Happy Birthday!

As always, this post will be a day early in the States, but happy birthday to the lovely Beth. She's one of my best friends and best people in the world in general. :) I know. I've traveled. She's still up there on the list.

And with that, can we talk about how everyone I know is getting older? Can we? I mean, I'm 24 for the love of God. Almost halfway to 30, which is almost 30. Which is almost middle aged.

Don't blink, man, don't blink. You'll wake up and you'll be 80.

Quiet as a Mouse

It's happened again. Whenever I start a new job, I go into Professional Annika mode. I just feel that I don't need to jump in on every conversation or divulge too much about my personal life. It isn't that I think my life is too private for work or that I don't want my co-workers to know about me. It's just that whenever I tell a story, you'll be lucky to get out alive in twenty minutes. Especially when my story is really "I just dropped my pen." It's ridiculous. I like for people to think of me as quiet and diligent instead chatty or the girl who won't shut up.

Usually this wears off over time. I get comfortable, I feel secure in people's estimation of my abilities, etc. It hasn't happened at my filing job yet. They think I might be a stick in the mud who works too hard. Sigh. I know it will fade and they'll soon wish I never opened my mouth, but it still cracks me up. As I think of a half hour long story to explain how I am not a stick in the mud or quiet, I realise that maybe it'll be okay if they just think of me as quiet and hardworking... at least for another few days.

Panic

So I just realised I'm an adult.

Okay, not an adult exactly. But I'm on my way. Being here in New Zealand is/was kind of a way to put off the inevitable adulthood. Granted, it will also better my career blah blah blah, but mostly, it's another few years to live in excusable poverty and fun. But, my time here is drawing to a close. I have about four months left. Four! Months! Left! Then I have to go back to the States and get a job, an apartment, a car, and then I'll have to start being financially responsible. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

I know that adulthood sneaks up on you and your capabilities. Like, high school seemed like a big step the summer before I started. But my wise, wise parents told me that it was designed so that I'd be ready. If I wanted to go to high school as a 6 year old, there would have been problems. But you take on more and more so that you can take on more and more. But, graduation was a big ol' step in the adult direction. But I blew it off. "Take that, Graduation, I'm blowing this popsicle stand for a foreign land." Now it's come back again.

It doesn't help that most of my friends are already adults. I'll get back and be complaining about my nerves of having - gasp - my very own classroom and they'll respond, "Dude (yeah, they'll say dude), I've been teaching for two years."

The worst part is that while I fret about it now, it so won't be a big deal. It comes in gradually. Look I have my own apartment. Sweet, tick that item off the list. And now for my car. And oh look! It's my first day of teaching. Then - wham - I'll have been teaching for ten years and I'll suddenly be keeping tissues up my sleeve.

Adulthood, you sneaky fiend.

Hello, Old Friend

I'm going to re-become a gym rat. I basically stopped going. I live up a hill, for goodness' sakes. :) Well, that is my excuse. It's really far from my flat. But I realised that we only have two soccer games left (and only one training?!) so I need to get my fitness from somewhere else. That, and I haven't even been doing soccer since I broke myself (clearly).

I have decided to go straight from work because it's close. That makes me an afternoon worker outer. I am always a morning worker outer. But, if I go in the morning, I have to shower at the gym. I don't think I like that. I can shower at gyms, but I don't want that to become my morning routine. I like my 50+ shower products that I use everyday. For serious. Well, not about the 50+ part, but that I do use a lot of shower products. It is one of the ways I am high maintenance.

Regardless, I am now an afternoon worker outer. And I am working diligently on my thesis again. (Again, broken = not a whole lotta unnecessary typing.) So this is the start of Productive Annika. Again. It'll stick. I dig routines.

Breathe

So I started taking meditation classes. I know! Fun! I quite liked the first session and realised I just may have picked up some helpful meditation skills back in Valpo where I went to a Zen Buddhist temple once. Because I am much better at it than I thought I was. Now, this is not to say I achieved a wonderful state of calm and stillness in my head. But I felt I was near it several times. Harder than it sounds, for real.

Try not to think for the next thirty seconds.

Yeah. That's right.

In other news, I am attempting to play soccer again. Only training, not a proper game! But still, I am scared. I hate missing games and team time, though. It's hard to be a spectator. So tonight is the tryout. If I do okay, I can play on Sunday. Woohoo!

Scandal

This article talks about how New Zealand banned a commercial with Samantha from Sex and the City (because she was clearly playing Samantha in the commercial and not her own lovely self) selling cars. Ridiculous, right? Not because of banning it in general. But because I can hear every word under sun on TV at any given time. After about 7 at night, you just might see penises on TV. And I have never seen an edited for TV version of any movie on TV.

The article even talks about how liberal NZ typically is. But the public spoke. Are these commercials playing in the States?