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I haven’t blogged in a very long time. I will leave it to you, reader, to determine how long it’s actually been. Frankly, I’m a little nervous to check.
I have a few reasons– though “excuses” may be more accurate.
1) Most of my observations on life have been shared with friends, family, journals, that are immediately present.
2) I started a serial story in the hopes of it intriguing me into writing more frequently. Unfortunately, though the characters, setting and plot are all different, it is very similar in tone and eventual theme to another story I am writing. It has been difficult to carry them both on, and this one is newer, so it fell by the wayside.
3) Every time I cook or bake something, I forget to take pictures!
4) I spend a lot of time on Twitter.
Number 4 doesn’t amount to much of an excuse, because I haven’t even been doing that all that frequently.
So, faithful readers, I am offering an apology.
Also, take a look at the headings on the blog. You will notice that I have introduced pages. I’ve given the story its own page (“Somewhere”), I’ve placed a few articles and short stories in a portfolio section, and I have decided I would like to examine literature the way that I did in undergrad.
That last section is more for my own enjoyment than anything else. It has been a year (or more!) since I was required to write an essay and frankly, I miss it.
So please browse, enjoy and contribute.
It has been a long time since I’ve posted regularly. I’ve had at least one person complain to me of my blog silence. (To that person: Twitter, man, I’m telling ya!) But I think in part, my thoughts have become a little more scattered (you know, considering the incredibly short style I’ve adopted because of Twitter), but in a larger part, I think it’s time to shift this blog in a new direction, or at the very least, refresh it. So I’m curious: what do you readers want to see more of?
Do you want to see more results of the recipes I’m trying?
Should I post more photo-diary entries?
Would you be interested in following a serial story written by moi (and in helping me out when I get writer’s block)?
Would you like to hear more of my thoughts/perspectives on politics, literature, dance, love/marriage, God/Jesus/Christianity/spirituality, etc?
Do you want more links/random clippings from what I’m reading?
More stories about my day?
I’ve enjoyed writing for you for the past three years, and hearing your opinions and reading your blogs, and I hope the direction I will be taking this blog in the future is one that you will be interested in reading.
Interesting:
ISFP – The Artists
The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.
They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living.
If you have a blog and decide to do this, link to your results in the comments! I’d love to read them 
On January 1st of this year, I posted a list of resolutions on my Blogger site. That post can be found here.
We are just under two months away from the new year and so I think it would be worthwhile to examine my resolutions and how (or even if) I have improved in the course of the year since making them. This is actually the first time I have gone back and looked over resolutions from the past. Other years I have made them, but they were usually on a looseleaf sheet of paper or buried in a journal or school notebook, and so I never found them again before the new year was upon us. Over the past month, I have stumbled across my New Year’s Resolutions post several times, and so I think it is important that I make some examination of it.
The reason I chose each resolution is listed in the original post. Here, I shall simply state the resolution and how I think I have or have not improved.
1. I will be more decisive.
Hmm. Well, as with anything else, it is a work in progress. But I have noticed that my conversation is moving in this direction. Rather than taking an “I don’t care, whatever” approach, I am more able to approve and forward a plan. I am also noticing a greater initiative taken in bringing plans to fruition. As well, I have become far more able to declare when I don’t approve a plan. In the past, it was often the case that I would shrug and say, “Well, whatever” if I really didn’t want to do something. And while that is sometimes the appropriate response, I am learning to be honest with my opinion and perspective, especially when the person I am talking with would genuinely like to know the truth behind where I am coming from. Unless I notice any serious changes that need to be made in the next two months, I think I can safely graduate this from the list. While it is something I need to keep working on, I think I can safely move my focus in the new year.
2. I will remember that physical activity helps with stress management.
I don’t think it has been a conscious decision, but I have adopted regular physical activity into my lifestyle. Let me modify that statement. I have adopted regular physical activity that I enjoy into my lifestyle. As you are probably completely aware, I have taken up swing dancing, something that I do at least twice a week. I attend a weekly dance and I have enrolled in weekly lessons. As I said, it wasn’t a purposeful move. My thought process wasn’t “I need physical activity to help with stress management”; it was more “I love dancing, how can I get more involved?”. As a result, I have noticed that my stress level is reduced. Granted, it probably helps that I have completed my undergrad degree, but there is more peace and more energy in my life now than before when the physical activity I chose was less purposeful and less enjoyable.
3. I will breathe Scripture.
I composed an email several nights ago and in the course of it, I did something I have not done in a very long time: I quoted Scripture. I unconsciously quoted Scripture. I mean, I knew it was from the Bible, but my thought process wasn’t, “Oh, I think a verse should go here, wait, let me find one.” No, it was something that had been on my mind and in my heart, and so it naturally came in the course of my writing.
This, however, is one area that I know I can continue improving on. I still do not spend enough time in Scripture. It is a lot more regular than it used to be, but I am not purposeful in it, and I do not dwell in it as I would like. I re-read emails, poetry and novels with a regularity that puts my Scripture reading to shame. I do not know it as I would like. This, I think, will be something I keep into the new year. But I would like to focus on it differently. I am not sure how, but I have two months to continue contemplating this.
4. I will find a stronger rein for my tongue.
Uh oh. Yea, FAIL. I haven’t been purposeful about this one at all. This I will keep on my list.
5. I will not be afraid to make mistakes.
Another fail.
It’s funny, I have a lot to say about the areas where I feel improvement, but not nearly as much in the areas where I haven’t improved as I would like to.
If anything, I have become more afraid of making mistakes. So, this will likely stay on the list.
6. I will choose to live joyfully and full of hope.
This is a hard-earned success, one that I think is still hesitant in its display. But I think it is very worth encouraging it to bloom. You can either choose to live clouded by despair and fear or you can choose to live guided by joy and hope. I am choosing the latter. This will probably stay on the list, but I am not sure in what form.
7. I will have fun.
Yay, big success. I have had a lot of fun this past year. I wrote in my original post,
There is much to be done, much to be excited for, much to plan and hope and dream.
And how right I was. This will probably stay on, not because I have failed, but because it is important to remember. It is easy to get caught up in all of the to-do’s and should-do’s, but it is really important to remember to have fun while doing them.
Stay tuned come January 2009 for a brand new list of resolutions, and I would encourage you to think of some yourself. I think there are always ways that we can improve and by writing them down, it does then beg an examination of them later on. If you choose to write them on a public forum, send me a link, and we can see how we all are doing in the months to come.
God bless!
Yay!
As my readers can tell, my posting has been very dry as of late. I can promise soon (within the next few days, I hope) a significantly cleaner, homier view of my room than the last one I posted, but beyond that, I’m a little short on ideas.
So, here is your grand opportunity! Those of you who have been following me for awhile (and of course, those I am friends with in real life) probably have a fairly good idea of who I am. But if there is something that you’ve always wanted to know, a question you have had that you would like me to address here, ask away! This is your chance!
For those not in that category, this is your chance as well. Maybe I blogged about something and referenced a previous post, but you’ve been unable to find it. Or maybe you are sure the answer must be in my archives, but you really don’t want to go through them all. Or maybe none of the above and you’re just curious, this is your opportunity, too!
Keep in mind, I won’t be answering questions of too personal a nature. Granted, my idea and your idea of personal might be completely different, so feel free to ask anyway. This is just my disclaimer.
I feel like I’ve written a post like this before, but if I have, I didn’t get a landslide response, so just pretend like I haven’t and ask those niggling questions!
They could be questions about faith, about friendships, about church, about work, questions about my opinion on topics silly and serious, requests for more reviews of movies, books or tech-y toys, anything you can think of.
Annnnd, go!
After being away for a week (weddings galore!) I returned… to this:
Which is exactly what I asked for.
“Please don’t unpack anything in my room,” I told my parents, for a couple of reasons. First, I’m a little, how shall we say it? in possession of very specific personal preferences? At least when it comes to the set up of my room. Also, in a slightly more altruistic vein, I am perfectly aware of how much stuff I have and I didn’t want my folks to have to deal with it while I was gone.
So, even though I knew what I was going to be walking into, there was still some initial shock, mostly because, having been removed from the process for a very full week, I’d sort of forgotten what moving was like. It only took me a moment to recover and form a plan, which I have been working on since.
Phase I: unpack and put away books (can you tell I’m an English student?)
Phase II: unpack and put away clothes
Phase III: make bed (because sleep is good )
Phase IV: fix various storage boxes in their new homes
Phase V: rearrange small pieces of furniture
Phase VI: arrange knickknacks.
And then I should be done. Hopefully. I’m on phase III right now. We can’t seem to locate my sheets, which makes life interesting. But that’s okay. Just happy to see some order being restored.
I don’t really have anything imaginative to write.
The movers are here, currently going through our house, looking at what goes and what stays. Even though I haven’t been really blogging, I have been Twittering something awful. So, for better updates on what’s going on in my life, check it out.
I had an amazing weekend, though. That is something worth blogging about. Hmm, well, perhaps not worth blogging. It’s like Steph said here. It was an exceptional weekend, not for any big event, but just a lot of small bits of lovely, all put together in a couple of days.
Went dancing Friday night in my University town. It definitely ended far earlier than a lot of us were ready for, but I suppose considering it’s summer it makes sense. There were a lot of enjoyable dances, especially one where my partner ended with several quick spins and a sudden dip I wasn’t expecting (one that cause me to squeal a little bit, much to my own chagrin). But despite that 
, on my way home the next day, I gave him a ride into Toronto. It was a good day. I was too focused on the road, but he managed to keep conversation going. Looking back, I think I may have been too tired to divide my attention. We’ll go with that theory . And then we went for lunch on the Danforth, an experience, which, believe it or not, I have never had before, despite living an easy drive from Toronto for the past nine or so years.
The “too tired” theory is further supported by the fact that I took a deep nap that afternoon after arriving home, to the point where I literally did not hear my family going in and out of the house, and calling for each other throughout the course of the afternoon. (Sorry, family, especially Josh…)
Then yesterday, I met with a good friend of mine. Our plan was to spend some time together before the move, but I also needed to do some shopping. “I love shopping,” she told me, and so the plan was set. We spent the afternoon shopping and chatting. And Saturday’s and yesterday’s evenings were spent at two different churches, saying goodbye to friends and people I would consider family from there, people who will be greatly missed.
Anyway, the movers are now laying down moving pads over banisters and carpets. More updates to follow, especially on Twitter .
At the risk of freaking out both of my parents by stating an actual number on a forum they both read, we move in 19 sleeps* ( ). I have ten more days of work, three more weekends of excitement, and 11 or so afternoons of relative boredom (balanced by the pressing assurance that I ought to be doing something productive). It’s exciting.
We’re clearing away a bunch of old furniture that we won’t really have use for in our new house. My dresser is to depart on Tuesday, meaning that I have to clear everything out from inside of it. That is, clothes, knitting, papers (papers and more papers), and a lot of miscellaneous stuff that I decided at one time or another was important to keep. We’ll see how I feel about it now that it has been sitting untouched in those drawers since I sorted through my entire room three months ago.
Anyway, ’tis exciting. Weird to think (two and a half weeks?? Waaah!), but exciting. Check back for more updates! (Though there may not be any more move-related posts until we’ve actually moved )
*Hopefully this is relatively self-explanatory. But in case it’s not, when Matthew was much younger, that was how we counted down to exciting events for him. “7 sleeps until your birthday!”, “4 sleeps until we go on vacation!”, “One more sleep until Christmas!”, that kind of thing.
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