Thursday 31 March 2011

March Review


So March is in the books, the sun is finally shining here and the snow is starting to melt.  Although, our local attraction "Snow Dirt Mountain" may never melt...there are competitions to see who can guess the date it finally all dissipates.  It has been one hell of a winter for cold and snow (and might not be over, but I'll chance it), so I welcome the sun and saw a blade of green grass (it may have just frozen that way last year) today. 
Goal Update for March (this isn't going to be pretty)...
(1) I have attended 0 yoga classes in March.  No excuses.  I have; however, signed up for a 30 day yoga challenge at a studio that I can walk to.  Maybe I'll be doing handstands by April 30th.

(2) I finished reading the last of those Stieg Larsson books.  I read all four because of all the hype, and well, they won't be on my recommend list.  I am now about half way through Lisey's Story, a book that is sending me on a mental trip for sure, http://www.stephenking.com/library/novel/lisey_s_story.html. I always have loved Stephen King, read 'It' when I was 12 or 13, this one has become one of my favorites (so far) and I will finish it in April.  It will have taken me 4 years to read though, I found a boarding pass to Vegas in it from 2007. 

(3) Hmmmm....not so much.  See goal #1. 

(4) Did not track and have no idea.  This is embarrassing for me to write, maybe that will help me track for April?

(5) Got my new passport, went to San Jose for a weekend, got to meet a poker player that I had only met online before.  Always nice to meet new friends!  I also booked the first leg of my WSOP trip for the summer, staying at Caesars this year.  Still might drive down for the second leg...why are flights so expensive in the last year?

(6) I have an outline and a 'take home' message ready for the audience that I will present to.  It is going to be quite the challenge for me as I have never enjoyed speaking to a crowd.  I have a presentation geared up for Monday (to an audience of ~ 15 people) so that should give me a good warm up.  My goal for April might be to come up with a sassy title for my presentation. 

I will have to bring together some goals for April, the first being not to be fooled tomorrow before noon, but as with every year, I always get caught somehow. 

Also, go UCONN....I picked them to win the whole tourney in my bracket.  I wouldn't mind seeing Butler do it either, their coach (Brad Stevens) inspires me every time I see him or hear him interviewed.  The players obviously respond well to him and well he isn't tough to look at either. 

Happy Spring!

Sunday 27 March 2011

Birthday Time!

I am not a big fan of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labour Day, etc.  But, I do love birthdays.  There is something so refreshing about starting a new year that is just your own and doesn't have all the  hype and artificial  sentiment of January 1rst.

Anyway, today is my Mum's birthday.  I wish her all the best for the next year and much love, happiness and a fair does of excitement in the coming year! 

Slainte! XOXOXOXOXO

Sunday 20 March 2011

March Madness!!!

I have had the busiest couple of weeks ever.  Haven't made much progress on my goals sadly.  I finished reading one book and started on another, went on a trip to San Jose, have made a few dollars but not yet to my goal.  I did book the first leg of my WSOP adventure for the summer so am looking forward to that!

I have 11 days to get through another book, attend ten yoga classes, make some money and start work on my presentation....it's going to be interesting!!!

I plan to blog about cognitive dissonance but every time I start, I don't feel like I clearly say what I want to....so it must wait! :)

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day!

Friday 11 March 2011

Single Serving Friends

I recently rewatched Fight Club and became reacquainted with the concept of single serving friends.  It was appropriate as I headed out this morning and met many of these SS friends.  People in airports/airplanes are interesting to me, I thought I would share some of my interactions today.

My first flight was uneventful and had me seated next to a non English speaking passenger who struggled to understand when the flight attendant wanted him to fasten his seatbelt.  Needless to say, I slept most of that segment.

The second segment of my flight, I was piggy in the middle between two entirely different characters.  On my right, was an older gentleman, in tailored jeans, a suit jacket.  He was very polite, didn't really have much to say until he found out I was Canadian and liked red wine.  We chatted, but to be honest, it was on the descent...and well, I couldn't hear him much as it felt like my ears may have been bleeding with the pressure changes.

My neighbour to the left was the last person onto the plane, and we were in the second to last row.  I knew immediately that he was going to be an interesting SS friend, as the flight attendant handed him 'stick on wings' which he applied to either sides of his backwards cap.  His excitement was contagious.  A self labeled idealist living outside Seattle, but originally from Chicago.  He looked like he was travelling with all he owned, had two tattered books he was reading with childhood pictures and a 'thinking of you' card as bookmarks, was travelling on a one way ticket and was one of the most delightful people I have ever met on a plane.  He shared with me one of his ideas to heal the world, it was a mandatory sleep night...his thought was that the world would be so much better if people slept more and were less stressed.  He mentioned that in this idealism of his, we could even go so far as to change the year....instead of it being 2011 AD, we could start all over as year 1 PS (post sleep).   I didn't catch his name, I don't think that it is important to know the names of all your SS friends.  I would rather just learn and laugh with (or at) the ones I meet.

This isn't quite the clip I was looking for but it will do:


Other gems that I overheard through my travels today included:
  • "Go! Go! Go! Gooooooooooo!!!!!" - the 3 year old who enjoyed the landing and didn't want it to stop,
  • "Can we do tea at 12,000 feet this morning?  I could sure use some high tea!",
  • "Baby....where are all the trees? Why don't they have trees" - whiny girl behind me who complained about the trip they were taking the whole way,
Last but not least, my personal favorite....
  • "I like travelling by boat better than flying, I find the air pressure bothers me less because you are mostly at sea level."
Hopefully, I will have some more fun single serving encounters this trip....I can hardly wait!

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Goal Update

Well it has been an interesting start to March, that is for certain. 

I booked a trip immediately upon receiving my passport (yeahhh stamps) and am headed away shortly.  Should be nice to get to some 15C weather....only a 35 - 40 degree jump from where Edmonton currently is.

I haven't attended a single yoga class yet...partly busy, partly lazy and partly didn't want to manually open my garage door last night during the power outage.  Yoga while on vacation is my favorite so I will surely fit in a class or two. 

I have read a chapter of my book.  It is hard for me to read on the train when there are so many neat people to watch.  Also, when I try to read before bed I am immediately comatose.  Hopefully I will get a bit further on my flights.

Pokering....well I need a 4k swing to hit my goal, am stuck approx $800 so far this month. Naturally, I thought I was going to be up about a million or so after the PokerStars Sunday Million.  Was going along okay, ended up a bit short in chips and lost QQ to 77 aipf for a min cash.  I will track my live sessions coming up to tally into this too.

I haven't started my presentation work yet.  I have; however, recruited someone to help me with the power point....so that is something!

The 5lb goal.  Who knows!!  It is Mardi Gras today, so there's not much point in worrying too much.  Also, we ate at Pampas on Friday night for a coworkers birthday....it was fantastic with great caipirinhas and company.  Oh yeah....and the meat.  Needless to say, I've been taking the stairs at work. 

Vegetarians may not wish to check out the food pictures from Friday.

But it was fantastic. 

Off to a wine and whiskey bar tomorrow to celebrate the birthdays of two of the best people I know.

Oh yes, and for lent....I think I will give up non-suited connectors as per the suggestion of one of my friends!

Namaste

Saturday 5 March 2011

Elite Status

Some things change...and well, some things don't.

I was talking to the speed dating people during the week and they wanted me to know that they would like me to rebook for another turbo dating event as I had become an 'elite' member and qualified for a discounted rate.  You qualify for this status when a certain percentage of the guys check 'yes' after meeting you. 
Summary:
  • 67% (or 6/9) of the guys wanted my info
  • I checked 'yes' for 33% (or 3/9) of the guys
  • I had one match (both checked 'yes')....
This made me (and my best friend) laugh, because it is such an accurate portrayal of my dating life.  I nearly pegged the three guys that didn't want to meet me as the choices of who I wanted to meet.  I guess the saying that you can't always get what you want holds true!!

So, I am going to "run it twice" and am headed back to the tables with the same friend that I went with before.  It will be the university educated speed dating (yawn), so bring on the engineers and chemists!!  Hopefully, I will have a somewhat better read on the situation!

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Happy New Month!

Wow...March....and it's freezing outside.  Every winter, I try to trick myself into thinking it's warmer by setting my car temperature gauge to Farenheit.  This morning it didn't matter because apparently -40F = -40C.  Oh well, incentive to take care of an indoor 'to do' list I suppose.

Two months into the year, I have started to achieve some of my goals but need to write down some new ones.  So in March, I want to (in no particular order):

(1) Attend 10 yoga classes along with my mini morning practices
(2) Read 2 books
(3) Lose 5 lbs
(4) Make $3000 pokering....will also have to track my sessions to ensure this one makes it
(5) Book a vacation/flight outside of Canada (pending the arrival of my passport)
(6) Complete the outline for my power point presentation (comparing sMMSE vs MoCA cognitive assessments)

Will update my progress throughout the month.