Well, I have entered a half marathon that is being held 3 days after my 40th birthday. Today I booked the transport to the event and accommodation.
Woo hoo - I'm so excited.
Now the hard part - training.
No indoor soccer tomorrow (I'm not in this week's starting line up), so I'll go for a 15 minute run at lunchtime.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Number 36. Volunteer
Volunteering became a little more challenging today. I had a four hour training session on being a Guide Leader.
The guiding promise:
The Guide Law:
Things were going well, I totally agree with the Guide Law. I want to be true to myself and do my best to help my country. But that's where I hit a snag - I can't be true to myself and pretend to believe in God.
Guides have a policy on God (of course they do).
One of the other women asked what happens if a Girl Guide refuses to accept that God exists. The trainer told her that the girls don't have to believe in God, they just have to acknowledge that God exists and be willing to search for their faith. (WTF? If you don't believe in God then you obviously are not going to acknowledge that this fictional character exists).
The woman persisted and asked what happens if the girl refuses to acknowledge that God exists. The trainer advised that Girl Guides is very accepting of diversity in spirituality. Muslims and people of other religions are welcome because they have their own understanding of God. But there is no place in Guides for girls that will not believe in the existence of God.
So I will continue to be Guide Leader Helper this year, and I will continue to attend and help out on all the camps, and I will continue to coordinate biscuit sales for them. But I won't be doing any more training.
If I can accept you into my life even though you think an imaginary friend tells you to be a good person, then you can accept me into your life because I am a good person without needing an imaginary friend to tell me I should be.
The guiding promise:
I promise with the help of my God,
to be true to myself,
to do my best to help my country
and to live by the Guide Law.
The Guide Law:
As a Guide I will try to:
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Be friendly and cheerful
- Be a good team member
- Be responsible for what I say and do
- Respect and help other people
- Use my time and abilities wisely
- Face challenges and learn from experiences,
- and care for the environment.
Things were going well, I totally agree with the Guide Law. I want to be true to myself and do my best to help my country. But that's where I hit a snag - I can't be true to myself and pretend to believe in God.
Guides have a policy on God (of course they do).
The essence of Duty to God is:To me that's like telling people that it's necessary to search for fairies at the end of the garden and to acknowledge that they exist. Why is it necessary?
The acknowledgement of the necessity for a search for a faith in God, in a Supreme Being and the acknowledgement of a force higher than man.
One of the other women asked what happens if a Girl Guide refuses to accept that God exists. The trainer told her that the girls don't have to believe in God, they just have to acknowledge that God exists and be willing to search for their faith. (WTF? If you don't believe in God then you obviously are not going to acknowledge that this fictional character exists).
The woman persisted and asked what happens if the girl refuses to acknowledge that God exists. The trainer advised that Girl Guides is very accepting of diversity in spirituality. Muslims and people of other religions are welcome because they have their own understanding of God. But there is no place in Guides for girls that will not believe in the existence of God.
So I will continue to be Guide Leader Helper this year, and I will continue to attend and help out on all the camps, and I will continue to coordinate biscuit sales for them. But I won't be doing any more training.
If I can accept you into my life even though you think an imaginary friend tells you to be a good person, then you can accept me into your life because I am a good person without needing an imaginary friend to tell me I should be.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Number 44. See a stand up comedian live
I did this in about July 2011. I actually went to a comedy night at a bar in town. There were about four comedians. It was fantastic. It started about 8.30pm and finished around 11pm.
It was the perfect night out for me. Loads of laughs, no drinking, and getting home to bed at a reasonable hour.
I'll definitely go to another one. Odd that it's been 7 months since then and I haven't been to one yet. I shall work on that.
It was the perfect night out for me. Loads of laughs, no drinking, and getting home to bed at a reasonable hour.
I'll definitely go to another one. Odd that it's been 7 months since then and I haven't been to one yet. I shall work on that.
Number 37. Attend a church service on Christmas Day
I did this in 2010.
An odd item to add to my bucket list I guess. Given that I don't believe in God. The purpose for it was to learn a bit about the occasion that we celebrate.
Christmas has no meaning for me. My Christmas routine is to have breakfast with my daughter, open our presents, and then take her to her grandmother's house. Then I'm alone for several days. Totally alone. I don't disturb friends because they are celebrating with their families. I don't see family because my family are all quite dispersed and on occasions like Christmas seeing them is more like gate crashing their spouses occasion.
So I attended an inter-denominational service on Christmas Day 2010.
It reminded me of reading Louise Hay. About being empowered to forgive people and let go of the past. Louise tells you that you have the strength to forgive. The church tells you that God gives you the strength to forgive.
I have other religious goals on my bucket list including reading the bible and celebrating Christian holidays for one year. Although I still think the concept of a God is illogical, I do think that religion has something to offer regarding guidance towards a more peaceful life.
An odd item to add to my bucket list I guess. Given that I don't believe in God. The purpose for it was to learn a bit about the occasion that we celebrate.
Christmas has no meaning for me. My Christmas routine is to have breakfast with my daughter, open our presents, and then take her to her grandmother's house. Then I'm alone for several days. Totally alone. I don't disturb friends because they are celebrating with their families. I don't see family because my family are all quite dispersed and on occasions like Christmas seeing them is more like gate crashing their spouses occasion.
So I attended an inter-denominational service on Christmas Day 2010.
It reminded me of reading Louise Hay. About being empowered to forgive people and let go of the past. Louise tells you that you have the strength to forgive. The church tells you that God gives you the strength to forgive.
I have other religious goals on my bucket list including reading the bible and celebrating Christian holidays for one year. Although I still think the concept of a God is illogical, I do think that religion has something to offer regarding guidance towards a more peaceful life.
Number 36. Volunteer
OK, this did start out more specific by stating which organisation I would volunteer for. But I think that you shouldn't be a slave to your bucket list, so I've adapted.
Originally I was going to volunteer for a group that keep the bush free of weeds and pests. I walk in the bush often so I thought it was a good thing to do to give back to what I use. However, the thing about most volunteer organisations is that the people involved can tend to be extremely passionate about their thing, to the point of being very uninteresting.
So instead I have signed up to be a Girl Guides Leader Helper. My daughter goes to Girl Guides, so I'm still giving back to an organisation that I make use of, but I'm also being involved in my daughter's life, meeting her friends and showing an interest in her interests.
So a win for my volunteering goal, and a win for a closer bond with my daughter.
Originally I was going to volunteer for a group that keep the bush free of weeds and pests. I walk in the bush often so I thought it was a good thing to do to give back to what I use. However, the thing about most volunteer organisations is that the people involved can tend to be extremely passionate about their thing, to the point of being very uninteresting.
So instead I have signed up to be a Girl Guides Leader Helper. My daughter goes to Girl Guides, so I'm still giving back to an organisation that I make use of, but I'm also being involved in my daughter's life, meeting her friends and showing an interest in her interests.
So a win for my volunteering goal, and a win for a closer bond with my daughter.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Number 13. Tidy up my garden
I took this photo in my garden this past weekend. Yes, it is tidied up. Of course tidying a garden is a job that never ends, but now it's in a state that I can keep up with it and dispose of the waste by composting or, for the bad weeds, putting them in the weekly rubbish.
Item 13, finally achieved.
Number 12. Get curtains throughout my house
I bought a house in July 2010 that had no curtains. It had blinds. But blinds don't provide any insulation, and look really sparse.
The issue was that curtains are so expensive!
But in autumn last year I decided that I really needed curtains and a ventilation system throughout the house before winter. So I borrowed money from the bank and did the lot in one go.
Not an exciting item to check off the list. Not an exciting story behind it. But definitely an improvement in quality of life. Much fewer colds and less asthma symptoms now that the house is warmer.
The issue was that curtains are so expensive!
But in autumn last year I decided that I really needed curtains and a ventilation system throughout the house before winter. So I borrowed money from the bank and did the lot in one go.
Not an exciting item to check off the list. Not an exciting story behind it. But definitely an improvement in quality of life. Much fewer colds and less asthma symptoms now that the house is warmer.
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