Happy Anniversary, Canada!

Our, mine and Canada's anniversary, that is.  I emigrated to Canada 3 years ago today.  Wow, just like that, and 3 years are gone.

I'm not sure G realises the significance of the day, he hasn't been well much of the past week, so for today we have mainly addressed immediate needs: we went to the store to pick up dog food, the deli to buy meat (we like to frequent the local butcher as much as possible to get good, fresh cuts), and the gas station to top up the gas can and the truck (gas prices here astonish me, considering Canada produces its own).

I could have bought the dog food on my own, but I insisted on his company for the meat shopping and the gas pumping, chiefly because I don't know one cut of meat from another and would simply accept whatever is offered so long as it is reasonably priced, whereas he is quite particular about his protein, and I have never pumped gas into a receptacle before, and pumping gas is quite the ordeal for me due to the gas cap on the truck having its own key and requiring opening and closing in a particular way.  I absolutely hate struggling with opening and closing anything, it is one thing that will easily send me flying into a rage.  I am not sure why this is so, I have never tried to examine the roots of that particular issue.

Looking at myself today, and at the self that arrived in Canada, it would be easy to think they are quite different.  I have grown and changed quite a bit in the last 3 years, and though I am certain there is much more growing and changing ahead of me still, I am not unduly disappointed with myself.

If you'd asked me 3 years ago if I would expect to be working now, I would have said, "Of course!".  I could have had no inkling, though, that working would mean two part-time jobs, and one of them in a field I swore I would not go back to but find myself enjoying nonetheless.

If you'd asked me 3 years ago if I would count meditating and working out among my essential daily activities, I would have said, "No."  Now, I start my day with a yoga sequence and meditation, and am committed to at least 3 resistance workouts each week.  My body and mind now both reflect these interests, I am more "toned" (as in, there's less fat on me so my muscles show up more) and even developed in some areas I never gave any thought to (hooray for defined traps and delts), and I am calmer and less prone to hyper-anxious episodes.

Living in Canada has changed me, yet many things about me remain the same.  Many of my fundamental definitions of myself and the world are still firmly in place.  Of course, 3 years here compared to 36 years in Jamaica (minus about 18 months spent living in New York) isn't enough time to overturn these definitions, but some have been altered, perhaps even radically.

What about May's Goals and Notes,though, you ask.  Yes, enough of all this retrospection and introspection, what did I do with the month gone by?

I continue to save in the 52 Week Money Challenge.  As the weeks mount up, it is going to become even more challenging to set aside the funds.  May weeks were 19, 20, 21, and 22, for a total of $82.  I managed to squeeze $41 out of two pays for the month, reduced as my income was.  I keep reminding myself that with only one job last year (and the same amount of bills!) I was able to save all the weeks up to 26, so I should be able to manage it now with two jobs making up the same number of hours as the one job last year.

I could not do as much paying down as I wanted to of the next credit card on my hit list.  I had to make adjustments based on the reduction in hours/income, and that was one of the things I had to reduce.  I am keeping an "every mikkle mek a muckle" attitude towards this credit card, knowing that every little bit will add up to the balance as long as I keep plugging away at it.

Last month I read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", read more from The Simple Living Guide, and completed the final two Headspace Packs in the Performance series, Creativity and Happiness, as well as the first pack in Headspace Pro.  In the Pro series, there is much more silence and less guidance than in any of the other series.  As you can imagine, keeping my mind on track is challenging, but I am enjoying this series.  As much as I never minded Andy's gentle tones, I find I quite like sitting in silence to start the day.

I see by the clock that it is time to wrap up this month's entry, I am on duty as the sous chef and bottle washer.  The dishes are done, but I am responsible for preparing the asparagus and broccoli that will be served with the prime rib tonight.  I like easy recipes, and preparing the asparagus is a matter of tossing with olive oil, salt and pepper, and broiling for about 8-10 minutes.  The broccoli I plan to stir fry in butter, as steaming it is not my favourite method of preparation.

This month's glimpse into my life:

The family tree, planted for my arrival in Canada.

 

150 straight days of meditation

Twenty Fifteen, and 2014 Resolutions in Review

Happy New Year!  Yes, it is 2015.  I managed to stay awake until about 11:45 p.m. but alas, not until midnight and the passing of the old year into the new.  Oh, well.

Yesterday, I looked back at my goals and resolutions for 2014, as written out in my Day Book, and found that I accomplished not a few of my goals, partly accomplished some others, and came not even close on a few more.

I'll share a few of the ones that went well.  The others remain Work-in-Progress, so they will stay unmentioned for now.  What went well in 2014:

• Reading 50 books for the year, including at least 5 related to self or career development.  In actual fact, I read 10 related to self and/or career development, and even took notes of "Take Away" points from several in my Day Book because I found them to be especially relevant to myself.
• At my current job (we'll call it the year-round job henceforth, for reasons soon to become apparent), I made goals to stay up-to-date with my assigned targets, to inform myself of procedures and processes as much as time allowed.  I did well, receiving commendation from my supervisor at year-end.
• I applied for a seasonal job, and was successful in being accepted into the training programme for it.  I participated in the training between September and November, and got stellar grades.  I have been invited to start working when the season opens in mid-January 2015.
• I set workout goals to: deadlift my bodyweight, and scored a personal record of 195 pounds, or approximately 1.8 times my bodyweight; bench press 60 pounds, and scored a personal record of 65 pounds; and learn to squat up to 45 pounds, and scored a personal record of 135 pounds for reps.

Going into 2015, I have decided that I will record my goals on a shorter time-frame, rather than under broad headings applying to the entire year.  In order to make the process more mindful, and to acknowledge the fact that, rather being a discrete event in time, my process involves revisiting, revising, and reviewing my goals several times throughout the year, I will focus on smaller goals for each month, which will add up to what I accomplish throughout the year.

So, January, what am I going to do with you?  Well, I already got one thing out of the way: I created a new spreadsheet for our household expenses, added in the bills under categories, assessed or input what needs to be paid for the month, and started planning what will be paid when and by whom.

I also need a new workout schedule from the Bodbot app, I took a month off from working out in December following a severe bout of the flu, but now that I feel recovered, I am ready to workout with weights again, and need a new starting point.

One final one I will mention:  I see from Blogger that I managed all of 5 blog posts here last year.  One more than I managed for 2013, so that is some improvement, but not much, really.  Having started this month with an entry, I will add it to my monthly goals hereafter.  I have a few ideas how the Evernote app can help me there, and that will go on January's plan in my Day Book.

I hope, whatever your plans for 2015, that you find them as exciting as I do mine.  Walk good, and all the best for 2015!