It’s the last day of the month, and what a ridiculous month it was. Have you ever thought your hip was broken? And been under the age of 65? No? Now imagine how I felt when, at the ripe old age of 28, the doctor told me that I had a fractured hip. Yeah, exactly. Thankfully, it was a false alarm, but you can see why I’ve been a bit distracted from my blogging lately.
But it’s amazing how freeing and motivating it can be to find out that you don’t need surgery. Tomorrow, Dave and I go for our gym orientation, which means I can cross another goal off my New Year’s Resolutions. I’m actually really excited to go and start working out. I just wanna sweat, you know? I wanna burn up a bunch of calories getting my heart rate up, then go home and take a hot shower and relax.
Oh, by the way, I’m up for my dream job! After two interviews, I’m waiting to hear the final (?) word whether or not I get the job. I’m trying to think really positive thoughts. But truly, I feel like this job is mine, like this job and I were made for each other. It’s almost more excitement and anxiety than I can bare. But patience is a virtue, so I just need to stay calm and wait a few more days. Six at the most. It seems like a long time, but will probably fly by considering I have a lot of catching up to do around the house. There was a lot of stuff that sort of fell by the wayside when I though my hip was broken. Now that I know it’s not, it’s time to pick up all those dropped balls and get back on that horse! (Can you say “mixed metaphors”?)
 Man, a girl decides to take on her first freelance copyediting gig and, poof, all her lists and schedules go up in smoke! I’m sorry I disappeared, but those were two crazy, work-filled weeks. Lots of 13-hour days, not lots of sleep, and then lots of recovering; you know how it is.
Well, with that all done for the time being, I’ve had breathing room enough to take a look around. And what do I see? For starters, Month 1 of The Year of Freedom is already over. Most of it was spent playing catch-up and getting back in touch with my life. Lots of cleaning and stuff-purging and lots of getting together with people I hadn’t seen in months. There was a lot of thinking about the future going on, too.
February is shaping up to be just as busy. But this is a really good, new kind of busy. The busy of outings and social gatherings, of fun times and hard-won sleeps. Much better than the stress and strain of essays and exams, readings and homework.
And how are my New Year’s resolutions looking after this first month? Well, some of them haven’t been started yet (Good Life, you and I have a date next week.) and some of them, particularly my email mission, haven’t been going so well. Probably because I’ve barely looked at my email at all in the last two weeks, but still. I’ve got about a hundred extra emails in my inbox than what I reported having last month. I know, I know! Bad, bad!
How do people do it, not getting swamped under the landslide of emails that come in every day? Seriously, if you know some magic secret that I do not, help a girl out! I’m all ears.
Welcome to the Year of the Ox, everybody!
(Yes, I know those are dragons in the picture above.)
Now, being born in the Year of the Monkey, what does the wise interweb say my fortune will be for 2009? You can actually find long, detailed horoscopes for every animal year here, but I’ve found a couple others that give the general gist of it.
MONKEY - 1992, 1980, 1968, 1956, 1944, 1932
“The lion may be called the King of The Jungle, but in 2009 Monkeys are set to knock Leo from his throne with a blockbuster of a year. Relationships and friendships are set to blossom and your efforts at work will be well rewarded. In fact, with so many opportunities you may feel a little overwhelmed; don’t be, swing into each one while you can. If primates can steer clear of monkey business then this could be one their best years in memory.” (Via here.)
“Luck is with you this year, which could mean good news in your work and your love life. You could become more powerful, especially if you’re involved in politics, the military or the law. Whatever you do in business, act courageously. The signs are good for you financially, especially in the stock market and foreign exchange. If you are single, consider marriage. If you are married, pregnancy may be imminent. Your overall health appears favourable, but watch your kidneys and bladder, and try to keep your weight down.” (Via here.)
Looks like good times ahead, people! Woot! Excellent news, especially since last year was so crap-tastic. Here’s hoping your horoscope has good news too.
Kung Hei Fat Choy, everybody!!
Okay, so you know how I’m always saying that I’m broke? Well, here’s why!
Yup, that’s right. Last weekend I bought a Macbook! Surprise! (‘Cause I know some of you are.)
Up till now I’ve been slogging along using my old 2005 Dell Craptop. (No offense, Dell.) But ‘Crappy’ was dying fast. On the dimmest screen setting the battery would only last half an hour, and just being on meant that Crappy was blowing and ticking as loudly as any ’90s desktop tower. Things would crash. Things wouldn’t open. Things would freeze. My brain was exploding daily.
But what, do you ask, was the final straw that made Dave and I get up last Sunday morning and say, “today’s the day”? Crappy started asking me to connect to the internet. Incessantly. Using a dial-up connection. When I was already connected wirelessly to my high-speed cable modem. Yeah. The end, right?
So here the two of us are. Dave decided to document the unveiling because I was that excited. If you look closely you can see a) the computer and I having a moment and; b) the ‘crazy eyes’ of joy and excitement in more than one picture. This little guy is awesome. So silent and battery life like you wouldn’t believe! Sigh, this is the start of a beautiful friendship, I can just feel it.
This was a picture of us just around the three-week mark.
Today we hit the three-year mark.
I love you big. Happy Anniversary.
(Image via Funkaoshi)
Now, we all know that I love lists. I just can’t help it. It’s built into my genes like brown eyes and left-handedness. And what time of year is the ultimate list-making time of year? New Years. I know, I know. I’m a week late, but you can’t blame me because I was sick, remember?
So I’ve been thinking about what my resolutions should be this year. I don’t always have the best success-rate with my New Years Resolutions. There have definitely been times when I’ve fallen back into old habits. And other times when I really have followed through, like that year I promised Dave I would stop smoking and did. (Thanks for helping me do that, hon!) This year, I’m gonna post my resolutions here so I can hold myself accountable for keeping them. I’ll have something to look back on and remind myself of my goals.
I had to limit myself to only 5 things. Like I said, I love my lists and if I want these resolutions to be important and meaningful I need to stick to a manageable number. I’m also gonna be checking back in on these every month or so to make sure that I’m sticking with my follow-through. But in the words of Thomas the Tank Engine, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!” So, without further ado, here they are:
New Years Resolutions ~ 2009
1. Clear out my inbox (all the way to zero) and then keep it cleared out.
I am THE WORST at keeping up-to-date with my emails. My inbox is generally in a state of overflowing and I almost never return people’s messages in a timely fashion. I know, horrible. Now, I’ve already started working on getting things under control and have my inbox down to around 325 unread emails. (Don’t look so shocked. A couple months ago it was around 1600!) My plan of attack? Process all emails that come in every day plus a few of the extras hanging around and slowly but surely that number will keep going down. Let’s see how it goes.
2. Stop falling asleep with my makeup on!
Seriously. Every night I’m always go-go-go right until the last possible second when I’m so tired I can’t even drag myself to the bathhroom to wash it off. I usually just end up flopping in my bed, eyes still plastered with mascara and shadow, only to wake up with zits and raccoon eyes in the morning. Not cool. Time to start working some relax-time into my evenings so I can leisurely get ready for bed instead of frantically trying to cram a zillion things into my evenings.
3. Take more pictures.
I have two cameras that I’ve finally begun figuring out how to use properly, so my goal for 2009 is to work my way up to taking at least one picture a day. But taking pictures is harder than you might think. You have to keep yourself in that “seeing” mode. I’ve been in it before and when you have momentum it’s easier to maintain but putting your mind into that space when you’re out of practice takes some time and some effort. Good thing I’ve got a whole year to work towards this goal.
4. Join a gym.
And actually go! To my great shame, I’ve never been one for regular exercise. Not like I’m against it or anything, I’ve just never really had time for any sort of regular routine, what with everything else I used to have balanced on my plate. Now that the Year of Freedom is here it’s time to get into shape and lose those 20 extra pounds. Dave and I have resolved to do this together. I think with a gym partner it’s a lot more fun and you can guilt each other into going when you really don’t feel like it. Ha!
5. Get a (financial) life!
Being a university student can really put a damper on your retirement savings plans, let me tell you! But now that school is over and I’m not having to come up with another couple thou every few months I think it’s time I start taking matters into my own hands. I’m gonna find a financial advisor, start tackling my school debt and saving for a house and for retirement. I’m not getting any younger, people. Living from paycheck to paycheck just doesn’t cut it anymore.
So that’s it! What do you think? Are any of your resolutions the same as mine? Let me know, because maybe we can form a little support group!
Today was the first day back to the office since the holidays, and since I finished university. On New Year’s Day I was all like, “Da da-da da! Welcome to my First Year of Freedom!” So it’s a little weird that this “fresh new start” for my life actually begins with a return to my same old routine of the past three-and-a-half years. I’m not complaining though. I like the people I work with a lot. We’re all around the same age and get along really well.
So we talked about our holidays and all swapped war stories about how sick we’d been or were currently feeling or could feel coming on. Because, yeah, I’ve been sick. Lots of coughing and sneezing and aching and general unwellness. I’m feeling much better today, though I’m still sporting a bit of that sexy movie-star voice. (i.e. – hoarseness.) It’s an annual thing for me. I’m totally serious when I say that by January 2nd of every year I will be flat on my back with my New Years Cold. For reals.
Today was also the 12th day of Christmas. You know, like the song? My mother always told me that if you didn’t have all your holiday decorations down and packed away by 11:59 pm of Twelfth Day that you would have back luck for all twelve months of the coming year. So, deciding not to take any chances with my Year of Freedom, after dinner Dave did the dishes and I took down the tree.
Taking it down really hit home to me how all of December came and went in a mad and disconnected blur of finals and shopping and family, (oh my!) I had a lot of grand plans for 2008′s holiday season and almost none of them happened. I guess that’s just the way it goes when you have to interrupt the holidays right when you start gaining momentum, just so you can study for exams and finish a paper. By the time that was done the mad dash was on and I was playing catch-up for the rest of the month. (Still am a little bit, actually.)
Now, don’t get me wrong. I had a lovely Christmas and got to spend lots of time with family. It’s just… I guess I’m just glad 2008 is over. I don’t remember ever disliking an entire year before, but there’s a first time for everything. It was rough, I’m not gonna lie, but I already feel like my prospects for 2009 are looking good. Looking great, in fact. Looking like freedom and a new beginning. I mean, heck, I got my tree down on time. And I haven’t not been in school since I was THREE YEARS OLD. Three years old, people.
I packed 2008 away in that box with the Christmas tree tonight. 2009, the YEAR OF FREEDOM is here. Let the games begin!
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