Poppy Flower

Everyone really liked my flower I painted Wednesday. Last day of summer. Perhaps i should rename it :) Done! I did enjoyed painting that flower, it was rather simple yet satisfying.


Tomorrow is first day of Fall, September and I am not going to School. This will be an interesting experience. I will try to make the best of every day starting tomorrow. Listening to "Success is a Choice" by Rick Pitino (got it from the library) is really awesome. I'm taking notes and once all done I shall post them here. Yeah, Good idea!

Hurricane Irene Weekend

This hurricane disrupted the plans of going to NYC. A roommate reunion and a friend's birthday was cancelled. Instead, my dear friend and I spent a nice weekend inside, and slept through the hurricane (when it was 7am on Sunday). More pictures to follow of exploring Bruce Park nearby my house and some flooding it experienced it. A good number of people lost power for couple of days and it was weird driving on dark streets that are typically well lit. Our housing was not touched by the storm at all.

I am still waiting for a response about the Leadership Apprentice Program, but with each day passing i lose a little more hope. Perhaps today I will receive a call from B. saying i was accepted or denied. I don't know my next step yet, but I know for sure that I can't be doing nothing. It's too dull to sit on my chair listening to audiobooks.


I also decided to bake some potatoes one of those days. Cut them into thin slices, add some onions (preferably half cooked already) and corn. at the very end add shredded cheese. Couple of bay leaves. I think i did 350 for sometime. Cooking is art for me, not a precise science.


















On a brighter note: I think i decided (and by me typing this into my blog and publishing it, i further solidify the idea in my mind) that I want to start selling my artwork. I am probably going to create yet another blog (not sure yet the platform), take quality pictures of the pieces i do want to sell and probably create a paypal account to ease the process. I'll need to learn about shipping too.

Libraries are great.

Got some interesting audio books from Greenwich Library for a drive down to Philadelphia, PA. "Buy-ology" and "Making a good brain great". I listened to the latter one and finished several disks upon my return home. It was a great read, that further explored all that is wrong we do and all the good we can do to enhance our brain activity. I am planning on living a long and fullfilling life and I need a great, healthy brain for that.

Wednesday
What's on my plate for breakfast: blueberries, walnuts, some cheese, 2 hard boiled eggs, tomato, spinach, celery.
I crave healthy foods. I only started eating healthier on September 2010 when i introduced two vegetarian days (Monday & Friday) into my semester. It all went uphill from there. I started eating more vegetables, cut down on not so good foods for you (muffins come to mind) and developed a craving to eat healthy foods not just for their taste but rather because they're healthy for me. I eat a variety of vegetables not due to taste, but due to healthiness of those products. This makes me like them even more.

This weekend I will be going to NYC for a little reunion with senior year roommates as well as a little birthday celebration of another friend. Both on the same evening, so i hope to hit both places. Michelle will join me also. Should be fun.

‘Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.’ ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A little something I'm painting called "why not now"







Great 22min guided meditation.

Now what?

Camp life is over. Today was last day, and i stayed for couple of hours after to help pack and move stuff. Tired. But content. I am officially jobless but full of potential and opportunities. I will hear about whether I advanced unto next step with LAP and will send an email to Unilever next week to see what's going on with my resume and their temp agency.
Next time? I don't know, but today is the day i am living. I've grown so accustomed to meditation and clearing my mind of thought, that sometimes i just don't think about anything. Only observe and absorb. My legs are tired. My body feels good.
Nothing, i am doing nothing. I have some plans for later, in a bit. but right now i am worry free, stress free, and free. just listening to Frou Frou and drinking my green tea. Simple pleasures cost close to nothing.
Smile. Like you mean it.

Currently

My hands are definitely shaking just a little bit. Fingers = jitter. That "Rock On" energy shot is garbage. I'm even a little uncomfortable. This is not at all what i wanted to blog about. Right now, I am in the middle of sketching out a piece called "Why not now" I actually first used Paint to doodle and ended up spending quite the effort and time on it. I grabbed my biggest canvas I have on me, which is 11x14in, and started on it with a pencil and an eraser. I will try to apply my "Use Paint" approach to this work and be more free and bold about the thickness of paint. We shall see what will come of it. I am not going to put the Paint picture until i have spent at least a session painting it. Maybe three sessions.
That's a little teaser of my research of color "light lemon".

Tomorrow is last day of camp. I will be officially out of job. I am staying for couple of hours extra to help pack the equipment and such. I very much enjoyed being there these past nine weeks. The only reason I was able to get the job, was because I was not at BC, I was rejected from a position I held last summer. The preceptor position was a blast too. Just as great as working as a counselor. As, as, as. One door closes always mean that more doors are to be opened. Simple as that. Rejection is just a different kind of "yes". Opportunities.

Another day - another game.

This is the last week of camp, and I am running Sports Activity. Because it was rainy today, we had to be inside and I made up a Bocci Ball game with 5 different balls of different value. Even football was there, only it was worth no points and was used specifically to move other balls, either closer of further from the center. At the end of the day, couple of directors came by and played the game too, slightly changing rules every other game. It was fun. And we we're getting paid for it too :)

I have a phone interview on Wednesday. Michelle suggested to dress up and i did. Felt good about it, we'll see about next step in couple of days. I also should be able to hear about Unilever sometime soon. August of 2011. Life is about to continue :)

On Thursday, the event of Family Fling is happenning at Camp, where children and their families come and meet counselors and interact with other staff and such. Perhaps Sean R.'s parents will come. After all, I'm his favorite counselor :)

Did I mention I listened to "The Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell while driving to Boston and back? Of course not, I don't talk to my blog... Anyway, the "read" was fantastic. Highly reccomend if anyone is interested in success of The Beattles, Steve Jobs, Asian children, or any great Canadian Hockey players (who were all non-coincidentally born in months of January, Feb, or March).
The Weekend was really relaxing and fun. Lot's of people came, including Natalie and Molly and James. Food and drinks, breaks and pool. Went to see 30 Minutes Or Less with Eisenberg and Michelle. Sunday afternoon movie theatre was 85% full. And not with just elderly people as I expected.
Life.

Field Quidditch, anyone?

Stuff about Qudditch
As a Senior Floater Sports Specialist I have an opportunity to exercise my creativity in yet another way - making up sports games for kids. Quidditch is the game I ran on Thursday and it was a huge success. I had hockey sticks vs lacrosse sticks.
Quaffle was a soft volleyball (can also be a soccer-ball or a Frisbee), that Chasers tried to score into three standing hula hoops. Tape was in my pocket during games and I often reattached the hula hoops to it's original position.
Bludgers were medium handballs. Total of four in the game, but Beaters (two on each team) were only able to throw it at people from inside four designated hula hoops. If someone was hit, they had to sit down for 10 seconds and drop any balls they were carrying. Keeper did the goal/hoop protection.
Seekers (one per team) were running after counselors with flag-belts. after Detatching both, they got to choose left (pocket/hand) or right to guess where snitch (any tiny ball) was.
Everyone enjoyed the game and some freaking loved it.

Stuff about zucchini bread:
Mi madre and my sister had never tried Zucchini bread. Until this past week, when I made a super yummy one with cranberries and walnuts. Brought some to my co-counselors and they enjoyed it. Same day, brought some to friend's house and everyone really liked it too. It was an awesome feeling knowing people enjoyed something i made. Cooking is cool!

trip to Boston = excitement.
About to head to Boston to see a lovely face of Michelle. She's having a Graduation party on Saturday and a bunch of friends and family is invited. Should be fun just to see her :)

Dear Blank

My life is going wonderfully.
I am in last two weeks of my summer job as a camp counselor, the position I thoroughly enjoy. I work with children and have fun, and my coworkers are energetic and easy to get along with.

My personal life is great also. I have an amazing girl in my life (that has been there for 4 years), that loves me exactly for who I am. We are slowly planning on moving in together which seems like the right thing for the both of us. Her friends and family like me, and my side of peoples adores her as well. This is important stuff.

My friends enjoy my company, and together we make plans to do stuff, sometimes. My social life is rich with characters and conversations.

My family does not have any problems with me, and I often like spending time with some of them.

My hobby of oil panting and making random art is praised by others. I exercise creativity everywhere, including cooking.

My health is in great condition, i have no complaints about the way I look or feel. I try to meditate and stretch several times a week.

I smile and laugh often, especially after I notice I am living in a present moment. It's an easy trigger :)

I can see, hear, and walk. My future is exciting and unpredictable.

TED Talks in General

Ted is awesome. It's ideas, knowledge, creativity and a breath of fresh air.
This Ted Talk is about a lot of interesting things, mainly cities and future.

As Observer

Majority of people i encounter consider me an outgoing, extroverted, and somewhat loud. It is who I am in most situations, but not all. Last night i went out to Mackenzies Bar and Grill for the first time with a bunch of guys. We casually changed topics and eventually it went into video games and anime. I am aware that majority of people I hang out with play video games and read manga/comics/watch anime shows. Of all kinds and styles. Most do so much more than the average person. We all have hobbies. While i do enjoy playing as well, i don't think I fit into the same category as they are, and World Of Warcraft would be the only exception, when I used to spend 6-12 hours a day on that game. True story. I don't do comics or animated series either.
As my friends discussed latest news and manga releases i quietly sat beside them, just listening. I didn't have much to say. I couldn't even make jokes because i didn't know the content. I was an observer and was okay with it. Not in every situation I am loud or have something to say.


Already meditated and had some green tea. Time to stretch has come. Also planning on painting today.

Cover Letter

I have never written one. But I also at some point didn't have a resume, until one time I needed it. So I will do my best to write one.
Let's hope the printer works. If not, I'll just send an email with attachments to my director . That's normal, right?

Productivity
Checkboxes really work for me. If i have a bunch of errands and chores to do for a day, i make a list of them with checkboxes next to each and, once finished, i check it. Of course, i don't always do all of them, but it helps me clear my mind, and allows me not to worry about all the goals being rememberd. All i have to do is look at the piece of paper and see my progress and what else needs to be done.

No pictures were taken.

I often wonder if I am going to remember a certain experience (and separate it from other similar ones) if I did not somehow record it. Took some pictures or wrote things down. Michelle and I had a Fig Cake Competition. She followed the recipe and had a little drier one, and I added some random stuff, didn't follow the procedure and my cake was more moist and fruity. We invited our friends for a degustation session and people liked both her and mine's creation.
I say let's make it a yearly event where we friendly compete at making some foods. I'll probably lose but we'll all win anyway :)

Sometimes I worry that I am not making enough memories.


Edit:
There was a picture taken during our picnic in Bruce Park: