10 Things I Learned in 2019

Here are 10 things I learned in 2019.

1. How to stop squirreling things away

I am really bad about hanging onto stuff. Used to be, my big excuse was that I “might need it.” That one, I’ve got over; at the start of the year, my bigger excuse was “but it’s too difficult to get rid of.”

That’s why I kept stuff that I didn’t enjoy having around–the sediment of old towels abandoned when Husband and I joined households five years ago, display pieces I bought because I liked them at the time, papers I’m too lazy to set up the shredder for, books I never read and will never lend out even though I like them.

Moving gave me the impetus to get rid of the all the stuff I neither want nor need. I went through all those boxes and cabinets and files and folders and drawers. Because the move was imminent, I no longer had the excuse of inertia: I’d have to make effort both to keep and to discard.

Suffice it to say, I recycled at least my own bodyweight in paper and gave away another bodyweight’s worth of books. And I’m making a big effort to avoid acquiring anything I wouldn’t bring with me to another home even though we’re not (fingers crossed) moving again anytime soon.

2. How to read all my saved articles on Pocket.

(And judiciously delete some… like, there’s no need to save reviews of shows I might want to watch; I can Google those articles after I watch them, if I ever do.)

I spent reading week actually reading this February, and I whittled my list of hundreds of unread articles down to zero. *fanfare*

3. Pre-minced garlic and ginger are the best.

Not the stuff you buy in jars in the grocery store. The stuff from when you sit down every few months, peeling and chopping and using your food processor, and make a crap-ton of pre-minced fresh aromatics to freeze in olive oil for when you need them.

For someone like me, who sometimes struggles with chronic pain and experiences mood issues and ALSO loves flavour, being able to grab some fresh-ish garlic out of a Tupperware with minimal effort makes mealtime so much better. And unlike the grocery-store jars, my frozen stuff still tastes like normal garlic. This has definitely become part of my pre-term prep.

4. How to change up my gym routine.

The most important thing I learned from my starter sessions with a Goodlife trainer is that my pride and impatience lead me to sacrifice good form to keep the “numbers” going up. Now that I use a smaller, more accessible gym, I’ve worked at being mindful of sustainable routines.

I focus on form, and, if I can’t do a movement correctly, I go down a weight until I can. If something hurts in a bad way, I stop and rest that muscle/joint. I try out new exercises on all the machines available. I focus each session on one or two full-body lifts and focus on doing them the best that I can instead of rushing through a dozen exercises each gym day and doing none of them with intention and effort.

Sometimes, I relapse–I’m achievement-driven, as my Girl Guide badge scarf will attest. I like to see a new number on my records. Heck, I like doing the exact same exercises each week so I have a routine and can easily compare said recorded numbers. But I do my best to steer myself back to more appropriate practices.

5. How to be a bigger gym bro…

… through the joys of protein powder, of course. (I mean, I considered changing my name to “Biff” or “Chet,” but protein powder narrowly squeaked out in front.)

Protein-powder smoothies turned out to work well for me. I buy unflavoured whey powder and make whatever smoothie I want. Now that we have a dishwasher, I can use the blender without anticipatory clean-up guilt; now that I use the blender all the time, I can buy bananas without concern because, if we don’t eat the fruit before it gets too ripe, I will actually use up the frozen leftovers.

I’ve found that I’m much better about making and consuming a smoothie right after coming back from the gym than I ever was about fixing myself lunch. And it actually does make me feel good–I don’t end up ravenous for the rest of the afternoon.

Protein smoothies also reward proficiency with flavoured extracts, fresh herbs, and/or baking spices, which lets me concoct drinks that don’t taste like bad milkshakes without using the cheat-code of adding sugar or sweeteners.

6. How to re-set my bedtime to 11pm.

After coming back from overseas in August, I realized my main problem is that I keep trying to Do Stuff even after I know I should be getting ready for bed. I stop only when I’m too tired to Do any more Stuff, and when I’m at that stage, I should already be in bed.

Not gonna lie, letting unDone Stuff go (and not getting so worked up about it that I can’t sleep anyway) continues to be a struggle. But I keep working at being kind to myself, even if I find that I can’t sleep when I wanted to or have to push off a particular task to Tomorrow-Me to make it to bed on time.

7. How to make zero-proof cocktails.

I like mixed drinks, but, frankly, if I’m feeling the slightest bit less than 10/10 to start, alcohol makes me sad and sick the next day. So this year, I looked for alternatives that would give me the not-sweet, complicated flavours I wanted without the mental/physical health issues.

I tried non-alcoholic spirits like Seedlip, shrubs (drinking vinegars), and various fun bitters with soda water or tonic. And they’re all great! They’re not the same as alcohol, of course, but they scratch that itch when I’m not feeling up for a, say, gin and tonic.

8. How to cope with a longer commute.

When you work downtown but can only afford suitable housing not-downtown, you get used to a long commute. At our old place, it took me about 30-40 minutes each way. At our new place, my commute has pretty much doubled.

I find it intense and difficult, but, on the bright side, it’s got me into a lot of stuff I wouldn’t have picked up before: reading e-books, watching full-length movies on Netflix, and listening to a whole bunch of new podcasts. Because my new walk to the subway doesn’t take me past various retail stores, I also don’t impulse-spend on coffee or snacks. I have to plan all my errands more carefully.

To be honest, I’m going to be working on this one for a while. It’s tough to “lose” another hour (if I’m lucky) out of my day, and entertaining myself on the subway isn’t the same as actually relaxing. But… baby steps.

9. How to make spaghetti, chicken steamed buns, scallion pancakes… etc. from scratch.

Spoiler: it involves a stand mixer.

Okay, it doesn’t have to involve a stand mixer. But my parents and my in-laws very kindly gifted us a Kitchenaid with pasta-making attachments as a housewarming gift this spring. It makes putting together dough so much easier. It’s particularly helpful for dough that requires cutting in solid fat (pie crusts, scallion pancakes) or kneading. My chronic pain is worse in my arms and wrists, so kneading by machine is a godsend. (Plus, I hate cleaning the flour off the counter afterwards.)

And, of course, having motorized pasta cutters/presses makes the whole process a lot easier too.

10. The best restaurants in our new neighbourhood

In our old neighbourhood, I knew exactly what my favourites were. Sure, sometimes the best ones closed without warning (*sniff* I’ll miss you, Smoked & Cracked! We never got to say goodbye…) It’s been hit-and-miss in our new neighbourhood, but I’m warming up to a few local spots.

Now that we finally have a door buzzer (after six months… long story), Husband and I can try ordering in from various nearby places too.