Day 8: What you ate today

Well, today I basically scavenged my way around my kitchen for most of the day until dinner, when I made a proper meal. This is a run-down of everything that went into my mouth.

10:30am - 2 vanilla cookies
1:45pm - hamburger (BBQ at church)
1:55pm - slice of cake
3:00pm - 4 crackers and a vodka cooler
5:30pm - 2 cups of water
7:00pm - 2 dried apricots
7:05pm - 3 tortilla chips
7:10pm - 4 cubes of frozen Dairy Milk chocolate ...yum!
7:44pm - 1 cup of water
8:15pm - Sauteed salmon, veggies, and fries
9:00pm - Bag of popcorn (100 calories!)
9:15pm - 1 cup of water

.....the day is not over, so I may still chow down some cake/ice-cream or grab a slab of cheese as a healthier alternative. And yes, I eat my emotions when I'm upset. But from Monday to Saturday, you will find me at the gym facing them head on. What exciting thing did you eat today?

P.S: This was my 8:15pm appointment ;)  

Day 7: Five Pet Peeves

In no particular order:

1. When people spit out mucus on the street/sidewalk (you know that thick kind) ....ewww nasty! O_o

2. Walking through a park in high-heels....your heels dig into the mud, then you end up rocking "chunky heels". ugh.

3. Pigeons. Don't these buggers carry rabies and all kinds of diseases?! I don't think they're cute.

4. Heavy periods. nuffsaid!

5. Slow internet. Since I've been spoiled with warp speed internet, it's unbearable to deal with average download times....like plucking out your own teeth unbearable.

Day 6: Your Views on Mainstream Music

I think it's aite. There's some pretty dope schit out there there. Y'all remember that track with T.I and Yung Dro "Ain't I"? ughhh man, that track was the flyness. Ok, I dunno why I'm typing in ebonics, but that's how I feel about mainstream music

Day 5: Things you want to say to your Ex

Honestly, it started off as a distraction. I didn't know I was in love with you. I didn't think you would make me cry blood and tears. If I knew, I wouldn't have stayed with you that long.

We didn't need the games. We didn't need the heartbreak.
We didn't know how much we were hurting ourselves.
You shouldn't have been selfish. You shouldn't have lied to me.
I shouldn't have believed you. I shouldn't have kept on loving you.

We should have been honest. We should have been true.
I used to hate myself for being so naive, not anymore.

I think not of those shoulds, woulds, or coulds.
My only thoughts: "...time and chance happen to them all" (Ecc. 9:11) .

Day 4: Bullet Your Whole Day

Today was rather uneventful so it will be relatively easy to give you a breakdown of my day. Here goes:

9:00am - alarm went off. It's a sunday, I deserved to sleep-in

10:20am - got to church 20mins late. Trying not to make this a habit.

12:00pm - went to teach my Sunday school kids. I teach about 15 kids aged 5-10 year olds. On some days it's terribly stressful but it can be so rewarding as well.

1:15pm - church is over, greet a few people. Dash home for lunch because I'm starving.

2:00pm - well fed. Sitting in front of the TV, mindlessly...daydreaming of the future, facebooking.

4:00pm - got off the couch, do some yoga and core-strength training. Turn on some soca music, got my exercise on!

7:00pm - hungry again; grab leftover chicken curry and rice from the fridge.

7:25pm - got on the phone with my sister (catching up, she had me reeling with laughter).

8:00pm - on the phone with my boyfriend (long-distance romance)...did this for over 2 hours! Love. yeah.

10:23pm - ignored a call from a colleague. Why are you calling me at this time? Haven't you heard only close friends and family can call after 9pm.

12:30am - got under my duvet. time to catch some Zzz!

So there you have it. This Sunday was below average on my activity scale but meh. Tomorrow is another day! How did you spend your Sunday?

Day 3: A Book I love

Today's '30 Day Challenge' request is asking me to commit literary infidelity of monstrous proportions against some of the most magnificent books I've read. Out of all the books I've read which had lasting impacts on my life journey, I'm supposed to pick one?? umm..ok. Click here, here, here, and here to see other books I enjoyed tremendously.

One book which I particularly enjoyed was by Swiss-German author, Herman Hesse's 'Narcissus and Goldmund' (1930). It is an incredible story with many life lessons for friendship, adventure, conformity, freedom, and truth. The book has been described as a raging battle between flesh and spirit. It appealed to me on so many levels; made me question my path, and even brought me to tears at different points in the story - but that is not special, I tear up easily! 

Anyway, you can sample the book here from Amazon. You can also check out wikipedia's blurb on the book.

Day 2: Something I feel strongly about

As a concerned Global Citizen, I feel strongly about many things. In fact, I am passionate about too many things; it`s hard to single out just one. But today, I am going to share on my passion for sub-Saharan Africa.

A wise person said `Africa is not poor, Africa is just poorly managed`. In my view, Africa is the classic case of a series of unfortunate events. In theatre, this Continent has all the elements of a successful Tragedy - many paradoxes abound along with human suffering. For example, the abundance of natural wealth and resources juxtaposed with the prevalence of poverty is one. Or the abundance of human resources and potential manpower alongside low-skilled labour and people with very many desperate needs.

Continent of Potentials

Remember your elementary school teacher who often said Student A was so full of potential. Fast-forward 10-15 years later. You see that somehow Student A did not amount to much, and just fell by the wayside. Potential don`t mean much if you don`t have the drive, ambition, or a strong desire to succeed. It`s even harder to succeed when you don`t have a stable support system or people rooting for you. Useful analogy. Africa is like Student A. So full of promise. Yet, something is amiss.

I could go on about this paradox of plenty* but right now I don`t feel the urge to write a personal essay on the topic. The facts are apparent. You don`t need me to tell you Africa needs help. And I don`t mean international intervention. Africa needs homegrown help, sustainable organic intervention by its own citizens. A helping hand by the familiar, agents for change who have a personal vested interest in Africa`s success. 

Idealism

I have idealized the kind of help Africa should get. But with the state of things, very impoverished regions could use help from anywhere they can get it, including transnational corporate investment. So long as there are tools to ensure fair deals and mitigate against exploitatory tendencies.   



Endnotes 
* - a paper I have been working on for over 14 months and the crux of the main argument.

Day 1: 5 Ways to Win My Heart

To begin my `30 Day Challenge` (see previous post), I`m starting off with 5 tried and true ways to win my heart. I believe that in male-female relationships, things can get complicated very quickly. So in my dating life, I`ve taken out the guess work and simplified things by deducing a list of qualities which seem to be working for me.

Please note that these qualities are in addition to physical appearance. And for me, physical appearance includes his height, weight, build, accent, swag*, and style. As a vain child, looks grab my attention. But a possession of the qualities listed below will determine whether or not my attention is retained.  Yes girls, you`ve gotta act like a lady but thing like a man!

* - swag refers to that quality in a man that can`t quite be described. You`ve gotta see it to believe it ;) 

The List:

1. Engage my mind first - I'm a complete sucker for geeky & nerdy types. I love intelligence, I love brilliance. If you have both; you've already got my attention!

2. Dazzle me with your personality - it's O.K to be yourself. If you quirky and sarcastic; that's alright too. Just let your personality shine through. 

3. Make me laugh - I love a funny guy. If your sense of humour is cordial and sometimes you push the envelope, I can get into that. Being funny is more than just cracking a few recycled jokes. It's about continuity even through those down times.

4. Be your own person - do you have a hobby? are you doing something you enjoy? If I can explore your world, you become fascinating. Be the best version of yourself, not a phony replica of someone else. No one can do you like you do!

5. Always tell the truth - Yes, even when the truth hurts, let me hear it. I can handle it. If you're honest with yourself and you're honest with me, I dig that. Integrity is sexy.

30 Day Challenge

The Summer of 2011 is officially beginning (in my books!). I know I`ve been MIA for a some time now. Why is that whenever I come back here, I`m usually apologizing for being away? That needs to change.

I have a few MEMEs to do on here. But before then, I found this awesome distraction for blogger's writer's block over at the Flawless Mistake's blog. This will gimme something to yarn about. I'll get to it right away.

Here's to a fabulous summer ahead, cheers!