It’s a new year. And with the start of a new year, I tend to reflect on life, the universe, and everything. As a 40-something-year-old, I’ve had some time (a few decades in fact) to consider life and what’s important to me. What success means. What happiness means. And I’ve come to some conclusions.
Continue reading “Thoughts On a New Year or The Beauty of Being 40-Something”I said goodbye to Okinawa and hello to Washington, D.C. a smidge over two weeks now. And what a couple of weeks it has been!
Continue reading “Leaving Okinawa, Part 5: Two Crazy, Busy Weeks”14 years ago today, I was in NYC to attend a conference and had some time to explore. I was walking through Central Park headed to see something somewhere. (Now I can’t remember exactly where I was headed).
I had a regular digital camera at the time. This was before I owned a smartphone, as the first iPhone had just been released the year before. And if I remember, my camera, although digital, didn’t have a way to review the photos. It was only one step up from a 35MM camera. (I still miss film.)
Continue reading “A Snapshot Memory: The Year Was 2008”What an adventure I had trying to leave Okinawa. I warn you now, this is a bit of a story. It’s not all pleasant. And it starts with me not easily finding a taxi.
Continue reading “Leaving Okinawa, Part 4: A Chaotic Travel Day”Five days until I leave Okinawa, say 元気で (when you won’t see someone for a long time, saying genki de is like saying “all the best”), and close the chapter on this adventure. But when there is an ending, there will be a beginning. So while I will miss Okinawa, I’m looking forward to the next chapter, new beginnings and new adventures.
Every thing must have a beginning . . . and that beginning must be linked to something that went before.
~Mary Shelley
If you haven’t followed along, catch up on Part 1 and Part 2.
Continue reading “Leaving Okinawa, Part 3: Top 8 Things I’m Looking Forward To”Now that I’m a week away from departing Okinawa, my home for the last two years, I’m reflecting on my time here and my experiences and adventures. (Missed Part 1? Catch up here.) I’ve been thinking about all the things I will miss about Okinawa and there are so many things I will miss. And so here are my top 8 things I will miss.
Continue reading “Leaving Okinawa, Part 2: Top 8 Things I Will Miss”If you haven’t paid attention, Chris Evans has a new movie out, The Gray Man. This, of course, means lots of interviews to promote the movie, which also stars Ryan Gosling and Regé-Jean Page (hello Duke!), as well as Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thorton, and Julia Butters. In a recent interview with Shondaland, Evans gave a refreshingly honest answer to Interviewer Mariel Turner’s question about what he’s laser-focused on in real life.
Evans answer: “finding a partner.”
I have the same goal. And so I’m entering my name. Yes, I think Chris Evans and I should go on a date.
Continue reading “Why Chris Evans Should Go On A Date With Me”All good things must come to an end. And just like that, my time in Okinawa is drawing to a close.
One of my friends asked me the other day if I had given up my blog. I realized, I hadn’t written anything since April! And here we are three weeks into July. How is it nearly August?! So much has happened in the last 3 months.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up and tell you how I got to this point.
Continue reading “Leaving Okinawa, Part 1”
Competing against other people has never really motivated me. But competing against myself? Yes, please! I love to challenge myself to do more, to go further (read more books – HA!).
In September, I challenged myself to walk at least 3 miles every day. And I did it! And then kept walking all through October and November.
This year, I’ve challenged myself, as I wrote about in my ongoing TBR saga (and again here), to read nearly 200 books (that I already own) before I buy another new one.
In addition to my self-imposed reading challenge quest, I also said I was challenging myself to get back into some sort of regular fitness schedule. I stated that I was going to rotate walking with rowing, swimming, and yoga. (On 1 January, I really did write that was going to do this.)
But before I knew it, I was looking at the last weekend of January and I realized that my intended fitness schedule fizzled before it had even begun.
Why?
Continue reading “Why Did I Think This Was a Good Idea?”January first. Another new year. In some ways, 2021 seemed to last forever. Maybe it just seems that way because the days of 2020 and 2021 blurred together in seemingly endless restrictions and social distancing.
Then again, it seems like we just celebrated the 2021 new year, hoping for better days. In some ways, that did happen. In some ways, 2021 was more of the same. Regardless, while the days may have dragged, the months seemed to fly by as the weeks were marked off. And now here we are on the cusp of a new year.
For me, the first day of the new year means making plans for the new year as well as taking time to reflect back on the prior year.
Continue reading “Reflections and Aspirations on 1 January”
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