Reverb10 (11 and 12)

December 11 – 11 Things What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

(wow, this is difficult)

At school:
1) Bad data -- I need to be more meticulous.
2) My project not working -- read more, pay attention, talk to people in lab
3) Bad grades -- I'm doing ok right now, not perfect, but not horribly. I could work harder. Maybe study more intently, actually review material the day or day after I am exposed to it.
4) Lateness -- while i'm never REALLY late for lab, I always feel bad because I tend to get there later than I want (9:30 instead of 9:00 or 9:15). I really should start being more efficient in the mornings

Personal habits:
5) Wasteful spending -- pay more attention. Stop and ask myself: will I ever use this? or better yet: Do you really need this?
6) Procrastination -- I'm really not sure how to make this better. I can keep on trying to start things a week before instead of the day of though.
7) Over eating -- I need to be more like my roommate and stop eating when my tummy tells me it's satiated. Unfortunately, unlike her, I still want to eat when I'm full. -_-;
8) Over caffeination -- I'm a caffeine addict. I can't help it. Unless it's times of stress (tests, due dates, etc) I really shouldn't have more than one latte and a cup of tea a day (unless it's herbal tea, or if i don't drink coffee, I can have 3 cups of black tea, 5 of green?).

Misc:
9) Too many video games -- while i love them, I really don't need them as an addiction. -_-; I'll just pay more attention and maybe set a timer. I like the idea of setting timers.
10) Over brewing tea or burning baked goods -- I hate it when I make tea and it gets over brewed or forget I'm making cookies and get distracted for 20+ minutes. I really do need to remember to set timers.
11) Gaining weight -- My weight fluctuates. I try to lose weight -- I lose 5-10 lbs. Then I sorta stop worrying and gain it all back. It's really frustrating. I think working on 7 will help with this one. Merrrrrrr.

December 12 – Body Integration This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

I'm not sure. I don't usually think about my body and my mind as separate entities. Take typing for example (I think this must apply to others too): I talk to myself in my head and that little voice communicates with my fingers before I can even really process where all the letters are. If I tried to think through all the letters of all the words I'm trying to spell and their locations on the keyboard, then it'd take me forever to type anything. Contrary to what the question suggests, I think it's when I'm HYPER AWARE of my mind and body that I feel alive and present. When I'm not aware, I take life for granted and I don't really think about it.

Enough with critiquing the question. I love water and when I swim I move without thinking. I'm really glad I was never competitive as a swimmer and thus never stopped loving the water. I guess I did have moment when I hated SWIM PRACTICE but I knew very clearly that it was the constant repetition and yelling and competitiveness that I disliked and not the water. I'm grateful for not needing to be that in shape. I'm grateful for being able to just sit back in my mind and allow the water flow over me when I'm swimming. I like the way my shoulders move when I swim backstroke (even if I can't seem to swim in a straight line). I like the way the water parts when I swim breaststroke. Up and down. Over, under, diving into the calmness and splitting it apart. I like how I feel like I'm floating at the interface between water and air when I swim free. Lastly, butterfly. When I'm actually swimming it and not failing (ie after 25 yards b/c I'm really out of shape), I love the rhythm it provides. I think swimming one of the times I feel most alive.

I also like it when I'm walking and the wind starts to play with my hair. It feels very cartoon (specifically anime) like and dramatic. When I notice it, it makes me smile.I think it's one of the reasons I keep my hair so long.

<3
Hao