Cosmic Night Owl

It’s Winter Break for Goodness Sake!

Getting through a fall semester of college is like trudging through a deep lake of molasses. It’s a mentally and emotionally exhausting process to get through. I’m not entirely sure why this is- I’ve asked other people who feel the same way, but even they don’t have an answer- but it makes me more appreciative of the rest and relaxation I get to experience during the winter break. But of course it doesn’t mean that I’m going to sit on my butt and do absolutely these next few weeks. I figure this is the best time to do some soul-searching, and tap back in to my creative spirit, and to simply get back to doing the things I wasn’t able to accomplish during the school semester.

I. Books! Books! Books

I’ve missed these things. I know I’m being a little dramatic, seeing as how I read plenty of paperbacks for school. But following a recent trip to the lovely Barnes & Noble, I realized that I’m definitely missing out. I only plan to read a few, seeing as how last time I made a reading goal, I came up very short (during the summer I bought seven books, but only read one). But I have a few books in mind, both fiction and nonfiction alike:

• “The Disaster Artist” by Greg Sestero
• “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King
• A fantasy book whose title I can’t remember by an author I’ve never heard of. My friend is letting me borrow it, so that’s cool.
• My collection of short novels by John Steinbeck, one of my favorite storytellers of all time!

II. Writing

I have felt rejuvenated ever since I came off my two-year creative hiatus. My writer’s block had literally driven me up the wall, but now I feel more like old self again. I want to work on conceptualizing and writing some flash-fiction pieces. Most of all, I plan on working on my mythology- writing out character and creature sheets, plot points, world-building, etc.

III. Getting Physical

Stress can make you do stupid things, health wise.  And it doesn’t help when it hits you hard during the holiday season. I’ve skipped out of going to the gym, and instead have lived on a diet of Chick-Fil-A, cookie dough, frosting, and stuffing my face with leftover pizza from work. To counteract the fatty acts, I have been drinking A LOT of water. But I figure that it’s time to get somewhat back into shape. For the next few weeks I’ll be popping in my workout DVD’s and walking my dog more often. (And of course by more often I mean more 20-minute walks, it’s too cold outside).

IV. Movie Marathons

Now these are going to be a hell of a lot of fun! I tell people all the time that I’m a huge movie person, but while this is true, I’ll admit there are plenty of classic films that I haven’t seen. So during the break I will make a list of films and watch as many of them as I can. Right now I’m focused on the James Bond franchise, and maybe sometime after that I’ll watch more classic films from the 40s or 50s. I don’t know. I’ll see when I get there.

V. Chillax

Now these are things that aren’t necessary on my must-do list, but they’re still activities that had been put on hold and what I want to get back to. I have a stress-release coloring book that’s really emotionally soothing. I need to break out my wii and finish that damn Epic Mickey game that I began playing in 2012. But most of all, I plan on making sure that I stay in contact with my friends and be sure to get out of the house and spend time with them. Other than that, I will also definitely enjoy watching cheesy Christmas movies, dressing in ugly holiday sweaters, taking long hot showers, and catching up on lost sleep.