Four Resolutions Days 25-30

Days 1-5 are here

Days 6-14 are here

Days 15-24 are here

This is the end of my resolutions month, and I'm 2/4 on that front. They were:

1. No chocolate 

2. Read a book a week.

3. Study a little Russian every day, or the equivalent in Georgian.

4. Write a high, low, glitter every day.

I definitely read and did my high, low, glitter, and 100% failed on the other two. I didn't actually buy any chocolate this month, so at least my wallet is better off, but there was chocolate at Tiko's birthday party, and chocolate when we were making brownies and chocolate as snacks at the office, and I just couldn't say no. So although I reduced my chocolate intake from almost every day to about 8 days this month, it's a resolution I need to continue. I started studying Russian for about a week, and got about a chapter further in my Georgian workbook, but it is completely my own fault I didn't keep up the work. I definitely had time, I just didn't do it. I need to hold myself more accountable to actually put in the work, it's just hard to motivate myself to do it when I only have three(ish) more months here. I like the high, low, glitter, though, so I think I'll keep it going.

Day 25

Books: I'm reading Harry Potter. It's Saturday, so I'm reading and watching YouTube and Netflix and I don't plan to leave the house.

High: We finally worked our schedules out and I got to skype with Marcia and realize neither of us know what we're doing with our lives. That's ok with me.

Low: Nope. No lows when I don't leave the house.

Glitter: I got through the second season of Misfits. It's a weird and pretty vulgar show, but I like it. It's nice that British shows only have six or seven episodes per season. It makes catching up so much easier.

Day 26 

Alexander Chavchavadze's house

The garden labyrinth. The colors of the ribbons means something - health, happiness, etc.

Books: I finished the second Harry Potter, and I'm on to the third. I always wonder why Ron throws Lockhart's wand out the window instead of pocketing it, since his own wand is clearly nonfunctional. 

High: Skyping with my mom for mother's day. The puppies at the Chavchavadze estate come in a close second, though.

Low: Spending the whole ride back from Telavi squashed in the back of the taxi with an old guy falling asleep on me.

Glitter: Strawberries are $1 a kilo, so I bought about three pounds after getting back from Telavi, washed them, cut them, and we ate them all. They are particularly delicious in the sweet white house wine I brought back from Ushguli.

Day 27

Books: I finished the third Harry Potter, and read part of The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula LeGuin. Why didn't anyone think to put Peter Pettigrew in a full body bind then just float him out to the castle? They were already floating Snape, so it wouldn't have been nearly as much of a struggle, especially with Ron with a broken leg, and then he wouldn't have had a chance to escape or use a wand. Also, as I reread these books I realize more and more how corrupt and dictatorial the ministry of magic is. How do they get away with the punishments they mete out? Everyone can do magic, for goodness sake!

High: I found better strawberries and bought another kilo and a half, then made strawberry shortcake. 

Low: I can't have a low for a day when all I've done is bake and read. Those are the best days.

Glitter: This Charlie Rose interview with Tommy Kail and LMM is lovely.

Required viewing for aspiring (and veteran) theater directors.
Tommy Kail drops WISDOM for Charlie Rose. I giggle. https://t.co/Xg8VfU2ip0

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 7, 2016

Day 28

The very last of the wine...

Books: I started listening to Titan by Ron Chernow, about the life of John D. Rockefeller. I think it's far more likely I will finish it listening than reading, not least because the narrator has a great voice for the text. I know little to nothing about Rockefeller other than he built the Standard Oil Company, was a dedicated philanthropist, and basically perfected vertical integration.

High: Tiko's visa was approved, so it's looking like we can send her to the US for the FPS conference.

Low: The last of the Ushguli wine is gone, and all I want is wine with strawberries.

Glitter: Nino made great brownies from the recipe I gave her. American desserts for the win.

Day 29

Books: I'm listening to Titan by Ron Chernow on the way to and from work. I'm about four chapters in, listening to his poor upbringing with a conman as a father who eventually became a bigamist and abandoned his first family after having John build a house for himself and his mother and siblings. So far he seems honest in business and extremely upright in manner.

High: The newsletter is done, and we got a small grant to do some baking with youth.

Low:  It's gray and rainy. Why??

Glitter: Rachel and I saw Captain America Civil War for 5 GEL, which is the cheapest I've ever seen a movie. I enjoyed it, and thought both sides were presented well, but Tony's angst is wearing a bit thin, and isn't it often Tony selling his tech or losing track of his tech that gets powerful things into the wrong hands? Related only in that I was eating while watching the movie, but is there such a thing as too many apricots in one sitting? Because I bought about a kilo and ate 18 of them before I even made it home...

Day 30

So much open space to walk the dogs at Lisi Lake

Books: So I just realized, as Arha has this guy trapped in a labyrinth, that this might not be the first book in the series. Yeah...turns out A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin is the first in the series, so this guy is on hold in the labyrinth until I find out all about him in the first book. Conveniently, though, I have a five-hour ride to Batumi in the morning, and these are kids books so they are short and fast. I'm also three more chapters into Titan, and Rockefeller, his brother, and Flagler have just made their oil business into Standard Oil. It's a good mix of his personal and professional life while also examining some of the major characters that influenced Rockefeller either personally or professionally. He and his wife seem to have been extremely well matched in frugality, spirituality and temperament, though it made me laugh a little that they made their son wear dresses until he was about eight years old because those were the hand-me-downs from his older siblings, who were all girls. 

High: I spent an hour at the dog shelter walking the dogs in the morning, got there just as the rain stopped, and got a free ride back into town close enough that I could walk the 45 minutes home. 

Low: I overcooked the lemon bars, so they're not the way they're supposed to be. 

Glitter: Having internet is a wonderful thing. Even just those little logistical conversations about Dixit and FPS with people from home make me so happy.


New Books Read: 130
Total Books Read: 177
Currently Reading: Titan by Ron Chernow about the life of John D. Rockefeller, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin about a young wizard named Ged who saves his village from invaders, The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin about a girl named Arha who is dedicated as the high priestess of the "nameless one" and, at this point, has trapped Ged in the labyrinth under the temple where no men are allowed, and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander about civil rights and our prison system.