adventure 2

a couple weekends ago, i went back home to spend time with family. it was probably the most domestic day i've had since i was home last. i started the morning off seeing an old friend and meeting (in person, since i did go see them at the hospital when they were barely 48hrs old) her twin babies, did manis/pedis with my cousins, played with puppies and did lunch with the fam, shopping with my mom, hanging out with my dad, saw the hangover, met a friend at a bar and ran into literally everyone. then proceeded to barely make curfew (had to get the car back) and nurse exhaustion slash slight hangover the next morning. longest day ever - but fun filled and worth it!

must have

SO CUTE. i've wanted a beach cruiser for a while now and just haven't gotten around to getting one. i decided that i was going to ask my dad to buy it for me as a birthday gift and started my quest to find the perfect bike. browsed a ton online but nothing really jumped out at me until i stumbled across this! the picture doesn't really do it justice, but it's super cute. hot pink retro hello kitty design.

LOVE!

it's double the price of the ones i was originally looking at but i can't stop looking at how cute it is! and let's just keep it real, if i really love it and think it's super cute, i'll probably take it out more.

so excited! i can't wait to ride this to the beach!

adventure 1

summer 2009, adventure 1 - mud run at camp pendleton. cheering on my best friend this year, and participating next year.

burnout

i need a break and things are about to get even crazier. i love my life, but i have a feeling i'm going to be exhausted come fall... i'm bracing myself for summer and trying to enjoy every spare quiet moment i have. so excited, but a little nervous at the same time... weekend trips, work gets crazy, one of my best friend's turns 30, more friends to visit, more places to go. i hope i make it out in one piece and with a lot to catalog in the story that is my life :)

judgement

i find it ironic that the same people who are always judging me are the same ones who seem to follow in my footsteps.

signs

i've always wanted to participate in bay to breakers, a fun-filled sf tradition. a friend has done it the past few years and i decided that this year was the year i was finally going to do it. i remember watching the news as a kid and seeing all the crazy costumes- what stuck with me the most was how much fun everyone was having. little did i realize it probably had something to do with all the drinking... but now, given my love for both costumes and drinking, i can't believe i haven't participated. after asking my friend a million questions... people will still drink, right? and if not, they'll still dress up? even if they do enforce the no alcohol rule, there's bars all over sf... i got the time off approved (assuming i wouldn't make it back that night since the race is on a sunday) and started searching for flights. i was able to find a round trip flight for $120, all taxes and fees included. except, jetblue wouldn't allow me to book the flight. i should've recognized the sign and acknowledged that it wasn't meant to be, but i persisted. i completed all the steps: selected airports, dates, seats, filled in my name, address, trueblue member #, credit card information... a total of SIX times. and got a database error every single time! no confirmation number! that's six opportunities for me to see the sign and i ignored it. i booked the flight over the phone and texted my friend that my flight was confirmed only to find out that said friend will be out of town that weekend.

i need to learn to recognize and acknowledge signs.

fortunately, i was able to cancel the flight and get the cancellation fee waived. my credit card is still charged and i have a credit with the airline, but i'm confident i'll use it within the next year. after all, it's just another excuse for me to take off somewhere new. i need a sign to point me in a new direction. any ideas?

i miss the butterflies.

workaholics

i wonder if it's possible to maintain both a healthy relationship and advance your career. to me, it seems like there aren't too many of us who succeed in both. i know it's possible, i just haven't figured out the steps yet. at this point in my life, the majority of my peers sacrifice one to succeed at the other. one is the primary focus while everything else falls to the side.

i imagine a healthy balance between the two is necessary for success. i've noticed i continually date workaholics and am determined to figure out why. i know i'm drawn to people with ambition and a drive to succeed. however, i seem to find the ones whose work is their number one priority (something that could be said of myself too). i wonder if it's a conscious choice you make to find balance... and if so, have i missed that opportunity with someone great by holding out hope that things will just fall into place when they're supposed to?

Goals

I spin in circles without goals. I've been thinking a lot about what I want and have figured a few things out:

In the next year
- Plan and go on a trip somewhere new (preferably Internationally)
- Buy a new car
- Have a stronger, more defined idea of what I want from my career

In the next 5 years
- Invest in property
- Discover a new passion (hopefully more than 1!)

I have a stronger sense of what I want in the short-term. I've repeatedly read that it's important to focus on the present instead of letting it pass in a blur and passing moments up. I'm tired of holding myself back to wait for whatever it is I'm waiting for and can't wait to continue the journey!

status updates

i was playing around online, and stumbled across a blog entry about how twitter makes you a better and happier person. personally, i don't really understand how posting status updates about where you are can improve your life. i embrace technology for the most part, but i'm not completely comfortable with posting my whereabouts for just anyone to see. i guess i like to keep things private and share things at my discretion (one of the main reasons why my blog is pretty vague). read the article. it's so interesting! it's not about how you should tell everyone your whereabouts 24/7; it's more about perspective. it hit home for me because i know i can be really negative and i've been working on focusing on the positive instead. it's challenging to change my frame of mind and do something i'm unaccustomed to but ultimately i feel it's for the better - for both myself and the people who are a part of my life.

this is my favorite part of the whole article:
"A lot of people use Twitter to complain or vent, but I generally try to avoid doing so because it's not in line with our core values. What I've noticed is that it's also caused me to complain a lot less in real life, and because of that, I've found that my own personal happiness level has gone up."

when i went through a phase of being focused on things that made me happy, things that bothered me in the past didn't annoy me nearly as much. they were still irritating, but i just didn't allow it to affect me. i think i've lost my way with this lately and let myself get caught up in all the stress. i'm glad i got a refresher course!