About Me

My photo
What do you really want out of life? Now what's stopping you?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

A Summary of Thought

All things considered there hasn’t really been anything major keeping me from writing. No earthquakes, no close calls with death, no infectious diseases; not much really. I have been busy though. I guess the menial in life got a little better of me, and when combined with a couple of curveballs that required a little more of my attention resulted in an absence from your screens. So I’m over it, I’m sure you already are.

Let’s see what has caught my attention recently. The efficiency of the American visa system (they may not always approve your visa but they are efficient-mine came through though), the monotony of complaints in Zimbabwe (the lack of government, the monopoly money, the dollarisation rumours-same junk different day), the fact that stretch classes work, what three weeks without coffee can do to your mood (clearer mind, not necessarily less grumpy) and raisins (they were cheap what can I say).

So, what does it all mean? Complaints about things you can’t change are a waste of time, extra flexibility is always cool and useful, give up something once in a while-it will make you a better person (I didn’t say quit forever), raisins are a great healthy alternative to sugar on your cereal, and you can’t beat certain systems. Have a brilliant day.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Dancing Tall

I’m standing a little taller and straighter this week. No, I have not had surgery to have steel rods implanted in my spine, rather I have gone back to dance class. The class I go to usually involves 30 minutes of stretching, followed 30 minutes of conditioning (either barre work or core strengthening) before we even think of looking at a routine. Proper barre does wonders for a person’s posture.

Why am I even bothering to tell you all this? I stopped dancing about this time last year simply because there were not enough hours in the day to get it done. My life has been reshuffled a little and I now have a couple of those hours back. Dance also ties in with a couple of my other current goals-to be more fit and flexible and to meet new people and have more of a social outlet. It’s a pretty cool package deal on goals then. Also I really enjoy it. Now, I am not sure if I will get around to doing a show at all as that is a huge time commitment. For now I am content to have fun; I’ll face the pain of overstretched muscles another day.

PS for anyone looking for a social dance class in Zimbabwe you can contact Debbie on 492314

Friday, January 02, 2009

A New Year's Sleep

It’s the second day of 2009 (my autodate in word has just informed me that I can ‘press enter’ to fill in the whole date to save me a whopping 0.1miliseconds of my life) and already the year has been a busy one; a bit of plumbing, a bit of gaming, a fair chunk of work and a little writing.

The idea of the New Year has always fascinated me. I mean, is the second before the stroke of midnight really any different from the one after? Time is, after all, a continuum and it is only humans who divide it into nice little parcels for the sake of management. The measurement of time with its divisions of 12 and 60 is so pre-metric and makes for such dreadful calculations that you would think that someone would have decimalised the clock by now. That would throw a generation of Swiss watch makers into disarray now wouldn’t it.

New Year, and the festive season in general, does at least provide a well needed rest. Most humans (in this case personified by yours truly) need regular breaks. I don’t care what the science tells you, my science says that without routine doses of eight hours of sleep and two weeks off every six months or so I become a run-down, irritable, grouchy jerk who cannot function at full capacity. Now I know many people who survive on less, but that’s just it, they survive but do they really flourish? Most articles I’ve read, probably written by researchers who love their duvet, recommend 8 hours of sleep a night. That sort of article is wonderful for sleep addicts like me. Regardless of your personal preference for dozing habits here’s to a prosperous and fun-filled 2009.