Cooking for One

In general, I have very little motivation to cook for just myself. Why go through all the effort if I'm the only one around to enjoy it? I mean, if it's seulement moi doing the eating, my specialties are tuna melts and turkey sandwiches. Nothing fancy.

(My expertise also barely extends at scrambled eggs and Kraft mac & cheese, though I do make a mean french toast breakfast. I hate to brag, but it's the truth.)

So, with that said, I must admit that I feel a bit like a phony right now. All this week, my dad and I have been discussing ways for him to meal plan, store leftovers, and try out new recipes -- and I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Finals Week

We're coming into the home stretch. I can almost hear the hallelujah bells now.

However, sitting squarely in my way of home cooking, sunny Arizona, skiing in Montana, and Santa Claus, are two papers and two finals. And zero motivation to really do anything. Perfect.

It's a challenge in self-motivation. Time for inspirational quotes and coffee on an IV drip. Can't wait.

Taking My Health Seriously Again - Midpoint

A week and a half ago, I wrote about taking my health seriously again, and I made a list of all the things I was going to do differently in the next three weeks to feel better about myself.

Let's see how I'm doing now...

Goals:

In My Inspiration Box

When I made my day planner in August (or my Daily Action Plan, as I like to call it-- sounds best with a snobby British accent), I included a small box, tucked away between my boxes for Applications and Two Minute Tasks, called Inspiration.

I thought, "Oh hey! I'll include this little box and fill it will awesome sayings and drawings. It'll be great!"

But the sad thing is, I'm usually too busy to write anything in that box. I mean, the actual writing part doesn't ever get done. I read lots of quotes online whenever I need inspiration, but none of them make it into my actual action plan. Which is a shame. I think that little box gets pretty lonely.

Except today. Today I flipped the page to Monday, and lo and behold! Something was sitting there in my tiny inspiration box, just waiting to inspire someone.

More, Please.

I need to spend more time being positive. I have this great friend named Geales (see post below) who has the most inspirational blog. Almost everything she puts up there lights the page with positivity, inspiration and love. It's literally one of my go-to places when I'm feeling down.

I appreciate that so much. Genuine, heartfelt love coming from someone real makes everything better.

I can't even begin to say how much people need more of that in the world. Especially me and my friends, I think. My house is a stress-ball. Everyone is worried about upcoming tests and papers. But bigger than that, deadlines and notification days loom. We are in the thick of hearing back about this application and that program.

Where will we be in a year? Where will we be in six months?

None of us really know. Sure, some of us think we see the horizon. But it's all squiggly and different colors, with a gazillion variables.

I know this is normal. This is what life looks like for everyone else my age. And from some snooping/unofficial research, I guess I've realized that this is normal for everyone. Once you are outside the confines of your standard twelve years of public education and four years of college, it's all a gamble. Even people in their forties, with their future on lock, can have things change.

So for now, I'm trying to let go of the definite. Accept the change and chance and adventure that is coming my way. And while the foundations are shifting and the eight ball is shaking, I'll just move with it. Less worry and more love.

And for those times when I forget, there are good people in the world like Geales to remind me of that.

Active Study - How to Learn

Rarely does anything informative or helpful come out of my sorority's chapter meeting. It's usually, "dress up, walk in, get paper, sing/recite, listen as people read directly from said paper, recite/sing a bit more, leave." Repeat every Sunday.

But at our last chapter, we actually got this really neat hand-out telling you how the human brain retains information. Fascinating.

For example:

1. The human brain learns best and fastest when there is kinetic energy involved-- the in-putting of information must be active. "The 'recording disk' of the brain accepts new material much faster if it "hears," "sees," "feels," "tastes," and detects motion (kinetic energy) during input or recording time." 

2. Learning requires the expenditure of energy. With notecards, "the student must be actively engaged in producing the sounds, using muscles and burning energy to make the sound." 

3. Some experts believe that information is better mastered if you group it all in groups of seven items or less at a time.

4. Association is a key to memory:

   a. You remember approximately 10 percent of what you read.

   b. You remember approximately 20 percent of what you hear.

   c. You remember approximately 30 percent of what you see.

   d. You remember approximately 50 percent of what you hear and see together.

   e. You remember approximately 70 percent of what you say (if you think as you are saying it).

   f. You remember approximately 90 percent of what you do.

Makes me wonder if I should reinstate jumping jacks into my study routine. Kinetic energy + burning calories = smart and thin. Ka-ching!

TGIF

Never have I been more grateful for a Friday. For the weekend. For a chance to breathe, sleep, and rejuvenate.

I've been dragging through this week, accomplishing the bare minimum, neglecting emails and phone calls and other important communications that really should have gotten done this week rather than next. Usually I'm not this bad. I can usually kick myself in the butt at some point, after days of dragging my feet, and force myself to get it done (even though that normally happens at 3 a.m. after a couple hours of blogging, web surfing, and other time-wasters).

But not this week. Nothing could compel me to check off those to-do items.

I'm losing motivation and quickly. Except for CCEW, I'm feeling remarkably uninspired. SFPC is becoming frustrating, since it doesn't seem like people are wanting to take the initiative on production. Okay, that's not true. There are at least three film shoots this weekend that I know of. That's exciting. But somehow I feel like the club itself is losing its interesting edge, and I don't know what to do about that.

And my motivation for school is officially zero. With the things that I'm applying for right now, none of them look at Fall 2010 grades. They're all looking at previous grades. So maybe getting another B isn't going to kill me... while clocking in less than 4 hours a night for an entire week probably will.

Things need to change. I need to get better at managing my time. And I need to prioritize. I need to sleep.

Preparing for AFF

I leave for the Austin Film Festival TOMORROW! Tomorrow morning at 4 a.m., to be exact. Craziness.

My life is in chaos as I am trying to get everything done (papers, presentations, etc) before I leave town. I have three papers, a test, and a giant presentation on the Tuesday when I get back, but since I'll be gone Thursday through Sunday (a HUGE chunk of my study/prep time), I've been trying to do as much work as possible before leaving.

All that work hasn't left me a lot of time to get excited about the Austin Film Festival. But as soon as Thursday morning rolls around, I am whipping out that conference and film schedule and going to town with a highlighter. I heard that Blue Valentine will be playing (!!!!!), which I'm stoked about (note previous exclamation points) and definitely want to see again (was lucky enough to see it in Cannes).

Other films I'd love to see:
Black Swan
Conviction

And to me, the best part of the Austin Film Festival isn't even the watching movies part (though that's awesome). The best part is the conference element, which is screenwriting focused. Even though I don't have any particular interest in screenwriting, I most definitely want to write in my future (be it novels, magazine articles, or short stories). So I'm really looking forward to going and feeling inspired to write more (fiction, that is).

Can't wait!

Today's Goals

(I'm back in the library for another early-morning study session, and this time it's only 8:15 a.m. Sha-Bam! This is awesome.)

Goal One: Write a 4-5 page paper comparing Metropolitan (1990, Directed by Whit Stillman) with Party Girl (1995, Directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer) -- by 11:30 a.m.

Goal Two: Write a 7-8 page "Notebook" on the process we've gone through to put on Shakespeare's As You Like It (the play is in three weeks!), including notes about the history of theater, the role of gender/transvestism in the play, modern adaptations (including She's the Man), etc -- by 10:30 p.m.

Goal Three: Write synopsis for final short film project proposal -- by 11:30 p.m.

Goal Four: Go to bed before midnight!

--*--

Have I mentioned yet how much I love lists?! Everything about about a list is absolutely perfect. They help me stay organized. They look organized. They help me to not forget important things I need to do (and by when they need to be done). And when I've completed a To Do item, I can cross it off the list, which is even more fun than pulling those plastic protective sticker-covers off a newly-purchased digital camera screen. I speak from experience.

Lists also require me to set clear expectations for myself, especially when I promise that I'll take said self-imposed deadlines seriously (I've found that it also helps when you motivate yourself with things like fruit smileys or a Hershey's kiss). And once I'm done writing everything out in a list, I sometimes don't even have to look at it again, because now I already know everything that needs to get done. Yup. Lists are the bomb.

A New Study Hour?

This is a rare occurrence. I'm sitting in the library, and it's only 9 a.m. What is the world coming to? I've never studied this early before unless you count cramming in reading before class or something like that. I'm just rarely up this early unless I have somewhere to be, because I'm usually up until one or two in the morning studying. And believe you me, 7:00 a.m. comes reeeaaaaallly quickly when you've only been asleep since two.

I used to consider myself not a morning person. I mean, I've never been the cranky type or whatnot, but I don't really like the morning because it means departing from my deliciously comfortable bed. And yet, sitting here at 9 a.m., I love it. Absolutely love it.

It's so peaceful. No one is talking and everyone is working hard. And because I've just come out of a good night's sleep, my head is clear and I'm feeling remarkably productive. I can't believe it has taken me this long to figure out, but I think I may be completely changing my study habits from now on.

I'm going to try pulling a Ben Franklin. Early to bed, early to rise. I just hope the wealthy and wise show up sooner rather than later.

Tuesday = Crazy

Today's schedule is insane. I hope to still be alive when 10 p.m. rolls around. Wish me luck!

8:30-9:45 a.m. --  Finish editing short film (adjust audio levels). Burn to DVD.

9:45-10:30 a.m. -- Revive tired, fuzzy brain with coffee. Cram last minute for test.

10:30-11:45 a.m. -- Shakespeare Comedies and Histories Exam. Try not to die.

12:00-1:15 p.m. -- Independent Cinema. Four page response paper due. Try not to fall asleep as mid-morning exhaustion sets in.

1:15-2:00 p.m. -- Lunch. Breathe. Walk all the way across campus. Change into interview clothes.

2:00-2:30 p.m. -- Luce Scholars Interview

2:30-3:00 p.m. -- Put normal clothes back on. Walk all the way back across campus.

3:00-5:45 p.m. -- Advanced Film Production. Short film due. Watch films in class and listen to comments from classmates.

6:00-8:00 p.m. -- CCEW class. Be inspired by speaker.

8:00-10:00 p.m. -- Inspiration replaced with discouragement. Struggle to hold head above water during team meeting. Wish I had had more time this weekend to work on PR strategy. Hope team doesn't hate me for my lack of preparation. Promise to work really hard before Thursday's meeting.

10:00-11:00 p.m. -- Go home. Answer SFPC emails. Fill out SFPC paperwork for upcoming Austin trip.

11:00 p.m. -- Pass out and never wake up again. Ever.

Listography

Lauren, a friend from Cannes (and fellow blogger-extraordinaire currently living it up in London) suggested that I look up Listography as a potential procrastination method. How perfect!

I already make lists all the time about absolutely anything and everything, and now I can continue this hobby online. Excellent.

I've made a Listography profile, and while I don't think it's very interesting yet, feel free to check it out: http://listography.com/GinnysLists

Love Is Where It's At

I have officially found THE best way to procrastinate online. It's called Odosketch, and it's amazing.

Basically it's a giant sketchpad, but the drawings look a lot like watercolors or ink on parchment paper. 

I'm in love. And to celebrate this love, I spent twenty minutes on that darn thing making all sorts of fun pictures and designs.

For example, the masterpiece below is the product of my hard work and determination to spend as little time as possible on researching the advertising methods and promotional strategies of Facebook and Gowalla.