On a positive note, this is the third week that I've been continuous with my diet and exercising! And its only getting easier. Momentum is definitely the word I would attach to this. Initially, it was very difficult to go from no exercise and bad eating habits, to even taking the first step. Even the first couple days was difficult just to get it continuing.
However, at week 3, I'm feeling a different pull. Whenever a decision comes up that would hurt the progress I've made so far, I get to thinking that I'm already deep into this process, and it makes my decision to not do that task that much easier.
I'm not sure how intermixed with my decision process it is, but there is also one more component. I read someone say that when you come to a bad decision, ask yourself if this is a decision you would want to make the same every day. At the beginning, its easy to let that slide because I've only dieted/exercised for 2 days. But now at 3 weeks, I've got a lot more to lose. Asking myself that question as I progress makes it easier and easier to say no.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Problems
So, I started my queue last night, and told myself I had 1 thing in it to do before I left for work this morning. But you know what? This morning, I didn't bring up the queue at all, and so it didn't get done. For now, I need to work on not going completely on auto-pilot in the morning. This might be resolved by adding a process in which I periodically go through my queue, or what I'm liking even more right now, is going through everything I'll need to do for a task as I'm entering the last period of time before an event (Like after waking up, since my morning is pretty much devoted to getting ready for work).
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Trying to remember what to do
So, one big issue I'm having is with remembering all the tasks that I tell myself I need to do before something. As I'm planning it out, I will usually touch on most of the things I need to do at least once in my mind. However, when it gets to a point where I can actually do the tasks, I won't always do all of them because I forget some.
I'm testing out a way to help with this: Error checking.
Simply, I'm going to keep a "Total tasks" variable in my mind to keep track of how many tasks I have in my queue. That way, whenever I add a new thing to my list, I know how many tasks I need to have in my queue, and I'll go through my queue to refresh in my mind all of them.
It has helped me the last two days to ensure that I complete all the tasks, when I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have remembered on my own. I'll keep posted with how much I think this ends up helping.
I'm testing out a way to help with this: Error checking.
Simply, I'm going to keep a "Total tasks" variable in my mind to keep track of how many tasks I have in my queue. That way, whenever I add a new thing to my list, I know how many tasks I need to have in my queue, and I'll go through my queue to refresh in my mind all of them.
It has helped me the last two days to ensure that I complete all the tasks, when I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have remembered on my own. I'll keep posted with how much I think this ends up helping.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Returning!
I'm going to start using my blog for a lot of things, like how I think humanity can be bettered and also as a medium for me to display some of my creative writings like story ideas and poems. For now, I want to challenge some people!
I challenge everyone to say hello to someone you have been avoiding speaking to.
I challenge everyone to say hello to someone you have been avoiding speaking to.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Update: Rest of our London Trip
While I'm at it, I'll post the second update from England. England was definitely the highlight of my trip to Europe.
Our second full day in London was a wonderful day. It definitely made the trip worth it, and getting up at 3:30am the next morning to catch our plane back bearable.
We began with catching the Underground into town. After we got off, we found a small cafe and had an "English Breakfast". This consisted of bacon (Basically ham with lots of fat), sausage, toast, and beans. The beans were interesting, and I didn't enjoy them that much. Kayla had scrambled eggs on toast.
We then made our way to Buckingham palace. We weren't prepared for how many people decided to visit at that time as well. We found out after making our way around the monument in the middle that there was an event, a marching band from the Queen's Guard, that paraded through the streets. It was pretty cool.
We then made our way through Saint James' park toward Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. In the park, we saw tons of birds. Kayla was simply delighted and it made me happy to see her enjoying herself that much. See pictures on Kayla's facebook to see all of the interesting birds Kayla found.
We eventually came through and found Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. More testaments to the grandiose things humans can build when they put their minds to it. We then went to the Tower of London! While we decided it was too expensive to tour, we walked around it, by the water front, and then sat down in a park and played Organ Trail for awhile.
We then made our way to... 221B Baker Street! I was kinda disappointed though. They made the first floor into a museum, but have preserved the upstairs in a Victorian style. We only took a couple pictures from the opposite side of the street, then made our way to Reagent's Park.
This park was another wonderful park, and gave Kayla and I some wonderful times together. There were tons more birds, including some cute babies running around the edge of the water. To make it even better, they had paddle boats that we ended up renting and was able to get even closer to the wild life. It was a great hour of lazily paddling around the lake. Some nice people even tossed us some bread and we threw it in and got some pictures of all the seagulls swarming around us!
To make a fun day even better, and to spend the rest of the pounds we had, we went to this wonderful Italian restaurant, the Spaghetti House. We had this delicious chicken broth ravioli appetizer, a delicious bottle of Orvietto wine, and I was able to try some English beer (Which was pretty good). For the main course, I ended up getting an Italian style steak with some pretty amazing butter that melted on top of it. (Also noted, this was a great chance for me to slow down and enjoy my food a lot more. It was a pretty epic meal).
Then, I took a slightly wobbly Kayla back to the hotel on the Underground, were we watched some interesting English game shows and then passed out.
As noted above, we had to get up pretty darn early :(. Our plane left at 7:35, so we had to get to the airport (A 45 minute train trip from the middle of the city) by 6:40. Around 5 o'clock, there are barely any Underground trains running, so we had to catch a couple late night buses. Initially I imagined we would be waiting under a single light on the side of the street in the pitch black, but it ended up being pretty calm, with some nice people that helped us get on the right bus.
And that's it! I definitely want to go back to England, but would want to stay a little longer and tour the English castles. Especially the one linked with King Arthur...
Our second full day in London was a wonderful day. It definitely made the trip worth it, and getting up at 3:30am the next morning to catch our plane back bearable.
We began with catching the Underground into town. After we got off, we found a small cafe and had an "English Breakfast". This consisted of bacon (Basically ham with lots of fat), sausage, toast, and beans. The beans were interesting, and I didn't enjoy them that much. Kayla had scrambled eggs on toast.
We then made our way to Buckingham palace. We weren't prepared for how many people decided to visit at that time as well. We found out after making our way around the monument in the middle that there was an event, a marching band from the Queen's Guard, that paraded through the streets. It was pretty cool.
We then made our way through Saint James' park toward Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. In the park, we saw tons of birds. Kayla was simply delighted and it made me happy to see her enjoying herself that much. See pictures on Kayla's facebook to see all of the interesting birds Kayla found.
We eventually came through and found Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. More testaments to the grandiose things humans can build when they put their minds to it. We then went to the Tower of London! While we decided it was too expensive to tour, we walked around it, by the water front, and then sat down in a park and played Organ Trail for awhile.
We then made our way to... 221B Baker Street! I was kinda disappointed though. They made the first floor into a museum, but have preserved the upstairs in a Victorian style. We only took a couple pictures from the opposite side of the street, then made our way to Reagent's Park.
This park was another wonderful park, and gave Kayla and I some wonderful times together. There were tons more birds, including some cute babies running around the edge of the water. To make it even better, they had paddle boats that we ended up renting and was able to get even closer to the wild life. It was a great hour of lazily paddling around the lake. Some nice people even tossed us some bread and we threw it in and got some pictures of all the seagulls swarming around us!
To make a fun day even better, and to spend the rest of the pounds we had, we went to this wonderful Italian restaurant, the Spaghetti House. We had this delicious chicken broth ravioli appetizer, a delicious bottle of Orvietto wine, and I was able to try some English beer (Which was pretty good). For the main course, I ended up getting an Italian style steak with some pretty amazing butter that melted on top of it. (Also noted, this was a great chance for me to slow down and enjoy my food a lot more. It was a pretty epic meal).
Then, I took a slightly wobbly Kayla back to the hotel on the Underground, were we watched some interesting English game shows and then passed out.
As noted above, we had to get up pretty darn early :(. Our plane left at 7:35, so we had to get to the airport (A 45 minute train trip from the middle of the city) by 6:40. Around 5 o'clock, there are barely any Underground trains running, so we had to catch a couple late night buses. Initially I imagined we would be waiting under a single light on the side of the street in the pitch black, but it ended up being pretty calm, with some nice people that helped us get on the right bus.
And that's it! I definitely want to go back to England, but would want to stay a little longer and tour the English castles. Especially the one linked with King Arthur...
Update: Castles!
So, we had a great time this weekend visiting southern Germany. The trip down was kinda hectic, and wore us out. We wanted to spend more time in Munich, but we left pretty late (As per my family) and so we got there in time to see the Glockenspiel, and that's about it. We then made our way to our Youth Hostel, took a long sight seeing tour (As my Oma firmly said, she was never lost, even if we didn't know where we were). We got there, and they were nice enough to reheat us dinner, as they had stopped serving it 2 hours prior.
Saturday was the fun day. We drove down to the small town situated between the two castles, and began our beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, and the mountains were beautiful. The castles are located in the middle of the Alps. We first took a tour at Castle Hohenschangau. This was a castle that was built in the middle of this beautiful area, and was used as a summer hunting and relaxation resort. It is where King Ludwig II grew up.
To get to the castle, we took a horse drawn carriage. It wasn't very pretty looking, as horses' don't draw very well... :P. But really, it was wonderful. The path went right next to the lake and the view just blew my mind.
The castle itself was beautiful inside. The main part of it consisted of 3 floors. The Queen's floor, the King's floor, and the children's floor. There was over 90 "Sectos", or painted pictures on the walls. They were created in a very romantic fashion. The walls were in great shape, even after 150+ years. All-in-all, definitely a place I'd love to live in.
We took a carriage back down, and then went to the bus stop. In all of our books, it said "Bus trip takes 30 minutes". In reality, it only took us 5. The twists and turns were kinda scary, but it gave us a chance to go and visit Marienbrueke, or Maria's Bridge. And the view from that bridge to the castle... gorgeous. Please see pictures posted on Kayla's facebook to see what I mean. It was situated over a waterfall, and I would have loved to go and visit the clear waters at the bottom. We didn't have enough time though :(.
Castle Neuschwanstein was very nice to go see again, and even more beautiful then I previously remembered. A couple interesting facts, it took 17 years of building before Ludwig II could move into the castle. He only lived in the castle a total of 172 days, before he died under mysterious circumstances and construction on the castle was halted. In his bedroom, the woodwork was the most impressive by far. It took 14 wood carvers 4 years to make all of the elaborate carvings in the wood. Also, in a hidden door in the King's bedroom, was a toilet with water that came up from the water in the mountain springs by natural pressure. The toilet also was fully automatic, and would flush as soon as the King got up off of it. Impressive for this being the 1860s. Finally, the entire tour includes 375 steps, while the tour advertisements informed us that there would only be about 300.
Interesting to note, I definitely have changed since the last time I went there. I must have been in a rush or not wanted to go to the castle when I was younger (I was 17 at the time), and don't remember much of it. I definitely appreciated the artwork this time a lot more.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of the inside of the castle. So we took plenty from the outside and of the surrounding mountains. This is definitely a place that I suggest people should visit if they ever get the chance. The serenity and nature was very nice and made the walking well worth it.
Saturday was the fun day. We drove down to the small town situated between the two castles, and began our beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, and the mountains were beautiful. The castles are located in the middle of the Alps. We first took a tour at Castle Hohenschangau. This was a castle that was built in the middle of this beautiful area, and was used as a summer hunting and relaxation resort. It is where King Ludwig II grew up.
To get to the castle, we took a horse drawn carriage. It wasn't very pretty looking, as horses' don't draw very well... :P. But really, it was wonderful. The path went right next to the lake and the view just blew my mind.
The castle itself was beautiful inside. The main part of it consisted of 3 floors. The Queen's floor, the King's floor, and the children's floor. There was over 90 "Sectos", or painted pictures on the walls. They were created in a very romantic fashion. The walls were in great shape, even after 150+ years. All-in-all, definitely a place I'd love to live in.
We took a carriage back down, and then went to the bus stop. In all of our books, it said "Bus trip takes 30 minutes". In reality, it only took us 5. The twists and turns were kinda scary, but it gave us a chance to go and visit Marienbrueke, or Maria's Bridge. And the view from that bridge to the castle... gorgeous. Please see pictures posted on Kayla's facebook to see what I mean. It was situated over a waterfall, and I would have loved to go and visit the clear waters at the bottom. We didn't have enough time though :(.
Castle Neuschwanstein was very nice to go see again, and even more beautiful then I previously remembered. A couple interesting facts, it took 17 years of building before Ludwig II could move into the castle. He only lived in the castle a total of 172 days, before he died under mysterious circumstances and construction on the castle was halted. In his bedroom, the woodwork was the most impressive by far. It took 14 wood carvers 4 years to make all of the elaborate carvings in the wood. Also, in a hidden door in the King's bedroom, was a toilet with water that came up from the water in the mountain springs by natural pressure. The toilet also was fully automatic, and would flush as soon as the King got up off of it. Impressive for this being the 1860s. Finally, the entire tour includes 375 steps, while the tour advertisements informed us that there would only be about 300.
Interesting to note, I definitely have changed since the last time I went there. I must have been in a rush or not wanted to go to the castle when I was younger (I was 17 at the time), and don't remember much of it. I definitely appreciated the artwork this time a lot more.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of the inside of the castle. So we took plenty from the outside and of the surrounding mountains. This is definitely a place that I suggest people should visit if they ever get the chance. The serenity and nature was very nice and made the walking well worth it.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Update!: Castles!
I owe you guys an update from London, which will come with the pictures still by middle of the week. But here is our current one.
We are going to a couple castles today! First one is Castle Neuschwanstein. It's Germany's most visited castle, and the castle that inspired the Disney's castle. Its high up in a mountain, and we get to take a carriage up there!
The other one is the parents of the person for whom Castle Neuschwanstein was being built for. Castle Hohenschwangau is completely furnished, while Castle Neuschwanstein is not. That is because the person Castle Neuschwanstein was being built for died under mysterious circumstances in the middle of the building of the castle.
Hope you all have a great day!
We are going to a couple castles today! First one is Castle Neuschwanstein. It's Germany's most visited castle, and the castle that inspired the Disney's castle. Its high up in a mountain, and we get to take a carriage up there!
The other one is the parents of the person for whom Castle Neuschwanstein was being built for. Castle Hohenschwangau is completely furnished, while Castle Neuschwanstein is not. That is because the person Castle Neuschwanstein was being built for died under mysterious circumstances in the middle of the building of the castle.
Hope you all have a great day!
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