My new calling

This weekend I became a farmer: a worm farmer. We bought a worm composting kit and set it up. I'm hoping it'll mean throwing out less fruit and veggie waste. Maybe we'll also generate some new, healthy soil for the garden. So far it's been two days and the worms are still alive. Luckily they're fairly low maintenance so I don't have to be out there tending to them on a very stormy, rainy day like today. Instead I'm inside drinking my tea.

Are you suffering for your art? Maybe you're doing it wrong.

I read an article yesterday about the benefits of writing. Apparently studies have shown that people who write, even in small snippets, heal faster. People also experience emotional well-being through writing. It doesn't matter the quantity, quality or genre. So that got me thinking: 1) Maybe that's why I'm so happy at the moment despite that my big goals (book published, migraine free etc.) are still pending. I write about 1000 words a day in addition to maintaining three blogs, a website and a twitter account. Perhaps it's paying off in well-being. And 2) if writing's supposed to be so good for you, maybe those serious authors, who struggle with their writing and feel miserable about it, just aren't doing it right. The benefits of writing, because it's a medium of self-expression and creativity, should apply to all of the arts. So I say: enjoy creating whichever art form suits you. If it's not enjoyable because you're forcing it or the bills are your taskmaster, then fix the problem and get back to creating for enjoyment's sake.

Happiness

I realised the other day that I'm very happy with my life at the moment. The only blip is when I have a migraine, but those are pretty much under control right now. I don't know the trigger of all this happiness. It could be because it's spring and the weather is getting nicer. It could be because I'm not stressed about my job or how writing is going. Part of it has to be that every time Friday comes along, I'm excited for the weekend – not because I'm so exhausted that I can't work for another day without a break and need to spend at least half the weekend recovering, as in my previous job. The weekends are not all that different from weeks days: I write, do a little house work, get some groceries, meet up with friends, maybe watch a movie in the evening. The only weekday difference is that at some point I have to go to work, which I don't mind, it's just that it's a time-spcific component whereas everything else I do when I please. Maybe I feel good because I've been doing yoga in the evening for the last few nights and have been sleeping better. Perhaps the salads I'm making and sharing Trying to describe happiness is really hard. I don't think this really captures my feeling or what's triggering it.

One strange day

If I look at each thing I did today, I could make three perfectly interesting days. This morning started with the plank pose as another winter chubbiness fighting strategy. I had intended ages ago to start every morning with the plank pose, but that didn't happen. On the way to work it was hot and sunny, then when I went for a walk mid-afternoon it was grey, stormy-looking and humid. When I left work it was raining and cooler. I met two friends for dinner and we went to an Italian place where you order pasta and salad and drinks each at their own bar and pay with a card that puts it all on your tab, which you settle at the end. We had to wait at the bar for our food to be cooked to order in front of us. We agreed that it was a unique and potentially useful set-up in the right circumstances, but what we really wanted was to be served dinner properly.

Cropped image from Tony Alter

On my way home after dinner I saw a busker dressed up a Mario, playing the Mario Brothers theme song on an electric guitar. Since I ate so much gnocchi for dinner, then raspberry chocolate mousse and hot chocolate for dessert, I made myself do yoga before getting into bed. I feel quite proud of the amount of self-imposed exercise I've done today. We'll see if I can keep up the plank in the morning, yoga at night habit. For now, I know I'll sleep well tonight and probably have strange dreams of giant cartoon characters roaming the city streets.

Spring things

We've had several beautiful spring days. These days are motivating me to get outside, stay in bed for less time in the mornings and eat lots of fresh veggies. Today, I'm sore and tired from a restless sleep last night caused by back and hip pain. Even so, I'm still thinking about riding to work because it's another warm, sunny morning. Yesterday I went for a walk on my lunch break and it was hard to go back to the office afterwards. On Sunday I started a new blog called These Girls' Greens. It's a place to track the salads that my co-worker and I are making (for more background information see the Salad Sisters post from last week). I love spring because it's a harbinger of finer weather to come. Also, the changed mood and energy levels it brings means lots of new things are started, which is exciting.

Rewarding rewording

In writing class this morning, we workshopped a chapter from each person's novel. That took an hour and a half. Once at work, I had an appointment with a student to check half of his final thesis that needed to be rewritten due to quotation and citation errors. That took almost three hours, with a short break in the middle. Finally, an unscheduled student came in and asked me to look at her thesis before she handed it in. That brief structural edit took half an hour. By the time I got home, my brain was off, and my eyes felt sore and probably crossed. It was all I could do to feed myself and stumble into bed (after typing this, of course). I'll sleep well tonight after such an exhausting, yet rewarding, day.

That time of year again

Last night I went to the first of three recitals for our Music students. At this time, near the end of each term, they each play a set at a local bar. The librarian and I always try to go, at least for a little while, to support the students. Yesterday in the library there had been a palpable stress in the air. Students were snapping at each other; some cried; others sat at their computers, heads down, for hours and hours. Final exam/project/thesis time always feels like this, but it's also always accompanied by the release of going to a gig and having a drink with colleagues while cheering on the students' efforts. One of last night's set lists exemplified the uniqueness of these recitals. It started with a Rage Against the Machine cover, then James Brown's Please, Please, Please, next was Stone Temple Pilots, finally a full-on death metal song. After all that throat-cringing screaming into the microphone, the librarian and I decided it was time to go.

The silver lining

Today I found out the silver lining of having gained weight. We went to donate blood and I was able to give 30mL more than previously because the volume is calculated on body weight. This doesn't mean that I want to stay at this weight. Toward that end, I've just finished making the first salad for myself and my co-worker for lunch tomorrow. I made it much more interesting than I possibly would have it if it was just for me. And it's definitely healthier than what I would have grabbed from the cupboard as I left the house for work.




Salad ingredients (in case you want to make your own):

• spinach
• carrot
• cucumber
• capsicum (green)
• spring onions
• basil leaves
• smoked salmon

Salad sisters

I've come up with a way to eat more healthily and hopefully lose a little weight. My co-worker and I are going to eat salads for lunch during the week. To help keep each other honest, we're going to take turns making the day's portion of salad for both of us. That way I won't get bored with the same old salads that I always make and two days a week I won't even have to make lunch. I'm optimistic that this will make salads a more interesting and varied lunch option and help us stick to our plan better. (To see why I need to take these measures, read The Migraine Game blog.)

Noises in the night

Last night there was a massive wind storm. As I lay in bed, not sleeping, I listened to the many strange sounds. The wind blew like rumbling thunder; the front gate swung, sounding like a cello; and the intermittent rain was like gnomes stampeding across the roof. Eventually I fell back to sleep, but my dreams were still dramatic and disjointed. So the noise of the storm was the cause of and entertainment during a sleepless night.

The glory of Spring

We went for a drive, walk and lunch in the country today. It was beautifully sunny and clear; the air was fragrant with blossoms; and many birds and bugs were busy in the trees. On our way, we came across a little park with some old gold mining relics and a large labyrinth. I love labyrinths so I wound my way around it as my husband wandered around. We then had a nice amble beside a creek, and after lunch walked in a small town's pretty botanic gardens. Now it's a quiet night feeling pleasantly tired from the fresh air.

Being the teacher I want to be (+1/100)

There is a lot of drama at work at the moment. It's partly because it's the end of term and students are feeling stressed. It seems like more and more students are dropping out or coming to the department heads and me, in student support. We have students with serious mental illnesses, drug addiction and financial issues, as well as ongoing personal or family crises. I'm pretty good at not thinking about work once I get home (this has taken me a long time to learn). What's bothering me now is it's so hard to maintain my levels of care, optimism and empathy in the face of the onslaught of needy students. Each one deserves a sympathetic and accepting ear when they come to student services, but I'm feeling cynical and drained.

Tonight on the ride home I went the long way, going through the park and stopping to look at the sun setting on the water. This helped calm me down, remember that the students' drama is not world-changing and see the beauty in my city.

How do you, if you work in a 'caring' profession, find the balance?

Gaining perspective from the cat (100/100)

Today I'm grateful for my cat who makes me laugh. Several people were rude in the elevatory this morning and also after class on my way to work. I managed to get over it by thinking about my cat sitting in the bath after my shower and playing with the leftover puddles. It worked, otherwise this post would have been called 'Rudeness begets rudeness'. Later when students riddled me with excuses about late assignments, I thought about the cat climbing onto me this morning and pausing the meditation timer I had on my phone. Thankfully I can count on her to be friendly, affectionate and excuse-less when I get home at night.

It's not really day 100/100 because, by my count, I've missed about four days along the way so I will keep posting daily for a few more days. After that I'm going to try to blog more regularly than I was before the 100 days because I've proven to myself that I can keep up this level of posting.

The new folder (99/100)

I have a very organised email system. Everything has a folder, including writing submission rejections. Now that I've had a pitch accepted, I'm going to need a new folder: 'acceptance', 'commissions' or maybe just 'yippee!'

The joy of cooking (98/100)

Last night when I was at book club we got to talking about food and cooking. One girl said she didn't like cooking very much. She felt bored with all the chopping and just couldn't be bothered. I wondered if I should chime in with some of the others who said they also weren't keen on cooking. Thinking about it, I realised I do like cooking. I particularly like it when I'm not rushed and know that what I'm preparing is going to taste good. For instance, this afternoon I prepared the ingredients for tonight's dinner of a warm salad with spicy sausage.

I enjoyed the quiet in the kitchen. I noticed the texture of each vegetable that I chopped. I smelled the corn cobs as they softened in the boiling water. Now I'm looking forward to dinner in a few hours and wishing that I could make every chore as mindful and rewarding as making dinner.

97/100 – Twitter post from a Writer's Festival workshop.