Mostly Harmless

I haven’t really blogged about what is happening in my life as of late, not because nothing is happening, just because nothing seems super-epic. However, looking back on it, this month has been full of lots of interesting things I can discuss.

A good thing to note right at the beginning of this post is that December was a bad month for me. I had me some of that lovely Seasonal Affective Disorder BS. Or maybe I was just moping, I’m not really sure. Either way, I was not a lovely, industrious person in December. I’m going to revisit some of my goals from this post and comment on life in general.

I’ve been maintaining a work document of my current goals, and every day at work, I open it up and see how I’m doing. Basically I have a list of weekly goals, another with the goals for the current month, one for next month, and one for overall. I also have a list of things I want to do some day, and people I want to hang out with. This has helped me remember what my priorities are on a daily basis, and plan things a bit further in advance, so that things actually seem to happen.

Hobbies & Projects
This encompasses a few of my 2011 goals. The Bookstravaganza so far has been fun; I’ve finished two books this month and will be starting the next one soon. I’m surprised how into 19th century literature my peers are; so far the winners have been old, old books, and it’s looking like the next winner will be a Jane Austen book. I have had to break my no-book buying rule, but I did it by proxy and it was for a good cause. More on that later.

One of my other goals was to finish the quilt I was working on this summer. The top was finished but it needed a back. I have actually made really good progress on this. I think with another two to three hours work, I will have the back all pieced together and ready for borders. I can’t really do that at my place because of my limited supplies, but I am planning on visiting my parents next weekend, and they have the things I need, not to mention the expertise from my mom. The only problem is that I like the back of the quilt more than the front, and I’m not sure the colours really match up. Maybe I have two quilt tops. Which means I have to make two more backs…

Social Life
I wanted to hang out with friends more often, and I have accomplished this. Every weekend this month, I did something with at least one of my friends. I went to Waterloo and had lunch with a pair of friends one day. Another day, Alan and I had two couple over for dinner and games. The next weekend I went to Toronto to hang out with a friend from university and her boyfriend. We went for dinner and cards and board games in Cambridge one night, and this most recent Friday, we had a friend over for dinner. So overall, this was a big success. I want to keep up with this, as I think it’s important to maintain the relationships I have, and make them better.

I’m very much looking forward to the Windsor Weekend of Awesomeness in February. Basically, I’m going down to visit a friend who is in university there with another couple of friends. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet up with my sister in law at some point as well for random hot beverage or some other social gathering thing. Maybe lunch. I don’t know.

Work
I think in the first week of January I managed to get more work done than I did the entire month of December. Which isn’t to say that I think we’re making progress on our project; I really don’t.

I started with my current company in July, and when I started, was told that my main task was to port their existing software into a web application. They had one major client on-board who was interested in a few customizations, but that overall it was to be an extension of their existing product. That is not what they were after. What they were after was fully-customized software that, as part of their requirements, would accomplish some of the tasks that our current software encompasses. I would say that about one fifth of the project is a straight-up port of the original software.

The major problem with the software is that nobody is really in charge. Or perhaps, that too many people are in charge. I have difficulty getting my managers to say no to any of the client’s requests, which are all pretty good requests, but many are absolutely out of left field.

It’s possibly the most epic example of scope creep I have been witness to in my short career.

The last week or so we have seen some actual progress. The client has started to realize that every change or new feature they ask for takes time, and I have started asking them to prioritize every one of those requests as to when it must be done, and how important it is in relation to their other requests. This has focused everyone into thinking about what is an absolute necessity versus what would just be nice.

Family
They’re good. My Mom and Dad went to Arizona for the majority of the month, and were actually in Tuscon when the world’s media descended upon the city. They said it was weird. My brother and his family are in Japan right now and sound like they’re having a great time.

Other Random Stuff
Alan and I are planning a longish weekend trip to Ottawa for our anniversary, but not on our actual anniversary. Probably around early-to-mid April, depending on software release dates and scope creep. We’ve got a list of ideas for what to do but would appreciate any suggestions.

Alan bought himself a fancy car. Lots of discussions were had about the merits of two versus four doors, and roofs versus convertibles, and inexpensive versus flashy. I think he made a pretty good decision, though I am not in love with the idea that it only takes premium gas.

I’m almost done my to-do list that I made immediately after getting married (last March). I have a couple of bank accounts to close and then I’ll be all done.

Health
At the beginning of the month, I decided to make some changes, starting with pumping myself full of Vitamin D in order to stave off some of the SAD I’d been dealing with in December. It works really well. It might be a placebo but if it is, I just don’t care. I also cut out caffeine and my morning Tim Horton’s run.

I had my first ever physical in early January, and based on my medical history and current health status, was referred to a local OHIP-based weight management clinic. Other than the weight, I’m fine, which is good to know. Oh, and I’m also Vitamin B12 deficient, but that’s really not a huge deal.

About two weeks ago was the initial appointment at the weight management clinic. They had me fill out about a mile of paperwork, and did some initial baseline tests to ensure my heart wasn’t going to explode. They had me see a nutritionist, who gave me a general eating plan, and told me to go buy a pair of books, get some Omega-3 and bunch of other things, until they could get me my “meal plan”. (I had Alan order the books so as to not break my resolution. )

A few days later I was back in for a “meal plan”. The meal plan essentially outlines how many calories at each meal, and what percentages of my calories should be fitting into carbs, fats and proteins. They’re also really into fibre, and not so keen on Coke. They sent me on my merry way to try and figure out all of this stuff.

So I set up some spreadsheets and hit the internet, and came up with a daily menu (without dinner) that fit the profile they suggested. This means that I eat the same boring things every day, and have a sensibly balanced dinner, and slowly but sustainably, weight should start coming off.

I have also increased my activity levels. This has been a trial, as I hate going for walks. It’s stupid and I just don’t do it. Right now I’m doing a tae-bo video that I downloaded off the internet as exercise, and that’s way more interesting than walking. I also turned my desk at work into a standing desk, which is ugly but functional.

I want this to work and I am willing to put in the time to make it happen. Hopefully I can see at least a little bit of results in the next couple of weeks, so that I don’t get discouraged. I went in for a weekly weigh-in last week and didn’t see any movement, and that was a bit disappointing. Maybe this week will be better, though.

So that’s what’s been up with me in January. What about you?

I have longish hair that takes forever and ever to dry. It’s super thick and just hangs limp and gross, and overall is not awesome to try and do anything with. Mostly I just let it dry and hope for the best. Or wear a hat. Or both.

A few weeks ago, the Alanator inquired as to why I don’t put my hair up in one of those towel turbans when it’s wet. That’s when I told him that I didn’t know how, and that I assumed that things like that only happen in movies, because that’s the only place where I’d ever seen this phenomenon. And then he mocked me for a week or two.

Was this one of those things that was taught to young girls at some super-secret girly-girls-only sleepover that I wasn’t privy to? Not that I would have wanted to attend something like that regardless, but I’m wondering what else I might have missed out on. I’m pretty terrible with putting on makeup and choosing clothing, were these taught as well, or are these life skills that I should have magically learned by osmosis?

Oh well. I was part of super-secret clubs as well. I’d tell you what I know that you don’t, but most of it is bovine-related and not really useful in my present-day life. And if anyone else out there don’t know how to make a towel turban, there’s a wiki for that.