Monday, December 29, 2008

Melinda's New Year's Resolutions Guidelines: 2009 Edition

Let's recap.
  • Car care - I am doing somewhat better about taking care of my car. (I can only say that because I just took it in for maintenance for the first time this year...)
  • Gym - I was doing the gym thing pretty regularly for a while, seeing how I wanted to be able to walk without a limp...I have since 100% lapsed in this, though. Must resume rehab so i can stop lying to my therapist.
  • Move to Spain - this dream has been transferred to moving to London. Which will not happen in 2009, so this one doesn't even count yet.
  • Get paid to write - I don't think I got one thing published this year, much less paid for. (I have started writing a children's novel, though. And by "started" I mean I have thrown away what I've started and am now just thinking about it.)
  • Dance lessons - sadly, those didn't last long into 2008 :( Maybe I'll fit them in again once we get those eight-day weeks going!
  • Be a better friend - I think the fact that I have gotten better at this in some ways, coupled with the fact that I made a lot more friends in 2008 and had less time to spend with each friend, means that I about broke even this year.
  • Raven Rock - STILL haven't gone! wtc?
  • Improve cello-ing - given that I actually practiced at home a couple times this year, I'm thinking I did alright.
  • Volunteer - hah. Did that, then did that too much, then quit almost completely. "Balance" is my theme for 2009.
  • Paint - not enough.
  • Grow up - holy crap, I think that happened; I no longer feel like a child! It all started with a haircut..
  • Save $ - yes!! wow! Getting a real job for the first time seems to help with that.
  • Tattoo - not only did I finally decide on a design, I decided on it in three days and then got it! Still love it, ten months later...a good sign.
  • Mountain trip - not once, but twice, heyyyy
  • Decrease 3-C dependencies - cereal, chocolate, computers. I succeeded in one of the three! (A hint: I think the foods are a lost cause..) Of course, now I never answer my emails, oops.
  • Figure out my book - hah! I forgot about that one. And look, it's happening anyway :) kinda. Well, not so much. Hello, 2009.
  • Learn to use my camera - now that I have a camera that I actually like, this is finally in progress.
  • Photo shoot - cello + field. Still a no. It WILL happen one day.
So in addition to all the ones above that are still left wanting and therefore are transferable to each new year until finally achieved, here are Melinda's 2009 Guidelines:

  • Learn more French. It sounds pretty! (As of now, all I can say in French is, "Paris, I love you. Such is life. Let the good times role. The question is, will you?" Plus I can make propositions to men thanks to Moulin Rouge, but that hardly counts.)
  • Learn more guitar. Starting with the Beatles. Mmm.
  • Write a real song. Like, the kind that is finished, and not embarrassing.
  • Plan the Big UK Trip. Try to exclude fantasies about marrying a Brit uncannily similar to James McAvoy.
  • Sing in public. Whatever that means...at least once.
  • Be hot AND healthy. I'm convinced it's possible...maybe this is the year!
  • Learn to cook non-dessert foods; perhaps even plan a full meal once in a while, geez.
  • Keep my bedroom, house and car neat and clean. For more than two days straight.
  • Do whatever it takes to be able breathe better. This is probably related to the previous point, unfortunately.
  • Live without cable.
  • Be a better granddaughter.
  • Go on a real date or two. Or heck, go crazy and maybe even more than two. Why not? Oh wait, I know why not ;)
  • Visit my MD/VA friends!
  • Hang out at a monastery for a week. Since I already have a room reserved, this is like one of those things you add to a to-do list that you've already done, so that you can feel accomplished...
  • Play with little kids.
  • Clean out all my personal and work email inboxes. Ugh.
  • Start writing poetry again.
I should probably stop there...no need to make it unreasonably impossible. Kinda impossible is good enough, methinks.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Interesting column in the N&O today.

"Why are Christian neighbors so aloof?"

If I remember, I might even come back later and give my reaction..

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

After all, i AM a girl :P :)

I haven't had my wedding planned out since I was age 6. In fact, the only early wedding planning I've ever done (as in, it'll probably be at least several years before it's worth any serious consideration) is mainly in wondering how I could possibly arrange an elopement without making my family furious...

One chicken I have counted before it's hatched, though, is with kid names...I can't help it...I've been coming up with future-baby-names for years (odd, since the idea of having kids freaks me out kinda. I'm working on that..) And it may seem extreme that these are clearly more than mental notes (my memory's definitely not this good), but...see my blog title. I love words; names are words...it makes sense to me, anyway :)

So here's another glimpse into Melinda's psyche, or something. May you be entertained, or at least indulging enough to not make fun of me. :P

Boys

Aidan (but a friend already used this! hah oh well)
Brennan
Cadian
Connor
Hawken - really? I had forgotten this was on the list..not gonna lie, still kinda like it
Julian
Kellan - no, this has been on the list for years and has nothing to do with Twilight


annnd, the Girls list is tons longer (also odd, since I want a boy first)

Adriana or Ariana
Aubrey or Audra or Audrey
Aline - from one of my fav authors, Aline de Romanones
Avonlea - I think it's such a beautiful name, except it'd probably have to be spelled Avanlea or Evonlea because I'd hate for my kid to have Avon for a nickname...almost as bad as Mary Kay
Carmen
Elena
Elise
Ella
Elia or Elianna
Evelyn
Flynn - love this one
Gabrielle or Gabriella
Georgia
Irena - almost like me
Julian - almost like it better for a girl than a boy
Leila
London
Maeve
Margot
Mica
Natania
Natasha
Noel
Renata - i'd probably have to marry a latin or italian boy for that to work though :P
Rose
Sanna - as in short for hosanna...except it's probably no good, given how it sounds too much like a certain jolly elf
Sierra or Sienna
Sonia
Sophie
Tacy

Course, things change. When I was much younger, some of my favorite books were by a woman named Maud Hart Lovelace, and I declared to my mom that one day I wanted a daughter named Maud. Yikes.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Get thee to a nunnery!

...or, how about a monastery? I've just found out that I'm going to be spending the week after Easter at a Trappist monastery in South Carolina.

I suppose this is related to the previous post a bit, but it's not a sudden decision, exactly. I've wanted to do it for years.

I say "just found out," though, because I merely inquired about room availability for "any of the weeks in April"...and the next day got an email back saying they had made a reservation for me the week after Easter. I was a little bemused but decided to roll with it.

Oh, and Trappists don't talk, or not most of the time, anyway. I've been wanting a quiet week; looks like I'm going to get one in a big way.

I'm really, really excited. And a little scared (in a good way). Spiritual development and communion and fellowship aside (which I of course look forward to, though with some trepidation...maybe I'll explain later), I'm also ecstatic about spending a full week away from conventional society.

I picked April hoping the weather would be fairly mild (and also because their flower gardens might be picking up about then...I love absorbing God through nature's beauty). "Guestmaster" Brother Stephen picked the week of Easter Sunday; I'm going with it.

It's funny; I'm already reminded that I will be spending time in a community of humans, not otherworldly, perfect saints. About a year ago, the Mepkin Abbey monks were embroiled in a controversy for the inhumane treatment of their chickens (though sadly, the said practices are pretty standard for most farmers). Even though they've done away with those practices (because, they said, the controversy was disrupting their monastic life), that was a bit disappointing. But...who am I kidding? They are human. Was I looking to spend time with perfect, sinless creatures? I'd have to go into the isolated wilderness to commune with God for that one, and I'm definitely not ready for that.

Anyway, I've never done anything remotely close to this. I've never even been to a Catholic mass, except one Easter when I was 13, I think. Definitely have never spent more than a day around people without talking, much less five. Definitely have never eaten a vegetarian diet for more than one meal at a time. Definitely have never had so much free time to be quiet and alone with God with only myself as a possible distraction.

I can't wait to hear what I have to share when I get back...hopefully something.

Monday, December 15, 2008

You know you are too busy when...

You know you are too busy when you forget to open the email that's telling you it's time to pay your credit card bill.

Dang it!

A friend and I were joking the other day about how we need an extreme personal assistant to help us keep track of all our bills, insurance stuff, retirement plans, and to remind us to call Grandma on her birthday, bake for church this weekend and floss our teeth daily.

Seriously, I feel like I am constantly making efforts to become more organized, more responsible, more on top of things, but it never seems to be quite enough. AGHHH. I'm sure this is all part of learning to be an adult yadda yadda blah blah blah, but if I can barely handle things now (and half the time, I'm pretty sure I'm not) I don't want to think about what it will be like as my life gets more complicated.

Because I'm assuming it will. Our society, for all it's gadgetry and "self-helpthink" geared toward making our lives more simple, is still very steadily plodding along to more and more complexity, in my opinion.

Yeah, I'm sure it's been good for something. Well, I take that back; I'm not totally sure. Are more people really receiving more help to live better lives, or is all this complexity just shoving us toward bigger and better ways to increase our own comfort, financial success and sense of self-importance? Sometimes I question if it's really worth it.

I'm not going to lie; one reason I love reading books set in earlier time periods is because I love fantasizing about a time when our world had not be revolutionized by modern technology. Everything moved more slowly, I think, pre-internet and other tech advances. Yeah, we get more done, now...but at what cost? Our way of living has been forever changed, and (outside of medical advances) I really can't decide if the good outweighs the bad.

If you think I'm being melodramatic, let me tell you this: I have lived almost directly across the street from an acquaintance from church for more than a year now. Have we ever hung out, being about a 3-second walk from each other? Nope, because we didn't realize we were neighbors until last week! How did we not know this?? Once upon a time, there would have been no way to not know this.

Sigh...I love having cutting-edge medicine and DVDs, but other than that, I think modern life is too complicated for my taste.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

all i want for Christmas...

...is to be able to breathe normally. Seriously, Santa, that would be great!

that, and to find my good capo, dangit.

Friday, December 12, 2008