I am beat. I drove back last night from LA and then worked a full day at Phil's today. I did take a yoga class after work, but once I got home, cooked dinner and practiced my ukulele I cannot keep my eyes open.
Here are some gratitudes before my slumber:
1. beautiful countrysides
2. nice rideshare passengers
3. podcasts
4. sunny days
5. a great yoga class
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The Return of Blogthing!
As I go back and read old posts, I realize how much more interesting these entries USED to be. I feel like I've gotten into a rut. Don't you?
Anyway, when I got bored I used to post these crazy quizzes. Here's one.
Anyway, when I got bored I used to post these crazy quizzes. Here's one.
| Your International Spy Name is Diva Deathbird |
 You Reside in: Geneva Why You're a Good Spy: You're a good lover |
Friday, January 27, 2012
Gosh, I Needed That
Even though I was completely beat this morning from a long day yesterday, I hauled myself up early this morning, moved my car into a spot I could stay all day, packed for the DAY and hoofed it to yoga. It was so well needed. I have been a bit scattered and tired and the freak outs are set to begin, so it was a smart choice to send some breath into my mind and my body. Afterwards I felt amazing.
I was not successful quieting my mind, however. My brain was all over the place. I was thinking mostly about my connection with yoga. The fact that I had such a great teaching practice with Daniel the other day. And yesterday at Phil's, one of the new staffers, Khaleshia said something to the affect of 'all people who do yoga are happier.' I am not sure that's true, but it certainly centers me. This made me think about the larger picture - mostly the fact that I left New York 20 years ago because I had no friends. And here I am leaving the Bay Area for mostly the same reason and heading back to the place that started it all. It also made me ponder the fact that I applied to Cornell University's Industrial Psychology department and got in Sophomore Guarantee which I felt was failing. Therefore I passed on it and took the more creative route. And here I am 20 years later heading into Life Coaching.
So the hard question is 'was it worth it?' I made this HUGE detour just to come back to the same place. I while I was unsure yesterday, by the end of yoga class I know that I made the right decision. I think the person I was 20 years ago would not have been happy doing Industrial Psychology then. But I had adventures and experiences that opened me up to listen and counsel. To inspire and expand. To respect and motivate.
Pretty powerful, non?
After class, I grabbed some coffee and breakfast before jumping on BART to head to Downtown Berkeley and work a busy Phil's shift. There were a number of things that I didn't complete last night, so I arrived early to do those before other staff showed up. It was a busy day and I stayed late and arrived at The Ashby Stage with 15 minutes to spare before the start of God's Plot. Luckily I had a chance to grab a banana across the street and check in with my parents before the show.
The show was really wonderful. I have seen a few clunkers at Shotgun, so it's super exciting when you see a show that works well. It also seemed that the entire cast really and truly enjoyed each other. Well created, well presented. Just good. And it felt very Bay Area. I am glad that I went and got a little creative recharge.
My tiredness is setting in, so I will list my gratitudes and call it a night.
1. good theatre
2. beer
3. good parking karma
4. yoga and breath
5. a usable and easy transportation system
I was not successful quieting my mind, however. My brain was all over the place. I was thinking mostly about my connection with yoga. The fact that I had such a great teaching practice with Daniel the other day. And yesterday at Phil's, one of the new staffers, Khaleshia said something to the affect of 'all people who do yoga are happier.' I am not sure that's true, but it certainly centers me. This made me think about the larger picture - mostly the fact that I left New York 20 years ago because I had no friends. And here I am leaving the Bay Area for mostly the same reason and heading back to the place that started it all. It also made me ponder the fact that I applied to Cornell University's Industrial Psychology department and got in Sophomore Guarantee which I felt was failing. Therefore I passed on it and took the more creative route. And here I am 20 years later heading into Life Coaching.
So the hard question is 'was it worth it?' I made this HUGE detour just to come back to the same place. I while I was unsure yesterday, by the end of yoga class I know that I made the right decision. I think the person I was 20 years ago would not have been happy doing Industrial Psychology then. But I had adventures and experiences that opened me up to listen and counsel. To inspire and expand. To respect and motivate.
Pretty powerful, non?
After class, I grabbed some coffee and breakfast before jumping on BART to head to Downtown Berkeley and work a busy Phil's shift. There were a number of things that I didn't complete last night, so I arrived early to do those before other staff showed up. It was a busy day and I stayed late and arrived at The Ashby Stage with 15 minutes to spare before the start of God's Plot. Luckily I had a chance to grab a banana across the street and check in with my parents before the show.
The show was really wonderful. I have seen a few clunkers at Shotgun, so it's super exciting when you see a show that works well. It also seemed that the entire cast really and truly enjoyed each other. Well created, well presented. Just good. And it felt very Bay Area. I am glad that I went and got a little creative recharge.
My tiredness is setting in, so I will list my gratitudes and call it a night.
1. good theatre
2. beer
3. good parking karma
4. yoga and breath
5. a usable and easy transportation system
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Glorious to Start
I passed on taking a yoga class this morning to sleep a little longer and man have I had some vivid dreams lately. I know that there was an infestation of bugs in whatever apartment I lived in and it took a bit of effort to wake myself up from that one. I headed into the city around 9 and picked up the most lovely casual carpool passengers from the Grand Lake pick-up.
We had a spirited conversations and shared recommendations - actually I really just listened here - about things in the neighbor. It was like a rah rah fest for Oakland. I will certainly miss casual carpool and I did feel a little sad to be leaving Oakland. The ride over the Bay Bridge was so pretty and I need to take all of that in. Be truly present.
My lesson with Daniel was great. He keeps challenging me and encouraging me. I am starting to finger pick so that will be my little challenge that I hope to tackle tomorrow. I taught him a great yoga class. In fact, while I was teaching I realized that I really do love it. Teaching and teaching yoga are part of my Life's Purpose. It just comes with such ease and there is an intuition about sequence and flow. I just feel like I need some more training with alignment and adjustments.
And this is where my glorious day came to an end.
My shift at Phil's was just okay. I am really biding my time yet again with it. I excel at my interactions with the customers, but it's hard getting back to the ease since I've been away for so long.
I am beat and I need to go to sleep. I will post my furniture for sale on Craigslist tomorrow before I teach the kids yoga class and head to Phil's for another exciting night.
Let's whip out these gratitudes:
1. podcasts on my itouch
2. Words with Friends
3. Bartering
4. good parking karma
5. strong staff to pull me out of a hole at Phil's
We had a spirited conversations and shared recommendations - actually I really just listened here - about things in the neighbor. It was like a rah rah fest for Oakland. I will certainly miss casual carpool and I did feel a little sad to be leaving Oakland. The ride over the Bay Bridge was so pretty and I need to take all of that in. Be truly present.
My lesson with Daniel was great. He keeps challenging me and encouraging me. I am starting to finger pick so that will be my little challenge that I hope to tackle tomorrow. I taught him a great yoga class. In fact, while I was teaching I realized that I really do love it. Teaching and teaching yoga are part of my Life's Purpose. It just comes with such ease and there is an intuition about sequence and flow. I just feel like I need some more training with alignment and adjustments.
And this is where my glorious day came to an end.
My shift at Phil's was just okay. I am really biding my time yet again with it. I excel at my interactions with the customers, but it's hard getting back to the ease since I've been away for so long.
I am beat and I need to go to sleep. I will post my furniture for sale on Craigslist tomorrow before I teach the kids yoga class and head to Phil's for another exciting night.
Let's whip out these gratitudes:
1. podcasts on my itouch
2. Words with Friends
3. Bartering
4. good parking karma
5. strong staff to pull me out of a hole at Phil's
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday Gratitudes
I worked a shift a Phil's today and it's amazing how much things changed since we opened last June. This one guy even asked where the little order forms were. Too funny. I did like those super simple forms since I am not the best at the POS system. For a restaurant with a supposedly simple menu, it's really complex. Luckily we were slow and I didn't have to apologize too much.
I did have to stay a little later than I hoped, so I missed the yoga class I wanted to take. When I arrived home I started to get hungry, so I knew I was not going back out and opened a bottle of wine and began cooking a mishmash dinner. Veggie potstickers, leftover lamb tomato sauce, defrosted ground turkey that had some veggies and ginger in it and a little salad. Oh, and I threw some beets in, too.
I need to remember that I ate beets before I freak out and go to the doctor complaining that there's blood in my stool.
Did I tell you about that one?
Anyway, since I have a ukulele lesson with Daniel in the morning I thought it wise to rehearse a bit. I have not been practicing so it's not a surprise that I am not further along. However, I am doing pretty well. Transitions between some of the chords are funky, but certainly getting better.
There has been a bit of movement on the move front. I heard back from one of the movers. He's not all that eager or proactive, so may need a Plan B. I have been speaking regularly with real estate brokers and do feel confident that something will come through that I like. In fact one of the Inwood agents said this,
Things generally last about 9 days on the market before they're rented. Feel free to get in touch with me sooner to your moving date. I'm sure I'll have something perfect for you!
It made me feel a whole lot better. I also decided that we should not stay in Oakland my last night. Since all my stuff will be packed and gone, my mom booked a hotel close to the airport and we will grab dinner after she arrives on the 5th and stay over with the cats at the hotel. That way we can shuttle it in the morning and not have to worry about borrowing towels and sheets, air mattresses and the like. It will be so much easier. Hopefully it's not too expensive.
I am trying to stay optimistic about work and income, but again just as I've seen with apartments employers want people now. I should concentrate on things that I can do now. Selling my belongings that I won't be taking. That needs to happen ASAP.
I also need to keep the money flowing here. I am working solely for the caterer or in the restaurant. I also have a little money coming from Jenny and the cookbook and final check's from Anne, Nita and Jess. I guess I need to tell the latter 2 that I am out of their service...!
I have yet to freak out and while I continue to breathe, I must continue to reflect on where I'm grateful.
1. wine
2. a staff member who indulges me with rubbing the Laughing Buddha belly and setting intentions for service before we open the restaurant
3. my mother
4. snuggly kitties
5. sunshine on my BART ride home
I did have to stay a little later than I hoped, so I missed the yoga class I wanted to take. When I arrived home I started to get hungry, so I knew I was not going back out and opened a bottle of wine and began cooking a mishmash dinner. Veggie potstickers, leftover lamb tomato sauce, defrosted ground turkey that had some veggies and ginger in it and a little salad. Oh, and I threw some beets in, too.
I need to remember that I ate beets before I freak out and go to the doctor complaining that there's blood in my stool.
Did I tell you about that one?
Anyway, since I have a ukulele lesson with Daniel in the morning I thought it wise to rehearse a bit. I have not been practicing so it's not a surprise that I am not further along. However, I am doing pretty well. Transitions between some of the chords are funky, but certainly getting better.
There has been a bit of movement on the move front. I heard back from one of the movers. He's not all that eager or proactive, so may need a Plan B. I have been speaking regularly with real estate brokers and do feel confident that something will come through that I like. In fact one of the Inwood agents said this,
Things generally last about 9 days on the market before they're rented. Feel free to get in touch with me sooner to your moving date. I'm sure I'll have something perfect for you!
It made me feel a whole lot better. I also decided that we should not stay in Oakland my last night. Since all my stuff will be packed and gone, my mom booked a hotel close to the airport and we will grab dinner after she arrives on the 5th and stay over with the cats at the hotel. That way we can shuttle it in the morning and not have to worry about borrowing towels and sheets, air mattresses and the like. It will be so much easier. Hopefully it's not too expensive.
I am trying to stay optimistic about work and income, but again just as I've seen with apartments employers want people now. I should concentrate on things that I can do now. Selling my belongings that I won't be taking. That needs to happen ASAP.
I also need to keep the money flowing here. I am working solely for the caterer or in the restaurant. I also have a little money coming from Jenny and the cookbook and final check's from Anne, Nita and Jess. I guess I need to tell the latter 2 that I am out of their service...!
I have yet to freak out and while I continue to breathe, I must continue to reflect on where I'm grateful.
1. wine
2. a staff member who indulges me with rubbing the Laughing Buddha belly and setting intentions for service before we open the restaurant
3. my mother
4. snuggly kitties
5. sunshine on my BART ride home
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Trying Not to FREAK OUT!
So my move is just over a month away and there is so much to do. I am finding ways to promote Namaste Gourmet in New York, I keep applying for jobs and I continue to look for housing in my price range. Unfortunately there is not a lot going on in any of these areas.
I have a feeling that most employers see my out of town address and just toss my application. And most health, wellness and event resources I have are best contacted when I am in the area. The whole apartment thing is just crazy. All apartments require a guaranteed income and want to see financial data to back it up. Pay stubs or tax forms. Unfortunately as a new business owner and an independent contractor I cannot prove income large enough. It should not be a surprise to anyone when I say that NY is Expensive. My heart begins to hurt as I continue to question the move. Heck I left 20 years ago because it was not a good fit. What's to say that it will be better now. Especially when I don't make a ton and the standard of living is high.
There are things I need to do to prep on this end. Sell my furniture and car. Find movers and figure out the last few days. Living in an apartment without most of my stuff. I started cleaning my apartment yesterday and will finish today. I hope to take photos of everything that's got to go and post to Craigslist. I am more than happy to let go of my couch, coffee table and media center now. The bookcase and armoire will have to wait, and I plan to put my mattress set on Freecycle. It's an old set and Maxie has done a number on it. The good thing is that Macy's is having a mattress sale, so I plan to buy something now and have it delivered on the 5th of March.
I went back to my early blog posts to see how things were handled on the Atlanta outbound. By this time everything was settled. I think with knowledge of school and the known issues of living in a college town things were certainly different.
I use my yogic breathing to keep myself calm. I'm just curious to know when it won't be strong enough to keep me from completely freaking out.
Wish me calming breaths and lots of luck.
I have a feeling that most employers see my out of town address and just toss my application. And most health, wellness and event resources I have are best contacted when I am in the area. The whole apartment thing is just crazy. All apartments require a guaranteed income and want to see financial data to back it up. Pay stubs or tax forms. Unfortunately as a new business owner and an independent contractor I cannot prove income large enough. It should not be a surprise to anyone when I say that NY is Expensive. My heart begins to hurt as I continue to question the move. Heck I left 20 years ago because it was not a good fit. What's to say that it will be better now. Especially when I don't make a ton and the standard of living is high.
There are things I need to do to prep on this end. Sell my furniture and car. Find movers and figure out the last few days. Living in an apartment without most of my stuff. I started cleaning my apartment yesterday and will finish today. I hope to take photos of everything that's got to go and post to Craigslist. I am more than happy to let go of my couch, coffee table and media center now. The bookcase and armoire will have to wait, and I plan to put my mattress set on Freecycle. It's an old set and Maxie has done a number on it. The good thing is that Macy's is having a mattress sale, so I plan to buy something now and have it delivered on the 5th of March.
I went back to my early blog posts to see how things were handled on the Atlanta outbound. By this time everything was settled. I think with knowledge of school and the known issues of living in a college town things were certainly different.
I use my yogic breathing to keep myself calm. I'm just curious to know when it won't be strong enough to keep me from completely freaking out.
Wish me calming breaths and lots of luck.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Office Space and a PBR
After my catering delivery in the rain I got home and opened my can beer as I walked into my building. Yeah, I know, classy. I put my jammies on and checked Netflix and Office Space came up on my possibles list. I'm guessing that watching numerous episodes of Scrubs lately skewed the algorithms towards that silly movie. A number of people have mentioned it over the years and I never saw it. Until tonight. And I don't think my life has changed in any significant way. It is a silly 90s movie, but at its core contemplates what makes us happy. And it's usually not in our work world. All right, maybe I will think about this one a little longer.
The rain started yesterday and while it has been cloudy we have had moments of relief. My walk to yoga and home were rain-free, for instance, even though I wore my super cool rain boots. And while it was pouring during my evening delivery, I got to park in the underground parking deck and steered clear of precipitation.
I did clean all of the dishes in the sink today, as well as the stove top. I really need to go hog wild and deep clean the entire apartment tomorrow.
Yes, I know I live a super exciting existence!
I start back at Phil's next week and working 5 shifts a week will certainly limit my free time. I do look forward to being more productive all the way around.
But in the meantime some gratitudes:
1. a few good friends
2. chocolate chip cookies with nuts
3. the return to uke playing
4. responsive real estate brokers
5. hot showers
The rain started yesterday and while it has been cloudy we have had moments of relief. My walk to yoga and home were rain-free, for instance, even though I wore my super cool rain boots. And while it was pouring during my evening delivery, I got to park in the underground parking deck and steered clear of precipitation.
I did clean all of the dishes in the sink today, as well as the stove top. I really need to go hog wild and deep clean the entire apartment tomorrow.
Yes, I know I live a super exciting existence!
I start back at Phil's next week and working 5 shifts a week will certainly limit my free time. I do look forward to being more productive all the way around.
But in the meantime some gratitudes:
1. a few good friends
2. chocolate chip cookies with nuts
3. the return to uke playing
4. responsive real estate brokers
5. hot showers
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