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Week-07 2016 Luxuries, Aspirations and Learning to Dream Again

My Luxuries


I was chatting with my hair dresser of what I considered my luxuries. Things I splash on out because I'm on a tight budget. This because with living one is assaulted with bills and taxes right, left and centre. And at time one needs to think this is purely for me. So my luxuries may look like basic necessities but I don't really need to have them.

Doing my Hair at the Salon. My hair-dresser is very reasonably priced and an awarding winning stylist and owner.  So I tend to pay for director or senior stylist level. My hair isn't something I do myself so this is a treat for me. This is a picture of me on Friday after my hair was done.  It is a luxury because I have other options however my hair dresser is excellent and excels at what she does. My hair looks the business!




My second luxury is my Virgin Active gym membership. I don't go regularly and at times people say it's a waste of money but it isn't because it is something for ME. It has a great spa facility with a steam room and sauna. I've lost my gym kit so I need to replace that and start going again. It is more expensive than the average one but I like it.


My third is my monthly travel card oyster. Now I take the tube when I could equally take the bus. I also pay for a monthly instead of pay as you go. I probably don't use it on weekends as much as I could but I like having my monthly travel card.


I prefer travelling by underground instead of waiting for the bus. So I pay 25% more than I need to for convenience. My fourth luxury used to be splurges on books but I just tend to go to the libraries nowadays.


There are other things I think necessities but others might think luxuries so not going to bother list them. However those are the above I chose.

Now for my goals or aspirations.

Application for Chartered Associate

This has been a difficult week for me since a few things happened. My annual leave at my job was revoked for some work-related task and things are very busy, and it was in that week I wanted to complete the first draft of my application.

I had previously planned to do this task on annual leave, and unfortunately it didn't happen that way. So now I'm in a tight spot of finding bits of time here and there to meet my expensive deadline. It has put a huge damper on things however I guess I need to earn a living.

That said I got a day off and was about to pull together something, however with the heavy workload at the moment, by the time I get home, I'm so tired - too tired to want to do anything other than unwind and go to bed.

Despite all this, I'm still on course to submit my application on time. Once I've got my letters, I'll do a give-way draw. I suspect this will have to be an Amazon gift vouchers in dollars. I was thinking iTunes but there appears to be issues with in which country it would be bought in. Anyway I'm thinking $15.00. Comment below if you think this is a good idea.

Weight Loss

This has also has an effect on my eating plan. Work leaves no time for me to plan. I'm not sure if I've lost any weight since I didn't go for the weigh-in. And frankly, given the way my week has been, I've been eating a lot of junk food. Mostly because work is stressful plus the anxiety of my associate application and having my annual leave time revoked.

I was even thinking that perhaps I should leave losing weight until after my application but the thing is I do need to lose weight - at least 15Ib or a stone so I can fit into my suit or formal dress at my associate assessment interview in a few weeks time. I'm not buying a new dress or suit for that event.

On a brighter note, I've started to go for walks at lunch time.


 Normally I would just go to the restaurant on site, have lunch then back to my desk. During busy periods I might even miss lunch or take it back to my desk. Now I've been going for walks...Not that exciting but it gets me out of the premises for a change. Even in the cold.



One Hundred Thousands Hits on my Reality Blog


I finally hit the 100,000th hit mark on my reality show review blog, and I'm thrilled and delighted! At the moment I'm busy with doing all this work-related stuff and my job however once that is over, I'll arrange some kind of giveaway draw. That would be on that blog not this one.

Other things: Reflection, Aspirations and Dreams

I'm reflecting on things and working on how to be more positive and more motivated. I'm also pondering on my aspirations and dreams. At some point I stopped dreaming (due to various events in my life) and started just to living which isn't a good thing. It meant cynicism set in where there used to hope, dreams and aspirations. Also where cynicism sets in one lacks motivation and everything is like 'what is the point of doing anything'? Going through the motions of living.

So I'm working on addressing that imbalance, and only goodness knows how. Can one dare to dream again? Be inspired to reach one's aspirations? Well I've always wanted to be a writer - maybe of fiction - but as a blogger I am one. So that is one dream I'm living. It may not be the big fancy 'new breaking and popular' blog where I'm making lots of cash. But I am doing it.

Becoming as an Associate has being in the pipeline for a such a long time. Years and years and years of exams. I won't tell you how long, but I'm finally nearly there. There was a point I couldn't even see reaching this point. It was like going thorough the motions of taking exams, and resitting and resitting until maybe the right question came up and I was about to answer it.

The exams were easy at first, I passed all of them first time round, then real life set in. My circumstances changed, I started to do self-study because college was too expensive but the short of it was I hung in there. People were saying 'you're still doing it?' Yes, I was, still am.

Why? In my line of work it's not a real option when it comes to earning power and earning a decent wage. The ceiling is also much higher as it's one step up the career pyramid.  Today's employers want more than practical experience, they want paper qualifications too. Therefore with every exam not passed - I had to pull myself together and go back to resit and try again.

That's it for my week. Hope you had a pleasant one too! And a better one this new week.!
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