Here's a breakdown of what I spend my money on:
Assume 1100 euro/month (it's definitely way more than that pending some payments)
Rent: 320
Transport: 30
Food: 80
Gym: 50
Dance: 35
Saving: 200
Travel: 150
Knitting: 10
Incidental: 55
Social: 80
Entertainment: 50
Phone: 25
Skype: 10
I'm very comfortable with this. The only issue I have right now is that I'm reluctant to withdraw money to buy food at first. However, looking at this and saying where my money is going makes me more effective. I also assume that the phone is going to cost more.
I can also see what I'm changing (ie cutting out cigarettes and bread but adding dance classes etc.)
My average days are fantastic now. Unfortunately I have some company that I don't really like at the moment but they're leaving Friday. I have rice, garlic, tea, and onions left for breakfast...no coffee!
This morning I woke up content to face the day. I feel a rush when I start out the door. It's a 45 minute commute but I make a transfer on the light rail. There's always a buzzing sound and squeaking when I get to the station at the same time as the light rail...that means I have to run!
Classes were great. I had a cooperative group first in my one on one lessons. Then I had the unruly students who wouldn't stop talking. This is frustrating but...unfortunately...the less I care about their insistant Spanish speaking the easier it is to go through the day. After that I did the same exercises with an easier group.
As the days go by I feel more powerful, confident, and happy (unless, as this morning showed me: I have no food or coffee).
Tomorrow I think I will get paid. Regardless, I'm going grocery shopping so that I'm not sluggish and mad without that caffeine.
After work I stopped by Sotomayor to pick up a text book for my lesson tomorrow with Pilar. She's a great student with near-fluent English. I still should review her lesson before heading out tomorrow.
It's fun trouncing into these distinguished buildings to speak my native language with officials and strangers. My Spanish isn't much better because I keep busy.
After I left Soto today I came straight home and cooked. The daily show, some psychology podcasts, and a bit of gravenhurst accompanied me as I cooked some rice with that god-forsaken cheese I inherited. It smells like someone's soggy feet were dipped in cream and set for a year.
I found that I don't have much taste for "fancy" things. Pattee tastes like catfood, fancy cheese tastes like feet, and, after the first few times, fancy ham has started to feel like limp beef jerky.
The staple foods, such as paella and tortilla espanola, are fantastic still.
After cooking I fought with itunes. I can't seem to get my "antique" 2008 ipod to sync 2012 software. I'm sure there's a quick fix out there...I just don't want to buy a new one or install anything I don't have to.
I found some biology podcasts that would sync and decided to take them to the gym with me. I did pulldowns, ham curls, leg adductions, and shoulder shrugs. After that I got a quick 15 minutes in on the stair machine and burned 175 calories. Yesterday I burned 250 plus 100 on the rowing machine and the day before I burned 200 on the stationary bike.
I feel fantastic now that I'm back there. It's still awkward not knowing what to do. It's even worse that they have no water in the gym that you can just drink. You have to buy water almost everywhere here.
My only problem with that place is that it lacks a good ab machine. I tried to climb on their ab bench today but it was an awkward angle and too short to reposition after a set.
The biology podcast was about developmental embryology and the progression of the symbiotic relationships between microbes and zebrafish. Obviously the zebrafish were a model organism. I didn't know that they were so commonly used...it doesn't seem like the closest relative to work with...but maybe there's some difference with the egg-laying terrestrial vertebrates that doesn't allow for easy experimentation.
After this I skittered back home, chatted with Ian's friend and turned down an invitation to go to intercambio (again with the "no money" issue. I'll be glad to have that over and done with) at a local bar. I downloaded some free podcasts about psychology and body language, hit up the colbert report and now I'm relaxing.
The most frustrating and rewarding part of my day was practicing sax. The keys and little melodies came back in a snap. However, my old enemy the metronome is more menacing than ever. Playing an obscure scale evenly, not chopping long notes, and not rushing eigth or sixteenth notes are still problems.
They're good problems to have though. After looking at medical schools and weighing out options I haven't taken a second MCAT exam off the table. I am going to see how sharp I am on the subjects before considering.
No comments:
Post a Comment