What I did on Sunday

Sorry about missing yesterday's post. It was just one of those days where time ran away from me. I actually had something to blog about, so I'm posting today to make up for skipping. 

Sunday was my brother's birthday, so when he asked that I please go try rowing, I decided to do it. After all, I was the one complaining that I was getting myself stuck in a rut. And you know what? It was amazing.

  

My back isn't nearly strong enough, but I think if one thing could get my back into shape, rowing would be it. Also, I spent a good portion of the morning learning technique (and yes, it's incredibly technical)in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I'll definitely take pictures this Sunday.

  

When we came back, my day of experiencing new things continued. We all went to the aquarium. I loved spending time seeing the strange and beautiful creatures that are under the waves. And you know, even though there were a lot of people and excited/noisy children, it was such a calming experience.

These crabs are massive. This one stood almost three feet high. 

Penguin feeding.

She really liked me. Came by for close-ups about ten times. 

My mom took this pic, but it was so pretty I had to share.

Fish are friends. NOT food.  (Just had to work in a Nemo reference)

Anyone else do something interesting this weekend?

On finally getting my Degree.

I finally have it. After two months, I finally got my B.Comm Degree.

Source

It was actually quite sad for me to go fetch the degree, since I had to go wait for my family to finish another engagement. So as I sat in the student center, eating probably my last DCM Bar-One Mighty Muffin, I got to recollect all the time I'd spent on campus.

Although I can't say I'm bitter, I feel a little wistful when I think back. Because although I loved certain aspects of my life as a student, more or less half the time I'd spent studying was less than wonderful, because I'd effectively been trapped into doing something that I steadily grew to hate. Twice.

Still, I know that I had some wonderful times and that I'll miss my time as a student and that God had His reasons for letting me go through the tough times.

So I was sad to say farewell to my campus. Its sensations, sights, tastes, sounds and smells. Things that make up part of what used to be my home.

As I left, I thought I might one day return (there's a linguistics degree that might have my name on it), but it wouldn't be the same. I'll never again look around in class, excited and a little disbelieving that I'm there.

On the other hand, I now have the piece of paper that proves that I stuck through more than my fair share of sometimes hellish years. And I have the rest of my life stretching out in front of me.

And I am determined that I will follow my dreams and become what I want. Never again will I let people form my identity unless it's on my terms.

So here I am, in my bedroom, staring into my future, grateful to God and my family, excited, and a little disbelieving that I'm  here.

Just when I thought things were on an even keel...

Just when I think I have the balance right, I realize that I'm wrong.

This is one of those times.

I thought, yay! My dancing classes are back, and I expect to be back to singing soon. Great to have some variety back.

Except for the past few weeks, I've been struggling to do anything non-writing. Sure, I dance, I go to church, I read (a little) and go to small groups. But all that only accounts for a small portion of my time. The rest of it?

Writing and editing.

Yes, I know that most people would kill to have the amount of writing-time at their disposal that I do, but I think there's a limit.

And I crossed that limit weeks ago.

So now, I'm putting restrictions on my computer time. Since my editing is on my computer, the restrictions put a curb on my writing urges.

Hopefully normality will return soon. Then I might actually be able to interact with real people.

Without my eyes glazing over at awkward times...

Do you have any hobbies/driving passions that threaten to take over all your free time? Or all your time?

On the move again

Ah... finally. I can say that my life is getting back on track again.

On Sunday, we had our first Youth Leader meeting at our church. We got a lot better response than I thought from people who want to jump in and help make the Youth activities awesome. That makes me feel great.

It's wonderful to know that God is willing to bless our attempts to do our best for Him.

Furthermore, I'm starting to get more active again and dancing and hopefully soon, I'll be able to get back to singing classes again. Once that's on, I can really stop feeling like I'm stuck in a rut.

On the contrary, it feels like things are ready to happen. Like the clouds of God's blessings are gathering, and that they will start raining down soon.

Anyone else share that feeling?

The Day The LOLcats Died

Today is Stop SOPA day, so I thought I'd do my tiny bit by posting this.

I can't really do more, since I'm not an American citizen, but you, my American friends, can. Get informed. Get on your phones. Get SOPA/PIPA dead. 

See you on Friday!

On the Why I Hate Religion videos

Over the weekend, I took it on myself to go visit some much-neglected blogs because I never seem to have time to do it. In the process, I stumbled across this video.



Now, I am going to say that I completely understand where this guy is coming from. I also have a deep abhorrence of religious practices when they are used in an attempt to make others feel inferior and to hide one's own weaknesses. Or to give people the space to do things that wouldn't be sanctioned by God. That goes against every single thing we were taught by Jesus's example.

But, that's not really what this post is about. What it is about, on the other hand, is the fact that it's interesting to see what's going on about it.

See, since that video went up on 10 January, over 11 million people has watched it. And since I saw it last (on Sunday) comments have been closed, mainly due to negative opinion, I'm sure.

There have also been many videos put up to criticize what the above man said. The most logical one I watched is this:



Great. We all have our opinions. And if you have a different opinion from mine about Vid no. 1, go ahead and say it. Because everyone has the right to his or her opinion. The way I see it, I can write a poem in similar style to both about how Vid no. 2's guy is wrong (but is that true for everything he said?). I can attack his opinions by seeing the worst in every single thing he says.

Or. I can write this:

To whom it may concern,
I thank God to know
That people leap up ready to show
Their most devout loyalty to His teachings.


But, maybe it's time to think a while.
Although I agree
That the smallest hypocrisy
Has no place in my faith,


I happen to believe
That giving it a little time
Before creating our rhymes,
Would be worth more.


If not, every smallest thing,
Will be criticized,
And instead of becoming sensitized,
We will be dulled to the lessons of others.


So, before you post, please remember,
That the person you're attacking
Is the person you should be backing
Because his heart is in the same place as yours.


The right place.
So judging and failing to accept a different opinion,
Will make you a minion
Of the very thing that you despise most.

Thoughts?

OK I'll answer Wednesday's Questions.

Theresa suggested last time that I should answer my own questions, so I thought I'd make a post of it while I wait for something interesting to happen in my life. ;-)

1) My Favorite Story Ever:

It's a toss up with Arthurian legends, but my favorite story is probably Robin Hood. I've only ever bumped into one version of the story that I didn't like. And it wasn't the one where this picture came from.


Incidentally, if you like Robin Hood and haven't seen the BBC version yet, do. It probably has the best ever Sherriff of Nottingham.



And then there's Guy of Gisborne, who sometimes makes me think of switching sides.



2) If I could invite anyone in the world to dinner, I'd make it a dinner party with Oscar Wilde and Winston Churchill. I'd spend most of the night laughing myself silly as they trade barbs. I don't think anyone would much care about food.


Who do you think would win?

3) One experience that I think people should try at least once: Fencing. Come on, it's legally stabbing people for fun.


So if you haven't answered my questions yet. What are your answers?

Enough about me already!

Since I haven't really done in the past few days except for editing (not blogging about it here), read (blogged about it at MFB) and critting (again, a post for MFB), I'm kind of stuck without a topic for today. I mean, I could do another pep-talk, but that would be a bit too sanctimonious for me. 

So... today is another More About You day. Tell me more about yourself. 

1) What is your favorite story ever? It doesn't have to be a book. 

2) If you could invite anyone in the world to dinner, who would it be? Where would you have it and what would you serve? 

3) What is the one experience that you think a people should try at least once?

Because I always get comments saying that I ask too many questions, I'm going to cut it short. Can't wait to hear what you think. 

On my future and living in the present

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”
Henry David Thoreau

I love this quote. When I read it somewhere (can't remember where), I couldn't help but think that it's the perfect quote for me for this year. 

Because I worry. Really. Fear starts to creep into every aspect of my life because this year is the year that I have to back everything I've said with actions. 

Even though this is an exciting prospect, there's a part of me that's asking me one big question: What if I fail? 

What if I query my book and can't find a single agent that likes it?

What if no one wants to give me a chance to perform. 

On and on and on. 

My fear of failure is almost enough to keep my right where I am. Thinking about the future and wishing for opportunities, but too afraid to go looking for them. 

But Mr. Thoreau's quote helped me to realize that there's an aspect to living in the present beyond getting over worry and letting go of your past. 

Living in the present is about deciding what you want to do in the future and actively going after it with everything you have. It's about finding a dream that's so important to you that there isn't a single setback that will make you stop going after it. 

It's about challenging yourself to live the life you want, knowing that one day, you will be old and have to look back on your life. What do you want to say? That you got by with what you had? Or that you lived your life to the fullest and used what you had to achieve more than others expected you to? More than you even expected of yourself? 

So that's what I'm going to do this year. I'm going to launch myself on every wave and find my future in everything I do right now. Because I'm going to learn everything I can in this life before I go to the next one. 

What about you? Are you preparing to launch yourself against something you fear? 

I'm dancing again!

Yep, last night, ballroom classes started again.

We recapped on a lot of the basics, but that's a good thing, because I'm out of practice. It's almost as if I forgot how to move.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to move like this though... (Feel free to stop at around 3 minutes when the dance is finished. Although I must say, Karina Smirnoff has one heck of a bow and scrape on her.)

From my mouth to God's ears

Isn't it interesting how God provides for things you forget to pray about?

Like doing something different.

On Monday I mentioned the fact that I felt stuck in a rut and out of the blue, I got an invitation to go out onto the sea for the first time.

It was mostly awesome. Simple pleasures lightened my soul on the way to the harbor, like the sun on my face and wind in my hair.

And once I was on the sea, I got to face my fears of the depths and experience what it feels like to be truly dwarfed.

I truly believe I got the chance because I voiced my need to do something different - even if I never did ask God to help me with it.

I did, however, beg Him to be let on land after a few hours. But that's a totally different story. :-D

What about you? Ever got a surprise opportunity to do something different? How did you like it?

I really need to get a hobby.

I'm starting to think that I need to do something different soon. 

See, TCoML is a blog about my non-writing life. Yes, my writing takes up such a big part of who I am that I have to push myself to do something else, otherwise I will find myself hours later, having written/edited a lot, but without having done much of anything else. 

And that's what happening now. 

Because I have been quite productive when it comes to writing, but I can't really find a single thing to say about any other part of my life. 

I guess this will improve once my singing instructor and dance coach comes back. Everything stopped for the Christmas holidays, so my writing got some leeway, but it has to stop at some point. 

It's just not all that healthy for me to have nothing to say about anything else. 

What about you? How do you maintain balance in your life? Have anything in your life that always threatens to take up all of your time? Things, not children. ;-P