Binge Watching II

So if you follow me on Twitter you may or may not know that I am slightly obsessed with the Property Brothers*. I have reached that stage in where whenever I walk around my house or any house really, I mentally look around and decided what to change to add value or what has been to improve the space. I’ve seen their Youtube videos and their Vines. I’ve watch random interview videos because I was bored.

The Property Brothers show is one of those that is easy to binge watch for two reasons. One the hosts are likeable and fun to watch, plus their easy on the eyes.

[meat in property brothers sandwich gif]

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDRnuCNkvQo

Two (for me especially) there are no real stakes. The show’s formulaic: They buy a house to renovate, some drama comes up, the house is perfect. You know how it’s going to end and you’re just in it to look at pretty pictures of houses. I didn’t get a job till about halfway through the summer which meant I spent my time home either  Helping around the house or Watching Property Brothers**. Since we don’t have USA network anymore I think Property Brothers are on more than Law and Order: SVU. Plus I don’t understand how they film so much, Brother vs. Brother just ended and now a new season of Property Brothers: Buying and Selling is coming out

Watching so much Property Brothers has given me some good career insight:

1. Good Branding is crucial. Make sure what you do and who you are is recognisable
2. Audience engagement brings whatever it is you’re doing to life
3. Flannel=win

*Jonathan’s my favourite

**Writing nearly made the list.

Accepting your ugly

Most of the body positivity movement centres on on loving your body unconditionally. You should love your body and they ways you are uniquely beautiful.* But the truth of the matter is you can’t be happy with your boy 100% of the time. You can love your body all the time (or try to) but you can’t be happy with it all of the time.

Part of me learning to love my body was learning to accept my ugly. To accept the days where I looked in mirror and thought “Nope.” When I was puffy and bloated, when I broke out and when my hair looked like a black mass about to consume my head. I learned to live with days where I the image of me in my head did not match with reality.

You will not think you look perfect 100% of the time. It’s impossible. You will have days where you look in the mirror and think “Why does my face look like a beach ball?” I had to learn to accept this about my body. I had to learn to sink into my own skin and embrace it every day. Accepting my ugly days was freeing. It let me take the pressure off myself, i no longer had to match the idea of my ideal self in my head. I just had to be me.

I still have days where accepting my body is hard. I have days where I look in the mirror and think “Why do I look gross? You were fine 2 hours ago?”** But I’m cool with it. I move on. I lie down in my bed and chill out watching Property Brother in my PJ’s. Beauty is a social construct, it doesn't define me. There are days when I’m happier with my body than other but I accept it how it is, ugly or not.

*Beauty is a social construct which means you define it, it doesn’t define you. Those who say otherwise are wrong.

**In a friendly way. Mostly right after I wake up.

New Job?!?!

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t vacation well. Strange for a lazy person but true. I think the max amount of time I go without either a job or school is about a week or two before I go mad. Work is how I relax, there’s nothing I like more than completing a job and being productive. The paycheck doesn’t hurt too ;).

Recently, like all college students, I had to ask myself the question: How am I going to make my degree profitable? A conversation with an alumni from my college gave me the idea of trying out a job in marketing/advertising. While my eventual goal is to be a writer and a filmmaker, I have to pay the bills before then. I looked around for marketing jobs and managed to land a great internship at a local advertising firm.

So far I’ve been here about two weeks but I’m learning a lot. I’ve helped write talking points and press releases, done research and even gone on shoots for ads. That’s not even touching on all the amazing stuff that’s still to come. I’ve had some really great jobs, but my co workers here are some really cool people who do some amazing work. Summer internships are a great way to test out different career options, even if you think they may be unrelated to your major. I’ve decided to take some classes in marketing in the fall to become more educated about the field. I can’t wait to see what next summer holds!

The G.A.T.E. question

"The government who gets rid of G.A.T.E. is a government that has decided to retire."

This was my attitude for years, an attitude which time has made me lose confidence in. G.A.T.E. is a government programme in Trinidad and Tobago which funds tertiary education for citizens. This leads to large number of T&T citizens staying in the country for college. On the other hand, this system has invited abuse in past years because of poor regulation. Instead of tightening controls, from what I can tell the programme has just become less accessible to people. Arbitrary rules and regulations have been set up with means students have to jump through hoops in order to receive funding for their education. While there is a need to make sure that G.A.T.E. funds are used appropriately, these regulations have made it harder for students to even get the funding. Students now even have difficulty getting funding if they want to switch programmes, and often G.A.T.E. pays students' tuition late.

While I do not receive G.A.T.E. funding myself, most of my knowledge of the troubles associated with G.A.T.E. come from the experiences of my friends and family. While successive governments have tried to make G.A.T.E. more efficient, their efforts have been like a bull in a china shop. There is huge concern right now that students are abusing G.A.T.E. funds and wasting taxpayers' dollars. The concern is valid, however their approach is worrying.

Suggestions have been made that the programmes and institutions which qualify for G.A.T.E. funding be reviewed, or a 50/50 loan programme be put in place. How do you judge which programmes deserve to get G.A.T.E. funding? Do the sciences and law get prioritised over humanities and the arts? With the rising cost of education, how much can students really provide towards tuition?

As a nation we've decided on certain national priorities, education being one of them. Funding is expensive, but the rewards are greater than the expense. A nation with more educated people is a nation whose citizens are more productive and are more perceptive. Regardless of the degree, when a person is educated that person is empowered. By deciding that education is right, not a privilege we decide that nothing can disqualify a citizen from that right and that systems will be designed to prevent abuse of that right. Delinquency is a huge problem that has to be dealt with. Making access to fund for education creates more problems than it does solutions, It can end up decreasing the number of people who can reap the benefits of the system.

The Shepherd's Crown

I can't believe I forgot to write about this earlier but I finally read the last book of my favourite series. I put off reading Wikipedia articles and ran from all spoilers. Finally, I got a chance to read it. Coming home I had to buy some stuff for my mom and decided to get reading material for the plane at the same time. I had to restrain myself to stop myself from reading it between leaving college and the airport.

Reading The Shepherd's Crown was an emotional experience. Even though I still have several Discworld novels I haven't read, The Shepherd's Crown is the last that will be written. Years ago, because I was obsessed with Christmas, I picked Hogfather off the shelves. Anyone whose read it knows it is not the conventional Christmas story. Terry Pratchett was the first writer that really taught me that you don't have to follow any of the conventional rules of writing.

I won't include any spoilers for the book. The Shepherd's Crown is not the best Discworld book, but it's a fitting way to end the series, especially since one of the first Discworld books I read was a Tiffany Aching novel.

Sunday Lunch

Sunday Lunch  is a Trinbagonian tradition. It's a time where a people who could already cook better than anybody else really bring out their best. It's when a family of two cooks for a family of six (and then has to invite over enough people to eat the food). It's a time where cooks make old favourites ad experiment with new dishes. It's a time to relax, to lime, to explore and to enjoy.

I made the beef and broccoli and the fried rice, mummy made the lasagne. #sundaylunch #daylate #womantohaveinyuhhouse

A photo posted by Anushka Robinson (@nushi.ke) on Jun 15, 2015 at 7:11am PDT

One of my own Sunday lunch experiments with mummy

Sunday lunch is one of my favourite meals because food is one of my favourite things. I love to come up with new dishes to try out and see how they turn out. The come out right for the most part! After leaving church, we usually head to the grocery store then head back home to cook up a storm.

If you enjoy the Sunday lunch tradition I encourage you to share with others. The St. Vincent de Paul Society of Assumption church is always looking for volunteers to donate a boxed lunch to the less fortunate. Outside of this area, enquire with your local charities to see if they have any similar progammes.

My first year

When I was saying goodbye to all my friends before I left to get on the train that could take me away from my first year of college one of my friends said something that I didn't quite expect. She said:

"I'm so glad you came, I know you had a tough first year."

This was so strange for me to hear because until she said that, I would have never though of it. So much happened during my first year, and a lot of it was really great. I got into a really great college, I made some amazing friends, I got the idea that what I want to study won't leave me broke and destitute for the rest of my life. I joined a sport (rowing) and actually gained muscle. I wrote and I completed my first solo film project. Leaving at the end of the first year, I was torn. I wanted desperately to come home and I desperately wanted to come back.

Looking back, many tough things did happen in my first year. I spent both semesters stressed about my mother back at home, I worried about my grades and someone I cared about very much died while I was away. The friend who recognised these things was someone I'd told this to throughout the year. Yet, all these pressures didn't overcome me. Having friends like her really helped, they were there for me through everything.  I guess the moral of this blog is when you're going through a tough time, depending on where you are and who you're with it can be a little easier.