#seattlesummer

Do you ever get so immersed in something that everything else ceases to exist? I have a habit of hyperfocusing ️ on whatever I’m working on.

The past year I’ve spent writing my book ⌨️has been intense. but it wasn’t just writing ✍️—It’s all the other stuff I didn’t know I was going to have to do. 

In my head I thought I could write 50K words  & give it to someone who would clean it up & turn it into a book.  Not even close!

I’ve worked with four editors—each helped me through a stage of my book journey. ️ My marketing & revisions editor, @what_chauncey, has done most of the heavy lifting.  In addition to editing & advising ‍ he’s also been a wrangler & therapist. ‍⚕️ He knows so much. I’m starting to wonder how I’m going to carry on without him!

There have been many #sleeplessinseattle nights  I think caused by doing things outside my  comfort zone. Running a crowdfunding campaign felt like the worst,  until the IG announcement about moving to video & shopping️ which threw me for a loop. Gotta thank @phillip.wilcox.author for restoring calm. 

“Blogging on Instagram” is scheduled to be printed at the end of August. ️ I’m finalizing the cover & the interior layout right now.  You guys inspired my book.  Thank you all for your advice & for sharing your experiences with me.

I’ve been looking forward to free time, but learned I need to set up interviews ️ & develop an article series & other marketing activities.  I didn’t know I’d have to do stuff like this. Sometimes I want to crawl under the covers. 

And there’s more! I need to plan a book launch sometime in late September.  I’d love some advice or ideas! 

Have you planned a launch or opening event?  Can you think of a fun activity venue  or event that you’d enjoy if you could be here with me? I hope some of you can come, Covid permitting! 

Thanks again for your help!  Have a great weekend!
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Photos: #onmywalk #sewardparkloop. #boatingseason on #lakewashington #parkbench #sewardpark #seattlesummer #firsttimeauthor #bloggingoninstagram
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(at Seward Park)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSQ5Ampr2UC/?utm_medium=tumblr

Are you a polyglot? @queenhorsfall is! ️ I like to learn words in other languages but like many Americans, I can only speak English. 

I’m a third-generation Japanese American (sansei) & have lived in Seattle for six decades. Most of the Japanese I learned were niceties to say to my grandparents,  but as a kid, I also picked up essential words like “baka” (idiot) & “hanakuso” (booger). 

This week I learned “Shikata ga nai,” means, “It can’t be helped.” Podcast host @GuyKawasaki described it another way: “It is what it is, so stop feeling sorry for yourself & suck it up.” 

Guy did a podcast  with Jeanne Wakatsuki, the author of a memoir, Farewell to Manzanar.  Manzanar was one of 10 camps built to corral Japanese Americans during WWII.   In his prologue, Guy says Jeanne has traveled to educate people with the hope that nothing like this happens again. I hope that, too. ⚠️

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led the US to enact #ExecutiveOrder9066 to stop espionage. ️‍♂️ Fear, suspicion, & war hysteria led to the three-year incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese American citizens. 

During the war, my family ‍‍‍ was dispatched to a concentration camp at Tule Lake in northern California. ☀️ It’s the Japanese way to quietly endure & overcome.  My bestie & I (both sansei) have talked about how the camp experience did a real psychological number on our parents. 

Can you imagine in current times  locking up people because of their ethnicity or beliefs?  How about their medical status?
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I discovered the #RemarkablePeople podcast  through my professor @erickoester. Guy has fascinating conversations with interesting people—remarkable people, actually . I hope you’ll check out & subscribe to his podcast. The link is in my bio.
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Family update: oldest son arrived home safely! Photos: #roses #hydrangea #chrysanthemum #funeralflowers #godspeed #summercolors #summerflowers from #Charmaine&Bill #pixelphotos #googlepixel #Seattlesummer #Seattleinthesummer # #macro_delight #japanesewords
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. (at Madrona)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CR-3fCbrB9M/?utm_medium=tumblr

When it comes to the content you share here, do you “stay in your lane?” ️

Recently I tried mixing up my content  and the results were not good.

When I don’t march to the beat of the algorithm,  IG won’t surface my content to as many people. 

I don’t know how it is for you, but it’s not just that certain photos are better — it’s more because they fit a certain photo category type that IG feels is suited to what people want to see. ️

But sometimes we don’t know what we want to see until we see it. 

My tests haven’t been scientific, ‍ but they’ve shown what happens when I post anything other than nature photos  and macros. 

And it made me wonder if you’ve experienced the same thing? 

I think the fear of losing likes and comments discourages some of us from shooting and sharing random, or “in the moment.”

Have you decided to switch from color  to black  and white or change from cityscapes  to outdoor activities,  or something different? What happened? Did the algorithm adjust?

Hiding “likes” was meant to encourage creators to be creative — to post whatever you want without worrying about engagement numbers. But it’s not that satisfying  because IG can’t figure out what to do with you. ‍♀️

When I returned to sharing what Instagram wants me to share (flowers & nature), my numbers started to go up again. 

Has your content been “pigeonholed,” or categorized by IG? ❓

Wishing you all safe and well

Photos: #succulentsgarden #succulentssaturday #succulentslove #succulentsofinsta #shadowhunters #shadowphotography #shadowsandlights #reflectionsinwater #reflectionshots #seattlesummer #onmywalk #onmywalktoday #stayinmylane #stayinyourlane

PS: Update with family — all is well. It’s a sad reason to come home, but our oldest son is coming back for the memorial service. We haven’t see him or our daughter-in-law @queenhorsfall since Christmas of 2018, and we can’t wait!

(at Madrona)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRs1bDps_nn/?utm_medium=tumblr

Do you seek changes in your life, or does change happen to you? 

The past few weeks have been rugged.  On the heels of submitting my book manuscript,  IG made announcements about turning the platform into a ️ “video and shopping” channel. ️ It threw me for a loop, and I had to quickly pivot and recover.

Today a family member passed away.  It was anticipated, but even when we expect something like this, it sets a lot of things in motion including behaviors you don’t expect.h ⚙️

In thinking about uninvited changes, I found a resource. A book by M.J. Ryan called Adaptability: How to Survive Change You Didn’t Ask For. It talks about adaptability and how to master it. She made an important point: “Change isn’t the enemy—fear is.”  When you stop to think of it that way, you realize it’s true.

She says there are four steps we can take to help us adapt in the future: 

 Acceptance

 Expand your options

 Taking action

 Strengthen adaptability

It reminds me of a saying – there’s no use worrying about things you can’t change .

Do you ever think about how you impact others,  and how your absence would affect them? 

Wishing you all safe and peaceful weekends. ☮️

Photos: Taken last week when I was #onmywalktoday with my sister. #macroflowers #onmywalk #summercolors #summerflowers #pixelphotos #Seattlesummer #Seattleinthesummer #pixelphotography #macro_delight #Seattlegardens #seattleflowers

(at Madrona)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRayWwXsu0q/?utm_medium=tumblr