Monday, March 5, 2018

February Favourites

Google Home Mini - I have her in coral and I adore her. It is mostly the ease of convenience with Google Home (Mini). I can set an alarm, play music, hear about my day, set a timer, add to my grocery list, and put on music to help me sleep. All with a simple spoken sentence. I'm still waiting for Google Home and smart home devices like this to gain more features, but not bad so far. Also when I got her, it honestly and truly felt like Christmas morning as a child again. I was so happy. I spent all night and the next day setting her up and asking stupid questions. (Hey Google, do you love me?)

Pental Sign markers - I've had these for a while. They were recommended by a teacher in the beginning of the year for our linear drawings. They're very smooth markers and they don't bleed through the pages much. I've been using these more often for idea-generation lately. I love the big bold text that is easy to read, and easy to write with. I'm not sure how to explain it. I just think it helps encourage me.

Seeing Charlotte - Charlotte was one of my roommates at Queen's University. Seen here and here and likely somewhere else on the blog as well. Charlotte lives in Ottawa, which admittedly isn't far but I don't travel to Ottawa at all so I don't get to see her often. She was in town for a conference. I met her for dinner and we just hung out in her hotel room after. It was so necessary. Seeing her felt so safe and so good. I saw Charlotte in a week/period of time when I really wasn't doing well emotionally. I felt frustrated, angry, depressed. I was not happy with many aspects of my life. Mostly, I was overwhelmed. There was so much going on and I didn't know how to work through any of it. We chatted for hours. I realize that Charlotte, as well as my other roommates and our core group of friends at Queen's, were essential to my mental health. I still miss them a lot.

Lateral thinking assignment - An assignment is unlikely to end up on a favourites list, but here it is. Gord, our art directions professor, assigned this. The assignment is simple enough. Find some interesting (or uninteresting) stock images and find a way to sell a product. The assignment wasn't easy or hard. It was just a way of thinking outside the box. A good assignment in critical thinking for advertising. A brainteaser for advertising, if you will. Very worthwhile.

Tyler, the Creator & Vince Staples concert - This was amazing. I have so many words and then not enough. I haven't written about this concert anywhere. I just want to keep it all to myself. What needs to be said: I have been listening to Tyler, the Creator since I was introduced to him in first year university. This didn't disappoint. It was everything I could've asked for.

KeepCup Brew in 12oz - This was at the very end of the month but I love it already. I purchased a KeepCup! I was watching what's-in-my-bag video on YouTube. She said something that just clicked. She bought coffee at school every day and so she brings a KeepCup with her to reduce her waste. I buy coffee almost every day. When I'm at work, I leave the shop with a coffee every time. I will throw away a paper cup 4 to 6 times a week. Shit, that is so much more waste than necessary. Enter the KeepCup. I feel a lot better about my coffee consumption. I also discovered that the coffee station at school lets me use their hot water so I can have tea after I finished my coffee. Eureka!

No snacks! - For the month of February, I decided to undergo a 'No-Snacks!' challenge in order to: 1) better watch what I eat, and 2) limit my spending. I track my spending and a lot of it goes into small snack foods. This is a dollar into a vending machine or two dollars for a muffin. It adds up. Through this personal challenge, I managed to only spend a total of seven times on snack foods. Not too shabby. (To clarify, I did have snacks but they were snacks packed from home that are much more cost-efficient.)

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