So what with the cooking practice, the award shows and nomination announcements, and my determination to fit in as much missing culture as I can, I have not been very loyal to this blog!
The updates:
1. Cooking- I'm starting to get a handle on things! I learned to make a braised steak in my crockpot, and from there I made a yet-to-be-named dish that resembled pulled pork (but it was steak), eggs, and cheese in a taco shell. Last night I made salmon, and the night before bbq chicken. It's taken a lot of phone calls to mom, but I'm starting to feel more confident and I don't allow myself to consider the fast food options anymore. It feels good.
2. Working Out- I had the weirdest interaction with a Russian man named Misch-Misch in my gym. By "weirdest" I mean genuinely unsettling and I have been advised to just pay for a gym membership to go somewhere more open/safer. Besides that, I've felt really motivated about making it to the gym and I already can tell I have more energy. I also started making it a routine to get up early and do yoga in the morning-- I'd like to do a post on the magic of routines, but the short version is, it doesn't take long to get used to anything.
3. Giving up TV: Besides New Girl on Tuesday night, I have watched NO mindless TV. It actually proved to be a lot easier to give up than what I originally had expected, just because I don't have time for it now. Plus, I have a desk (!) so I've been doing a lot more writing. Mostly I just haven't needed to disconnect my brain like I was doing when I first moved in. I finally watched Pulp Fiction, which I loved, and although it's a weird transition I can also cross Zoolander off my list. January "to watch" was mostly just movies that my friends like that I've been putting off-- I honestly can't listen to Ben Stiller and not hear Kayse.
Now, it's just going to be an oscar nomination filled few weeks while I try to catch up on everything I haven't seen-- except Cake, which didn't get nominated for anything but I'm just going to treat it as though it had.
I'm making a separate post for all the movies that were nominated and what I need to watch/prioritize. Stay tuned (or read above, if it's already there).
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
Happy Birthday, Simone de Beauvoir!
"I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity. I want this adventure that is the context of my life to go on without end."
"I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom."
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Happy day!
1) Have I mentioned I love my job and the people I work with? My coworker steps out of the office 10 minutes before we all leave to turn our cars on so they'll be nice and warm by the time we're ready to go home. What a sweet guy. Who needs an automatic starter when you work with a gentleman.
2) I had a wonderful experience with my new dentist, and it feels like a big step in the right direction towards making this place a home. They had pretty cool updated tools (they don't even scrape your teeth, they have this weird vibrating water pic that sounds like a slow death but hurts much less than the metal pick), and a laser that tests for cavities without needing xrays (mine hadn't gotten in from my last dentist). Then, to cap it all off, they scheduled me an appointment at the end of January to get my cavities taken care of, even though we don't know exactly how many I have. All just so I had a reserved space and we could make sure it gets taken care of before I run out of dental insurance.
3) My mother's pancakes as backup dinner- yes, I've been trying to eat healthy, but this definitely would have been a taco bell night (I didn't even get back until 7) so I would call pancakes an improvement. Plus it's also helping me to stick to my goal of not buying food or going out until I use up everything I have in my freezer now. In college, I was excited for fresh pepperoni rolls, but as an adult I find my mother's pancakes the ultimate comfort food.
4) Kind Bars- We have a wellness coordinator at work who is in charge of creating healthy alternatives, health goal incentives (like a program for people that want to quit smoking, or lose weight, whatever), and just generally maintaining a workplace where people can make conveniently healthy decisions. Today she brought in a bunch of healthy snacks to leave in our bistro to see what everyone likes, and I am currently obsessed with:
2) I had a wonderful experience with my new dentist, and it feels like a big step in the right direction towards making this place a home. They had pretty cool updated tools (they don't even scrape your teeth, they have this weird vibrating water pic that sounds like a slow death but hurts much less than the metal pick), and a laser that tests for cavities without needing xrays (mine hadn't gotten in from my last dentist). Then, to cap it all off, they scheduled me an appointment at the end of January to get my cavities taken care of, even though we don't know exactly how many I have. All just so I had a reserved space and we could make sure it gets taken care of before I run out of dental insurance.
The office was so friendly, the dentist was this young pleasant man who did not make me feel like my cavities were a reflection of my character, and my dental hygienest even gave me her phone number in case I want to go out to the bar sometime and need someone to go with. Just a really positive experience. Plus, it's only a 5 minute drive from the ofice and they're open until 7, so I don't even have to miss work to go!
3) My mother's pancakes as backup dinner- yes, I've been trying to eat healthy, but this definitely would have been a taco bell night (I didn't even get back until 7) so I would call pancakes an improvement. Plus it's also helping me to stick to my goal of not buying food or going out until I use up everything I have in my freezer now. In college, I was excited for fresh pepperoni rolls, but as an adult I find my mother's pancakes the ultimate comfort food.
4) Kind Bars- We have a wellness coordinator at work who is in charge of creating healthy alternatives, health goal incentives (like a program for people that want to quit smoking, or lose weight, whatever), and just generally maintaining a workplace where people can make conveniently healthy decisions. Today she brought in a bunch of healthy snacks to leave in our bistro to see what everyone likes, and I am currently obsessed with:
Realistically, they aren't SUPER healthy; 200 calories, a lot of fat(but the good kind), but very little sugar with a little bit of fiber and protein. I wouldn't say they would replace a meal, but they taste like a candy bar and I think they can definitely benefit someone with a sweet tooth like me. I would totally pack this as a desert.
I believe in recognizing those good days.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Quarterly Goals Update
I feel optimistic about being so far ahead in my quarter goals and only being 5 days into the year, but realistically I started sometime at the end of the December. No reason to wait though, right?
So far I've read The Alchemist, A Clockwork Orange, and I'm almost finished with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Out of the three, A Clockwork Orange was definitely my favorite (but also the hardest to read).
As for my losing 30 pounds goal, so far I've lost 5 (but again, this is out of a 21/2ish week period). I have a six week workout challenge, and I even met a friendly neighbor at the gym! He was a beefy middle-aged man who made friendly small talk when I came in, and then asked if I was ok with him being there because he would leave and come back I felt uncomfortable. It is an awfully tiny room to be sweating in with a strange man you just met (someone lifting weights would have to strain their neck to not stare at a person's ass while on the elliptical) but his awareness and kindness was so refreshing. Hurray for men that make women feel safe!
Cooking efforts have been ambitious, but mostly futile. My hands are starting to look like a misbehaving house elf's.
So far I've read The Alchemist, A Clockwork Orange, and I'm almost finished with Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Out of the three, A Clockwork Orange was definitely my favorite (but also the hardest to read).
As for my losing 30 pounds goal, so far I've lost 5 (but again, this is out of a 21/2ish week period). I have a six week workout challenge, and I even met a friendly neighbor at the gym! He was a beefy middle-aged man who made friendly small talk when I came in, and then asked if I was ok with him being there because he would leave and come back I felt uncomfortable. It is an awfully tiny room to be sweating in with a strange man you just met (someone lifting weights would have to strain their neck to not stare at a person's ass while on the elliptical) but his awareness and kindness was so refreshing. Hurray for men that make women feel safe!
Cooking efforts have been ambitious, but mostly futile. My hands are starting to look like a misbehaving house elf's.
Yesterday I tried barbeque chicken, today was sort of a beef taco (all of these things are only vague representations of what they are supposed to be). You know you're in trouble when you have the onion powder at the table with your salt and pepper.
Friday, January 2, 2015
First Friday of 2015
1. Leaving Work Early- It has been a super weird work week (I was off Monday, back on Tuesday, half day Wednesday, off Thursday, then back today) and since hardly anyone is in the office it's hard to move forward on a lot of my projects. Today I actually had a fairly productive day and was feeling really proactive, and then at 11:30 we found out that we were excused to leave at 2. What a difference 3 hours makes! Going home and having a few hours of daylight is awesome.
2. This Article on Menstrual Cups- Sometimes, when you are feeling lousy, you get reminders like this on how privileged you are. Never have I ever been forced to live in a clay hut or skip school because of my menses (that's right, we're talking about this). If you feel inspired by the article, Femme International has some really awesome projects you can donate towards-- you don't even have to dump ice on your head.
3. Dumb puns from my brother:
2. This Article on Menstrual Cups- Sometimes, when you are feeling lousy, you get reminders like this on how privileged you are. Never have I ever been forced to live in a clay hut or skip school because of my menses (that's right, we're talking about this). If you feel inspired by the article, Femme International has some really awesome projects you can donate towards-- you don't even have to dump ice on your head.
3. Dumb puns from my brother:
Thursday, January 1, 2015
First 15 Books of 2015
1. The Alchemist -Paolo Coelho
2. A Clockwork Orange -Anthony Burgess
3. Trainspotting -Irvine Welsh
4. Love in the Time of Cholera -Gabriel García Márquez
5. Cat's Cradle -Kurt Vonnegut
6. Lolita -Vladimir Nabokov
7. The End of the Affair -Graham Greene
8. Catcher in the Rye -J.D. Salinger
9. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing -Melissa Bank
10. The Color Purple -Alice Walker
11. Magical Thinking -Augusten Burroughs
12. In Cold Blood -Truman Capote
13. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never do Again -David Foster Wallace
14. Memoirs of a Geisha -Arthur Golden
15. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children -Ransom Riggs
2. A Clockwork Orange -Anthony Burgess
3. Trainspotting -Irvine Welsh
4. Love in the Time of Cholera -Gabriel García Márquez
5. Cat's Cradle -Kurt Vonnegut
6. Lolita -Vladimir Nabokov
7. The End of the Affair -Graham Greene
8. Catcher in the Rye -J.D. Salinger
9. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing -Melissa Bank
10. The Color Purple -Alice Walker
11. Magical Thinking -Augusten Burroughs
12. In Cold Blood -Truman Capote
13. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never do Again -David Foster Wallace
14. Memoirs of a Geisha -Arthur Golden
15. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children -Ransom Riggs
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