Resolutions

200th post!
I'm a big fan of New Year's resolutions. People who don't make them "as they'll just end up breaking them" come across as too defeatist. In my opinion, I'd rather try and maybe fail... and I've got plenty of stuff I'd like to improve in my life, so new year's resolutions seem like a good catalyst to spur me on.

So here are my resolutions for 2009:

1. Be happy and be positive. (The most important one)
   
2. Do constructive acts, avoid doing destructive things (inspired by a NYE conversation with K--).
3. If I'm not sure whether to say yes or no, I'm going to say YES (Danny Wallace rules!).
   
4. Be focussed and motivated (i.e. Work hard, play hard).
5. Get fit. (A perennial one, I've made some progress in the recent past).
   
6. Do unto others as I would like them to do to me... especially to my friends. (They deserve it. I've realised the friends who I can rely on are really wonderful).
   
7. Man up, grow a pair and suck it up! (As I said, not just a resolution, a way of life!)
   
8. Be happy with myself on my own, being comfortable as an individual and comfortable in my own skin. Be confident. (This one's the most challenging)
   

Let's go and have a fantastic 2009!

Good luck with all of your resolutions.

Love
AcidCat

Dance, dance, dance

"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching"

Hi guys!

Had a bit of an unexpected day. Tiredness due to the late nights (phone calls with the friend - hoping he doesn't ring again tonight, not sure if I can manage another one) so have been sluggish and struggled to get my work done (currently procrastinating, and will restart work after this post).

I agreed to teach a flat mate the basics of breaking (aka breakdancing, but people who do it tend to call it breaking or bboying). So this afternoon, we were in the kitchen, with some music playing, and I was running him through the basics of "toprock" (the bits of breaking where you're standing and dancing upright). After a while, the flat's doorbell rang, and another one of my flatmates answered it. He returned with three female random strangers, who lived in the flat opposite and had been watching us dance, and asked to join in!

I was a bit taken aback, and a bit disturbed that people had been watching us mucking around like that. I love to dance, but am quite self-conscious about it. When I dance in front of people, I have to work hard at "dancing like no-one is watching". When it transpired that not only our three guests were not the whole audience, with other people from their flat seeing our dance lesson, and other flats looking in, I was starting to feel somewhat embarrassed and thinking that I should have drawn the curtains (couldn't though as we needed the windows open for air).

Anyway, as they didn't seem to be taking the piss, I started running through some basics. They ran off pretty quickly so I wonder if it wasn't what they were expecting, but it was just a bit bizarre. I think they were enjoying it, as one of my flatmates who does enjoy staring (spying) out of our kitchen window saw them practising in their kitchen.

In the end, I thought it was quite fun. I admire their gutsiness and courage to go to a random flat and say "We were in the flat opposite watching you dance and want to join in". Not only that, they had originally got the floor wrong, and rang the bell of the flat below us. I would have loved to have seen the confusion on the face of the guy who answered that door.

Anyway it's been fun. But I badly need to work. In a way it's probably the most fun thing I've done since getting here. A good memory of this place for my future.

AcidCat

Roll with the punches

As I've only just got back from work (which given that it's a Friday night just goes to show quite how rock and roll my life is at the moment) and it's 2:30 am, I'm doing another customary short post.

Anyway, something I realised this evening is that two of the people I really admire and look up to as really impressive people who seem unflappable and in control of their lives (Pimp Daddy, and the ex-Pres of Oxford TaiChi) have all gone through tricky periods. Pres attributed his inner calm to having had gone through the torments making him stronger, so life seems easier by comparison.

I'm going to make sure the experiences I've been through make me a better, stronger, more sorted person.

"That which does not kill us only makes us stronger." - Friedrich Nietzsche

AcidCat

Your best days are your days at work

The title of this post was the message I got in my fortune cookie today.

It was reasonably good at summing things up though.

I'm feeling very pumped up and excited about my work at the moment. Things are working, and I'm really enjoying doing it. For a rare first, I'm looking forward to going in early tomorrow to try and push forwards.

Hey, ho, let's go!

AcidCat

I will do it

I will do it.

I am going to be a doctor, no matter what is thrown in my path.

If I need to take the five year course so be it.

If I need to take a year out, I will.

If I need to bury myself under a heavier debt mountain, I don't care.

I will be a doctor.

Nothing is going to stop me.

I will do it.

AcidCat

Sunny Sunday

A combination of the "say yes" and "Do it" thoughts led to today being somewhat busy.

I decided to ring a friend who I go breakdancing with to see if he was going today, to the Oxford session. He's been suggesting I went for a while, so I asked him. He said he would if I would, so I said yes, and agreed to meet him for the 8pm session.

I then rang my brother to see if he wanted to do an early dinner together before my breakdancing. He agreed, and despite my offer to go out to eat, he suggested cooking round mine. We decided to meet at around 5-5:30pm round mine.

I went into town, picking up my car en route. It's incredibly difficult to park a car in Oxford, even on a Sunday. I found a two hour parking space near Keble road, so popped into the lab briefly, doing a little work, but not much. Sphincter Boy and JizzNut were there, I was pleased to see one of them and we had a bit of a chat about rugby, while I tried to work. All too soon my two hours were up, so I had to head back to move the car. On leaving the lab I met the Ringleader who wasn't overjoyed at the prospect of sharing a Sunday in the lab with JizzNut.

I trawled the centre trying to find a space, but to no avail. I finally chanced upon a space on Walton Street, so walked to Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer, where I decided I'd base a meal on roast chicken as they were on offer in M&S. I got some decadent oozing filling steamed puddings in both Chocolate sponge and sticky toffee pudding flavours.

I headed back home as I realised that I needed to get the chicken on or it would be very late. I dashed straight to the kitchen and looked at the electric fan oven. I don't really trust electric cooking devices, but it turns out that this one was excellent, and I really should have reduced the temperature for the fan assisted oven as suggested on the packaging. As it happened, the food ended up being slightly carbon enhanced.

My brother cycled through the pouring rain and I welcomed him with a cup of tea. He set to fixing my punctured bike tyre, while I put the rest of the food on. I was quite impressed by my efficiency, managing to feed him by around 6pm. He was a sweetie, and didn't mind the food being a little blackened cajun style (partly from the standard of Balliol hall food being quite as disgusting as it is). I managed to burn the beansprouts with parma ham a little, thank god I got the rice ok, or it would have been a clean sweep.

We had a lovely chat, but I had to dash off for the breaking session. I drove to the session which was good fun, but I'm really rusty and unfit. It was nice to meet my friend Q again though. Despite it finishing at gone 10, he asked if I wanted to go for food or drink with him. Normally I would say no, but with the new resolution I followed him to a chinese where I sipped an Orange Tango. It was fun just yapping away, and we left at nearly midnight when they were shutting up shop.

It's been a busy day, and lots of fun. It's largely come about through saying yes, and the mentality of "doing". So enrich your life: Say yes, and Do it!

AcidCat

PS www.tanksforsale.co.uk has used tanks for the price of a small family car. I'd better start saving...

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This Blog post has been brought to you by AcidCat, plugging www.do-it.org the nationwide volunteering website. Put something back, and have some fun while you're at it!