Thought #1: It has been one full year now since I returned from my semester abroad in Australia. I've been getting reminded of some amazing memories the past few weeks and I just can't believe it's already been a year since I left. Definitely need to return sometime soon! My coworker actually just got back from a work trip to Sydney and brought us Tim Tams though, so that's awesome :)
Thought #2: I've had about 50 things going on lately and it's just been a lot. I'm starting to get more worn out than I'd care to admit. I've always been super involved and going in 10 different directions and loved it and I can't tell if it's just getting to be too much now because I haven't been used to that the past year or so or if it really is just too much stuff to juggle and I need to cut back. And I hate making decisions, especially when it's cutting something back, so I'm not really sure what I'm going to do there.
Thought #3: I'm sleepy. Been a long couple weeks and so badly just want a day to lie in bed and read or watch Netflix or just a day to relax and paint or something. Hopefully sometime this weekend!
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
#LOVEWINS
Today is the first time I've been proud of our government in a very long time.
History has been made, and #LoveWins
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Thoughts of the Day - June 25th
Thought #1: It's almost Friday! This week has both flown by and gone horribly slowly at the same time. I'm very much looking forward to this weekend though, so I'm glad it's almost here.
Thought #2: I have so much to do and I keep getting in really good rhythms where I'm motivated and moving through a lot of stuff, but something happens that interrupts me and I completely lose all momentum. Once I get through that interruption my motivation is gone and my to do list just taunts me.
Thought #3: I'm still not sure what I'm doing with my life and sometimes that scares me a bit. I'm learning more and more that even as an adult it's just rolling with it and trying to figure everything out as you go but I had hoped I'd have a bit more of a plan and/or path at this point in my life. Oh well.
Thought #2: I have so much to do and I keep getting in really good rhythms where I'm motivated and moving through a lot of stuff, but something happens that interrupts me and I completely lose all momentum. Once I get through that interruption my motivation is gone and my to do list just taunts me.
Thought #3: I'm still not sure what I'm doing with my life and sometimes that scares me a bit. I'm learning more and more that even as an adult it's just rolling with it and trying to figure everything out as you go but I had hoped I'd have a bit more of a plan and/or path at this point in my life. Oh well.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Quito, Ecuador - Part 2 of 2
As we had set the night before, on Sunday we were headed off to the volcano Cotopaxi. We got up early, repacked our backpacks (including the sunscreen!) and met up with our tour guide. The drive was a little over an hour out of the city, through and around the mountains. It was quite foggy on the way out, so it was both scary and fun to look over the edge of the road into what should be a valley but was just cloudy nothingness.
As we got further from the city we noticed two peaks rather close to each other that looked like they could be our destination. The guide informed us that it wasn't where we were going, but that those peaks were to other volcanoes and that he had a good spot along the road that he could stop so we could take some pictures.
Once we climbed back into the car we were back on our way and came around another curve to see a much larger peak, confirmed to be our destination, Cotopaxi.
We were getting close! We drove the rest of the way into the park and stopped at the welcome center. Our guide helped us find a park tour guide that spoke English (Andrej and I can get to where we need to go in Spanish, but neither of us would be what you'd consider fluent), we stocked up on some warm clothes since we were again in a new climate that would include snow and glaciers, and we were off up the side of the volcano! A short drive in we stopped at a lagoon to see some birds and get another look at the road that we would be driving up on our way.
It was very quiet and peaceful here and it was a nice view to get from the ground, as later on we'd get to look back over this lagoon from over 3 miles up.
Once we were finished here Andrej and I stopped to put on some sunblock, just in case, as we were still feeling the pain of our mistake the day before. We climbed back in the truck and this time took a much longer, steeper drive. Our next stop was a parking lot at the base of the trails. We could already feel the temperature difference here and there was a little bit of snow on the ground, making us grateful for the alpaca fur gloves and scarves we had picked up earlier at the start of the park.
We saw two paths headed up toward the peak and asked our guide which we would be taking. He explained that one was very steep and would take us about an hour to climb up, while the other was much more moderate and would take us about 45 minutes. Considering the altitude, the cold, and the fact that we weren't looking to do anything too too crazy we were more than happy to take the moderate track.
It was here that we were promised hot drinks and even soup if we wanted it. I was looking forward to a quick break and something warm as we were in the snow and glaciers at this point and it was quite chilly. We did stop to take some pictures by the sign before we entered the lodge though, we wanted to mark that we had gotten to the top and take note of the fact that the spot we were at was close to 3 miles up.
We took some time to refuel with snacks and water, even going for the warm soup, before we went back outside with the tour guide to stop in the restroom and make our way back down. As we were getting ready to head out we found ourselves inside a cloud. Literally.
Where we had just been able to see for miles and miles and had a good view of the lagoon we now saw nothingness. The change was fast and drastic and really interesting as the cloud also brought snow/hail with it which started falling as we took our first steps down the steep path, the one we hadn't climbed up.
The steep path was the quickest and easiest way to get back down to the parking lot, so it made sense to take it, but I did have a little bit of trouble with it. The ground was very loose and I found myself more sliding/surfing down the hill that climbing or hiking or even walking. At one point I had to stop and Andrej got a picture of me in my surfing stance, in which I was still slowly sliding down.
With some help from the tour guide so that I didn't fall on my face and slide down the path, we made it back to where the car was parked. We were out of the cloud and the snow turned to rain so we timed it well and were glad to get under some cover and have heat. On our way down we made an additional stop at the visitors center - there were cool displays about the park and the volcano and our tour guide shared some additional information about the wildlife and surrounding volcanoes and mountains with us. After the displays we went to the other small building at that stop, grabbed a couple souvenirs, did a quick walk around the garden, and headed on our way. We dropped off our park tour guide near the front of the park again and then found ourselves headed back into the city.
We were both tired and agreed to a quick dinner and turning in early for the night. It was back to work the next day and we both needed some down time and to rest up and get ready and refocused again.
Although it was back to work we weren't quite done with our adventures yet. A couple days later we headed to a new part of the city to meet a couple family friends of Andrej's. He had suggested that we meet on La Ronda Street and choose one of the many small restaurants, cafes, and bars to grab dinner. We found it was near the Basilica that we had visited the previous weekend, and that it had it's own charm and a lot of live music and interesting store fronts.
Not the greatest picture, but the only one I thought to take. We found a small restaurant that offered Cuy, as both Andrej and his friend were eager to try the local dish. I personally went with chicken, but both guys ordered 1/4 Cuy, but prepared different ways. We were joking around wondering which quarter they would end up getting when they brought out the plates. One was a hind quarter, you could see the leg, but didn't look too crazy. The other, however, was a front half, skull and all. They had just dropped the whole thing in the deep fryer and served it up just like that. I did try a tiny bite, but was very glad I hadn't ordered it as my meal. (Was quite gamey, and the whole guinea pig skull right on the plate thing just wasn't appetizing to me.)
It was a fun night and a good note to wrap up our adventures on. I headed home on the red eye that Thursday night, while Andrej found himself there over another weekend until the following Tuesday.
Although the change in plans was stressful for me at first, it was really great to be able to see a place that I never thought I would and gain some amazing experiences and memories.
As we got further from the city we noticed two peaks rather close to each other that looked like they could be our destination. The guide informed us that it wasn't where we were going, but that those peaks were to other volcanoes and that he had a good spot along the road that he could stop so we could take some pictures.
Once we climbed back into the car we were back on our way and came around another curve to see a much larger peak, confirmed to be our destination, Cotopaxi.
We were getting close! We drove the rest of the way into the park and stopped at the welcome center. Our guide helped us find a park tour guide that spoke English (Andrej and I can get to where we need to go in Spanish, but neither of us would be what you'd consider fluent), we stocked up on some warm clothes since we were again in a new climate that would include snow and glaciers, and we were off up the side of the volcano! A short drive in we stopped at a lagoon to see some birds and get another look at the road that we would be driving up on our way.
It was very quiet and peaceful here and it was a nice view to get from the ground, as later on we'd get to look back over this lagoon from over 3 miles up.
Once we were finished here Andrej and I stopped to put on some sunblock, just in case, as we were still feeling the pain of our mistake the day before. We climbed back in the truck and this time took a much longer, steeper drive. Our next stop was a parking lot at the base of the trails. We could already feel the temperature difference here and there was a little bit of snow on the ground, making us grateful for the alpaca fur gloves and scarves we had picked up earlier at the start of the park.
We saw two paths headed up toward the peak and asked our guide which we would be taking. He explained that one was very steep and would take us about an hour to climb up, while the other was much more moderate and would take us about 45 minutes. Considering the altitude, the cold, and the fact that we weren't looking to do anything too too crazy we were more than happy to take the moderate track.
We took a couple breaks on our way up to catch our breaths and take some pictures. One of my favorites is from when we were about 2/3 of the way up and we paused to look back over the lagoon we had stopped by earlier. It's that little spot in the left hand corner....
We were starting to get quite tired from the climb and lack of oxygen when we finally got in view of our final stop, the lodge! 
It was here that we were promised hot drinks and even soup if we wanted it. I was looking forward to a quick break and something warm as we were in the snow and glaciers at this point and it was quite chilly. We did stop to take some pictures by the sign before we entered the lodge though, we wanted to mark that we had gotten to the top and take note of the fact that the spot we were at was close to 3 miles up.
We took some time to refuel with snacks and water, even going for the warm soup, before we went back outside with the tour guide to stop in the restroom and make our way back down. As we were getting ready to head out we found ourselves inside a cloud. Literally.
Where we had just been able to see for miles and miles and had a good view of the lagoon we now saw nothingness. The change was fast and drastic and really interesting as the cloud also brought snow/hail with it which started falling as we took our first steps down the steep path, the one we hadn't climbed up.
The steep path was the quickest and easiest way to get back down to the parking lot, so it made sense to take it, but I did have a little bit of trouble with it. The ground was very loose and I found myself more sliding/surfing down the hill that climbing or hiking or even walking. At one point I had to stop and Andrej got a picture of me in my surfing stance, in which I was still slowly sliding down.
We were both tired and agreed to a quick dinner and turning in early for the night. It was back to work the next day and we both needed some down time and to rest up and get ready and refocused again.
Although it was back to work we weren't quite done with our adventures yet. A couple days later we headed to a new part of the city to meet a couple family friends of Andrej's. He had suggested that we meet on La Ronda Street and choose one of the many small restaurants, cafes, and bars to grab dinner. We found it was near the Basilica that we had visited the previous weekend, and that it had it's own charm and a lot of live music and interesting store fronts.
Not the greatest picture, but the only one I thought to take. We found a small restaurant that offered Cuy, as both Andrej and his friend were eager to try the local dish. I personally went with chicken, but both guys ordered 1/4 Cuy, but prepared different ways. We were joking around wondering which quarter they would end up getting when they brought out the plates. One was a hind quarter, you could see the leg, but didn't look too crazy. The other, however, was a front half, skull and all. They had just dropped the whole thing in the deep fryer and served it up just like that. I did try a tiny bite, but was very glad I hadn't ordered it as my meal. (Was quite gamey, and the whole guinea pig skull right on the plate thing just wasn't appetizing to me.)
It was a fun night and a good note to wrap up our adventures on. I headed home on the red eye that Thursday night, while Andrej found himself there over another weekend until the following Tuesday.
Although the change in plans was stressful for me at first, it was really great to be able to see a place that I never thought I would and gain some amazing experiences and memories.
Thoughts of the Day - June 24th
Thought #1: I am incredibly blessed with some amazing people in my life. I had a fun, relaxing, enjoyable, interesting night last night with my second family (as I call, and truly consider/feel about, my best friend's family) and it was just great to see them again and catch up. We talked BS, real life, and everything in between and it was great. When times get rough I'm always reminded of all these great people that I have around me and that even if everything else is going wrong I can get through it just on that.
Thought #2: Speaking of amazing people, I have a friend who I met online through a blog I used to write for and I am so very grateful for her. I know some people will scoff when they read about making friends online, but we've really connected and have been communicating a lot through email lately and it's really great. We're both going through some similar things right now and we've been able to have some important and powerful discussions about different things and I really appreciate that we have that.
Thought #3: I LOVE THIS WEATHER. It's been between 70 and 80 and sunny and just absolutely beautiful the past few days and it just boosts my mood so much from the start of the day all the way through. It's cool enough and there's a nice breeze to have the windows down in the car, it cools of nicely at night, but the sun is warm, and it's just really contributing to me feeling wonderful the past couple days, even with stressing about a lot right now.
Thought #4: I am terrible with gifts... well, to clarify, with being on time with gifts. I'd like to think I actually give good gifts that people like, but they're never early and lately not even close to on time. Like I always have ideas for what I want to do and make notes for myself not to forget and to get them together early, but I never do, it's terrible! Put together a really nice gift for my dad for Father's Day and it's shipping late (I have to argue that this one's not my fault, I did it in plenty of time and the company I went through took 2x as long to create it as they said they would and shipped it 4 days after they let me know it was ready to ship), but still I feel absolutely terrible that he doesn't have his gift yet and I didn't have anything nice to give him this past Sunday. Although it should have been on time with the guidelines given to me by the company, I still feel bad because if I had ordered it far earlier, it still would have been on time most likely. And my sister got married almost a month ago now and I planned to give her the gift the week following the ceremony, but it's still sitting in pieces on my desk. I know what it is, have all the individual pieces ready to go, I just haven't put it together yet. My Godmother is getting married this weekend, I know exactly what I'm getting/making her, but guess what I haven't done yet? Gahhhh! Curse me and my procrastination.
Thought #2: Speaking of amazing people, I have a friend who I met online through a blog I used to write for and I am so very grateful for her. I know some people will scoff when they read about making friends online, but we've really connected and have been communicating a lot through email lately and it's really great. We're both going through some similar things right now and we've been able to have some important and powerful discussions about different things and I really appreciate that we have that.
Thought #3: I LOVE THIS WEATHER. It's been between 70 and 80 and sunny and just absolutely beautiful the past few days and it just boosts my mood so much from the start of the day all the way through. It's cool enough and there's a nice breeze to have the windows down in the car, it cools of nicely at night, but the sun is warm, and it's just really contributing to me feeling wonderful the past couple days, even with stressing about a lot right now.
Thought #4: I am terrible with gifts... well, to clarify, with being on time with gifts. I'd like to think I actually give good gifts that people like, but they're never early and lately not even close to on time. Like I always have ideas for what I want to do and make notes for myself not to forget and to get them together early, but I never do, it's terrible! Put together a really nice gift for my dad for Father's Day and it's shipping late (I have to argue that this one's not my fault, I did it in plenty of time and the company I went through took 2x as long to create it as they said they would and shipped it 4 days after they let me know it was ready to ship), but still I feel absolutely terrible that he doesn't have his gift yet and I didn't have anything nice to give him this past Sunday. Although it should have been on time with the guidelines given to me by the company, I still feel bad because if I had ordered it far earlier, it still would have been on time most likely. And my sister got married almost a month ago now and I planned to give her the gift the week following the ceremony, but it's still sitting in pieces on my desk. I know what it is, have all the individual pieces ready to go, I just haven't put it together yet. My Godmother is getting married this weekend, I know exactly what I'm getting/making her, but guess what I haven't done yet? Gahhhh! Curse me and my procrastination.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Thoughts of the Day - June 23rd
Thought #1: I got to walk around a lot today and it was great. Helped set up for a pancake breakfast at my Aunts' church this morning, went for a walk at lunch time, and had to go over to a different building on my work campus today for meeting this afternoon. Almost at my FitBit steps for the day already and I'm hoping to go for a run later tonight, so should hit my goal today! Hooray!
Thought #2: I'm realizing quickly that even though a few big things have fallen into place lately I still have a lot of decisions coming up on me quickly. Gah. Being an adult can really be exhausting sometimes, ya know?
Thought #3: The USA won last night! We're on our way to the quarterfinal match against China this Friday! I was a bit concerned watching the first half, but we pulled through and finished up the second half strong. Colombia played a great game, and even when they were hurt by their keeper having to leave, kept their spirit and played well. It was an entertaining game, I think that we have a long way to go if we want to win this tournament though. If all goes well and we win Friday we'll play either Germany or France in the semis, and either will be a very formidable opponent.
Thought #4: Woke up super early this morning and have felt great all day. I'm waiting for the minute when I completely crash haha, I know it's coming!
Thought #5: I'm on another hunt for new music. I have a few different ways I go about discovering new stuff but if anyone has any suggestions I love hearing recommendations from people so just let me know what to check out!
Thought #2: I'm realizing quickly that even though a few big things have fallen into place lately I still have a lot of decisions coming up on me quickly. Gah. Being an adult can really be exhausting sometimes, ya know?
Thought #3: The USA won last night! We're on our way to the quarterfinal match against China this Friday! I was a bit concerned watching the first half, but we pulled through and finished up the second half strong. Colombia played a great game, and even when they were hurt by their keeper having to leave, kept their spirit and played well. It was an entertaining game, I think that we have a long way to go if we want to win this tournament though. If all goes well and we win Friday we'll play either Germany or France in the semis, and either will be a very formidable opponent.
Thought #4: Woke up super early this morning and have felt great all day. I'm waiting for the minute when I completely crash haha, I know it's coming!
Thought #5: I'm on another hunt for new music. I have a few different ways I go about discovering new stuff but if anyone has any suggestions I love hearing recommendations from people so just let me know what to check out!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Quito, Ecuador - Part 1 of 2
Finally got around to writing this adventure up and getting in on here! Hooray!
So back in March I headed off to Quito on a work trip. We had gotten a new client in the city and we were off on a 3 day trip to get them up and running.
Once we arrived things went very well, and very quickly, and we found that we needed to stay an extra couple days to take care of everything and round out the trip. At the end of day four we realized we were off again - we'd need to be back the following week in order to really get things where we wanted them to be. Now, typically we'd just head home for the weekend and then turn around to come back Sunday afternoon or early Monday morning. That kind of turn around is challenging when you're on a different continent though. We would have had to take the red eye home Friday night, not gotten home until close to noon on Saturday, and been on a plan again at 2pm Sunday. Not exactly a fun weekend, and a lot of stress and almost 24 hours of travel. Made much more sense for us, time and money wise, just to hang out in Quito for the weekend. It was also great because we got to explore a bit!
Now, as you know if you know me, or may have picked up on if you've read previous posts, I am a very anxious person. This change of plans did throw me off a bit, but once I recovered I was able to really enjoy the incredible weekend that we had.
It had been a very long work week full of early morning and late nights so our first decision was to sleep in a little bit on Saturday. We didn't want to waste our precious time to explore, but we also didn't want to feel dead as we had the past few days. We agreed on a happy medium and a time to meet, and talked to the tour company that was housed in our hotel. Our destinations for Saturday would be the Equator and the Historical Center of the city.
We packed our backpacks with a few snacks and some water and headed out! We found out that for our visit to the Equator there were actually 2 stops - the first was a museum and the actual physical location of the equator, the second was the monument for the equator. When the monument was first built, in 1936, they used their most precise measurements and were off by a couple hundred feet. With our modern GPS systems the actual equator is marked at the museum, but the fact that they were so close without the technology that we're so used to is pretty cool to me.
Once we went through the exhibits with our guide, saw the demonstrations of water rotating different ways on either side of the equator, and tried our hand at balancing an egg on the head of a nail, we got a special stamp in our Passports and headed off to explore the monument and the not-quite-actual Equator.
Now, side note, Quito is actually in the Andes mountains. Not like you can see them from the city, it's built in/on the mountains themselves. It's absolutely gorgeous and I love the mountains so I was ecstatic with our surroundings.
Once we got to the park with the monument we walked around the monument and took some pictures. There were all sorts of shops and restaurants within the park as well, so we stopped and had a good lunch and grabbed some souvenirs to take home with us.
As we were finishing up and walking out we came across a restaurant that was selling full Cuy on a spit outside. I remembered learning this when I studied Spanish and we did various culture projects, but it didn't really occur to me until we saw this that Guinea pig is a common food in the Andes regions. My coworker Andrej was eager to try some, but I wasn't really into it. Sadly for him they were only selling the whole thing, and we had already eaten, so he would have to wait to try Cuy.
From the monument we headed back to our hotel in search of cleaning up a bit and refilling our snacks and water. We hadn't realized that the afternoon portion in the Historical Center of the City was a separate thing so we worked out timing and such with the tour guide to solidify the rest of our day and then agreed to meet after a short break. It was during this drive back and our short break that Andrej and I realized how sun burned we had gotten. Now, in our defense, it had rained non stop since 20 minutes after we had landed the Sunday before. When we went to pick up some supplies for the weekend we grabbed umbrellas, but neglected sunblock. Naturally, the first sunny day we experienced was while we were up in the mountains literally on the Equator. I have never burned so badly in my entire life. I was a lobster. On our way out we quickly agreed to go get after sun and sun black and lotion from the K-Mart-like store that we had found a block and a half away.
It was a quick ride through the city to get to our first stop, the Basilica del Voto Nacional. We didn't realize we could at first, but we ended up climbing to the very top of one of the towers and getting an amazing outlook point. This was an interested climb as I am terrified of heights, but love being in high places once I'm there and feel secure. Andrej hates heights, but is okay getting to and from them. I was shaking on the way up the steep ladders and across not-super-secure walkways, Andrej was not comfortable while we were at the top looking around, and I had a very challenging time convincing myself to climb down said steep ladders. Even so, the view from the top of that climb was incredible and so beautiful (and worth it).
Once we found somewhere to park we headed out to the grid of streets and explored for a bit. Right in the middle was the Independence Monument, and the entire grid around it was packed with people and shops and the hustle and bustle of city life and food traffic. Everyone was out and about and enjoying the beautiful sunny day. We were even able to see up the street to the angel statue that we saw from the top of the Basilica.
After we got back to the hotel we took a quick walk to the K-Mart type store, picked up our sun burn supplies, some more water, a quick dinner, and were ready to sleep and rest up for the next day's adventure. We had decided to head to a volcano about an hour away, Cotopaxi, and we knew we'd need our energy!
Post about Day 2 and our hike up a volcano to follow!
So back in March I headed off to Quito on a work trip. We had gotten a new client in the city and we were off on a 3 day trip to get them up and running.
Once we arrived things went very well, and very quickly, and we found that we needed to stay an extra couple days to take care of everything and round out the trip. At the end of day four we realized we were off again - we'd need to be back the following week in order to really get things where we wanted them to be. Now, typically we'd just head home for the weekend and then turn around to come back Sunday afternoon or early Monday morning. That kind of turn around is challenging when you're on a different continent though. We would have had to take the red eye home Friday night, not gotten home until close to noon on Saturday, and been on a plan again at 2pm Sunday. Not exactly a fun weekend, and a lot of stress and almost 24 hours of travel. Made much more sense for us, time and money wise, just to hang out in Quito for the weekend. It was also great because we got to explore a bit!
Now, as you know if you know me, or may have picked up on if you've read previous posts, I am a very anxious person. This change of plans did throw me off a bit, but once I recovered I was able to really enjoy the incredible weekend that we had.
It had been a very long work week full of early morning and late nights so our first decision was to sleep in a little bit on Saturday. We didn't want to waste our precious time to explore, but we also didn't want to feel dead as we had the past few days. We agreed on a happy medium and a time to meet, and talked to the tour company that was housed in our hotel. Our destinations for Saturday would be the Equator and the Historical Center of the city.
We packed our backpacks with a few snacks and some water and headed out! We found out that for our visit to the Equator there were actually 2 stops - the first was a museum and the actual physical location of the equator, the second was the monument for the equator. When the monument was first built, in 1936, they used their most precise measurements and were off by a couple hundred feet. With our modern GPS systems the actual equator is marked at the museum, but the fact that they were so close without the technology that we're so used to is pretty cool to me.
Once we went through the exhibits with our guide, saw the demonstrations of water rotating different ways on either side of the equator, and tried our hand at balancing an egg on the head of a nail, we got a special stamp in our Passports and headed off to explore the monument and the not-quite-actual Equator.
Now, side note, Quito is actually in the Andes mountains. Not like you can see them from the city, it's built in/on the mountains themselves. It's absolutely gorgeous and I love the mountains so I was ecstatic with our surroundings.
Once we got to the park with the monument we walked around the monument and took some pictures. There were all sorts of shops and restaurants within the park as well, so we stopped and had a good lunch and grabbed some souvenirs to take home with us.
As we were finishing up and walking out we came across a restaurant that was selling full Cuy on a spit outside. I remembered learning this when I studied Spanish and we did various culture projects, but it didn't really occur to me until we saw this that Guinea pig is a common food in the Andes regions. My coworker Andrej was eager to try some, but I wasn't really into it. Sadly for him they were only selling the whole thing, and we had already eaten, so he would have to wait to try Cuy.
From the monument we headed back to our hotel in search of cleaning up a bit and refilling our snacks and water. We hadn't realized that the afternoon portion in the Historical Center of the City was a separate thing so we worked out timing and such with the tour guide to solidify the rest of our day and then agreed to meet after a short break. It was during this drive back and our short break that Andrej and I realized how sun burned we had gotten. Now, in our defense, it had rained non stop since 20 minutes after we had landed the Sunday before. When we went to pick up some supplies for the weekend we grabbed umbrellas, but neglected sunblock. Naturally, the first sunny day we experienced was while we were up in the mountains literally on the Equator. I have never burned so badly in my entire life. I was a lobster. On our way out we quickly agreed to go get after sun and sun black and lotion from the K-Mart-like store that we had found a block and a half away.
It was a quick ride through the city to get to our first stop, the Basilica del Voto Nacional. We didn't realize we could at first, but we ended up climbing to the very top of one of the towers and getting an amazing outlook point. This was an interested climb as I am terrified of heights, but love being in high places once I'm there and feel secure. Andrej hates heights, but is okay getting to and from them. I was shaking on the way up the steep ladders and across not-super-secure walkways, Andrej was not comfortable while we were at the top looking around, and I had a very challenging time convincing myself to climb down said steep ladders. Even so, the view from the top of that climb was incredible and so beautiful (and worth it).
After we were done exploring the Basilica we headed to our next stop at the center of the historical district. The traffic getting there was slightly crazy...
Once we found somewhere to park we headed out to the grid of streets and explored for a bit. Right in the middle was the Independence Monument, and the entire grid around it was packed with people and shops and the hustle and bustle of city life and food traffic. Everyone was out and about and enjoying the beautiful sunny day. We were even able to see up the street to the angel statue that we saw from the top of the Basilica.
After we got back to the hotel we took a quick walk to the K-Mart type store, picked up our sun burn supplies, some more water, a quick dinner, and were ready to sleep and rest up for the next day's adventure. We had decided to head to a volcano about an hour away, Cotopaxi, and we knew we'd need our energy!
Post about Day 2 and our hike up a volcano to follow!
Thoughts of the Day - June 22nd
Bit of a crazy weekend, didn't get to write up any posts as I had hoped, but considering how lousy I'm feeling I'll probably have a pretty calm evening of lying down and drinking copious amounts of Sprite to calm my stomach, so maybe I'll get some taken care of then.
Thought #1: Stomach bugs really stink. It sucks being sick in general, and I'm a true believer that we never really appreciate breathing through our noses until we are unable to for an extended period of time, but a stomach bug just has you down and out from almost everything. I have a work call, but I'm dealing with a stomach bug, it's not like I can still sit on the call and just mute myself so no one else hears my sniffling. I'm running back and forth and can only catch parts of what's going on and I'm just miserable and it stinks.
Thought #2: I guess I'm whiney today because I also wanted to make a comment about how I'm always cold...
Thought #3: Go USA! The Womens' National Soccer Team is playing in the first knock-out round of the Women's World Cup tonight against Colombia. Huge soccer fan, played since I was 3, super excited! Had been very much hoping to go to a B-Dubs to watch with a friend but, referring back to Thought #1, we'll see if things calm down in the next couple hours for that to be doable...
Thought #4: I very much phase in and out of being good at communicating and staying in touch with people. I'll be great for a few weeks and always respond to messages and emails and such but then I'll have period of time where I just don't. And it's not like anything is wrong or I'm mad at people or anything, I just kind of fade out for a little while and then jump back in. Not really sure why, but it just happens. The same thing will probably happen with this blog and these types of posts too.
Thought #1: Stomach bugs really stink. It sucks being sick in general, and I'm a true believer that we never really appreciate breathing through our noses until we are unable to for an extended period of time, but a stomach bug just has you down and out from almost everything. I have a work call, but I'm dealing with a stomach bug, it's not like I can still sit on the call and just mute myself so no one else hears my sniffling. I'm running back and forth and can only catch parts of what's going on and I'm just miserable and it stinks.
Thought #2: I guess I'm whiney today because I also wanted to make a comment about how I'm always cold...
Thought #3: Go USA! The Womens' National Soccer Team is playing in the first knock-out round of the Women's World Cup tonight against Colombia. Huge soccer fan, played since I was 3, super excited! Had been very much hoping to go to a B-Dubs to watch with a friend but, referring back to Thought #1, we'll see if things calm down in the next couple hours for that to be doable...
Thought #4: I very much phase in and out of being good at communicating and staying in touch with people. I'll be great for a few weeks and always respond to messages and emails and such but then I'll have period of time where I just don't. And it's not like anything is wrong or I'm mad at people or anything, I just kind of fade out for a little while and then jump back in. Not really sure why, but it just happens. The same thing will probably happen with this blog and these types of posts too.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Thoughts of the Day - June 19th
Thought #1: I've been reflecting a lot the past few days on what has made me happy in the past and how I can bring those things back into my life. Sometimes I wonder why I am so hesitant to go back to things I love, but I think that's something a lot of people do. We feel like we did it and should move on now, or that other's won't approve of it as much as trying something else, or for any number of reasons we just don't go for it. I am one who tends to overcomplicate things, but I guess if you really look at it, find what makes you happy and do it. There you go. It can take work, but if you focus on that I'd like to think we can get there one day.
Thought #2: Gotta love that Pandora has to have a little recorded message before you start certain stations that tell you it might offend you and remind you that you do, in fact, have the freedom to change the station whenever you want to. Like I get if it's super explicit and you want to just give a "if you have your kids in the car don't listen to this!" warning, but just reminding you that they're not forcing you to listen to it seems a little over the top. I know it's a liability thing in this day and age, but.....
Thought #3: Comedians are amazing people. Now, when listening to stand up, I don't get offended easily. Sometimes I think humor is a great way to approach difficult issues and just laugh about how crappy the world can be sometimes. But the fact that there are people who spend there lives entertaining and making people laugh is a wonderful thing in the world.
Thought #4: IT'S FRIDAY!
Thought #2: Gotta love that Pandora has to have a little recorded message before you start certain stations that tell you it might offend you and remind you that you do, in fact, have the freedom to change the station whenever you want to. Like I get if it's super explicit and you want to just give a "if you have your kids in the car don't listen to this!" warning, but just reminding you that they're not forcing you to listen to it seems a little over the top. I know it's a liability thing in this day and age, but.....
Thought #3: Comedians are amazing people. Now, when listening to stand up, I don't get offended easily. Sometimes I think humor is a great way to approach difficult issues and just laugh about how crappy the world can be sometimes. But the fact that there are people who spend there lives entertaining and making people laugh is a wonderful thing in the world.
Thought #4: IT'S FRIDAY!
"On the other side of fear lies freedom"
I'm a big quote person. I'll look them up online, write down my favorites from books and movies, pick out my favorite song lyrics, all of it. When I find a string of words that expresses something that I either feel but can never express as well, or that inspires me or reminds me of something important I really latch onto it and turn back to it when I need to.
A quote that I found today by chance really hit home:
If you've read my Thoughts of the Day - June 12th post you saw that something I've been trying to do the last year or so is consciously face my fears. I do have to say my fear of heights has been the one to produce the most tangible, reflect-able results, but I have tried to do so in other circumstances as well.
As someone who has severe anxiety this is a huge challenge for me a lot of times. When I face down my fears I'm not just looking at something that makes me a bit nervous, or that I've maybe had a bad experience with, I'm looking at it with all of those logical things in the back of my mind, but also a chorus of 1000 other things shouting irrational reasons at me for why I shouldn't do what I'm trying to do. Things that are #1 completely out of my control, so there's really no reason I should spend so much time on them, and #2 are no where nearly as severe as my brain tries to make them out to be. It can be a bit overwhelming.
But with that, I love this quote so much because it's so true and strikes a chord deep within me. If we had no fears we wouldn't limit ourselves nearly as much as we tend to do. We would allow ourselves to have so many more amazing experiences that we now shut ourselves down from because we're afraid of what may happen if we pursue them. We let fear take away from our freedom.
I try to avoid as many regrets as possible, so I try to limit the things that I let my fears decide for me. I want to gain the freedom that comes with overcoming fears, or at least standing up and staring them in the eye as you face them down and win.
I wish you the same - find the freedom beyond the fear.
A quote that I found today by chance really hit home:
If you've read my Thoughts of the Day - June 12th post you saw that something I've been trying to do the last year or so is consciously face my fears. I do have to say my fear of heights has been the one to produce the most tangible, reflect-able results, but I have tried to do so in other circumstances as well.
As someone who has severe anxiety this is a huge challenge for me a lot of times. When I face down my fears I'm not just looking at something that makes me a bit nervous, or that I've maybe had a bad experience with, I'm looking at it with all of those logical things in the back of my mind, but also a chorus of 1000 other things shouting irrational reasons at me for why I shouldn't do what I'm trying to do. Things that are #1 completely out of my control, so there's really no reason I should spend so much time on them, and #2 are no where nearly as severe as my brain tries to make them out to be. It can be a bit overwhelming.
But with that, I love this quote so much because it's so true and strikes a chord deep within me. If we had no fears we wouldn't limit ourselves nearly as much as we tend to do. We would allow ourselves to have so many more amazing experiences that we now shut ourselves down from because we're afraid of what may happen if we pursue them. We let fear take away from our freedom.
I try to avoid as many regrets as possible, so I try to limit the things that I let my fears decide for me. I want to gain the freedom that comes with overcoming fears, or at least standing up and staring them in the eye as you face them down and win.
I wish you the same - find the freedom beyond the fear.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Thought of the Day - June 18th - Working Under Pressure
Today I really just have one main thought that has carried over since a I needed to fill a short-timeframe request from my boss this morning. I was a bit concerned I wasn't going to be able to make the deadline, but in the end I did and it went well.
The relief and pride that I felt after completing the task in the short amount of time and under pressure reminded me of an interesting discussion I had with one of my psychology professors on procrastination.
I don't know about any of you, but I am a chronic procrastinator. "Why put off until tomorrow what can be put off until the day after tomorrow." kind of person. Not really intentionally, it's just a bad habit that I slipped into a long time ago. At first I said it was just because I work best under pressure; I've played soccer my entire life and I honestly feel at my best when everything is moving quickly and I execute well at the exact moment I need to. It's a rush.
But let's stop and think about that rush for a second - it's the happiness we get from success, compounded with the fact that we found success under tight restrictions. Go us!
Applying that rush out to procrastination, we find that procrastination reinforces itself. 'Wait, what? Having to pull an all-nighter to finish my paper shouldn't reinforce itself, I'm tired and this sucks!' Right? Wrong. Sure, the whole not sleeping thing sucks, and you have to deal with the consequences later, but you also see the consequences of the work you did during that night of no sleep. You got the paper done before it was due, turned it in on time, and hey, when you got it back you see you even got a B+! Let's pull out the positive feelings from this situation:
1) I finished it! It's done! I did it!
2) It was hard work, but here I am handing it in on time just like I was supposed to.
3) I did what it took to complete it, even though it meant not sleeping. I did well under pressure!
[Note - we never seem to really ponder that the pressure was created by our own choice to procrastinate....]
4) I got a B+! That's pretty good, and just imagine if I hadn't waited until the last minute, I'll have to try that next time.
Next time - hey, I got a B+ last time, I don't have to worry about starting super early this time either....
So the cycle continues!
It is true that there are people who perform best under pressure, the adrenaline and energy it brings get them fired up and rolling better than a more relaxed atmosphere. Keep in mind, though, that you can't always be under tons of pressure or you're going to get caught eventually, pressure is good, consistent heavy pressure can be crushing.
The relief and pride that I felt after completing the task in the short amount of time and under pressure reminded me of an interesting discussion I had with one of my psychology professors on procrastination.
I don't know about any of you, but I am a chronic procrastinator. "Why put off until tomorrow what can be put off until the day after tomorrow." kind of person. Not really intentionally, it's just a bad habit that I slipped into a long time ago. At first I said it was just because I work best under pressure; I've played soccer my entire life and I honestly feel at my best when everything is moving quickly and I execute well at the exact moment I need to. It's a rush.
But let's stop and think about that rush for a second - it's the happiness we get from success, compounded with the fact that we found success under tight restrictions. Go us!
Applying that rush out to procrastination, we find that procrastination reinforces itself. 'Wait, what? Having to pull an all-nighter to finish my paper shouldn't reinforce itself, I'm tired and this sucks!' Right? Wrong. Sure, the whole not sleeping thing sucks, and you have to deal with the consequences later, but you also see the consequences of the work you did during that night of no sleep. You got the paper done before it was due, turned it in on time, and hey, when you got it back you see you even got a B+! Let's pull out the positive feelings from this situation:
1) I finished it! It's done! I did it!
2) It was hard work, but here I am handing it in on time just like I was supposed to.
3) I did what it took to complete it, even though it meant not sleeping. I did well under pressure!
[Note - we never seem to really ponder that the pressure was created by our own choice to procrastinate....]
4) I got a B+! That's pretty good, and just imagine if I hadn't waited until the last minute, I'll have to try that next time.
Next time - hey, I got a B+ last time, I don't have to worry about starting super early this time either....
So the cycle continues!
It is true that there are people who perform best under pressure, the adrenaline and energy it brings get them fired up and rolling better than a more relaxed atmosphere. Keep in mind, though, that you can't always be under tons of pressure or you're going to get caught eventually, pressure is good, consistent heavy pressure can be crushing.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Thoughts of the Day - June 17th
Wow, I'm on a roll, this is the third day in a row I've posted a 'thoughts of the day' on the actual day! Woo hoo!
Thought #1: I am considering finding something I want to talk about and vlogging. I've never done a ton of video editing, but what I've done I've enjoyed and it just seems like an interesting challenge to take on. I'll think about it, it's probably going to take me forever to come up with a topic anyway.
Thought #2: Especially as someone who studied psychology I find it interesting how we latch on to certain people right when we meet them and yet it could take quite a bit of time for us to really be okay with another person we meet. Relationships, of any degree, are interesting.
Thought #3: Today's thoughts are short and more to the point than the last couple days. If anyone is actually reading this I am curious if that is better or if the longer ones are better.
Thought #4: I'm very sleepy and need some caffeine if I'm going to be able to stay awake and focus on anything the rest of the day. Going to definitely stop and grab some more tea.
Thought #1: I am considering finding something I want to talk about and vlogging. I've never done a ton of video editing, but what I've done I've enjoyed and it just seems like an interesting challenge to take on. I'll think about it, it's probably going to take me forever to come up with a topic anyway.
Thought #2: Especially as someone who studied psychology I find it interesting how we latch on to certain people right when we meet them and yet it could take quite a bit of time for us to really be okay with another person we meet. Relationships, of any degree, are interesting.
Thought #3: Today's thoughts are short and more to the point than the last couple days. If anyone is actually reading this I am curious if that is better or if the longer ones are better.
Thought #4: I'm very sleepy and need some caffeine if I'm going to be able to stay awake and focus on anything the rest of the day. Going to definitely stop and grab some more tea.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Where I’ve Been/Where I Wish to Go
I discovered
this really cool, yet potentially dangerous to my focus, tool on Google Drive
the other day. You can create a “My Maps” and put pins in places and do all
sorts of color coding and cool things.
I started
playing around with it and decided to make note of all the places I have
traveled (using green pins); I’m guessing I’ve missed some, but I think I got most of them in
there. I only counted places I’ve actually spent time in, not including driving
or flying through when I just saw the airport.
Once I did
that I started the monumental task of putting red colored pins in the places
that I wish to one day travel to. Now this I’m sure I’ve missed some of, but I
tried to cover as large of a portion of them as I could. There are so many
things that I hope to one day see – the red pins mark the places that would be
entirely new to me, but I also want to note that of the places I have been
there are many things that I have yet to experience that I would also one day
like to.
Combined
with this and my love for color coding one day I may even prioritize these pins
for where I want to get to most all the way down to if I do great, but if not
I’d be the least upset.
On this note
I’ll probably get started on some of my travel posts soon – I have a backlog of
stories and photos from my trips to San Francisco, Vegas, Phoenix, and Quito at
a minimum that I’d love to share.
I'm always itching for new adventures and am a shutter bug, so I look forward to what other places I can explore in the future!
Until then - TTFN
Thoughts of the Day - June 16th & A Big Week in Sports
The USA Women's National Soccer Team wraps up their group play for the WWC tonight with a game against Nigeria. With a win they're definitely through, with a tie or loss it will depend on a lot of other factors and how others do. Hoping they just win and keep the path forward clear.
The Cavs also have game 6 tonight, back home in Cleveland. If they lose, they're done and the title is Golden State's, but if they win they keep it alive and return to Oakland for Game 7. I am still 100% #ALLINCLE and believe in them - they got this!
And last night the Blackhawks brought home the Cup! I'm not the best follower of hockey, I've always been a Chicago fan since Cleveland hasn't had a team in so long, but I like to keep up with how things are going and catch the games when I can, so I'm quite happy with that!
So it's been quite the couple weeks in sports for me! I'm a huge soccer fan and have played since I was 3, so the Women's World Cup was naturally very exciting for me and I've been enjoying it greatly. Fingers still crossed that the Cavs bring home the title, this city could use it and they've really shown what they can do, even without Varejao, Love, AND Kyrie.
But back to my thoughts of the day:
Thought #1: Sometimes I read a book and I love the ideas and creativity in it so much that it frustrates me how it's written. Like there's a great concept in it that I latch on to so much and find fascinating but just feel like the author didn't really do it justice as they could have. Does anyone else experience this?
Thought #2: I need to get back to taking pictures more often. I enjoy photography so much yet find myself pulled away from it far too frequently while trying to keep up with everything else in life. I need to get better at prioritizing what I have fun doing and helps me de-stress about that 'everything else in life' that I'm trying to keep up with.
Thought #3: I miss my long hair. I chopped 8 inches off a little over a month ago now and when I first did it I didn't miss it at all, but in this super-humid weather I'm so used to being able to braid my hair so it doesn't get all frizzy but I can't do that any more :( It is definitely much easier and quicker to straighten or curl it, but I don't often have the patience to do that anyway and with it shorter I have less options for how to put it up and out of the way. I know, I know - it will grow back.
I hope to get either my Quito or San Fran posts together tonight with some pictures to post!
The Cavs also have game 6 tonight, back home in Cleveland. If they lose, they're done and the title is Golden State's, but if they win they keep it alive and return to Oakland for Game 7. I am still 100% #ALLINCLE and believe in them - they got this!
And last night the Blackhawks brought home the Cup! I'm not the best follower of hockey, I've always been a Chicago fan since Cleveland hasn't had a team in so long, but I like to keep up with how things are going and catch the games when I can, so I'm quite happy with that!
So it's been quite the couple weeks in sports for me! I'm a huge soccer fan and have played since I was 3, so the Women's World Cup was naturally very exciting for me and I've been enjoying it greatly. Fingers still crossed that the Cavs bring home the title, this city could use it and they've really shown what they can do, even without Varejao, Love, AND Kyrie.
But back to my thoughts of the day:
Thought #1: Sometimes I read a book and I love the ideas and creativity in it so much that it frustrates me how it's written. Like there's a great concept in it that I latch on to so much and find fascinating but just feel like the author didn't really do it justice as they could have. Does anyone else experience this?
Thought #2: I need to get back to taking pictures more often. I enjoy photography so much yet find myself pulled away from it far too frequently while trying to keep up with everything else in life. I need to get better at prioritizing what I have fun doing and helps me de-stress about that 'everything else in life' that I'm trying to keep up with.
Thought #3: I miss my long hair. I chopped 8 inches off a little over a month ago now and when I first did it I didn't miss it at all, but in this super-humid weather I'm so used to being able to braid my hair so it doesn't get all frizzy but I can't do that any more :( It is definitely much easier and quicker to straighten or curl it, but I don't often have the patience to do that anyway and with it shorter I have less options for how to put it up and out of the way. I know, I know - it will grow back.
I hope to get either my Quito or San Fran posts together tonight with some pictures to post!
Monday, June 15, 2015
Thoughts of the Day - June 15th
Thoughts of the day (actually from today!)
Thought #1: Continuation from my thoughts from Friday on facing your fears - I did so again yesterday. Same fear, fear of heights, faced during a relatively intense ropes course. I knew going in that some of the obstacles would be quite a challenge for me - like the Tarzan Swing where you drop four feet before the cord catches you and swings you into a net, or the Zip Line itself where you fly across a long stretch attached to just a single cable. Forcing myself off of those platforms into those falls took a good bit of willpower, but they were amazingly fun and I would do them again in a heartbeat. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's some pretty amusing facial expressions that got captured during the course, so extra entertainment to enjoy later!
Thought #2: "Things happen for a reason." It's a bit corny, and I oftentimes go back to the "sometimes the reason is that you're stupid and made a bad choice," but sometimes I see that things can work out well, even if the reason just is that they do. Woke up late for my flight out last Tuesday, it was delayed by just over the amount I had overslept. Sweet. Was supposed to start something new today, got pushed back. I had felt rushed into it, so the extra time for me to prepare for it is nice. It may not be because of a certain "reason," but it is nice that these things worked out how they did.
Thought #3: All friends are different friends. I was talking about this with someone recently and really realized the truth of it - you have your friends that you go to if you're having problem 'ABC,' but a different one that you would go to to talk about 'XYZ.' You have your friends that you always have a great time with, but aren't necessarily getting into heavy life talks with. All friends are different friends, and play important roles in your life in their own way.
Thought #4: Heard on the radio this morning how we invest more in our relationships where we get less investment from the other person than in the ones where the other person is full in. (Kind of makes sense if you think about it, kind of an evil circle. Annie invests more time in Bob than me, making me invest more time in her than Bob, who invests more time in me than in Annie. It never ends!) I thought about it for a while and found a few examples in my life where this holds true, and I hope to remain aware of this and try to change that up, I'd much rather invest in the people who invest in me and build stronger relationships there than continue to chase after others who it's not really working with.
Thought #1: Continuation from my thoughts from Friday on facing your fears - I did so again yesterday. Same fear, fear of heights, faced during a relatively intense ropes course. I knew going in that some of the obstacles would be quite a challenge for me - like the Tarzan Swing where you drop four feet before the cord catches you and swings you into a net, or the Zip Line itself where you fly across a long stretch attached to just a single cable. Forcing myself off of those platforms into those falls took a good bit of willpower, but they were amazingly fun and I would do them again in a heartbeat. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's some pretty amusing facial expressions that got captured during the course, so extra entertainment to enjoy later!
Thought #2: "Things happen for a reason." It's a bit corny, and I oftentimes go back to the "sometimes the reason is that you're stupid and made a bad choice," but sometimes I see that things can work out well, even if the reason just is that they do. Woke up late for my flight out last Tuesday, it was delayed by just over the amount I had overslept. Sweet. Was supposed to start something new today, got pushed back. I had felt rushed into it, so the extra time for me to prepare for it is nice. It may not be because of a certain "reason," but it is nice that these things worked out how they did.
Thought #3: All friends are different friends. I was talking about this with someone recently and really realized the truth of it - you have your friends that you go to if you're having problem 'ABC,' but a different one that you would go to to talk about 'XYZ.' You have your friends that you always have a great time with, but aren't necessarily getting into heavy life talks with. All friends are different friends, and play important roles in your life in their own way.
Thought #4: Heard on the radio this morning how we invest more in our relationships where we get less investment from the other person than in the ones where the other person is full in. (Kind of makes sense if you think about it, kind of an evil circle. Annie invests more time in Bob than me, making me invest more time in her than Bob, who invests more time in me than in Annie. It never ends!) I thought about it for a while and found a few examples in my life where this holds true, and I hope to remain aware of this and try to change that up, I'd much rather invest in the people who invest in me and build stronger relationships there than continue to chase after others who it's not really working with.
Thoughts of the Day - June 12th
*Apparently I don't know how to make the timer work on this thing yet, so although I meant for this to publish Friday night it did not, so here are some thoughts from a few days ago....
A friend of mine recommended that I try these "thoughts of the day" posts, so here it goes!
Thought #1: I have been traveling a lot for work and there is one pet peeve that I have gained in airports - bathroom doors. I rarely come across doors that open out, a large majority of them open in. Now let's think about most of the people in airports, they're carrying at least one bag, often times wheeling around a carry on bag as well. You know what's difficult to maneuver into a tiny bathroom stall? A carry on bag. You know what makes it even more difficult? When the door opens in, limiting the space you have and forcing you to practically climb into the toilet to get you and your bag far enough in to close the door. Why can't all the doors just open out?
Thought #2: We should consciously face our fears more often. I have an intense fear of heights. Two of my favorite travel experiences have come from facing that fear and doing something that required a lot of climbing and being in high places for extended periods of time. And besides the amazing experiences do you know what else I got? A feeling of invincibility immediately following, and a little rush of self confidence when I look at those pictures. I faced a fear, I knew what I was getting into and did it anyway, and not only was it amazing, but I conquered it. I'm hoping to extend this to other, smaller things in my life where taking on something minimal, yet to me scary, can build my confidence and open me up to new experiences and enrich my life.
Thought #3: I make a lot of lists. I enjoy organizing things and making to do lists and just other lists and I need somewhere to compile or keep these lists. They just end up in random notebooks and planners and places and they don't really end up doing me much good when they end up hiding so well. Something else I should work on.
Such intense thoughts for the day, haha. We'll see what tomorrow brings!
A friend of mine recommended that I try these "thoughts of the day" posts, so here it goes!
Thought #1: I have been traveling a lot for work and there is one pet peeve that I have gained in airports - bathroom doors. I rarely come across doors that open out, a large majority of them open in. Now let's think about most of the people in airports, they're carrying at least one bag, often times wheeling around a carry on bag as well. You know what's difficult to maneuver into a tiny bathroom stall? A carry on bag. You know what makes it even more difficult? When the door opens in, limiting the space you have and forcing you to practically climb into the toilet to get you and your bag far enough in to close the door. Why can't all the doors just open out?
Thought #2: We should consciously face our fears more often. I have an intense fear of heights. Two of my favorite travel experiences have come from facing that fear and doing something that required a lot of climbing and being in high places for extended periods of time. And besides the amazing experiences do you know what else I got? A feeling of invincibility immediately following, and a little rush of self confidence when I look at those pictures. I faced a fear, I knew what I was getting into and did it anyway, and not only was it amazing, but I conquered it. I'm hoping to extend this to other, smaller things in my life where taking on something minimal, yet to me scary, can build my confidence and open me up to new experiences and enrich my life.
 |
| From the top of Basilica del Voto Nacional in Quito, Ecuador We had to climb over rickety boards and up very steep, open stepped ladders to get here and I was literally shaking by the time we got to the top. (And yes, climbing down was even worse). So very very worth it though. |
 |
| En route to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge I almost didn't go on this climb with the friends I was traveling with because of my fear of heights. I sucked it up and did it anyway and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. |
Thought #3: I make a lot of lists. I enjoy organizing things and making to do lists and just other lists and I need somewhere to compile or keep these lists. They just end up in random notebooks and planners and places and they don't really end up doing me much good when they end up hiding so well. Something else I should work on.
Such intense thoughts for the day, haha. We'll see what tomorrow brings!
Friday, June 12, 2015
Welcome/Bienvenida/Willkommen
To say I’ve
wanted to start a blog for a long time but was never sure where to start or
what to call it would be largely cliché and entirely truthful.
I’ve always
written. When I was younger I’d write and draw out short stories that my family
would humor me by reading, as I got into middle school I decided to create and
write a newsletter for myself and some of my classmates, then I sort of stopped
sharing what I was writing. I never stopped writing itself, I just turned it a
bit more inward than it had been in the past. Writing became a way for me to
get my thoughts out of the jumble of my head and somewhere where I could
potentially start to see a pattern or sort them out otherwise. Since then, I
started to write for others in a couple instances – I blogged my semester
abroad in Australia, I wrote for the Student Leader Collective for close to a
year, I even took a couple creative writing classes. With each of those I let
little bits of personal writing slip in – a bit of an emotional leadership post about how much my
leadership experiences meant to me, a blog about a trip that contained photos I
was truly proud of as an aspiring photographer, a short story that shared some dark
secrets even if no one knew they were such.
Since those
things have wrapped up though I’ve been itching to get back onto some sort of
platform to share some sort of writing, maybe even things that aren’t such a
set topic and just whatever I feel like talking about, however personal or not,
deep or superficial, anything at all. That’s where this comes in, yay new blog!
I’m not sure
what all I will be putting up here or how frequently I will be posting. My
thoughts right now do include some book review-y type posts, looking back on
travel experiences, personal what’s going on, and just other random bits of
life. May not sound great, and may not end up great, but I am excited to try it
out and see where this takes me.
In fact, I
am currently reading “If
You Feel Too Much” by Jamie Tworkowski, the founder of TWLOHA. I started it on the plane down to Mexico
City (work trip) and got about halfway through – I hope to finish it this week
or on the plane ride home on Friday. I have a feeling that it will definitely
turn into a blog post in the near future.
I’ve also
done quite a bit of traveling in the past 8 or so months that I’ve never really
shared stories from that I would love to get out there - those will probably
get queued up soon too.
The fact is,
as I’m writing this post I’m reinforcing my own desire to have this blog and to
start writing things to share with others again. I’m getting excited and hope
that if there’s anyone even reading this that you are too.
So with
that, let’s make today great and do what we can to be kind to and help others.
From Mexico
City - TTFN
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