New Year's Resolution: Embrace Change

So I had a blog post written that simply had to be copied and pasted into Blogger’s platform and away we go. However, as I re-read it, I realized that I didn’t want to actually dedicate a whole post to how extremely bothered I was at seeing a picture on Facebook of my ex-fiancé snuggled up to some girl on New Year’s Eve. It sounded…Horrible, and the last thing I wanted to do was cut my ex-fiancé down. All I’d really wanted to convey was that I’m not the kind of person who simply walks away from people and stops loving them, and I’m not saying that he is either. I chalk it up to not liking to give up (especially on people); I am a hopeful person and that is why I have decided to make changes in my life, changes in myself. In fact, although he isn’t what inspired the change, my ex-fiancé did inspire me to work for the good of others which is what I thought I was doing as a teacher, but I’ve realized isn’t enough for me. On a side note, my ex looked very happy in the photo, and although it hurt, I want him to be as happy as he looked because I will always love him; I will never forget what he’s done for me and I will always be thankful that he made me want to be a better person.

Not known for my courage, I’ve had to psychologically prepare myself for the big changes I’m making and will be making. One of the first changes I made was the decision to travel in the Middle East as much as I can since travelling here’s been a dream I’ve had ever since I was a young girl. I booked a ticket to go to Dubai at the end of the month as a sort of birthday gift to myself. My Lebanese colleague and I are going to visit her sister for a long weekend at the end of the month. I am SOOO excited! Never in a million years did I think that I was going to travel to the Middle East and now I’m living here!!! I’m going to try and visit an old friend in Oman in February and I might even try to sneak in a weekend visit to Bahrain if I can…

As the weather grew cooler, I began to worry that I wouldn’t be able to survive (without buying a coat). It was only when I’d heard from my friend from Oman yesterday over dinner that this is as cold as it gets in Kuwait. SERIOUSLY??? Oh. My. Gosh. Hello, Kuwait! *wink-wink* You’re much, MUCH warmer than London in January. I LOVE IT! I don’t even need a coat! Sometimes I wear a jacket, but rarely! My sister would love it here because it’s sweater weather and she’s ALL ABOUT the sweater weather. Awesome. Just awesome. My friend isn’t a fan of Kuwait and understandably so. My friend travelled from Oman to Bahrain to Kuwait. That’s one long-a$s trip. Poor guy. We had some good ol’ American Toxic Hell, more commonly known as Taco Bell, and it was hilarious! There are definitely some things I did NOT think I’d do while I was in Kuwait and cruising for guys and eating Taco Bell are definitely two things on that list. What would be at the top??? Well, seeing people who I normally interact with in Canada! It was so surreal seeing Habibi here in June. We never went on a holiday or vacation together, so it was crazy to see him halfway around the world. Then my Canadian friend in the military was stationed here for a few days, and now my friend who’s been living in Oman for the past few years was in Kuwait on business. It’s wild! I didn’t even see that many of my Canadian friends in Japan while I lived there! It truly makes the world feel like a smaller place! As my friend and I caught-up we laughed at how crazy things (a variety of things like the economy, politics, religion and culture) are internationally, and smiled as we reminisced about the fun we had while we were younger in Canada. I hadn’t seen him in almost five years and it was great catching-up!

Since the semester has finished and I’m done teaching, I have now entered exam-marking mode. My exam-marking ritual is as follows: I make a BIG cup of coffee, take my shoes off, put my feet up and throw on my ipod and go to it. I volunteered to help mark my flatmate’s students' exams since she’s left Kuwait. The result? Instead of marking 55 exams, I have 86, lol! It’s not like I have anything else to do right now, so I might as well do what I can! Have no fear (dad), I won’t get fat sitting in my chair and marking! I’m STILL running, AND tomorrow after work I’m going to try a Zoomba class that is being offered at the university! Yes, I’ll likely look like an idiot and feel like an idiot, too, but that’s okay! I’m looking for something to shake up my boring walking/jogging/running routine. I’m still at 3 minutes walking and 2 minutes jogging/running, but that’s because I’m so dead by the time the 2 minutes is over that I don’t think I’m ready to transition to 2:30 minutes walking and 2:30 minutes jogging/running. I’ll let you know how Zoomba goes! I’ve never done it before and from some of the clips I’ve seen on YouTube…Well, I’m all for dancing, so we’ll see how it goes! I’m all about change, right? I’m probably not going to be able to do Zoomba, start laughing hysterically, try not to pee my pants and get kicked out. You think I’m joking, but I’m serious!

Happy New Year, family, friends and readers!!! May your 2013 be a wonderful year for you!

Much Love,

Mik