126 Ways to be Extraordinary

A new mission!

I found this link via's someone's profile. The idea is to be extraordinary, preferably a 100 times per day. Thousands of opportunities to make an impact..

The idea I have now is to try and achieve all these 126 things, as quickly as possible.
Anything that's already happened doesn't count. It only starts when I publish this. 
And I want to see when I get to finish the list. 
(I haven't even read it through yet, no idea if there are "impossible for me" things on here- Bear in mind I don't get out much: Writing a thesis is solitary work)

So it's work in progress. 
Wish me luck!

Edit: The way I'm raised, there's nothing "extraordinary" about this list.
This is just being well-mannered and optimistically positive.
And... the way everyone SHOULD be. So yeah.
It's interesting how aware I've become of what I do/ don't do.
Getting to know myself. 

Choose to be extraordinary.

1. Open the door for a stranger.   ✔

2. Say, “Thank you.”   ✔

3. Learn from your mistakes.  ✔

4. Stop whining.  ✔

5. Fear less.   ✔

6. Be kind.   ✔

7. Let yourself be inspired.   ✔

8. Lead someone.    ✔

9. Pay off debt.  ✔

10. Choose a side.   ✔

11. Pay more for quality.    ✔

12. Lend a hand.   ✔

13. Let past mistakes go.  ✔

14. Be invincible.   ✔

15. Be more efficient with your time.   ✔

16. Stop playing politics. ?

17. Plan to be successful.   ✔

18. Be an expert.   ✔

19. Stop defending yourself.   ✔

20. Decide to take action today.   ✔

21. Fight mediocrity.  ✔

22. Laugh at life.   ✔

23. Go to bed tired.   ✔

24. Ask what you can do better.  ✔

25. Give a stranger flowers. 

26. Hold the elevator door.   ✔

27. Compliment a great idea.    ✔

28. Work on being patient.  ✔

29. Create what’s missing. 

30. Stay in mental shape.  ✔

31. Practice getting back up.  ✔

32. Shake hands while looking the other person in the eye.  ✔

33. Assume the best in others.  ✔

34. Try something new.  ✔

35. Listen to your critics.  ✔

36. Get into financial shape.   ✔

37. Donate time to charity.  ✔

38. Teach what you’ve learned.   ✔

39. Give an opinion when it’s hard.  ✔

40. Care about others.   ✔

41. Pay attention to the details.  ✔

42. Be a friend.  ✔

43. Do physical labor.  ✔

44. Brag on someone else.   ✔

45. Share more.   ✔

46. Love someone.  ✔

47. Have a dream.  ✔

48. Get up an hour earlier.

49. Write down your thoughts.   ✔

50. Apologize more.   ✔

51. Stay mentally strong.   ✔

52. Put yourself in tough places.   ✔

53. Cry when you are hurt.   ✔

54. Have a purpose each day.  ✔

55. Don’t stop until you finish.   ✔

56. Be passionate about others.   ✔

57. Pay attention to the conversation.  ✔

58. Appreciate differences.  ✔

59. Be less selfish.  ✔

60. Ease someone else’s pain.  ✔

61. Imagine the possibilities.

62. Smile at those around you.  ✔

63. Care enough to cry.  ✔

64. Make a call because “you’re thinking about them.”

65. Be a mentor.   ✔

66. Fail gracefully.    ✔

67. Practice being vulnerable.    ✔

68. Decide to be optimistic.   ✔

69. Ask more questions.   ✔

70. Read a new biography. 

71. Do something outrageous. 

72. Think for yourself.    ✔

73. Put in more effort.  ✔

74. Ask for help.   ✔

75. Tell the truth.  ✔

76. Get some exercise.   ✔

77. Decide not to get angry.   ✔

78. Explore new ideas. 

79. Be more effective with your talents. 

80. Slow down (for a few minutes).  ✔

81. Pursue your goals each day.   ✔

82. Make a list of tasks to get done.   ✔

83. Live with honor.  ✔

84. Feed your inspiration.   ✔

85. Avoid the crowd.    ✔

86. Stop being passive aggressive.   ✔

87. Find answers to your questions.   ✔

88. Be accountable.    ✔

89. Work on your biggest weakness.   ✔

90. Replace “No” with “No thanks.”   ✔

91. Let someone else get the attention.    ✔

92. Listen with your eyes. 

93. Say what’s on your mind.   ✔

94. Defend your friends.   ✔

95. Shake off the straws before they break your back.   ✔

96. Offer encouragement.    ✔

97. Meditate on your goals.  ✔

98. Don’t do anything halfway.   ✔

99. Do good things for the right reasons.   ✔

100. Get help for your head.

101. Demand brutal analysis of your actions.   ✔

102. Put in the effort you expect of others.   ✔

103. Share a good example.  ✔

104. Offer to buy dinner or dessert.  ✔

105. Decide to learn from everyone.  ✔

106. Make a big deal of small wins.   ✔

107. Let life happen around you.  ✔

108. Have a big vision for those around you.   ✔

109. Enjoy others’ success.   ✔

110. Inspire others quietly.   ✔

111. Deliberately invest in healing.   ✔

112. Welcome diverse perspectives.   ✔

113. Don’t go to bed angry.  ✔

114. Anticipate the success of others.    ✔

115. Value your own time.   ✔

116. Ask others to “pay it forward.”   ✔

117. Write a kind note.  ✔

118. Offer to help for free.   ✔

119. Have a plan.  ✔

120. Overlook immaturity.   ✔

121. Care less about being right.  ✔

122. Schedule time to invest in others.  ✔

123. Give away your best idea.   ✔

124. Stop being offended so easily.  ✔

125. Remember the good times.  ✔

126. Decide that caring is more important than winning.  ✔

Xx 

The Gypsy

Almost the 12th :)

When I said that February would be a quiet(er) month for me, right here, I lied.

Muahahaha.

Okay. I didn't lie.
I just didn't know that I'd be this swamped AND having fun.
So far, I'm actually living up to my "resolutions".
At least the first two are looking/feeling promising. The third one is work in progress. :)

Besides my thesis, I had the house to myself a weekend when I dropped my mum and sister off at the station (they were heading for Belgium). Seeing as the male presence in this house is only in their rooms, sleeping or at their computer, if they are not at work, I was really mainly by myself.
And I actually got some work done.

Conclusion: People's presence is the biggest excuse I use to slack off.
That, and social media.

I made muffins for my brother and watched Thor: The Dark World with him, only to realize halfway that it was the sequal of Thor (which we were actually planning on watching).
So then we watched Thor afterwards.
And found out that the Avengers comes in between the two movies.
And that I should also watch Iron Man (1 and 2) and the Hulk if I wanted to enjoy any of this. xD Yay.

In the meantime, in Sotchi, the Dutch ice skating men are landing all the medals they can get their hands on.
I thought, the first time they got the three medals in a row for the 5 km (Sven Kramer -Gold-, Jan Blokhuijsen - Silver- and Jorrit Bergsma - Bronze-), that this was spectacular.
Having three others echo this in 500 m was almost unbelievably epic (Michel Mulder - Gold-, Jan Smeekens - Silver- and Ronald Mulder -Bronze). -Notice the last names, the gold and bronze sprinters are twins. :D
For the women: Irene Wüst did an awesome job scoring us gold for the 3 km, and Margo  Boer got bronze today for the short track 500 m.

I met up with lots of people this last week, some whom I hadn't seen in months (and one for 2 years) -- Lots of laughter and "gezelligheid" ensued.
I'm planning to keep that up. Though I should be more balanced about work and socializing >.<
Internship is getting more real, soon, the contract will be through and the schedule will be all-ready. Can't wait!

Xx
The Gypsy

Being a Witch

The mission?
Drill forty odd children and hold auditions for five different movies in five days.

Did we succeed?
Hell yes.

I'm enormously proud of the crew, and all members of Dio-Kamp 2013, and thus present a glimpse of the group:

See if you can't spot ( & hear ) me.
Hint : I'm the witch.

The running joke?
I am always a witch.
I wasn't playing any role.
I was simply being myself.

It's most true, too.
Though those sleeves prove most unhandy in day to day life.

Xx
The Gypsy

Movie review: Mirror Mirror (2010).

Warning: Spoilers ahead. Probably.

The cast was a mix up of all kinds of known actors and actresses, and their mothers.
I'm very bad at names, but I went all "Julia Roberts (Who was, admittedly, good at being evil).... HEY! That's the guy from the musical The Producers!
And that's the Lone Ranger! And the dwarf from Pirates! And OoooOooOooh.. NED STARK!"

I think that was the only thing in this movie I was genuinely enthusiastic about.
Oh. And the visuals are cool.

It's an even worse basterdization of the original than Hansel and Gretel (and that was a pretty shallow one already). It is as absurd as Alice in Wonderland and The Producers put together.

Also, it's just not funny.
Or rather: It's a specific sort of humor that either makes you giggle or groan, depending on who you are.
I groaned. A lot. Eye-rolled a lot, too.

It starts out with Julia Roberts trying? failing to imitate a British accent. Then there's a nice animation. Then there are dwarf bandits and  an idiot girl in a tedious story that has little to do with the actual original.
The idiot girl a.k.a the princess ends up lying, thieving, and manipulating -- she is nowhere near the Miss Goody Two Shoes she's supposed to be. The huge apple scene and a deep almost-death sorta sleep is completely emitted, cause apparently, this Snowwhite is too smart and cunning to be fooled.
The dialogue is mediocre at best. The movie has no depth.
And then, the entire movie ends with a Bollywood style dance and song AFTER the couple has kissed.
Ahem.

Not sure why/how I watched it to the end.

Don't watch it.
Unless you've watched EVERY OTHER movie you could think, read ALL books in your cupboard, and played "I spy with my little eye" with your siblings, and are STILL tied to your bed for some odd reason.

Xx
The Gypsy

Oh, Busy time~

The first month of this year is nearing its end.
And it's been a good month. A good start. A good omen.
Excluding colds and other physical hiccups...

Besides actually getting somewhere as far as my thesis is concerned, I also attended and helped out at the Lauwers Reizen fair, where I'm doing my internship this summer.
Getting to know the company helps.
And made me more enthusiastic about this summer. More ready.
I spent a day painting children's faces again. It reminded me a lot of my job at the Apenheul on the Promotion Team. Good ol' times. (Ps: every face took 2 minutes max. It wasn't the perfectionist in me at work. Simply the "Havin' fun" me)

Also, spent time with the good people.
Visits abroad, birthday on the other side of the country, and helping out with DIO.
Saw the kids of my October camp again. Which felt rewarding.
Once you're in their hearts, you're stuck there.
Which goes for friends as well.
Appreciating every single loved one in my life. I am grateful.

Probably my favourite outfit.
Wish I could go out like this every day.

Try and spot me?

It's on the DIO website too, plus the whole story.
Talented bunch!

Next month is going to be quieter for me.
I'm going to focus on my thesis whole heartedly. Or, that's the plan, anyway.
Wish me luck!

Xx
The Gypsy

Nail art: a "new" obsession.

As promised: More updates.
Or an attempt to.
To be fair, I don't have nearly as many hobbies as I used to have.

I was the cheerleader, the girl who sang in a choir, visited orpanages, wrote scripts for university presentations only to end up acting in my own plays in front of a (true) audience.
I also wrote short stories, played the accordeon and guitar, played games, drew and painted myself silly. And I read. A lot.

Am I busier than 6-7 years ago? Hardly.
I just can't seem to get myself not to waste my time so much, and social media isn't helping.
If I'm not doing anything for school (like.. attempting to write my thesis), I'm feeling guilty and trying to kick my butt into gear, procrastinating, and basically end up doing very little, if anything at all.
I read, and from time to time catch myself doing something creative.

Oh, right.  And I travel.  Loads. 

The only new hobby I've picked up (aside from Zumba, which I'm not doing consistently at all. And travelling,  which isn't really new) is Nail Art.
Inspired by YouTube videos, pictures and tutorials on Pinterest, and random boredom (and, to be honest, avoiding schoolwork), I started giving it a try.
It's amateur work, really, and doesn't look as good as I'd like most of the time, but: It keeps me busy.

Here are a few examples of Nail Art of the past year:

Let it Snow: 

Splatters

Disco nails

Sky line. 

Simbo :) 

Feathers

Animals' Day

Lots of Whales

Rainbows

Coloured Marble

Black and White

Butterflies

Some turned out better than others.
I'm still perfecting the skill.
And I still need lots of practice (as well as patience).
It would probably work better if the nails are not on my (own) hands, but I don't like sticking on fake nails, they feel uncomfortable. I do, however, do this for friends (if asked -- and I have the time).

Hope you enjoy,

Xx
The Gypsy

To an adventurous 2014!

Woah! 2013 came and went, and sometimes I wonder how..
Time goes faster each year, whether you're having fun or not.

At the end of last 2012 I was clinging to that, and I didn't want closures or change.
I wasn't looking forward to 2013 so much, because 2012 had been epic.

Though I can't put 2013 in my top-three of years, I can't say it's been as horrible as I expected it to be, either, and that's a relief.

Despite the hospital visits and the (continueing) feeling offness, 2013 ended on a happy and hopeful note.
I did another list of things to be ticked off my bucket list, I visited more countries than expected at the beginning of the year, and spent time with amazing people (though granted, that's never enough).
I worked with children (at camps) for the first time in my life, and through them I got to know a whole new side of me. And I found out I don't really hate children. That's a first. :) Maybe there is hope, after all.

I don't do New Year's Resolutions.
I think you should change whatever you want to change when you think about it.
Not wait for January. Nor hope you will still be doing it in February.

Three things I do want to change, though, regardless of the time of the year:
1. Number of blogposts. ( 7 per year is not really nearly enough.)
2. Number of appreciation moments. Taking the time to live the moment.
3. Number of times to do things I love. (Not having time is not a valid excuse.. )

I'm looking forward to 2014.
I hope you all are too!

Xx
The Gypsy