April and May Challenge: No News But No Quitting

So I never updated you after the first month of my challenge but that doesn't mean I'm quitting. In fact I'm trying to catch up to my June challenge which is to read one chapter daily. Of course I can read more but they say change is more effective when you do it little by little every day. In any case, I wasn't reading every day this month but I am now in the middle of a book I started reading just these past few days.

I haven't completely forgotten about my April and May challenges: to wake up at 6 am on weekdays and to listen mindfully to other people. I will have to restart those resolutions unfortunately. Don't you just hate it when you have to be accountable for something? I've already listed all these excuses in my mind: I was on vacation or I had to focus on life rather than blog about these silly resolutions I never make! That's probably why people hate being accountable, because it's effective. Now I have to write to whoever reads this (if there's anyone!) that I failed the past two months. But then again, what do you do when you fail? Try and try again.

I've also announced this challenge in a separate blog. Ugh, more accountability! I hope this is worth it.

March Challenge: Regular Yoga Practice

I discovered yoga when I was miserably employed in a hotel. Most of the time, I connected spoiled guests to our housekeeping department. Okay, not everyone was spoiled. I got all kinds of guests. I was happy to encounter respectful and happy customers. Usually at the end of the month, some suppliers gave me hell because our Accounting department wouldn't answer their calls. I occassionally got calls from a douchey previous employee who arrogantly berated me for transferring him to his desired department twice without talking to him first. Life was toxic and I knew I needed to release all that bad stuff. So I searched for yoga places online and at that time it was hard to find any. Luckily, Ananda Marga had a website and thus my yoga journey began. We practiced in an old house twice a week and always meditated at the end of the session. There were days when we had vegetarian dinners and wellness sessions. Their focus was meditation and yoga. This was not a studio of competitive yuppies trying to out do each other on the mat.  I was comfortable and people were welcoming. Sadly, I had to move out of the city and move back to my hometown. I searched for a teacher there and found one but my practice became inconsistent. There were only two of us taking her class and the other one was my sister!

The List That Will Change My Life (Or Yours)

A blog post from zenhabits.net inspired me to write this post. Leo Babauta has one of the best blogs out there so be sure to check that gold mine out. In the said entry, he suggests starting one habit every month. There's a program created to guide you in every step of the way for $10/month which may be great for a lot of people but I figured I will try the concept without spending so I'm sharing my list with you. If I am a woman of my words, we shall find out after 30 days! I promise to write at least two posts about every item on the list. It sounds like a tall order but it will be for my own good. You can share your own list too and let me know if we can be accountability buddies!

The Plant That Won't Die: A Metaphor for the Hopeless

So I brought this Poinsettia plant to the office two weeks before Christmas. It is now March and it is still on my desk. 

The First Time I Talk About Style

I just had this urge to write a fashion entry. Fashion, an arena I never dared enter. I thought I dressed okay until I reached my twenties and realized that I'm just not there yet, style-wise. By there, I mean my idea of my well-dressed self. While some older photos make me cringe, it's a relief that my fashion transgressions lie more on the side of being understated rather than being horrendously overdressed. I could always excuse myself with putting function over fashion. That or my being in a tropical country doesn't require anything more than a "relaxed style". There's no using the same excuses now. 

January

I just can't let January pass without a post! 2013 brought a lot of changes. I can't think of any other word to describe 2013 other than BITTERSWEET. There are just lessons that are harder to learn but I'm glad to say the changes were mostly for the better! Some blessings I'm thankful for 2013:

Going forward, I will be posting some photos from the world wide web for inspiration. Let's just say, it's my 2014 wishlist. Ta!

Ms. Kuripot Reveals Where Her Money Goes

If the title prompted you to read this post, it is either you've been called kuripot or you know someone that is.