Change is good

This has been a week of improvement and some change in a good way. I started Italian class this week (which means another to do is done). While I was in Verona last October, two little girls walked by very animatedly speaking in Italian. It was honestly the cutest thing I have ever heard. We all know that English isn't cute. German also doesn't have a big reputation for cuteness. Polish? I like it, but still a far cry from Italian little girl cuteness. I also just liked being there, so I decided to give myself a break from hard languages and go for a cute one. You'd think it would be easy- and I'm pretty sure it will be shortly- but after my last round of language learning (Japanese and Vietnamese at the same time) it isn't like anything I've done- so there is some adjustment. Speaking of Vietnamese, I bumped into my Vietnamese professor on the way to Italian. If they had a second year, I would have taken it, but Harvard doesn't offer two years in the evening, so I am stunted in my Vietnamese language development currently. He was a great teacher and such a nice person; it was great to bump into him. One note on the Italian instructor- when he walked into the classroom, I thought he looked like a bust of Goethe or some other person from the 1700's. I don't know what it is exactly, but that is what he reminds me of. He is really great so far and I am really enjoying the class. 

So, my schedule needs to absorb this change, i.e. accommodating for the class two times/week. Since I need to leave work early, I also go into work early two days per week. This means I've been getting up a little earlier. I have stuck with doing wii fit every day in the morning and now on the days when I don't go into work early, I can spend an extra 15 minutes doing it. It puts me in a good mood (even when the weigh in doesn't make me happy), which is a good thing on its own. (I figured out my problem with the triangle and got 4 stars! My new love is rhythm boxing.) In addition, I've instituted a 10:30 am walk around the building - just to get away from my desk and move a little bit. I've had a co-worker or two do the quick walk with me twice so far and I find it does make a difference in how I feel as well. I don't want to be stuck in front of the computer non-stop. That definitely makes me unhappy. I am already planning on slowly integrating a lunchtime stretch and a 3 pm walkaround, but I want to add things in slowly and adjust so that they stick. I can be totally gung ho about something and stick with it, but unless I make some changes incrementally, I can get distracted and not continue. The next exercise to add on will be regular Dance Dance Revolution in the evening to balance out the Wii Fit in the morning.

Due to what the nutritionist told me (I'll meet with her again in November), I began to keep a food diary. She had only told me to keep a migraine diary, but I realized that I couldn't know when a migraine would hit, so I better keep the diary in anticipation of one happening. So far no migraine, but the food diary definitely is helping me to cut down on in-between meal snacks. I don't track water- but I do for everything else and there was one day when I honestly turned down a snack because I didn't want to write it down in the book. I guess this is having a good effect, although this one may be a difficult one to keep going. We'll see if I absorb this behavior as well. A note to the sweet endings I crave - I just had some Ovaltine. I like Ovaltine. The one I had today was Chocolate Malt flavor. I tried Ovaltine only a few years ago- maybe 7 or 8- because my dad had made some comment about drinking it when he was a kid. I took that to mean it was a good memory. I do like it and for some reason am convinced the malt not only tastes good but may actually be good for me. If this is not true, please do not tell me. My dad also liked tripe soup because he ate that when he was a kid, but I haven't picked that up as a habit.

Now, I need to find time to fit in my translation work, either for myself or professionally. In order to be full force professional, I need to follow through on some computer purchases that I am not quite ready for, so I have been basically sitting around, looking into things and preparing for when the time comes to act. As far as translating for myself- I now have access to Harvard's libraries, which means I now have the means to (can you believe I am writing this?) begin work on my dissertation topic once again. It has changed somewhat from what I thought I would write before. I am also spending time translating (German- not Italian!) which was not part of the original plan, but I think it will serve me well. This helps me work towards achieving a part of my to do list as well-

I think I had a few more things to write about, but that is it for now- I have to go to bed and read- another habit I am trying to pick up is a little bit of reading every night. I usually finish 2-3 books per month, but I've slowed down lately- so I want to make sure I make time for that too. With a yawn- I head to bed and await my kitty cat's demands for attention in spite of my obvious sleepiness.