My prompt today was to take photos that would give an idea of a day in my life.
Every morning I make a paleo breakfast of eggs and bananas smashed together.
Eggs, bananas
I mix apple chunks into the smash
Today was the day I made a new batch of kombucha for the week. From left: sugar, ready kombucha, tea, and kombucha fermenting.
These are books that changed me when I read them. They’re listed in the order I read them.
Today’s prompt:
How do you handle being overwhelmed?
Do you ever get overwhelmed and you need to just go? That’s how I was tonight.
These last couple months have thrown me for a loop and I just want things to go back to normal. Tonight I was feeling out of sorts and caged. So I went for a night ride. When you’re riding, you can almost outrun your thoughts. You don’t have space in your mind for other things.
me on a 125
Sometimes I wish my head was an apartment so that I could walk out and lock the door behind me. Other INTJ’s that I’ve talked to express similar ideas. One told me that conflicted situations create “too much noise in his head”. Another said that he “wishes he could turn it off”. Don’t get me wrong, I love being an INTJ, but this is one of the definite downsides–the inability to stop thinking.
When I was younger I would run on the treadmill or outside. Sometimes I would even run up and down staircases like a hamster, which looked crazy but definitely helped.
I’ve never been addicted to a substance, but I think other people in my shoes go that route. And one of the reasons I’ve never been tempted with that is I think that could be really challenging for me, if I find something that reliably turns the volume down.
So for now, I’ll get on my motorcycle, or treadmill, and run fast.
Today’s prompt:
Write your life story in 250 words.
Instead of explaining my history the usual way, I’m going to write my history in hairstyles.
I was born bald. Gradually I grew blonde peach fuzz, and sometimes accentuated this with a ducky barrette. Later, I would wear thick hairbands so hair would stay back from my face. One time, Nana bought me hair combs to fasten hair back from my face, liberating me me from the tyranny of the headband. My hair grew shoulder length, wavy and darker. These were the years of the half up/half down ponytail, business in the front, party in the back.
Labor Day was last week, so here’s an abbreviated history of jobs I’ve worked. It’s like a resume without the boring bits.
Age 8: Childcare
When I volunteered at the YMCA nursery for little kids, I had a time card and clocked in and out. I remember one time a man saw such a little girl clocking in and he said “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.” That struck me as such an odd thing to say.
Age 9-12: Lemonade Stands
All the lemonade stands I worked probably totaled about $50. My stroke of genius was to charge .20 cents, so people thought we were cheaper than the .25 cent stands. Here’s the kicker: the customers would round up and give us a quarter anyway. Win-win.
Photo Credit: amy.gizienski
Age 10-14: (very) Small business
I started an unsuccessful dancing garter business. I used my mom’s sewing machine and sewed elastic/velcro garters to keep dancing hose from sliding down. I think I sold maybe five pairs at $20/each, but I did have business cards, and a slogan. The slogan is too embarrassing to repeat here.
I also had a small bracelet making business, but only sold one bracelet, and it may or may not have been to my grandma.
I realized this summer that I don’t know how to advocate for my needs. For a long time, I’ve thought it was bossy or demanding to speak up for yourself. My usual practice when someone disappointed me was to complain about them later, instead of saying anything to the person.
I’m changing my ways. Today, I started to speak up for myself. I’ll tell you what happened.
I noticed my coworker using my salad dressing. I didn’t say anything, because maybe it was a mistake. Today I noticed her shaking out the last drops of it onto her salad. Old me would have grumbled about it silently. Instead, I went to Trader Joe’s to get a new one, and formulated my response.
I came back into the office, dressing in hand, and said “I notice that we both like the same dressing. My old one was empty so I just bought another one.” I planned to ask her if she wouldn’t mind getting it next time, but she cut me off. She explained that she thought it was hers, because she had a similar one at home. She apologized and thanked me.
This doesn’t seem like much, but it’s step in the right direction for me.
Today I’ll answer the question:
If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do?
Here’s what I would do. I’d buy an external frame backpack, load it up, and take the train to Calgary. I’d spend time in a tent under the stars, reading by day and watching the northern lights at night.
(Hattip for this question to Blogtember)
Today I’ll answer the question:
Write a letter to yourself ten years ago. What do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
You’re starting your senior year of high school. You feel like you’re just starting to make friends and fit in, even a little. You are so full of ideas and excitement, and you are confident you’ll achieve great things.
brother, sister, me, pizookie
You are smart. The downside of this is that sometimes in conversations you feel alienated. Often when you talk, people can’t understand you. This is because you’re losing them. Try explaining the context of your thoughts and ideas so that you get them on the same page. Nobody will admit they don’t know what you’re saying, so it’s better to err on the side of over-explaining. If you can communicate your thoughts well, you’ll have a better conversation.
You are beautiful. Know that and claim that. I know that you can’t get your hair under control, and your glasses and braces make you feel dorky. You haven’t got everything figured out yet. You don’t realize it, but you are already a beautiful young woman. And about the hair, two words: deep condition. Continue reading
Did you know that cancer is the leading cause of death of kids under 15?
Last month, the ALS association got a lot of awareness generated with the ice bucket challenge. This month, it’s childhood cancer month.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has a list of things you can do this month to help eradicate childhood cancer. Let’s keep the momentum generated this summer going.
Today’s writing prompt is: You are having a dinner party, which 10 famous people would be on your guest list?
My dream dinner party would consist of people who have interesting things to say, to facilitate fascinating discussions.
Elon Musk
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