It Pretty Much Went Like That

And just like that, almost two weeks went by...

I wasn't so overly busy I couldn't post, I was just lacking the motivation to write anything. I think I kind of burned myself out on the Christmas posting and just needed a no-guilt break from posting for a little bit. It was well-worth it. Still, life continued on while all was quiet on here so let's glance back.

1. My goal of listing everything each week is still going well... kind of. I got a little overzealous after my last post and wrote a list which was three pages long. Granted, it was a lot of small (but important) tasks written on pages only 20 lines long, but it was still long. Monday and Tuesday, I attacked that thing like McCarthy attacked suspected communists.

Image from Hyperbole and a Half. Specifically this post.

Full disclosure: I love Ali Brosh with all my heart.

Wednesday I looked at the list and did a few things but just couldn't find the motivation to keep it up for more than an hour (plus there was snow to play in!). Thursday, I woke up feeling achy and unable to concentrate for longer than 5 mins at a time. Friday was full flu-epidemic in my world. Dammit.

Monday and Tuesday had taken the list down to one page so I'm clinging to the idea that had I not been incubating a petri dish in my nasal cavities/head/throat/achy back muscles, I totally could have gotten the list completed. And I totally would have cleaned all the things!

2. It snowed in Victoria. It was beautiful. I don't have pictures because a) I had to return the camera to its rightful owner and b) just like you don't bring a knife to a gun fight, you don't bring electronics to a snowball fight.

But it was really pretty. The temps stayed low enough that it stuck around like proper Alberta snow instead of turning into the slushy, icy, deathtrap snow that it usually is in Victoria. Then one night it started raining and when the city woke up the next morning, the snow was gone. That's the way I wish it would happen every year.

3. Season Four of Merlin has started. Yes, I watch Merlin. Judge me all you want, I like it.

It's cheesy fun times with adorable accents and awesome sets. And seeing as Doctor Who isn't on right now, I need something to watch while I enjoy my Sunday morning coffee. Also, James Callis (aka Gaius Baltar from BSG) has a guest appearance on it this week so my geeky heart is just jumping with excitement. I will defend my love of this cheesy, cheesy show. Now, if you really want to judge me...

4. The Challenge: Battle of the Exes has started on MTV. Strangely enough, I don't actually care for 'The Real World' from which this was born. The Challenge is different. I always make an effort to watch it. Judge me. Please. Goodness knows, I'm judging myself for admitting this. The first episode aired this past Wednesday and I was way more giddy about it than any 30+ year old has any right to be.

5. I'm back to work in the office. I've been put in charge of a new project which is both awesome and intimidating. I'm the only person in my building working on it, while all my contacts either work in the other building or work for a different ministry/business partner. It's strange to go from a position where all my thoughts on a program had to go through my supervisor for approval before being signed off at the ministry to a position where all my thoughts go through me and, within my little sphere of influence, the ministry doesn't have to sign off on it.

Check back in six months for my update about how I ran the program into the ground and brought the entire government to its knees with an excel spreadsheet.

Guess where I borrowed and modified this from.

6. Remember when I said I was working on a vlog? Almost done. Just thought you should know that. You know what else is almost done? My final Ireland post with reviews of places we stay/ate/visited. It turned into a book so I'm going back and editing it down to a more bare-bones, less trying-to-be-funny, review post. Strictly reviews/suggestions for other travellers.

7. More judging: I'm going to Underworld: Awakening tonight. Is it going to be crap? Probably. Will I love every crappy moment of it? Definitely. I have an unhealthy love of that series... even the second really crappy one. For all my 'I read science blogs and non-fiction books', I have crap taste in films and have no right to judge anyone's film preferences... unless it's Twilight.

But not the second one. It barely had a story.

8. I got my DVDs of Firefly back from the person I lent them to. Between lending them to three different friends, I haven't had them in over six months. Obviously, I need to rewatch them. I'm toying with the idea of a 12-week Firefly Friday post series. Just giving you all fair warning that it may get really nerdarific up in here!

I've missed my little corner of the Internets. It feels good to be back.

Pressure On!

Two weeks ago, Under Pressure randomly popped up on my music list. I love Queen and when it started playing, I walked down the street with a grin on my face. I tend to list to the Greatest Hits I more than the II so I don't hear Under Pressure all that often. I switched to repeat and listed to the song five or six times in a row.

I was a child of the late 80's/early 90's and my first introduction to Under Pressure was through Vanilla Ice's Ice, Ice Baby because it was everywhere when it came out. The first time I heard that familiar riff and it wasn't Ice, Ice Baby I almost fell out of my chair. You mean this addictive riff is actually part of a good song?!? YAY!

It was the lyrics of this song which helped propel me to commit to going to Tanzania in 2007 (the part about love daring you to care) so it only seems appropriate that five years later, I start the year by having this song on repeat.

Pegging It Onto the To-Do List

I'm a week into my resolution to create weekly/monthly lists and so far? It's been awesome. Who knew that writing down what you need to do will help you do it? Oh, right. Everyone. Granted, last week's list was pretty skimpy because I didn't want to overwhelm myself and fail before I even got started, but I rocked it.

Obviously 'write a blog post' was not on my list. That's been corrected for this week.

An item on this week's to-do list which I really didn't expect is learn to play crib. It's a game that my mom taught me as a child but we only played it when we went camping so I'd forget from year to year. I think I've 'learned' to play crib (or cribbage) three or four times. Even over the summer it came up in conversation and I joked that I had retired from crib. Then I learned that Ed (this guy) needed people to play with.

Shortly before that post, Ed lost his wife. The building managers (BMs) have gone above and beyond the requirements of their position and regularly meet up with him for coffee, dinner or games of crib. For my part, I drop off treats whenever I bake and I anonymously sent him a postcard from Ireland. When I finally admitted to him at Christmas that the card was from me, he gave me and our BMs grief for not telling him. "Do you know how long I've stared at that card trying to figure it out? EVERY DAY!" But the big grin on his face was worth the fake anger.

Our BMs are leaving on holidays for two weeks on Saturday; Ed will be without his crib partners. Knowing that I have a soft spot for Ed (I went with them to visit him when he was in the hospital last March), one of the BMs asked if I played crib. Learning crib was on my to-do list before the conversation was even over.

I can't wait to cross it off the list!

Failure to Plan and All That Jazz...

I excel at setting long-term goals. EXCEL AT IT! Every January, I look at the blank canvas which is the year ahead of me and think of what is possible in that year. What could I do with those 12 months? Then I think of all the amazing things, pick a few I like, and write them down.

Where I fail is setting short term goals to reach those long term goals. I look at my goals and think "I have 12 months to complete that, I'll deal with it tomorrow" and then continue to think that until a couple of  months down the road when I just stop looking at my goals. It's easier to ignore them if you never open the word document.

I set goals last year and didn't achieve on of them. Not one. I'm sure part of that is due to the fact that I couldn't even remember what they were without looking them up. So instead of setting goals for this year and talking about them on here, I'm making a resolution: set and work on short-term goals on a weekly and monthly basis.

That's it. No grand plan to unicycle up Everest next Christmas Eve. No decision to memorize and recite the entire Histories in Ancient Greek. I have a few goals for the year, but what I really want is to look back and see 12 months of goals set to help move myself forward towards my 'big' goals. I want to see 52 weeks worth of goals set and (mostly*) achieved which will allow me to complete the monthly goals.

I've found an unused lined notebook. I'm in the middle of turning into a goal book of sorts so I can keep track of my monthly/weekly goals etc. It's pretty much my goal for this week!

*I'm not going to get upset if I don't make every single goal every single week as long as I'm still moving forwards towards the end result.

How to Start a New Year

Realise you've had less than six hours sleep three days in a row so opt to be a good girl and stay in.

Make yourself a hot chocolate and Bailey's and settle in to watch the Doctor Who Series Six DVD you got for Christmas.

Decide that as you're taking things easy, you can stay up until midnight, just head to bed very quickly afterwards.

Be halfway through an episode (Let's Kill Hitler by the way) when the new year arrives. Laugh at your cats doing laps around the apartment every time a firecracker goes off.

Once the episode is over, start trolling the internet and find lots of Doctor Who themed pictures.

 

Yes. Yes, it is.

Well, it's mine at least.

Go to bed at 2AM.

Wake up at 7:30AM and curse the addictive hilariousness of Doctor Who fans.

Watch another Doctor Who episode while you potter about the house.

For the first time in the five years that you've thought about doing it, go to the Government House levée, arriving just in time to be the last person in the receiving line.

Sing 'Auld Lang Syne' with hundreds of other people and the pipe band before making your way to the patio to stare across the Juan de Fuca Straight to the snow capped Olympic Mountains. Remind yourself that you live in a pretty freaking beautiful part of the world.

Laugh as the Lieutenant-Governor 'pays the piper' and then cry while he gives his speech. (In this case, 'pay the piper' means to share a wee dram with the piper who led in the head party.)

Vow to make it to the levée in future years. Next time, drag people with you suggest your friends come along.

Write a couple of thoughts as to goals for 2012. Set them aside so you can sleep on them some more.

Go to your mom's for dinner. Receive an impromptu guitar lesson. Celebrate your older brother getting even older.

Curl up on your couch with your cats and watch another episode of Doctor Who before bed. Decided that this sentence will stay on your 2012 list of goals:

Best advice I've been given in a long time.

I hope you've all had a wonderful first 24 hours to 2012!