kandu

I’ve been baby stepping my way into spanish, but living where I do it still means I’m exposed to Spanish all the time. Last year, – listened to a couple of spanish instruction podcasts, attended a free community spanish course for a couple of sessions, watched a few episodes of Destinos on PBS and online, and tried an immersion technique by reading a book in Spanish. I’ve read spanish language books with my preschool aged daughter, watched Dora and Handy Manny with her to pick up new words and tried to put them into our everyday usage.

This week I’ve finally started using Rosetta Stone. Some of it was easy but if I let myself take it for granted, I’d start to make a few mistakes. I’m excited about the potential. After completing the first set of lessons, I feel much more confident, and returned to trying to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in spanish. Two chapters done and I’ve got the jyst of it.

I’m staring to pay more attention to those Spanish Word-a-Day emails now too. I’ve started again with putting them into my phone as flashcards, along with phrases, E to S and S to E.

I’m hoping to do another lesson and restart the Destinos in the next week or so.

This year it became apparent that there was something more I needed to get ahead at work. It wasn’t education, not ambition, or career development, not assertiveness in expressing my desire to move ahead, nor was it experience. It was appearance. My appearance seems to fall short, so I’m determined that, rather than sulk, it’s time to admit that appearance matters. It matters more than anyone really wants to admit. It’s sad, but it is true. I’m resolved to do more to improve my appearance this year.

Friends have always thought of me as motherly and earthy. That’s great at home, but at work I want to be seen as a professional, deserving of respect and advancement, based on skills and expertise, and my ability to represent my department and company.

I’ve already begun purchasing jewelry, earrings mostly, along with a few necklaces and bracelets here and there. I’m trying to get more polished clothes on a more routine basis and acquire a wider variety of shoes.

Pedicure is mandatory for this summer. I also need to grow out my nails just a little and keep them painted, even if I don’t get acrylics.

I’m watching what I eat more and hope to start working out more soon. That will be a big help.

And let’s be honest – my mom didn’t raise me to be prissy. I’ve not been the girl with the immaculate eyebrows, or the perpetually smooth legs. She always told me that some things were the way they were and that was that. Well…mom, you don’t work where I do. It matters. Until I can get a little laser treatment, I need to stay way on top of these eyebrows and a few other trouble spots. That should help.

I’ve been better about wearing makeup more regularly, but I would really like to get some of that mineral makeup to give a smoother finish to my skin. I’d also like to lighten up a few areas of my forehead and cheeks that became discolored with my pregnancy.

Lastly, I want to get a little plastic surgery. Nothing huge and most certainly something that can probably be done in an office visit. Just a bump in a prominent place that needs to be attended to. I figure that might be toward the end of the year or even the beginning of next year. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was in second grade and now I just don’t have any reason not to.

I’m feeling really positive about this. Attending to these aspects of my appearance can’t hurt, only help. I’m thinking of it as something of a sociology experiment – I’m going to see how people react to a shifting appearance. Should be interesting.

As of January 9, 2008, I completed my 10th speech with Toastmasters! I’d actually written 11 speeches in that time, and had notes for a 12th. The funny thing is that I was absolutely ready to quit doing it for a while, but the following week, someone gave a speech about coming back to Toastmasters, and I got a bit inspired to keep going. So my goal stays. I’m going to try to update here with each one that I am writing, instead of in big chunks of relatively meaningless updates.

Speech 9 – Persuade with Power “Little Bits of Courage” – about using reusable bags instead of disposable plastic
Speech 10 Inspire Your Audience – “Resolved” – about the value of resolutions