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‘Life Observations.’ Category

  1. 31 Before 31 list — The Final Tally

    February 6, 2012 by me

    Things I got done:
    2. Read Breaking Dawn. 
    4. Make more money by selling off stuff I don’t use anymore and making an ebay account / amazon account
    6. Have one room in my studio at least look like I put some thought into the design
    8. Pay off at least one credit card.
    9. Lose 10 pounds (or at least fit into my jeans better)
    13. Write in both blogs consecutively for one week.
    14. Complete a crossword puzzle.
    16. Write a short story.
    17. Start the Harry Potter series.
    18. Sell off all my books that I don’t care about and get a Kindle or Nook
    19. Read Emerson.
    20. Learn to meditate for 10 minutes.
    21. Do yoga at least once a week.
    22. Help Ollie lose 10 pounds.
    23. Get a tattoo
    25. Find my favorite wine.
    26. Install a headboard and TV in my “bedroom”.
    27. Find a high end/low end signature scent
    31. Drink more tea

    Things I didn’t:
    1. Import my physical CDs into iTunes and start a CD Swap.
    3. Learn how to properly use my Mac without the help of Google.
    5. Teach Ollie new tricks
    7. Learn to play one song from The Fray on the piano.
    10. Drink at least 5 glasses of water a day.
    11. Travel to a new place
    12. Go a whole day without complaining.
    15. Write a new song.
    24. Cook something new once a week.
    28. Learn how to sew
    29. Watch the entire Battlestar Gallactica series
    30. Make an electronic scrapbook of my semester in London (from 2003!)

    Things I learned:
    *This was a very ambitious (and at times, vague) list to have. I’m surprised I finished what I did.
    *I need to make the list a tangible list. Like, attatinable. Less “teach Ollie new tricks” and more “Get Ollie to fetch a ball”.
    *Once I finally got a tattoo, I felt like the rest of the list didn’t matter much anymore. So, even though I didn’t finish it, I still feel a sense of accomplishment!
    *I like lists. It keeps me on track and on task. So….I present:

    THE TOP 5 THINGS TO DO IN 2012!

    1) Buy fresh flowers every week that I know I will be in town.
    Flowers are said to make you smile, and I want to smile, damn it!
    2) Do yoga 2x/week.
    We’ll see if I can make this a habit. It’s been hard to even keep it on the books for one day. But I think it’s do-able.
    3) Cook/eat-in 1x/week.
    Need to save money so I can buy a bigger kitchen. Plus, I need to expand my culinary repetroire.
    4) Read the rest of Harry Potter.
    Just because I want to.
    5) See/rent a movie 1x/month.
    I used to watch films at least once a week. But I’m loving tv so much more now…however, I have found that my attention span for movies is fading, so I’d like to watch at least one movie a month. Mine as well justify my netflix account for once!

     

     

     

     

    Category 31 Before 31 List, Contemplations., Life Observations. | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Life Observations: A Night of Comedic Reminiscent Hilarity

    January 15, 2012 by me


    I usually don’t like to write about really personal stuff on here (I usually save that for the 20+ journals I write in daily)…no, I usually write about vague life contemplations that may or may not have anything to do with what is going on in my life, rather usually what is going on in this crazy brain of mine. But I’m going against the norm and writing about an experience I had tonight that just made me laugh at the irony of life in general.

    You see, I am standing up in the wedding of what I can only describe as my “adopted little sister”. I met Renee when I was dating her brother, Brian, way back in high school. When people ask how we met, I always reply, “I lost a boyfriend, but gained a sister.” And that is still the truth. Renee is the little sister I always wanted, and I’m so happy to be a part of her big day.

    So tonight was the engagement party, and while I’ve seen Renee and her parents quite a lot, I had not seen Brian (or his wife, Lindsay, whom I also know) for about 7 years. I mean, I could be exaggerating the years, or maybe not, but it’s been a hella long time. I mean, when exactly do you hang out with your ex-boyfriend and his wife? (**side note, when does an “ex” stop being your “ex” and start being your “friend”? That’s for another blog post)  And, of course, there are no hints of relationship envy or anything like that, but I still knew I was going to be a little awkward…what human wouldn’t be awkward seeing an ex they hadn’t seen in a bazillion years? Sarcastic thoughts of “oh, great, this should be fun” or “just do it for your little sister”, or “even if it sucks, just smile and nod” were running through my head on the drive over (and yes, these are the voices that run through my head, and yes, I realize there is probably medication I can take to quiet them…). But since I am on this “Que Sera-ing It” kick, I threw nervousness of the unknown to the wind and just went with it, awkwardness and all.

    So long story short, what, on paper, seemed like a very awkward situation, turned out to be a night of comedic reminiscent hilarity. There are certain people in this life that just feel comfortable, like an old sweatshirt that you refuse to throw out because it’s broken in, and will always be a part of you…you may not wear it ever again, and even throw it into the back of your closet, but you know its there, and that familiarity is a comfort to you. This is exactly how I felt with Brian and Lindsay. I’ve known these two since high school, and I’ve known Lindsay’s was Brian’s “One” in college, and yes, it should be weird and awkward for me, seeing as I am still the single one…but for me, it just wasn’t. It was comfortable. It was like time hadn’t passed at all. We were like old friends hanging out at a bar, shootin’ the shit while sharing a beer and reminiscing about old times, talking about new times, and how old we all feel..all without the awkwardness of past titles and all those imply.

    I guess the whole point of this blog is that it is amazing to me how people I met in high school, who I won’t see for years, even decades, pop up in my life again, and it’s like nothing has changed. We still have the crazy personality that made us all friends, we still have the same smiles, the same laughs, just this time with a little more lines under our eyes and (hopefully) a little more money in our pockets.

    And while I will admit, the childhood room tour that found my prom garter attached to his old bulletin board was a little embarrassing, it was the fact that we were spewing wine out of our noses with laughter at the hilarity of it all that makes me smile the most.

    Everyone is where they ought to be, with who they ought to be with, and life continues to amaze me.

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  3. Contemplations in the rain (or “so long” 2011)

    December 30, 2011 by me

    There is something so calming and conTEMPlative about rain.  I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been in a very pensive state this last month, or it’s the end of a year, or that rain reminds me of certain events in my life that make me smile. There’s something about walking in the rain, with a destination in mind, but no rush to get there, when the sky is gray and foggy, and the air smells crisp and clean. I was only walking to the bank that is a couple blocks from my house, and armed with rain boots and an umbrella, I made my way down the street. It’s the cars honking their horns in frustration that were the only distractions from my walk, for I was trying to take in the sights and sounds of a city on a Friday at two in the afternoon. Things made me smile: a couple walking hand in hand with no umbrella, just laughing, probably at the fact that they were getting soaked and they didn’t seem to care. It’s a man pushing a cart full of groceries home, while on a cell phone and smoking, somehow he was doing it all, but he was missing the view around him, which is probably why he got soaked by a car splashing past. He hardly noticed. It’s the little girl holding her mother’s hand while jumping into puddles, much to her mother’s chagrin. It’s moments like these that made me appreciate the ability to walk a couple blocks without fear of pain, without fear of getting shot, without fear of anything but getting wet. And really, as an Aquarius, we all know I have no fear of that.

    And while I walked home from the bank, where I had just begrudgingly realized that financial obligation and adulthood go hand-in-hand, I walked slower, calmer. Because there’s something about the rain that makes me contemplate my existence, and makes me realize I am, in fact, ok. I am healthy, breathing, living, day by day, enjoying, loving and caring. My only real obligation is to my family and dog. (Side note–Ollie is in the country for the week, which is why I think I am so contemplative. Dogs really are a natural (and needed) distraction from the voices in my head!) I think we all get like this at the end of yet another year…we think of all the things we said we were going to do that didn’t get done, we think of all the times we wanted to say something but didn’t, we get to the end of the year and exclaim, “Wow, that year went by so fast!”. For me, this year started off hard. Extremely hard. Probably the hardest thing I have ever had to go through in my life thus far. And it’s ending with me trying desperately to just enjoy life as it comes. To stop over analyzing every little thing that might or might not happen in the future. To really, just enjoy the present, because, truthfully, isn’t that all we have?

    So I guess all this blabbering is me just saying, so long 2011. I’ve changed so much in this year. I’ve changed physically. I’ve changed jobs. I’ve changed friends. I’ve changed expectations and I’ve tried to change my outlook. But, really, do we ever change all that much? I don’t like making resolutions, cause let’s face it, we never keep them. But the one vow I make to myself in 2012 is to just take life as it comes. Stop planning. Stop over analyzing. Just trust that life has a grand plan and it will all work itself out like it is supposed to. Yeah, I know, that’s a very Pollyanna/naive way to look at things. But with all the change that has happened in 2011, I’m looking for a Pollyanna/rose-colored glasses way of life in 2012.  And it’s all beginning with me making up a word…in 2012, I’ll be Que Sera-ing it.

    Category Contemplations., Life Observations. | Tags: ,,,, | 2 Comments

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