Happy Tuesday, Dear Readers. I hope you had a good week, and were enjoying the sun if you were able.
Summers in Colorado, being on the eastern side of the mountains, means an extra-long twilight; there is the twilight-set as the sun goes over the mountains, and then the actual sunset as it sinks below the horizon. It is during this twilight time that, if there are any clouds in the sky, they are made resplendent with sunset colors. It is a peaceful, beautiful time that I love to sit and watch; a reminder of simple beauty existing no matter what else is happening in the world.
Summers also mean that everybody who lives at in my HOA with a fishing pole and some time on their hands will at some point try fishing in the ponds on the HOA's grounds. The ponds are connected to the protected wild-space to the west of us, so there are always fish swimming about. Yesterday I saw no less than a dozen people spaced out between the two ponds, obviously enjoying their time outside.
The one thing I have noticed this summer is an uptick in summer showers during the afternoons; mostly light and gentle rain that lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours, with the occasional thunderstorm. The mornings start off bright and sunny and hot, only for a general cooling off and the peaceful sound of rain. I love the sound of summer rain, and how it makes the world more vibrant as a result; the plants visibly perk up, even as the world is made quiet from the rain.
I know there is a lot of ugliness in the world right now, but please take time from doom-scrolling through the news and take some time to appreciate the simple beauty of the world around you this week, Dear Readers. I find it to be essential for good mental health.
Until next week, Dear Readers.
-A.M.W.
Showing posts with label self-care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-care. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
The Joy of Summer
Hello Dear Readers, I hope you had a good week.
Now that summer is in full swing, I like to go out for walks more. There are nature paths near where I live, and I like to take a mask with me just in case I come across other people, and go for a nice walk in the evenings, after the heat of the day has passed but before the sun goes over the mountains and ushers in the twilight. It's peaceful and lovely and is wonderfully different than being stuck inside my place for months on end.
Even I, as a homebody/hermit, can say that the pandemic state of mind is getting to me, now more than ever. Summer in Colorado is beautiful, and would be my usual time to take a week off of work and go to several somewheres as a series of day trips (the Midsummer Festival in Estes Park is always neat, and before it got too pricey, I would also attend the Denver Comic Con for a day). I grew up in Michigan, where the higher humidity is not conducive to staying outside when it is hot, but with the low humidity in Colorado, I learned to love an entire season outside when I usually would have stayed inside in the air conditioning.
I know things in general are not good right now, and it is stressful for everybody. Remember to take care of yourselves; drink plenty of water, sleep when you can, eat as healthily as you are able, and go for a walk and get some sunlight. Be safe, wash your hands, bring a mask with you if you are going to be around other people, and wear sunscreen.
I want all of us to both survive and live as happily as we are able through all of this. I know it might get a lot worse before it gets any better, so buckle up, Dear Readers. Know that even though we might be going through a bad place, I am there with you, and we will get through this together.
Go enjoy the sun this week, Dear Readers.
-A.M.W.
Now that summer is in full swing, I like to go out for walks more. There are nature paths near where I live, and I like to take a mask with me just in case I come across other people, and go for a nice walk in the evenings, after the heat of the day has passed but before the sun goes over the mountains and ushers in the twilight. It's peaceful and lovely and is wonderfully different than being stuck inside my place for months on end.
Even I, as a homebody/hermit, can say that the pandemic state of mind is getting to me, now more than ever. Summer in Colorado is beautiful, and would be my usual time to take a week off of work and go to several somewheres as a series of day trips (the Midsummer Festival in Estes Park is always neat, and before it got too pricey, I would also attend the Denver Comic Con for a day). I grew up in Michigan, where the higher humidity is not conducive to staying outside when it is hot, but with the low humidity in Colorado, I learned to love an entire season outside when I usually would have stayed inside in the air conditioning.
I know things in general are not good right now, and it is stressful for everybody. Remember to take care of yourselves; drink plenty of water, sleep when you can, eat as healthily as you are able, and go for a walk and get some sunlight. Be safe, wash your hands, bring a mask with you if you are going to be around other people, and wear sunscreen.
I want all of us to both survive and live as happily as we are able through all of this. I know it might get a lot worse before it gets any better, so buckle up, Dear Readers. Know that even though we might be going through a bad place, I am there with you, and we will get through this together.
Go enjoy the sun this week, Dear Readers.
-A.M.W.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Self-Paced Personal Improvement
Hello, Dear Readers; I hope you are healthy and have had a pleasant week.
Back in April, I signed up for three continuing education courses online. Get Grants!, A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and Project Management Fundamentals. All of them were self-paced, so I could read through the each course in its entirety right off the bat, and that helped me tailor my learning experience.
I find that self-paced classes are much more in keeping with my learning style; some days I don't feel like logging in to read at all, while on other days I feel like going through three chapters of material, and still others I feel like I've studied enough to take half of the quizzes for the course all in one go.
For these online classes, you have three months from the day you sign up to finish the course. As I was still under a stay-at-home order, it seemed like a way to use the time of both unemployment and obligatory sequestering as a way to improve myself. On Sunday I took the final exams for both Get Grants! and A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and passed them both. On Monday, I took the final exam for Project Management Fundamentals and passed that as well. Three more certificates for my resume, and a nice feeling of accomplishment besides.
Since the stay-at-home order and then the safer-at-home order, I've made time to look for work, take those classes, play video games, watch an abundance of streaming video, and even started crocheting again, to both help with anxiety management and for me to do something with my hands while I'm job searching.
I'm working on a shawl that is turning out breathtakingly fugly, both due to the varigated yarn I'm using and the "haha, follow what pattern, I'll wing it as I go" attitude I've adopted, ensuring that the yarn colors don't stripe nicely together. While the color palette of orange/white/dark grey/dark blue/light blue looks great while it's in the skein, when there's giant patches of orange next to giant patches of light blue, it's actually getting to the point of "so ugly it's cute again", which was not my intention. I still fully intend to use it around the house when it is finished; the yarn is thick and soft and perfect for slightly chilly nights.
Sometimes the projects we use to improve our skills and ourselves aren't the prettiest when they're done, but they served a purpose. I'm using this shawl as a way to practice new stitches that I've been learning from YouTube tutorials, as well as practicing old stitches that I felt I was getting a bit rusty on. I'm working at my own pace, so the end date for the project is not set, but I don't feel rushed; even if I finish this project sooner rather than later, there is always more yarn and there are always some actual patterns for me to try. Pacing myself is important, because I need to know and respect my limits. Many people try to work on themselves in such a regimented way that they forget to be kind to themselves too, and that will inevitably lead to backlash.
Be good to yourselves, Dear Readers. There is enough going on outside that you may feel like you have to do certain things to get ahead, and that very well may be, but do not forget to give yourself a break too. Stay safe, wash your hands, and be kind.
-A.M.W.
Back in April, I signed up for three continuing education courses online. Get Grants!, A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and Project Management Fundamentals. All of them were self-paced, so I could read through the each course in its entirety right off the bat, and that helped me tailor my learning experience.
I find that self-paced classes are much more in keeping with my learning style; some days I don't feel like logging in to read at all, while on other days I feel like going through three chapters of material, and still others I feel like I've studied enough to take half of the quizzes for the course all in one go.
For these online classes, you have three months from the day you sign up to finish the course. As I was still under a stay-at-home order, it seemed like a way to use the time of both unemployment and obligatory sequestering as a way to improve myself. On Sunday I took the final exams for both Get Grants! and A to Z Grant Writing Part II - Beyond the Basics, and passed them both. On Monday, I took the final exam for Project Management Fundamentals and passed that as well. Three more certificates for my resume, and a nice feeling of accomplishment besides.
Since the stay-at-home order and then the safer-at-home order, I've made time to look for work, take those classes, play video games, watch an abundance of streaming video, and even started crocheting again, to both help with anxiety management and for me to do something with my hands while I'm job searching.
I'm working on a shawl that is turning out breathtakingly fugly, both due to the varigated yarn I'm using and the "haha, follow what pattern, I'll wing it as I go" attitude I've adopted, ensuring that the yarn colors don't stripe nicely together. While the color palette of orange/white/dark grey/dark blue/light blue looks great while it's in the skein, when there's giant patches of orange next to giant patches of light blue, it's actually getting to the point of "so ugly it's cute again", which was not my intention. I still fully intend to use it around the house when it is finished; the yarn is thick and soft and perfect for slightly chilly nights.
Sometimes the projects we use to improve our skills and ourselves aren't the prettiest when they're done, but they served a purpose. I'm using this shawl as a way to practice new stitches that I've been learning from YouTube tutorials, as well as practicing old stitches that I felt I was getting a bit rusty on. I'm working at my own pace, so the end date for the project is not set, but I don't feel rushed; even if I finish this project sooner rather than later, there is always more yarn and there are always some actual patterns for me to try. Pacing myself is important, because I need to know and respect my limits. Many people try to work on themselves in such a regimented way that they forget to be kind to themselves too, and that will inevitably lead to backlash.
Be good to yourselves, Dear Readers. There is enough going on outside that you may feel like you have to do certain things to get ahead, and that very well may be, but do not forget to give yourself a break too. Stay safe, wash your hands, and be kind.
-A.M.W.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Stretching Imagination Muscles, Part Two
Happy Tuesday, Dear Readers. I am back, with more writing prompts. Firstly because I want to entertain you while you are stuck inside, and secondly because coming up with these is entertaining to me.
1) You are an ecological scientist, working in the Southwest USA. You and your lab partner spend most of your days cataloging the flora and fauna of the desert biome, noting minute mutations for study. You are friendly with the locals, both townies and farmers, and in particular one man who helps trap and relocate raccoons, who has your phone number in case he catches something odd. Tonight, your phone rings and it's him, begging you to come see what he caught when trying to rid a farmer of some pests, and gives you the address. When you get there, you stare dumbly at the creature in the trap, not wanting to believe what your eyes are telling you is real.
2) You, in your boredom, have created a new sport which can be played while social distancing. Describe it, and any rules which might help those who seem interested in participating.
3) Thanks to a gifted DNA test from Christmas that you finally got around to taking, you find out you are actually related to a recently deceased Baron from a small country in Eastern Europe, who had taken a test hoping to find a blood-related heir. He had no kids or direct relatives, so the firm handling the estate has contacted you and claimed that as you are the only person who can prove their bloodline connection, you can claim the title, the land, and the sweet castle in the middle of nowhere countryside. There is, however, a catch; you have to live in the castle for at least 75% of the year, as per the last Baron's instructions, and attain citizenship in this European country you are going to be living in for the rest of your life. Do you go, or do you get your entire family to take DNA tests so one of them has to move instead, while keeping the estate in the family?
4) You've won a lifetime supply of your favorite food! Difficulty: The contest bankrupted the company that produces it, so as a last act to make good on the offer, they shipped the lifetime supply to you all at once instead of in manageable monthly shipments. What foodstuff is it, and how do you deal with the excess?
5) Due to an industrial accident, you were put in a coma. Upon awakening a week later, you find yourself perfectly fine...but you now understand what animals are saying when they vocalize. How do you prove you are not insane, or, what kind of shenanigans do you get up to with this new knowledge?
Have fun, Dear Readers!
-A.M.W.
1) You are an ecological scientist, working in the Southwest USA. You and your lab partner spend most of your days cataloging the flora and fauna of the desert biome, noting minute mutations for study. You are friendly with the locals, both townies and farmers, and in particular one man who helps trap and relocate raccoons, who has your phone number in case he catches something odd. Tonight, your phone rings and it's him, begging you to come see what he caught when trying to rid a farmer of some pests, and gives you the address. When you get there, you stare dumbly at the creature in the trap, not wanting to believe what your eyes are telling you is real.
"But...they're a myth," you whisper to the trapper.What do you do next?
"Tell that to the chupacabra in my raccoon trap," he replies.
2) You, in your boredom, have created a new sport which can be played while social distancing. Describe it, and any rules which might help those who seem interested in participating.
3) Thanks to a gifted DNA test from Christmas that you finally got around to taking, you find out you are actually related to a recently deceased Baron from a small country in Eastern Europe, who had taken a test hoping to find a blood-related heir. He had no kids or direct relatives, so the firm handling the estate has contacted you and claimed that as you are the only person who can prove their bloodline connection, you can claim the title, the land, and the sweet castle in the middle of nowhere countryside. There is, however, a catch; you have to live in the castle for at least 75% of the year, as per the last Baron's instructions, and attain citizenship in this European country you are going to be living in for the rest of your life. Do you go, or do you get your entire family to take DNA tests so one of them has to move instead, while keeping the estate in the family?
4) You've won a lifetime supply of your favorite food! Difficulty: The contest bankrupted the company that produces it, so as a last act to make good on the offer, they shipped the lifetime supply to you all at once instead of in manageable monthly shipments. What foodstuff is it, and how do you deal with the excess?
5) Due to an industrial accident, you were put in a coma. Upon awakening a week later, you find yourself perfectly fine...but you now understand what animals are saying when they vocalize. How do you prove you are not insane, or, what kind of shenanigans do you get up to with this new knowledge?
Have fun, Dear Readers!
-A.M.W.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Taking Time Out For Nature
When most of working life is dedicated to staring at screens, and a lot of leisure time is also spent staring at screens (e.g., television, movies, video games, digital book readers, web surfing), it is important to unplug and not stare at screens. This is harder in the winter months, as sometimes the weather is a barrier, but it is still important to go outside. Even if you are not in the best physical shape, breathing fresh air can do wonders to improve your mood and give your brain a rest.
Having been at this job search for full-time work for several months, I find that whenever I am stuck on something, taking a walk around my HOA's campus helps. Breathing fresh air, not looking at my phone, and taking in the beauty that is Colorado helps immensely when I need to sort out a problem. All the things that have been bugging me can get tangled up if I sit still and stew for too long, and stretching out my legs is one of the best ways I've found to untangle the mess and organize my brain.
It's important not to get lost in your own head, because that will lead to so much unnecessary stress, and unnecessary stress can make you sick. Being sick while also on a job hunt 1) is no fun, and 2) makes for additional stress because there are things you still have to accomplish, and 3) can make for awkward interviews, because literally nobody wants to sound sick when they're on a phone interview, nor do they want to look sick for an in-person interview. A nice walk will help you get exercise, relieve stress, and will overall improve your health, as long as you wear weather appropriate clothing.
So take some time today to take a walk; even if it's just in your back yard, or a short jaunt to your mailbox, your brain and body will thank you. I will be taking one as soon as I get this posted, because it is a sunny, beautiful day here, and I want to be out in it.
-A.M.W.
Having been at this job search for full-time work for several months, I find that whenever I am stuck on something, taking a walk around my HOA's campus helps. Breathing fresh air, not looking at my phone, and taking in the beauty that is Colorado helps immensely when I need to sort out a problem. All the things that have been bugging me can get tangled up if I sit still and stew for too long, and stretching out my legs is one of the best ways I've found to untangle the mess and organize my brain.
It's important not to get lost in your own head, because that will lead to so much unnecessary stress, and unnecessary stress can make you sick. Being sick while also on a job hunt 1) is no fun, and 2) makes for additional stress because there are things you still have to accomplish, and 3) can make for awkward interviews, because literally nobody wants to sound sick when they're on a phone interview, nor do they want to look sick for an in-person interview. A nice walk will help you get exercise, relieve stress, and will overall improve your health, as long as you wear weather appropriate clothing.
So take some time today to take a walk; even if it's just in your back yard, or a short jaunt to your mailbox, your brain and body will thank you. I will be taking one as soon as I get this posted, because it is a sunny, beautiful day here, and I want to be out in it.
-A.M.W.
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