So Long Sweet Summer

This is the final day of Summer.  I'm a bit saddened by it, honestly.  But, I have to say, this has been quite a successful summer.

On the 1st of July, I listed my 8 Things that I planned to do this summer.  I got 7 out of 8, which really wasn't too bad.  Though, I'm still trying to figure out how to accomplish that 8th goal.  The following is a review of my successes.

1. Watched fireworks on the 4th of July

2. Absorbed some Vitamin D on the beaches of Santorini

3. Sang my heart out at karaoke in Greece and in Boston

4. Listened to live music via live bands several times in Greece

5. Watched "I Love You Philip Morris" in Athens

6. Was mesmerized by the bonfire at the Quarry Hill
All Night Costume Dance Party.  So mesmerized,
in fact, that I managed to convince someone to jump
over the fire naked.

7. I miss my best friend a lot.  We're both extremely busy and extremely poor.
But hopefully I will see her soon.

8. Floated in the Mediterranean Ocean,
and loved every salty second of it.

So, so long, sweet Summer.  Thank you for being so wonderful.

8Things - Simply Summer

Aahhhh, July.  July is here, y'all.  There's so much going on right now, and so many things left to do before I leave in a couple of days for Greece (*squeeeee!!!*).

But here are 8 things that I simply must do this summer aside from my trip.

1.  Watch Fireworks.

2.  Absorb some Vitamin D.

3.  Sing my heart out at karaoke.

4.  Listen to live music

5.  Watch a movie outdoors

6.  Be mesmerized by the bonfire at the Quarry Hill Party.

7.  Visit my best friend.

8.  Float in the ocean.

8Things - Celebrate the Sun

I'm super excited about this 8Things list.  My favorite season is coming up, and there's so much to look forward to amidst all the sadness in my professional life.

This Spring, I've really felt somewhat like how Spring might feel - in between.  There are wonderful, beautiful days, then come the violent, stormy days.  In Boston, it almost feels like Winter tries to hold on as long as it can, while Summer is sneaking in occasionally to kiss you goodnight.

But I'm so ready for Summer to stay for a while.

Last Summer, I celebrated the Solstice in a somewhat rainy Coney Island with my best friend at the Mermaid Parade.  A lot has happened in this past year.

I want to be aware of all that's happened in the past year this Solstice.  I want to be aware that this is my last week at my job.  I want to be aware that an exciting adventure is on the horizon.  I want to be aware of new doors that will open. 

Here's how I plan to celebrate the longest day of the year.

1. Open up my day with The Beatles Good Day Sunshine and Here Comes the Sun.

Griffith Park, 2008

2. Welcome the Sun with a set of  Sun Salutations.

California, 2009

3.  Dress in the colors of the sun and summer - oranges, yellows, whites, and I have to throw in some green.

Los Angeles, 2002

4.  When I can, hold hands with the boyfriend.

Venice Beach, 2009

5.  Step outside my workplace.  Watch the clouds and smell the flowers, just to remind myself to slow down even though things might be going crazy.

Napa Valley, 2009

6.  Eat vegetarian for the day.

Oahu, HI, 2007

7.  Dance.

Sunrise and Sunset, 2008

 8.  Spend some extra time in the shower with some salt scrubs, and exfoliate away the Spring.

Hawaii, 2007

8Things - Passion, You're Soaking In It

In the midst of all that is happening right now (some of which you know about, i.e. Greece, and some of which you don't know about but will learn of soon in an upcoming post), I'm trying to figure out and hold on to the things I feel passionate about.

This week's 8Things Thursday is about just that:  passion.  Where do you find it?  Is it cultivated from childhood?  Does it change with age or experience?  Is there such a thing as too much of it?

I know what I am passionate about, and I will list it below.  In my search for love, I've always felt that I would want my partner to feel passionate about something as well, something outside of themselves.

Being a social worker/community organizer, I've thought about whether I would be able to date someone who has the same level of passion for a cause.  If our causes matched, then I could imagine myself being very happy, but also tiring of it since I wouldn't be able to rest my passions even for a moment.  If our passions were different, I think it would be exciting, but I also wonder about whether we would end up having time for each other outside of our separate passions.

Nonetheless, I do know that I would want my partner to feel passionate about something.  Whether that be politics or music, I want their eyes to shine and  their speech excite at something other than me and the relationship.

These are the things that make my eyes shine.

1.  Working with kids.  An upcoming post will explain more soon.  But to say the least, it is amazing to see the young folks do things better than the adults would do.

2.  The ocean.  Swimming in it, being around it, sitting and watching the sunset (on the West Coast, of course).

3.  Yoni and Mencken.  Never did I think that I would be a proud mama to two kitties.  I feel that my life is so much better with them in my life, and I would probably go crazy on anyone who tries to hurt them.

Afternoon nappies

4.  Music, music, music.  I would rather cut off my pinky toes and pinky fingers instead of not being able to listen to music.  I also know that playing music would probably require a pinky finger.  But I will work my way around it, and still be able to play my instruments.

5.  Dance, dance, dance.  So, this is cheating, as it is an extension of music.  Being able to choreograph or perform for others helps me feel so energized.  I am proud to be able to use my body in such a wonderful way.

6.  My camera.  I love to be able to capture the strangest or most beautiful things at a moments notice.  Sharing is caring after all.

Cheesey

7.  Learning.  My brain is so full of bits and pieces of information, some of which I'm not even aware of.  I'm not necessarily book smart, nor do I test well.  But, I revel in little factoids.

8.  Being a tiny speck.  Though I'm not in any way religious, I know that I am just a tiny speck in the scheme of things.  There are people, ideas, unknown things outside me that I will never know about.  But the least I can do is leave my little area a little better than when I found it.

I'm one of those people!

8Things - Improved Eating

As the trip to Greece looms closer and closer, and the weather is getting warmer and warmer, I'm reminded that I'm still in the same place that I was in the beginning of the year.  That is, I haven't lost a single pound.

If anything, I might have gained a couple of pounds, though I am staying positive and saying that it's just muscle weight.  I have received a lot of compliments in the past couple of months about whether I'm losing weight, but I think I'm just learning how to dress better for my body type.

That being said, here are my 8Things for improving my eating habits.

1.  More water!  I mean, c'mon.  What kind of mermaid am I if I'm not guzzling water all the time?  I've actually noticed that I'm drinking less water, for some reason.  AND, I know that it makes me snack more.  Maybe I will move back to carrying my BIG water bottle instead of my little portable one.

2.  More veggies!  I've been saying this forever.  Again, in the past several months, I feel like my veggie intake has gone through ups and downs.  I was really good about salad for lunch for 2 weeks, then I had a whole day of eating chili (ya...umm....it was really good chili...and my belly wasn't too angry at me for it!).   I really like Rachelle's idea about eating 2 all-veggie meals a week.  I might try to go for the same, and more if at all possible

3.  More variety!  So, not only do I need to up my veggie intake, I think I need to vary the types of foods I'm eating.  I've gotten interested in exploring quinoa recently, but I've yet to make something with it.  Time to look through all the recipe's I've collected from magazines, websites, and books.

4.  Less eating really late!  I'm a busy girl.  My extremely considerate boyfriend, who does most of the cooking, will sometimes plan it so that we can eat together.  Sometimes, that means that we eat close to 9pm.  That's bad.  I know that's bad.  It means I stay up later, usually, as well as storing a lot more fat.  Bad bad bad.  I know this.  I know that sometimes it can't be helped, let's say if I had a belly dance class at 6-7:30, and I get home at around 8:30.  But we've already started talking about it, and we're both going to try to make an effort at this.

5.  More juicing!  The other day, I woke up and felt like I really wanted to juice some fruits.  I haven't juiced anything in a long time, and my poor juicer looked it.  But it felt really good to have that fruit juice, though I really wanted some greens and ginger in the mix.  I think I would like to start my weekends with juice.  I'm generally pretty good about having breakfast during the week, though it's mainly bagels or cereal.  On the weekend, I wake up later and usually just have brunch (seriously, last Saturday, my 3 meals were of chili....no regrets...).  But, if I have juice in the morning, I feel like I might do better about my choices during the day.

6.  Finish "The Omnivore's Dilemma"!  I'm currently in my non-fiction book reading phase.  But I haven't necessarily had time to read for recreational purposes.  Though I felt like I knew quite a bit about healthy and ethical eating just from things I've read and talking to my ethical-eating friends, reading the book is bring a whole new level of consciousness to me.  I don't know if it will make me go completely local, organic, or grass-fed, but I will definitely try.  It could be a good experiment to find substitutes for Filipino meals.

7.  Try really hard to stay local, organic, and grass-fed...but recognize when I have to make exceptions1  Philippine Dried Mango?  Well, shoot.  I'm not going to give that up.  I know that everything can't fit nicely into all of those categories.  But if I can at least stay within one of them, I think I'll feel pretty good about myself.

8.  Just say no!  Or, well, I don't have to say no.  The problem is that I'm a very social creature.  And when I get social, I get snacky.  I need to be better about balancing my social nature with not eating while chatting.  I often grab lunch with another social worker in the school.  We chit chat, talk about nerdy things and our kittehs.  But sometimes, I go out to lunch even though I already have something packed!  Then I just feel like I'm wasting food, even though I'll eat whatever I packed later on in the day.  It's not a good feeling.  So, I need to be okay with saying no, or just bring my packed lunch with me (the little cafe we go to usually doesn't care).

I really like these lists.  It helps me put everything into perspective and keeps me on some sort of track.

Ya..that's a sausage.Wurstküche Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA
February 2010

8 Things - If (Then)

This is a perfect topic for this week.  As tomorrow is my birthday, I feel like a lot of What If questions have been coming through my mind.  Well, this is my chance to answer them.

1.  If I was getting paid for doing what I love to do I would feel less stressed about other aspects of my life. (Then I need to sign up for workshops, look for specific types of jobs, and not give up.  Even if the job you want doesn't exist, you can work towards it!)

2.  If I was just a little less overweight I would feel more comfortable in my own body.  (Then I not only need to realize that I'm already doing so much to work towards my goal, but that it takes small changes like recognizing when I'm emotionally eating.  I also need to realize that there are already small changes happening!)

3.  If we had a bigger apartment we could fit all of our collective crap.  (Then clean out/throw away/donate all the crap you don't used/haven't used in the past season/doesn't fit right/isn't useful.  Perhaps this will lead to more space in the space we're already in.)

4.  If we were eating healthier we would have a lot more variety in our diets.  (Then we need to consider joining a Meat CSA and try new recipes.  Our Veggie CSA is starting in June, so it's a great time to start experimenting.)

5.  If I moved back home I don't know if I could really learn how to truly take care of myself.  (Then I know that if worse comes to worse, I can always move home.  But I'm not yet ready, and I will do what I need to do to keep myself employed and taken care of in Boston.)

Westmoreland Ave.

6.  If I had more in my savings I would feel more secure.  (Then I should try to budget out how much I should put aside every week.  Someone once said to me, "You're on unemployment.  You can't save right now."  But, why not?  That's a challenge if I ever heard one!)

7.  If I had a teleportaion device travel between the coasts would be a lot simpler.  (Then I need to learn how to travel better.  Pack lighter, look for better deals, bring entertainment on a flight.  While I can't mess with the science of teleportation, I can at least make my travel experience more pleasant.)

8.  If I stopped being afraid of the unknown or didn't let my imagination get the best of me a lot more things would be out in the open.  (Then I need to realize that I've taken a lot of leaps in my life, and I'm still here.  I also need to realize that some things will get worse before they get better, and that's okay as well.)

Man, that was difficult.  But here's to a new year and a new beginning!

8 Things - Learned/Learning/Learn

This Thursday, the theme for Magpie Girl's 8 Things is Learned/Learning/Learn.  I admit that this is a difficult topic, mainly because I have to reflect a lot about what's been going on in my life - and there's been a lot!  But for the most part, I'll stay as positive as I can.

Learned...

...How to be an effective Social Work Intern Supervisor.  In fact, my time as a supervisor is soon coming to an end, come May 14th.  I'm sure I have more to learn, but I'd like to think I've done a pretty damn good job so far.

Bantay

Yoni

...That I am not a dog or a cat person, but I really love both.  There's something about having an animal in the house.  For all the stinky farts from the dogs and all the spazzing out from the kitty, it's hard to imagine life without these darlings.  Unfortunately, the doggie on the right has already gone to Doggy Heaven.

...That I can ride my bike safely around the city, not because of the city but because I ride safely.  I've had my share of small scares, including a time when my tire got stuck in a groove and I flew over my handlebars and when some dude clipped me.  But for the most part, it's nice to be able to get somewhere fast enough on my own.

Learning...

...How to say "No."  Today provided the best example for this!  The school the non-profit I work for is based in was having a staffing issue today.  One of the other outside organizations who is in the school does random jobs depending on who needs help.  It's almost like they're called on for subbing, secretarial duties, and general child-watching.  Today, they were playing secretary.  Though we're in the midst of organizing a huge talent show-like event, the Assistant Principal asked that I also take part in secretarial duties since other orgs were helping out.  I told him that I couldn't because of our event, but he assumed that I would do it anyway.  Luckily, other things started happening that provided a nice distraction.  But, I felt like I had to avoid the area until the other stuff started happening.

...How to speak up for myself and put myself first.  This is mainly concerning personal relationships.  I'm such a mother hen sometimes, that I often put myself last.  But then, when I do try to take care of things for myself, I've been accused of not taking care of the household.  I'm told that I should go and enjoy being social and active, but then I'm blamed for being too busy outside to focus on what (or who) is at home.  I'm still trying to figure all this stuff out.

...To embrace my body.  I love all the things my body can do, like dance and get around the city on my own.  I'm still working on getting to a happier place with the way I look, but at least I'm aware of my own strengths and challenges.

Learn...

...How to save more money.  Goodness...saving money is tough!  Especially when the majority of my income is coming from the government.  But I'm slowly trying to do better about the spending.

...How to play more Beatles songs on the bass and piano.  Well, I need to practice more in general.  But, it would be awesome to learn something new in addition to practicing the old stuff.  After playing Beatles Rock Band, I'm re-inspired to learn some of my favorite songs and their actual notes.

8Things - My Power Songs

Over on Magpie Girl, it's 8Things Thursday.  Today's theme is "Songs for Standing In Your Power."

Just reading the title, I thought of about 3 songs right off the bat.  So, I figured, I should participate.

Here are 8 songs that I consider my "Power Songs."  I highly encourage you to listen to every one, and dance around your homes and feel powerful.  Enjoy!

1.  Soulful Strut by Young Hold Unlimited

2.  All These Things that I've Done by The Killers

3.  Body and Soul by Tori Amos

4.  5 Years by Bjork

5.  Off the Wall by Michael Jackson

6.  Tempo Perdido by Pink Martini

7.  Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaf

8.  The End by The Beatles (Though, I really love the entire medley of Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End)

Create a playlist at MixPod.com

What a great way to end my work week!