A fresh start
Jan. 1st, 2008 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddUsually, I'm fairly good at multitasking, so it's annoying that there are certain things that I can't do at once, such as type and peel a clementine. Bloh. But that's neither here nor there:
Happy New Year, everyone!
May 2008 be full of love, laughter and all the good things in life.
2007 was, on the whole, a good year, and an enormous step up from 2006, which was, my move to Japan notwithstanding, the most horrible year I've ever had, and by a loooooong shot. So, some highlights from the year just ended:
- I struck out on my own again, and though it was hard at first, it's only gotten easier. I'm so glad I am where I am, right now.
- I did more travelling than expected, visiting Paris, Chartres, Switzerland, Kyoto and Okinawa, as well as the planned back home/Niagara Falls/Montreal trip.
- Guests! My mother, my aunt, my father and A-L all came to visit me, and I showed them the things I love about Tokyo.
- I started working again, and even though it's not that many hours a week, it's done wonders for my sense of self -- I hadn't realised how much earning my own money meant to me.
- I knit quite a bit: three whole blankets, a pair of mittens, two pairs of socks, three scarves (I'm not counting works in progress).
- Though my sewing was mainly concentrated in the first half of the year, at least for clothing, I did finish quite a few things. Off the top of my head: three skirts, three dresses/tops, three pairs of pyjama pants, over a dozen pencil cases, a couple of pincushions, a cover for my bedspread, lots of (10?) pillowcases, four cushion covers, a modesty curtain for my fridge ^_^, plus several things I haven't finished yet.
- I learned to crochet! And also how to make gyouza, and may I suggest that you use lots of cilantro in them, as it makes them wonderfully delicious.
- Because I ride the subway to work, I read more books than I had in previous years -- at least, I think so. I'll have to make a list of what I read, next post, as well as the movies and tv shows I watched.
- I lost a lot of weight without consciously trying, and it seems to have had more to do with not eating lots of rice everyday than anything else. Living with G and his (admittedly tasty) cooking, I ended up getting used to bigger portions, as well as rice as the staple of most meals; it's not that I didn't eat rice before, but not as often and I usually had basmati instead of jasmine, if that made any difference. It's true that during my first month or so of living on my own I didn't eat as well as I should have, but the weight didn't come back afterwards. Also, quitting the Pill seems to have had no effect at all on my weight, not even on my breast size (I thought it would, because when I started taking the Pill, my breasts were really sore for a couple of months and I went from an A cup to a B, so I thought the reverse would happen when I stopped, but it didn't). I've also grown muscles in my arms, from carrying my teaching material around town. Who'd have thought a couple of textbooks would make such a difference!
- I took an incredible amount of pictures, but haven't done much with them. Hmph.
Last year's resolutions were mostly kept, except a couple of things, mainly that I didn't go to Costume College at all, so I didn't sew anything for that. Also, I didn't do any quilting, but I made three blankets, so I think I can give myself a half-pass on that one, and I didn't start exercising per se, but I do walk regularly, as well as take my bicycle out from time to time, so it's an improvement, and I did go out and meet some people, but not as much as I could have.
For 2008, I would like to:
- Continue with my book, movie and tv show reviews, but do them more promptly, perhaps on a weekly basis.
- Update my Travelpod more often! Is twice a month being too ambitious? Then again, I have a lot of pictures that I'd like to share. Maybe I should write down topics and draw them at random, for the times when I don't have anything current, or do simple picture posts. Also, post pictures for Greece, Eastern Europe and Newfoundland, since I've finally scanned them.
- Write more in general. Now that I have a more comfortable set-up, I should really use it, no?
- Visit Hokkaido in the snow, and I'd better hurry up and get the ball rolling on that one!
- Hike up Mt. Fuji with B1, if we can swing it, depending on when he comes to visit.
- Make a much more concentrated effort to improve my Japanese; after all, I spent a year studying it full-time, then moved here, didn't I? So I'll watch more television and read more, as well as find more opportunities to speak it.
- Finish the sewing and knitting projects I've already got on the go (I have a list!), then start using my stash with the ideas I've been sketching.
- Plan a backpacking trip for this summer, tentatively called the South-Easter Asia Tour of '08.
- Get divorced! Though the logistics might not work on this one, as I have no plans to go back to Canada this year, and you have to hand in the paperwork in person, so... At the very least, I'll get a regular visa and hand in my diplomatic passport.
- Decide what I want to do for the next couple of years or so. I'm staying in Tokyo until the summer, but after that, who knows? Though it's not so much the what, but the where. Stay in Tokyo? Stay in Japan? Or go to another country? So many possibilities... *dreamy*
- Go out, meet people, maybe date.
- Try to do a little more cooking for myself.
There, those are more guidelines than anything else, so let's see how I do!
Happy New Year, everyone!
May 2008 be full of love, laughter and all the good things in life.
2007 was, on the whole, a good year, and an enormous step up from 2006, which was, my move to Japan notwithstanding, the most horrible year I've ever had, and by a loooooong shot. So, some highlights from the year just ended:
- I struck out on my own again, and though it was hard at first, it's only gotten easier. I'm so glad I am where I am, right now.
- I did more travelling than expected, visiting Paris, Chartres, Switzerland, Kyoto and Okinawa, as well as the planned back home/Niagara Falls/Montreal trip.
- Guests! My mother, my aunt, my father and A-L all came to visit me, and I showed them the things I love about Tokyo.
- I started working again, and even though it's not that many hours a week, it's done wonders for my sense of self -- I hadn't realised how much earning my own money meant to me.
- I knit quite a bit: three whole blankets, a pair of mittens, two pairs of socks, three scarves (I'm not counting works in progress).
- Though my sewing was mainly concentrated in the first half of the year, at least for clothing, I did finish quite a few things. Off the top of my head: three skirts, three dresses/tops, three pairs of pyjama pants, over a dozen pencil cases, a couple of pincushions, a cover for my bedspread, lots of (10?) pillowcases, four cushion covers, a modesty curtain for my fridge ^_^, plus several things I haven't finished yet.
- I learned to crochet! And also how to make gyouza, and may I suggest that you use lots of cilantro in them, as it makes them wonderfully delicious.
- Because I ride the subway to work, I read more books than I had in previous years -- at least, I think so. I'll have to make a list of what I read, next post, as well as the movies and tv shows I watched.
- I lost a lot of weight without consciously trying, and it seems to have had more to do with not eating lots of rice everyday than anything else. Living with G and his (admittedly tasty) cooking, I ended up getting used to bigger portions, as well as rice as the staple of most meals; it's not that I didn't eat rice before, but not as often and I usually had basmati instead of jasmine, if that made any difference. It's true that during my first month or so of living on my own I didn't eat as well as I should have, but the weight didn't come back afterwards. Also, quitting the Pill seems to have had no effect at all on my weight, not even on my breast size (I thought it would, because when I started taking the Pill, my breasts were really sore for a couple of months and I went from an A cup to a B, so I thought the reverse would happen when I stopped, but it didn't). I've also grown muscles in my arms, from carrying my teaching material around town. Who'd have thought a couple of textbooks would make such a difference!
- I took an incredible amount of pictures, but haven't done much with them. Hmph.
Last year's resolutions were mostly kept, except a couple of things, mainly that I didn't go to Costume College at all, so I didn't sew anything for that. Also, I didn't do any quilting, but I made three blankets, so I think I can give myself a half-pass on that one, and I didn't start exercising per se, but I do walk regularly, as well as take my bicycle out from time to time, so it's an improvement, and I did go out and meet some people, but not as much as I could have.
For 2008, I would like to:
- Continue with my book, movie and tv show reviews, but do them more promptly, perhaps on a weekly basis.
- Update my Travelpod more often! Is twice a month being too ambitious? Then again, I have a lot of pictures that I'd like to share. Maybe I should write down topics and draw them at random, for the times when I don't have anything current, or do simple picture posts. Also, post pictures for Greece, Eastern Europe and Newfoundland, since I've finally scanned them.
- Write more in general. Now that I have a more comfortable set-up, I should really use it, no?
- Visit Hokkaido in the snow, and I'd better hurry up and get the ball rolling on that one!
- Hike up Mt. Fuji with B1, if we can swing it, depending on when he comes to visit.
- Make a much more concentrated effort to improve my Japanese; after all, I spent a year studying it full-time, then moved here, didn't I? So I'll watch more television and read more, as well as find more opportunities to speak it.
- Finish the sewing and knitting projects I've already got on the go (I have a list!), then start using my stash with the ideas I've been sketching.
- Plan a backpacking trip for this summer, tentatively called the South-Easter Asia Tour of '08.
- Get divorced! Though the logistics might not work on this one, as I have no plans to go back to Canada this year, and you have to hand in the paperwork in person, so... At the very least, I'll get a regular visa and hand in my diplomatic passport.
- Decide what I want to do for the next couple of years or so. I'm staying in Tokyo until the summer, but after that, who knows? Though it's not so much the what, but the where. Stay in Tokyo? Stay in Japan? Or go to another country? So many possibilities... *dreamy*
- Go out, meet people, maybe date.
- Try to do a little more cooking for myself.
There, those are more guidelines than anything else, so let's see how I do!
