main reason I paused the blog for so long. At first I was just getting my head around a new job and the mental energy that it needed. And then I lost that initial momentum so it took me awhile to get back here (and months of thinking ‘I want to start blogging again!’ Before actually getting to it).
A secondary reason is my mental health. Last year was actually a pretty good year for me in regards to mental health, but I also learned a lot about myself. I got a diagnosis of ADHD (Combined type, predominant Inattentive for those curious/who know about these things). Researching the condition has helped me explain a lot of things about myself – things I always thought were ‘flaws’ or ‘quirks’ or ‘oddities’. And it also might explain my jumping from career to career and hobby to hobby (and starting three blogs!).
And something funny I’ve realised is that the name of this blog, ‘Follow the White Whale’, is an apt metaphor for an aspect of ADHD – hyperfocus – that I never had a name for, before researching more about my diagnosis. It’s an intense focus that causes someone to forget about the time, responsibilities, and other needs. Unless there’s an outside interruption, it might not stop.
So anyway, I’m back here, hoping to utilise some of the strategies I’m learning to get Moby Dick finished. I have plans for this blog that go beyond this book, but I gotta finish it first because it’s what this blog is named after!
Finally, if you’re reading this, welcome back! If this is the first time you’re stumbling upon my blog, welcome! I’m going to make an effort to post once a week, summarising ten chapters per post this time. Next week, I’ll provide a recap of what I got up to when I stopped blogging in 2018 and after that, we’ll be back into regularly reading through The White Whale.
Wish me luck!
Follow the White Whale 