Off to a Good Start

It’s day 6 of the new year, and I feel like I’m doing pretty well in regards to my resolutions.  Actually, I’m feeling pretty good about the amount of things I’ve managed to accomplish so far.  Getting off to a good start is always a nice bonus, and helps keep me motivated.

I’ve yet to write my “official” budget post, but I think it’s going to be Get Organized January.  So far I’ve organized my receipts, and got the supplies to start a new filing system (which technically doesn’t involve filing, per se).    I’m also coming up with ideas of what I need to save for, and how I want my budget to work.  Perhaps I should be looking for a slightly irregular approach, as that seems to be when I succeed best at other things.

As for my speeding,  I’m doing really well at not doing it.  :-)  Not much else to be said.

That leads to the fact that I got my brother to wash Putt-Putt for me today.   I was going to go to a drive-through car wash, but the line was too long, and then it was closed.  So we went to a do-it-yourself one.  And I asked, and he did.  No complaints from me, especially since he can do it faster than I can with the same results.  Not quite sure why, but I’ll take it.

I’ve yet to decide whether Putt-Putt is a guy or girl though.  To me, cars are girls.  But the name doesn’t make me think so.  Maybe Putt-Putt is an “it”?  My next car is going to be a girl though.

As for the self-improvement portion,  I printed off my January goals check-list (and updated it).  I’m not scoring 100% or anything, but I’m doing way better now than I was back in October when I started the check-list.  And I know what I need to work on, which is half the battle.

I also started my move out list today.  Nothing too detailed, but the plan was basically to start the file.   So I’ve got different categories, like: kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, miscellaneous, etc.  The plan is to basically go through my (parent’s) house from top to bottom and write down everything I think I will need for myself.  And then check off what I have already.  I’ve got a lot of the big things, but I know there’s going to be tons of little random things (like a can opener, tape measure, screwdriver, measuring spoons, silverware organizer…).

So I can honestly say that I’m not as big of a candy fan as I used to be.  I bought $12 worth the other day, and it’s been 3 nights, and I’ve still got stuff left.  That would’ve been gone within 2 hours back in the day.  Definitely a good thing.  I’m eating more healthy foods now too.  Still no where near what I should be, but a little improvement is better than nothing.  And I do need to acquire a taste for a lot of things.

Without really realizing it, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about snowboarding, and just how important it really is to me.   And honestly, it’s nowhere near important as it was last year.  I’m not even sure how many competitions I’m going to do.  It’s just not a priority anymore.  I still love it (don’t get me wrong on that).  But there are other things I want to do in my spare time now.  I don’t think I’m really saddened by this development, although I am a little bit surprised.  This means I probably won’t be planning on buying any new gear this season, and that ultimately affects how I budget.

I’ve been attempting to clean up my bedroom a little bit every day now.   In some way, shape or form.  Like today I went through a bunch of my clothing, and got rid of tons!  And I’m moving things off my desk to their proper place.  Still lots to do, but I feel way better about it already.  I’ve collected a lot of junk over the years, but I’m getting more critical about what I keep.  I’d like to think that this attitude will stick with me when I go shopping for new things now.  But only time will tell with that…

Katherine and I went to yoga for the first time in 2008 on Saturday morning.  The 8am class too.  It was really fun – the instructor left a lot of time for playing around with handstand and shoulderstand.  I’m looking forward to going to more of his classes because he’s really helpful and encouraging.  I think that a combination of fun, playful classes and structured classes will be really great.  But I need to make sure I set some money aside for my studio passes.

I bought this gorgeous blue scarf the other day.  And it’s so soft.  But it sheds like fricking crazy!!!  Whenever I wear it, I end up covered in fuzz.  And I mean covered.  Today I tried to put it in the dryer with some tennis balls.  The tennis balls (and lint thingy) came out covered, as I expected, but the scarf is still shedding.  I’ve got no clue how to make it stop.  So if anyone has ANY ideas, please pass them my way.  Because I really love this scarf.

Neti and Other (Less) Fascinating Discoveries

The past couple of weeks have been…interesting.  As seems to be inevitable, there was some unpleasant developments.  But I think the foundations have been laid for a mulitude of more enjoyable ones.

Let’s start with the most off-the-wall one: neti.  This practice is, much to my amusement, also called nasal irrigation.  Or nasal cleansing.  Basically, you take a teapot full of salt water, stick the spout up one nostril and tilt your head so the water comes out the other one.  An interesting experience to say the least.   It sounded really simple to do.  But I found out getting the corrct angle for your head is not easily conveyed by written instructions.  Instead the first few tries, I found myself kneeling over the bathtub drinking saltwater through my nose.  Which I actually found rather amusing, as you can’t actually taste the saltiness, but your other senses inform you in different ways.  And you don’t have to swallow – the water just flows down the back of your throat.  Anyways, I eventually figured out how to get the water to flow from nostril to nostril.  The entire process isn’t unpleasant, but it’s not exactly a bucketful of fun either.  The end results are definitely worth it – no matter how stuffed my nose was to begin with, I can breathe clearly after.  I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind.

 So I’m currently sitting at ULS writing a blog instead of working.  And thinking about working brings up so many mixed ideas right now.  The best is definitely that when I get back from vacation I get to start a new job of the U of C Business Library.  This job sounds perfect on so many levels.  Most importantly, it’s on campus so I don’t have to worry about travel time.  And I get to work with customers (aka students).  But that’s still a ways away.  Right now I still have to deal with Calgary Public Library (and the associated, and dreaded, ULS), as well as Claire’s.  After today, I have 4 shifts with CPL and 4 with Claire’s left.  And I’m really only looking forward to my last shift with CPL; the other 7 are simply superfluous.  To make matters worse, today was supposed to be my last day at ULS.  I was so ready to say good-bye forever, as I will never be coming back here.  That’s how much I hate it.  But no, one of the ladies has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so I must now return tomorrow.  Torture!  And Claire’s is a really unpleasant environment right now.  It seems like every other staff member is in a grumpy mood all the time and entirely unmotivated.  Not to mention I just can’t deal with the utter chaos that comes from working in one of Calgary’s busiest malls with a store that is way too tiny for the amount of merchandise it holds.  For now, I am just trying to take it one day at a time.

On the bright side of things, my vacation is starting next week.  And there are plenty of things to look forward to then: back-to-school shopping, getting a new tattoo, going to Edmonton to see Jessica!

One of my favourite things about this blog is the tag cloud.  It looks so…pretty.  Basically, that’s just me being easily amused I think.  But I’m tagging one concept from each paragraph.  Actually, that is by itself a bit of a feat, as I tend to ramble on about different topics in the same paragraph sometime.  I’ll just look at it as a learning experience.

 For now, I think I am going to try and get some work done in the remaining 30 minutes of my shift.  And hopefully I will be able to blog on a more regular basis once school starts and I’m no longer staring mindlessly at a computer screen for 8 hours a day.  :-D