Here is my post to review 2012 and my hopes for the coming year.
I had great hopes for 2012 this time last year because, frankly, 2011 sucked. Unfortunately, 2012 did not live up to these hopes, at least not in the first few months. It was almost as though 2012 was mocking me for believing everything could suddenly get better on January 1st, so the year through many various struggles at me. I think the worst part was that these big struggles were not spread out. When I think of 2012, I think of two major events that occurred in the life of my family, two difficult events that still trouble me and I hope never happen again, and both of these events occured in the space of a few months. Approximately 3 months. It makes it pretty hard to try and deal with two very emotional, draining, upsetting and confronting events at the same time.
I am one of those cheesy people that believes things happen for a reason. Maybe not every little thing but most things, yes. These events- definitely. I think they were meant to teach me lessons, about other people and about myself. I haven't figured out what those lessons were yet, but I have taken some good things away from them. I guess they both helped me realise what kind of person I want to be now and in the future. Maybe dreams I already had, but they were brought to the foreground. One of these events, may have brought me closer to realising a very real possibility for my future career in Developmental Psychology. Maybe not, but I have tried to look for the positives that can come out of these times.
I started and finished my first year of University and I am actually really quite proud of myself. I did it. I feel like, if I could do the first year without too many issues, I can totally finish a whole degree. I passed all my subjects and even did pretty well in a few of them. I made new friends. Not many, but for me that is a huge deal. Granted, they were all from Japanese class and I was pretty much a loner in all other courses throughout the year. Oh no, wait. I made a friend in my second year Psych course in 2nd semester, but she didn't turn up for the second half of the semester so I was still pretty loner-y. But I learn to not care about being a loner in most classes. I know I have friends. And, frankly, I like being on my own a lot. I like hanging with friends during class and chatting during the breaks, but I also quite like being alone. I do hope, however, to make some more friends this coming uni year.
I learnt to drive this year. Properly. Despite my dislike of driving and the anxiety it caused me, I got up all my hours and finally passed my test, just a couple of weeks ago. I do not have my own car yet, but having my Ps has really come in handy already and I'm so glad that my mum forced me to do it and that I also forced myself.
I became obsessed with new TV shows this year. I now that the fact that is a small highlight of my year makes me seem pretty pathetic, but I like TV, OK? Do not judge me! I started The Office and Community and became thoroughly obsessed with both. I recently decided they are my two favourite shows.
I started trying to be a healthier person this year with better eating and regular exercise and it has become a big part of my life. I still need to work towards a lot in those regards, mostly mentally, but I will get there.
That is my vague review of 2012 and now I will go over my hopes for 2013 which, honestly, I haven't thought much about.
Goals for 2013 written as though I am talking to myself:
1. GET A JOB. ASAP.
2. Become more independent. You am officially and adult now and although you still live at home with you parents, really try and achieve as much independence as possible in every other aspect of your life. Continue what you've started in the past month or so.
3. Learn to love yourself. This is probably the most important one. Stop comparing and worrying and getting really upset over your body and your appearance. Stop being so self-depreciating over these stupid things that don't matter. Stop thinking that you will be alone because of your body. Stop letting these awful, hateful thoughts and crazy anxieties fill your mind everyday. Focus on being as healthy and happy as you can possibly be.
4. Focus more on God. Don't just do it on a Sunday morning at church and when you pray before going to sleep. Read the Bible, pray more, sing more worship songs and don't forget about Him in your daily life. This one is the other most important.
5. Make more friends. It doesn't matter how many, but try and make conversations with people. When you see someone at uni in a class and you think they are interesting and you wish you could talk to them, stop wishing and do it. Try and hold a conversation and, if it goes well, try and start and maintain a friendship.
6. Even though you want to get out more, gain independence and act like the young adult you are, don't feel pressured into anything. Don't feel like you have to stay out till 3am and get drunk or whatever because friends want to or because it's what "normal" people your age do. Remember that it's OK to want to stay home at lie on the couch in your PJs watching reality TV shows with your parents. Just find a balance. Do those fun "young people" stuff so you don't miss out, but don't burn yourself doing so many social things that you end up not enjoying them at all. Think about what you really want to do.
7. Stop getting so frustrated with your body and its (relatively minor...) health issues. It is frustrating that it's taking so long to work out and fix, but it's going as fast as it can and you will feel much better eventually.
8. Read more. You always want to and you often start but it stagnates often. Look up books, go to the library and read all the unread books on your bookshelf.
9. Watch more movies. "Classic" movies that everyone has seen and I have not. Finish your Audrey Hepburn movies, watch those other ones on your list.
10. Cook even more. You love it, so do it more. Try new ingredients and try learning some techniques to get even better.
11. Run that 5k! It might seem really impossible right now, but there is really no reason you can't do it, just put your mind to it, think about how happy you'll be when you finish it and keep being positive.
12. Try and remember all your strategies for reducing anxieties etc. Take deep breaths, think positive thoughts, pay attention to your surroundings and, if your feeling upset for no apparent reason, do something you love. Watch an episode of one of your favourite shows and paint your nails, or bake a cake.
13. Try and keep better contact with some of the friends you, unfortunately and unintentionally, neglect. You know the ones...
14. Don't try and fit in. You know what you like, what you don't like, what you're comfortable with, your own limits etc. Don't try and change any of this because you think you should to fit in. Be yourself, girl.
15. Take more photos. Of anything and everything. Scenery, places you go, things you do, people you're with. Just capture the memories of 2013. Try and buy a new, good camera and take a photography course, like you've wanted to for years.
I think that's it. To sum up, happy New Year! Enjoy the holidays (esp. Aussie uni students) and have a great 2013!
Monday, 31 December 2012
Monday, 3 December 2012
The Politics of Human Sexuality
I was scrolling through Tumblr today, as I usually do, and came across a link for this thing called the "Kinsey's Sexuality Scale" or something along those lines. Anyway, it rates your sexuality on a scale from 1-6, with two exceptions. You answer a few true/false questions and it rates you on this scale:
0- Exclusively heterosexual
1- Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2- Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3- Equally heterosexual and homosexual
4- Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5- Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6- Exclusively homosexual
X- Non-sexual
F- The test failed to match you to a Kinsey Type profile. Either you answered some questions wrong, or you are a very unusual person
My result was X- Non-sexual. At first I was surprised, as I thought I would be 0, but then I realised it's pretty fitting for me. This doesn't mean I'm asexual (not attracted to either males or females), because I am attracted to males, just never in that way.
This may make me sound like some sad, innocent little girl, as opposed to a woman, but whatever. When I see someone and think they are attractive, any of those kind of thoughts never ever cross my mind. I generally want to like, talk to them, listen to them, learn all about them, learn their secrets, about their past, their dreams and like, hang out with them and maybe, hold their hand and hug them or something.
This post is named after an episode of Community (recently added to my list of favourite shows. Honestly, it's amazing. Watch it. Now), where the character of Annie deals with her... lack of sexuality and her innocence. Towards the end of the episode she proclaims that she doesn't care what other people say, she likes being uncomfortable with all that and being innocent etc. Basically, I am like Annie in that scene.
Friends of mine have often said things like, "Aaaaw, *insert my name here* you're so innocent/cute," with a little head shake, hug and laugh, as if I'm a little girl who is yet to grow up. Well, I don't think this "non-sexuality" means I am immature or needing to grow up. It's just me. And that's totally OK. I think it is entirely OK for me to be uncomfortable talking about these things. It's OK for me to be somewhat clueless but to have little interest in it. I'm proud to be one of the very few.
So, to conclude this seemingly random post, some words from the aforementioned Annie: "You know what? I don't want to express myself. I don't want to sit in a room full of people and say... the P-word. I like being repressed. I am totally comfortable being uncomfortable with my sexuality. And maybe, just maybe, if everyone were a little bit more like me, we wouldn't have to have an STD fair!"
0- Exclusively heterosexual
1- Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2- Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3- Equally heterosexual and homosexual
4- Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5- Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6- Exclusively homosexual
X- Non-sexual
F- The test failed to match you to a Kinsey Type profile. Either you answered some questions wrong, or you are a very unusual person
My result was X- Non-sexual. At first I was surprised, as I thought I would be 0, but then I realised it's pretty fitting for me. This doesn't mean I'm asexual (not attracted to either males or females), because I am attracted to males, just never in that way.
This may make me sound like some sad, innocent little girl, as opposed to a woman, but whatever. When I see someone and think they are attractive, any of those kind of thoughts never ever cross my mind. I generally want to like, talk to them, listen to them, learn all about them, learn their secrets, about their past, their dreams and like, hang out with them and maybe, hold their hand and hug them or something.
This post is named after an episode of Community (recently added to my list of favourite shows. Honestly, it's amazing. Watch it. Now), where the character of Annie deals with her... lack of sexuality and her innocence. Towards the end of the episode she proclaims that she doesn't care what other people say, she likes being uncomfortable with all that and being innocent etc. Basically, I am like Annie in that scene.
Friends of mine have often said things like, "Aaaaw, *insert my name here* you're so innocent/cute," with a little head shake, hug and laugh, as if I'm a little girl who is yet to grow up. Well, I don't think this "non-sexuality" means I am immature or needing to grow up. It's just me. And that's totally OK. I think it is entirely OK for me to be uncomfortable talking about these things. It's OK for me to be somewhat clueless but to have little interest in it. I'm proud to be one of the very few.
So, to conclude this seemingly random post, some words from the aforementioned Annie: "You know what? I don't want to express myself. I don't want to sit in a room full of people and say... the P-word. I like being repressed. I am totally comfortable being uncomfortable with my sexuality. And maybe, just maybe, if everyone were a little bit more like me, we wouldn't have to have an STD fair!"
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
The Word Grateful Makes Me Think Of Grated Cheese...
So, yesterday afternoon my family and I went to visit some family friends we've known for years. We were sitting around chatting and found out that they are building a new house very soon. We looked at the plans and they described what it will be like and, frankly, it sounds amazing. Big bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, walk-in-robes, ensuites and a spa all on the north side of my city (Well, I'm pretty sure it's the north side... I'm slowly getting my head around the geography of this city and where all the suburbs are... Pretty sure I live on the south side... Or south west... I don't know...). On the way home I started thinking, "Why can't we build a big new house? Why can't I have my own walk-in-robe and ensuite? Why can't I live in the nice, bigger, higher class, inner city suburbs? Why do I have to live in a tiny house in a lower-middle class, super bogan area?" Seriously, my house is small. It takes like, less than a minute to give people a comprehensive tour of my home. You've seen half the house once you've walked in the door. It's a nice place and all, it's just pretty small. And my suburb's not that bad, it's just pretty bogan. All down the main road near my place, people sit in their garages with the doors open drinking beer in the evenings or coffee in the mornings. Seriously, do they not have kitchens? Anyway...
I realised this is not a good way to be thinking. I should not just sit around thinking about things I want and how much I wish I had different things to what I have. I mean, yes, there is a lot of benefit in wanting things. If you don't want anything, you're not going to change anything. Your life will stay stagnant and mediocre. But there is a big difference between wanting and wishing, I think. I think wishing doesn't have as much action in it. You sit around wishing you could have money, or a big house, but you don't do anything about it. You just become resentful and jealous. As said in I'm Not That Girl from Wicked, "wishing only wounds the heart."
Now, someday I want to go to New York City. I can do something about that. I can save my money, plan it all out and go. But, although I want to live in a bigger, nicer house in another part of this city, I can't do anything about that. I have no job, a small amount of money and I live with my parents. I can't do anything about where I live right now. So what is the point of wishing? Why not actually be happy with what I have?
So, I've given myself a challenge- to pose something I'm grateful for on a regular basis. I'm not sure if it will be daily or weekly or what yet, but I think it's important for me to stop comparing my life to others and wishing I had what they have and just be happy and thankful for all the great things I do have.
Well, I just created my new blog, so check it out: happier-healthier-hopeful.blogger.com :)
I realised this is not a good way to be thinking. I should not just sit around thinking about things I want and how much I wish I had different things to what I have. I mean, yes, there is a lot of benefit in wanting things. If you don't want anything, you're not going to change anything. Your life will stay stagnant and mediocre. But there is a big difference between wanting and wishing, I think. I think wishing doesn't have as much action in it. You sit around wishing you could have money, or a big house, but you don't do anything about it. You just become resentful and jealous. As said in I'm Not That Girl from Wicked, "wishing only wounds the heart."
Now, someday I want to go to New York City. I can do something about that. I can save my money, plan it all out and go. But, although I want to live in a bigger, nicer house in another part of this city, I can't do anything about that. I have no job, a small amount of money and I live with my parents. I can't do anything about where I live right now. So what is the point of wishing? Why not actually be happy with what I have?
So, I've given myself a challenge- to pose something I'm grateful for on a regular basis. I'm not sure if it will be daily or weekly or what yet, but I think it's important for me to stop comparing my life to others and wishing I had what they have and just be happy and thankful for all the great things I do have.
Well, I just created my new blog, so check it out: happier-healthier-hopeful.blogger.com :)
Thursday, 22 November 2012
My Own Words Rang Inside My Head, Like A Bell Inside A Head
Good afternoon, internet dwellers! It has been quite awhile since I have posted last, but I shall explain why later on.
As of 7pm last Wednesday night, I am on my summer holiday! Yes, that's right. One year of university down, 3 months of holidays to come.
Since my last post, I had my birthday and entered into the realm of adulthood and went through an entire semester of university. I am officially 1/3 of the way through my degree. Except for the fact that I am almost certain I will be (at least attempting) to get into honours afterwards and maybe even some postgraduate study... But still! I'm 1/3 of the way through my original, basic degree that I am currently enrolled in.
Well, I just grabbed my three favourite Christmas albums from our CD collection and am beginning to put them onto my iPod. I am now listening to "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" by Michael Buble. This is my favourite time of year, the summer holidays. Christmas lights, Christmas foods, shopping, trees, and Christmas Day itself, followed by beach trips, swimming in the pool, mangoes, ice creams and most importantly- no school/uni!
Now, I feel I owe some kind of explanation as to absence from this blog for the past 3 and a half months. Well, you see, anytime I go to post anything, it just seems to pointless. I feel like this blog should have some point to it. Up to now, it has just been a young girl ranting about her mediocre life. What is the real point of that? Yes, it gave me a place to vent, but now I don't feel like I want to vent here. Now, I am not deleting my blog. I'm just trying to decide what else I can do with it, that might actually have some kind of impact on people or at least have a real theme and point.
[Side note: I had forgotten just how great this Michael Buble Christmas album is. And I'm only on the third song. This is fantastic.]
The only thing I've been able to come up with is a sort of Healthy Eating/Exercising/Encouragement Blog thing. You know, just throw out tips, recipes etc. Honestly, I've been wanting to do something along these lines for months and just haven't for some reason...
Anyway, because I'll still want to use this blog as a place sacred for ranting and venting and writing pointless point about my mediocre life, I think I'll start another blog for the aforementioned content. When it is up and running, I'll post the link on this blog in case any of the few people who follow me here want to follow that too.
So, anyway, I put two of my three favourite Christmas albums onto my computer earlier, made a playlist called "Christmas!" and synced it all to my iPod. Unfortunately, my favourite Christmas album seems to be missing. I found the case, but the CD is nowhere to be found. It is actually genuinely stressing me out, because I don't have it on my computer (well, I don't believe I do, anyway) and, well, it's my favourite... I've already searched several cases, but will search more tomorrow!
Anyway, I went for a walk and put the Christmas playlist on shuffle and I kept grinning like a fangirl. A Christmas fangirl. Oh my goodness. I just realised that is what I am. I am a Christmas fangirl. Oh dear...
Anyway, I'm going to continue cleaning/organising my room and think about my possible new blog!
As of 7pm last Wednesday night, I am on my summer holiday! Yes, that's right. One year of university down, 3 months of holidays to come.
Since my last post, I had my birthday and entered into the realm of adulthood and went through an entire semester of university. I am officially 1/3 of the way through my degree. Except for the fact that I am almost certain I will be (at least attempting) to get into honours afterwards and maybe even some postgraduate study... But still! I'm 1/3 of the way through my original, basic degree that I am currently enrolled in.
Well, I just grabbed my three favourite Christmas albums from our CD collection and am beginning to put them onto my iPod. I am now listening to "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" by Michael Buble. This is my favourite time of year, the summer holidays. Christmas lights, Christmas foods, shopping, trees, and Christmas Day itself, followed by beach trips, swimming in the pool, mangoes, ice creams and most importantly- no school/uni!
Now, I feel I owe some kind of explanation as to absence from this blog for the past 3 and a half months. Well, you see, anytime I go to post anything, it just seems to pointless. I feel like this blog should have some point to it. Up to now, it has just been a young girl ranting about her mediocre life. What is the real point of that? Yes, it gave me a place to vent, but now I don't feel like I want to vent here. Now, I am not deleting my blog. I'm just trying to decide what else I can do with it, that might actually have some kind of impact on people or at least have a real theme and point.
[Side note: I had forgotten just how great this Michael Buble Christmas album is. And I'm only on the third song. This is fantastic.]
The only thing I've been able to come up with is a sort of Healthy Eating/Exercising/Encouragement Blog thing. You know, just throw out tips, recipes etc. Honestly, I've been wanting to do something along these lines for months and just haven't for some reason...
Anyway, because I'll still want to use this blog as a place sacred for ranting and venting and writing pointless point about my mediocre life, I think I'll start another blog for the aforementioned content. When it is up and running, I'll post the link on this blog in case any of the few people who follow me here want to follow that too.
So, anyway, I put two of my three favourite Christmas albums onto my computer earlier, made a playlist called "Christmas!" and synced it all to my iPod. Unfortunately, my favourite Christmas album seems to be missing. I found the case, but the CD is nowhere to be found. It is actually genuinely stressing me out, because I don't have it on my computer (well, I don't believe I do, anyway) and, well, it's my favourite... I've already searched several cases, but will search more tomorrow!
Anyway, I went for a walk and put the Christmas playlist on shuffle and I kept grinning like a fangirl. A Christmas fangirl. Oh my goodness. I just realised that is what I am. I am a Christmas fangirl. Oh dear...
Anyway, I'm going to continue cleaning/organising my room and think about my possible new blog!
Thursday, 2 August 2012
So, You Made A Life-Changing Decision To Not Change Your Life At All...
"Bloggers are gross. Bloggers are obese. Bloggers have halitosis. You're gonna love 'em." - Dwight Schrute (The Office) on bloggers. I thought that was an apt way to begin this post. Bloggers be crazy.
Greetings! I am currently sitting my my clean room, listening to music through the laptop speakers, dressed in my Around-The-House clothes on a lovely, cold Friday. This semester I managed to get Fridays off again and I am quite overjoyed. Although, I worry that I will never be able to get Fridays off again and forever be disappointed by my future timetables, but we'll cross those bridges when we get to them.
So, last Monday I started Semester 2 of university. So far, it has been going pretty well. My timetable is alright, I only have one early morning and only one late night (unfortunately on the same day but whatever) and I'm only doing 3 courses so it's slightly more relaxing.
So, as of earlier this year, (around the beginning of university) I realised I had quite let myself go in Year 12 and the following holidays. I mean, come on, a year of stress and emotional instability (triggers for comfort food, much?) and then three months of sitting at home with very little to do... That was bound to lead to a little extra chub, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I started on my journey to move more and eat better. It was quite slow, as my motivation and seriousness was quite lacking at first. As they increased, so did my effort and my body weight did decrease a small amount, which was extremely encouraging. I then plateaued. Being the way I am, this made me distressed but, yesterday (or Wednesday, I dunno), I made a decision.
I am no longer going to stress about being thin or losing weight or having a flat stomach or anything. I am going to be healthy. I think this will be better for me. It's not actually going to change my new eating/exercise habits; it will just change how I think about it all, which is probably more important for me.
I will walk and jog and do weights to make myself feel good on the inside and, as a result, on the outside. I will eat well to make my body feel good. I will not do these things to stress out about a number on a scale, because I've found that to be unhealthy.
I've quite enjoyed eating healthier recently, actually. I genuinely feel better about myself when I eat a good, filling, healthy breakfast and a good lunch, small & healthy snacks and a good healthy dinner. This along with drinking lots of water and regularly doing some sort of exercise has been good.
I have also inspired my family, somewhat. Well, my parents more so. My mother has gotten on board more and I've seen my dad make some small changes. My brothers, on the other hand, not so much. Well, in the next year or so, the oldest of my brothers' growth spurt period will end and he will reap the full results of not being nice to his body. Well, hopefully, or else I will get annoyed. I mean, I got my "growth spurt" around his age. I got a lot hungrier and did grow a bit. But, I got the height genes from my mum. My mum is of average height, her sister is short, their mother is average height and their father is very short. My dad is tall, as is his father, as were his grandfathers. Both of my little brothers got that tall gene and I got the short-average height gene. That's fine with me, but it means that, as my brothers eat unhealthily, they grow taller and not any wider. I never had that luck. Eating bad food quickly caught up to me and I began to grow out instead of up. Anyway...
Last semester I drew up a timetable to see if it would help get me up and exercising at a regular time everyday. It didn't work. I have tried again this semester and, so far, it is working. I think I have more motivation. Here is my exercise routine for the week:
Sunday: 7am: strength exercises, often includes an afternoon walk with the family
Monday: 7-8-ish, 30 minutes walk/jog
Tuesday: "Active rest" (basically, I don't do deliberate exercise but I don't sit on my bum all day. Basically, I have a long day of uni from 10am-6pm, not including transport, I have no time to exercise)
Wednesday: 7am: 20-30 minute walk/jog, strength exercises
Thursday: 7am: 30 minute walk/jog
Friday: 7am: 30 minute walk/jog
Saturday: 7am: 30 minute walk/jog.
I think this week may have been the first week I have stuck to this, so let's see how it goes...
Food wise- I've learnt a lot about what is filling, low or high in calories and what is easy to pack for uni. Paying attention to what fills me up and what doesn't has definitely helped...
Also, exercise is supposed to reduce both stress and anxiety while giving more energy. For a very anxious, stressed and almost constantly tired girl, I cannot argue with that.
I have figured- if I feel good on the inside, I will feel better about my outside appearance too.
"Speaking of pimples- let's release the bloggers!"
Greetings! I am currently sitting my my clean room, listening to music through the laptop speakers, dressed in my Around-The-House clothes on a lovely, cold Friday. This semester I managed to get Fridays off again and I am quite overjoyed. Although, I worry that I will never be able to get Fridays off again and forever be disappointed by my future timetables, but we'll cross those bridges when we get to them.
So, last Monday I started Semester 2 of university. So far, it has been going pretty well. My timetable is alright, I only have one early morning and only one late night (unfortunately on the same day but whatever) and I'm only doing 3 courses so it's slightly more relaxing.
So, as of earlier this year, (around the beginning of university) I realised I had quite let myself go in Year 12 and the following holidays. I mean, come on, a year of stress and emotional instability (triggers for comfort food, much?) and then three months of sitting at home with very little to do... That was bound to lead to a little extra chub, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I started on my journey to move more and eat better. It was quite slow, as my motivation and seriousness was quite lacking at first. As they increased, so did my effort and my body weight did decrease a small amount, which was extremely encouraging. I then plateaued. Being the way I am, this made me distressed but, yesterday (or Wednesday, I dunno), I made a decision.
I am no longer going to stress about being thin or losing weight or having a flat stomach or anything. I am going to be healthy. I think this will be better for me. It's not actually going to change my new eating/exercise habits; it will just change how I think about it all, which is probably more important for me.
I will walk and jog and do weights to make myself feel good on the inside and, as a result, on the outside. I will eat well to make my body feel good. I will not do these things to stress out about a number on a scale, because I've found that to be unhealthy.
I've quite enjoyed eating healthier recently, actually. I genuinely feel better about myself when I eat a good, filling, healthy breakfast and a good lunch, small & healthy snacks and a good healthy dinner. This along with drinking lots of water and regularly doing some sort of exercise has been good.
I have also inspired my family, somewhat. Well, my parents more so. My mother has gotten on board more and I've seen my dad make some small changes. My brothers, on the other hand, not so much. Well, in the next year or so, the oldest of my brothers' growth spurt period will end and he will reap the full results of not being nice to his body. Well, hopefully, or else I will get annoyed. I mean, I got my "growth spurt" around his age. I got a lot hungrier and did grow a bit. But, I got the height genes from my mum. My mum is of average height, her sister is short, their mother is average height and their father is very short. My dad is tall, as is his father, as were his grandfathers. Both of my little brothers got that tall gene and I got the short-average height gene. That's fine with me, but it means that, as my brothers eat unhealthily, they grow taller and not any wider. I never had that luck. Eating bad food quickly caught up to me and I began to grow out instead of up. Anyway...
Last semester I drew up a timetable to see if it would help get me up and exercising at a regular time everyday. It didn't work. I have tried again this semester and, so far, it is working. I think I have more motivation. Here is my exercise routine for the week:
Sunday: 7am: strength exercises, often includes an afternoon walk with the family
Monday: 7-8-ish, 30 minutes walk/jog
Tuesday: "Active rest" (basically, I don't do deliberate exercise but I don't sit on my bum all day. Basically, I have a long day of uni from 10am-6pm, not including transport, I have no time to exercise)
Wednesday: 7am: 20-30 minute walk/jog, strength exercises
Thursday: 7am: 30 minute walk/jog
Friday: 7am: 30 minute walk/jog
Saturday: 7am: 30 minute walk/jog.
I think this week may have been the first week I have stuck to this, so let's see how it goes...
Food wise- I've learnt a lot about what is filling, low or high in calories and what is easy to pack for uni. Paying attention to what fills me up and what doesn't has definitely helped...
Also, exercise is supposed to reduce both stress and anxiety while giving more energy. For a very anxious, stressed and almost constantly tired girl, I cannot argue with that.
I have figured- if I feel good on the inside, I will feel better about my outside appearance too.
"Speaking of pimples- let's release the bloggers!"
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Rollin' In The Deep
So, in grade 9 of high school, Phantomess and I were in... some class and we were doing some activity to do with war (don't judge me, my memory isn't great). We had to come up with a word for every letter of the alphabet that was related to war. Now, for 'N', we put nostalgia. When we read this to the teacher, she was kinda weirded out and asked us if we actually knew what nostalgia meant and proceeded to tell us that it basically means "looking back with fond memories". Despite the fact that we were basically the School Nerds, we thought it had something to do with being sick or nauseous because it sounded like 'lethargic'.
Today I was at a theme park with my family (and my littlest brother's friend) and I spent a very random 2 minutes in deep thought about nostalgia. You see, I'm a very nostalgic and sentimental person, especially in the past year or so, upon finishing school. But I realised I am good at looking back on all my memories, but not so good at the "fond" part. My memories make me all too sad too easily and this is not good.
I mean, these good, fun, memorable times happened and I should be happy about that because- well, they happened! Why be sad about it? Yes, I am not in school anymore with my same group of friends and teachers and other classmates and everything is less predictable, but that doesn't mean I won't make more good memories out of that context.
So, I'll never be in my instrumental room with Phantomess mucking around and doing absolutely nothing instead of being in PE when our teacher and principal (and some other guests) turn up and we have to pretend like we are doing something worthwhile and not skipping a class. But I have already made some good memories at uni, with some new friends. Such as kinda stalking this guy most days and having him see us watching him several times so that he is most probably very skeptical of us. Whoops.
In the words of Zoey (and later Ted) from How I Met Your Mother, "sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things." I'm not saying that school "fell apart" because it didn't- it just ended, but it ended to make way for better things. I admit, better things have not come. Definitely not. But hey, they will. I'm trying to be hopeful. I'm also trying to look back on my odd memories and be happy about the fact that they happened and have contributed to my life, as opposed to getting upset.
Everytime I watch Masterchef I get the unbelievable urge to cook. I mean, I get that urge a lot lately. It's really my only hobby. When people would ask what my hobbies were I'd always be like, "I dunno.... TV?" But now I have a hobby in cooking. I like to cook sweet and savoury things, breakfasts and dinners, healthy and unhealthy, but I do usually feel the urge to cook something decadent and awfully unhealthy, like cheesecake. This is bad for a girl trying to get fit, healthy and lose that Cheesecake Weight. Oh man, cheesecake....
I really want to try cooking Japanese cuisine. I borrowed a Japanese cookbook from the library and some of the stuff sounds really yummy and is very healthy and doesn't look too difficult to make, but basically everything includes some ingredient I've barely heard of that could only be bought at a good Asian Supermarket... Well, I think tomorrow I will take my library cookbooks to the printer and photocopy all the best recipes and file them away.
Mmmmmmmm foooooood.
I love how I went from deep thoughts about life and the past and moving forward to ogling (that's a word I've never actually used before) about food.
Today I was at a theme park with my family (and my littlest brother's friend) and I spent a very random 2 minutes in deep thought about nostalgia. You see, I'm a very nostalgic and sentimental person, especially in the past year or so, upon finishing school. But I realised I am good at looking back on all my memories, but not so good at the "fond" part. My memories make me all too sad too easily and this is not good.
I mean, these good, fun, memorable times happened and I should be happy about that because- well, they happened! Why be sad about it? Yes, I am not in school anymore with my same group of friends and teachers and other classmates and everything is less predictable, but that doesn't mean I won't make more good memories out of that context.
So, I'll never be in my instrumental room with Phantomess mucking around and doing absolutely nothing instead of being in PE when our teacher and principal (and some other guests) turn up and we have to pretend like we are doing something worthwhile and not skipping a class. But I have already made some good memories at uni, with some new friends. Such as kinda stalking this guy most days and having him see us watching him several times so that he is most probably very skeptical of us. Whoops.
In the words of Zoey (and later Ted) from How I Met Your Mother, "sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things." I'm not saying that school "fell apart" because it didn't- it just ended, but it ended to make way for better things. I admit, better things have not come. Definitely not. But hey, they will. I'm trying to be hopeful. I'm also trying to look back on my odd memories and be happy about the fact that they happened and have contributed to my life, as opposed to getting upset.
Everytime I watch Masterchef I get the unbelievable urge to cook. I mean, I get that urge a lot lately. It's really my only hobby. When people would ask what my hobbies were I'd always be like, "I dunno.... TV?" But now I have a hobby in cooking. I like to cook sweet and savoury things, breakfasts and dinners, healthy and unhealthy, but I do usually feel the urge to cook something decadent and awfully unhealthy, like cheesecake. This is bad for a girl trying to get fit, healthy and lose that Cheesecake Weight. Oh man, cheesecake....
I really want to try cooking Japanese cuisine. I borrowed a Japanese cookbook from the library and some of the stuff sounds really yummy and is very healthy and doesn't look too difficult to make, but basically everything includes some ingredient I've barely heard of that could only be bought at a good Asian Supermarket... Well, I think tomorrow I will take my library cookbooks to the printer and photocopy all the best recipes and file them away.
Mmmmmmmm foooooood.
I love how I went from deep thoughts about life and the past and moving forward to ogling (that's a word I've never actually used before) about food.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
You Wouldn't Download A Butt
So, on Monday I had my first and second university exams. I woke up at 7am, went for a good walk, came home and had breakfast and a shower. I was home alone by this point. I got dressed, made lunch, studied a tiny bit and sat around watching random episodes of How I Met Your Mother before going to catch my bus, subsequent train and subsequent bus to uni. Once there, I had lunch and went to the library to do some last minute study. I couldn't really stay focused and just sat on this comfy couch watching people around me and left early. You see, I overestimate time a lot. I'll be all, "Yeah, it'll take me 10 minutes to walk there, 10 minutes to pick that thing up, 10 minutes to go to the bathroom and like, 5 minutes to get to the other place, so I should leave like, 40-ish minutes early to be safe." And, in reality, all of those activities seem to take less than 2 minutes and I'm left at the end with nothing to do. I did this with my exam. I left quite early to go to the bathroom and buy/eat a snack from the lolly shop and ended up sitting around like a loner doing nothing for awhile.
Anyway, at 2:30 I had my first exam, for Intro to Psych: Clinical, Developmental & Social. I was nervous, but only because it was my first university exam and I had no idea what to expect. Once it had started, however, it was fine and relatively easy. Yes, I made educated guesses for a few questions, but I generally knew what it was on about. I left after an hour (all my exams were 2 hours btw) and therefore, had like, 2 hours to wait before my next exam, instead of the hour I had been expecting. I tried to study and failed again, texting Phantomess to see if she was there early. We hung out and didn't study, before meeting up with the rest of The Japanese Gang freaking out before our exam. That was also, quite easy. Yes, there are questions I am almost certain I got wrong, but I was pretty confident with most of it. I left that after an hour. I then went out to a very nice and fancy Sri Lankan restaurant with my mum and uncle and had some really nice food before going home.
I spent Tuesday doing a little study and mainly watching various TV shows... Wednesday was pretty similar to Monday. I had a very socially awkward/socially unpleasant public transport journey before getting to uni and continuing to be socially awkward. I then had my Research Methods & Statistics 1 exam. It was harder than the others and I made more guesses than the other exams Some of those guesses weren't so 'educated' either. But I left after an hour and a half and actually nearly cried with joy that I am finally on holidays.
So, here, I am going to make a list of the fun, not-stressful things I have been putting off doing (due to their ability to wildly distract me from uni) that I will be doing these holidays:
- Finishing my re-watch of The Office (I am nearly done, but I stopped before an episode that was way too emotional to watch when I should have been studying)
- Finally finish reading Mockingjay (I had to put it away so I could try and focus on uni)
- Catch up on some anime I haven't finished
- Start some anime I've been wanting to watch for ages
- Finally read Volume 1 of Ouran High School Host Club that I bought like, 2 months ago or something
- Cook lots
- Make ice cream from scratch
- Get a haircut
- See mah peeps
- Properly plan my birthday par-tay
- Drive more
- Try and find another job
- Play lots of The Sims 3
- Finally watch the Audrey Hepburn movies my parents gave me as my graduation present
- Play my instruments
I think that's about it... Seems like a lot, but I can almost guarantee you that I won't do most of it... I'll probably just sit on Tumblr... As usual...
Well, even though I'm tired as, I feel the need to fit another Friends episodes (one of my favourites) in before going to bed, even though I have to get up early for an 8:45am doctor's appointment tomorrow... Farewell!
Anyway, at 2:30 I had my first exam, for Intro to Psych: Clinical, Developmental & Social. I was nervous, but only because it was my first university exam and I had no idea what to expect. Once it had started, however, it was fine and relatively easy. Yes, I made educated guesses for a few questions, but I generally knew what it was on about. I left after an hour (all my exams were 2 hours btw) and therefore, had like, 2 hours to wait before my next exam, instead of the hour I had been expecting. I tried to study and failed again, texting Phantomess to see if she was there early. We hung out and didn't study, before meeting up with the rest of The Japanese Gang freaking out before our exam. That was also, quite easy. Yes, there are questions I am almost certain I got wrong, but I was pretty confident with most of it. I left that after an hour. I then went out to a very nice and fancy Sri Lankan restaurant with my mum and uncle and had some really nice food before going home.
I spent Tuesday doing a little study and mainly watching various TV shows... Wednesday was pretty similar to Monday. I had a very socially awkward/socially unpleasant public transport journey before getting to uni and continuing to be socially awkward. I then had my Research Methods & Statistics 1 exam. It was harder than the others and I made more guesses than the other exams Some of those guesses weren't so 'educated' either. But I left after an hour and a half and actually nearly cried with joy that I am finally on holidays.
So, here, I am going to make a list of the fun, not-stressful things I have been putting off doing (due to their ability to wildly distract me from uni) that I will be doing these holidays:
- Finishing my re-watch of The Office (I am nearly done, but I stopped before an episode that was way too emotional to watch when I should have been studying)
- Finally finish reading Mockingjay (I had to put it away so I could try and focus on uni)
- Catch up on some anime I haven't finished
- Start some anime I've been wanting to watch for ages
- Finally read Volume 1 of Ouran High School Host Club that I bought like, 2 months ago or something
- Cook lots
- Make ice cream from scratch
- Get a haircut
- See mah peeps
- Properly plan my birthday par-tay
- Drive more
- Try and find another job
- Play lots of The Sims 3
- Finally watch the Audrey Hepburn movies my parents gave me as my graduation present
- Play my instruments
I think that's about it... Seems like a lot, but I can almost guarantee you that I won't do most of it... I'll probably just sit on Tumblr... As usual...
Well, even though I'm tired as, I feel the need to fit another Friends episodes (one of my favourites) in before going to bed, even though I have to get up early for an 8:45am doctor's appointment tomorrow... Farewell!
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