Saturday, September 27, 2014

Maine- a few favorites

Here are a few of my favorites from our recent trip to Maine. 


Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park

Coming back down after
South Bubble Rock Trail

On the way up Dorr Mountain

Shadow waves at one of many scenic lookouts
on Park Loop Rd in Acadia National Park

6:04am (camera time stamp check) at the top
of Cadillac Mountain in very cold
and windy conditions

6:13am. The sun first peeking over the horizon


Sitting on rocks on the way up
Penobscot Mountain

Almost near the top of Penobscot.
The landscape of Maine is a must-see!

       The picture, I believe, which sums up our treks
up and down the mountains;
the cairns which guide the way

Beautiful rocky coastline along
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Back on the blog

Hey, it's me.

I apologize for my nearly 7 month hiatus. You wouldn't believe the number of times since the big ball dropped and rang in 2013 that I've witnessed a situation, been struck by a brilliant idea, or just paused and really thought to myself, "I wish I had a minute to throw a blog entry together"...

Later, later, later. Always later.

Time really is our enemy, right? I try to be aware and live "in the moment" but for a clock-conscious, Type A personality like myself, that's a lot harder than it sounds. The trouble with life (for those of us who don't live in the mountains of Tibet) is that we're perpetually trying to outdo the great moment we just had with the moment we're planning for tomorrow- before we've even had it!

Your mind goes in circles the more you try to think out this concept (esp after a long day at work), but it's really true. Other countries and cultures are much better at carrying out this idea than us Americans (think long, leisurely meals in Italy, Spain, etc.) but I think there's a time where we have to force ourselves to commit to change (or at least appreciate) the importance of living "in the now".

This may not be the perfect example, but I've had the same Facebook profile picture for nearly 2 years now. This is completely intentional and every time I look at that picture, I'm reminded of how perfectly happy, satisfied, and thoroughly excited about life I was in that picture, in that moment. Aside from the fact it's a really beautiful picture, perfectly snapped by the Spanish tourists I happened upon on the Howth trail that day, it's a constant reminder to try to experience and then recognize (that's the key!) more of those moments. It's not every time you're lucky enough to capture a digital memory, but as long as you're putting all your energy into that moment, without worrying if it topped last week or will measure up to tomorrow, I think that's what it's all about. I can't go changing my Facebook profile pic every day (remember, Twitter is my #1 social media), but I'll use that picture... taken in the past... to remind me to be in the present... so things can be great in the future.

I'll wrap this up now before things really start going in circles :)

                         The picture I love so much!



Friday, December 28, 2012

Get me the paddles... this blog is coming back to life!

Driving to work this morning I found myself behind a red 1980s BMW 3 series, which I ended up following for about 5 miles. This would usually be an insignificant part of my 25min morning fog of a commute, but this was different. Trailing this car, with its random bumper sticker and jerky 5-speed driver immediately unraveled a string of memories bringing me right back to the fall of 2006, and my trip to San Francisco, which was my first introduction to all things “hipster” and how I learned a new word I won't soon forget.
Come, pull up a chair.
October 2006, my first trip to northern California. The BF at the time had a really good friend (I’ll call him Roger) he’d known since elementary school who moved out west after college. Roger was forever extending an invitation to us to come for a visit. I’d met Roger and hung out with him on several occasions, so that year we finally took him up on his offer. We had no doubt he’d be a great host and we could jam pack our 5 day trip with lots of sights in his 1980s BMW 3 series (yup, there’s the tie-in).
Let me preface this story by pointing out that San Francisco didn’t turn this guy hipster. Oddly enough, it was almost as if Roger was born pre-qualified, and as soon as the term, and all it encompassed, made its way into pop culture nomenclature, he was it… this hipster thing, personified! 
Merriam Webster defines Hipster as: a person who is unusually aware of and interested in new and unconventional patterns (as in jazz or fashion). Hmm, that’s a mediocre definition at best, and only the tip of the iceberg. Add to that: a penchant for the vegetarian lifestyle since birth, all things Jack Kerouac and the Beat movement, speaking in seldom used SAT vocab words, and a favorite, well-worn sweater with tweed patches adorning the elbows (an amazing thrift store find, for sure), all while drinking tap water out of a mason jar. Because duhhh, using them for canning jam is, like, so mainstream.
Speaking of the vocab words, one memorable moment of this trip was a late night Scrabble game. Yes, this was a tangible board game, pre- Words with Friends, where you actually had to keep score. Surrounded by bottles of local wine (local as in the vineyard was an hour away), an impressive array of cheese from the corner market, and an ubercrusty baguette, (because God forbid you go to a supermarket in San Fran, oh the horror.), we launched a battle with lettered tiles as our weapons.
It was PA vs. CA; me and the BF vs. Roger and his friend Evan. There was indie music (of course) shuffling on the iPod, a dim glow of IKEA lamps filling the apartment, and a fierce competition brewing within us. Pass me my wine, please.
Evan wasn’t a small man. Standing over 6’, he had a full beard and sported a sweater that probably should have been bought a size larger (important to note, this decision is hipster approved). Looked like he should have been chopping wood up in Alaska, not sipping wine and Scrabbling in San Fran. The conversation was casual, the wine and cheese made the rounds, and then came the defining moment which I will recreate below.
Mid-game, Roger places a word carefully on the board, a high point play.
The word: fatwa
BF: “Fatwa? What the hell is that?”

Roger: (looking at Evan) “Fatwa. That’s legit, right Evan?”

Evan: (beaming with assurance) “Of course. Fatwa. Right on. Nice play man.”

Me: (sneaking a glance at BF) “We’re getting scammed. I’ve never heard of that.”

Roger: (grabbing the Mac laptop for verification, a cloud of confidence hovering overhead)
“Fatwa. Here’s the definition…You guys have never heard of it?", (a genuine puzzled look spreads across his face)
He proceeds to read the definition: a legal opinion or decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader.
Ohhhh
Oh, oh wow, yeah
RIGHT!
Of course!

FATWA! We should have known that, silly, silly us. Perhaps we should just ask SJU and Boston College for refunds at this point. This is the moment where the many facets of Roger collide, in a perfect storm kind of way: west coast hipster meets Ivy League graduate meets a higher than usual intellect- when all 3 just carefully walk the line of making you want to truly admire his intelligence while simultaneously wanting to slap him straight out of his retro Nikes.
Needless to say, we lost the Scrabble game. No sore losers here though. The trip continued with a jaunt to wine country, a visit to SFMoMA, a no-reservations-made walk into a well known sushi joint (yeah, we’ll take the table in the corner. Perfect). It really was a fabulous time. It met all my requirements for an ideal trip and I came home refreshed, inspired, and excited about where I should go next.
Fast forward to 2012. I’ve got 5+ Words with Friends games going on my trusty (non-hipster) Android phone. My turn is up, and I'm shuffling these tiles about ten times when my eyes and mind connect on a particular set of letters- A T F W. Waaaait a minute. With an A already on the board in prime position, I throw down fatwa like a wannabe Scrabble boss. Boom!
Soon after comes the internal message from my opponent: “Fatwa??”
“Yeah” I type, with the biggest possible smirk plastered on my face. “That word’s totally legit."
(Giggling to myself at this point, remembering that night in 2006 when a hipster served us up a word 98 out of 100 Americans polled on the street wouldn't know)
"You’ve never heard of it?”

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Get me a compass. Preferably, one that works.

The blog is back.

You'd think after a month hiatus I'd be tempted back to my old ways and rattle off the biggest bulleted list of randoms one has ever seen.

Nope. That won't happen. (I'm not saying the WR is extinct; it shall rise again!)

As you may have noticed, there's a new pic in the background. One that completely captures how I felt today, the 28th day of what has been the worst month of 2012. 4 months to go in this year, and I'm convinced the universe hates me if something tops the nightmare which has been the month of August (and I attribute 98% of this grief to work and job related fiascoes. My personal life never gets that much out of control.)

I refuse to believe I am the only one who, on a minimum of a weekly basis, questions what exactly is it I was put on this planet to do. I believe I've touched on the mortality topic in my blogs; I'm keenly aware I will exist for a finite period of time on this spinning ball, and I see my days, weeks, months, not as an infinite loop of wake/eat/work/sleep [repeat], but as smaller episodes in the bigger series which is MY LIFE.

Now don 't go gettin all "Oh, she's having some sort of wicked mood swing (I will not confirm nor deny this) and it taking it out on the new blog"
I am merely pointing out the fact I have been spending the last 10 years wasting my time (while being paid, important fact) doing something that neither showcases my skills nor fulfills anything in me that reaffirms, "This is what I was meant to do"

Most people don't care. Work=money=bills paid. Sorry, I don't think so one-dimensionally. I'm more stubborn than a Goddamn donkey and nothing, nothing will stop me from realizing this answer which has been eluding me since the first day I began working a real full time job.

This feeling really starts to amp up once I've hit the 3 year mark. Inevitably, when I'm not being met with challenge, when I'm putting out more fires that those who drive the red trucks, and I ask myself, "As a person of free will, why am I putting myself though this?", that's when I start getting antsy. I'm not satisfied. I'm just going through the motions. Don't I owe it to myself to see this through to the end? That graphic of the crossroads with tons of unmarked arrows slaps me square in the face, usually a stinging kind of slap after a particularly horrible day. And with each passing year and each job change, things get much better (financially, etc), but the bigger question remains a gigantic, frustrating mystery.

I won't deny that I'm grateful to have a very sweet deal right now. This doesn't slow my determination to find my answer. I will not stop. I've read every book and blog on this topic over the past 10 years and have answered more surveys and personality profiles than I care to admit. There have been plenty of people who have found success and something meaningful after 30. I just keep telling myself I will soon add my name to that list.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Wednesday Randoms


Something new and different!

Stayed tuned...

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wednesday Randoms

I have to be truthful here- I nearly forgot about the weekly WR post tonight! Could it be that I've visited 18 bars in the last 6 days, and I was more preoccupied with finishing that project? Maybe. No excuses. Perhaps this topic has jumped the shark; you know, gotten a little stale. I'm still full of rants, raves, opinions and everything else, I swear! The time to actually sit down and write it has become the challenge. I never "pre-write" the blog days beforehand. What you get in the weekly post is fresh-from-my-head-to-your-screen" I think that's why I enjoy Twitter (yet another Twitter plug on this blog!) It's instant, real-time thoughts with only the 140 character limit holding me back. I'd love to do a blog with a huge following. Just need a catchy idea, or something that's highly searched on Google. Oh, wait, I def don't want to go there! I'm going to think this one out. Having some sort of web design skills would be helpful... But I'll worry about that after I come up with the genius plan. Stay tuned! And I welcome suggestions, loyal readers ( yes, I'm talking about all you in Russia. Someone over there is blowing up my hit counts. Until next time : )

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Wednesday Randoms

Hey. Random time

  • I've been watching a good share of TV in between working, and working out. Some real good movies, and more than enough Kardashian trash. First off, Scott Disick can do waaaay better than the incredibly ssslllooow taaaalllkkkiinnngg Kourtney. She is just so irritating to listen to! Sounds like every word out of her mouth is trying to be translated to a voice text. Let me speak slloooower.
  • Gave the birds some hang out time together tonight in Green's cage.
  • Phase 1 of waging war against my smoking neighbors has begun. And I won't stop until the problem is solved!
  • So sad my last shipment of Birchbox is this month. I think I might have to continue it for another 6.
  • Despite what I've said in the past, I've changed my mind. My next phone is absolutely going to be an iPhone. I'm so sick of the Android and its million options and millions possibilities to screw up.
  • So yeeeaaa, that race is coming up in about 6 weeks. Ahhh. If it's as hot then as it has been the past week, I'm gonna pull some turtle times on the clock. Ack
  • Looking forward to my next vacation in October. It's pretty much work from now up until then. Not very fun.