Today I started training myself on Javascript via codeacademy.com, and I am so excited to find that I'm loving it. The thrill I get as I work through strings and variables reminds me of the pleasure I got from identifying the prepositional phrases and subjects of sentences in fifth grade. It's totally nerdy, but I can already tell it's something that naturally clicks with me.
After watching a couple hours of The Voice, I've also decided that I want to give this pie-in-the-sky singing dream a real shot. The painful shyness and stage fright of my teen years no longer plagues me, so I think now is my time. Step one is to find a voice coach in San Francisco -- someone who can encourage and push me. No one has heard the voice I have when I'm home alone, except for my dog. It booms and bounces through the top floor of my acoustically-friendly loft, to the delight or fear of my dog, Im unsure. :)
While my social and romantic lives are on the up-and-up, my work life wavers between blase and miserable. No reason why I can't find happiness with all three at once. As my co-worker so perfectly put it, 'Why not make it a trifecta?' Cheers to that.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Turning a corner
Wowza. Age 25 feels forever ago, which is both strange and comforting. Though 27 feels like it's coming way too quickly, I've learned so much about life and about myself in the last two years. I love who I am and where I am. At the same time, I have never felt so open to living life to the fullest. And by that I mean that I want to travel. I want to do one thing a day that scares me. I want to go to every restaurant and bar in San Francisco. I finally want to make the leap to a new career. And yes, I even want to be this chick in my nearby laundromat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVXtknZVf0
Today, the first thing I hear when I walk into work is that both my manager and co-worker are leaving our company for a start-up, effective next week. For the next who-knows-how-long, I will have no one to report to at work AND I'll be taking on double the work load. Woot. My first thought is, they are so lucky. For the past couple weeks, I've been on the hunt for a new job because I'm sooo ready to do something I'm passionate about.
As stressful as rewriting my resume, scouring the web for open positions, and leaving my job of nearly five years is, I'd rather keep moving than be complacent.
On another bright note, my social life is blissful right now. Every other day I discover another new restaurant and bar in San Francisco. I'm surrounding myself with people I love to be around. Five days a week, I'm walking at least two miles to and from work, exchanging smiles with my fellow SF dwellers as I skip along the sidewalk. Each day, I'm charged with energy -- even today, as I feel the beginning of a cold starting to fog my head. And that is effin' rad. :)
This post was inspired by amber rae, 'You will figure it out':
http://tumblr.heyamberrae.com/post/18438631881/figure-it-out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVVXtknZVf0
Today, the first thing I hear when I walk into work is that both my manager and co-worker are leaving our company for a start-up, effective next week. For the next who-knows-how-long, I will have no one to report to at work AND I'll be taking on double the work load. Woot. My first thought is, they are so lucky. For the past couple weeks, I've been on the hunt for a new job because I'm sooo ready to do something I'm passionate about.
As stressful as rewriting my resume, scouring the web for open positions, and leaving my job of nearly five years is, I'd rather keep moving than be complacent.
On another bright note, my social life is blissful right now. Every other day I discover another new restaurant and bar in San Francisco. I'm surrounding myself with people I love to be around. Five days a week, I'm walking at least two miles to and from work, exchanging smiles with my fellow SF dwellers as I skip along the sidewalk. Each day, I'm charged with energy -- even today, as I feel the beginning of a cold starting to fog my head. And that is effin' rad. :)
This post was inspired by amber rae, 'You will figure it out':
http://tumblr.heyamberrae.com/post/18438631881/figure-it-out
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Gratitude
Today must have been one of the best days of my life.
Thank You for the Cirque de Soleil: Michael Jackson tickets that I got for free at work.
Thank You for the Coachella lineup being better than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams.
Thank You for badass friends who buy Coachella tickets on pre-sale and give me one.
Thank You for a work week that should be super-stressful and instead is actually pretty lovely.
Thank You for massive work discounts on Crunch gym memberships.
Thank You for my health, sanity, and the ability to enjoy the moment.
No, seriously, thank You.
Thank You for the Cirque de Soleil: Michael Jackson tickets that I got for free at work.
Thank You for the Coachella lineup being better than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams.
Thank You for badass friends who buy Coachella tickets on pre-sale and give me one.
Thank You for a work week that should be super-stressful and instead is actually pretty lovely.
Thank You for massive work discounts on Crunch gym memberships.
Thank You for my health, sanity, and the ability to enjoy the moment.
No, seriously, thank You.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
The new Florence + the Machine album is gorgeous. I keep playing this one song over and over, it's so fitting tonight:
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn
And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around
And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn
And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around
And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat
Shake it off
If there was any indication that life is a balance, the last four days would be it. I was on top of the world a couple days ago, around people who bring the best out of me in such a special way. I felt so happy and alive. I'm still feeling the afterglow, smiling at strangers and replying with greater enthusiasm when the random Safeway checker asks if I found everything I need.
This afternoon was just the opposite. I was blindsided by betrayal from someone who has become a close confidante in the last couple years. I hurt. badly. It's hard not to get stuck in this feeling of pain.
I'm not super religious. But I saved an inspiring article about being in your mid-twenties from a 'progressive christian' magazine ('Eleven things to know at 25ish'). I just re-read an excerpt that is filled with great insight. Is it a little preachy? Oh gawd yes. And some parts are too judgemental for my tastes. But I have to agree with some of its key messages:
"This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find God and themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to find a church, they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.
Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.
Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? What have I learned about God this year? What parts of my childhood faith am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep? Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”
Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned.
Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path."
Right now I don't feel great about how things are leaving off with the person I mentioned above. I probably never will. Some relationships end badly and people do/say the wrong things instead of the right ones. All we can do is grow, learn from our mistakes, and pat ourselves on the back for not giving up. I believe life is a balance, and this pain will be replaced with happiness of equal intensity.
This afternoon was just the opposite. I was blindsided by betrayal from someone who has become a close confidante in the last couple years. I hurt. badly. It's hard not to get stuck in this feeling of pain.
I'm not super religious. But I saved an inspiring article about being in your mid-twenties from a 'progressive christian' magazine ('Eleven things to know at 25ish'). I just re-read an excerpt that is filled with great insight. Is it a little preachy? Oh gawd yes. And some parts are too judgemental for my tastes. But I have to agree with some of its key messages:
"This is the thing: When you hit 28 or 30, everything begins to divide. You can see very clearly two kinds of people. On one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find God and themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults. Then there’s the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate, because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to find a church, they mean to develop intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than when they graduated.
Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.
Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? What have I learned about God this year? What parts of my childhood faith am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep? Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”
Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned.
Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path."
Right now I don't feel great about how things are leaving off with the person I mentioned above. I probably never will. Some relationships end badly and people do/say the wrong things instead of the right ones. All we can do is grow, learn from our mistakes, and pat ourselves on the back for not giving up. I believe life is a balance, and this pain will be replaced with happiness of equal intensity.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable
Emailing a faraway friend of mine to catch her up on my life today really reminded me of how good I have it. So many of us race through our days, trying to attain more success or reach a higher level of success. For me, I've gotten caught in the mental trap of 'if, then' statements. 'If I do well in this meeting, THEN I'll truly feel proud of myself and happy.' 'If I get promoted, THEN I'll enjoy my job more.' While that ambition can be awesome, it can make us to forget to ENJOY THE MOMENT.
I had the privilege of hearing Mike Robbins speak at a work event last week. If you aren't familiar, he's a phenomenal motivational speaker, best-selling author, 'authenticity expert,' and ex-pro athlete. His life-long dream of becoming a pro baseball player was crushed when he severely injured his arm in practice. There he was, in the beginning of what he hoped would be his lifelong career, unable to continue doing what he loved most. In a bout of depression, he realized that he wished he had fully appreciated what he had, while he had it.
From that time on, he made a change in his thinking and in his life. Not only in the sense of appreciating the moment, but also in being more authentic. More real to himself. To stop comparing himself to others, comparing where he's at to where he wished he would be, and instead to just be himself.
In my effort to take Mike Robbins advice, I'm going to enjoy my Saturday to the fullest today by doing the things I love. On an ongoing basis, I'm going to reflect on all the great things going on in my life TODAY --- my family, my friends, my dog, my talents and passions that I can pursue --- as often as I can.
How I'm going to enjoy my Saturday:
* Sing: practice and record
* Paint: Finish my 'creatures' painting, to the tunes of Allan Mask
* Run outside
* Book a trip to see family in Texas and friends in the east coast
"Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway." ~ Mother Teresa
I had the privilege of hearing Mike Robbins speak at a work event last week. If you aren't familiar, he's a phenomenal motivational speaker, best-selling author, 'authenticity expert,' and ex-pro athlete. His life-long dream of becoming a pro baseball player was crushed when he severely injured his arm in practice. There he was, in the beginning of what he hoped would be his lifelong career, unable to continue doing what he loved most. In a bout of depression, he realized that he wished he had fully appreciated what he had, while he had it.
From that time on, he made a change in his thinking and in his life. Not only in the sense of appreciating the moment, but also in being more authentic. More real to himself. To stop comparing himself to others, comparing where he's at to where he wished he would be, and instead to just be himself.
In my effort to take Mike Robbins advice, I'm going to enjoy my Saturday to the fullest today by doing the things I love. On an ongoing basis, I'm going to reflect on all the great things going on in my life TODAY --- my family, my friends, my dog, my talents and passions that I can pursue --- as often as I can.
How I'm going to enjoy my Saturday:
* Sing: practice and record
* Paint: Finish my 'creatures' painting, to the tunes of Allan Mask
* Run outside
* Book a trip to see family in Texas and friends in the east coast
"Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway." ~ Mother Teresa
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Shout, shout, let it alllll out
It's almost here...
My 26th birthday.
I can't wait. Renting a room at a karaoke bar in San Francisco, for my closest friends and I to thoroughly enjoy, may be the best birthday idea I've had since middle school!
My 26th birthday.
I can't wait. Renting a room at a karaoke bar in San Francisco, for my closest friends and I to thoroughly enjoy, may be the best birthday idea I've had since middle school!
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