Tuesday 27 September 2011

Happy new year.

It’s my birthday! I’m 27, which in my mind makes me a motherfucking rockstar. (No jokes about being a motherfucker; I’m a mother, and I masturbate. You do the math.) A good friend pointed out to me a few years back that celebrating New Year’s on January 1st is quite silly, unless you were born on that day. “Your year”, he said, “starts on your birthday. So celebrate that, revolutionise your life on your birthday”. And it struck me – he was, is, absolutely right! So in honour of today being the first day of my new year, I thought it fitting that I come up with a list of revolutions. That’s not a typo. I don’t like resolutions, generally. They seem to be setting yourself up for failure. You know, things like “Quit smoking”. So, instead, I’ve composed a list of things that I think would be utterly fabulous amounts of fun to do! Things that are stimulating and boundary-smashing; things that will alter on some level every part of my being. I was aiming for 27 things to do in my 27th year. For a few weeks, I was berating myself for not being able to come up with that many but then I realized: Why should I? Why would I? How could I? So I have left some slots blank, because I will continue to evolve, and I will be inspired a thousand times over. And when these things strike, I will add more to the list.

Here you have it – My adventures for my new year!
  1. Pose nude for an art class
  2. Eat 26 foods I’ve never had before.
  3. Go rock-climbing.
  4. Post at least 26 times in my public blog.
  5. Learn to play an instrument. This also includes re-learning how to read sheet music.
  6. Read at least 12 books. Usually, this wouldn’t be a feat for me. It occurred to me recently that I can’t remember the last time I read anything that wasn’t on my laptop screen. Tsk tsk.
  7. Go ice-skating.
  8. Craft 6 gifts.
  9. Learn a language.
  10. Become able to touch my toes! (I do not have a raunchy motive for increasing my flexibility. Oh not at all.)
  11. Get the tattoo on my foot covered with something far more fitting and fabulous.
  12. Learn some variety of Latin dance. Or swing dancing! Fuck yeah poodle skirts!
  13. Get my probationary license.
  14. Go camping.
  15. Master the use of chopsticks.
  16. Take up kickboxing.
  17. Take singing lessons. This one may just be the most confronting and terrifying thing on this list, despite the fact that I used to be quite the masterful vocalist.
  18. Make every second month “Super Frugal Month”. Nothing new is to be purchased, unless necessity dictates. No takeaway, no “shortcuts” that end up destroying my budget, etc   
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Monday 26 September 2011

Oh what a tricky one.

This is here more for my reference than anything else, just wanted somewhere to put it that I could access from anywhere should I feel the urge.


 

Rising Sign is in 18 Degrees Capricorn
You are practical and reserved but very ambitious. An achiever and a hard worker, you respect success. Older looking and very serious as a youth, things lighten up and you relax more as you mature. You have a serious view of the world as being a difficult place to be in. Very envious of those who seem to have an easier life than you have, relaxation and play do not come easily. It is important that you had abundant parental support as a child so that you do not feel lonely and isolated as an adult. Generally, you have a good, earthy sense of humor that can carry you through when times really do get tough. You are purposeful, self-willed, industrious, realistic and responsible.

Sun is in 04 Degrees Libra.
Very sociable, you enjoy being with others and definitely prefer not be alone. Warm and affectionate, you go out of your way to make others like you. You despise ugliness, for you being surrounded by beauty and harmony is a necessity of life. You prefer fine clothing, an attractive home and pleasant surroundings wherever you are. Your refined tastes apply to music and to art as well. At times, you are very indecisive you waver and falter when forced to make a choice because you have the ability to see both sides of any question. The positive part of this is that you are very fair-minded and can be trusted to settle disputes. Your greatest challenge is to take any one- on-one encounter and make the most of it.

Moon is in 01 Degrees Scorpio.
Your feelings are very intense, never superficial. You tend to be either very angry or very sad or completely and totally happy. Your moods are deep, extreme and not always completely understood by yourself or by those with whom you have to deal. Emotionally, you tend to prefer to live at the cutting edge of life, pushing your reactions to the ultimate extremes, even if the results are dangerous or upsetting. You are easily jealous and very suspicious -- you require a great deal of emotional reassurance. A good detective, you are very curious about deep and mysterious things, especially human nature and motivations. Be careful not to be ruthless, tactless or too overly frank or you will meet with much resistance from others.

Mercury is in 23 Degrees Virgo.
Very thorough and efficient, you pay attention to the minor but important details of any project. You are a careful thinker who can learn complicated, intricate techniques. You are attracted to practical, useful skills and are probably good at working with your hands. You are very critical of yourself and others, sometimes too much so, and you get the reputation of being a nag or of being nit-picky. Your first reaction to any situation is to try to organize, classify and analyze everything!

Venus is in 01 Degrees Scorpio.
Your feelings about others are deep, powerful, intense and complex. When you like someone, you do so totally and obsessively if you do not like someone, they do not exist. Your faithfulness and loyalty to your lover is unquestioned, indeed at times it is too much so -- you get so possessive that you almost smother your partner. At times, your feelings are kept deep within you and, because they are so complex and intense, they frighten you -- this is the way that you try to ignore them. But the more you try to do this, the more explosive things get when you eventually do express them.

Mars is in 24 Degrees Sagittarius.
Your every action is motivated by high moral standards and ideals. You will work very hard to improve the lot of the world at large, but you demand action about it -- you do not like to just sit around and talk about doing it in an abstract manner. You like to be where the real action is. You resist mightily any attempts to limit your freedom and you will assist anyone who feels put down and restricted. You are extremely restless by nature -- physical exercise is very important to you if you would maintain your health.

Jupiter is in 04 Degrees Capricorn.
You tend to feel that the only results that are worthwhile are the results that are concrete and demonstrable. You distrust abstract solutions and appreciate measurable achievements. An excellent organizer and planner, you are optimistic as well as practical and realistic about what can and what cannot happen. Very responsible, you consider it a personal weakness to be wrong about anything. This makes you appropriately cautious. You are very efficient but you tend to be cool and detached.

Saturn is in 13 Degrees Scorpio.
You tend to release emotional energies only very reluctantly. This is partly due to your fear of what horrible calamity might occur should they be released -- your emotions are terribly complicated and intense. Try not to repress these energies entirely, however, or you will succumb to negative and destructive forms of compulsive behavior. Give yourself the freedom to look awkward or silly once in a while. The relief you feel will be quite therapeutic and the embarrassment (whether it is real or imagined) will pass quickly.

Uranus is in 10 Degrees Sagittarius.
You, and most of your peers, have the tendency to think that all ideas, customs and traditions from the past are outmoded and irrelevant. You are attracted to radically new ideas, philosophies and religions that will, hopefully, cause sweeping changes throughout the world.

Neptune is in 28 Degrees Sagittarius.
You, and your entire generation, are heavily involved in investigating and idealizing foreign and exotic intellectual systems and religious philosophies. The most extreme ideals will be pursued with gusto. You will be at the forefront of humanitarian attempts to improve the lot of those who are in need of assistance. You will be comfortable with the concept of the "global village."

Pluto is in 00 Degrees Scorpio.
For your entire generation, this is a period of intense research and discovery in areas that were heretofore considered mysterious, remote or taboo. The root causes for many complex occurrences will be unearthed due to the intensity and thoroughness of the search.

N. Node is in 28 Degrees Taurus.
It's not in your nature to seek out many casual acquaintances in your daily round of activities. You feel much more comfortable with a small, close-knit group of people -- those with whom you can relax and work toward known and clearly defined goals. Your loyalty to a person or group, once given, is forever -- you'll expend all of your quite considerable energy in seeing that the group stays together and prospers. You choose your partners and relationships so carefully that you're bound to gain certain advantages from them, including those of a material nature. Be careful though not to let mere self-service be your motivation in establishing your connections -- make sure that there's an even give-and-take!