Justine Crowley
Bio
Freelance Internet Moderator/UX Writer/UX Consulting Designer/Graphic Designer
http://smashwords.com/profile/view/JustineCrowley
linkedin.com/in/justinecrowley
Lives in Sydney, Australia. Loves life.
Stories (111/0)
- Top Story - August 2023
Why Writing is so Difficult, but Worth its Weight in Gold. Top Story - August 2023
Breaking into the writing profession (whether freelance or otherwise) is far from easy. Then again, I was not searching for the writing profession to accept with me with open arms. The profession came to me. In case you are wondering; the structure of this is part memoir, part wisdom.
By Justine Crowley8 months ago in Writers
Harmonious Simplicity
Kelly is a young, ambitious Interior Designer who seems to be having a quarter life crisis, and therefore is finding herself in a fork in a road kind of position. Life is overwhelming, combined with the added pressure to keep her head just above water in her work, as well as being unable to keep her one-bedroom apartment as clean as she would like it to be. Appearing to be successful on the outside, Kelly is craving the simple life, where peace and tranquility would be the by-product of such. Enjoying some rest on a mixed-weather of a weekend; Kelly finds an art deco like bookstore, and decides to grab a cup of joe by the window-side at the shops cafe. From there, Kelly finds inspiration in finding a Marie Kondo book to help her identify the things that bring, and that no longer brings joy during the tidying up process. A decluttering situation is the ace card here.
By Justine Crowley9 months ago in Chapters
Constructive Criticism Makes You a Better Writer & Human Being
Egos aside, who doesn't love a five star review on their work. Depending on the context, such reviews can either be helpful, or they can rightly downgrading, depending on what was said in such reviews. Earning a Top Story award on Vocal Media (and appropriately enough; speaking of things being in fives rather than threes); it has been fifth time successful for yours truly in that regard. Moreover, I digress. Successful outcomes as a by-product of your writing work; from winning a Top Story award on Vocal Media, to achieving yet another payout on Stripe, and even gaining new subscribers out of the blue; would such milestones in producing such quality workmanship be the keys towards being open to some constructive criticism/feedback on your work the majority (if not all) of the time? Absolutely.
By Justine Crowley9 months ago in Critique
A Long Weekend of Dog Sitting Was Incredibly Mind Blowing
We (really) do not deserve dogs. That is definitely true to form; yet yours truly had no idea of the magnitude of the challenges and the joys that come with being a dog owner; even if it was only for a few days. Prior to this dog sitting experience (thank you for my first side hustle lead so quickly, Mad Paws) - yours truly has had some dog sitting experience; yet only for dogs that I had known prior. Growing up, I was surrounded by more of the working breeds rather than a couple of cute "designer" like dogs with oodles of energy, with a meet and greet associated with such an experience.
By Justine Crowley9 months ago in Petlife
The Right Songs To Get You Out of Your Funk & Be More Productive.
I'll make this quick, so that you can hop to it, and finally take action on those tasks that you might have been putting off. Music (some cool, recommended beats) can be like your silent accountability partner here. No different to how fasting can help you lose weight, and save you some much needed money at the same time.
By Justine Crowley9 months ago in Beat
- Top Story - June 2023
Will Tay Tay's Eras Tour Boost Inflation Figures? Top Story - June 2023
Not to Blame musical legends Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, and even the Collingwood Magpies (I digress from the musicians; yet this iconic Melbourne-based football team do beat to a nice drum) for causing pleasant (or perhaps unpleasant) waves in a cities economy while selling out at their concerts and events, despite "tough" times, and a cost of living crisis; together with a housing crisis, and high inflation. No hate at all. In saying this, there was a TikTok creator who joked about Taylor Swift "saving" a cities economy if such a city gladly welcomes her on tour with open arms. They (as in Ed, Harry, and that AFL team that wear black and white striped jerseys) all raised inflation in Australia in early 2023, according to Shane Wright from The Age. These musicians (and the AFL footy lads) are entrepreneurs, and they deserve to be adequately compensated for their travel time, rehearsal (in the case of a contact sport, training) time; and for the fruits of their hard work in being entertaining to us all in tough times or otherwise. Inspiration should also be taken on the positive impacts they have made to our love of music and cool beats. And to sport for a team of supposed inflation boosters, who apparently "peck" on you in a different way.
By Justine Crowley10 months ago in Beat
Third Time is Not a Charm with Covid
Hands up (metaphorically speaking of course) who (once upon a time in the last year or two) was so keen to go out and socialise with others in the flesh? On this, I appreciate that I live in a country which was popularised as the strictest country (the land down under) in the world in terms of movement restrictions; of what could and could not be done while the pandemic was alive and kicking. Whether you are a lucky one to have survived it like the plague (sorry, terrible pun) or you have had a triple (maybe even a quadruple infection, I empathise) infection like yours truly has had; this bloody illness has rocked all of our worlds in one way, shape, or form.
By Justine Crowley11 months ago in Motivation
An Awesome Playlist to Get You Through Life's Ups & Downs
Isn't music the universal language of the soul? Even if us humans have different things in common, combined with different values and life experiences; it is fair to say that music is the glue that keeps us sane, regardless as to what is going on, right here and right now. Then why would YouTube even exist? Same with Spotify? Why would we even bother with the ARIA charts if none of us appreciated music, and by listening to it. From the bottom of my heart; thank you to whoever invented music in the first place, as well as the concept of playlists.
By Justine Crowley11 months ago in Beat
How a Recent Upper Back Muscle Spasm Did a Full Quantum Leap On My Life
For some people, pain of this magnitude can be severe; yet on the overall scheme of things, an unexpected muscle spasm the day after Easter Monday was a mild to moderate inconvenience for yours truly at the time. In Matthew McConaughey's words, this pain was (and still is) a red light. The latter is on the basis of McConaughey's recent book called Greenlights. From time to time during this article, I will reference this delightful analogy, of which significantly helps the simple things become massive. In short, this article will be a memoir, combined with sharing some pivotal pearls of wisdom that will surely benefit you. Take what you need, and leave the rest. Save yourself some of the pain that I had to experience, in order for the right ship to come and pass.
By Justine Crowleyabout a year ago in Lifehack
I Was Invited To Give Up Dairy For An Entire Week: The Lowdown (Memoir)
My cheese has been moved (literally). There is no need to cry over spilt milk, because there really isn't any. It is canny how opportunities come to you when you ask some quality questions. Based on the title of this article; all of this is quite personal and intimate. Quitting dairy (going cold turkey on dairy) for nine days straight was no easy feat. It was all in the name of losing a bit of weight, as well as gaining a bit of moolah from a paid research project on the effects of consuming lactose on the digestive system in particular. Some really cool coin was offered as an incentive, as well as the golden opportunity to rise to yet another almost impossible challenge, and here we are.
By Justine Crowleyabout a year ago in Motivation
Capitalism On Both Ends Of The Stick: My Two Cents Worth
What this article is about, and is not about. This article highlights all sides of capitalism. It is a political and tender subject, yet needless to say, it is not a criticism or a complaint of any politician who was and is in power, as at the time of writing this. This article is about the system created by Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations, and that the system as a whole is a complex machine; where creativity should (and I am not saying this lightly) trump over rigidity and linear ways of thinking. Again, what this article is about is sharing some recent perspectives of capitalism; both the joys and the constructive criticisms of such, of which some of these concepts could be quite personal in nature; simply to illustrate a point. It is not a full rundown or debate on this system; otherwise this article would be a thesis in and of itself; and quite frankly, I do not have the time or inclination for that right now. It is encouraging you to think a little deeper if you so choose to, in order to be aware, and to make your own decisions.
By Justine Crowleyabout a year ago in The Swamp