Daily Prompt – Sparkling or Still

What’s your idea of a perfect day off: one during which you can quietly relax, doing nothing, or one with one fun activity lined up after the other? Tell us how you’d spend your time.

That’s hard because I love doing both.

Daily Prompt – Sudden Shifts

You’re at the beach with some friends and/or family, enjoying the sun, nibbling on some watermelon. All of a sudden, within seconds, the weather shifts and hail starts descending from the sky. Write a post about what happens next.

When Hayley and Lucas ran towards the water, it was the absolute perfect summer day.

Daily Prompt: Linger

Tell us about times in which you linger — when you don’t want an event, or a day to end. What is it you love about these times? Why do you wish you could linger forever?
 

Generally speaking, it’s usually whenever I have a day off or when I’m on holidays. And if it’s my holidays, it’s usually the absolute last day of my holidays – it’s that day when I realise that I haven’t utilised all my time off the way I really wanted to… instead, I’ve wasted it spending my time sleeping, or on the couch watching stuff I’ve recorded / downloaded instead of actually being out and about and making the most of the free time.

Summer holidays are the absolute worst!! Here in Australia, our latest summer saw temperatures reach up to 47 degrees celsius (116 F) which was ridiculous, but for me, when it gets that hot, my body just wants to sleep. So whilst the rest of the country is feeling disgusting because they can’t stop sweating, I can quite easily go and lay down and just sleep for hours and hours at a time. The only exception to this rule, is when it’s hot over night. There were a couple of nights this past summer where the overnight low of 34 C (93F). Let me just clarify that it’s not like that every day / night, but we’ve had a few scorchers just to test the human limit whilst making their power bills soar from having the air conditioner on constantly.

Instead of getting up early and seizing the day, I’m more often sleeping until about 11, lounging around until about 3 or 4, then finally dragging myself into the shower, and then my day will start around 4-5pm, and by that stage, shops are getting ready to shut, and then I’m awake until about 2am. Going out to catch up with friends? Too much effort. Calling whichever company about a bill dispute? That can wait until tomorrow. Going outside and spending time at the beach? That requires too much travel… and it’s too hot. Spending the whole day on the couch in my pj’s? Well I’m already here, so of course I can quite easily do that!!

I always tell myself that next time I’ll be better, and I’ll be more productive. I’ll get up early and go to the gym. I’ll set aside three hours just so I can write. I’ll sort through all my clothes. I’ll tidy up the spare room etc etc. BUT NONE OF IT HAPPENS!! And then on that last day I’m just full of regret.

On the other hand, the thing that pisses me off the most, is when I have a day off, and a certain somebody (not pointing any fingers here, Hulk), decides on what they want me to do that day… with absolutely no regard whatsoever as to what I might want to do with my free time… for me… Nope. Four of five loads of washing, stack and unstack the dishwasher, fold all the washing and put it away, vacuum the apartment, clean the bath, mop the floors, put the cover on the barbecue, go to the supermarket, set up the DVR to records a few shows, etc… I on the other hand might have plans to go to the movies by myself, then go have a massage, come home and have a bath, cook dinner and have an early night… but somebody thinks that’s just a complete waste of a day. Perhaps because this same somebody doesn’t actually know how to relax, and believes that if you have free time, then you have time to work / do chores.

I’m not saying that I don’t want to do them at all… let’s face it, I secretly love doing the laundry and vacuuming the apartment (because I’m weird like that), but the last (and worst) thing for you to do is to tell me what I have to do on my day off… great way to go about pissing me off, and making sure that I retailiate and do almost none of it.

**Insert reference to previous posts about being stubborn!!** hehehe.

I think next time I’ve got some leave up my sleeve, I’ll put in more of an effort to force myself to do something productive with it – get out of the apartment more. Be social.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/daily-prompt-linger/

Daily Prompt: Nothin’ But A Good Time

Imagine that tomorrow, all of your duties and obligations evaporate for the day. You get the day all to yourself, to do anything you please. What types of fun activities would make your day?

Does that day also happen to be about 48hrs long, so I can actually fit in everything that I would like to be able to do on a ‘day off’? A day off really should be longer than all the other days, especially given my list below… or I’ll need to have two consecutive days off for pure indulgence.

1. SLEEP

Yes.  I put this as #1, and all in caps because it’s the most important and my absolute FAVOURITE thing to do on a day off.

The day would start off with a wonderfully luscious sleep-in. One of those mornings where it’s a bit chilly, but the sun is warm, and beaming in through a bedroom window, and you wish it was possible for these already fluffy pillows and doona just to get that little bit fluffier and softer, so you could just disappear into them for a couple more hours of slumber-heaven.

2. Breakfast

The one thing that I absolutely love about travelling, is a free buffet breakfast. Oh, it’s HEAVEN!! Moreso when there’s no agenda. I think the best time I had with a buffet was, surprisingly, at an airport in the Virgin lounge. The airline had completely messed up my flight home, and told me to be at the airport at 8am for a re-scheduled flight at 9am, only to turn up and have them say that there’s been another change and I’m not on a plane until 2pm. I then demanded lounge access, which they gave me, and it was fantastic.

I got myself set up at a table, watched a Harry Potter movie with Hulk, and basically ate myself silly.

So. Much. Food!!

3. The Beach

What better way to enjoy a relaxing day, than heading off down to the beach for a bit of a swim, and a nap in the sun… then more swimming, and more napping, followed by more swimming and some more napping.

4. A Massage

Now, I’m not talking about a quick 30min neck and shoulder massage, I’m talking at least a 90min – 120min full body, deep-tissue oil massage. I’m the sort of person who puts their body through quite a lot, but then neglects it, and then I complain like a whiny little kid when I’m in pain from sore muscles. (SIDENOTE: Must get back onto my foam roller and look for my spiky-ball.)

What I love, is being able to have a long full-body massage just to really work out all the knots throughout my body, and put things back in some kind of alignment again. Granted, most of the time I find myself falling asleep – it’s quite embarrassing because I snore, but I find that I’m just in such a deep state of relaxation… I love it.

4a. Spa / Sauna / Steam

The other side to a treatment like this, is being able to have a spa / sauna / steam session either before, to help relax and loosen up the muscles, or after a long massage. It can be pretty awkward if it’s done afterwards, because I end up like a rag doll, and struggle to a) keep myself upright and b) conscious – too much time in a steam / sauna room, tends to make me really hot and sleepy… which then brings me to the brink of fainting / passing out. And let’s face it, that’s not necessarily a good thing.

5. A Nap.

This is probably THE BEST part of the whole day… being able to do everything listed above, and then come back to either lay on a sun-saturated bed (or couch) and curl up for a lovely arvo nap. But, one that’s at least 3 – 4hrs long. Anything less than that is a waste of time, and it just makes me feel even more tired than I was before.

6. Gaming

Now that I feel quite refreshed and relaxed, it’s time for a gigantic cup of tea and about fifteen biscuits (or a block of chocolate) and then the PS3 goes on, and I fire up one of my games. At the moment I’m right into Lego Marvel Super Heroes, but at the same time, in the back of my head, I’m completely aware that I’m not giving any time to my other favourite game, Tomb Raider. This game is so good, and so addictive, I usually find myself sitting there, tears streaming down my cheeks because I can’t even bring myself to blink because I find it so engrossing.

Alternate 6. A Bath

By this stage, I’ve woken from my nap and had something to eat for dinner. Then I think one of my favourite things to do is run a bath and use something like a fancy bath bomb, or some relaxing bath salts, and then I’ll either get in (and feel myself slowly broiling from the inside out because the temperature is so hot) and I’ll already have my laptop set up to watch something. Sometimes it’s a couple of episodes of a TV series I’m watching, or it might even be a movie.

And then, when the water has gone cold, or the show / movie has finished, there’s only one thing left to do…

7. Go To Bed.

It’s been a long day of pampering, and self-indulgence, and you know what, it’s exhausting. So all I need to do now, is go to bed and sleep for about 10 – 12hours, so I can wake up all nice and relaxed and refreshed tomorrow – ready to take on the world!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/daily-prompt-good-time/

Feb 13: Ten Years From Now

What do you think you’ll be doing 10 years from now on February 13, 2023?

Have I told you before how much I dislike these type of prompts?

*sigh*

Well, first of all, ten years from now I’ll be *gulp* 41. Oh god, that number just doesn’t even register. I can barely come to terms with the fact that I’ve already passed 30. In my mind I’m still 28 / 29. I never managed to get a handle on the fact that I turned 30, and just as I was beginning to accept it, BOOM, suddenly I’m 31.

Sometimes I wish that my life was like Jennifer Garner’s, in the movie Suddenly 30 where she’s a kid growing up in the 80’s (like I did) but then makes a wish and wakes up and is, literally, suddenly 30, and has no idea what to do.

But then she goes back to being a child again… and sometimes I really wish that I could do that – wake up and be a child again – living in the country, being bullied every day, hating school and spending my time going to dance class, riding my BMX, and swimming down at the local town dam… I was a bit feral as a kid.

But none of that is possible. I’m 31 and I just have to accept it, as uncomfortable as it may make me feel… but I’m sorry, the thought of being 41, is just too much. I can barely process the concept of turning 35.

I just need to live in the present, and try not to focus on the future, well, at least not my age in the future. I’ll no doubt find myself on this day in ten years time still thinking of myself as a 31-year old instead. Thinking about how I’ve completely wasted my life and how I have nothing to show for it.

I can see it now… 41 and failing at life. #fail #failingatlife

 

 

Daily Prompt: Obstacle Course

Think about what you wanted to accomplish last week. Did you? What are the things that hold you back from doing everything you’d like to do?

I had a lot that I wanted to achieve, but simply didn’t get to. Although I was quite impressed that I managed to get myself down to the pool to continue swimming, I’m not sure how that’s going to factor into my life now that I’m back at work. Everything is much easier when you’re on holidays and you feel as though you have all this time up your sleeve.

…but you don’t take total advantage of it.

I wanted to go to the beach… but I didn’t.

I wanted to swim some more… I did, but not as much as I originally had planned.

I wanted to really get on top of all my blog posts… and I didn’t.

I wanted to spend a good chunk of time playing PlayStation… and didn’t.

I wanted to work out… but I didn’t.

There’s a lot about the previous week, as well as the other weeks that I’ve been on holidays, that I regret. I didn’t utilise all my time to it’s fullest potential, and instead just wasted it and let it pass me by. I’m not entirely sure why or how it happened, but it did.

 

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/daily-prompt-barriers/

25 Dec – Christmas Traditions

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating today. Tell us about your favourite holiday tradition.

I don’t really *do* Christmas. I’m not really a fan of it, but most of the time it’s just done out of obligation. But for all the bitching and moaning about it, it always manages to turn out to not be the worst experience of my life.

Daily Prompt: The Best Day Ever

You get to enjoy the best day ever — describe in detail what that means to you. Where are you? What will you do? What’s the weather like? What will you eat? Who will you see?

Best day ever??

It’ll involve being here:

With Hulk.

Having a couple of massages or one big 3-hour massage

Swimming with some turtles and / or dolphins

The sun will be nice and warm, I’ll actually be getting a tan, rather than just burning and peeling like I always do. I’ll be enjoying lots of fresh fruits and rain water – it will be absolutely perfect in my own little piece of heaven.

 

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/25/prompt-best-day-ever/

Daily Prompt: By the Skin of Your Teeth

Share a time when you narrowly avoided disaster.

Hmmm… tough one.

There was the time that I almost burnt the kitchen down when the toaster caught fire…

There was the time that I almost flooded the bathroom…

There was the other time I almost burnt down the kitchen when I left the oven on… and forgot I had food in there…

Or perhaps the time I was convinced I was going to drown when I got stuck in a rip and couldn’t keep swimming…

Or the couple of times the washing machine overflowed and flooded the laundry…

Or perhaps the time one of my housemates left the iron on while she showered… and set the ironing board on fire…

Or the time that I cut my thumb, requiring 12 stitches. I severed a bunch of nerves but only just missed the main tendon by a fraction of a millimetre…

Just to spare you the horror, I didn’t include an image.

If you REALLY want to, do an google image search

for cut thumb stitches…

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/prompt-skin/

Daily Prompt: Keeping Up with the Jones’

Tell us about the one luxury item you wish you could afford, in as much detail as you can. Paint a picture for us.

I wonder how many people are writing about the same things in response to this prompt? You know, things like bigger TV’s, flashy cars, the latest iDevice, expensive jewellery / clothing / shoes etc.

Well, I’ve got one thing. An overseas holiday.

I’ve never actually had a holiday. Yes, I have travelled, and I’ve even been overseas to do so (although, that was only New Zealand and it’s only been twice!) but still, it counts (although not according to my passport that still remains stamp-less!). Anywhere I’ve travelled to has been for either two reasons: family and / or work.

But what about me?! What about travelling for me?! I know of far too many people who are always banging on about how they’re off overseas for x-amount of weeks, or they’ve just come back from such-and-such a country, or they’re planning a 2 week trip to Thailand (again) for the third or fourth time this year, or how they’ve just sent their child off overseas for a six-week trip to Europe.

Are you fucking KIDDING ME!?!? How on earth do people afford these things? Seriously, how much money are you making if you can afford so much travel?? Even if you are lucky enough to get cheap flights and possibly, cheap accommodation, yes, that makes it much more affordable, but some people seem to just have money coming out of their ears, and those are the people who love to flaunt it in everybody’s face.

LOOK AT ME!! LOOK, DAMN IT!! LOOK AT WHAT I’M DOING WITH MY DISPOSABLE INCOME THAT YOU CLEARLY DON’T HAVE!! LOOK AT HOW THIS MAKES ME BETTER THAN YOU!!

…fuck off.

I want to travel for me. And Hulk. But mainly for my own self-indulgent pleasure.

I want to find myself on a beach somewhere. Don’t necessarily care right now, those details are secondary. A beach with white sand and crystal clear waters. Massages by (or on) the beach twice a day. Copious amounts of sleeping and lazing around in the sun to work on getting a fabulous tan (instead of this pasty-white skin that I’m rocking at the moment). Fresh produce everyday, fruits and vegetables and seafood. Lordy, so much seafood!

I want to go canoeing, and snorkelling on reefs, and taking underwater photos of beautiful fish and turtles. I want to go swimming with dolphins, and then end up crying uncontrollably from the onslaught of raw pent-up emotion. I want to find myself in paradise; in a place where the rest of the world doesn’t even exist. I want to completely forget about the stresses of work, and working two jobs. Forget about the stresses of being constantly tired, and being time poor, and having late nights and late dinners. I want to be able to eat dinner at a normal time, and eat it at the beach!!

But the worst part of it all, is that some bitch out there is going to turn around and tell me that they’ve just come back from 3 weeks in the Maldives, and tell me about how utterly ahmaaaahhhzing it was, and that I ‘simply must go there sometime’.

Oh should I? Thanks for confirming that one for me.

 

 

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/daily-prompt-jones/