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| my desk at the pgr office this morning - photo taken from my mobile phone |
Showing posts with label productive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label productive. Show all posts
Monday, 18 June 2012
for a productive week
18 june 2012
the weekend was great and productive. i feel happy and ready for the week, which i hope will be just as productive. weather has been very english, i.e. wet and cold with some sunny smiles once in a while. it's ok. last night we had a massive buffet dinner at zen, a japanese restaurant. the, we went to mayflower park to see the waterlitz show. entertaining, but it was getting seriously cold, because the very predictable rain again paid us a visit.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
my fruitful friday
about yesterday, 25 mar 2011
last night, talking with mike i realised i had an unexpectedly productive day. i was if truth be told not expecting that much because i have been slow lately. here is the report:
1. 7 – 8 am: started off the day having breakfast with mike, a good start . . .
2. 1.45pm: sent out an abstract to the Bloomsbury conference. I was freaking out and did fear not meeting the deadline, which was today. hurray!!! can’t really tell how pleased I was to manage something that may be just a simple task, something I have made so many times, but that has been a struggle for the past few months.
3. 2.30: met up for coffee at trago lounge with diana and sue. topics of the day: (a) how we relate to our families back home, how much we miss them, how much support we receive and give them, how much we tell or hide from them, . . . and (b) cosmetic surgery. it is a big thing in brazil, I know. it is not so big in romania, diana said, but it is a hot topic in south korea. so, sue was the one to do most of the talk. here are some facts about cosmetic surgery in korea: - yes, many loads of boys and girls do the eyes in search of a more westernised look; - they do it so often and ordinarily they don’t even call it ‘plastic surgery’, it is rather referred to as ‘make up’; - people place big time value on their looks, even professionally speaking; - girls may undergo ‘make up’ for a job interview; and finally that korean surgeons have a reputation of being highly skilled.
4. about 4.10: did some shopping at waitrose and was – surprise surprise – again excellent managing my time and doing all I wanted, I mean, buying all I needed to cook the dinner for later on.
5. about 5pm: got back home. waited for the U1C bus for more than 20 minutes. got back home and cooked dinner for me and mike. this time the cooking took me no more than two hours. such a success I hadn’t thought I would achieve because the first time I cooked it took me the whole day, not counting the trips to supermarkets and hours to decide on a menu. well, menu of the day: ‘summer in winter chicken’ (chicken on a pesto sauce with crème fraiche and basil; chicken with cream and parmesan and another cheese; - rice; dessert: blueberries and strawberries in a bowl with cream. English tea to drink. am very pleased mike enjoy the food very much. finished with eating mike helped me do the dishes. Four hands can be do so much more than just two. amazing!!!
6. about 9:10pm: we went to bellemoor tavern, in hill lane, shirley. It was to meet up with maudie, her friend aidan, jc, marie, and warren. I liked the pub: spacious and with a good menu for food, and good price; but we have drinks only. people here don’t drink and eat much. I had two glasses of wine, which helped me relax.
7. about 11.45: we took another taxi back home, to mike's place; and finished up the day in good hands / arms. . .
last night, talking with mike i realised i had an unexpectedly productive day. i was if truth be told not expecting that much because i have been slow lately. here is the report:
1. 7 – 8 am: started off the day having breakfast with mike, a good start . . .
2. 1.45pm: sent out an abstract to the Bloomsbury conference. I was freaking out and did fear not meeting the deadline, which was today. hurray!!! can’t really tell how pleased I was to manage something that may be just a simple task, something I have made so many times, but that has been a struggle for the past few months.
3. 2.30: met up for coffee at trago lounge with diana and sue. topics of the day: (a) how we relate to our families back home, how much we miss them, how much support we receive and give them, how much we tell or hide from them, . . . and (b) cosmetic surgery. it is a big thing in brazil, I know. it is not so big in romania, diana said, but it is a hot topic in south korea. so, sue was the one to do most of the talk. here are some facts about cosmetic surgery in korea: - yes, many loads of boys and girls do the eyes in search of a more westernised look; - they do it so often and ordinarily they don’t even call it ‘plastic surgery’, it is rather referred to as ‘make up’; - people place big time value on their looks, even professionally speaking; - girls may undergo ‘make up’ for a job interview; and finally that korean surgeons have a reputation of being highly skilled.
4. about 4.10: did some shopping at waitrose and was – surprise surprise – again excellent managing my time and doing all I wanted, I mean, buying all I needed to cook the dinner for later on.
5. about 5pm: got back home. waited for the U1C bus for more than 20 minutes. got back home and cooked dinner for me and mike. this time the cooking took me no more than two hours. such a success I hadn’t thought I would achieve because the first time I cooked it took me the whole day, not counting the trips to supermarkets and hours to decide on a menu. well, menu of the day: ‘summer in winter chicken’ (chicken on a pesto sauce with crème fraiche and basil; chicken with cream and parmesan and another cheese; - rice; dessert: blueberries and strawberries in a bowl with cream. English tea to drink. am very pleased mike enjoy the food very much. finished with eating mike helped me do the dishes. Four hands can be do so much more than just two. amazing!!!
6. about 9:10pm: we went to bellemoor tavern, in hill lane, shirley. It was to meet up with maudie, her friend aidan, jc, marie, and warren. I liked the pub: spacious and with a good menu for food, and good price; but we have drinks only. people here don’t drink and eat much. I had two glasses of wine, which helped me relax.
7. about 11.45: we took another taxi back home, to mike's place; and finished up the day in good hands / arms. . .
Monday, 21 June 2010
sticks and stones
21 june 2010
yes, this was a quite difficult day. i got to the office around 10 o'clock in the morning with a not so immense but still daunting list of things to do, everything under tight deadline and of high importance. this alone sort of makes me feel a little numb at times. i started off the day at the office, as always, with a nice of super hot cup of tea, from the mountains in taiwan these days. then, i had a large cup of water. it does prepare my mind and body for the journey.
i had to check out the final version of the ethics documents to be sent out to the office but decided to work on my course plan instead. i have been working on it for many days now, and also on the other pieces: questionnaires, interview with the secretary of education, and on other minor details. i was so slow and feeling overwhelmed by the papers and books and course plan on my table, plus having to make choices about the content of the course. i am supposed to write down everything making sense, but where was my mind? for a moment i felt i could collapse. i felt dizzy and really, really ill. i had this clear feeling my neck was going to, i don't know how to put it, but that it was going to break / fall to one side and i felt i could barely move. i nearly left the office and came home because of that. i actually planned to leave for a moment. then, i took a deep breath and thought: 'hang on, kalina. you'll be ok, and you need to stay and get your things done today as much as possible'. now i remember i had this neck problem once when i was in tennessee. one fine day i woke up with a very hard neck to one side. i couldn't move it, i felt a horrible, and i couldn't go to work that day. i remember i called the writing center and spoke with rob. i went to the doctor at the uni clinic. i also remember the problem was gone almost in the same way as it had come: out of nowhere. we do the tricks in ourselves. we should as well work on doing the right ones.
thank God i did stay. i took a pill to make me relax and went for a 5-minute walk right there around north and south corridors. i didn't even went down the stairs. the short trip and the deep breath away from the desk made me feel quite renovated and i felt a new perspective was there for me. i may sound very insane for someone who is not in the same situation or cannot understand what i talk about here. i think it is insane to an extent, but basically all my friends are going through all the same estressful kind of feeling these days. we all talk about fear and nerves.
i went on working, slow paced as always, but doing it, and that's what matters. doing is what makes me feel good. the photos with the collage of the little strips of papers are my assembling bits to put my course together. it is weird because i have the course in my mind and it is not a totally new experience, but when it comes to writing a coherent and cohesive piece, with the pressure of the PhD, everything gains a new weight and high level of difficulty. well, i cut the bibliography reference by reference into strips of paper and literally pasted one by one in the draft to the syllabus to visualize some order and balance in the content of the course. i like my method of work. it is very personal, it is like art craft, because i like and need to touch words, to draft, and to go through phases before i consider the job finished. it needs to maturate.
after a while it all made so much sense, and the pain was turned into work only, no more difficulty. i was happy at the end of the day with my work, which has been sent to ros, my supervisor. i also sent other document i drafted yesterday at hartley. we should talk about them all tomorrow morning. the meetings are always enlightening to me. i am stuck in the questionnaire part now. ah, have also sent the ethics documents to the office. help me God.
the day was nothing easy, but manageable. it was good in the end. if we don't quit, the moment becomes one of possibility. i am certain the neck pain and all of the nerves and general 'symptoms' talk about success as well. it a giant tide of emotions, of accomplishment, of moving towards goals, of becoming a grown up. and i think there are little undesirable feelings that come on the way to disturb me. i should always be able to try and understand what is in fact going on, because it is not difficulty in the sense of tough only. it is also difficulty in this beautiful, magic sense of getting life on my own hands. it is empowering, wonderful, and frightening. amem!
i had to check out the final version of the ethics documents to be sent out to the office but decided to work on my course plan instead. i have been working on it for many days now, and also on the other pieces: questionnaires, interview with the secretary of education, and on other minor details. i was so slow and feeling overwhelmed by the papers and books and course plan on my table, plus having to make choices about the content of the course. i am supposed to write down everything making sense, but where was my mind? for a moment i felt i could collapse. i felt dizzy and really, really ill. i had this clear feeling my neck was going to, i don't know how to put it, but that it was going to break / fall to one side and i felt i could barely move. i nearly left the office and came home because of that. i actually planned to leave for a moment. then, i took a deep breath and thought: 'hang on, kalina. you'll be ok, and you need to stay and get your things done today as much as possible'. now i remember i had this neck problem once when i was in tennessee. one fine day i woke up with a very hard neck to one side. i couldn't move it, i felt a horrible, and i couldn't go to work that day. i remember i called the writing center and spoke with rob. i went to the doctor at the uni clinic. i also remember the problem was gone almost in the same way as it had come: out of nowhere. we do the tricks in ourselves. we should as well work on doing the right ones.
thank God i did stay. i took a pill to make me relax and went for a 5-minute walk right there around north and south corridors. i didn't even went down the stairs. the short trip and the deep breath away from the desk made me feel quite renovated and i felt a new perspective was there for me. i may sound very insane for someone who is not in the same situation or cannot understand what i talk about here. i think it is insane to an extent, but basically all my friends are going through all the same estressful kind of feeling these days. we all talk about fear and nerves.
i went on working, slow paced as always, but doing it, and that's what matters. doing is what makes me feel good. the photos with the collage of the little strips of papers are my assembling bits to put my course together. it is weird because i have the course in my mind and it is not a totally new experience, but when it comes to writing a coherent and cohesive piece, with the pressure of the PhD, everything gains a new weight and high level of difficulty. well, i cut the bibliography reference by reference into strips of paper and literally pasted one by one in the draft to the syllabus to visualize some order and balance in the content of the course. i like my method of work. it is very personal, it is like art craft, because i like and need to touch words, to draft, and to go through phases before i consider the job finished. it needs to maturate.
after a while it all made so much sense, and the pain was turned into work only, no more difficulty. i was happy at the end of the day with my work, which has been sent to ros, my supervisor. i also sent other document i drafted yesterday at hartley. we should talk about them all tomorrow morning. the meetings are always enlightening to me. i am stuck in the questionnaire part now. ah, have also sent the ethics documents to the office. help me God.
the day was nothing easy, but manageable. it was good in the end. if we don't quit, the moment becomes one of possibility. i am certain the neck pain and all of the nerves and general 'symptoms' talk about success as well. it a giant tide of emotions, of accomplishment, of moving towards goals, of becoming a grown up. and i think there are little undesirable feelings that come on the way to disturb me. i should always be able to try and understand what is in fact going on, because it is not difficulty in the sense of tough only. it is also difficulty in this beautiful, magic sense of getting life on my own hands. it is empowering, wonderful, and frightening. amem!
Sunday, 30 May 2010
oh happy sunday
30 may 2010
inside the park there is usually only people and not cars. today we found cars, tents and the ice cream car. these are all signs of a fair to take place during the day. people take advantage of every minute of good weather. brilliant!
maybe because i walked in this beautiful day, maybe because i am really loaded and behind on my work, maybe because i am not an irresponsible person afterall, maybe because i had so many inspiring companies at the library, i.e, people doing the same as me, but the fact is that today i was productive, not as much as i had hoped for, but i felt i moved forward.
maybe because i walked in this beautiful day, maybe because i am really loaded and behind on my work, maybe because i am not an irresponsible person afterall, maybe because i had so many inspiring companies at the library, i.e, people doing the same as me, but the fact is that today i was productive, not as much as i had hoped for, but i felt i moved forward.
i stayed at hartley until about 4pm. after that went to the stilo with diana and had dinner there. after that we walked to portswood road to buy food at the polish shop, to this blonde, blue eyed woman who speaks no english, and at the international shop, too. time to bed!
Thursday, 5 November 2009
prescription for happiness
05 Nov 2009
whenever you feel quite tired and fear you can no longer concentrate and be productive, i mean, those days . . . when you're drained and all you see before your eyes (mind) is a bed, silence, and a fair rest. well, give your hairdresser a call and you may be lucky enough to find a free slot for an appointment. go ahead and get it. go to that hairdresser where people don't care much about others around, where they go to get rid of any sign of ugliness or ageing, where you can just sit, be treated, check out the gossip magazines . . . and after a little while you do look and feel so much better. and, guess what, you'll have had a quite productive day afterall.
that was me today. ah, on your way to the hairdresser do whatever else pleases you, such as taking pictures of . . . whatever.
cheers,
Kalina
highfield campus today 5 nov 2009
whenever you feel quite tired and fear you can no longer concentrate and be productive, i mean, those days . . . when you're drained and all you see before your eyes (mind) is a bed, silence, and a fair rest. well, give your hairdresser a call and you may be lucky enough to find a free slot for an appointment. go ahead and get it. go to that hairdresser where people don't care much about others around, where they go to get rid of any sign of ugliness or ageing, where you can just sit, be treated, check out the gossip magazines . . . and after a little while you do look and feel so much better. and, guess what, you'll have had a quite productive day afterall.
that was me today. ah, on your way to the hairdresser do whatever else pleases you, such as taking pictures of . . . whatever.
cheers,
Kalina
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