February In Review
Mar. 2nd, 2016 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeIt's fair to say that the determination with which I entered the year somewhat ebbed away from me in February. That's not to say it was a bust, but certainly I haven't achieved as much in the second month of 2016 as I did in the first.
Weight - My weightloss has started to plateau although I did manage to lose another 2kg over the course of the month, bringing my total weight down to the lowest it has been since 2008. However, there have been quite a few challenges, not least my working week in London where alcohol and meals out were plenty. Last week wasn't particularly good either as what with comedy shows and friends visiting, I ended up having five meals out in the space of eight days. Despite this, however, I did manage to keep my gym attendance up to three days a week and my Fitbit is still pushing me regarding the walking. I always walk the distance between work and the city centre unless the weather is inclement and on non-gym days, this sees me hit around 8,000 steps, 2,000 steps short of my 10,000 daily target. Due to my competitive nature with numbers, I have been going out and making up the deficit of an evening so the Fitbit is definitely working. Unfortunately, over the last week I have had syncing issues and this has curbed my enthusiasm somewhat, although I am hoping these annoying technical problems will be resolved soon. The first half of March should be reasonably okay regarding weight loss but the second half looks tricky, with two friends' birthdays and the Pudsey Beer Festival to contend with.
Attic - The attic has been the other major development over the course of the last month, with the radiator and plumbing now installed and the painting completely done. All we need to do now is put the flooring down and the skirting board in and we should be done. I am really looking forward to completing this as the house has been a DIY nightmare for the best part of seven months and it would be great to revert back to normality. It will also be great having our storage back, not to mention a personalised playspace upstairs. The lack of sex as a result of all this has been most frustrating.
Guitar - One thing that has suffered in February has been the guitar but I am hoping to pick this up again this month. Indeed, I have done no guitar work whatsoever, largely due to attic priorities, but I am heading home this weekend and will pick up my own axe from my father's place, which at least will mean I can practice regularly from next week without the need for Stray and Luna to bring their spare guitar over.
Languages - My German has been plodding on, with my daily streak on Duolingo now at 174 days. I do feel I am not retaining much vocabulary though and I should probably start going through my book of notes learning some more words. I should also start picking up French and Russian again ahead of some big trips planned later in the year.
In general, my mental state has been erratic, largely due to the looming EU Referendum. However, with the date now known, I have felt more relaxed, although the weekend when everything was announced was quite tough. I have decided not to worry about it until the middle of May, when the first televised debate will take place, as I doubt much will change between now and then, while I can't let one pending event dominate my mental state. There are other priorities in my life after all. One of these, which the Referendum will impact, is work and although this has become increasingly frustrating as the year has gone on, I am still optimistic of a positive year ahead. Aside from this, everything socially has largely been as you were, although there could be some family issues in the offing which don't bode well. I'll find out more about this when I go home for Mother's Day this weekend.
Weight - My weightloss has started to plateau although I did manage to lose another 2kg over the course of the month, bringing my total weight down to the lowest it has been since 2008. However, there have been quite a few challenges, not least my working week in London where alcohol and meals out were plenty. Last week wasn't particularly good either as what with comedy shows and friends visiting, I ended up having five meals out in the space of eight days. Despite this, however, I did manage to keep my gym attendance up to three days a week and my Fitbit is still pushing me regarding the walking. I always walk the distance between work and the city centre unless the weather is inclement and on non-gym days, this sees me hit around 8,000 steps, 2,000 steps short of my 10,000 daily target. Due to my competitive nature with numbers, I have been going out and making up the deficit of an evening so the Fitbit is definitely working. Unfortunately, over the last week I have had syncing issues and this has curbed my enthusiasm somewhat, although I am hoping these annoying technical problems will be resolved soon. The first half of March should be reasonably okay regarding weight loss but the second half looks tricky, with two friends' birthdays and the Pudsey Beer Festival to contend with.
Attic - The attic has been the other major development over the course of the last month, with the radiator and plumbing now installed and the painting completely done. All we need to do now is put the flooring down and the skirting board in and we should be done. I am really looking forward to completing this as the house has been a DIY nightmare for the best part of seven months and it would be great to revert back to normality. It will also be great having our storage back, not to mention a personalised playspace upstairs. The lack of sex as a result of all this has been most frustrating.
Guitar - One thing that has suffered in February has been the guitar but I am hoping to pick this up again this month. Indeed, I have done no guitar work whatsoever, largely due to attic priorities, but I am heading home this weekend and will pick up my own axe from my father's place, which at least will mean I can practice regularly from next week without the need for Stray and Luna to bring their spare guitar over.
Languages - My German has been plodding on, with my daily streak on Duolingo now at 174 days. I do feel I am not retaining much vocabulary though and I should probably start going through my book of notes learning some more words. I should also start picking up French and Russian again ahead of some big trips planned later in the year.
In general, my mental state has been erratic, largely due to the looming EU Referendum. However, with the date now known, I have felt more relaxed, although the weekend when everything was announced was quite tough. I have decided not to worry about it until the middle of May, when the first televised debate will take place, as I doubt much will change between now and then, while I can't let one pending event dominate my mental state. There are other priorities in my life after all. One of these, which the Referendum will impact, is work and although this has become increasingly frustrating as the year has gone on, I am still optimistic of a positive year ahead. Aside from this, everything socially has largely been as you were, although there could be some family issues in the offing which don't bode well. I'll find out more about this when I go home for Mother's Day this weekend.
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no subject
Date: 2016-03-02 10:17 pm (UTC)I wouldn't mind trying my paw at German as well, for similar reasons to yourself. Frustratingly, it appears having a German mother passes on no special benefits regarding acquiring German citizenship - it's only the father who counts, though that situation was remedied - not retroactively - a while after I came onto the scene. Still, I'm trudging ahead with trying to pound hiragana into my noggin, as part of the early stages of the rather unfortunately titled Human Japanese. (A very good course nonetheless =:)
You could always try debating the EU with
no subject
Date: 2016-03-30 10:46 pm (UTC)That's a bit shitty that having a German mother doesn't confer benefits, but I imagine this will change sooner rather than later largely due to equality legislation. I do wish I had some international ancestry myself but alas I don't think I do.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-03 04:30 pm (UTC)Kudos on the languages and guitar. I wish I could say the same.
Attic play space you say? Murrpurr. >3
I've been dubious of the EU for years. It seems destined to fail. Poorly structured, no failsafes for default, and too much bad blood between the members. You're not largely homogenous like the US and that counts for a lot. The EU needs significant retooling at minimum.
I'd love to see a proper North American Union (NORAU) at some point in my lifetime. Just 3 members keeps things simple.
no subject
Date: 2016-03-30 10:44 pm (UTC)I think there are flaws in the EU model but they are not insurmountable and once financial parity is more closely attained between member states I think the differences will become less important. Mistakes have definitely be made - and the Eastern European expansion of 2004 has caused issues in particular - but I believe it makes more sense to work the issues out rather than giving up. Furthermore, my job depends quite heavily on certain aspects of the EU, hence my current fears.
Yep, our attic playspace is largely finished, we are just putting the final touches to it and then we are ready to go. We are hoping to buy a lot more equipment for it too, as we are lacking in some essentials and need more furniture. We are also hoping to get a custom bed, which would be fun. We may also install a wet room in the coming years too.