Week of Opportunity

After a completely unproductive weekend...(Where I literally accomplished nothing). Tomorrow starts a new week and a bunch of opportunities to try new things (mostly in my effort to regain some form of physical fitness). Tomorrow I'm going to attempt this by trying "Laughter Yoga." Not sure exactly what this is, I just know it involves breathing exercises, movements and will hopefully improve my happiness by making me laugh because the winter blues are in full force. So we'll see how that goes. Then Tuesday my friend and I are going to try "Cardio Hip Hop." I'm going to assume that this is probably mostly a dance class who's soul purpose is to get you're heart going. Which should be fun. Although I still have visions of me dying on the floor from exhaustion. We'll see. Then on Thursday (I'm not sure if I'm going to take my first crack at this class this Thursday or the following one) we're going to try "Belly Fit." The Belly Fit class is one of the few that actually had a description on the website so I actually know what that is. 


"Belly Fit is a fusion fitness class that offers a full body, highly effective exercise experience! In the first half, expect to burn mega calories, relieve stress and get the sweat flowing with fun, easy to learn cardio moves infused with the ancient and beautiful fundamentals of Belly Dance, Bollywood, Bhangra, and African Dance. In the second half, enjoy the sculpting, toning and tightening of a Pilates inspired core workout, as well as a deep yet relaxing Yoga infused stretch and a mindful Mudra Meditation. Offered in the tried and true format of traditional group fitness, each class is set to the high energy beats of the electronic drum, fused with culturally rich ethno-organic sounds and melodies, giving you an hour that inspires the body, the mind, the spirit, and the heart to reach beyond limitations and into pure transformation."


I suppose this means that I can broaden my cultural horizons while also trying to regain physical fitness. To be really cliche; "hit two birds with one stone?" 

Smiting Optimism

Because I have to call this spa/salon thing a week ahead of time to book an appointment to use this gift certificate thing I called them today. Needless to say they totally ruined my Valentines Day plans. (And at this point I think that the only way they'll get fixed is if a super sweet cute guy fixes them, by making any sort of plans with me. And let's be realistic, that's not happening). Apparently I'm only allowed to get one service done at a time (fine whatever I can deal with that.) Also the girl who does this stuff only works on Saturdays (Fine can I come in on the 12th?) No...she's completely booked. You can come in on Feb 19th at 4:00. Lame. But I took it. So now I have absolutely ZERO Valentine's day plans and I'm getting a pedicure on the 19th. I also suppose that I should phone back in like two days to make an appointment for the next thing because I want my massage and I want my hair cut. Needless to say I'm not pleased.


I also did pretty much zero physical activity today which is slightly depressing because I want to make a conscious effort to get back into shape. I was going to go for a walk but then  I realized that it was pouring rain outside and I didn't really feel like it anymore. Although now that my spirits seem to match the weather I'm considering it. Is it weird that I like to go outside in the pouring rain some times? Maybe, but who cares, and what's normal anyways? Maybe I should channel this depressing energy into motivation to go to the store where I can purchase ice cream or chocolate or something. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream sounds good. Because the store is only a 10 minute walk it can count as some sort of physical exercise I guess? 

Getting Back Into Shape is a Long and Treacherous Road

Yesterday I broke down and went to the gym. Which wasn't actually as bad as I thought it was going to be. I also joined the "7 weeks to wellness" challenge at my school to try to help keep me motivated. 


Today was just bad. I had an 8:30 class, a midterm, a quiz and the bus driver failed to stop at my stop to let me off the bus. Plus I still have tons of assignments to work on. I also decided to go for a run today to try to keep up with my effort to get back into shape. After which I came home depressed because although my goal for todays run was reasonable I'm still horribly out of shape. Plus it was cold outside and when it is cold outside and I run outside when I breath it actually feels like I'm inhaling glass. My throat is still kinda sore. I know it's really weird but it's just what happens. 


I did find a friend who is willing to try a bunch of fitness classes at school with me. It's only $15 for unlimited drop ins for the rest of the semester so why not. Plus some of the classes sound like fun. There's a "laughing yoga" class (not 100% sure what this one requires me to do, but it sounded like a mixture of breathing exercises, movements and laughing so why not give it a try?), a "belly fit" class (in which you do cardio, yoga, African dancing, Bollywood style dancing and belly dancing) and a "body sculpt class" (A challenging class that involves strengthening, total body sculpting and toning exercises using your own body weight, tubing and hand weights).


I also have a gift certificate to a spa that expires on March 22nd which I need to get around to using. This gift certificate allows me to get a pedicure, a scalp massage, a haircut and get my hair dyed or styled. I doubt I'll use the last one because I don't dye my hair and I have no special occasions coming up. (I'm going to be very much single for Valentines day yet again). Instead of dwelling on this, I'm thinking about going for my pedicure and massage on Valentine's day. A little bit of pampering for myself to make myself feel better I suppose. 

Raindrops KEEP Falling on My Head...

So here's a little update about the shitty week I've been having. Monday wasn't better because 1) it was a Monday and 2)I missed the bus.   I also went for a blood test. (Oh and I don't know if this can be considered a bad thing or not, but because I went for a blood test I had to take a different bus so I didn't get my usual Monday bus driver with his "really bad joke of the day.") However, I did talk to a really cute guy on the bus (WHO WAS TALLER THAN ME!!). (Which is a really big deal for me because I am super tall (like 6'2" super tall)) But I'll probably never see him again. I also saw a friend who I've known since elementary school, that I haven't seen since high school graduation 6 months ago. Tuesday (today) sucked because I had an 8:30 class and I had a quiz today. I did see a different friend from high school on my super early bus today though. Sadly tomorrow I'm forcing myself to go to the gym and face how out of shape and what a fat ass I've become. So I'm not so sure that's going to be a good day either. Then Thursday I have a midterm so I'm not convinced that's going to be much better. So Friday maybe? Hopefully?

Further Proof of Murphy's Law

After Thursday I figured that it was just one bad day and that things would start to take a turn for the better. I was wrong. Saturday involved reading until I wanted to cry and today I realized that I forgot about one of the chapters I have to read (so that adds about another 40 or so pages to read from a dry textbook) and I ripped my fat pants. (Maybe I should've stuck to my new years resolution?) Granted I didn't rip them because I'm too fat, they're actually still too big, they're just old and have a lot of wear. I'm upset, now I have to find new "fat pants." Just further proof that Murphy's law is correct I suppose. 


But, because there is always at least SOMETHING that is positive, I totally called all the football games today, which means that my Packers are going to the Superbowl! I enjoy watching sports, and yesterday while talking to my friend she was telling me how I'd be such a "chill girlfriend and guys would love me." So explain to me why I'm still single? 

Reading Until Your Head is About to Explode

Last night was fantastic. My friend came home from University on the island to celebrate her birthday. We hung out until 2 in the morning just laughing, catching up and having a great time. Sadly all good things must come to an end, so after the party ended,  I got home and passed out.

When I woke up this morning I realized just how much stuff I have to do this weekend. I didn't let the humongous, daunting to do list scare me and today was actually very productive and for that I am proud of myself. Only because I'm a huge procrastinator and getting stuff done ahead of the time is a foreign concept to me, but I'm working on it. Out of a 12 item to do list (some of which cannot be fully completed this weekend anyways) I have already accomplished 7 things. (I would call that progress) Now all I really have to do tomorrow is do reading for Psychology, study and do some questions for Education.

I'm pretty confident that I ended up reading about half a textbook today and I'm not done yet. But other than school stuff, I also got my laundry done and put up with the power at my house going out not once, not twice, but  three times today. The last two times it went out I was trying to finish a reading which is from an online textbook. And in order to do this reading I need power because I need the internet. Whenever the power went out I couldn't "turn the page" in this online textbook so I had to sit and wait until it came back on. Which was just inconvenient. I also had to reset my clock three times today. Which is the one thing that irritates me the most about power outages, resetting all the clocks in the house.

This week I also decided to stop being so anti social at school and get involved in things. I joined the Pre-Counselling Psychology Club. Which will not only introduce me to people with similar interests, but will also help me out later by helping me complete volunteer hours, and get references for things like grad school. and applied to be an Orientation Leader for Fall orientation. If I get selected to be an orientation leader I will show new students around at the beginning of the fall semester and help them out throughout the semester.

Never-ending Days That Only Get Worse With Each Passing Minute.

Today was terrible. Thursdays are one of my early days where I have an 8:30am class. So as if that wasn't bad enough, I woke up to see that it was snowing. It had only snowed like 2 inches but that is enough to wreak havoc on my city and cause chaos. 


I got on the bus at 7:30am to go to school. (which is supposed to be simple enough, a direct single bus ride.) But no, when I get on the bus the bus driver informs me that this bus (because it is a long bus and cannot make it up the hill) will not be going to my school, instead it will detour to the skytrain station where a different (shorter) bus will come pick us up. Which would be perfectly fine most days. But today the road up the hill was covered in snow. This meant that I got to stand in a line waiting for a bus for an hour before they announced that it would be another hour or two before the road was clear and the buses would go to my school. Because it was already 8:30 and I was going to be late anyways I just went home. (I have since recieved an email telling me that my 8:30 tutorial was "spontaneously" cancelled because my TA couldn't make it to school either)


Naturally as soon as I got home, my cell rings. on the other end is my friend who informs me that buses are running. (So much for an hour this was 20mins later tops). At this point I was like forget my psych lecture I refuse. Plus I had received an email from my psych professor that said:


"I am on campus and according the school's website classes are "On Schedule" -- now how students are supposed to get here when the buses aren't running is anyone's guess.  The lecture should be recorded as usual and available online."


I then decided that I had to go to my Kin tutorial because I had a quiz and we were going to be discussing an upcoming project which is worth 25% of our grade. So I once again ventured outside and caught the 10:20 bus. But not before some asshole splashed me with slush. Seriously, why must people speed in the snow?! After I got to school and stood under a hand drier in an attempt to dry off and warm up, I waited for my friend and we went to our tutorial. 


When we got to our tutorial we received a less than warm welcome. We arrived at 11:29 and our tutorial is supposed to start at 11:30 so I'd say we were on time. (And people showed up way "later" than we did anyways.) Anyways, when we arrived our TA just glared at us and says "was the bus late?" At which point we informed her it was but I guess we'll just have to show up earlier next week. 


After my Kin tutorial I came home. So I hopped on the bus gleeful that my day was over. But naturally my day was not about to get any better. I was almost home and I pulled the cord on the bus to signal to the driver that I would like to get off at the next stop. Naturally as we approached my stop I shuffled to the door and there I remained as I watched my stop go by through the window. The bus driver didn't stop so I had to get off at the next stop (which thankfully he did stop at) and walk home from there. Once I finally got home I put my stuff down, let my dog out,shoveled the driveway, had lunch and now I should be reading in preparation for my Education lecture tomorrow. Oh and by the way, the University website now tells us:


"crews are doing their best to clear the  Burnaby campus walkways and parking lots this afternoon. But you'll find 12cm of snow between cars. Do walk and drive carefully."


I'm not impressed....I can't believe that 12cm of snow caused this much chaos.

The Evil Monsters Stalking EVERY University Student Rear Their Ugly Heads.

Yesterday I had the bus driver who seems to have deemed it necessary to tell a "really bad joke of the day." Yesterday's joke was "Why don't cannibals like to eat clowns? ... Because they taste funny." Personally I'm wondering if this is going to become a weekly event as well as if the jokes are going to continue to go downhill. I suppose I shall have to wait until next Monday to find out. 

Although this is really only the second week of the semester (and the first full week) everything is getting really busy. I have a quiz on Thursday, a quiz on Tuesday and a quiz and a midterm the following Thursday. This semester also has a lot more reading than last semester. I'm already behind which is not a good thing at all. Especially because one of my friends who goes to school on the island is coming home this weekend to celebrate her birthday. Which means I will get very little reading done. Just like always the "To Do List" seems to be forever growing and the time to accomplish the tasks continually shrinking. 

So far I haven't even mentioned the fact that I seem to have given up on some of my new years resolutions already. I have yet to hit the gym this year (I seem to keep finding excuses like "I have to finish the reading for _______ class." or "I'm completely exhausted, I'll go tomorrow.") and the healthy eating thing seems to have just not happened. I keep telling myself now that when I finish my nutrition class I will get better about eating healthy. But I'm realizing now that just because I have the knowledge doesn't mean I'm going to use it. I suppose I can only take things one day at a time. 

Perogies, Parties and Pictionary

I successfully made it through my first full week of school. Although I suppose because Wednesday was a snow day, and I didn't have tutorials on Thursday, it wasn't truly a complete week of school. I still don't hate anything yet.

Today we threw a friend of mine a surprise party for her birthday. Although it ended up being a party of 5 (including the birthday girl) we still had a good time. We made perogies from scratch (something I had never done before) with a recipe that had been handed down through a friend's family that made it over to Canada from the Ukraine. So they were good quality. We also played Pictionary and went to see The Green Hornet. Overall I thought it was ok. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen but was still far from the worst movie I've ever seen. I'd give it about a 6.5/10. We watched it in 3D, but honestly I'd say save the extra few bucks and spend it on popcorn or something. It didn't make a huge difference for me (in fact the time that it was most noticeable during the movie was during the credits.)

But it has been a long day so now I'm looking forward to a lazy Sunday where the only things on my agenda are sleeping in, doing some laundry and doing some reading for school.

Perils of Public Transit

Today was not great this is mainly for two reasons:

1. It is Monday which should be a crime in itself.

2. The Transit system in my city is ridiculous.

The second reason involves some explaining so here it goes.

After getting ready to go and getting to the bus stop at 9:35am when the bus is supposed to come at 9:43 I thought nothing of it as I stood and waited. A few minutes later I saw a bus coming but was mildly saddened when it became close enough to read the fact that it said "Sorry Not In Service." After standing there for 10 minutes (yes this means the bus was officially late) it began to snow. Buses also began to pass going the other way. 5 buses drove by going the opposite direction. (the majority of them were not in service but I still found it irritating and ridiculous.) So by this point it is 9:53 and there is no point in going home because the next bus is supposed to come in 10 minutes. So in short, I had to wait 25 minutes most of which was in the snow because my bus didn't come. 

Because my class starts at 10:30 and the bus didn't come until 10:03 I was nearly late. At first I wasn't worried because the bus usually only takes about 20 minutes to get to school so I figured I'd be cutting it close but I'd still have time to make it. This was before the bus driver decided that today he would make it his personal mission to fill the bus to capacity then throw in a few more people. It got to the point that every time he slowed down to stop and pick people up at a bus stop I cringed. This made our bus ride take even longer because every time he would stop the bus to pick up more people, we would have to wait while all the people standing on the bus grudgingly moved towards the rear of the bus. Anyways I finally made it to school and got to class with literally 1 minute to spare. Which drives me insane because I am an extremely punctual person who is almost always early for everything. 

Anyways, I made it through that class fine, used my hour break before my second class to study for a quiz I have on Thursday and proceeded to make it through the rest of my school day without incident. The bus ride home wasn't as bad. Although it was strange. About half way through the bus ride, the bus driver comes on over the intercom and announces "It's time for your bad joke of the day courtesy of my 14 year old son _________." (I honestly don't remember what his son's name was but it was something that I'd never heard before) I'm sitting there like ok....? He then continues "I apologize if you have heard this joke before but...Why doesn't Tigger have many friends? *pause* Because he plays with Pooh." Most of the bus sat there in silence, a few people grinned, some giggled. But it certainly was an interesting bus ride. Then the bus driver almost missed my stop, but he didn't and he apologized so I forgave him for that. It was just a weird day. 

First Impressions of a New Semester

Today is the end of the first week of this semester. It is also the end of a two day week so I'm really not sure if I'm going to love all of my classes yet. All I had this week were my two psych courses, and I love psych so I'm not surprised that I love them. They also both have awesome profs so I'm excited. Although I'm really not looking forward to all the readings I have to do already, but I really don't get to complain because I chose to be here. I chose to pursue a profession that requires me to go to school for the next 10 years...That's all I have to keep telling myself, "shut up and suck it up, you chose to be here."

So far with my new years resolutions, I haven't hit the gym yet, but I have done a little bit of exercising so I guess that balances it out a little, and I'm trying to eat healthier most of the time (although with all the left-over goodies from Christmas like all of the chocolate I recieved from friends) but, I have had a few slip-ups. I'm going to keep trying though.

New Year, Fresh Start.

As it is now January, it means that a new semester is about to start.  Tomorrow marks the last day of my winter vacation, then it's back to the complete chaos that is a new semester. I bought textbooks today. It ended up costing me $333.90 for two textbooks. Hopefully this semester will go better than the last one did, (in the sense that I actually enjoy my courses) this semester I've got Kinesiology: Human Nutrition (my LAST science course!!), Intro to Psych 2, Psychology in Education, and Resource and Environment Management: Global Change. The last one was just a random course because I had a terrible registration day, but I'm going to try to make the best of it.

I think that my Human Nutrition class will help me stick to my new years resolution to eat healthier. And that way at the same time when I go to the gym to try to get back into shape (especially after the holidays) I won't feel like such a fat failure. I've ended up running to catch the bus a few times this week and I'm pretty sure I'm already getting shin splints. (Oh the joys of attempting to get into shape) But for me shin splints are nothing out of the ordinary. I used to get them all the time when I was playing basketball so I can deal. Here's hoping that this year new year's resolutions weren't meant to be broken.

2011 Bring it On!

Happy New Year! After a fantastic holiday season and a family "camping" trip I'm back home. (In this case camping really means staying in a trailer so not "roughing-it" in the least and spending most of the time shopping) I really enjoyed the holidays though. I also really enjoyed the camping trip even if I didn't find very much. I got a sweater, a sweater dress and two CD's. Where as my little sister loaded up on shirts and stuff from her favourite stores where everything was on sale (Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle and Areopostale) I just really didn't find much but I suppose that means that I have money to spend on a later shopping excursion.

Anyways, now that it is officially 2011, I suppose it's time for some resolutions (probably soon to be broken but it's worth a shot right?) So here it goes, my New Years Resolutions for 2011 are as follows:
1) Work extremely hard in school to achieve good grades (going for at least 1 A this semester)
2) Eat healthier
3) Stay hydrated by drinking more water
4) Go to the gym more often
5) Find a new job

Hopefully I can find a way to stick to some of these if not all of them. Good luck with all of your new years resolutions!