Rae Roy's Blog, page 28

Why Read?

It was a pretty low-key weekend. I suppose that’s better than a Loki one…

I grilled some tasty meals on my indoor smokeless grill and I mainly did some chores, a lot of reading, piano, and martial arts. I suppose that doesn’t sound low-key, but for me it was.

It’s about time I had a weekend like that. My schedule gets really hectic sometimes and I really need to pare down to the essentials.

That’s what the current read, Essentialism by Greg McKeown is all about. I was already doing a number of the things he talks about, but I’ve learned a few new tricks from it. There are only a handful of chapters left before I finish it. Then I’ll be one book away from meeting my Goodreads target for this year.

My target is 8 books for the year because for the past couple of years, life has been too busy. I may get more read this year, but I didn’t want to put pressure on myself knowing I had so much else on the go. So far, I’ve read:

The Crimes of Grindelwald by JK RowlingWings by Danielle SteelPercy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick RiordanPercy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters by Rick RiordanPercy Jackson: The Titan’s Curse by Rick RiordanA Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind by Shoukei Matsumoto

I really hope the new train works properly soon. I’m fairly sure I’ll be able to read more on it because it looks pretty smooth compared to a bus. Reading makes a long commute way better. Actually, it makes life and me better too. I can improve my empathy and reduce bigotry by reading fiction or real stories about people who have lives that are different than mine. I can learn how to deal with a problem or learn a new skill by reading self help or technical books. I can improve as a writer by reading a wide variety of genres because I can have an awesome time enjoying a story while passively taking in grammar, spelling, structure, description, conflict, suspense, and more.

I lost myself once and hardly read during that period. I went from reading multiple books a day (albeit those were Nancy Drews in my youth) to hardly reading anything over nearly a decade. It was Harry Potter that first brought me back to it. I never read them when they began because I was predominantly reading Stephen King and Anne Rice when I was in high school. I started reading them after Chamber of Secrets came out at Blockbuster.

After that, I read the Twilight series, which was a nice read to get back into it. They were actually quite addictive. I think after that I got into the House of Night books, Vampire Academy, etc.

It’s only in recent years that I’ve really taken to non-fiction books. Anyway, I want reading to be a big part of my life going forward, so with that in mind my goals have been tweaked some.

HOME

The cleaner my home gets, the more I have time for the things I love like music and reading.

After much deliberation, I’m going to get a recliner instead of a chaise as they are about half the price. I was going to get a storage chaise, but that really just encourages me to keep more stuff instead of getting rid of it. A recliner will let me read, write, and watch Netflix hopefully comfortably. It won’t be primarily used for writing, but sometimes one just wants the option to write anywhere. I’m also debating about one more vertical bookshelf. I know what I just said about the storage space, but I have a number of books yet with no shelf to live on. Some I have kicking around my bedroom because I know I want to keep them, but they can’t fit on my shelves. I want everything to be in a proper place or be gone from my space.

Paper: 11 piecesBathroom: Waiting to hear which day the plumber will be coming.Recliner: 64%

FINANCES

R. Card: 73.22%S. Card: 23.5%OSAP Loan: 6.86%Savings: TBD

FITNESS

I was so zonked after doing jodo and iaido on Sunday. My heels were quite sore by the end. Thankfully, I’m not too sore today. There is a little tightness in my right shoulder, but it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

We had newbies and they are so cute! I always appreciate when new people start. I never know if they’ll stick with it or not, but it makes me go back and work on fundamentals. I quickly learn where I’ve been slacking. It also reminds me of when I was a beginner and couldn’t remember which side of the wooden sword was my edge and moving the thing around looked really easy yet I couldn’t do it right.

Gazelle: 0% saved

FRENCH

I’m going to put French on pause for the moment. Not that it’s not important, but I need to get a few other things handled first.

MUSIC

My teacher was happy with my progress. I like her a lot. She teaches me some other things as needed like intervals. I didn’t fully get everything she said about them, but she said they’re really good to know for piano and for singing, so I’m sure I’ll be learning more about them.

My next lesson is in two weeks. I have to:

Memorize Let It BeLearn Downtown AbbeyChoose a song from my big book of easy songs to learn next

WRITING

I have made a tiny amount of progress here, but I’m worried. I’m on chapter eight of twenty-six* and I still need almost eight thousand words! I have a plan I formulated while hopped up on way more caffeine than I normally ingest. Hopefully, it will work out!

The Page & The Magician: 72,254/80,000

*It’s a good thing I made sure to edit this post before putting it up

A Spiritual Realization

For the past two years or so, I’ve been on a spiritual journey. I’ve went to church a number of times. I’ve read a chunk of the bible. I’ve sung the songs. I’ve tried really hard to believe, but I don’t feel it. I think the main allure may have been that many Christians seem really happy. And who doesn’t want to be happy?

Things that make them happy include volunteering, helping others, donating to charity, singing songs, having like-minded friends, and being kind. None of these things require belief in a deity.

Maybe it’s that I’ve been through too much crap to be able to believe that God has some wonderful plan for me. This list includes things like a miscarriage in 2011, which I haven’t really talked about much. It was one of the worse experiences I’ve ever had. Maybe I’ll write about it more in the future. All the job/financial difficulties, a divorce, food/health issues, and being bullied largely make up the rest of the crap.

Anyway, the moment I decided I was agnostic was the moment I felt peace inside me. I was anguishing over the fact that I couldn’t make myself believe beyond the possibility of initial creation. I fell in a pool when I was three. It was my brother who saved me. Now, one might say I was lucky or that God must have been watching over me because it happened while my family was all there, but I bet somewhere on the other side of the globe there was another child who didn’t survive a drowning. What would make me more deserving of attention from God than another? Nothing that I can think of.

But here’s the thing. Just because I don’t believe, doesn’t mean I need to be mean to those who do or that I should be okay with hate directed at religious groups. Because I’m really not okay with the fact that Christians are being slaughtered in Nigeria. It’s been going on for a long time. This is something that everyone, regardless of faith, should be upset about. Those are human lives. And just because some Christians are or were A-holes doesn’t mean these particular Christians in Nigeria or anywhere else deserve to die. We’ll never progress with a tit-for-tat mentality.

Plus, it could be your group next.

Also, I think Christians and others have a right to be upset that they can’t pray in school while other groups can. I think it would be awesome if all students were allowed some quiet time to pray, meditate, do yoga, or read a book because time to slow down during the day is beneficial for everyone. It’s about accepting everyone’s differences too.

Alternatively, all prayer could be banned from school, but I feel passionate that the answer isn’t in eradication of religions. Some books may need to be updated because advocating killing others is shitty, but I think part of the world’s beauty is in the mosaic, which wouldn’t be as varied without different worldviews.

Since admitting this thing about myself, I feel energized and free. I have more time for the things I love like martial arts. I’m not beholden to outdated rules. I can enjoy everything that doesn’t hurt another without feeling bad about it.

And I can write anything I want.

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FINANCES

I have to pause some things right now. The opportunity has arisen where my water needs to be turned off, so a plumber can do work in the unit below mine. I have something I need done and don’t have a quote yet for it.

R. Card: 73.22%S. Card: 24.7%OSAP Loan: 6.86%Savings: TBD

FITNESS

I’m heading back to jodo this weekend. I finally feel ready to get back to it. I was partly holding back on this because I knew I couldn’t do jodo and church due to the scheduling, but now I don’t need to worry about it.

Gazelle: 0% saved

HOME

It looks like I’ll be taking a step forward soon on the bathroom reno. With my water turned off and a plumber in the building, I’m hoping he can install the quarter-turn shutoffs I need on my bathroom sink the same day he works on my neighbour’s project. If so, I’ll then be able to slowly work at removing the old vanity and sink, repairing the drywall, and painting the room. I guess it’s a good thing I know what colour I want. I should consider a new light in there soon too as the current one sucks and I will need to repair the wall there likely too.

Oh, I’ve started a new thing with the declutter effort. I’m aiming to handle one piece of paper a day. Whether that means put it in the recycle, shred it, digitize it, or file it doesn’t matter. I figure by at least handling one a day, it’ll get under control despite limited time and fatigue. So far I’m doing well with it. I started it midweek and found some days it was easy to do more than one. And I’m keeping track of it in the same spreadsheet I track word counts and other things.

Chaise: 35% savedPaper: 6 pieces

FRENCH

Read: 9/30Class: I have heard back and need to take the next step. My email inbox has been cleaned up and the new temp starts soon, so I think I’ll have time for this.

MUSIC

This is coming along. My left hand is getting better and I’m getting closer to being able to play it with both hands smoothly. I doubt it’s up to speed though. I’ll be pulling out my metronome soon.

WRITING

I’m now aiming to write at least 100 words a day. Life has been busy and draining, so I figure if I can at least do that, it’s almost 1000 words a week. I’m not counting my blog in that 100 words. Soon enough, the nice weather will turn and I’ll be indoors a lot more.

The Page & The Magician: 72,189/80,000

R~

Friends and Family Weekend

This weekend was a good time to get away from the O-Town rush and spend some time in my hometown. I was actually able to leave early Friday morning and catch up with some former colleagues in the afternoon before a college bud had to scamper off to meet his wife.

On Saturday, I spent the late morning whacking some golf balls into the sky with my brother before we went out for sushi. The evening brought a visit with some cousins which ended a little earlier than it might have if we weren’t all getting older.

I caught up with an old high school friend on Sunday before family dinner. We walked through Laurier Woods for several hours before it was time to get back to town. After dinner, I got to spend some time on a pontoon boat with my oldest friend. I met her when I was a toddler and we’ve stayed in touch for the bulk of the 35 years that have followed. It would have been nice to get more time with her, but adult realities made that difficult.

Before heading home, I had lunch with some old colleagues and then I visited one who was off as he was finishing a house move. It was really great catching up with everyone!

With all the socializing, I didn’t do anything on my goals, though I did have some whacky dreams that could make for fun stories one day. I wrote them down. I also had time to think about a lot of things like what I want to do fitness wise, where I am at regarding my spirituality, and I made a plan for tackling the paper part of my declutter. It was good to have time to pause, breath, assess, and plan.

WRITING

The Page & The Magician: 72,189/80,000

FINANCES

Hopefully, the trip home didn’t set me back too much.

R. Card: 73.22%S. Card: 24%OSAP Loan: 6.86%Savings: TBD

FITNESS

I’m hoping to do winter golf training, which will give me salt water pool access as well. I’ll also eventually get the equipment I want for home, so I can be active while watching TV.

HOME

I’m mainly going to be continuing to clean up the space, but I have a new mini goal when I get to the paper. I figure if I deal with one piece a day whether it needs to be filed, shredded, thrown out, or digitized that’s really manageable and it’ll add up quickly. On average, 30 pages per month. Before I know it, I’ll have the paper under control despite the time I spend commuting and it shouldn’t be exhausting in the slightest.

I figured out what colour I’ll be wanting to paint my bathroom eventually. It’ll be a light yellow instead of the lime green someone thought should go with dusty rose tiles. I’ve never liked the green. There isn’t a lot of wall, so one can will likely do when I can get a plumber to put in some shut offs for my sink. I’m not in a rush, but I would definitely like to get the pieces out of my dining room and hallway someday soon.

FRENCH

I’ll be getting back to this really soon. Work is a bit hectic until the new temp starts. Once she’s trained up, I should be good to go on this.

MUSIC

My life is “Let It Be,” for the next few days. And the C Major Scale.

R~

Pressured Progress

Well, I’ve been rather tired as of late and haven’t gotten as much done as I hoped. Until today anyway. I returned home after work to find a notice that my unit will be entered tomorrow for fire alarm testing. And that’s how my night has suddenly turned into nothing but cleaning.

Well, I managed to squeeze in a desperately needed haircut, but otherwise I’ve been cleaning non-stop save a brief dinner.

What I want to be doing right now? Knitting and watching Dirk Gently.

I’m quite annoyed because I work in procurement, so I know they likely have known about this for awhile as these things involve contracts and buildings typically have a regular schedule. They used to give us a week’s notice for things and lately it’s been more like this one day crap.

On the upside, I’m getting my place a lot cleaner in a short time frame, but it doesn’t mean I’m actually making the progress I want in terms of my declutter effort. I’m having to stow things away rather than properly sort through them

Petite Progress

It was time to dust off my laptop after one too many times having my Microsoft Surface separate itself from its keyboard. The Surface is good for some things, but I don’t generally have to worry about my laptop’s screen taking a hike suddenly. It took awhile for it to fully synchronize with Dropbox and even longer to Update Windows, but it’s back up and running.

It has been a bit of a nostalgia trip. Some of the recent blog posts on this laptop were from 2017 around the time I heard back from a publisher that they liked my book, but felt it needed a little more work. Also on the laptop was the confirmation from when I applied to college.

It’s easy to lose site of how much has happened in a short while when in the midst of it. I was restructured out of my job only 3 years ago, but I went through a lot in that short period. I spent so much time worrying I’d end up homeless and skipped a lot of meals to save money for bills in that time.

I regularly feel impatient that my home isn’t clean yet, but I only started really making an effort a couple of months ago and I was spending much of my free time job hunting, so I wasn’t 100% devoted to it. I guess I’m hard on myself sometimes. There’s just me cleaning it up and I’m working full time plus writing. I should focus more on that I’m making huge strides and not just on the end goal.

It seems a lot like writing a novel really. I often just want the thing to be done and out there for people to read, but the journey is important and may even be more than the result. I find myself getting caught up in the hoped end result all the time though. It seems someone I know always has their next book coming out and I haven’t gotten my first out yet. I know it’s not a race. The only thing I should be focused on is making my work better than what it was the day before.

I’ve started this new bin method I got from The Spruce. So far, I like it. It’s helpful to gather the smallish items that get everywhere easily like pens or tape. It gives them a place to be while I figure out if they should be in my home at all too. And I have a handy bin to carry multiple items back into the room they belong in. I’m using dish bins from the dollar store as they aren’t too big or too small. And I added a small one with compartments for the little things like screws, nails, and paperclips. The ‘Put Away’ bin fills up quickly though!

WRITING

I haven’t done anything here this weekend. It’s a long weekend in Canada for most and I’ve been using my extra time to clean.

The Page & The Magician: 72,189/80,000

FINANCES

Status quo for now.

R. Card: 73.22%S. Card: 4.7%OSAP Loan: 6.86%Savings: TBD

FITNESS

It turns out that postponing the gym has been a great decision. It’s freed up my mind for writing. The cleaner my home gets, the more the ideas flow. And I feel happy more often.

HOME

It has been an exhausting weekend filled with cleaning. I took a big box to donation on Saturday, bought a cabinet that was on sale for my bedroom, and cleaned up a new spot for my microwave. I’m seeing more floor all the time, but I feel like I’m playing Tetris with my furniture! I also swept my balcony and put an old table out there that I saved from the garbage room last year. Ideally, I’d like a nice folding set like I saw on someone else’s balcony as it would be easier to store come winter. Someday. Next year more likely.

This week I intend to:

Clean up my desk as I’m working from home on Monday.Catch up on laundry.Catch up on dishes.

FRENCH

Read: 9/30Class: I have heard back and need to take the next step.

MUSIC

I’ve been playing a little more piano because it’s easy to get to. Not enough though. I did realize I could practice my fingering in the early morning without turning it on. I definitely need to do a lot more left hand work.

R~

Early Bird

I’m feeling pretty good about something.

I used to be the type to sleep in quite late. I often struggled to get to work for 9:30 AM.

Well, I’m getting up at 5:30 AM now. Also, I have made it to work for 8:00 AM every day since I started going back to work. I’m still adjusting somewhat, but it’s nice getting done at 4:00 PM instead of 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM.

Getting up earlier also gives me more time to make breakfast. Because I’m leaving much earlier than I used to, I have way more buffer if something happens along the way.

Speaking of, this week started with a bus breaking down on the side of the road. It was near the university stop though, so it was no big deal to walk over and catch another bus. I wasn’t even late to work. It was pretty weird though. The thing just lost all power and all the driver could do was get it to coast to the side of the road.

WRITING

I’m feeling proud of myself here too. As I’ve been doing this round of edits, I think I’ve figured some key things out about writing a novel. At least, I hope I have.

Previously, I’d often cut a character out just to avoid dealing with them. Now, I use them as a way to push the story forward and make things a little more tense. This also leads to giving me an extra couple of paragraphs.

Somewhere along the way, I also learned to write less dialogue and more descriptive and action-oriented prose. At least it feels that way to me. There’s undoubtedly still room to grow, but I’m feeling a little less amateurish than before.

Hey, look! My word count is increasing again. Yay

A Cleaning Struggle

I feel fortunate that I live in this time. We have some of the best tools available for self improvement. We also have better medicine than even a decade ago.

Having the gumption to chase dreams helps a lot too.

I’m also grateful for having experiences that have taught me things like smart goal setting.

I have a long way to go to get my house clean, but I’ve found a lot of resources on the Internet and at the library. I know I can’t be the only one who struggles judging by the popularity of The KonMari Method and Tidying Up. During the Japanese Festival, I picked up a book called, A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind. It’s a small book, so I’m almost through it, but it’s jam packed. Some tips are very specific to living in a large home with many people to help, which don’t apply to my current situation in my 500 sqft condo with just me. Washing my floors by hand daily is just not going to happen. There are a lot of other ones that grip me like that if you leave the cupboard doors open in your kitchen, it’s a sign of an untidy heart. Another is that a dirty light promotes suffering. It’s inspired me to write little reminder notes to myself and post them around my kitchen and bathroom. I even took the time to shape them based on what topic it was about. There’s an interesting one about using shower water to clean the home to save water. It has to do with water being the most important thing in life. The shower, dining room, and bathroom are all supposed to be places for silent reflection.

Why is cleaning so hardly for me especially? I have a parent who is kind of a hoarder. Not as bad as those extreme cases on that hoarding TV show, but definitely bad. Sinks piled high with dishes, clean and dirty laundry everywhere, and more plates/cups/bowls/cutlery than needed along with expired/rotting food. That’s a piece of where I come from and I refuse to live that way in my own home. It’s hard though. I don’t know how many pieces of clothing one should own, as one example.

More from the book on clothing is that it is important to have different clothing for a new season from the old season or you risk a lackluster year. In Ottawa, we need to change our clothes to survive the seasons!

WRITING

I have been getting some ideas about my other projects, but I haven’t been pursuing them, only writing them down to prevent forgetting.

I have made some progress this week on the novel. Not as much as I would like, but a small word increase and as I’ve been going through and Americanizing it, I’ve been writing ideas down for later in the book that I can pull on from earlier pieces to expand the story.

I may focus on a more dramatic story after this one. I have one in my heart that wants to be told. I’ve basically got an outline from a school project of mine, so I wouldn’t be starting from scratch.

I have so many stories in me wanting to be told! It’s wonderfully frustrating.

The Page & The Magician: 71,993/80,000

FINANCES

With my car paid off, I’ll be better able to focus on the credit cards and OSAP Loan.

Yesterday, I finally was able to afford to get my winter tires changed to summers. I couldn’t do it last year because I needed two new ones and couldn’t fit it in the schedule. I found a place closer to home that was able to get me mid-range tires at low-range prices! They also have Saturday hours, which is fantastic! My workplace is pretty flexible with working from home and such, but I don’t like to have to do it too often. Also, the old place was a nightmare to get to and from using the bus. The new one is on my usual bus route and I could walk it if I really had to in about 30 minutes.

Soon I’ll probably be getting some dental work done. It’s also past time for an eye appointment. I also want to save up for a chaise that has storage space in it, though that’s really probably going to be my Christmas present. I should go to IKEA soon just to try them out and ensure the one I’m eyeing is actually comfortable. I need a couple of corner shelves for my bathroom anyway. I’ll feel better about driving out there with proper summer tires! And when I visit my family next month too. I haven’t really been wanting to go anywhere because of them.

R. Card: 73.22%*S. Card: 4.7%*OSAP Loan: 6.86%Savings: TBD**

*This is a bit misleading because the one that is less paid off actually has a lower balance.

**My adviser and I will meet again in the fall to get things rolling here.

FITNESS

My scale says I’ve lost 30 lbs, but I think the batteries may need changing because the time frame was too short for that to be realistic. I only started trying to lose weight a couple of weeks ago and my clothes aren’t fitting any better.

Gym: New plan on the gym front. I think I’d much prefer a Gazelle Supreme that I can hop on while watching TV. They aren’t too expensive and fold away nicely. I’ve never been much for going to a gym. I always prefer an activity like golfing or martial arts. Plus, I’d like to try cross country skiing and this would be a good way to get in shape for it.Iaido: I guess I better start really training for my Sandan if I’m going to challenge it in December.

HOME

General: I’m tweaking my chores list to find what works best. Now that my tires are back in storage, things will get easier, I hope. They were weighing on me quite a lot.Office: I intend to get my desk set up to transition easily between sitting and standing, so I can do some work while standing and be healthier. I already have a desktop stand made for that purpose, so it’s mostly cleaning the desktop.Bedroom: I got the curtain rod and curtains for the closet and put them up. I need to do a lot of laundry to clean the space up.Bathroom: I thought I might start the cutting of the bathroom vanity this weekend. This will let me move the new one into the room instead of it hanging out in my hallway. I didn’t get to this, but I’m feeling okay about it. Instead, I did other things like moved my air conditioner to the living room as it was too hard to sleep with it in the bedroom.

FRENCH

No news here, but I should get back to reading my book.

Read: 9/30Class: I haven’t heard anything. Might be time to poke my boss. They could be on vacation though.

MUSIC

Piano: I haven’t practiced as much as I should. I’m going to make it a point to this week.

R~

A Weight Lifted

My car loan is paid off. I received the mail showing a zero balance today! It took nearly seven years, but there were a lot of bumps along the way. I think those bumps have been character building though. I’ve certainly learned a lot and am stronger.

Things are looking up!

And since getting that statement, I’ve felt super motivated. I finished reading a book and started another, did laundry, put my tires in my car (which was way easier than previous years), and did a load of dishes all tonight!

It was the third Percy Jackson book I finished. I’m now reading, “A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind.” I got it from the library booth at the Japanese festival on the weekend. I often don’t get books from the library because I’m a slow reader, but I think this one will be easy to finish in time.

It feels great to be making progress again.

WRITING

Here is where I having made progress. I intend to do nothing but cleaning and writing this weekend though! Oh, I may watch a Ghibili movie because I got it out from the library booth too.

I have been getting some ideas about my other projects, but I haven’t been pursuing them, only writing them down to prevent forgetting. I may focus on a more dramatic story after this one.

The Page & The Magician: 71,969/80,000

FINANCES

With my car paid off, I’ll be better able to focus on the credit cards and OSAP Loan. First, I have to deal with changing my tires, which I’ve been putting off for a year because I couldn’t put money aside to buy new tires with. Now I can. I’m booked in for Saturday morning as I found a place near home that is open on the weekend, which is extra awesome as I’d rather not miss work for tires. And soon I’ll probably be getting some dental work done. It’s also past time for an eye appointment. I also want to save up for a chaise that has storage space in it, though that’s really probably going to be my Christmas present. I should go to IKEA soon just to try them out and ensure the one I’m eyeing is actually comfortable. I’ll feel better about driving out there with proper summer tires! And when I visit my family next month too. I haven’t really been wanting to go anywhere because of them.

R. Card: 73.22%*S. Card: 4.7%*OSAP Loan: 6.86%Savings: TBD**

*This is a bit misleading because the one that is less paid off actually has a lower balance.

**My adviser and I will meet again in the fall to get things rolling here.

FITNESS

Gym: 0/3*Iaido: I guess I better start really training for my Sandan if I’m going to challenge it in December.

*This will probably be in September.

HOME

General: I’m tweaking my chores list to find what works best. I can’t wait until my tires can be put away! I smashed my knee on the cart the other day

My World is Shrinking

Lately, I’m realizing Ottawa is much smaller than I thought. It began on my birthday when I found the access to the Rideau Canal, which has been close to my workplace all this time. Buildings I’ve known the addresses of for over a year, but never seen are around the corner from my dojo. The sempai, or senior student, at my dojo works in the same building as me. My friend’s dojo is around the corner from the park where Prose in the Park was held a couple of years ago, which is also a short walk from the bus station I frequented during school. All of these things I’ve only discovered this month and many were on the weekend that just passed!

Speaking of the weekend, mine was packed. Friday was spent making a Fukuro Shinai. It took about 4 hours and I still have to finish the handle wrapping. It has been the hardest part to make look nice. My fingernails were a bit sore on Saturday. Some of my fingers still hurt. Leather-working is pretty hard!

Otherwise, this weekend I battled my air conditioner as another heat wave struck Ottawa. For some reason, the exhaust tube keeps coming off and spewing hot air back into my condo instead of out of it. I’m hoping Gorilla tape will settle the matter.

Saturday brought my first piano lesson with my new teacher. She was really nice and I felt pretty comfortable with her right away. I think it’s a good fit. Because I’m only doing lessons biweekly and she has vacation during what would be our second class, I actually won’t have another until mid-August. That gives me plenty of time to perfect the piece and scale she assigned me. I really like the contemporary book we’re working with too.

WRITING

I haven’t made any progress since Wednesday as I’ve been too busy on the weekend. I’ll be back at it in force soon though.

The Page & The Magician: 71,969/80,000

FINANCES

Nothing new here though I think my car might be paid off by now, so yay?

OSAP Loan: 3.17%Savings: TBD*

*My adviser and I will meet again in the fall to get things rolling here.

FITNESS

Gym: 0/3*Iaido: I was nervous for the demo, but I got a bit of practice time before we went up that helped to calm the nerves. It went really well and there were a few interested people, so maybe we’ll have a couple of new students.

*This will probably be in September.

HOME

General: I’ve got another box of stuff ready to go. I hope to be done cleaning sometime in this millennia.Bathroom: Nothing much yet, but I have started some little things like a basket for the things I use everyday. I plan to get a couple more like it to put on eventual corner shelves. One will be for my hair dryer and flat iron.

FRENCH

No news here.

Read: 9/30Class: I’ve reached out about assessment at work. After that, I can find out about training.

MUSIC

Piano: I started classes and I really like this teacher. She has me working on Let it Be by The Beatles. Also on my homework list is the C Major scale.

R~

Two Steps Back

I’m still getting back into the swing of things at work. The earlier mornings and travel are making it hard to get as much done as I’d like, which was expected. We’ve also been having heat waves fairly regularly. This has made dishes and cooking difficult!

This week is a big martial arts week as we have our demo on the weekend at Natsu Matsuri 2019. I’m also attending a workshop a friend is running on building a Fukuro shinai. That’s a bamboo sword, which has a leather covering (for those who aren’t in the know).

Other than that, I don’t have much to report. I’m pretty much just working for the weekend right now, but I expect that will calm down soon enough. I did manage to watch Stranger Things Season 3, which was awesome and I’m sad that I’ve run out of episodes!

WRITING

So far, these changes have me losing words, but I have faith it will eventually work out. I’m through chapter one. There are only twenty-five more chapters to go…

The Page & The Magician: 71,969/80,000

FINANCES

I have started tackling the credit card debt though I’ve only had one pay and a half one at that.

OSAP Loan: 3.17%Savings: TBD*

*My adviser and I will meet again in the fall to get things rolling here.

FITNESS

I’m a little frustrated here. Apps tell me I’m not getting enough calories to lose weight and I don’t have much of an appetite lately. I think that may be due to increased caffeine intake, so I’m going to calm down on that and see what that does. I may have to go see a doctor about it.

Gym: 0/3* Iaido: Sunday’s class was excellent. We decided which katas to do for the demo and after practicing the whole set, we split them up among us and worked on our own parts. I’m a little nervous as I’ll be doing kata I don’t usually demonstrate.

*I’m going to hold off a moment as my exercise level is currently higher than my calorie intake and may be causing me issues.

HOME

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Living Room: I got the bookshelf bench and put it in place. It has helped that part of the room, but it seems like there is still so much else to handle! I did find a place that does tires on Saturdays, so I think I will be able to put my tires away soon and that will help too.Bathroom: Nothing yet.

FRENCH

Read: 9/30Class: I’ve reached out about assessment at work. After that, I can find out about training.

MUSIC

Piano: I start classes this Saturday and I’m pretty excited about it!

R~