JULY UPDATE
After a hideous month unsuccessfully trying out yoga, slotting film into my routine every day in July was an absolute blast. It's my favourite hobby for a reason, but having to set aside time specially each day to do something film related has been such a dream.
It's nothing new for me to be found phone in hand scrolling through article after article on the Variety, Empire or Hollywood Reporter websites every time I have a spare minute; putting my Netflix subscription and Sky Cinema package to good use; or being greeted by the staff at my local Cineworld by name since I've routinely made a minimum of 2 trips to the cinema each week after receiving an unlimited card for my birthday last year. However, there was something wonderful about doing these normal activities for a few hours every day for a reason, and not just aimlessly switching to my default film-mad setting without much care. Knowing that I was setting aside uninterrupted time to indulge in a film or an essay or a podcast made me enjoy them so much more than before. I'm normally conscious of how much time it takes up and I feel an enormous amount of guilt for pursuing this hobby with no real goal: cross-stitch has an end point, as does every book I read and exercise I attempt. Having film as my July challenge ultimately gave me an unwavering sense of purpose - even without a visible end point - and such has made me happier than I imagined possible 30 days ago.
I've tried to keep things varied over the month, and in the most fortuitous way possible the stars aligned to somehow make July extra filmy. I've been to the cinema 12 times; listened to 4 Empire spoiler-special podcasts; rewatched the Bourne trilogy (and decided I quite fancy being a spy); read every article I could get my hands on regarding Comic Con; poured over any and all footage released from Comic Con on YouTube and vowed to book flights and actually go to San Diego next summer; watched the Wonder Woman trailer at least 300 times; ugly cried over the Sky Cinema premiere of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (I've seen it before and therefore should not have been so emotional); nearly threw up in the cinema watching The Neon Demon; finally started reading one of my library books (and avoided fines for the first time in months...oops); and I attended the premiere of Star Trek Beyond (still pinching myself: thank you Sky Cinema!).
(yellow stars - reading / red dots - cross-stitch / silver dots - film / green stars - work-outs)
Mission accomplished! I think film will always be my saviour, and while I feel like July has been ridiculously busy it's no shock that I've also been happy and filed to the brim with positivity. There's something about watching the USS Enterprise explore space on an IMAX screen; listening to the Empire team tear apart Batman V Superman; reading a blistering essay on gender and violence in film; seeing four hilarious women save New York from a ghost apocalypse and watching Wonder Woman step onto the battlefields of World War I (seriously: watch the trailer, it'll give you goosebumps) that just makes me giddy. It makes me feel like I could walk on water or spit fire, attempt more than 10 burpees in a row without feeling like I'm going to die and not be quite so afraid of the admittedly tiny spider. Film gets me fired up and inspired like nothing else, and as such a month of scheduling it into my routine has been absolutely brilliant.
(GIF SOURCED FROM www.giphy.com)
In terms of my other challenges, I've fallen behind on my reading this month, only managing to make my way through Shonda Rhimes' Year of Yes. Honestly, I really disliked it and found it to be such a disappointment. I'm an enormous fan of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, and had high hopes for Rhimes' book, but instead found it to be an insufferably self-absorbed read full of more humble bragging than I could cope with. Not one I'd recommend I'm afraid.
I've also not completed as much cross-stitching as I would have liked: Catherine Parr is still missing half a skirt, unfortunately!
I did, however, start working out again, and so I'm not too upset if my other challenges fell to the wayside a little as I've fallen into a routine of regular exercise - something not to be frowned at!
AUGUST PLANS
August is going to be crazy and I'm not going to be at home half as much as I initially thought I would be - hello long weekend in London and 10 days in America - so I needed to pick something that wouldn't require any equipment or things. As such, I'm going to attempt 30 days of brain training. As Leslie Mann says in The Other Woman, I'm starting to think I need to go to brain camp!
It's going to be a two-parter, but hopefully my head will thank me for it... I have friends who swear by meditation and I've read so much about its virtues that I'd decided to give it a go every day. I've downloaded a meditation app and fully intend to use it: maybe it'll be a positive influence on my mental wellbeing. In addition, I received a Bletchley Park book of brain puzzles from my friend's mum for my birthday and I plan on doing 3 every day throughout August. The ones I've attempted so far have been more of a challenge than they really should be, so I hope regular puzzles will kickstart my brain into behaving properly too!
So, 30 days of brain training...go!
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