Day 60 Tried out TypingWeb's Free Tutorials

Today I stumbled upon TypingWeb which is an online tutorial that aims to help improve typing skills. It claims to assist not only in improving typing speeds but do so while correcting bad keyboard habits that most of us have.  So this is not just about learning to type without looking at the key board but also about correct hand positioning which focus on training you to type  by remembering the muscle movement of your fingers!

I recall trying this many years ago using 'Type Master' software but never had the patience to really try it out properly.

So I gave it a go today and spent many valuable hours practicing typing! Now while I could clearly see how well structured the lessons were as I progressed, I think it would take countless hours of practice and probably not quite worth the effort.

However, since it is easily accessible and freely available and also because I have so much time to spare, I tried out quite a lot of lessons today and I am completely exhausted!

 

Day 59 Attended a New Workout Class

 My cool, Columbian zumba instructor has been continuously taxing us by hiking his lesson fees in the past few months making Zumba a fairly costly affair, unfortunately. Hence, I looked for alternative fitness classes and decided to check out Dharshana's workout sessions. So off I went this evening expecting to take part in a Zumba style workout. Once the warm-up exercises were completed he announced that it is a 'muscle building' class and was stressing on the importance of proper breathing during the excersises. The entire session comprised of push ups, crunches, sit ups, lunges,squats etc with the dumbbells. Though I had to really push myself to keep up, it was definitely a superb workout and a strength training session and I quite enjoyed it. My abdominals really felt the workout! Predictably, my muscles have have become really sore which will be worse tomorrow but I couldn't care less. I simply love strength training!!

Day 58 Read a Few Academic Journal Articles

Finally, the moment arrived- the auspicious time for me to get started on my research and start writing the literature review. Personally,I would have liked to postpone this till a little later given that the deadline is in June and i am on a "break". However,the mounting pressure from my friend became rather unsettling so I finally gave in! Besides, all the exciting plans I have for the coming months will all be disrupted if I don't get this out of the way. So I went about doing some pretty intense reding of some phenomenally boring stuff. At least it highlighted anew for me the importance of attending to this task more keenly and urgently. This thought of course lead me to do more planning ( why do I feel like I am planning something every 5 minutes nowadays?). 

Well, my next plan is to launch an ambitious study plan to complete the thesis by April which will improve my chances of completing at least by June! 

Lately, I seem to be brimming with enthusiasm about virtually everything.Perhaps it's all the planning that I do which seem to propel me into various reveries!

Day 57 Lisa Adam- hanging in and blogging hard..

Today I read the blog of Lisa Adam after reading an article about her in the Time magazine.

Lisa Adam's blog is special- she is a great mom and a loving wife and she is qualified in sociology and also a talented writer. Invariably, she has a lot of knowledge to share. But what makes her blog more compelling to read is the fact that she is a stage IV cancer patient struggling day in and day out, to lead a normal life while battling the monstrous complications that the disease adds to one's life.

She writes about her treatments, the drug trials and surgeries she faces, her overwhelming emotions etc. Most importantly it's about facing the adversity and dealing with her loneliness and desperation.

Her powerful writing is praiseworthy. Admittedly, reading about radiation treatments and emotions revolving around fear for death, is not pleasant. But reading about her strength of personality and how she copes amidst numerous obstacles is certainly compelling.

Lisa Adam has been severely criticized for oversharing. Despite the criticism she continues to blog hard and with every blog post she is adding a day to her life. I suppose, for a cancer patient for whom the days are numbered, this is a way of calming and stabilizing one's emotions. 

With all the medicinal advances, cancer is still on track to take thousands of lives this year too. It is apparently a war we are still losing. Maybe Lisa Adam's blog would continue to be a source of encouragement for those who are battling against it. 

 

Day 56 Swimming Lessons

Last week I completed 2 swimming lessons which I am extremely happy about and in 2 lessons I learnt 2 important things. Firstly, I like it as much as I thought I would and secondly, it is not as easy as I thought! As I already knew the floating and breathing technique to some extent my coach got me into practicing the kick and  free style hand movement with a swimmin board. The biggest challenge at the moment is no matter how much I kick I don't seem to move through the water!!!! :). I think its the board, really! But apparently, you need the board to improve the technique so i found my self kicking in the same place more often than i liked. By the time I finished my lesson on the 2nd day I was so exhausted. 

However I am not going to fall out after 2 lessons which is what my natural inclination is. So here's hoping I will continue to learn this super-important life skill, inspired by this super-influential blog!

So far I am well on track to make the most out of my career-break. At least I am on track with the 'fun' element of it and as per the 'academic' element, I reserve my comments since I am on a vow of positivity till 31st January. 

Day 55 Coffee with a Friend

Today I went out with one of my long-standing friends on a coffee date. The plan was to go to Coco verandah but one we set off, we decided to avoid coco verandah as it is too small a place and hence more likely to be crowded. So we headed to coffee stop only to find out that it was overflowing with people even on a Sunday afternoon! However, my friend managed  to find a sofa perfectly set in perfect isolation and we had a perfect girls' day out, giggling, complaining, gossiping and of course fussing about our imperfect lives. 

Day 54 Walked 6km

I usually walk only 3km which is one loop at the walking path that I go to. This typically takes me 40 min of brisk walking. As per the online articles on working out, you only begin to lose fat after 40 min of continuous exercises so today I was determined to do the 2nd loop as well. Of course it was pretty exhausting especially to the knees and by the time I finished with the stretching exercises I have done about 1hour 40 min worth of exercises for the day. 

Day 53 Excel Training Tutorials

Today I completed some training videos and tutorials related to basic Excel skills. The first 10-15 videos were fairly preliminary but there were so many useful tools and commands that I was not aware of and I was glad to learn and practice them. The videos on creating formulas were particularly useful. For instance I did not know how to create formulas using absolute cell references, writing formulas to find the 'n'th largest number in a data set, customizing the status bar and the quick access tools etc were some of the main things I learned which are basic stuff yet very useful when dealing with large amounts of data in a worksheet. 

Day 52 Bought a Swimming Cap

As the whole purpose of this blog is to take small steps to become a better person, I thought I will get the ball rolling on my 'I-want-to-go-swimming' phase by doing something related to it. So I checked online for shops specialisng in swimwear and accessories which led me to discover 'The Glory Swim Shop' which is located In a very convenient place down Thimbirigasyaya road where parking is not a main issue. After having located the shop on google maps, I headed there to explore the swimming goodies they have and I quite liked the shop and the friendly staff. They have a big array of stuff and I assumed that evrything that a swimming enthusiast needs can be found there. As i wasn't quite sure what I wanted I ended up selecting a swimming cap but I also had a good look at the swimsuits. Again, they had quite a range of swimsuits available and some of them were quite long and well covering leaving nothing exposed! Good for me as I have 101 insecurities so 'revealing' swimsuits are not my thing! 

Anyways I walked away with a black swimming cap ignoring all the pretty colors and designs they had. Why? My unfailing desire to be inconspicuous got the better of me and what better cour than black to achieve obscurity. :)

Day 51 Made a Hotel Reservation for the Holiday

Today I spent several hours researching for a hotel for my holiday to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in March. As I am the one with most amount of free time I had to do almost all the looking up for hotels and good deals even though it is a family holiday!. I managed to finalize on a hotel and completed the reservation as well. I am glad to have done this well in advance as hotels seem to fill up pretty quickly nowadays and hence last minute holiday planning Is fraught with troubles and disappointments! 

The pictures of the hotel look amazing and the deal was pretty reasonable too. I do hope it's a good hotel, since for me, a comfortable stay is as important a part of the holiday as seeing places! 

Day 50 Started Reading 'The Knot'

Today I started reding a new book called 'The Knot' by Jane Borodale. The main reason why I wanted to give this a go was because I felt that it might have a storyline similar to 'Rebecca' by Daphne Du Maurier. Since I loved that book so much I reckon I will not be bored reading another one with a similar plot. Intend to finish this book by Friday this week. 

Day 49 Watched a BBC Documentary Video

Today I watched a very interesting BBC documentary on YouTube called 'Don't Panic-the truth about population by professor Hans Rosling. 

Though over population is an immense problem as per Dr Rosling statistics show a far more optimistic picture than we imagine. Even in the slums of Daka where women used to have on average about 6-7 children, this number has decreased to 2.5 during the last few decades. Family planing and medical care has improved by unprecedented levels during the last 50 years. 

Nevertheless according to demographers the population will increase to 11 billion people by the end of this century which is 2100. The growth will happen mainly in Asia and Africa where as Europe and America would  be stable. The good news is that we have left behind the fast growth stage, and now the growth is happening at a decreasing rate and apparently by the turn of the century we would have a flatter population growth curve. :).

Day 48 Read the book- 'The Professional'

My first for today was I finished reading a book in one day after many many years. The book I read was ' The Professional' by Ashok Ferry which was gifted to me by Rads. Today was one of those days that my creative spark was eluding me and as i needed something for the blog,  I set myself the task of reading this book within a day which I accomplished! 

The Professional is a work of fiction which is nothing like what I have read before. I feel inclined to say it is a great novel but it had also left my head spinning. The story is centered around a young boy who has competed a good education and yet struggles his way through life, lost in a great city and influenced by a great many things which leaves him confused about his bearings. The story explores the battles between the rich and the poor, the white and the brown, men and women etc. It is a tale about the struggles that people go through to make ends meet in a glamorous city like London. Children from shattered families, lost identities, power struggles, compromising integrity to make it big or sometimes just to survive are some of the issues that the author brings to our attention very strongly. I found it an almost painful story to read as  it takes the reader deeply in to several lives that are deeply troubled. In brief it gives you an insight into how vulnerable humans are and how easily the society exploits the weaker ones, shoving many lives in to some sort of darkness making it almost impossible for them to emerge out of it. 

A very different unique book! 

Day 47 Early Morning Jog

Day 46 The Plan Was to Watch 'Frozen'

After some meticulous planning (Not!) we all set off to Savoy today to watch the dreamily beautiful Disney movie-Frozen. 

Day 45 The First Zumba Class of the Year

16 January 2014-  

My instructor is back in Sri Lanka and we had our first Zumba class of the year this evening. The one hour felt very long today as I have lost some of my stamina during the holiday period and hence had a bit of trouble keeping up with the pace. Nevertheless, having completed the workout, I walked out of the class with the usual sense of positivity and that great feeling knowing I burnt 'some' calories! Over the next few weeks I will work on building stamina and endurance with daily workouts at home or by going jogging. 

Day 44 Prepared a Blancmange

15 January 2014- This easy chocolate pudding is one of my all time favorites but it has been quite a long time since I last had it. As simple as the preparation is, I could barely recall the recipe so I checked a few recipes online and settled down with a very basic one.   

Day 43 "“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot."

14 January 2014-

Today is a very significant day since it was officially my last day at work and it is also the fist day of a whole new episode in my life. A 'career-break' is a notion I have contemplated lengthily then discarded fully, only to find it resurfacing and to be dismissed yet again. Finally in a triggering moment I took the plunge not failing to surprise myself too in the process. 

So now is the time to reflect on what I have learned, how I have grown and what I can take away from my 3 year spell. Undeniably, I have improved one of the most vital skills-getting along with devastatingly complicating colleagues in a mind-bogglingly competitive environment with constant comparisons. Managing stress and responding wisely to slightly condescending management styles are also important skills that were well polished up. 

While I have some reservations about the length of the time spent here, I do not feel that it will negatively impact my future career moves. In terms of soft skills developed, I think it was time well spent! 

And now I have been blessed with a few months of freedom to fully unwind and to think more clearly about my next step. 

The past 3 years did go by so swiftly and so will the times ahead but as they say you are the pilot of your own time and I am looking forward to better accomplishments in this new phase. 

 

A small step  towards change has been taken which hopefully will result in a giant leap in my professional life..

Day 42 A Lunch to Mark an End

13 January 2014-

Me and Rads have explored very many restaurants and hotels for over two years particularly with the intention of stress-busting after long days in 'heaven'. We would sometime plan for  days and days to go out for a lunch but occasionally it would be rather impromptu. Either ways I have thoroughly enjoyed these outings and they have been very resourceful in terms of sharing 'valuable knowledge' and have aided me immensely to find a bit of humor in bleak situations. Today marked my last outing with Rads and as always when it is only the 2 of us, the decisions about when, where, what etc are quite uncomplicating! So we headed straight to have Harpos pizza without even discussing where to dine! 

The meal was great, the knowledge shared was greater and we also had a few nostalgic moments. 

So here's hoping we will find new opportunities to meet up and wind down in the days to come! 

Day 41 Part 2:Visited a New Restaurant-Upali's

Today I tried out 'Upali's' which is one of the new restaurants in Colombo, opened less than a month ago. The main reason for selecting this for dining was because it is a Sri Lanakan food restaurant where all types traditional Sri lankan curries and dishes are available. It is located in Townhall and has a good view of the vihara Maha Devi park provided you sit out side in the terrace upstairs. 

I would say the ambience is ok, the food is ok and the service too is ok. Nothing spectacular but the pricing is quite reasonable for a big restaurant in a prime location. Will I go again? Well that really depends, since there was nothing that really caught my fancy!

Day 41- Part 1: Dinner for Two -Mike Gayle

This is a book that I started reading way before even I got a start on "Inferno" but never got through to the end. Finishing up with Inferno, triggered me to complete a couple other books that I have read half way and stopped! 

Dinner for two by Mike Gayle is a book written in comic style but with a serious incident as the central theme. I can't say I liked the book much but it was fairly readable. It was mainly about love, mistakes and consequences faced by ordinary people. The issues related to jobs, relationships, friendships are at the heart of the story but there is no strong plot and no strong character development. I can't say I liked any of the characters in the story quite plainly because I never got to know them through the story. 

In brief I figured that books by Mike Gayle are not quite my cup of tea but certainly for those who are looking for some 'light' reading he has something to offer. 

Day 40 Updated the Outlook of the Blog

I decided to play around with the customization features available on blogger, to offer a new and improved look for my blog today. Admittedly, I spent a tad too long on this as I was not all that familiar on how to change the default settings. Happy with the final look for the moment! 

My second 'first' for the day is that I resolved to have 2 weeks of positivity starting from today till end of January. During these 2 weeks I will focus on happy thoughts and positive energy and work on stabilizing my emotions which are notorious for taking inexplicable nosedives! If I actually keep at it for two weeks, I am reasonably sure that i should be able to turn it into a new habit. The habit of averting the negative thoughts and the habit of seeing everyday as an opportunity to be happy, positive and dare I say "bubbly"!. 

 

Day 39 Finished Reading Inferno by Dan Brown

10 January 2014

Today I finally finished reading Inferno by Dan Brown. This was long overdue! I started reading the book a few months ago and was compelled to stop reading due to some academic obligations at the time. So I am glad I got back and finished  the reading today. It was a totally exhilarating story with so many twists and one of the best books I read in recent times. 

I find the following sayings  from the story quite intriguing in the way of offering an interesting perspective: 

" The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis"

" In dangerous times, there is no sin greater than inaction". 

Day 38 A Sample Work Portfoloio

09 January 2014

Today I thought I will start gathering the information that I require to create a portfolio of the work I have carried out during my tenure at Exetel. While this will not be a fully comprehensive portfolio, i would try to include important aspects. Basically this would include emails I have sent out with proposed solutions, different types of formal data proposal documents, basic product information and training materials. The aim of this is to keep track of the nature of the work that was carried out by me. As my memory is short-lived,I am bound to forget most of what my job entailed in another couple of months down the line. This file would help me to refresh myself before facing an interview so that I will not have to mumble some lies in the event any questions are asked about previous job responsibilities. 

I do feel slightly concerned as I am not entirely sure as to how to identify which information is ok to take copies of and which information isn't. Hopefully I am not breaking any work ethics! As usual I am thinking too much!!! 

Day 37 A Big Change is Pending

Day 36 Why should we blog?

Today I read a couple of articles on reasons to blog and felt quite motivated as those writers have pinpointed some great benefits that can stem from this seemingly simple activity. For some, I am sure blogging is a fairly dull and monotonous activity but it is worthwhile to note how anybody can become a better person simply by recording their daily musings, actions and goals. Having a blog where you record daily about your life, encourages you to live more intentionally and you would feel yourself making a conscious effort to improve daily. It brings to your attention little things that can be done differently and how you could make every single day of your life, a huge learning experience.  Blogging will make you a better writer, and a better evaluator. You will become more confident at expressing your opinions and giving your recommendations to others. Most importantly it will give you a sense of accomplishment and will serve as a tool of encouragement to change yourself and your life for the better. It's a gradual and almost imperceptibly slow progress but progress it is for a better you!

Day 35

Day 34 Let's Get Organized!

I think these are the most precious words I can tell myself right now considering my current predicament,with a thesis deadline approaching with mind-numbing speed and yet I can't get over procrastinating.  Meanwhile, I managed to get my hands on a new piece of stationary - an organizer!. I think this is  perfect for me especially this year where I intend to be doing at least another 330 new things during the coming days and months. It will be interesting to see how I keep up with all of that and a blog and an organizer. Nevertheless, my new thing for today is to start using an organizer for the rest of the year which hopefully will help me to keep track of all my ever-changing goals. After all, when you write it down it carries more weight and hence better chance of success. 

Alert: I am having another woolgathering moment here! 

Day 33 A List Compiled

As I talk a lot about my movie experiences in this blog and as I also had a shot-term target to watch plenty of movies, I decided that it might be a good idea to compile a list of movies I watched since setting this 'interesting' objective. So this is what it looks like and I will be updating this continuously. Hoping to have an interminable list upon completion of my 'journey of firsts'. 

The Conjuring

Gravity

Oz: The great and powerful

The adventures of Tintin

Now You See Me

Side  Effects

Nothing but the truth

Changeling

A man on the ledge

Prisoners

The Call

Parker

The Italian Job

The Box

The Best Offer
Zero Dark Thirty
The Fifth Estate

Day 32 iPads, Kindles and Nooks

Since e-books are widely popular and the all-digital existence being the 'in' thing and even the notion of bookless libraries becoming a reality, I decided to check out some information on e-readers to gauge if they actually live up to all the hype!. For me iPad is an easy winner and I say so before comparing any of the available features. But through some reading I learnt that the advantage of an eReader compared to an iPad is that they have screens which replicate ink on paper so it is easier for the eye when reading lengthy materials online. It seems like that kindle is better that the Nook especially because Kindle is an Amazon product an Amazon has a much larger collection of books than Barnes and Noble who are the producers for Nook. 

Day 31 A New Step Towards Polishing Up My Culinary Skils

2 January 2014

I have been taking a special interest in improving my baking and basic cooking technique since early last year and did a few things which helped me to achieve this. However I thought this year I am going to take a much keener approach and decided to follow a baking program at one of the renowned institutes- Prima Baking School. So I called them up today and enquired about two of their programs. However the next intake is only going to be in March which is a bit disappointing but I will keep the spark of interest alive till then. The Prima institute seems to have well structured baking courses primarily intended for people in the hotel industry but I would really love to learn from the professional and hope it would make a difference too. So this one important thing on my to-do list this year.

Day 30 New Year Resolutions