💻My work laptop was super slow and crashing a lot, especially after the company installed a zero-trust service called Zscaler on all computers. After complaining with IT, they said I was due for a laptop update anyway, because my current one was 3 years old. They issued m … | Continue reading
🐉 I was recently invited to join an in-person Dungeons & Dragons campaign—using real paper character sheets and dice! We've just had our Session Zero and started creating our characters, and I am absolutely thrilled. What’s funny is that even as an adult, this is my firs … | Continue reading
💼 The past 2 weeks have been super busy at work for me. During the process of closing a big job, I’ve had 2 presentations to deliver! It’s not something I usually do, but coincidentally, I was invited to present about estimating to the company’s project managers the first … | Continue reading
I finished a bunch of romance books this month! All of them by authors I’ve never read before, so it was an exploration month. I finished it off with some light productivity read. The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne, 368p: It's hard to talk about this book wit … | Continue reading
✅ After experimenting with Microsoft To Do this week I switched back to Nirvana. I’ve reached the same conclusions I’ve had before. I like Nirvana. It works well with my system. I've been using it for the longest time. It works for me. ⛸️ I could do a few clockwise cross overs on … | Continue reading
After experimenting with Microsoft To Do this week I switched back to Nirvana. I was going to write about my To Do setup but it’s pretty much the same setup I had before: Testing Microsoft To Do and saying goodbye. And it’s so weird to see that all the reasons I listed before fo … | Continue reading
✅ I’ve switched my task list management to Microsoft To Do and it’s been working well so far. It’s less overhead overall. I’m working on a blog post to describe the setup, which actually is not too different from previous setups I’ve tried before. ⚖️ I got a new digital bathroom … | Continue reading
I've been noticing some glitches in my GTD system lately. You know, the whole point of having a method to organize tasks and projects and goals is to be okay with what I'm doing at the moment. I've talked a lot about GTD in this blog and how it impacted my life by reducing stres … | Continue reading
✍️ I’ve been thinking about writing a blog post this week, but it didn’t happen. Not just “week notes,” but a blog post focused on a topic. That got me thinking about my writing process—or if I even have one. I keep a list of blog post ideas in Standard Notes, but I haven’t check … | Continue reading
🏝️ September was a blur, and I feel like I did so many things! I started October feeling tired. I will have 2 days off this week before the Thanksgiving weekend! So, I’m going to have an extra-long weekend to recharge a bit. 🧘♀️ I want to focus on my stress manag … | Continue reading
Bride by Ali Hazelwood, 399p: I'm a fan of Ali Hazelwood and this is her first paranormal romance book. It starts with an arranged marriage between an alpha werewolf (Lowe) and an exiled vampire (Misery). The "mate" trope was a bit confusing, it didn't make too much sense to me. … | Continue reading
💪 I got a pair of ankle weights to do my morning planks, bird-dogs, and crunches in the morning. I’ve also added the Donkey Kick to my morning series. The ankle weights I got are adjustable, so I’m starting with 2 lbs on each leg, but they can go up to 5lbs each leg. … | Continue reading
I have a spreadsheet where I log all the books I've read. I call it my "My ALL-Time Reading Log". It has books from as early as 1992, which I logged based on the physical books I've read at the time. These early entries don't have too much info other than book title, author, num … | Continue reading
💻 I’ve been spending less and less time online these days. When I do is to search for a specific topic, address, information. I check my email, check my library books, read a book review, and that’s about it. I don’t feel like checking Mastodon anymore. I think I’ve been … | Continue reading
It’s so good to be pain free! I’ve had a couple of weeks with pain on my left hip that was impacting my running, my walking, my yoga. I did a few hot baths to relax my muscles, some stretching and rest from running and yoga. I kept some walks at the end of day because it’s alway … | Continue reading
I’ve lived with chronic pain my whole adult life. And it’s complicated. It has always been related to my low back and sciatica. I’m my 20s I had several flare ups where I couldn’t walk, and I had to be carried to the emergency room to get a painkiller shot and I was prescribed p … | Continue reading
I skipped a week to write here because of the long weekend of Sep 02nd (aka Labour Day here in Canada). 🌲 So, it was a lovely long weekend, and we had friends over. We went to Gatineau Park to visit the Mackenzie King Estate. We walked the trail to the waterfall and enjo … | Continue reading
This month I was surprised I read this much! Some books I devoured in a couple of days. I wasn’t too much in the mood for non-fiction, I just wanted some escapism. I finished 2 series: “Uptown Girls” and “Scott Pilgrim” and started two more that I want to continue reading. Great … | Continue reading
I’m reading the book “Team: Getting Things Done with Others” by David Allen and Edward Lamont. I’m on chapter 12 and it discusses how teams should say “No” more often and understand the real team’s capacity. I’ve had years in the company I work for when there were always “more” t … | Continue reading
I just saw this post: On Getting Multiple Library Cards | Notes by JCProbably and I do the same thing! Yeah, I read a lot as well, and I get 95% of my books through my Public Library. And 99% of them are in digital form, which I get on my Kobo reader. All this is possible with t … | Continue reading
🎽Something happened that my left hip started hurting to the point where I couldn't run and even walking was painful. I took some days to rest from running/walking and did lots of slow stretching to recover. Also, soaking in a hot bath helped relax my tense muscles. I went … | Continue reading
During a therapy session recently, I realized I have not been journaling deeply. Meaning, using writing to tap into my deeper thoughts. Journaling or writing practice has been one of the building blocks of my wellbeing and I’ve always preferred to do it by typing. And I don’t see … | Continue reading
Every day I carve out time to read on my Kobo. It can be during breakfast in the morning, 15-20 minutes during my lunch break, 10 minutes in a medical office waiting for an appointment. But most of my reading I do at night, after work, that's when I can have 30 minutes to 1 hour … | Continue reading
🍂 I can sense the change of seasons with days now around 20°C, shorter daylight hours, and darker mornings. Fall is approaching, and it’s my favorite season! I avoid hiking in the summer due to bugs, so I always wait for Fall to begin my hiking adventures. ⛸ I enrolled fo … | Continue reading
I’ve been registering all my meals and symptoms in a small notebook (10 cm x 14 cm) since Friday. Yes, in a paper notebook, small enough for me to carry around with my Kobo. I leave the pen attached to the notebook’s spiral so it’s easy for me to take notes of symptoms any time o … | Continue reading
🍎 I had my first appointment with a Registered Dietitian this week. It's been at least 7 years since I've last seen one and I feel I need better guidance on my diet now. I've been having more GERD symptoms lately, and I also noticed I've been mindlessly snacking all the t … | Continue reading
The "Now" page is an idea from Derek Sivers that started a movement around 2015. I thought it was cool, but in reality, I was never good at keeping it up to date. I mean, sometimes I'd rather just write a post about what is going on in my life. Also, the "now" aspect of it remind … | Continue reading
So, I decided to join the Blaugust 2024! It's my first time. I love that there are weekly themes and prompts ideas to write. I've already discovered some cool participating blogs! I will introduce myself this week, then. Hi, my name is Ariadne. I'm a woman in my mid 40's and I … | Continue reading
🏡 I took 2 days off this week right before a long weekend so I had an extra long weekend! I used that time to just relax at home. Lots of drinking tea and reading. Some light walks here and there. I also stayed away from my computer for the most part. My focus was only re … | Continue reading
I was all about fiction this month! I explored a gorgeous graphic novel, read a book with octopuses, and continued reading a bunch of series. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler, 420p: It’s full of thoughtful and conceptual ideas exploring our unknowability towards others but … | Continue reading
📅 This week I went back to using Cal Newport’s Time Block Planner at work. I felt like I needed an hour-by-hour grid, with enough space to redraw the plan as I go through my day. So, I’m using the Rocketbook for high level planning (month and week plans), my notes and mee … | Continue reading
This weeked marked the 40th anniversary of Metallica’s album “Ride the Lightning”! I decided to listen to it again from start to finish and was pleasantly surprised to rediscover that “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Fade to Black” are both on this album. These two songs are among … | Continue reading
🏖️ We went on a day-road-trip this weekend to Kingston. We walked around the waterfront, which is lovely in the summer! It was a sunny, gorgeous day. We packed some waffle sandwiches and had lunch by the waterfront in Kingston. It was breezy and nice by the lake. We also … | Continue reading
Inspired by these thoughts, I’ve been testing a Todoist setup in which the main principle is not linking next actions to projects. I’ve used Todoist before using a lot of filters, having lots of projects, priority flags, etc. It became too complicated to manage for me. You see, … | Continue reading
🌞 I’m enjoying Summer this year! Having lived most of my life in Brazil, summer was my least favorite season because summers there are brutal! I think this here in my corner of Canada summer has been manageable. Of course, having a house with central AC helps a lot. We do … | Continue reading
I’ve encountered the minimalism movement back in 2013 and since then I’ve been rethinking my lifestyle, my possessions, my habits, the tools I use, etc. I’ve come a long way. I had a huge life declutter in the year before moving to Canada and that completely changed my relationsh … | Continue reading
🎳 I went bowling! It was a team building event at work and it was fun. It was the Five-pin bowling which seems to be a Canadian thing only. The ball is smaller and there are no fingerholes in it. Now I know! 🚶♂️ I didn't run much because of a nasty blister on my … | Continue reading
I got a nasty blister on the underside of my left pinky toe. I don't know exactly how it developed but I think it was during my long walk/run downtown last week. I was wearing a thicker pair of socks (that I don’t usually wear for running) and I’m assuming those socks, and the he … | Continue reading
💤 With Summer here the days are super long, and that always affects my sleep patterns. I had some days that I was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation, because I had a tough time sleeping by 9:30pm (which is my usual bedtime). There is sunlight up until 9pm or more! I … | Continue reading
The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls #1) by Joanna Shupe, 400p: I liked this historical late 19th century romance set in New York. The characters were great: a lawyer with a wealth client base and an heiress ahead of her time who wants to change the status quo and help people. … | Continue reading
🐢 I took it terribly slow this week. I focused on reading and resting. I didn’t play any video games and I didn’t watch anything. I worked a bit on our ancient map puzzle. ☀️ Summer is here! We had a heat wave and humidex reached 40 °C for most of last week. Then it raine … | Continue reading
✨ I went to Scintillation this weekend! I took the train to Montreal (which I love) and spent 3 days immersed in conversations about books, stories, plots, writing. I had a great time! I added some books to my TBR list, such as: "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman, "The Lifec … | Continue reading
I’m going to Montreal today for a small literary conference called “Scintillation”. I took a Lyft today to go the train station and the Lyft driver was super friendly, we started chatting, and I mentioned I liked sci-fi and fantasy. I talked about my favorite books of all time, c … | Continue reading
This is a walkthrough on how I currently have my Nirvana setup. Nirvana is a to-do app built for the Getting Things Done® methodology. I’ve been using it for years now. I’ve written a lot about switching back and forth to Nirvana, but I don’t think I’ve ever published a full set … | Continue reading
👟 Running 7Km is my new normal now. It’s a huge improvement from last year! 🤗 I can comfortably run this distance. But I only ran once this week, the other days were all walks because we had this constant start-stop rain going on most days. Jun 04, 2024 = 7.17K … | Continue reading
The Internet. What a wonderful thing. Access to all kinds of information at our fingertips. Connecting people all over the world. Social media is here to allow sharing of ideas and information. Great ! The Internet evolved to be so ubiquitous that we are connected 24/7, even thou … | Continue reading
📖Reading: I started a Book Club read which is a Norse-Mythology-Viking inspired fantasy. The tone is not really appealing me: it is a dark and gritty world with bloody vengeance themes. Maybe I won’t finish it. I’m also reading Scott Pilgrim and a couple of romances. &#x … | Continue reading
A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) by Becky Chambers, 365p: I love Becky Chamber's writing style. And this one is a delightful read following the coming of age of two characters from the first book. One is a former sentient ship AI that was transferred to a synthetic humano … | Continue reading