As expected, a lot of things have happened in the past two months since my last entry. Among other things, my sis won two more international awards in her costuming (she's already got four) and the whole family was there to cheer her on. She's done us proud - you go, girl!
I've found another job, one that isn't management. I'm back in the trenches getting my hands dirty with code. Honestly, with the economy being what it is, returning to the technical track is probably the smartest move for me right now. I'm seeing managers being laid off left, right and centre. Returning to a coding position feels very much like a homecoming of sorts. I'd say that it's rather like coming home to live at your parents' house after being away for years. The room looks and feels the same, but everything's smaller and feels less vibrant unlike when you were a child. I doubt I can stay long at my coding position - I'll be gunning for a managerial posting once the economy's recovered somewhat. I do love my new company though - it's huge and appears to have many opportunities for advancement.
I'm spending more time with the kids these days, something I've been trying to do for a long time but haven't due to lack of time. I'm realizing that it's a load of crock. If I really wanted to spend time with the kids, I could. I just need to prioritize them higher. I'm also grossly overcommited in my personal life. It's time to pare things down to a sane level. This probably means stepping down from some of my volunteer positions and quitting D&D for a while.
I've opened up some new avenues of interest, ballet being one of them. I've signed up for 9 months of ballet with the premiere ballet school in the province - may the gods have mercy upon my soul (and limbs). I'm excited and scared at the same time. It's going to be painful but oh so cleansing. Aside from ballet, I'm also actively pursuing other activities from time to time. It's cheaper than therapy. :)
My health is slowly getting better. I think my solo vacation in June was the turning point. I'm a firm believer that if your mind isn't healthy then the body will be ill as well. My June vacation gave me a chance to get my head screwed back on right. Balancing my improving health is my new job - it's a lot more physical than I've had in over a decade, so I'm deathly tired by the end of the day. The one thing that's still lacking is stamina. I don't appear to be improving in that regard. I'm hoping that ballet will help with that, and that I shall be able to sign up for a Pilates class once finances improve.
Oh, and I picked up a Waterman Charleston in ivory with a Fine nib. Paired with my Private Reserve Plum ink, it's given me the impetus to journal again, which has been a real stress reliever in the past little while. Too bad my Paperblank journal doesn't seem to take fountain pen ink well. I shall have to find another journal when I've filled this one, perhaps something by Clairefontaine.
Yes, I'm an expensive gal. Deal with it. :)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
I ain't dead yet!
No, I haven't gone off with someone who TALKS LIKE THIS quite yet. On the other hand, I'm not ready to blog about what's going on right now. So, this is a placeholder for those of you who are wondering if your RSS feed is still working with my blog (and you know who you are).
More later, I promise.
More later, I promise.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A Week at the Improv
I've been on holiday recently, the first real holiday I've had in a long while. I wasn't planning on going but my Sis insisted and made it possible for me to go - thanks, Sis!
A lot of bad things had happened in the past year and I needed to heal, so I took it easy for this trip. As I enjoy cooking, I found a B&B that had a kitchenette in one of its suites so I booked my entire stay there.
The B&B was gorgeous with a private flower garden and all. Just the environment for me to sit down, relax and heal.
However, I realized that I had a wee bit of a challenge when I started cooking - I had one small frying pan + one saucepan (both lidless), a spatula, two shakers of salt and pepper...and nothing else except what I packed in my knife roll. You don't really appreciate how important lids are until you have to make do without them.
So, I had to improvise. When it came time to make steamed rice (which required a lid), I used one of the large plates. I discovered that grocery stores sold single sticks of butter - exactly what I needed for cooking fish and shellfish. For spices, I bought this multispice pack for camping ($4) that gave me most of what I needed. The local in-store deli at the grocers' had a boxed sushi collection, so I got a couple of packets of soy sauce from them (I asked the lady at the counter for permission first).
Everything else was food. And oh my, what fresh food it was!
I rediscovered my love for fruit. I used to love fruit growing up but edged away in favour of processed foods upon coming to Canada. Now, I'm re-experiencing the joy and wonderment that comes from having very juicy, very fresh local fruits explode with flavour in one's mouth. I also learnt to cook with it too; as I had no sugar, I snuck a few packets out from cafes when I got coffee there.
Fresh salmon, large scallops, fresh locally-grown organic strawberries...mmm! My mouth still waters at the memory of those wonderful fresh foods. I also found out that mushrooms, one of my favourite foods, will cause a massive flare-up of a stress-related condition of mine, which means that I shall have to avoid them in the future. *sigh*
Plus, I got to try edible flowers for the first time. Tasty and beautiful!
I came away from that vacation with some healing and respite from the negative events in the past year. On my final night there, I wrote over twenty pages in my journal. The hurt and fear had to come out and I finally pinned them down on paper. I hope I shall be free of them now. The scent of lilacs now has a very calming effect on me - my suite was filled with their fragrance when the windows were open and they have become inextricably linked to my stay there.
But that was not the only thing I came away with from that vacation; I also feel rejuvenated in my passion for cooking. Not only did I have the chance to work with fresh ingredients, I also had a chance to partake of my innkeeper's excellent breakfasts (she's a chef) as well as one fine dining establishment. I returned home from my holiday with a head full of ideas and a laptop full of notes. Oh, and a wonderful plum-coloured ink that is now my primary colour for journal-writing!
I tried some of my new techniques tonight. I was happy to see that it worked out rather well. Must experiment more...
A lot of bad things had happened in the past year and I needed to heal, so I took it easy for this trip. As I enjoy cooking, I found a B&B that had a kitchenette in one of its suites so I booked my entire stay there.
The B&B was gorgeous with a private flower garden and all. Just the environment for me to sit down, relax and heal.
However, I realized that I had a wee bit of a challenge when I started cooking - I had one small frying pan + one saucepan (both lidless), a spatula, two shakers of salt and pepper...and nothing else except what I packed in my knife roll. You don't really appreciate how important lids are until you have to make do without them.
So, I had to improvise. When it came time to make steamed rice (which required a lid), I used one of the large plates. I discovered that grocery stores sold single sticks of butter - exactly what I needed for cooking fish and shellfish. For spices, I bought this multispice pack for camping ($4) that gave me most of what I needed. The local in-store deli at the grocers' had a boxed sushi collection, so I got a couple of packets of soy sauce from them (I asked the lady at the counter for permission first).
Everything else was food. And oh my, what fresh food it was!
I rediscovered my love for fruit. I used to love fruit growing up but edged away in favour of processed foods upon coming to Canada. Now, I'm re-experiencing the joy and wonderment that comes from having very juicy, very fresh local fruits explode with flavour in one's mouth. I also learnt to cook with it too; as I had no sugar, I snuck a few packets out from cafes when I got coffee there.
Fresh salmon, large scallops, fresh locally-grown organic strawberries...mmm! My mouth still waters at the memory of those wonderful fresh foods. I also found out that mushrooms, one of my favourite foods, will cause a massive flare-up of a stress-related condition of mine, which means that I shall have to avoid them in the future. *sigh*
Plus, I got to try edible flowers for the first time. Tasty and beautiful!
I came away from that vacation with some healing and respite from the negative events in the past year. On my final night there, I wrote over twenty pages in my journal. The hurt and fear had to come out and I finally pinned them down on paper. I hope I shall be free of them now. The scent of lilacs now has a very calming effect on me - my suite was filled with their fragrance when the windows were open and they have become inextricably linked to my stay there.
But that was not the only thing I came away with from that vacation; I also feel rejuvenated in my passion for cooking. Not only did I have the chance to work with fresh ingredients, I also had a chance to partake of my innkeeper's excellent breakfasts (she's a chef) as well as one fine dining establishment. I returned home from my holiday with a head full of ideas and a laptop full of notes. Oh, and a wonderful plum-coloured ink that is now my primary colour for journal-writing!
I tried some of my new techniques tonight. I was happy to see that it worked out rather well. Must experiment more...
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