I've been away from it for a while, as I've had a busy Christmas and New Year; I was away from home for a few weeks, and didn't have my regular access to my computer. Needless to say, when my laptop and I are happily reunited, I'll be updating on the books I've read (there are a lot of them, and a number of fantastic ones), some of the movies I've seen (Avatar was incredible, and the Lovely Bones was quite emotional for me...) and Christmas chaos in retail.
For now, I thought I'd post my New Year's resolutions, as a tribute to the time I've missed here, and also, hopefully, in order to motivate me to keep them throughout the year, given that I've published them!
1. Learn to drive. I know, I know, how can I not have got my license already...the truth is, I just never needed, nor wanted it. So I never got it! I live very close to the Busway here in Brisbane, and I have access to everywhere in the city and beyond that I could hope for, all two minutes walk away. However, the time will come soon when I will be moving out with my boyfriend, and may be removed from my beloved Busway, so I guess this is a must do this year.
2. Learn to cook. I want to be able to cook basic meals and some nice ones, as well as biscuits and cakes and things. I'm aiming to be healthier this year, and this is one way to get started on that! My gran bought me the Women's Weekly Complete Cook book for Christmas to get me kick-started!
3. Attend the gym twice a week. This is a pretty obvious one, I guess. Keep fit, make use of my gym membership, etc, etc. I've been going good with it so far thanks to a work friend who has taken on the task of being my personal trainer! She's going to make a great PT when she's qualified!
4. Never be afraid of failing at uni again. This one is easily achievable; I was so frightened I had failed a course - I had to take an exam again due to illness on the day and I was certain I had failed. I was wrong, thankfully, but I never want that feeling again!
On top of these, I plan to keep saving money for moving out, and all those sorts of big things, as well as planning to stay away from situations which make me stressed. Stress takes a physical toll on me, and I end up becoming ill from it (as do most people, I guess), so this year, I plan to stay as far away from stress as possible!
On a different topic, I'm working with some designs for my tattoo. I plan to get it underneath my ankle bone on my left ankle (so that when I'm a teacher, it can easily be covered by my favourite ballet flats). I have always loved cherry blossoms. I studied Japanese from grade two, and was introduced to them from a young age. I would want my tattoo to be delicate and fine, and to have no heavy black on it at all. I want to make use of white inks, and to find the perfect pink colour. I will design it myself (well, before the tattoo artist finalises it, anyway). I've been fascinated by tattoos at the moment, and would love to hear about yours, if you have some, or if you plan to in the future. I love hearing the stories behind people's tattoos - for the most part, if you choose to ink yourself permanently, chances are you've got a good story behind your choice! I like this design, but by no means is it what I will finally have... Thoughts? More updates soon. Love Claire.xx
Glad you back into it! I look forward to seeing what books you've read. I haven't seen The Lovely Bones yet. Maybe sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteI too hope you are healthier this year. You've had a bad run with sickness last year :(
I'm excited about your tattoo! I would love to have a small cross on my wrist. Can't wait to hear more about your one. A cherry blossom would be perfect!
The Lovely Bones was awesome! I have it on DVD if you don't get time to see it, what with all the excitement! A cross sounds beautiful, I can really imagine you with that. I'm working on my cherry blossom design atm! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the driving Claire. The only reason I got my liscence was because i didn't want to have to do the new laws so i got it over and done with before they changed. The only reason i upgraded to my Green P's was because i lost my license and it was cheaper to upgrade than to replace.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you need a car if you live in brisbane. The public transport is fantastic. I live less than a minutes walk from a train station and they go as the crow flies so it ends up being faster than driving (not to mention the cost of parking in brisbane).
I did the exact same thing as you did with regards to failing a course. I was terrified that i had failed MATH1051 and i totally freaked out about it. In the end it turned out i got a 5. I've since realised that if you do your work and pay attention it's actually rather hard to fail.
Stress affects me in a rather physical manner as well. In grade 12 i stressed out so much that my brain was releasing neurotoxins into my muscles and i had to spend a bit over a week in hospital on morphine and daily physiotherapy sessions. A similar thing happened when I thought I failed 1051 and I went to the doctor to get diagnosed for depression. The doctor more-or-less said that i'm too inteligent for my own good, somewhat like the guy in road trip that has to smoke weed to calm down because even from the age of 4 he was freaking out about the gulf war. He put me on fish oil tablets (to increase my concentration to allow me to deal with focusing on everything at once) and i have been fine ever since. =D
It's good that you're sensible enough to take into account your teaching position before going ahead with your tattoo.