Body Image

In July I joined a gym, and ever since I have been thinking of writing this post. The only problem is, I usually thought about it as I was training, and it is pretty hard to write a post while you are swimming, or cycling, or doing weights.
The first thing I learned when I joined the gym, was to be comfortable with my body, imperfections and all. I was confronted with this when I walked into the locker room and there are a handful of very naked very imperfect bodies, and they don’t seem to have a care in the world. Now I’m not the kind of person who will start running around naked myself, or ever feel really comfortable in the company of so many naked women, but the one truth I learned is, very few people actually care what you look like, as long as you are decent.
Sure, I would like to meet a wonderful handsome man who happens to be my soul mate, but if he doesn’t like the way I look, then frankly, he is not as perfect as he seems. And while I am in the gym to improve my physique, I have to be happy with the fact that for now it is a work in progress and if someone wants to be impressed, they should be impressed that I am making an effort to look after myself.
This brings me to the next important thought I had about gym and exercise in general. If you are doing it in order to impress someone, with either your effort or the results, then you are probably going to fail. If that is your only motivation, you are going to run out of steam and give up. So what is my motivation, you ask?
We make the full circle back to body image. I have learned to love the body I am in. It is the one that God made especially for me, and it is due to my own neglect that I have accumulated the imperfections that could cause unhappiness. So now my goal is to try and undo the neglect, or at least start giving myself the attention I deserve.
I have been unfit for a very long time, and my biggest problem with it is not the “I feel so tired” or “I want more energy” complaints you hear on weight loss advertisements. I went rowing with a friend the other day, and I had to ask him to stop after a while because I just couldn’t go anymore. That is when I realised I never want to miss out on fun because I am unfit. So now the goal is to do whatever it takes to get fit enough to have fun.
Getting fit to me means getting my body to do what it was made to do, like move, as well as putting in the right stuff to keep it functioning optimally, and refraining from putting in the junk. It’s a work in progress, and it involves a lot of habit changing, but so far so good. I’ll keep you posted on the progress!

Creativity Vs Science

I was thinking the other day about creativity vs science. The world we live in is balanced between the two.

My training has been in a rather scientific field but yet, it is all about finding a new solution to a problem - so it takes creativity. The question is really the extent to where you take the creativity. A civil engineer can be creative in the solution he finds to build a bridge, but we want him to be rather scientific when he does the simulations and calculations as to whether it will work. In my work I should be very scientific in the data I collect and the simulations I do, because a 5% difference in answer can mean a big amount of money...

Some professions have different requirements though, I have heard some people was imprisoned for creative accounting. And if I ever require surgery,I want the surgeon that operates on me to be very scientific thank you very much. If you are a graphic designer though, your success depends on finding a creatively new way to present information.

One of my hobbies is sewing, and I was taking this thought a bit further. Is making a dress for instance a scientific or creative process? I always considered it very creative, but then I did a course in pattern making, and that is truly a combination of scientific approach to get the fit just right, and then the creative part, of making it look rather pretty!

Same goes for cooking and baking - science is required to get the right ingredients to make the cake come out successful. Creativity is what makes it exceptional.

It looks like the trick is finding the balance...

yes...

Funnily enough, I updated my other blog yesterday (http://womenblogs.24.com/journeytotheinside) for the first time in months, so I will blog here again for bits and pieces of the day.

Whats news?

I have started writing my novel - well, more like planning, but I already have a plot with no holes that I cant cover up at the moment.

I had a dream come true over December - take a month long holiday to Europe. It was really fantastic and I am planning the next one already. Will do some things differently (less luggage, go in another season, take my loved ones with) but will definately do it again.

I have realised that this industry is not for me, I can cope, but I don't think I will like it, ever.

I have started on my next life dream i.e getting the body I deserve. Have been going to the gym more or less constantly for more than a year and have lost at least 13 kg's in the same time.

So this is my dream job/life: I want to be a lifestyle ambassador working for a big company, preferably a motorcar company. I get to engineer part time, to show that I am not a bimbo, I get to write my bestsellers, to keep me popular and my life desirable, and I get to drive a fantastic sportscar and wear designer labels in natural fibers. I get to travel all over the world, and everybody wants to be me, therefore they spend money on the things I have, like the car and the clothes, handbags, jewelry, and that kind of thing. If you know of a job like this, please let me know, I have a CV ready..:)

'Later!

Exams again

You would think that after graduation there is no more such thing as exams. In which case you would have thought wrong.

My first exam is tomorrow, about the world, mythology and literature of ancient Rome. Who would have thought?

It turns out that it is in fact much different from Engineering. So much in fact that it doesn't feel the same at all. Besides, studying about those Romans creates a good break from the everyday humdrum of contractors and projects...

So, off I go to another day of being me!

Comeback Time!

Jys reg Queery - laat ek maar weer begin blog. Tot my verdediging, ek het vir 'n ruk lank by 24.com beblog, oulike community daar, maar dit is stopgesit deur die firewall by die werk en die feit dat daar te veel politiek geraak het. Dalk, net dalk, sal ek 'n link na daai blog hier opsit. Dalk nie.

So, here is a short update of my life at the moment:

I live and work in the town I mostly grew up in. I returned from a few years of blissful student being and soulselling studies to take up a position in the firm of a local consulting engineer. The work is OK, but I do not think it will ever be my first love.

Speaking of love - My beloved moved here in September ( a month ago, today, actually) and started to work at a company here while he continues his studies through distance learning. He seems happy, and that makes me happy.

Studies, well yes. After graduating in Engineering, I thought I had done with this exam thingy, but it seems I was mistaken...

Somewhere in February I realised that I always had this notion of doing a BA once I am through with the soul-crushing reality of studying B.Eng. So I enrolled myself for a BA at Unisa, majoring in Classical Cultures and Theory of Literature.

So far so good, the assignments went well, but once again, I am plunged into that black hole called exams, this time with the added pressure of work, deadlines and all that.

Another thing I always wanted to do, was travel overseas, to Europe in particular. So I did some math and thought I could conveniently go on a Eurotrip in December, when our firm close for the "builders' holiday" and pay of my student loan at the same time. ( It was a small loan, lucky for me).

It turned out that I had the prices a little bit wrong, and at the moment my estimate is double the amount that I originally thought, and then I forgot to count in my airplane tickets (it was included in the original estimate). But, it is still worth it, and I am sure I will be blogging some more about that tour in the future.

Right, that is all for now,

I have to get to work ... Grr, and still some warpaint to apply before I go.

Exams - and all that jazz

And with this, the exams are upon us.

I admit I am slightly in denial about that ( I can see the pyramids, you know) but I find it the only way to cope without actually freaking out. People close to me can see me having more bad hair days than usual, combined with a general jittery-ness that could or could not be the effect of drinking to much coffee.
I think I should switch to hot chocolate....

As precautionary measure, I shall be leaving the beautiful town of Stellenbosch for the coast, i.e home, "where my music's playin' , home..." (sorry, got distracted for a moment) Where my mom can do the cooking and my room stays clean so I have no excuses not to study. As for blogging... I have been quiet enough lately to expect you to not miss me THAT much.

To those that is entering the tunnel with me, good luck. To the rest.. Darn, you're lucky

Rainy weather and napping

So.. It has been a busy term, with a lot of work crammed into a short time. Then comes deadlines, and they all happen to be in the same space of time...

Lucky for me, I handed in two projects today, and now I have an afternoon that can, and will be spent napping. Also lucky for me, it is a wet, rainy afternoon, so I do not have to feel guilty for not enjoying the last of the beautiful weather and sleeping the afternoon away!

That said, I think I am going to go not, and sleep.....