An Introduction to ME!

One week later and here I am! I think I deserve much praise and appreciation. This second post is officially the longest I have ever blogged. Well, I may or may not have blogged during high school and it was more likely than not extremely embarrassing. We will now forget any mention of this.

I realized that, in my concern for addressing a theme to this blog, I forgot to include any introduction to myself. Probably a mistake for a personal blog. So let me remedy this:

HI! My name is Stephanie. I am a 5'7" (but have half convinced myself and others that I am 5'9" - it just feels right), brown haired, green eyed girl. I live in Toronto Canada, but grew up in Ottawa and lived in the United States for a couple of years during middle school. I just graduated from the University of Toronto with an English Specialist (FUN FACT: my next post is going to be on why English) and am now beginning to look for a full time job. I work part time at a cookie bakery which is both incredibly fun and stressful. I live in my parents basement and revel in how cliched that is. I love tv, like love love it. I am a little nerdy, just around the edges. I really like lists, but this is getting monotonous so I'll end it here.

I'll tell you the fun story behind "Hilldowntree Road" instead!

On my bus ride home everyday, I pass by a street called (you guessed it): Hilldowntree Road. I am, apparently, the only person in the world who finds this absolutely hilarious. Hill - Down - Tree. Who came up with that. It's not even on a hill! 

So I sit on my bus and think about Hilldowntree, and how the opposite would be Valley-up-plastic, and wonder if there is a Valleyupplastic Road. Or I'll make up stories about a famous General who fought in the War of 1812 named Samuel Hilldowntree who lived in one of those houses, before he died valiantly. I'll devise a murder plot, where the killer buries their victims in speedbumps on strangely named streets. I'll fantasize about changing my last name to Hilldowntree and try to convince everyone I meet to do the same, creating an army of Hilldowntrees! It's a long bus ride - I have lots of time to kill.   So when it came to naming this blog, I didn't even have to think, the best choice was obviously Hilldowntree Road. Good story right? And now you have an idea of my sense of humour - weird.

YOGA CLASSES: Still 0

READ: A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings, finished; Chew; The Hellbound Heart, page

SHOWS: Breaking Bad season 5 episode 8; West Wing season 3 episode 10; Better Off Ted, season 2 all of it; The Big C, season 2 episode 1, 2

HOPE CHEST: nada

Oh, and I really like fish which is why the background is of fish. I watch all the documentaries on the oceans and the strange creatures living inside of it, and stare in disbelief. Some of them, especially the deep sea fish, look like CGIed sci-fi monsters. 

The Beginning

Right! So: blogging. I'm going to start this off with a mission statement. Themes are obviously an important element in blogging, and is there really any better way to stick to the theme than with a mission statement?

I thought not.

This will undoubtably be the hardest thing to do with the blog. Other than consistently writing of course. This is the third attempt I've had at writing regularly, and is so far tied at second place...with one post. Spontaneous decision: if I write a second post I'm going to buy myself a slice of pie. That will motivate me.

But back on track. First element of my mission statement is consistency. I will post once a week, preferably Wednesday but I'm going to be easy on myself for the first little while. As to the theme? I'm going to say "Putting My Life Together".

I'll expand on that. I have just recently finished my very last class at University. I will be convicating in November, but the important bit is done. I have passed all the classes (I wasn't really that worried anyways), I will not be returning in September, I will not be purchasing another backpack or binder or adjenda. I am done! It's terrifying. The major part of being done with school involves getting myself a grown up job, which is a big reason as to why I'm going to be regularly blogging - my mum's colleague in HR told me it will help potential employers get a sense of who I am. If you are a potential employer: Give me an interview! I'm totally awesome! I promise, pinky swear! But seriously now, just an interview would be amazing, I'm super eager to get my foot in the door. You won't be disappointed! Along with finishing up school I would like to get my act together, if you will. I would like to start being more healthy, I don't have any issues with weight or body image, but I would like to work on acquiring good habits before I actually need to. I would like to continue reading, and read regularly. I would like to move out of my parents house soon. I would like to learn how to drive. So that is what this blog is going to be about. It may be a bit of a cop-out, as this allows me to talk about almost anything I want, but, if for no other reason, it will be a great way to document this turning point in my life. I'm really excited about it!

In order to really track my growth throughout this year (and future years!), I will end each post with a tracker, focusing on some of my long term goals. This will probably be a work in progress for the next couple of weeks as I figure out what works and is interesting for me. Here's what I'm thinking:

YOGA CLASSES: 0
READ: A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings, currently on pg. 852
SHOWS: Breaking Bad season 5 episode 7; West Wing season 3 episode 7, 8, 9
HOPE CHEST: fondue kit

Most of these are pretty self explanatory. YOGA CLASSES is how many yoga classes I went to - none this week. READ is what I've been reading along with what page I'm currently on. This way it won't just be the same book a couple of weeks in a row, it'll show that I have been actively reading. SHOWS is tv and movies which I've watched. I'm really interested in tracking this section, I really really love television and it will be fun to have an accurate recording of how much I watch and when. HOPE CHEST is probably the most unclear category, it's going to be the stuff I start putting together before I move out. I literally have a big oak hope chest sitting in my room, which I will slowly start filling with general household items. I will do a full post soon on my goals for moving out, which will make this a little more clear.

That's it kids! If someone does read this then please leave a comment! Compliments will get you the most love, but feedback on whether this is or has to potential to be interesting would be great too. Constructive criticism, random thoughts, poems, or jokes are also great!