Monthly Recap: February 2016

February 2016

Places I Went

Glasgow,Inveraray, Glencoe, Fort William, and Glenfinnan, Scotland
Munich, Fussen, and Dachau, Germany
Pinswang, Austria

Books I Read

Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman
As a fan of Parks and Rec, I couldn't not read this. Also, I'm on a spree of reading autobiographical books by my favorite comedians. I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about Nick Offerman's interests and life before he was on Parks and Rec. I would also like to say that there is a part of the book set in Paris and I happened to be in Paris on a layover when I read that part, which I thought was pretty great.

Best on the Blog

Postcards from Europe - this was the post I wrote about being inspired by my mom's travels in Europe when she was in her 20s.

Best on Instagram

I had a few favorite pictures that all seemed quite popular, so here they are.

Inspirations and Favorites

I've been reading a lot of blogs this month about minimalism. I've been thinking about all the traveling and moving around I'm going to be doing in the near future. In the next 6 months, I'll be on three continents. I've also just moved, so I have been considering very carefully all the things I own. I am intrigued by the idea of having a really manageable amount of things that would be a lot easier to move around all the time. There are a lot of people who take this to the extreme. And there's a lot of different directions that people take minimalism in. I'm working to integrate parts of the philosophy and lifestyle into my life. I think other than being practical, it's nice to be reminded that stuff doesn't really matter. I think I've still got a lot to learn, so it will be interesting to see how minimalism inspires me.

Highlights of the Month

I got to go to Glencoe! Glencoe is my favorite place ever, so I was super happy to go there. It looks totally different in the middle of winter than in summer, but it's just as beautiful as ever.

I went to see a screening of the Room with a Q&A with Tommy Wiseau, which was really fun. It was the Rocky Horror experience but with an even more ridiculous film. Also, for anyone that's curious, the way he talks in real life is just like the way he talks in the movie.

I moved this month. I was really unhappy in my old place, and I'm really proud of myself for moving in the middle of the semester. It felt like just one more big thing on my plate, but I am now much happier and I feel a lot more relaxed at home.

The weather this month has been pretty good. We've had a lot of sunny days and pretty sunsets. Every time it's sunny, I try to take a picture as a reminder that it's not always rainy and miserable here. So here's several of those pictures.

I got a job for this summer! I'm going to be working at a Chinese-language summer camp in Minnesota. I'm really excited, because I'm going to get to practice my Chinese this summer before I go to China.