Posts Tagged ‘lifestyle’
Friday, September 30th, 2011
I'm sure the title of this post is something that caught you totally off-guard. Stressful? It's not like you're all alone with a tiny human!
Anyway...if you've been following my, erm, activites for the past couple of years, then you should know that I am currently unemployed and that 'free time' is pretty much equal to 'all time' for me. While it certainly has helped me, it's, in the long run, not a very gratifying life.
I won't get into details of my lifestyle since I moved into this flat with my sister, her partner and their daughter. Recently, though, they offered to have me babysit (baby! She's 3.) her, in exchange for getting free suppers with them (homemade, naturally). A very agreeable arrangement!
As I'm already at home with them, I don't need to do any commuting beyond crawling out of bed. Her father works from home (although he seems to work much less now that he has so little time to himself) and my sister works 5 days per week at a different place, plus she has a class on Wednesdays.
My schedule is really not busy, just enough to give them some relief. Taking care of a 3-year-old kid all on your own five days per week drives you crazy.
- Monday: from around 5 to the beginning of supper. My brother-in-law prepares the supper around that time, then leaves for his tai chi before my sister comes back from work.
- Tuesday: 10am to noon
- Wednesday: from around 4 or 5 until supper is ready. This is usually the day where they invite friends over or go visit them, so my help isn't needed during the day
- Thursday: same as Monday
- Friday: 10am to noon
- Weekends: off, though on any day I'm available at their request
My niece is in a wonderful mood in the mornings, which makes it a very pleasant time for me to be with her, all while allowing her father to do errands and whatnot without an attention-seeking child.
Naturally, while it is fun, it also brings a lot of stress. We were playing in the sandbox in the backyard the other day, and WOAAAAH! There were two centipedes. My niece actually loves them, but I had to struggle to stay calm. I can't run off and leave her alone because of a stupid bug.
Anyway, I know this has stressed me. Since then, every time I see a speck, some lint or whatever on the floor, I immediately think it's a bug, and even convince myself that it's moving. Neither are true.
Tags: babysitting, bugs, lifestyle, my life, niece, phobias, stress
Posted in Personal Life | Comments Off
Sunday, July 24th, 2011
Anyone who spent time with me in the past few years knows one thing for certain: I drink large amounts of Pepsi. Very, very large. This post's title might sound rather odd. In fact, I'd even say that I enjoy the taste. So, basically, that title sounds like a great lie, but it is indeed true.
My first reason to hate Pepsi is that it is absolutely unhealthy, a fact which most people are fully aware of. It's full of caffeine and things with strange names. How often do you cook with dimethylpolysiloxane? It is a silicone-based chemical, which is used, among other things, as a food additive. Yes, I had to look that up on Wikipedia.
Anyway, the problems Pepsi can bring are numerous and include tooth decay, digestion problems and erosion of bones. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Some argue that I'm fine because I drink Diet Pepsi, which is a bullshit argument. You see, regulard Pepsi is sweetened by, well, sugar. Sugar provides calories, which stupid dieteticians have branded as Absolute Evil. Sugar is indeed not the best place to get your calories, but considering the shit that's in carbonated drinks, it should be the least of your worries. In fact, in order to make the drink still sweet, artificial sweeteners are added. The ingredient of choice is aspartame. There are plenty of places on the web where you can read on the evils of aspartame, so I will not add to that. The fact is, while sugar might not be, as I said, the best ingredient of all, you will never, ever convince me that artificial sweeteners are better. I'd even be inclined to think the contrary. The sole reason I drink the Diet version is that the person who got me addicted to it (no hard feelings) drank it by personal taste-based preference.
My second reason is less human-oriented and more planet-oriented. Carbonated drinks in general, and not just Pepsi, use resources that c0uld be much better applied toward creating things that actual nourish us. Their transport is also quite polluting. And look at what they're sold in: part metal cans, part plastic bottles. Death to plastic! Like we need more products made from petrol that we can send to clog our watercourses. I do always return mine to the supermarket, in the machine made just for that, but as much as recycling is a good thing, it does not excuse highly polluting production.
In brief, I would very much like to be able to stop drinking the damn thing. It just doesn't fit in my vision of the world. It is very strange to go to the supermarket, purchasing local products and organic vegetables (why is their organic broccoli wrapped in plastic, when the non-organic variety only has a rubber band?), only to accompany them with Pepsi.
Tags: addiction, environment, health, lifestyle, pepsi, pollution
Posted in General, Personal Life | 4 Comments »
Sunday, April 11th, 2010
First of all, everyone seems to be asking me "what bookmarks" whenever I refer to the delicious bookmarks. So, tell me, when you scroll down to the footer, can you see my latest delicious links? That's really all I'm referring to.
Anyway, on with the show.
I moved back into Montreal in August of last year (that would be 2009). I have briefly mentioned it before, but I still haven't gotten around to writing a post-moving entry.
The house in question is a nice, clean one. It's pretty large, being able to accommodate nine residents (all bedrooms are currently taken).
While living here isn't like living in your own apartment, it also is not at all like an asylum. We are free to come and go and we don't follow a strict schedule. There are however rules to follow, which were implemented for the good functioning of the house (and sometimes for the good of its special residents). For example, there is a curfew at midnight, after which we are expected to remain in our bedrooms. We can pee and things like that, of course, but no eating, listening to TV, etc. This can be a bit of a pain for someone like me, who's sleeping pattern is very unstable. On the other hand, that might help me keep a day schedule. Note the use of might, as it's nearing 2:00am right now.
On weekends, the curfew is extended to a lovely 1:00am. If you intend to go out and return home later, you must warn the counselor(s), so as not to find yourself sought for by the police.
We are allowed to rent movies for free on Fridays and Saturdays. Because we have different illnesses with different triggers, we are however limited to General movies (that's the rating for Everyone). Not even 13+, unless the counselor who is there at the time is kind enough to allow us to. No violence, no eroticism, not even sci-fi and fantasy (again, to be decided by the counselor). This is quite a bummer, as I personally get quickly tired of watching Disney movies.
I have a PlayStation 2 and a GameCube, but we are only allowed to play on the TV in the living room between 9 and 11am, and provided nobody wants to watch something. Fortunately for me, a fellow resident lets me use the TV in his bedroom. TV shows being watched are typically on Teletoon (a cartoon network), with no regards to the "erm, that's a profoundly stupid show aimed at mindless kids" factor.
That said, it's not actually such a pain to live here. It's true that sometimes some of us get a bit annoyed.I hate being woken up early (OK, I admit it, it was past noon, but I had gotten to bed past 7am) to "help develop my autonomy" by going to the fruit shop, when I have already lived in an apartment and never had problems buying food. Well, I had monetary problems, but those were from not having a big income, not from buying tons of popcorn.
As for the other residents, I generally have no problems with them. Some are extremely quiet, others more outgoing, but no one is violent or anything, and the very annoying one is gone.
Oh, and the biggest, most enormous downside, in my opinion, is the fact that I can't bring the furry one. That's horrible! 
Tags: home, lifestyle, mental health, rules
Posted in Personal Life | 1 Comment »
