That title comes across a wee bit dirty, oops.
Yes, Wasteland Wanderers, this is my 200th blog post! It’s taken 2+ years to get here, but I’m proud of it, & grateful that you’ve come along for the ride. I’ve had a special post topic in the works for months now, & thought about doing a give-away or something fancy, but life kept spinning away from me. Though I don’t have a gift card to raffle or a media filled post to dazzle you, if you’ll read on, I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to the last few months…
Geez, it’s been so long since I’ve blogged that I couldn’t remember how to insert a page jump *shakes head at self* Anyhoo. Ranger Mike was hired on with video game giant Activision back in May (a few weeks after I transferred to a more intense, but less abusive department within the bank), to work on a contracted basis as a Quality Assurance Tester. No, he doesn’t “play video games all day,” his team finds bugs & glitches in a game by actively trying to break it (which then leads to trying to reproduce the bug 5 times, then logging a detailed report with video). It’s a good job, they’re treated very well, & it’s income. Yeah, RM’s unemployment benefits ran out the week before he was called to interview, so we were beyond grateful.
But along with the full time job came a two hour round trip commute by lightrail trains. Working 8:30 – 5:30, RM leaves the LBC at 7:20am & doesn’t get home from work until 7pm during regular scheduling, & was pushing 10pm during pre-launch “crunch” time. Which meant if I want to see my husband before I hit the sack for my 5:30am wake up, I had to assume all the after-work errands & housekeeping that RM had been doing as a part timer/unemployed. So for the three month duration of Ranger Mike’s first project, I started my day at 5:30am, worked a full day, grocery shopped, did laundry, cleaned, exercised, & had dinner waiting when my dear hubby got home. Yeah, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of energy for blogging & the like.
I was struggling just to put one foot in front of the other, when my mom commissioned me to read a book for her. Yes, you read that right. I’m a fast reader with high comprehension, so I’m completely open to reading/summarizing a book in exchange for goods & services (no textbooks though, sorry haha). The book is The 100 Year Lifestyle, by Eric Plasker; written to give encouragement & real life solutions to feeling & living better. There’s one chapter about negative lifestyle patterns that really struck me. I consider myself a healthy living guru; we eat cleaner than anyone else I know, exercise regularly, etc, etc, etc. RM just interrupted me to complain that the ice cream is getting too soft in the freezer. Well turn down the thermostat, mmmkay? What was I saying? I’m caught in a “Complacent Pattern,” which pretty much means that I’m drifting through life just trying to survive, having lost my passion & given up on my goals. Sure enough, I’ve been trying so hard to Keep Calm & Carry On that I’ve extinguished my own zest for life.
I had this bracelet made as my new mantra. Visit HoboSwag for awesome handmade goodies scavenged from the Wasteland!
What’s The 100 Year Lifestyle’s sure fire way to break out of a Complacent Life Pattern? That’s right, setting & achieving goals. My first thought while reading this chapter: Goals? What goals? I have no goals. So I started brainstorming about what I wanted to accomplish in life. I decided to start with baby steps, because I’m not ready to launch my campaign for world domination…yet. But you know what? I’ve always wanted to whistle through my fingers, like to hail a cab (which I’ve never done either). So after work one day, I turned to the great library of random & often useless data…YouTube. And there I found this video:
I tried whistling in the living room. I tried whistling while I folded laundry in the bedroom. I even tried whistling in the shower. When I paused in brushing my hair is when it happened. I whistled. I whistled so loud & shrill that my ears rang. Then I let out a triumphant whoop, like some sort of whistling maniac. Goal #1 achieved!! Granted, I need to practice more because it takes about 5 tries before I can get any sound out, but I’m pretty pleased with myself.
Reveling in the euphoria of accomplishment, I knew what I wanted to do next. Goal #2: Learn to speak Welsh. Uh huh, that’s right. I took French language classes from junior high school all the way through college, but can’t understand the frakking French news on Al-Jazeera TV. I’ve been out of school for 12 years now, so I’ve lost most of my vocabulary, & although I can still read the language decently (usually a game review or forum post that RM wants me to translate), I never achieved fluency in speaking or aural comprehension. Bummer, since my dad, sister, & one brother all took French also, we could’ve had an insiders francophone club going. Ranger Mike was fluent in German, so I tried learning that language through my local library, but German syntax & grammar is insane. Seriously.
Thus I decided, after watching mass quantities of BBC on Netflix (including Cardiff-set Torchwood), that I wanted to learn a language used only in one small country which I may never visit.
Why learn Welsh? Because I want to, & because I can (and thanks to SaySomethinginWelsh.com, I can say that exact phrase in Cymraeg. You’re wicked jealous, admit it). That’s right, you can learn Welsh for free at SSiW, thanks to the awesome selflessness & enthusiasm of Aran, Iestyn, & the gang. I’m on Course 1 Lesson 4, & Ranger Mike is most impressed with the progress I’ve made in just 3 weeks. Yes, I’m smiling in self satisfaction as I type.
Welsh isn’t the only SaySomethingin course, check it out if you want to learn languages straight from the mouths of native speakers. And the verbal/aural teaching method makes so much sense. I can still read French because that’s what I learned of that language first. But children learn language by hearing & repeating words, SSiW taps into the brain’s language learning center by doing the same thing.
Having accomplished Goal #1 & with Goal #2 making healthy progress, I turned my gaze to Goal #3: Finally writing my 200 blog post. Check and check. Thankyouverymuch. Other goals on tap are to stop bullying my body for not having the proportions I’d like, & to practice yoga regularly & rigorously so as to gently coax my body towards said proportions while lowering my blood pressure. I’m on a roll, I tell ya! That negative voice inside my head can shut the hell up, because nothing can stop me now!!
So there you have it, beloved Wasteland Wanderers. I haven’t forgotten you, I’ve just been remembering how to live. I truly enjoy writing this blog, so I’m trying to devise a way to balance work, domestic duties, exercise, husband time, writing, & language lessons (aw yeeeaah). Don’t you worry your pretty head, I’ll figure it out. Until next time, f@#k calm & as always, aim for the head.
Rock-it Ruby signing off.
PS RM has been watching me type for 2 hours and hurl insults at our old decrepit computer mouse, YouTube, & WordPress. His comment: “No wonder you needed to take a break from blogging…it’s a lot of work.” Indeed it is, but well worth it, says I.
Media courtesy of lostinrelocation.com, YouTuber DAYSOFFdotTV, high-definition-wallpaper.com, YouTuber TheGearsKeepTurning, warriorcatsrpg.com, YouTuber facetina
Surviving the Wasteland 