Blog Summary #3

The Science of Leisure

I entered into this class with an open mind, not really knowing exactly what to expect. Today I reflect back on 12 weeks of leisure education, and I cannot help but smile!

I have always had a passion for people and their well-being. The field of holistic health is growing, and the more I learn about and experience leisure the more I am convinced that leisure is essential in ones lifestyle. Unfortunately, leisure has yet to achieve full recognition and appreciation for its ability to improve quality of life. Fortunately, each semester a bunch of primed, propped and prepared leisure educators venture into the big world, ready to make peoples lives more leisurely. I am one of them!

When I re-read my blog entries from this semester I see a person that values leisure. When you value something you make it prominent in your life. Datillo states that "the degree of interest and involvement in activities may be related closely to the degree to which an individual values leisure". So the question becomes, how can you make someone value leisure? First off, I do not think that you can bestow values on anyone. It has to come from within the person. Secondly, how can you value something that you have not experienced? Experiencing is central in leisure education. Actions speak louder than words, and as a leisure educator I think this is imperative; it is not enough to leisure educate someone just by talking about it. The best way to leisure educate someone is to support and guide them so that they can have experiences. Through their experiences their will become aware of their freedom of choice and be intrinsically motivated. I believe that if you can help a person feel leisure once, they will seek and pursue further. It’s all about getting the ball rolling :)

Leisure education has significantly affected me in two ways. On an intrapersonal level because of increased self-awareness, appreciation and better understanding of why I leisure the way I do. Furthermore, on an interpersonal level because I now have the tools and know-how of how to leisure educate those around me. I value leisure, and I want others to as well.

I am on a mission. A mission to share my leisure experiences so that others will follow. I will lead by example!

Time for Twilight!

Hehehehe, its cheapy tuesday I am going to the movies to see Twilight. Always interesting to see the movie after one has read the book. Usually the latter is better, but its also cool to get a visual representation based on the directors interpretation of the storyline.... Update will follow :)

YOU MUST READ THIS!

Oh my!

For all you book readers out there, here is the must have for the holiday season. The author is Stieg Larsson, and the trilogy consists of 1) The Girl with the Dragon tattoo 2) The Girl who played with Fire 3) Castles in the Sky (last one is not yet relased in english I think....I read them in norwegain...They are available in french to, but apparently the translation is not very good..)

Be warned though. The books make you completely oblivious to anything going on around you. Page turner deluxe!!!

I can also recommend the Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. Unfortunately Eclipse and Breaking Dawn is not out in paperback yet, but when they are I will read them right away :)

Happy reading!!!

Exam period....

........is riiiiiight around the corner and I just know that for the next two weeks I will not be leisuring as much as usual.... My head will be in the books......sigh.... Atleast I have my stress reduction kit ready :)

Jewelry Box Clean Up

It happens only once in a while...I get this urge to go through all my stuff and neatly organize it...Last night I went through my jewelry box and found this cute heart with some shiny stones on it. Its been there forever, but I couldnt remember when or from whom I got it. So I emailed my mom and she told me I got it when I was baptized from a friend of the family. Is it diamonds? Nopes. It is actually crystals ... Its super cute and I am going to wear it today :)

Why is it that I always lose the urge to organize just as I am in the middle of it and everything is unfinished? Ahhhhhh!!!!

Cake anyone?

Ok. I like being in the kitchen. And I have a sweet tooth. The result?

Young People Fu*king...

...is a movie that I rented last night. Quite interesting I must say, and probably because I could recognize myself in all the different situations that they were showing. Title says it all ;)

Other movies I have seen in the last week:

Bond, James Bond. Quantum of Solace was great. I am a big fan of Daniel Craig (drooooling) as Bond and he did no disappoint this time either. Hot hot hot.... Do not remember much of the story line...Wonder why?

Let the right one in is a swedish horror movie with vampires that is so brilliant that I was speechless when I left the theatre. Go see it!!!

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was entertaining but that is about it.....

So, quite the movie week for me. Might try to see Twilight as well this weekend.

Make me Laugh!

I went to comedy in Colors a while back. Awsome show with great stand up comedians. Laughed straight for two hours and was amazed over how incredible laughing makes you feel. You know how they say that laughter makes you live longer? I believe in that :)

Pics and links to a clip from the show!

http://www.zshare.net/video/5152626101c70f11/

Blog Summary #2

My Leisure Education

Honourable Judge, Members of the jury:

I stand before you today with the mission to prove beyond reasonable doubt, that I, Cathrine Rambech, have become leisure educated. I present to you evidence A- G from my blog entries:

A: I appreciate leisure. In my blog this is shown through numerous leisure experiences and explorations. I physically and psychologically feel the benefits of leisure and recognize how it affects my wellbeing, and in turn, my quality of life. Leisure is not segmented pieces of time, rather a state of mind allowing me to experience it at any given moment.

B: I am aware of myself in leisure. In my blog this is shown through my leisure choices. I tried kiting because of my past fascination and appreciation of snowboarding/wakeboarding and recognized how kiting could bring me current and future challenges and satisfaction.
Through self-awareness and introspection I studied my leisure values and attitudes and their significance guide me in my leisure pursuits.

C: I am self-determined in leisure. In my blog this is shown through freedom of choice; my leisure participation is based on what I want, feel and prefer and not external factors. With freedom of choice comes responsibility, and I have a “what I put in is what I will get out” attitude. By combining that with self-determination I open the door to initiate new leisure opportunities.

D: I interact socially during leisure. In my blog this is shown through me participating in leisure experiences with friends and acquaintances. More importantly however is how I engage in, connect and interact with my surroundings during leisure. My actions and ways of communicating impact the leisure experience of others, just as theirs impact mine. I have developed friendships, bonding and comradeship through my leisure experiences.

E: I use resources facilitating leisure. In my blog this can best be supported by my “quest” to become a Kite-boarder. I progress towards my desire for optimal arousal by talking to and watching other kiters, surfing the internet for places to kite, calling a kite school, reading books and magazines, and buying equipment. I know that identifying and using these resources will help me to participate and experience my leisure of choice.

F: I make decisions about leisure. I make conscious decisions about leisure. In my blog this is shown through my self-awareness and appreciation of leisure. Since I highly value leisure and the intrinsic rewards I get from it, I am determined to solve problems and barriers that act as constraints in order for me to participate. Leisure does not come served on a silver platter; it requires effort, sometimes a whole Leisure Education. But oh is it worth it!

G: I am requiring recreation activity skills. In my blog this is shown through my numerous kite flying practises. I do not yet have enough skill to go out in the water 20knots of wind and kiteboard. Instead I am in open fields on land, slowly but surely learning how to manoeuvre my kite; keeping it in the wind window, doing figure 8’s and kite loops, which are all movements that I need to have control over and feel comfortable with before I strap on my board and get my feet wet.

On being a Leisure Educator: I have leisure educated someone, (see "I did it I did it" blog entry) however, it was through my blog and not in person. It still counts, but I think I can do better...
A leisure flame is burning inside me. I hope to give off sparks and light someone else’s fire.

I rest my case.

In my hands...

...I hold the letter that I sent to myself from Leisure class. It arrived yesterday afternoon. Makes me realize how quickly time passes by.... But, I DID Leisure Educate someone within that short amount of time. Ahhhh, happiness!!!

I DID IT ! I DID IT ! I DID IT !

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an announcement!!!

I, Cathrine Rambech, have leisure educated somebody (*wild applause*)

The interesting thing is that it happened in a way that I was not prepared for. Last tuesday in my leisure class my teacher, aka "playful leisure guru" asked us to write down the name of a person who we thought might need to be leisure educated. I wrote down my friends name on a piece of paper, what I wanted to do, and how I was going to do it. (hmmm...that last sentence sounds a bit like a murder plot, but it is not...anyways) I then put the letter in an envelope, sealed it, and addressed it to myself.

I spoke with my friend (same person whos name I had written down) today. She told me that last week she had read my blog and thought that it was really cool. (yeah, thank you, i know...LOL) OK, are you ready cuz here comes the awsome part. She said that she had made the decision to try out a dance class, (salsa to be exact) because she had seen all the different things that I did for leisure in my blog and had realized that she did not really have enough of, and I quote: "those thingies that you do that make you really happy" (her definition of leisure, lol) in her life. And so she went because it was the first thing that had come into her mind. How nice is that??? And, even better, she is going back!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say I feel damn proud right now!!!

The letter that I wrote is probably going to come early next week. It is going to feel so good to hold it in my hand and know that I actually managed, (although not in the way I planned) to leisure educate someone. It doesnt take much....

Madonna!!!

I went to Madonna this week. OMG, OMG, OMG! I do not even have words to describe how amazing this lady is. I sang along to all the songs and at the end I had lost my voice. I think this is the best concert I ever went to (and I have been to a quite a lot...) She just keeps getting better and better :) I bought the t-shirt!!!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

My thanksgiving weekend was a fun filled adventure. This is what I did:

Hiking and BBQ at Oka park and beach. Beautiful scenery, warm and sunny, delicious food and great company. Only thing I could complain about was the taste of my winecooler drink. Yuck!

I also went to see my friend kite. It is the end of the kiteboard season and he wanted to get in a last ride before the water got too cold, so I accompanied him to the beach. Learned a lot from watching him, and cant wait until next season. Not upset though, because the winter season is coming and I can go kiting riding my snowboard. Crossing my fingers for lots and lots and lots of powder !!!

Last but not least, I went to l'abre a abre, where you wear a harness and do an obstacle course. That was really challenging, but super fun!

The whole weekend was a leisure experience, and I appreciate that there are so many things that give me pleasure and make me enjoy my life even more :)

As usual, lots of pics to look at:

I have bought a kite!

Yes!!!! I have bought a kite and I am so excited. As you all know I tried kiting a while back and I fell in love with it. I recognized that in order for me to be able to kite I would have to buy my own, because if not I would be dependent on using my friend kite. So, voila, one structural constraint removed. Buying kite gear on ebay $900. Postfare $60. Having the kite in my hands knowing that there are so many awsome leisure experiences to come; priceless!
My baby is a Best Waroo 11m. It came with a bar, lines, a pump and a bag and it is awsome. (Fill in a whole section on consumerism here??? hehehehe)
Below are the pics!

Falling for Fall

This past saturday I went with my friend to see him do some kiteboarding. I couldnt go in the water myself, so I had to watch from a distance. It was cool to see him and I enjoyed the session. However, I would have love to have participated, but for this event I was just a spectator. (My skill level is still not high enough...yet...) I know that you can be leisuring as a spectator, but I felt more like I was doing recreational activity than anything else. It made me think about how something can be leisure one day and recreation the next depending on your level of engagment.....

Sunday I went for a hike at Mont St.Hillaire and I was leisuring as I was walking the trails, enjoying the views from the mountain top and spending time with my friend. Interesting to observe other people on the mountain and guess wether or not they were at leisure. You cannot tell just by looking at people, but it sure is fun to guess :) Fall colors were stunning!!!

Dream Dream Dream

It is almost midnight. I should be sleeping, but I am surfing the net for kiteboarding stuff..... I hope there is wind this weekend so I can go kiting.... *loooooooonging*

Here is a pic of what I will look like when I kiteboard next season..hehehe...With some intense practise in the upcoming months...

But seriously, how cool does it look???

Blog Summary #1

I Leisure, Therefore I am.

Ladies and Gentlemen: time for a blog summary. I have had the opportunity to do quite a bit of blogging, and in addition, my AHSC Leisure Education class has provided me with some thought provoking material. Here is a piece of my mind:

Leisure is easier said than done. I know this because I am taking a university class to leisure educate myself. If it was so easy then everyone would know how to do it, right? However, we do not. Point proven? I think so.

My own leisure education started with trying to define what leisure was. I wrote that “Leisure is something that I do because I want to do it, not because I have to do it.” I thought it was a pretty good first attempt, *pat on the back*, but realize that it fades when put next to the “state of mind, freely chosen, that results in intrinsic feelings of happiness, satisfaction, pleasure and or enjoyment” definition that we worked out in class. What I find interesting though, is that my blog entries (and what I write about in regards to leisure) fit into that definition. My leisure brings out those exact characteristics, and is the reason why I do what I do. See, I have always recognized leisure as an important aspect of my life, but probably on more of a superficial level, meaning that I would not really question, ponder or enquire. What I have come to realize, is that leisure is a science, and that I will benefit tremendously from exploring and widening my horizons. By educating myself with leisure I can properly make use of it. I am sure there is a correlation between life satisfaction and leisure, and who would not want to have the best quality of life possible?

So far, the leisure education class has brought me increased self-awareness and leisure awareness. I am starting to pay attention to what kind of role leisure plays in my day to day life, and how my view of leisure changes with what I learn from my studies. A perfect example would be how I used to view leisure and work as two distinct entities because of time. It would be work time or leisure time. Datillo states that “leisure does not require a special timeframe in which to occur…that leisure can be experienced whenever”. By applying that I have come to the realization that the two can mingle and intertwine. Having the ability to incorporate leisure in my daily routines allows me more opportunities to have feelings of wellbeing. I like that idea a lot!
When I leisure I also try to be attentive towards the experience itself. When I went kiting this weekend, the wind suddenly died, and I pointed out that I was experiencing a leisure constraint, in this case a structural one. Before the wind decided to disappear though, I experienced Flow!

This blog has created an interesting opportunity for me to have a closer peek at my relationship with leisure; it reflects my leisure attitudes and values. Leisure education starts with me and I have a whole lot of work ahead. I want to focus on learning the appropriate terminology in order to eloquently converse about leisure at an academic level to my surroundings, with the goal to enlighten them on the importance of leisure in their life. Terminology I can cram, but the essence of leisure I have to experience. Its tough, but somebody’s got to do it! :)

Current mood: EXCITED!

This weekend i tried KITING for the first time, and holy s***, it was AWSOME! Okay, so the wind died after and hour and the bugs were eating me, but except from that, it was flipping amazing!!!
I was on this huge grass field trying to manoever a kite in the air above me. It looks easy when someone is doing it, but when you do it yourself it is a tad more difficult. I want to go kiteboarding next season, but before I can do that I need to know how to use and control the kite. It is the kite that gives you the power on the water when you are riding your board, and if you cannot control it, well, you are not going to go very far.....
I think it will take a whole lot of practise, but I am in such good spirits! Not only was the kiting fun, but the guy that took me is the hottest nicest coolest dude ever. Ahhh! Life is good :) :) :)
YAY!!!

A Walk In the Park

I have made up my mind; I am going to start working out! (For real this time!) I found this "get in shape" program for beginners online, and I really liked it. Todays mission was to walk 5k's and I DID IT! Hehehe. I am a good walker, so it was not that difficult, but tomorrow they want me to start jogging, and that, well, I am not that into.... The thing is that I really want to experience the runner high. I have several friends that are so into running, and they are telling me all these stories about feeling super fantastic after working out, and I am kinda curious. Great for mind and body they say. The work out program is for four weeks. And it gets progressivly more difficult. I wonder if I will succeed at this challenge that I have made for myself. Do I get to buy new running shoes now?

Good Times!

This weekend was great! Spent lots of time with old friends and even met some new ones. Had a "morning after the night before" wake up on saturday, but was fine by noon.... hehehe....Here is a pic of my girlfriends and I.

Finally Friday!

The best part of the week is here! Thats right; its the weekend! I have to say that my week was fairly good though, so no complaints, but still, not much beats friday saturday and sunday. I try to get most of my studying done during the week days, so come weekend I am free to do whatever. I went shopping today and got such a nice outfit. See, tonight I am having dinner with the ladies at St.Laurent and it is dress up time! Might post some pics tomorrow from our night, on the condition that we look and act properly this evening. But I make no promises.....
Cheers and bottoms up!

Cookie Monster

Oh Yesssss! I have just made chocolate chip cookies :) :) :)
It was supposed to be 20 in total, but it ended up being 19 because I ate some of the dough....
I am going to sit down with a magazine, and have a cookie and a glass of milk. Life is good!

Take A Hike!

I am a big fan of hiking. It could be anything from a gentle stroll in the forest to more challenging trails up a mountain side. The combo of nature, fresh air and company of friends is a winning one! I have been hiking ever since I was a kid. Now, at the age of...... a little bit older....I am still very passionate about this activity. Svalbard provided some excellent hiking trails and I thought I would use this opportunity to post some photos. My friend actually just sent me some pics and I had to smile thinking about the good times we had. You will notice that we are carrying a rifle. That is because there are polar bears in the area, and the rifle is used as protection. In worst case scenario, it will be used on the bear, but like I said, ONLY during worst case scenario. More often it is used to fire warning shots to scare the bear, should it be tempted to look for a human meal. Please be advised that no polar bears were harmed on this hike.

Lazy Sunday

It's sunday and I am still sick. Presently on the couch, stretched out, wrapped in a blanket. Quite comfortable actually. And, the best part; I have enough energy to surf the internet. (A big thank you to whomever created the wireless option!)

I am online almost (okay, who am I kidding here....almost?....let me rewrite that...) I am online every single day. If I was to give a guestimation I would say that I spend around 1 - 2 hours online daily doing everything from surfing and emailing, to downloading music to my ipod. I wonder how that compares to the general population..... (*making a mental note to check out statscan*) And that does not include the time spent in relation to school and doing research for papers. Then I am sure that I could add on an extra hour or maybe two. (Or potentially more...depends on how much I have been procrastinating.....ehhhmmm... )

There are several sites that I visit on a regular basis. My favs are thesuperficial.com and perezhilton.com . Yes, they are gossip sites, but seriously, with all the academic information that I have to process during one week at school, my brain is yearning for some easy breezy and entertaining stuff. I also spend time checking out the online versions of several norwegian newspapers, just to keep myself updated with what happens in the mother country. Go NORWAY! Yes, in case there was any doubt, I am Norwegian...I have viking blood running in my veins.... Be afraid, be very afraid!!!! Muhahahaha :)

I just finished downloading an album with Morten Harket. Norwegian artist. (From the group AHA. Remember the song Take On Me???) There is this song called Darkspace that I love. It's been buzzing in the back my mind for a while now. It deserves a spot on my ipod playlist :)
You can check it out on youtube : clickhere

Happy listening!

Sick As A Dog...On a Saturday....Boooooo!

I HAD big plans for this weekend. Sailing on saturday afternoon, party with the girls saturday evening, and attempt to begin my work out regimen on sunday. But, who get's sick? (#%!#)

It is saturday afternoon, and I have barely moved from the couch all day. Started to feel iffy last night and hoped that a substantial dose of vitamin c and garlic was going to kill whatever evil had entered my body....No such luck however. Woke up this morning with a fever, headache, sore throat and no ability to breathe through my nostrils...

After mustering up a fair amount of energy I managed to drag myself to the bathroom and find the Dayquils. This stuff is the bomb! Half an hour later I actually felt like a human being. But, I know that even though I feel okay, I'm really not. Hence the taking it uber easy and relaxing. Sleeping off my cold usually works micracles for me. Hopefully I will be fit for fight come monday morning.

Right now all I want to do is nap, but there are two cicadas outside the house that are having a blast driving me nuts with their piercingly loud musical abilities. Amazing creatures these bugs...I saw one up close the other day and they look so prehistoric.... I found a pic online, whatcha think?

Arctic Leisure Adventure

I spent this summer in the Arctic. 78 Degrees North to be exact.....Crazy? A bit. Fun? Definetely! Although I spent most of the time working, I also had plenty of leisure time. One of my favs was snowmobiling. Check out the photos. And, don't forget to admire the scenery. Breathtaking! The saying "in the middle of NOWHERE" suddenly made sense to me......

Leisure???

I love leisure….But what is leisure, really?

There is no perfect academic definition of leisure. I could potentially spend the next paragraphs discussing the numerous definitions provided by dictionaries and theorists, but I will give my own simplified version instead. Should you however, be curious about a more in-depth explanation of leisure, Google “leisure definition” and browse through the 17,000,000 hits you get…

My definition: Leisure is something that I do because I want to do it, not because I have to do it.
My view of leisure is to some extent black and white and could probably be argued to be wrong, but so can the rest of the definitions and explanations of leisure as well. Leisure is personal and unique to each individual. For the purpose of this blog (and it is MY blog after all, hehehe) is to show the world what leisure is to me. And hopefully inspire you to think about what leisure is to you!

- Cathrine

Testing Testing 1...2...3...

Yiiiiihaaaa!

I am so excited. This is my first blog ever and I cannot help but smile :)
My name is Cathrine, and this blog is being created in the name of LEISURE! I will be sharing my thoughts, ideas and randomness with you. It is going to be a wild ride, so hold on!

Tata for now :)