Accidental Ambivalence

Bright Young People and Plans of Action

First, this photograph makes me smile at its absurdity. Go ahead and judge me, I'm feeling sassy today.

Today is one of those days when it feels appropriate to tell you what I spent my day doing rather than making myself write something of substance. I'm not a big fan of reading blogs like that, so why would I write one? Because, my friends, I am an egocentric little girl. You will read about my day and you will find some sort of amusement in it, damn it!

It's probably a good thing that I'm cute.

Following a conversation earlier this week with a co-worker*, I woke up and decided that the best way to start my Sunday afternoon (because I slept till 11:30) was to sit in Panera with a bagel and my new book until the fact that my feet don't touch the floor in their chairs started making me uncomfortable. A blueberry bagel, a cup of coffee, and half a dozen fabulous party recaps later, I headed home, my brain buzzing with ideas for characters and scenarios. This book, Bright Young People is discussing the lives of those in that group from 1920s England. While the book is striving to prove this notion untrue, the general belief is that it was a group of men and women in their mid- to late-twenties who did nothing but throw lavish parties and enjoy lives of leisure. I adore the idea of writing about such a group of people, a cross between the Bright Young People and the kids on Gossip Girl with the tiniest hint of Sebastian from Cruel Intentions. Modernized. I adore this idea already.

I also signed up for a Netflix free trial this afternoon since I have a certain address for the moment. I can already see how this is going to go, after spending hours rating and browsing through movies and television shows, rediscovering things I haven't thought about in years that I will inevitably add to my queue and forget about completely until one day they appear in my mailbox. I'm wonderfully okay with that.

Finally, I decided that it is time for a change in my life. Experts have decided that it takes four weeks to cultivate a change in your life: to form new habits, particularly. Gala began a Transformation Challenge over at iCiNG a couple of weeks ago, while I was still sans-internet, or else I would have started with her, I'm sure. As it stands, I am going to start tomorrow, and my big goal is to cultivate in myself a better attitude. I will strive to complain less, attempt to see the bright side of negative situations, be grateful every day for the things that I do have, and to manifest my attitude outwardly by behaving in a charming manner. It feels big, but in the lovliest way possible. My action plan is as follows:

• to begin each day by reading any one of the dozens of positive and uplifting things that I look at on a regular basis. The Awe-Manac or Notes from the Universe on my nightstand, Daily Om, Notes from the Universe in my e-mail, or somewhere else. It doesn't matter as long as what I'm reading is positive.
  
• to take ten seconds to stand still, breathe, and think carefully if at any time I become wildly impatient, frustrated, offended, dejected, or simply begin to feel nasty.
• to remind myself at every single opportunity that I cannot change the people around me, but I can change the way I react to those people.
• to write, on paper, each day, the things that I am grateful for, ideally first thing in the morning or right before bed.

I like action plans, and I'm going to keep posting about how I'm doing here because, well, it's my blog and I can do as I please.

Really, it's very lucky that I'm cute.

*I may recount that for you later this week, if anyone chooses to question it.

Labels: everyday musings, personal growth, rambling

posted by nicalyse @ 6:49 PM