Sophie learns something new everyday

Day 229

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 06:16:55 -0400

Exhausted. It’s been a long Sunday, top and tailed with cycle classes, and a BIG family BBQ thrown in the middle.

I was able to have my first real play with my new toy, a super-dooper-dooper digital SLR camera, taking awesome photos of the family. Still getting to know all the little settings. Can’t wait to use it on my holiday. So soon. Greece. 4 sleeps!!! A month of holiday in 4 sleeps!!!

Day 228

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:17:51 -0400

What a fantastic morning it has been! Rode my bike to the gym before teaching a cycle class for the first time (usually I drive there) and it was great. Blood was pumping, legs were warm, adrenaline had kicked in, all before I’d started the warm up. I think the participants could tell I was buzzing, the energy through the class was great! Think I’ll do the same tomorrow morning.

Also, I just received a msg saying “thehealthyeverythingtarian is now following you on tumblr”…Really? I’m very new to the blog world and really I just write here for myself, another challenge, another way to encourage self awareness, life appreciation, etc. My partner reads this blog. A few friends too. But that’s about it.

I started reading quite a few blogs around the same time I started this one (228 days ago), mostly young American females not too disimilar from myself…but never really expected to actually connect with them.

So Holly, if you’re reading this - Hi from Sydney Australia! Thanks for reaching out. You’ve made my day!

Everyone else (all three or four of you), check out Holly’s blog: http://www.thehealthyeverythingtarian.com/

Day 225 226 and 227

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:51:02 -0400

Day 225: I attended a surprise birthday dinner in Haberfield, a little part of Sydney I had not visited before. Can’t say I’d return to the same restaurant, but I did like the little strip of shops, I would visit the suburb again.

Day 226:Caught up for a coffee with an American friend and discovered the absolute extreme anxiety provoking procedures around VISA applications, extensions, temporary bridges. She has 8 weeks left on her current VISA and her manager is only now starting to take the need for action seriously. You know, it only impacts anything and everything that she does in her future life, no biggie…(!!!), not to mention she’s currently delivering university courses that she will need to walk out of halfway through semester if she doesn’t get approval in time - sorry about that students, it’s not like you’re wracking up a massive debt to pay for these courses so you’d expect a basic level of service or anything…(!!!).

Day 227: Speaking of students wracking up debt, I just discovered a new “Student Services and Amenities Fee” that came into a effect for the first time this semester. No announcement has been made to the students about this, the charge just pops up on their accounts and then they have to uncover what it is attached to (i.e. email me and ask WTF is going on). How embarrassing, such poor communication.

Day 222, 223 and 224

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:36:09 -0400

Damn you blog world..you baffle me. My posts from weeks ago are being published late despite showing in the correct publishing order on my dashboard…grrrr…I hate it when people, or technology in this case, make me look incompetent and I haven’t been. Don’t get me wrong, if I stuff up I’ll own it, but if I haven’t made a mistake and it looks like I have I get a bit defensive.

Anyway…

Day 222: I had a sore shoulder on Sunday morning, so instead of my usual 45 min total body resistance training prior to my cycle class I decided to do 45 mins legs only…it was only as I was hobbling down the stairs to the cycle studio to get ready to teach my class that it occurred to me that doing such intense leg training before teaching isn’t such a smart idea - don’t do again.

Day 223: I taught my regular morning and afternoon cycle classes and had great numbers in both (35 and 40) which was awesome. Had my group fitness coordinator tell me I was too fat to teach body attack which was less awesome. Got an extra day of leave approved for my trip to Greece because my flights had changed, again awesome. Had to deal with manager giving me cold disapproving looks and making tut-tut noises to get that extra day of leave approved, again less awesome. So this day was all about taking the good with the bad…and then just trying to focus on the good.

Day 224: Anyone who knows about delayed onset muscle soreness knows that I am in a world of pain today (refer to Day 222 above). In other news, channel 10 are about to launch a new TV reality show called ‘The Shire’ modeled on the US hit ‘Jersey Shore’. Seriously, it says so right here. Chief programming officer David Mott says “”The Shire is a glimpse behind the curtain into the heart of Australia as you have never seen it before.” Good god! The Sutherland Shire is the heart of Australia?!?!?!? AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Get me out of here! I’m moving to Canada! Thank goodness I don’t have TV reception anymore.

Day 203

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:21:56 -0400

I think I’m getting old…

I have been dealing with various companies today, not sure if it’s a bad day, but the there is some seriously unprofessional people out there, representing big brands, making their businesses look ridiculous with very poor communication and/or business practices…I’m embarrassed for them.

The day when I’m not the green, fresh faced, naive employee, feeling my way around the business world trying to get things right, and instead I am the one counselling an external colleague about the appropriate way to approach the university about asking for assistance with research, how to structure a request and the various considerations about dealing with sensitive information…is the day when it is clear that I have become old.

I welcome the new young players in workforce…please call me back after you have picked up some basic business etiquette.

Day 207, Day 208 and Day 209

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:19:35 -0400

Day 207: Experienced some fine dining time at a fabulous Japanese restaurant called Sake with some very dear friends so that we could catch up and talk/dream about fun times ahead in Greece together. I am a bit of a scrooge so I don’t do fine dining often, but I always remember the first mouthful when I suddenly realise the taste that is associated with the cost…damn it’s good.

Day 208: Hosted a Sunday family dinner at our little pad out on the back deck. Thankfully the pergola sheltered everyone from the pouring rain, but only just! Nine of us were crowded around a table for 6. My partner’s mother is over from Greece for a while so she is queen of the kitchen. She of course felt it was necessary to cater for a ~~small~~ army, so there was food, so much food, and drinks, and smells, and plates, and sauces, and oil, and salt, and cinnamon, and bodies everywhere! I mostly tried to keep out of the way, but kept an eye out over her shoulder, learning the basics for making dolmadakia, stuffed zucchini flowers and loukoumades.

Day 209: Attended my first “budget meeting”. Conclusion: Budgets are boring. Particularly on a Monday. Unless the money is being directed into my bank account…which it is not, hence the boring-ness.

Day 221

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:17:18 -0400

Gelato cake is awesome!

Went to a one year old’s birthday party today and tried gelato cake for the first time. At first it looked like 40 gelato cones stuck together but once it was sliced open you could see it was actually just solid gelato through and through. Yum.

Day 220

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:24:13 -0400

Today, a lesson in famous German animals…

In 2006 there was Knut, a polar bear who was born in captivity at the Berlin Zoological Garden. Rejected by his mother at birth, he was raised by zookeepers. He was the first polar bear cub to survive past infancy at the Berlin Zoo in more than 30 years. Controversy surrounded the baby bear as animal rights activists argued the bear should have died after his mother’s rejection as would happen in nature. But the Berlin Zoo rallied in support of the baby polar bear, vowing not to harm him and rejecting the suggestion that it would be kinder to euthanise him. The publicity from media coverage of this case quickly raised Knut’s profile from national to international - a furry white star was born! Sadly, on 19 March 2011, Knut unexpectedly died at the age of four. His death was caused by drowning after he collapsed into his enclosure’s pool while suffering from encephalitis

In 2010 there was Paul, the prognosticating octopus, an eight legged oracle, enthralled millions of people by correctly predicting the outcome of eight World Cup matches. Paul’s caretakers would drape boxes in his tank with the national flags of teams that were set to play. The boxes contained octopus food, and the humans watched to see which box Paul would open first. He died of “natural causes” a few months later…one has to wonder whether the stress of his recent job had taken its toll.

And now Til, the very cute earless bunny. Check the little guy out HERE. Sadly, only 17 day old, Til’s life was brought to an abrupt end when a cameraman, who was filming a story on the unique bunny with a genetic defect, accidentally stepped on him…poor bunny.

Day 219

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:59:17 -0400

So it turns out I get irrationally irritated when people use the word “literally” to emphasise something in their statement when they infact mean quite the opposite of the literal meaning. Mistaking their/there/they’re is annoying, but you know that it’s just a matter of spelling…using literally for emphasis is using a random word without knowing its meaning.

Today’s example: I’m standing in a line for lunch and the girl infront of me tells her friend ”she is literally in another world”. I don’t know this girl, I don’t know who she’s talking about, but I’m prepared to make a hefty wager that the person she is speaking about is not literally in another world….it continues… ”She is, like, literally over the moon” - no she’s fucking not!

I did start by saying this was an irrationally irritated reaction…it shouldn’t bother me this much…but it turns out it does.

Day 218

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:40:00 -0400

A photo of my partner and I made the social “out and about” pages of the Tasmanian Mercury Newspaper today (does that give me E-grade celebrity status?)…so I’ve been told, I haven’t seen the paper myself, but I’m getting a copy delivered soon.

Day 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:12:00 -0400

Another week flashes before my very eyes…

Are things just getting busier and busier? Am I getting more forgetful, more distracted? Am I getting lazy…er? I believe it is a combination of the above and probably some more…

So I asked for a Tuesday date night. I got Yulli’s vegetarian tapas. I thoroughly enjoyed. I found out that my partner and I are all too consumed with our work lives and we are in great need of this coming trip away to Greece to get perspective on things.

On to writing up the week that was…

Day 211: I realise I am not a very good film director and that it is actually a much harder job than I gave it credit. Two film shoots later and we can’t use any of the footage and I have to organise a third. I keep saying that the key is being prepared in order to get the shots I want, but I never quite get my act together…third time’s the charm?

Day 212: Last day of a four day working week and I can’t wait to escape the city and work life yet again. I enjoy a quiet dinner with two friends at my house, under my beautiful new pergola out the back deck…I wonder why I don’t do this more often…mental note: must make time for quiet-social-weeknight-dinners.

Let the long weekend begin!

Day 213: One word (well one acronym really): MONA. Amazing art gallery. Amazing story behind how it came to be. Cannot recommend enough. Google it. Find it. Visit it.

Day 214: Give me time, on a beach, with rocks, and shells, and I am a happy girl. I also saw my first black spotted quoll!

Day 215: My Mum is a performer, a brilliant one too. I never knew this about her. But I witnessed her transform from her quiet, slow, non-morning-person self into a passionate, glowing, well spoken, energetic speaker. Give that woman a microphone and a room full of people (which includes her personal hero, Bob Brown) and she lights up! I burst a few cardigan buttons as I puffed up with pride.

And the long weekend comes to a close…sleepy flight home, lucky I live near the airport so it’s practically a stumble home to my front doorstep.

Day 216:Yesterday, I received sad news that my old family cat, Moo, is not long for this world. He is currently in a cattery while my parents are away for the week and the caretaker called me to see if I knew how my parents would like to handle the situation. For the first time that I can remember I was sad, but not angry about the idea of this old cat dying. All other previous deaths in my life I remember feeling a twinge of anger thinking it was unfair that the person (or animal) had to go. But my old cat has had a good life, from city slicker kitten, to muscle mountain cat, to the slow moving, deep thinking, sweetest old pussycat he has become today. His arthritis restricts his movement so much he can barely walk these days and I think ending his pain will be a good thing. But I am sad…very sad to say good bye to old Moo.

Day 217: Sat down and had a talk with my manager today to map out my next 12 months and discuss potential decision I may have over the next few months about my career direction. All a bit confusing. The bits of information I now understand are outweighed with the new questions and confusion that has arisen…I hear an old saying in the back of my mind - “the more you learn, the more you realise how little you know”.

Day 210

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:00:48 -0500

Question: You’re riding a horse full speed,a giraffe is beside you and you are being chased by a lion - What do you do?

Answer:You get your drunk ass off the carousel!!

Day 205 and 206

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:33:10 -0500

Day 205:Reminiscent of a few days ago, I felt old again, this time it was because I was on the other side of the interview table, I was the one asking the questions, and then grading performance to make final selections for a job. I’m new to this whole interviewer game, I’m not sure I’m qualified.

Day 206: We have 28 more days of rain forecast for this month. That is really depressing. So I’m thinking I might need to buy a pair kick-arse of gumboots soon.

Day 204

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:33:25 -0500

The answer is no, I will not be. I answer this now, because I already know the question that will follow after today’s new learning…I’m getting my answer in first.

Did you know that on the last day of February in a leap year (i.e. 29th February) women are “allowed” to propose?

According to an article in the Huffington Post: “The 12th century tradition began in Ireland where women were allowed to propose marriage as they believed this balanced the traditional roles of men and women (balance? 1/1461 days, what balance?).

According to folklore tradition, if a woman’s proposal was rejected, the man had to buy her 12 pairs of gloves to hide her hand from the embarrassment of not wearing an engagement ring (this makes me cringe…).

During 19th century Britain, fines were levied if a marriage proposal was refused, whereas in Greece, a leap year marriage is considered unlucky.

So there you go.

Day 193, 194, 195, 196,197, 198, 199, 200, 201 and 202

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:49:00 -0500

So the hectic-ness of life continues…

Day 193: I had my first real encounter with my beautiful second niece Bethany, (my cousin’s baby, we decided that made her my “second niece”, does that work?) so cute. I also discovered the world of bonbonieres, we went to a specialty wedding planning shop in Bexley to find bonbonieres for my partner’s brother wedding. It was a scary experience, the materialism of weddings makes me want to throw up in my mouth just a little bit…

Day 194: Went to my first tropfest viewing. Awesome crowd. Pity it started to rain three movies into the session. Pity I also had a crazy Monday planned for the next day so had to leave early anyway.

Day 195: Monday = Craziness. Cycle class in morning, first day of O-Week, long (but fun) day with first year Co-op scholars at NIDA, another cycle class in afternoon plus a surprise assessment by my manager (surprise!? yeah I needed that like a hole in the head), and then Greek class…I saw this day coming and did nothing to stop the crazy…that was a mistake that I must learn from.

Day 196: Tuesday = Break down. Despite my best efforts to keep myself in check I ended the day with tears over my keyboard. Note to self: this is not a good look. Another hectic day including cycle class cover, getting computer fixed (on and off phone for 3 hours working through problems, ugh), preparing for events, receiving shitty assessment over the phone from manager regarding cycle class the day before - confidence shattered, chasing scholars around campus, presenting evening workshop and then dragging my sorry arse home from work at 9pm. See lesson from day 195…times that by two.

Day 197: Wednesday’s mantra: Just one more day. Just one more day. Just one more day…one more day to wrap everything up for week before taking off down the south coast for a long-long-four-day-weekend. Can’t remember this day very well…I know I just wanted it to end. See lesson from day 195…times that by three.

Day 198:Left the city to get away from busy work, away from stupid insensitive managers, away from cycle classes, away from 5am hungry cat wake up calls, away from hustle bustle Sydney life that was doing my head in. Turned out I made a stellar decision to book a cabin at the Bulli Beach Caravan Park which is positioned right on the water. Arrived early Thursday afternoon, had an afternoon swim, read my book on the beach and promptly passed out into an afternoon nap. Anyone that knows me knows that napping, let alone napping in the sun on the beach, is very out of character. Must have needed it.

Day 199: First visit (that I can remember) to Wollongong city. Cute. Still prefer Newcastle. But beaches along there are awesome.

Day 200: My partner’s brother got married! Beautiful bride (seriously stunning). Very chuffed groom. The slightly sun burnt best man (Fotis) gave a fab speech. Turns out the view from Bulli Tops is fantastic during the day, but is utterly breathtaking at night.

Day 201: Panorama House - there is a reason it’s not called Cuisine House, I recommend visitors concentrate on taking in the view…not the food…buffet breakfast…noooooooo!

Day 202: Don’t leave blog updates for 10 days…feeling guilty about falling behind in something only gets worse with time…until you contemplate actually giving it up…but I’m back baby, I’m back. Must. Complete. Challenge.

Day 188, 189, 190, 191, 192

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:24:20 -0500

Wow - what a week!!? My calendar has been so jam-packed with stuff that I’ve been running from one appointment to the next.

Day 188: My first day of five day course on the foundations of university learning and teaching. Luckily I have my learning journal to remind me what was covered that day. The stand out lesson of the day was the difference between surface learning and deep learning and strategies to encourage deep learning (to promote higher order thinking and analysis).

Day 189: This day focused on all the tools and tricks of assessment. BIG TOPIC. You can actually get quite creative…but then you have to follow through with the marking and that can take up a lot of time.

Day 190: So it turns out that if you walk around campus with a name tag people will start to get to know your name. Now the guys at the coffee cart not only know what I drink they call out to me when it’s ready using my name.Also covered teaching small classes and technology aids for teaching.

Day 191: It’s at this point in the week when I start to run out of steam. I’ve taken on four extra cover exercise classes on top of my regular four classes to help out some other instructors, I’m running back to the office at every tea and lunch break to answer voice mails and emails to stay on top of my work and I spend the rest of the day filling my head with new (and wonderful) concepts on teaching and learning which comes with homework and a practical assessment that is due on Friday (Day 192), in the meantime my partner’s mother has arrived from Greece and there are some expectations to spend at least a bit of time with her as well. My best friend sends me a text message in the evening to make sure I’m ok because she sent me an email earlier that afternoon and I have not replied within three hours - has anyone has died!?! I can only do so much…I sacrifice a visit to my mother in law to do my home work for the next day (in front of the TV watching Glee…old study habits die hard).

Day 192: TODAY! I’m done. My practical session went well and I successfully taught four academics about a selection of career theories and they were able to apply them to a case study presented - success! I received very positive feedback too. I feel more confident about teaching now and I have signed up for the Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning to continue this development.

Day 187

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:15:43 -0500

Another trip to bike shop in Bondi, another step closer to having a road worthy bike. I really shouldn’t be having this much trouble with a new bike, but if I look for…search for the silver lining, I’m learning things about how my bike works and how to fix it when it stops working…but please, it would be really good if it just worked for a while.

Day 186

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 06:38:42 -0500

Whenever returning the blue mountains for a quick visit to the folks house, I like to have a sticky beak around town to find out what’s new. Today I discovered a new coffee shop opened up by an old friend - Nikita. Yummy coffee.

Day 185

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:40:43 -0500

Too much internetz perhaps??

My computer just started talking to me and I didn’t have anything open. No pop up windows, no internet browser even, no emails open. A presenter style american voice just started talking through my computer speakers and started preaching about some microsoft office program that I should buy…I didn’t know they could do that…can they just plant that stuff on your computer to play without you having the internet open?

P.S. I just booked a work event in my calendar for 27 November…!!! That’s over 9 months away. Maybe we should get that christmas party planning started now…

Day 184

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:58:24 -0500

Look out internetz, I’m installing apps and signing up to online programs like it’s going out of fashion!

Knowing my luck, it probably will…

Shout out to skype - thanks for connecting me to Greece tonight. Let’s do it again soon.