February - A Month of Balance

February is the month of balance according to my “Calendar of Tranquility”.

Balance by definition implies having a healthy mental equilibrium and enjoying equal amounts of work and play. It means having healthy relationships with family and friends, as well as balancing what you’re eating. Too much of anything is not a good thing. When balance is disrupted and tipped to either extreme it can be hard to correct.

This has become all too important for me. I know that I tend to do too much. I’m happiest when I’m busy and it’s hard for me to relax and take a day off. I’m up every morning at 6am, work my morning shift, come back home and watch whatever happens to be on A&E (usually CSI: Miami, or The First 48), I head back to work, and follow up with an evening of badminton, trivia practice, yoga or some combination of the above. I’m not home most nights until at least 9:30pm.

A couple of weeks ago, my body was clearly angry with me. I was fine in the morning, but as the day progressed, I started to get a fever and it was eventually too painful to even stand as all my joints and muscles ached. I managed to drag myself to yoga class, but had to opt out of going to badminton afterwards. I walked all the way home (about 30 min), made myself a cup of Neocitran, and passed out until I had to get up for work the following morning. The fever had broke thankfully, but it was kind of a wake-up call from my immune system.

Because I am currently not in school, my brain has this active desire to constantly take on new projects to fill that void. New things to try over the next couple months:

1) learn HMTL (I'm pretty horrible with technology and need to fix that)

2) write fan mail to a tennis player (I'm thinking Canadian Peter Polansky, his mailing address is on his facebook page)

3) start collecting French postcards (I have seen some gorgeous ones of Paris, and just in general I love anything French)

4) write reviews about Racquet Science (tennis/ badminton store) and Le Chien Noir (French restaurant)

5) Ask out the guy I have had a crush on since Grade 11

6) Work on my Renoir 1000 piece puzzle (I need something quiet to do that doesn't involve the television)

7) Start blogging en Français (since moving to Kingston I don't use my French enough, and writing is definitely my weakest area)

8) Read at least 3 novels (I have definitely put off reading to watch more TV)

New Beginnings

Given its the last day of the year 2011, I've been reflecting a lot on this past year. Mistakes I've made, the heartbreak I endured towards the middle of the year, all the new things I've learned, the hurdles I've overcome, and how much of a better person I am. The year 2012 for me really is a fresh start. The latter part of 2011 I wish I could just go back and delete.

I hate making New Years resolutions because many of them are not long-term goals, and they often fail. My goal for the year is to do a photo blog: Project 365 - with one photo for everyday of my life. It will be posted on here, as well as on Facebook. One of my classmates from university did it, and it was interesting to see all the things she did over the course of an entire year. I think it also forces me to get out and do more on a regular basis so that my life doesn't become boring. I also love taking pictures and photos require a lot less writing than a regular blog, so I don't anticipate it will be too hard to keep on top of. These last couple of months I have been getting better at goal setting and undertaking new things.

So far in January I will be:
- starting a chess club at the school I work at
- volunteering in the french classroom
- teaching badminton at the YMCA
- joining a second badminton club
- starting zumba classes
- continuing with my 3x/ week yoga classes
- starting my photo blog
- taking care of my new Betta fish Sébastien
- continuing the organization of a Quizbowl tournament to be held in early February

It's no wonder I'm single eh? I have no time in my schedule. And to be honest, it feels great to be "doing me" for the first time in nearly 3 years. I do what I want and don't give a flying fig about what anyone else thinks. Being single is so much easier than being with anyone. Sure it gets lonely sometimes, but you can't ever be let down. The only person you can ever rely on is yourself.