This week I completed the actual challenge I was supposed to do this week - challenge #51 - go to a movie by myself. I didn't go to a movie in a theatre, but i brought one home that i've been meaning to see for a very long time - "JesusCamp".
I loved the movie, I loathed the people in charge of the camp, and I ranted about it in my other (new) blog.
Just to clarify: my new blog is a regular blog that I'm going to be keeping kind of like a journal/notebook, as opposed to this blog, which chronicles my challenges.
So if you want to see my rant and my new blog, you can check out YYZ to TLV at yyztotlv.blogspot.com.
I've gotta add that I'm really tired and I totally didn't feel like blogging about this today. I'm also blogging sloppily and I feel like I'm writing really retarded things. But the point of what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying really hard to keep on going with The Fifty-Third Challenge, to keep blogging and to not give up on this list.
HAVE A GOOD NIGHT, ALL.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
P.S.
I'd also like to add that I love getting your comments and feedback and that it keeps me motivated to keep going! So please leave more of them (if you've got something to say!)
=)
=)
Hear ye, Hear ye!
I. am. sorry. Mostly to myself. For not updating this blog for over a week. So because of an overload of emotions last week I never ended up completing my challenge. So here's what I'm going to do: I'm adding a Challenge. This week I will do my challenge from last week (go to a trial) and my 53ed challenge: Write a list of the long-term goals I hope to achieve from this.
SO when this all started out not too long ago, I showed it proudly to my brothers who were v. supportive and thought this was a cool idea. One of them, however, put a bit of a damper on things: He told me that it was great that I was thinking of all these self-improvement things, but that doing things for just one week isn't the same as having year-long goals, that I needed to focus on things that would happen in the long run.
And now I realize that he wasn't criticizing my idea, not at all. I didn't take it hard when he said it, but now I'm taking it and I'm going to put his suggestion to use:
Why did I start doing this? Obviously for some sort of reason, with some sort of goal in mind. What are my long-term objectives? What do I hope to achieve?
So here it is: My 53ed (and probably most important challenge):
I am doing this because I want to better myself. I want to help out other people and I want to help out myself, and I honestly think I wouldn't have done most of these things if it hadn't been for the fact that I had challenged myself to do them.
I also think that this has given me an opportunity to actually do something about the things I believe in. Challenges like going to a protest and volunteering even though I've got all the hours I need for High School are things that I've always believed in, but now I have an extra reason to do them: to prove to myself that I can give myself a list of 52 goals and actually complete them.
Another big goal is to stick to this blog. I could've just written down a list of 52 challenges, stuck'em up on my wall, and crossed them off one by one. But the thing is that I've always wanted to keep a blog - and believe me, I've tried. I think I can count about 7 failed blogs in the past 4 years that I started writing but eventually ignored and forgot about. One of them was actually not that bad and I'm sad that I lost it. So this is going to be the blog that works: the one I don't let die off after a few short months. It's also about proving to myself that I can start something and stick to it, because sometimes I have a bit of a problem with that. I plan big, elaborate plans, but rarely do I act on them.
And this is to give me something cool to do and look forward to each week, to help me get through another tough year and my toughest year of school yet. Real World, here I come!
SO when this all started out not too long ago, I showed it proudly to my brothers who were v. supportive and thought this was a cool idea. One of them, however, put a bit of a damper on things: He told me that it was great that I was thinking of all these self-improvement things, but that doing things for just one week isn't the same as having year-long goals, that I needed to focus on things that would happen in the long run.
And now I realize that he wasn't criticizing my idea, not at all. I didn't take it hard when he said it, but now I'm taking it and I'm going to put his suggestion to use:
Why did I start doing this? Obviously for some sort of reason, with some sort of goal in mind. What are my long-term objectives? What do I hope to achieve?
So here it is: My 53ed (and probably most important challenge):
I am doing this because I want to better myself. I want to help out other people and I want to help out myself, and I honestly think I wouldn't have done most of these things if it hadn't been for the fact that I had challenged myself to do them.
I also think that this has given me an opportunity to actually do something about the things I believe in. Challenges like going to a protest and volunteering even though I've got all the hours I need for High School are things that I've always believed in, but now I have an extra reason to do them: to prove to myself that I can give myself a list of 52 goals and actually complete them.
Another big goal is to stick to this blog. I could've just written down a list of 52 challenges, stuck'em up on my wall, and crossed them off one by one. But the thing is that I've always wanted to keep a blog - and believe me, I've tried. I think I can count about 7 failed blogs in the past 4 years that I started writing but eventually ignored and forgot about. One of them was actually not that bad and I'm sad that I lost it. So this is going to be the blog that works: the one I don't let die off after a few short months. It's also about proving to myself that I can start something and stick to it, because sometimes I have a bit of a problem with that. I plan big, elaborate plans, but rarely do I act on them.
And this is to give me something cool to do and look forward to each week, to help me get through another tough year and my toughest year of school yet. Real World, here I come!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Week of Sunday, July 29 - Saturday, August 4
This week I will do challenge 27: Go to a trial. Here in Toronto, the courts are open to the public and I remember in grade 7 going on a trip with my class to see a trial. Most of them were fairly uninteresting, like failing to pay for a parking ticket, but there was one woman who had stolen a $1000 coat from Holt Renfrew. She got a ticket and a restraining order dictating that she was not allowed to come within a certain distance of any Holt Renfrew store. And I couldn't help wondering how they could enforce that! I mean, they don't have checkpoints stationed 100 meters away from Holt checking your ID to make sure you can get closer to the store...
Anyways, so I'll visit Old City Hall this week, it's not too far from my house, and it's open to the public. However I do think I may go to a criminal trial as it sounds more interesting, and because Old City Hall only holds criminal trials.
I'm looking forward to this one because it's interesting to look into the way a courtroom is run, and to see what kind of people come in, study their body language and reactions. I hope to do this soon!
Anyways, so I'll visit Old City Hall this week, it's not too far from my house, and it's open to the public. However I do think I may go to a criminal trial as it sounds more interesting, and because Old City Hall only holds criminal trials.
I'm looking forward to this one because it's interesting to look into the way a courtroom is run, and to see what kind of people come in, study their body language and reactions. I hope to do this soon!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Volunteering, and My Day
Okay, so I didn't start this blog for diary-esque purposes, but I just have to say I've been having a really good day today. I feel really down-to-earth, connected, into what's going on around me. I'm listening to the Imogen Heap song Just For Now, watching this video of her recording it using a sampler. And I'm off soon to see the Simpson's movie! I love the Simpson's almost as much as I love Family Guy, so I'm excited.
I did the volunteering challenge on Wednesday! I went with a friend down to Etobicoke at 8am (had to wake up at 6:30!) to a neighbourhood that had no place for kids to play and no money to build something themselves. So the Kaboom! oganization, along with Build A Bear Workshop, organized approximately 60 volunteers to come build a playground in one day. It was a fantastic experience, although I discovered that I'm absolutely useless with a hammer, that shoveling really kills your arm muscles (quick googling told me it was the extensor muscle), and that babysitting a bunch of little kids whose parents are trying to be good citizens gets very tiring after a few hours. It was a great experience, and it felt good to be volunteering because I want to, and not because I have to.
Must go, though. Don't want to be late for the movie.
I did the volunteering challenge on Wednesday! I went with a friend down to Etobicoke at 8am (had to wake up at 6:30!) to a neighbourhood that had no place for kids to play and no money to build something themselves. So the Kaboom! oganization, along with Build A Bear Workshop, organized approximately 60 volunteers to come build a playground in one day. It was a fantastic experience, although I discovered that I'm absolutely useless with a hammer, that shoveling really kills your arm muscles (quick googling told me it was the extensor muscle), and that babysitting a bunch of little kids whose parents are trying to be good citizens gets very tiring after a few hours. It was a great experience, and it felt good to be volunteering because I want to, and not because I have to.
Must go, though. Don't want to be late for the movie.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Week of Sunday, July 22 - Saturday, July 28th
This week I am doing challenge number 46: volunteering!
I signed up to help build a playground in an at-risk neighbourhood in Toronto. I think it's a great opportunity to give something back to the community. And it works nicely for me, because it's a one-day thing (from 8am to 3pm) and as I'm not going to be in Toronto after August, a long-term thing would've been impossible.
I'm really excited for this, even though the prospect of waking up at 7am doesn't delight me. But I think it'll be great!
I signed up to help build a playground in an at-risk neighbourhood in Toronto. I think it's a great opportunity to give something back to the community. And it works nicely for me, because it's a one-day thing (from 8am to 3pm) and as I'm not going to be in Toronto after August, a long-term thing would've been impossible.
I'm really excited for this, even though the prospect of waking up at 7am doesn't delight me. But I think it'll be great!
Meet the Parents
This week's challenge was making dinner for my family. I think it's safe to say the purpose was that I'd learn how to make food, be able to do something for my family, and have fun!
Well, that's not exactly what happened. But I did have fun!
I decided that Friday would be a good day to make dinner for my family. After all, before we all moved to different continents, we'd sit down for dinner every Friday night together, and it felt good to do it again.
I thought long and hard of things that I, with my extremely limited cooking ability, could make. I decided pasta with mushrooms in a rosé sauce with salad and potatoes could work nicely. What happened was that my brother forgot to pick up the mushrooms and potatoes on his way home, the cream for the sauce was spoiled, and we didn't have half the veggies we needed for salad.
I was at a bit of a loss.
So I called my dad into the kitchen, and we improvised and managed to make a decent pasta in tomato sauce and a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers, and... that was about it. We went crazy with the pasta, trying out different experiments for the sauce (we put yogurt in the tomato sauce...) and had a lot of fun and made a big mess.
I got a lot more out of this dinner than I bargained for. I got decent food and a good time, sure. But I think the best part about dinner on Friday was spending time with my dad. We had a great time together, trying to make our meal look decent. And because my dad and I don't see each other a lot during the year, it was nice being able to do that with him.
I'd call last week's challenge a success!
Well, that's not exactly what happened. But I did have fun!
I decided that Friday would be a good day to make dinner for my family. After all, before we all moved to different continents, we'd sit down for dinner every Friday night together, and it felt good to do it again.
I thought long and hard of things that I, with my extremely limited cooking ability, could make. I decided pasta with mushrooms in a rosé sauce with salad and potatoes could work nicely. What happened was that my brother forgot to pick up the mushrooms and potatoes on his way home, the cream for the sauce was spoiled, and we didn't have half the veggies we needed for salad.
I was at a bit of a loss.
So I called my dad into the kitchen, and we improvised and managed to make a decent pasta in tomato sauce and a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers, and... that was about it. We went crazy with the pasta, trying out different experiments for the sauce (we put yogurt in the tomato sauce...) and had a lot of fun and made a big mess.
I got a lot more out of this dinner than I bargained for. I got decent food and a good time, sure. But I think the best part about dinner on Friday was spending time with my dad. We had a great time together, trying to make our meal look decent. And because my dad and I don't see each other a lot during the year, it was nice being able to do that with him.
I'd call last week's challenge a success!
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