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Surrey, United Kingdom

Sunday 28 December 2008

Daily

What is it about a new year that suddenly makes resolutions seem achievable? Or Mondays for that matter? There is something about the prospect of a slate being wiped clean that is just irresistable. I get the same feeling when I come back from a holiday - even if it's just a weekend away. Suddenly I am all geared up for making a new start. I don't think it's because my actual life is so unbearable that I want to change it all. It's more like a challenge - can I change and become all those things I want to become? Can I have the lifestyle that I aspire to? Of course, the problem comes when what you have aspired to doesn't quite make the grade. And for me the thought of failure or making the wrong decision will more often than not prevent me from trying. It's the wrong attitude I know. We should never be afraid of trying. What, after all, is the worst that can happen. Ah, yes; the worst-case scenario approach. Strangely this is one that I am rather too fond of, although I usually find that even the absurdly worst-case scenario is not one that I fancy risking. It all boils down to a lack of confidence. If I do something and fail then won't that just knock my confidence even more? Well, yes, but at the same time, sitting on your tush never doing anything won't get you any further either. Surely one step forward with potential two steps back is going to get you somewhere quicker than never moving at all? And so, as we approach the new year, I am thinking that I will begin this week as I mean to go on. Treat this week as a trial run. Take pleasure in being a skinflint and enjoy trying to find healthy, low calorie, low fat foods. Look at it as an adventure - there are so many foods out there to try! And exercise can be fun too. Maybe I'll finally find the activity that I love. Who knows?

Saturday 27 December 2008

New Year's Resolutions

  • Run a 5k in under 30 mins (and run all of it!)
  • Have a piece of writing published
  • Eat five portions of fruit/veg a day
  • Drink eight glasses of water a day
  • Reduce caffeine and refined sugar intake
  • Be more considerate (includes managing my temper!)
  • Lose three stone
  • Take better care of appearance
  • Be more active
  • Make better use of my free time
  • Write daily (and publish on blog!)
  • To clear my book backlog - buy no new books (although second-hand allowed)
  • Stop hoarding - clear the clutter

Books

White Stone Day by John McLachlan Gray
A Question of Up-Bringing by Anthony Powell

Daily

Sitting on the sofa watching hubby completely engrossed in his game of Star Wars Lego I began to wonder, why do we hanker after imaginary worlds so much? Every form of entertainment seems to be about escaping our real lives, our real personas and becoming someone else, or living a different life. Why don’t we just get up and become these people that we want to be? I know that in many cases the problem lies in the fact that we are not living in Victorian Britain, or the outer reaches of the Barnard star complex (or whatever it is in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). But you just begin to question the sense in playing tennis on the Wii. Why not go out with your friends and play tennis? I appreciate that escapism has to play a part in our lives. I for one am never happier than when snuggled up with a historic novel, or reading about people from bygone eras and for my brother-in-law the same is true of science fiction. The thing with that is that it is forward looking, so perhaps a less dangerous form of escapism? With science-fiction, where so much of the writing is about predicting the future and imagining how things could be. And in many cases science fiction writing leads to genuine research and development of new technology. I'm sure if I could be bothered to do the research I would be able to find many examples of mobile phones, laptops and GPS in the pages of science fiction novels, long before they were a reality. I have heard many people say that Star Trek suggested many modern day realities. So, it's not this kind of escapism that I object to. It's the virtual reality that I have trouble understanding. Many people would cite shyness, or lack of confidence as the reason for their inability to show the same personality in real life as they do in Second Life or any of the similar online worlds. Fair enough, but isn't it time that we began to embrace who we actually are, and found ways of improving ourselves (if that is what we want) and grabbing opportunities in the real world? Maybe I'm full of new year hope and joy. Maybe I'll feel differently in a couple of weeks, but right now I want to make the most of myself and be the very best that I can be in this world, not in a virtual world.