Hey there!
I submitted my last essay today. And had my Spanish oral exam too. I am done with my Bachelor degree (except for the Spanish written, but that'll be cool with the help of a study group :)!
Does this mean I can read as much of whatever I want now? Does this mean I can do as much salsa dancing as I can? Does this mean I can finally concentrate on my WiP???
No.
If this was a vlog, this is the part where I hunch forward and pout at the camera. Because guess what?
I'm moving. And I don't even know when. Due to some things (which I won't go into right now), my house is being put on the market this week. My housemate and her boyfriend have started getting the house cleaned and packed away. Now that I'm done with assignments, it's my turn to do as much as is left. The house could be turned over as soon as next week, or as late as the end of December.
No dancing (hopefully some though). No reading (except during breaks at work, or on the bus).
I will try and do at least 300 words a day though. There are no other (English) words taking up my brain so I think I can manage that. 300 always leads to more anyway. It's just a small amount so that I don't feel guilty about not writing more.
It's a great idea I got from Anne Lamott's writing book Bird by Bird. If you're ever feeling down about your writing or life (what writer doesn't feel this occasionally?), read it for some inspiration.
:D
Monday 22 November 2010
Friday 12 November 2010
Mooncow
Hey guys. I had a massive brain fart today.
Whenever I looked at the clock, I was seeing an hour earlier. Or I figured that my calculations in catching the early bus would give me the extra time I needed to get some chores done before work. I dunno.
I got called ten minutes after my shift was supposed to start and in that second I realised my mistake. And I completely flipped out. When I got to work my boss was saying:
"Calm down, it's okay. She was worried about you."
I had a private lesson first up. I like to think that I'm a professional swim instructor. I always get to work early, try to involve the parents, and treat my students, the parents and my co-workers with respect.
Clearly the mother of my first student today thinks so too, at least partly.
"I just hope she's okay," she said to my boss when I didn't turn up.
It's flattering to think that something must have happened for me not to be there. It's also touching when the parents show concern. I get a similar feeling when they express trust and/or gratitude.
Nothing happened to me. I just turned into a space cadet for the day.
This has made me realise something today. I am getting pretty stressed. I think I need to take a break from the Internet for a while and focus on my studies. It may take a week or more. I will be back though, because having increased my followers over the past few weeks *waves* has made me confident in my posting, and it's a great motivation to post.
So, keep well. Hasta luego.
Whenever I looked at the clock, I was seeing an hour earlier. Or I figured that my calculations in catching the early bus would give me the extra time I needed to get some chores done before work. I dunno.
I got called ten minutes after my shift was supposed to start and in that second I realised my mistake. And I completely flipped out. When I got to work my boss was saying:
"Calm down, it's okay. She was worried about you."
I had a private lesson first up. I like to think that I'm a professional swim instructor. I always get to work early, try to involve the parents, and treat my students, the parents and my co-workers with respect.
Clearly the mother of my first student today thinks so too, at least partly.
"I just hope she's okay," she said to my boss when I didn't turn up.
It's flattering to think that something must have happened for me not to be there. It's also touching when the parents show concern. I get a similar feeling when they express trust and/or gratitude.
Nothing happened to me. I just turned into a space cadet for the day.
This has made me realise something today. I am getting pretty stressed. I think I need to take a break from the Internet for a while and focus on my studies. It may take a week or more. I will be back though, because having increased my followers over the past few weeks *waves* has made me confident in my posting, and it's a great motivation to post.
So, keep well. Hasta luego.
Thursday 11 November 2010
Curls and Freckles
Body image. And positive body image. It's not just to do with size and shape. Many other things come in to play when people look at themselves and think: God, what is that?
Two things that I'm particularly happy with, but so many people complain about, are my freckles and curly hair.
Growing up, I never thought freckles were a bad thing. They were just part of me. Then I got to high-school and other girls started to complain about their freckles. In the later years I had a friend, where I found that 'brightening' cream in her bathroom. The stuff that's supposed to remove 'sun imperfections'. We were seventeen for chrissake! Wear sunscreen if you are worried, but that should also be to prevent, oh I don't know, Cancer. If you have skin anything like mine, freckles are inevitable. And they're beautiful.
The magazines didn't help - well, they were better with this than other stuff, but still - with their quotes of
"Don't try to cover freckles with extra layers of foundation."and
"Stop trying to hide freckles, (such'n'such a brand) has even released a freckle pencil for girls without." What?
Those are positive messages, but they imply that there were previously negative ideas. Hmm. I've stopped reading these magazines (in detail), so I'm not sure about what the current opinion is. Flawless skin is always the ideal anyway. While I assume it just means pimples, maybe I'm so confident that my freckles are gorgeous that it means them too.
Curls are the same. I grew up with crazy hair. Not curly, just crazy. Then at sixteen, a hairdresser told me I had wonderful curls. Really? I thought. A couple of weeks later I went with a friend to get her hair done and that hairdresser told me I shouldn't brush my hair dry because it ruined the curl. I took her word for it, and suddenly I had curly hair! And I was so happy because my hair wasn't supposed to be sleek and shiny.
There are lots of similar stories on naturallycurly.com, some quite saddening. I've kind of gotten to the point of caring for my hair that when I see Mum, or she calls, she asks:
"How's the hair?"
I'm at a good place with these two aspects of my body, but I hope there are many more others out there who are happy with freckles and curly hair. Or other beautiful things that the world doesn't generally hold up to be Perfect.
Two things that I'm particularly happy with, but so many people complain about, are my freckles and curly hair.
Growing up, I never thought freckles were a bad thing. They were just part of me. Then I got to high-school and other girls started to complain about their freckles. In the later years I had a friend, where I found that 'brightening' cream in her bathroom. The stuff that's supposed to remove 'sun imperfections'. We were seventeen for chrissake! Wear sunscreen if you are worried, but that should also be to prevent, oh I don't know, Cancer. If you have skin anything like mine, freckles are inevitable. And they're beautiful.
The magazines didn't help - well, they were better with this than other stuff, but still - with their quotes of
"Don't try to cover freckles with extra layers of foundation."and
"Stop trying to hide freckles, (such'n'such a brand) has even released a freckle pencil for girls without." What?
Those are positive messages, but they imply that there were previously negative ideas. Hmm. I've stopped reading these magazines (in detail), so I'm not sure about what the current opinion is. Flawless skin is always the ideal anyway. While I assume it just means pimples, maybe I'm so confident that my freckles are gorgeous that it means them too.
Curls are the same. I grew up with crazy hair. Not curly, just crazy. Then at sixteen, a hairdresser told me I had wonderful curls. Really? I thought. A couple of weeks later I went with a friend to get her hair done and that hairdresser told me I shouldn't brush my hair dry because it ruined the curl. I took her word for it, and suddenly I had curly hair! And I was so happy because my hair wasn't supposed to be sleek and shiny.
There are lots of similar stories on naturallycurly.com, some quite saddening. I've kind of gotten to the point of caring for my hair that when I see Mum, or she calls, she asks:
"How's the hair?"
I'm at a good place with these two aspects of my body, but I hope there are many more others out there who are happy with freckles and curly hair. Or other beautiful things that the world doesn't generally hold up to be Perfect.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Boo!
This is us before dinner. I'm the one in the pointy mask.
And we had brains for dessert. They were tasty.
And so, finally some Halloween pics. I will post more, but I didn't have any full-body/full-costume pics with my own camera. I will post them if I get any from my friends.
*Thanks Becca and Chelsea for a fantastic, spooky dinner.*
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Tonsillitis
That is the verdict from yesterday. I've been given a script for antibiotics to take every six hours, and bought myself some painkillers.
Today, swallowing is still painful, but getting better as the day goes on. I may even be able to go to work tomorrow.
The doctor reminded me that tonsillitis is bacterial and so not contagious. This means that it is just a coincidence that my sister had it when I last visited her. It must be stress. She's just finished her last year of high school, and I'm about to finish my last year of uni. You know how it is.
Today, swallowing is still painful, but getting better as the day goes on. I may even be able to go to work tomorrow.
The doctor reminded me that tonsillitis is bacterial and so not contagious. This means that it is just a coincidence that my sister had it when I last visited her. It must be stress. She's just finished her last year of high school, and I'm about to finish my last year of uni. You know how it is.
Monday 8 November 2010
Being Sick
Readers, I am sick. It started yesterday with a sore ear and throat. I went to bed, planning to give myself a sleep in to give my body a chance to repair.
A storm woke me up at 5:15 this morning and I never really fell asleep again. I sort of drifted in and out of a painful drowse. I have had trouble swallowing anything since. Even my own saliva.
I've got a doctor's appointment in about an hour, so hopefully they can give me something to perk me up a bit. At least some appropriate painkillers because the ibuprofen (being all I have in the house) hasn't done anything.
My glands are tender, and there are two possibilities that I am thinking of. Both of which my sister had when I visited her two weeks ago. Tonsillitis, or glandular fever. I doubt it's the second, but even the first is kinda strange to me. I've never had tonsillitis. Bronchitis, strep-throat, sinus infections, even an ear infection when I was ten or eleven. But never tonsillitis.
It also sucks because I've been healthier this year than I have in any other year I can remember. Why'd I have to break the streak now?
I'll be back with the doctors orders in a couple of hours.
A storm woke me up at 5:15 this morning and I never really fell asleep again. I sort of drifted in and out of a painful drowse. I have had trouble swallowing anything since. Even my own saliva.
I've got a doctor's appointment in about an hour, so hopefully they can give me something to perk me up a bit. At least some appropriate painkillers because the ibuprofen (being all I have in the house) hasn't done anything.
My glands are tender, and there are two possibilities that I am thinking of. Both of which my sister had when I visited her two weeks ago. Tonsillitis, or glandular fever. I doubt it's the second, but even the first is kinda strange to me. I've never had tonsillitis. Bronchitis, strep-throat, sinus infections, even an ear infection when I was ten or eleven. But never tonsillitis.
It also sucks because I've been healthier this year than I have in any other year I can remember. Why'd I have to break the streak now?
I'll be back with the doctors orders in a couple of hours.
Sunday 7 November 2010
Holy Cow
It is raining, raining, raining here. Swimming Saturday may as well be about swimming in the rain, there is that much water falling from the sky. But no, I will stick with actual swimming.
I said in my Theme Days post that I would post what I have learned each week at my swim teaching job. This week is kind of hard because I haven't learnt anything new. As I write this, I'm realising that there are many important things I learn and relearn each time I teach a class, yet there are rarely any epiphanies. So I will write about something that was brought to my attention this week.
I teach children from two to pre-teen. And one thing that I have learnt is patience, and how to deal with frustration. There will always be those days where I am tired, or the kids are tired (for most people, swim-teaching is part-time alongside study). If I am having a particularly hard day, the one thing I never (one should never) do is tell the kids they are being a pain. Or tell them that their friends or siblings are being a handful. You just don't. There are swim-school coordinators and staff on pool-deck who you can ask to come and watch those classes that are particularly boisterous. And a lot of the times parents are fairly understanding when you decide to sit their child out for bad behaviour. But discipline is not about criticising children, it is about enforcing safety in an equatic environment.
I hope this all makes sense. Kids should be treated with respect. I've come to be very surprised about how well people will respond to a smile and positive encouragement.
I said in my Theme Days post that I would post what I have learned each week at my swim teaching job. This week is kind of hard because I haven't learnt anything new. As I write this, I'm realising that there are many important things I learn and relearn each time I teach a class, yet there are rarely any epiphanies. So I will write about something that was brought to my attention this week.
I teach children from two to pre-teen. And one thing that I have learnt is patience, and how to deal with frustration. There will always be those days where I am tired, or the kids are tired (for most people, swim-teaching is part-time alongside study). If I am having a particularly hard day, the one thing I never (one should never) do is tell the kids they are being a pain. Or tell them that their friends or siblings are being a handful. You just don't. There are swim-school coordinators and staff on pool-deck who you can ask to come and watch those classes that are particularly boisterous. And a lot of the times parents are fairly understanding when you decide to sit their child out for bad behaviour. But discipline is not about criticising children, it is about enforcing safety in an equatic environment.
I hope this all makes sense. Kids should be treated with respect. I've come to be very surprised about how well people will respond to a smile and positive encouragement.
Friday 5 November 2010
The Body Positive Thursdays (on a Friday)
'Cause yesterday I was procrastinating about writing the next article for my internship. By reading The Scar by China Miéville. Good book. Procrastination-worthy indeed.
Anyway, TBP Thursday. On a Friday.
In the past week I have read two posts that made me so happy. The first was Sarah J Maas's You Are Not Your Clothing Size. I linked it last week but here it is again.
The second was by Karen Healey, author of Guardian of the Dead (another great book, go read it if you haven't already). She posted on the topic of Food is Not a Sin. It really isn't.
That's all on TBP Thursday, because I'm actually getting into this article today. But in honour of food, go eat something yummy. Because you're allowed to.
Anyway, TBP Thursday. On a Friday.
In the past week I have read two posts that made me so happy. The first was Sarah J Maas's You Are Not Your Clothing Size. I linked it last week but here it is again.
The second was by Karen Healey, author of Guardian of the Dead (another great book, go read it if you haven't already). She posted on the topic of Food is Not a Sin. It really isn't.
That's all on TBP Thursday, because I'm actually getting into this article today. But in honour of food, go eat something yummy. Because you're allowed to.
Wednesday 3 November 2010
Not so Wordless Wednesday
My internet is taking its sweet time to upload the photos, so no Halloween pics today. Sorry :(
Monday 1 November 2010
Theme days
So, it's the first day of not-NaBloWriMo. And I want to keep blogging! If the month of blogging did nothing else, it made me realise that blogging is fun. I've always liked reading other people's blogs, but never thought I would have anything worthwhile to say. But thanks to you guys who followed and commented in October.
I have come up with an idea that will keep me blogging regularly. It's something a lot of bloggers already do, but I'm going to borrow ideas as well as start my own. And it will give me (and you lovely readers) some structure to stick to so I can write about the many things I'm passionate about, yet not worry I'm leaving anything out. It will also be a pirate rule (more of a guideline) just so I don't stress. The main idea is to get rid of rambling posts (like this one).
At the moment I don't have one for every day, but here's a list of my ideas thus far:
Wordless Wednesdays: Post pictures :D I got this idea from The Giraffability of Digressions and I'm Not Hannah
The Body Positive Thursdays: A bit wordy, but I wanted a day where I could write about the importance of positive body image.
Fiction Fridays: This was inspired by the idea in my last post, but I realised that with work and current WiPs, I wouldn't have the energy to post to another blog regularly. Hence, a once a week treat for you guys.
Swimming Saturdays: Where I can talk about what I learnt about swimming and the teaching of swimming that week.
Salsa Sundays: This one I won't start for a few weeks, as I've taken a hiatus from salsa dancing until uni finishes this year :( but keep a lookout.
And that's what I have so far. This is going to be fun.
I have come up with an idea that will keep me blogging regularly. It's something a lot of bloggers already do, but I'm going to borrow ideas as well as start my own. And it will give me (and you lovely readers) some structure to stick to so I can write about the many things I'm passionate about, yet not worry I'm leaving anything out. It will also be a pirate rule (more of a guideline) just so I don't stress. The main idea is to get rid of rambling posts (like this one).
At the moment I don't have one for every day, but here's a list of my ideas thus far:
Wordless Wednesdays: Post pictures :D I got this idea from The Giraffability of Digressions and I'm Not Hannah
The Body Positive Thursdays: A bit wordy, but I wanted a day where I could write about the importance of positive body image.
Fiction Fridays: This was inspired by the idea in my last post, but I realised that with work and current WiPs, I wouldn't have the energy to post to another blog regularly. Hence, a once a week treat for you guys.
Swimming Saturdays: Where I can talk about what I learnt about swimming and the teaching of swimming that week.
Salsa Sundays: This one I won't start for a few weeks, as I've taken a hiatus from salsa dancing until uni finishes this year :( but keep a lookout.
And that's what I have so far. This is going to be fun.
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