Topic for today: What do I want to be when I grow up? Part 1.
Since being laid off 3 (4?) weeks ago, I haven't been in a huge hurry to find a new job. I mean, this is why I have an emergency fund, yes? And also, there were gymnastics National Championships nearby. And my sister's wedding things to think about. But really, I haven't done more than peruse craigslist because I have no idea what type of job I actually want.
Most everyone else who was laid off (most of them went almost 2 months before I did) found a new job and are happily adjusting to the post PhotoSite work-place. I'm sure I could do something similar if I wanted to jump back into another QA or QA manager position. But I think I'd rather take a job an In-n-Out (they pay well for a fast food place and treat their employees fairly) than another QA job. In fact, other than letting down our users and not working with the same group of great people, I'm thrilled about the shut down and layoff because it got me out of that job.
What is so bad about QA? For a lot of people, probably nothing. For me? I was bored beyond belief. There is a lot to the QA job that I could have done but didn't; I could have gotten more involved with automating tests for one. But I never wanted to. The mere thought of trying some of the stuff my manager wanted us to start working on made me tired. Not that I didn't start doing it, but I had little to no enthusiasm about it. The main tasks my team did were repetitive in a way. I did them for 9 years. At a certain point, I started not caring. Which is really, really dangerous for someone doing QA. Because if you aren't going to get upset over a misspelled word on the splash page, it isn't going to get fixed. I truly don't know how I didn't make a huge mistake sometime in the past 2 or 3 years. I was forcing myself to do all the necessary parts of the job but very little beyond that. I was unhappy and depressed and had at least 30 extra pounds to show for it.
What about QA was a good fit for me? I'm a little bit nit-picky naturally. I like knowing about the code without having to actually write it. I like having an idea of how all of the moving parts work together. I like organizing things logically. I enjoy working with all the various groups - development, project management, design, etc. I like the consumer internet space. I love the casual atmosphere of software/internet companies.
Part 2 , I promise, will have less whining.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Thursday, July 05, 2007
I am battered and bruised and a little bit burned today.
Tuesday I went whitewater rafting. For the first time I tried it on a Class IV river (before I stuck to Class III). It was *much* less crowded than any time I've rafted before. Our two rafts were the only ones we saw on the river all day long.
I think my favorite rapids were the first class IVs we came to called Tunnel Shoot. Some people even call this a class V rapid. Here's a picture (not my trip) - http://www.gikialumni.org/doc/portal/gallery/picture.jsp?view=imagedetail&picId=192. Yeah - that? We went down backwards for the most part. We got turned around at the beginning and there wasn't much we could do about it until the tunnel which is right after the rapids.
There was one rapid on the river that we weren't allowed to raft since it is a class VI. I can't say I'm upset about that having seen them from the river bank. Those looked scary! Our guides, however, ran them alone since we had to get the rafts down somehow.
The only thing that could have been better about the trip would be if I not fallen out of the raft. Twice. The second time onto some sort of rock that left me with a big bruise on my thigh. But it was fun and exciting nonetheless. I can highly, highly recommend rafting on the Middle Fork of the American River.
(Oh, the burned thing. Sunburn in a weird shape near my left ankle. Par for the course. I *thought* I covered every possible inch of skin. But maybe I missed it on the post-lunch re-application of sunscreen.)
Tuesday I went whitewater rafting. For the first time I tried it on a Class IV river (before I stuck to Class III). It was *much* less crowded than any time I've rafted before. Our two rafts were the only ones we saw on the river all day long.
I think my favorite rapids were the first class IVs we came to called Tunnel Shoot. Some people even call this a class V rapid. Here's a picture (not my trip) - http://www.gikialumni.org/doc/portal/gallery/picture.jsp?view=imagedetail&picId=192. Yeah - that? We went down backwards for the most part. We got turned around at the beginning and there wasn't much we could do about it until the tunnel which is right after the rapids.
There was one rapid on the river that we weren't allowed to raft since it is a class VI. I can't say I'm upset about that having seen them from the river bank. Those looked scary! Our guides, however, ran them alone since we had to get the rafts down somehow.
The only thing that could have been better about the trip would be if I not fallen out of the raft. Twice. The second time onto some sort of rock that left me with a big bruise on my thigh. But it was fun and exciting nonetheless. I can highly, highly recommend rafting on the Middle Fork of the American River.
(Oh, the burned thing. Sunburn in a weird shape near my left ankle. Par for the course. I *thought* I covered every possible inch of skin. But maybe I missed it on the post-lunch re-application of sunscreen.)
Friday, June 15, 2007
Week 3 (I *am* going to finish these posts about Spain. Hopefully before I take another big vacation.)
It's been so long that now I'm mainly going off the trip diary I took, but re-reading it is bringing back memories.
Day 15 - I heard my host mom come into the condo at 8 a.m. That's when she got home from being out partying the night before. No wonder she looked at me as if I were crazy what with my early midnight to 1 a.m. bedtimes. Anyway, I slept more after that and finally got up and headed to Madrid for El Rastro. Which I actually found this time. At first I was in a part of it that was in the alleys between buildings. It wasn't as sketchy as that sounds. I wasn't super impressed - yes people had stuff out to sell, but it wasn't huge or even all that crowded as the guidebook had warned. Then I found the actual heart of it. And yes, it *is* huge. And crowded. And a teeny bit crazy. There were tons of stalls selling all sorts of things. There wasn't anything I needed or wanted to buy, plus it was intimidating, so I basically just walked through the masses and looked around. Then I headed to Plaza Mayor and grabbed another lunch from a restaurant on one of the side streets. I sat at a little outdoor table and just watched people come and go. Lunch took something like an hour and a half. There was just no hurry. It was really relaxing. And the waiter was extremely nice. A group of 4 people with British accents was at the table next to me for part of it and I got to overhear English again. Then on the way back to the Metro I was able to give directions to a couple from Singapore that was looking for the outlet mall in Las Rozas. In English.
Reading my trip diary and noticing every mention of English-speaking reminds me again how almost desperate I was to be able to talk and be understood. My Spanish was passable - I understood at least the gist of everything around me - but it took so much effort all the time. Plus I am worse at the speaking thing than at the listening.
Something that I really enjoyed about the trip was the feeling of accomplishment at mastering the public transportation. It's a silly thing to take pleasure in, but I really liked that I could get anywhere I wanted on the Metro. And when I could even start help with giving directions? Even better.
Day 16 - I spent some time in some of the shopping areas in Madrid. I do not know why. Because I am not a shopper. So I should not spend time shopping just because the guidebook says "Hey - cool shopping areas in location A and B." That means that if you like to shop, go to A and B. Not, go to A and B and what is there will wow even a veteran non-shopper. But hey, I did go into Old Atocha Station which is indeed almost tropical inside. And there are turtles. So that was marginally interesting. I'm not sure if it was this day or another one later (or earlier) that I located one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Madrid. It's near Atocha, so maybe it was this day. The food was very good. Some of the best I had while I was there.
Day 17 - Much more eventful. I managed to get up and out of the house early. Like by 8 a.m. The buses were way more crowded at that time than on my usual 10 or 11 a.m. trips! The reason for my sudden industriousness was a day trip to Segovia. After taking a bus to Madrid, a train to the right section of Madrid, walking to the private bus company that handles these trips, and riding on that bus for about an hour, I was in Segovia.
Practically the first thing you see when getting off the bus is the Roman Aquaduct left over from the 1st century. It looks stable and not like it is going anywhere which is impressive. As is the no mortar thing. It's also just attractive anyway. After that I walked to Plaza Mayor (small shops mostly, also the Catedral) then the Alcazar.
The Alcazar was really quite pretty. Painted and decorated ceilings, fancy tilework in the floors, etc. Really great views of the surrounding countryside from most of the windows. Very pretty precise gardens. That sort of thing. Also a room full of armor some of which looks like it would fit a modern 6 year old. They say that Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland is based on El Alcazar, but Neuschwanstein makes the same claim. Having seen both castles, I'd have to go with Neuschwanstein.
I think this is when I successfully located and used a post office. Including communicating my needs with an actual Spanish-speaking person. Yay me! It was so much easier to read and write essays in Spanish than it was to use it to communicate with people...
Afterwards I made a typical tourist faux pas - I ate lunch. I knew it was too early at the time (it was only about 1 p.m.) but I hadn't had breakfast and was starving. They were perfectly nice, but since I was at an out of the way place recommended by my guide book, I think I mainly confused them. So then during the actual lunch time I was left with little to do - mainly wandering the very narrow cobblestone streets and sitting in the Plaza Mayor listening to some piano music. And then some jackhammers. (Ugh. More of that "getting ready for the Olympics which - ooops - we didn't get" stuff.) I did a bit of souvenir shopping. Then I hurried back to Las Rozas expecting there to be English lessons which I specifically asked about the night before. But neither my host mom nor her son were there. *sigh*
Day 18 - Amusing tidbit: my host mom left the house at 11 p.m. on day 17 and returned, I think, at 6 a.m. on day 18. The guide book really wasn't joking when it said people stay out late to party. Oh, and day 18? Was a Wednesday.
I spent the day in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. It was a relaxing and fun day. The collections were sort of spread out chronologically - some older, some modern. Lots of early triptychs, some Degas/Monet/Renoir, some Juan Gris. Then, because I thought it would be amusing, and it was close, I had lunch at Planet Hollywood. Where I had the caprese salad made with grated hard mozerella and dried basil. Which was not what I expected. Oh well. Also they had VH-1 on several TVs. Sort of funny.
Day 19 - I started the day by trying to shop for ingredients for an easy pie I wanted to make with the host family son as a way to practice English. So I walked to the Carrefour near the condo - no tofu, no vanilla, no chocolate chips, no pre-made cookie pie crust. So I took the bus into Madrid and checked out a few stores there including the grocery section of El Corte Ingles. No vanilla or chocolate, yes on the tofu, but only the hard kind and the recipe called for soft. Nothing else to note except another verging on non-existent English lesson.
Day 20 - Another day wandering in Madrid. I checked out yet another store looking for ingredients. Taste of America had a few cake mixes, marshmallow fluff, Jiffy, etc. But no chocolate chips. No vanilla. (Okay - HOW do they survive? No vanilla? No chocolate chips?!?!)
I hit Petra's International Bookstore again and grabbed the latest (in 2005) Harry Potter. In English. Which I ended up leaving behind for the host son if he ever decides to read it. I loved that store. It was basically a used book store, but in several different languages. Lots of English. I really, really liked it there. Bookstores - my home in whatever country I happen to be in.
Day 21 - Stayed close to the condo. Did laundry. Walked to the outlets nearby. Read a bit. Listened to the Las Rozas festival that was taking place about a block from the condo. (Each little town has a festival - which is basically a big fair - for about a week. Carnival games and rides, food stands, very loud live music being performed, etc. It was in Las Rozas the last week I was there.)
Diana left the apartment sometime in the late afternoon saying "I'm going now." She was carrying her purse. So I said "Okay, bye." Remember this because it will be important later.
It's been so long that now I'm mainly going off the trip diary I took, but re-reading it is bringing back memories.
Day 15 - I heard my host mom come into the condo at 8 a.m. That's when she got home from being out partying the night before. No wonder she looked at me as if I were crazy what with my early midnight to 1 a.m. bedtimes. Anyway, I slept more after that and finally got up and headed to Madrid for El Rastro. Which I actually found this time. At first I was in a part of it that was in the alleys between buildings. It wasn't as sketchy as that sounds. I wasn't super impressed - yes people had stuff out to sell, but it wasn't huge or even all that crowded as the guidebook had warned. Then I found the actual heart of it. And yes, it *is* huge. And crowded. And a teeny bit crazy. There were tons of stalls selling all sorts of things. There wasn't anything I needed or wanted to buy, plus it was intimidating, so I basically just walked through the masses and looked around. Then I headed to Plaza Mayor and grabbed another lunch from a restaurant on one of the side streets. I sat at a little outdoor table and just watched people come and go. Lunch took something like an hour and a half. There was just no hurry. It was really relaxing. And the waiter was extremely nice. A group of 4 people with British accents was at the table next to me for part of it and I got to overhear English again. Then on the way back to the Metro I was able to give directions to a couple from Singapore that was looking for the outlet mall in Las Rozas. In English.
Reading my trip diary and noticing every mention of English-speaking reminds me again how almost desperate I was to be able to talk and be understood. My Spanish was passable - I understood at least the gist of everything around me - but it took so much effort all the time. Plus I am worse at the speaking thing than at the listening.
Something that I really enjoyed about the trip was the feeling of accomplishment at mastering the public transportation. It's a silly thing to take pleasure in, but I really liked that I could get anywhere I wanted on the Metro. And when I could even start help with giving directions? Even better.
Day 16 - I spent some time in some of the shopping areas in Madrid. I do not know why. Because I am not a shopper. So I should not spend time shopping just because the guidebook says "Hey - cool shopping areas in location A and B." That means that if you like to shop, go to A and B. Not, go to A and B and what is there will wow even a veteran non-shopper. But hey, I did go into Old Atocha Station which is indeed almost tropical inside. And there are turtles. So that was marginally interesting. I'm not sure if it was this day or another one later (or earlier) that I located one of the few vegetarian restaurants in Madrid. It's near Atocha, so maybe it was this day. The food was very good. Some of the best I had while I was there.
Day 17 - Much more eventful. I managed to get up and out of the house early. Like by 8 a.m. The buses were way more crowded at that time than on my usual 10 or 11 a.m. trips! The reason for my sudden industriousness was a day trip to Segovia. After taking a bus to Madrid, a train to the right section of Madrid, walking to the private bus company that handles these trips, and riding on that bus for about an hour, I was in Segovia.
Practically the first thing you see when getting off the bus is the Roman Aquaduct left over from the 1st century. It looks stable and not like it is going anywhere which is impressive. As is the no mortar thing. It's also just attractive anyway. After that I walked to Plaza Mayor (small shops mostly, also the Catedral) then the Alcazar.
The Alcazar was really quite pretty. Painted and decorated ceilings, fancy tilework in the floors, etc. Really great views of the surrounding countryside from most of the windows. Very pretty precise gardens. That sort of thing. Also a room full of armor some of which looks like it would fit a modern 6 year old. They say that Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland is based on El Alcazar, but Neuschwanstein makes the same claim. Having seen both castles, I'd have to go with Neuschwanstein.
I think this is when I successfully located and used a post office. Including communicating my needs with an actual Spanish-speaking person. Yay me! It was so much easier to read and write essays in Spanish than it was to use it to communicate with people...
Afterwards I made a typical tourist faux pas - I ate lunch. I knew it was too early at the time (it was only about 1 p.m.) but I hadn't had breakfast and was starving. They were perfectly nice, but since I was at an out of the way place recommended by my guide book, I think I mainly confused them. So then during the actual lunch time I was left with little to do - mainly wandering the very narrow cobblestone streets and sitting in the Plaza Mayor listening to some piano music. And then some jackhammers. (Ugh. More of that "getting ready for the Olympics which - ooops - we didn't get" stuff.) I did a bit of souvenir shopping. Then I hurried back to Las Rozas expecting there to be English lessons which I specifically asked about the night before. But neither my host mom nor her son were there. *sigh*
Day 18 - Amusing tidbit: my host mom left the house at 11 p.m. on day 17 and returned, I think, at 6 a.m. on day 18. The guide book really wasn't joking when it said people stay out late to party. Oh, and day 18? Was a Wednesday.
I spent the day in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. It was a relaxing and fun day. The collections were sort of spread out chronologically - some older, some modern. Lots of early triptychs, some Degas/Monet/Renoir, some Juan Gris. Then, because I thought it would be amusing, and it was close, I had lunch at Planet Hollywood. Where I had the caprese salad made with grated hard mozerella and dried basil. Which was not what I expected. Oh well. Also they had VH-1 on several TVs. Sort of funny.
Day 19 - I started the day by trying to shop for ingredients for an easy pie I wanted to make with the host family son as a way to practice English. So I walked to the Carrefour near the condo - no tofu, no vanilla, no chocolate chips, no pre-made cookie pie crust. So I took the bus into Madrid and checked out a few stores there including the grocery section of El Corte Ingles. No vanilla or chocolate, yes on the tofu, but only the hard kind and the recipe called for soft. Nothing else to note except another verging on non-existent English lesson.
Day 20 - Another day wandering in Madrid. I checked out yet another store looking for ingredients. Taste of America had a few cake mixes, marshmallow fluff, Jiffy, etc. But no chocolate chips. No vanilla. (Okay - HOW do they survive? No vanilla? No chocolate chips?!?!)
I hit Petra's International Bookstore again and grabbed the latest (in 2005) Harry Potter. In English. Which I ended up leaving behind for the host son if he ever decides to read it. I loved that store. It was basically a used book store, but in several different languages. Lots of English. I really, really liked it there. Bookstores - my home in whatever country I happen to be in.
Day 21 - Stayed close to the condo. Did laundry. Walked to the outlets nearby. Read a bit. Listened to the Las Rozas festival that was taking place about a block from the condo. (Each little town has a festival - which is basically a big fair - for about a week. Carnival games and rides, food stands, very loud live music being performed, etc. It was in Las Rozas the last week I was there.)
Diana left the apartment sometime in the late afternoon saying "I'm going now." She was carrying her purse. So I said "Okay, bye." Remember this because it will be important later.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Jan and Pam tagged me with the 8 things meme. And though I doubt 8 people even read this and thus cannot tag 8 more people, the least I can do is come up with my own 8 random facts or habits. Which is harder than it sounds.
Here are the rules: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
1. I am not a naturally neat person, but I am an extremely considerate person. Thus my personal bedroom might be a disaster area, but if I am sharing a house or an apartment, the common areas will always be picked up. I also have no problem snoozing my alarm. Multiple times. But in college when I shared a dorm room? I woke up a few minutes *before* the alarm went off almost every day so that it wouldn't wake my roommate.
2. I like school. I don't have any desire to get a Ph.D., but if I could stay an undergrad and major in everything, I'd do it. In fact, the one thing I don't like as much (because I'm not as good at it) is learning languages, but I am so very excited that one of my local public libraries gives their patrons access to the Rosetta Stone online software that I think I might just learn another language or three. I am starting with German.
3. I was bald in kindergarten. While at a back-to-school party the week before I was due to start school, I did a back flip off the side of the pool and hit my head. In my defense I had done back flips off of diving boards with no problem. But this time landed me with a blood clot under my skull. Which was removed surgically. Leading to me being bald in kindergarten. And a lifetime of family jokes about how Mom and Dad paid to have a brain implanted for me since my formerly white-blond hair came back in reddish-brown.
4. I make lists. I don't always complete the items on my lists, but I write them down. They make me feel in control and also like I won't forget important things. Every night I do a crossword puzzle and make a list of things to do the next day (or soonish) on the back before I go to sleep. This stops me from staying awake obsessing over what needs to be done.
5. I am not good at making decisions. Even easy things like what to order off a menu. Because, see, once you decide on one thing, all of the other things are no longer options. Sometimes I trick myself into making decisions by doing eenie-meenie-miny-moe. If I am happy with the result - that is my decision. If I am unhappy with it - I go with the other option. If I have no strong feelings one way or the other - I go with whatever choice won just to have the decision made. I even selected which college I went to by drawing it out of a hat.
6. I do not quit easily. For example, I did gymnastics when I was younger. It was a huge part of my life. As in, I worked out for 30 hours a week (6 days a week, 5 hours a day) while I was in 7th, 8th and 9th grades. At some point I got injured. And took a whole month off to heal. And then went back and tried again even though I could only really work out for the first two or three hours and had to stick to easy, non-back-hurting things after that. For another year. Because admitting I was injured and couldn't hope to advance much further would be quitting. This also explains why I have held jobs that I have outgrown and don't even like way (way, way) past their expiration dates. I am not a quitter!
7. On occasion I might get slightly more into certain things than is "normal" for your average human. Some people might consider me obsessed with these things. Those people simply do not know what they are missing. Examples: TiVo, Trader Joe's, Television Without Pity, The Milk Pail, social dance (waltz, swing, contra, etc.), Veronica Mars / Joan of Arcadia / other really *really* good shows that network execs cancel without any consideration for my feelings...
8. I am a fiddler. No, I have no musical talent, but I seem to be incapable of sitting still without having something to do with my hands. On the table next to my couch there is a fan which I open and close, open and close. Also a paperclip and a binder clip that I play with as I watch TV. On my desk at work I have a paperclip, a small post-it pad, a pen and one of these. I used to have a small slinky too. I don't know when, why or how I became this fidgety because I was not always like this.
Here are the rules: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
1. I am not a naturally neat person, but I am an extremely considerate person. Thus my personal bedroom might be a disaster area, but if I am sharing a house or an apartment, the common areas will always be picked up. I also have no problem snoozing my alarm. Multiple times. But in college when I shared a dorm room? I woke up a few minutes *before* the alarm went off almost every day so that it wouldn't wake my roommate.
2. I like school. I don't have any desire to get a Ph.D., but if I could stay an undergrad and major in everything, I'd do it. In fact, the one thing I don't like as much (because I'm not as good at it) is learning languages, but I am so very excited that one of my local public libraries gives their patrons access to the Rosetta Stone online software that I think I might just learn another language or three. I am starting with German.
3. I was bald in kindergarten. While at a back-to-school party the week before I was due to start school, I did a back flip off the side of the pool and hit my head. In my defense I had done back flips off of diving boards with no problem. But this time landed me with a blood clot under my skull. Which was removed surgically. Leading to me being bald in kindergarten. And a lifetime of family jokes about how Mom and Dad paid to have a brain implanted for me since my formerly white-blond hair came back in reddish-brown.
4. I make lists. I don't always complete the items on my lists, but I write them down. They make me feel in control and also like I won't forget important things. Every night I do a crossword puzzle and make a list of things to do the next day (or soonish) on the back before I go to sleep. This stops me from staying awake obsessing over what needs to be done.
5. I am not good at making decisions. Even easy things like what to order off a menu. Because, see, once you decide on one thing, all of the other things are no longer options. Sometimes I trick myself into making decisions by doing eenie-meenie-miny-moe. If I am happy with the result - that is my decision. If I am unhappy with it - I go with the other option. If I have no strong feelings one way or the other - I go with whatever choice won just to have the decision made. I even selected which college I went to by drawing it out of a hat.
6. I do not quit easily. For example, I did gymnastics when I was younger. It was a huge part of my life. As in, I worked out for 30 hours a week (6 days a week, 5 hours a day) while I was in 7th, 8th and 9th grades. At some point I got injured. And took a whole month off to heal. And then went back and tried again even though I could only really work out for the first two or three hours and had to stick to easy, non-back-hurting things after that. For another year. Because admitting I was injured and couldn't hope to advance much further would be quitting. This also explains why I have held jobs that I have outgrown and don't even like way (way, way) past their expiration dates. I am not a quitter!
7. On occasion I might get slightly more into certain things than is "normal" for your average human. Some people might consider me obsessed with these things. Those people simply do not know what they are missing. Examples: TiVo, Trader Joe's, Television Without Pity, The Milk Pail, social dance (waltz, swing, contra, etc.), Veronica Mars / Joan of Arcadia / other really *really* good shows that network execs cancel without any consideration for my feelings...
8. I am a fiddler. No, I have no musical talent, but I seem to be incapable of sitting still without having something to do with my hands. On the table next to my couch there is a fan which I open and close, open and close. Also a paperclip and a binder clip that I play with as I watch TV. On my desk at work I have a paperclip, a small post-it pad, a pen and one of these. I used to have a small slinky too. I don't know when, why or how I became this fidgety because I was not always like this.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Those who know me could easily guess that the title "The Pursuit of Happyness" would bug me. In fact, my youngest sister took great joy in bringing up the title multiple times when I was at my parents' house for Christmas. And yet, no one has intuited that I was equally bothered when I heard of "The Last Mimzy" (previewed when I went to watch Bridge to Terabithia which I heartily recommend - great movie!). Because, you see, mimsy is *clearly* an adjective, and yet the title is using it as a noun! However I have been able to maintain my sanity because the two words are really not the same word at all. One is spelled with an s, the other with a z. Whew! Crisis averted!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Hmm, it's January 30 and I think I can say with confidence that my "15 minutes a day of cleaning" thing has been a moderate success. I'm getting better at doing the cleaning each day instead of just saving up those quarter hours for Saturday. Certain tasks take me easily beyond the 15 minutes, but once I get started I don't care so much. The big gain has been that the goal makes me get started. Started is good. My houselet isn't the most beautiful thing on the planet yet - not by a long shot. But it is better on the whole.
February's goal will be to stretch every day. Up until a few months ago I could just plop down into splits anytime. No warm-up needed. That isn't so much the case any longer. (Which I know because I have a gymnastics class every Tuesday night.) I don't know why, but it isn't a trend I wish to encourage so I guess I'll have to actually work at staying flexible now.
February's goal will be to stretch every day. Up until a few months ago I could just plop down into splits anytime. No warm-up needed. That isn't so much the case any longer. (Which I know because I have a gymnastics class every Tuesday night.) I don't know why, but it isn't a trend I wish to encourage so I guess I'll have to actually work at staying flexible now.
Monday, January 08, 2007
So I don't really do New Years' Resolutions. I do smaller, more frequent resolutions throughout the year. Which I am adept at breaking just about as quickly as the average American breaks his or her New Years' resolutions. Yay me?
Anyway, in addition to a vague intention to really start thinking about maybe getting on some of my 101 in 1001 list items, I'm going to make a New Years' resolution this year. Really. Except it is going to be spread out over the year so I can flake 12 times instead of all at once. My resolution is to pick up 12 good habits this year - one per month.
January is the dawn of the "clean or pick up for 15 minutes each day Monday - Friday leaving weekends free for fun." The benefit is that if I flake, I *can* pick up a missed day on Saturday (but NOT Sunday). But that is no fun. Since I hadn't thought of this resolution until Friday nightish, I did all of last week on Saturday (and also I had a friend coming over and the house was not even up to 'friend who claims to be bad housekeeper' standards). But starting today, it's 15 minutes per day.
Anyway, in addition to a vague intention to really start thinking about maybe getting on some of my 101 in 1001 list items, I'm going to make a New Years' resolution this year. Really. Except it is going to be spread out over the year so I can flake 12 times instead of all at once. My resolution is to pick up 12 good habits this year - one per month.
January is the dawn of the "clean or pick up for 15 minutes each day Monday - Friday leaving weekends free for fun." The benefit is that if I flake, I *can* pick up a missed day on Saturday (but NOT Sunday). But that is no fun. Since I hadn't thought of this resolution until Friday nightish, I did all of last week on Saturday (and also I had a friend coming over and the house was not even up to 'friend who claims to be bad housekeeper' standards). But starting today, it's 15 minutes per day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)