One Minute Writer #58

Complete this thought: I usually forget...

a) anything I am trying to remember
Like a lot of people, I will leave a room with the clear intention of something specific. It may be going to pick something up, starting a new task, or looking into something I need an answer about. I will get to moving and halfway there I will forget what I was going to do or get. Sometimes I will have the clear intention of getting something from upstairs, decide along the way that I should go to the washroom and then forget to get or do the thing that made me go upstairs in the first place. It is very annoying.

b) my iPod before I head to bed
Almost every night, I listen to my iPod to fall asleep. This happens to be the same iPod I take to work with me on occasion and the one that goes with me to the gym to help me workout. 9 times out of 10, I will forget to take it upstairs with me and will get settled in bed only to have to get up and go back downstairs to get it from my purse or gym bag. Also very annoying.

One Minute Writer #56

Write about a food that gives you a specific emotional response.

Most foods give me an emotional response because I am an emotional eater. I am trying to work on that. I am able to identify when I am eating because of my emotions and am doing my best to find something else to make myself feel better rather than eating or at least trying to find a healthier alternative to my normal comfort foods.

One Minute Writer #55

What kind of change is scary to you? What kind of change is exciting?

 

I am not a big fan of change…never have been, probably never will be.

Truth

I was going through my list of blogs I watch and read on a regular basis and found this:
Both Chris (Always Standing) and C. Beth (One Minute Writer) posted similarly titled blog entries the other day. It almost seems (at first glance) like a post on One Minute Writer and then a rebuttle post of Always Standing.

One Minute Writer #54

Write about something that you wish didn't make you uncomfortable.

To be honest, there are a lot of things that make me uncomfortable, but the one that I would like to change the most is how uncomfortable I get in social situations. I am not good socially, never have been and probably never will be, but I would like it if i could just get through one conversation with someone who I haven’t known for years upon years without some sort of uncomfortable silence or awkward feeling. If I could get through it without saying something stupid or even worse, something I regret. I think I might talk about myself too much, or perhaps I bring up Dave too much. I know I bring up the same life experiences again and again and that bothers me a great deal. It is so easy for some people and that is one personality trait of which I am very jealous.

One Minute Writer #53

Write about a goal you've had trouble achieving.

 

I think everyone who reads my blog or knows me in real life (or both) knows that my true passion is photography. One of my biggest goals in life is to become a professional photographer. In my mind, I have always thought of becoming a professional engineer and doing photography on the side as to not suck the life out of it. Lately though, I have dreamt of doing it full-time as I am not completely satisfied with my current full-time job as an (environmental) engineer in training.
Either way, neither goal is really moving forward at a pace that makes me happy (or even content). I am taking night courses and I am definitely learning more and more about photography as I progress through the program, but I am miles away from the quality of photographs that the pros put out.
To make a long story a little less long, my photography is advancing, I just wish it would pick up the pace a little.

One Minute Writer #52

Write about an instance of positive peer pressure you have experienced or observed.

As I have mentioned several times throughout the life of this blog, I am a hermit. I am a massive homebody and don't really see anything wrong with it for the most part. That being said, the reason I don't find any problem with it is likely because I have extremely outgoing friends who occasionally force me leave my house and have fun.
When I was younger, my friends would have to use peer pressure to get me to leave the house and do something with them. I would inevitably enjoy myself in whatever it was that they got me to do, but they still had to force me to do it - and I normally didn't give in easily.
Nowadays, I am more likely to leave the house when asked to do something with friends though this may be because my current friends know me better and have similar interests. In other words, the invite me to things they know I would really enjoy, but more importantly that I know I would really enjoy.

One Minute Writer #51

Describe your life in six words.

Not as expected, but still wonderful.

One Minute Writer #50

Do you have a weekly day of rest? Write a bit about this concept

At first glance, I figured my weekly day of rest is likely Saturday as this is the day where I do the least in terms of work (either engineering work, photographic work or housework). I mope about the house with Dave playing video games and watching movies. Every once in a while I will start a load of laundry, but it normally sits in the washer for a few hours before I realize that it is time to switch it over to the dryer.
It could also be Sunday, where we do something similar but a great deal more housework gets done. Sunday is also normally the day where we end up running any errands that take us out of the house, provided there are any of course. The intention is always to do them on Saturday, but almost every weekend Dave and I decided that we will stay inside and then do them the next day.
I guess I have a day and a half where I attempt to rest from the work week. To be honest though, I fail the majority of the time as lately I find it very hard to stop thinking about work long enough to actually relax.

One Minute Writer # 49

In what area of your life are you the most disciplined?

I thought this would be an easy question to answer, but now I just don't know. I know how to answer the least disciplined question (weight loss: eating healthy and exercising), but now I am questioning my most disciplined areas as well. I suppose financially I am quite responsible, though lately Dave and I have been spending far too much money on take-out and restaurants. This increase in spending is still tracked in my budget spreadsheet though, which has been active and completed in full for the last 3-4 years. I suppose that budget spreadsheet alone proves which area I am most disciplined in.

One Minute Writer #48

Write about a time you purchased something "on a whim". How did you feel about it later?

I usually think out my purchases. In fact, I usually think them out far too much. But every once in a while I will buy something "on a whim". The last thing I can remember that I bought like this would be the complete series of Buffy.

I had wanted this DVD collection for quite some time but could never rationalize it (not that I ever really did). One day Dave and I were talking and I decided that I wanted it so I got it. A few days later it arrived in the mail and it was beautiful. Dave and I watched the incredibly geeky series over the next few months, it took longer than I thought it would as we would get distracted with other seasons of shows and random activities that would come up. I do not regret buying it at all, it was something I wanted and could afford, and I got it.

One Minute Writer # 47

What one piece of advice would you give to someone graduating from a college or university?

Enjoy your free time. Without school or work to tie you down, you can go anywhere and do anything so do it!

One Minute Writer #46

What nervous habit(s) do you have?

I have a few nervous habits, all of which I would really like to stop. Firstly, I bite the inside of my cheeks and my lips. It leads to not only painful and unsightly lips, but I get a wee talk about it every time I go to the dentist. Secondly, I bite and pick my nails. Usually I do this under a desk where no one can see and then throw them into the garbage, but it irritates me that I do it nonetheless. There are some others, but those are the two big ones that I do when I am nervous or bored. Oh, I fidgit. I play with pens or my iron ring, whatever is around.

One Minute Writer #44

Have you ever been a little obsessed with a celebrity (even as a kid)? If not, why do you think you've escaped celebrity obsessions?

When I was a preteen I collected images of Devon Sawa, Jonathan Taylor Thomas (JTT), Andrew Keegan and other such teen hunks and had them on my bedrooms walls. I think I even had a laminated picture of Devon Sawa in my back pocket for a little while (as did a couple of my friends). I have since grown out of the obsessed fan stage and moved on to the healthier version. I find that I now admire good actors, who also happen to be good looking.
Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) is a good example of this. He is in a really funny show and has been part of some great little movies recently of which I am a fan. He is not only a good actor but also cute and non-threatening to Dave since NPH is gay. Other attractive good looking actors I enjoy are Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Hugh Grant (his characters tend to be very sarcastic, which is my favourite form of humour - plus he's British) and Johnny Depp. I don't want to know really anything about these people's personal lives, I just want to watch their movies. Though I do want to be friends with NPH, Nathan Fillion and Joss Whedon - because all the behind the scene footage makes them look like really awesome friends - the kind that would take a bullet for you and you can never have enough of those. Plus, Joss puts his friends in his shows and wouldn't that just be cool?

One Minute Writer #42

If you were a professional photographer, what type of photography would you want to do?

My dream is to do wildlife photography. I am also interested in portrait photography but the gap between the two dreams is quite large.

One Minute Writer #41

Is there a part of your life that's a mess? Describe it.

My house! Dave and I are currently living in a pig pen. Seriously, our house is so absolutely disgusting right now. Luckily, a friend may be coming to stay with us for a little while and we will need to clean it up before then. I wish we weren't both so lazy when it comes to cleaning.

One Minute Writer #40

What is the last city that you visited, for the first time? What did you think of it?

I was going to write a brief summary Chicago post and then realized that One Minute Writer had started one for me already. I spent this past week in Chicago completing an Asbestos Fibre Counting course (NIOSH 582) for work. The course itself was pretty good, though I had a few problems seeing certain fibres in the beginning but eventually got the hang of it. In the end, I received 100% on the theory exam (simple theory questions and a few even easier math problems) and passed the practical (there was only pass or fail, no grade). There was only one other person who aced the theory exam, and he had to recount one of his slides during the practical, so I guess I got the top mark (If you know me at all, you know this is what I was aiming for).
As the course ran from 8am to 5pm, there wasn't much time to take in the sites of the city, but myself and Kyle, the other DST employee who went, did our best. We walked around Michigan Avenue and I went to the Sears Tower (which is now called the Willis Tower) and the Art Institute of Chicago. I took a great deal of photos, most of which were night photos taken with my new Gorillapod. I was able to finish my photography assignment with ease as the tourism board does a really good job of lighting up the buildings and art in an interesting fashion. I even got a woman's business card while I was taking photos near the Art Institute one night. I wasn't able to see everything, but I got to see some really great stuff and am pretty happy with how much tourist stuff I was able to cram into my business trip (my first I might add).
As usual, I plan on posting my images on my photography blog and a few choice ones here with a little more details about the trip. But for now, I thought Chicago was beautiful, for the most part, and would go back again if given the chance.

One Minute Writer #39

What responsibility would you like to forego (without any negative consequences) for one week?

I think the obvious answer here is work. I would love to not come into work for an entire week. Simply put, it would be wonderful.

One Minute Writer #38

If you were to design a personal coat of arms, what symbols representing you would it include?


A while back, like a couple years now, Chris and I went to the Art Gallery and participated in the children's craft activity which was to design your own coat of arms. I tried to find it and scan it in, but alas, our house is far too messy and unorganized for me to find such a small item.
Anyway, it was pink with purple and gold details and had my initials, a tree and a paint brush on it. There must have been something else as there were four corners, but I cannot remember the last one. Really wish I could find it. I also made one for Dave that mimicked mine. It was blue with dark blue and gold details. Had his initials a plane and two other things, neither of which I can remember. They were really quite cute and making them was really fun.

One Minute Writer #37

Write about a memory you have that involves swimming.

I actually just told this story to a co-worker and I am pretty sure I have told it to most people who have spent a decent amount of time with me, but I will say it here again.

I am afraid of sharks. To be more specific, I am afraid of large amounts of water, vast oceans and whatnot. Growing up, we always had a pool. This pool had a shallow end that had a slight ramp that lead into the deep end. When I was younger, I imagined that the ramp would open up and all sorts of sea creatures could then swim right into my pool, including sharks and large whales. They of course would eat me. Though sometimes, they were mermaids and they would play out the Little Mermaid with me.