Okay originally I had planned to do an update on my New Years Resolutions at New Years however then I arrived home to the nearly flood (as it shall henceforth be known) so plumbing took top priority (and has done ever since actually, although it now looks like our tank will be replaced in the not too distant future, thanks to our lovely neightbours, I’m still craving a bath like crazy though..). Anyway back to the resolutions. Last years were as follows
*to finish decorating the hall (didn’t do it, this gets carried over to this year). Unfinished.
*To keep chickens at home (chicken run procured, now we are just waiting for the chicks). Half done.
*To date at least one nice guy. (It happened, he was lovely but unfortunately it didn’t work out).
*To give more time to music (now teaching and working towards my diploma, I would say that def counts).
* to get something published outside of work (this happened pretty early on last year thanks to my lovely friend Elizabeth who is a commissioning editor).
But this year apart from finishing off the outstanding chicken and hall business (the latter could def take a while) and finishing the novel (an unfinished task from nanowriting in November) I have only set myself one objective. To do something ‘scary’ every week. This can be a ‘properly scary thing’, like standing up reciting poetry to a room full of people, or just something that you’ve wanted to do for a while but have never had the guts to. My last two weeks have been at the two opposite ends of the scary scale, last week I wasn’t feeling too great so went into Oxford on Saturday for a mooch round the shops. I saw these beautiful earrings in a shop I’ve just discovered on the high, they were the kind that I’ve always really liked but have never worn for fear of being branded ‘kooky’ (I really, really hate that tag, something about it just bugs me on a very deep level). But then I thought why should I let what random people think stop me from wearing these earrings? Yes precisely, so I bought them and wore them for the first time yesterday and no one called me kooky. Result! Last weeks challange was different again, I had booked to attend an intensive violin course held in the town at Witney (more details here http://www.whitecottagewebsites.co.uk/homweekends/ ) originally I was due to go with my friend Kevin, but at the last minuite he had to work leaving me to go on my own (a scary scary prospect). The main reason I wanted to attend the workshops in the first place was that despite teaching I still hate playing in front of a crowd of people. Keeping the motto ‘feel the fear, and do it anyway’ firmly in my head I went and had a really great time. I learnt a lot of new tunes and ways of approaching music, learnt that it isn’t as scary as I thought it would be playing in front of other people and musicians and made a nice lot of new friends as well as winning the best decorated cup competition for my entry. Plus I’m also signing up for an intensive course with the Scottish fiddle tutor up in the outer hebredies in May which I would never of heard of had I not been in that class. I urge you readers of this blog, do just one thing that scares you this week, you may be amazed at what you achieve and just how much fun it is.
