Oh, what a crabby person I've been this week. I've allowed myself to be upset about the fact that I was on call and that my office is inaccessible due to a toilet that overflowed one floor above the power room*. I could write another whiny post about all of the bad, but I'm getting really tired of hearing myself complain, so instead I'm going to talk about the good things (big and small) in my life at the moment.
Purrs:
1) The girlfriend and I made an extra-large batch of tuna noodle casserole last night, so we got to come home to tasty comfort food that required zero effort. And it isn't takeout sushi, so it's frugal to boot.
2) The girlfriend convinced me to not watch Top Chef last night, so I get to enjoy my favourite show on Friday night. Go Marjorie!
(I was going to insert a picture of Marjorie here, but I realized that I would most likely end up spoiling the episode for myself, so no visuals.)
3) It is warm and sunny, and I can hear the sound of cars driving through melting snow through our open balcony door.
4) New books from the library! My reading goal for the year is to start** all of the books on the Canada Reads longlist, and I have three of them sitting on my coffee table.
5) As I type this, my girlfriend is making homemade pizza dough for a dinner party on Sunday. She is an incredible baker, and her pizza is better than most of what you can get in a restaurant.
6) Hagen Daas.
7) Thanks to being on call, I've earned enough to cover all my expenses for the month, so every penny I earn for the rest of the month can go to debt repayment.
8) If I use very generous calculations and include the value of my car, I'm almost at a net worth of zero. For the first time in about nine years.
9) I am only one week behind on paperwork. After leaving a giant stack of paperwork behind to go to a conference, this is major progress. Starting work early and leaving late pays off.
10) Saturday morning brunch date.
What are your purrs for the week?
*Good design there, architect.
**I recently forced myself to finish reading a book that I absolutely hated, because I thought it was "good for me". All that it really accomplished was that I stopped reading for a few weeks, because I couldn't stand the book. I've now decided that if I am really not enjoying a book that I don't have to finish it.
Showing posts with label Weekly Hiss and Purr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekly Hiss and Purr. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2016
Monday, September 7, 2015
The Weekly Hiss and Purr - September 7 Edition
I knew from the beginning that I was unlikely to write a "Hiss and Purr" post every week, but I was hoping to do it a bit more frequently than monthly. By comparison, slukettg at This Liminal Space has been writing her "Weekly Hiss and Purr" literally every week and has lapped me in a very short time. (If you haven't read her recent post about substance abuse and privilege, you should do that now. It's way better written and more important than anything I'm going to come up with today.) I'm going to try to write these posts more often, as they're a relatively easy way to get some of my thoughts out and to keep up with the habit of blogging. I don't, however, promise weekly.
The Hiss - Insomnia:
Insomnia has been a lifelong enemy of mine, and for some reason it has decided to be particularly bad lately. Most nights I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and then I lie in bed afterwards for anywhere from one to three hours, completely awake. On bad nights, the timing of falling back asleep corresponds to the timing of the cats crawling into bed, and then there is no additional sleep for me. The interrupted sleep has left me profoundly tired - on Friday night, I started whining about needing to go to bed at 9 PM, which is very unusual for a night owl like me.
The strange thing is, I don't know why the insomnia is so bad. Usually I suffer from insomnia when I'm under stress or unhappy about something, but I don't feel like either of those things are the case right now. Yes, there is some stress associated with starting work as a real doctor, but it feels very mild compared to what I'd feared. And I'm not unhappy! I'm enjoying work even more than I had expected; the girlfriend and I have been doing lots of fun things in our spare time; and I'm getting better about avoiding the trap of staying up too late at night. I just don't get it!
I've been exercising again recently (more about that later in the week), and I'm hoping that will help turn things around. Because I'm tired of staring at the ceiling when I should be asleep!
The Purr - Long Weekends:
There is something so unbelievably luxurious about having three days off in a row. I love having one day for fun things and one day for necessary things and then yet another day for whatever I choose to do. This has been a particularly good long weekend, as we haven't had any weddings to go to (I am so done with weddings). I've finished my book (more about Chasing the Scream in a future post), finished knitting my first sock (and started my second), introduced my girlfriend to Treme in honour of the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, played board games, tried four different hamburgers for Burger Week, and eaten an amazing celebratory dinner at my favourite tapas restaurant. And it's not over yet!
At the moment, I'm still in pj's, and I'm keeping my girlfriend company while she makes zucchini loaf. We have an oldies station playing in the background, and we're chatting about everything from the tragedy of the Syrian refuge crisis to the awkwardness of junior high. It's everything I need in life.
The Hiss - Insomnia:
Insomnia has been a lifelong enemy of mine, and for some reason it has decided to be particularly bad lately. Most nights I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and then I lie in bed afterwards for anywhere from one to three hours, completely awake. On bad nights, the timing of falling back asleep corresponds to the timing of the cats crawling into bed, and then there is no additional sleep for me. The interrupted sleep has left me profoundly tired - on Friday night, I started whining about needing to go to bed at 9 PM, which is very unusual for a night owl like me.
The strange thing is, I don't know why the insomnia is so bad. Usually I suffer from insomnia when I'm under stress or unhappy about something, but I don't feel like either of those things are the case right now. Yes, there is some stress associated with starting work as a real doctor, but it feels very mild compared to what I'd feared. And I'm not unhappy! I'm enjoying work even more than I had expected; the girlfriend and I have been doing lots of fun things in our spare time; and I'm getting better about avoiding the trap of staying up too late at night. I just don't get it!
I've been exercising again recently (more about that later in the week), and I'm hoping that will help turn things around. Because I'm tired of staring at the ceiling when I should be asleep!
The Purr - Long Weekends:
There is something so unbelievably luxurious about having three days off in a row. I love having one day for fun things and one day for necessary things and then yet another day for whatever I choose to do. This has been a particularly good long weekend, as we haven't had any weddings to go to (I am so done with weddings). I've finished my book (more about Chasing the Scream in a future post), finished knitting my first sock (and started my second), introduced my girlfriend to Treme in honour of the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, played board games, tried four different hamburgers for Burger Week, and eaten an amazing celebratory dinner at my favourite tapas restaurant. And it's not over yet!
At the moment, I'm still in pj's, and I'm keeping my girlfriend company while she makes zucchini loaf. We have an oldies station playing in the background, and we're chatting about everything from the tragedy of the Syrian refuge crisis to the awkwardness of junior high. It's everything I need in life.
Friday, August 7, 2015
The Weekly Hiss and Purr - August 7 Edition
Oh this week. This week has been one full of angst, coming from a variety of sources. Even though I'm still on vacation (yay), I feel like I could list a dozen or so hisses without much effort. Bah.
Angst is soooo overrated. Take a nap, Mom.
The (Biggest) Hiss - Anxiety:
One of the best things about this vacation has been how relaxed I've been. Until recently, I was waking up feeling refreshed and looking forward to all the great things the day had in store. I even looked relaxed - my skin was tanned (as much as my Northern European ancestry permits), my hair was longer and curlier than it had been in years (the word "mullet" comes to mind), and my clothing choices were comfortable, if not bordering on vagabond.
And then, a week ago, I decided to get my hair cut so that I would look slightly put together for the wedding I attended last Saturday. And it was as if everything changed. Going back to my "work hairstyle" seemed to signal that it was time to go back to work, or at the very least to start stressing out about it. Since then, I've been experiencing increasing bouts of panic as I come to terms with the fact that I will be the one in charge starting August 17.
It doesn't help that there are still major issues up in the air...like my license. Everything is happening at a snail's pace because it's summer, and despite doing things in what I thought was lots of time, I am still waiting on a number of important documents that are required for me to work. And I have only five business days left until my first day of work. Aaaaaah.
(Please be patient while I go and vomit.)
The Purr - Reading:
The biggest thing I need right now to keep myself sane is distraction from thinking about work (and from hitting refresh on my email program to see if anything is happening with my license). Enter reading! As I previously blogged about, I just finished reading Gretchen Rubin's book "Better Than Before". I also have her book "Happier at Home" sitting in my to-read pile, but for a change of pace, I've decided to start with Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". This book tells about her family's journey of moving across the country and trying to eat locally for a year. I'm only one chapter in, but I'm loving her writing style and her exploration of all the issues (environmental, economic, health) related to what we choose to eat.
There are so many more things that I want to read! I have a giant stack of books from the library on my coffee table, plus a list on Goodreads and another list in my iPhone. I need more hours in the day!
What are you reading this week?
Friday, July 31, 2015
The Weekly Hiss and Purr - July 31 Version
Mrs. Frugalwoods, of my new favourite blog Frugalwoods, writes a semi-regular column entitled the Weekly Woot & Grumble, in which she talks about one good thing (a woot) and one bad thing (a grumble) from the previous week. Because I love stealing other people's ideas needed inspiration for today's blog post have enjoyed reading these posts, I thought I'd give my own Weekly Woot & Grumble post a try.
Given that I'm a catlady lover, I decided to go for a more feline-themed title, hence the Weekly Hiss and Purr. (Callie and Hobbes approve. Or maybe they're just embarrassed to have been caught in such a compromising position.)
The Hiss - Paperwork:
Being on vacation, I really don't have much to complain about. Should I whine about the difficulty of fitting reading, tv watching, and knitting all into one day? About having trouble falling asleep at night because I slept in until 10 am? About my Mom not answering her phone when I'm calling to make plans for a picnic? I'm sure that all of these things would garner tremendous sympathy.
Really, the only thing causing me any significant distress this week (other than bloody, itchy, wake-me-up-in-the-middle of the night mosquito bites) is all of the paperwork and other details that need to be sorted out before I go back to work. College registration, malpractice insurance, automatic deposit, new pager, new dictaphone, new identification badge, etc. etc. It seems like every time I open my email there is another request for me to fill out a form (and usually provide a cheque or credit card number). The worst part is, no task can ever be completed in a single step. A request for a cheque reveals that I've run out of cheques, which requires me to open my online banking, which reveals that my online banking address is incorrect, which requires me to email my banker, which reminds her that she has ten things she wants me to do for my new business account, which causes me to bang my head against the wall in frustration while letting out a guttural moan.
Really world, all I want to do is binge watch Arrested Development on Netflix while finishing off the sock I started knitting in February. Is that too much to ask?
(Yes sock, not socks. I've only knit one in six months. Based on the number of times I've sworn at said sock, I may never knit a partner for it.)
The Purr - Organization:
As I've previously mentioned, I forced myself to spend the first week or so of my vacation getting my apartment organized. Papers from medical school were recycled; ill-fitting clothing was packed up for the thrift store; and similar items were gathered from across the apartment into single locations (Me to girlfriend: Six boxes of lard? Why do we need six boxes of lard? No, I'm not throwing them out. I'll put them next to the twelve bags of raisins.).
It was a huge amount of work, and I frequently resented it during the process, but I am so glad that I did it. Multiple times every day I look around the apartment and am amazed by the amount of empty space I can see. I can find things easily. I can cook in my kitchen without first having to clear counter space for myself. It seems like such a small thing, but it fills me with joy on a regular basis.
Now the challenge is to maintain some semblance of organization once I start working again...
Given that I'm a cat
The Hiss - Paperwork:
Being on vacation, I really don't have much to complain about. Should I whine about the difficulty of fitting reading, tv watching, and knitting all into one day? About having trouble falling asleep at night because I slept in until 10 am? About my Mom not answering her phone when I'm calling to make plans for a picnic? I'm sure that all of these things would garner tremendous sympathy.
Really, the only thing causing me any significant distress this week (other than bloody, itchy, wake-me-up-in-the-middle of the night mosquito bites) is all of the paperwork and other details that need to be sorted out before I go back to work. College registration, malpractice insurance, automatic deposit, new pager, new dictaphone, new identification badge, etc. etc. It seems like every time I open my email there is another request for me to fill out a form (and usually provide a cheque or credit card number). The worst part is, no task can ever be completed in a single step. A request for a cheque reveals that I've run out of cheques, which requires me to open my online banking, which reveals that my online banking address is incorrect, which requires me to email my banker, which reminds her that she has ten things she wants me to do for my new business account, which causes me to bang my head against the wall in frustration while letting out a guttural moan.
Really world, all I want to do is binge watch Arrested Development on Netflix while finishing off the sock I started knitting in February. Is that too much to ask?
(Yes sock, not socks. I've only knit one in six months. Based on the number of times I've sworn at said sock, I may never knit a partner for it.)
The Purr - Organization:
As I've previously mentioned, I forced myself to spend the first week or so of my vacation getting my apartment organized. Papers from medical school were recycled; ill-fitting clothing was packed up for the thrift store; and similar items were gathered from across the apartment into single locations (Me to girlfriend: Six boxes of lard? Why do we need six boxes of lard? No, I'm not throwing them out. I'll put them next to the twelve bags of raisins.).
It was a huge amount of work, and I frequently resented it during the process, but I am so glad that I did it. Multiple times every day I look around the apartment and am amazed by the amount of empty space I can see. I can find things easily. I can cook in my kitchen without first having to clear counter space for myself. It seems like such a small thing, but it fills me with joy on a regular basis.
Now the challenge is to maintain some semblance of organization once I start working again...
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