In the not so hot real estate market, my house is up for grabs now:
mi casa
Any takers?
Anyone need a house?
Got the carrot
Several weeks ago, I felt like I was chasing a dangling carrot. I was envisioning myself as the tortoise going after the carrot hooked to a fishing pole (somehow I remember that from cartoons or story books), or something like:
Each step forward just seemed impossible to grasp, because the dangler was doing quite the tease. As my patience was being tested month after month, it turned out that I was able to grab the carrot!
Now of course, with grass always being greener elsewhere, I now have to face the consequences and challenges that the carrot has caused 
OK, enough metaphor talk.
Yes, I got the gig. Finally.
In the upcoming months I must face making decisions about my current home, transitioning my current role to others and becoming familiar with a totally new role/function, finding another place to live, and moving things across the country.
Life seemed much simpler if I had just stayed put, right? Simple, but not unique. I want to go for the latter and pave a new path. Stay tuned!
drudging along
My orthodontist told me that I looked down during my recent appointment. Note, this was after he told me that my attractive metal friends were not coming off yet because of some minor tweaks that still need to be done. Go figure. While he didn’t exactly have magical abilities to sense my other stresses in life, there was some truth behind his diagnosis.
2007 is starting to become the year of waiting. Waiting may not be such a bad thing, but it sure gets me antsy because at times, it’s difficult to see some light in this tunnel.
On a lighter note, Meridith lived. Izzy got a bittersweet moment, though more sweet than bitter. I was happy. And life goes on.
You gain some, and then lose some
In algebra and chemistry, we were taught that both sides of an equation is always balanced. It’s not too coincidental that this same principle applies to all aspects of life. Even without random unknown variables of X and Y, or the combination of chemical elements, balance is something we all strive for. Okay, maybe not all of us, since people do go to extremes. What kind of world would we live in if there were no extremists? Who would the leaders be if no one was passionate about different topics? The subject matter experts? The world-class musicians? The scientists? Let’s face it; the world would be pretty dull if people all had the same common and balanced interests. With the extremists, the commoners, and the lazy, everything kind of ticks and moves along.
Balance is one of those things that is completely relative, as with everything (I’m thinking of the phrase, “it depends” right now).
In the workplace, we are beginning to get encouragement of having ‘work-life balance.’ Some people adhere by this entirely, and others cannot comprehend what the concept is, or just choose not to. There will always be a mixture of all types, and perhaps companies move forward because of the proportion of workaholics to work-life-balancers out there. If there are no workaholics that disobey work-life balance, I think there would be a lot less competition to be bigger and better. Lower standards would be acceptable. But of course, being the humans we are, most of us have a competitive nature. All of us are trying to survive at the very least.
Lately I have been thinking about the fact that when you gain something, you lose something. It’s definitely not a new concept, but just something on my mind. I spent an hour last week watching the latest Grey’s Anatomy, a TV show that I’m guilty of. The only benefit it provides me with is an emotional workout, and it makes me think about people, relationships, and those dynamics. I guess that is not a total loss in brain cells, but obviously, I lost an hour of time where I could have been reading and learning something new, talking to an old friend, or resting. The ambitious folks believe that all of the above can be done simultaneously. I do beg to differ with multitasking at times, since the quality would suffer greatly on all activities
Take the gain/loss concept on a larger scale. People may dedicate their lives to a specialized field and know everything there is to know about that field, yet do not have knowledge on other fields. Our world needs specialists, who then create comparative advantage, as economic theory suggests. However, the specialists are not always disadvantaged, assuming they have the intelligence to quickly adapt and catch up to speed on topics that are unfamiliar (with the other specialists). Gaining and losing is really about choice.
I think I’m still in the constant battle of figuring out what my specialty is, as well as the other little pockets that I would like to delve into. It would be wonderful to know a little about a lot.
Sweet and Sour
This term means a few things to me. Could they be…
…Pork? No, I never really liked sweet and sour pork, a widely known Americanized Chinese entree found in places like Panda Express or your favorite P.F. Chang’s. The authenticity of sweet and sour [meat of choice] does exist, but most likely in China itself.
…The childhood roadtrip game? I used to play this with my cousins when we were kids as we sat in the backseat of a minivan, trying to avoid questions like “Are we there yet?” and “Can I go potty?” to our parents. You know, the game where you wave to other cars on the road? A wave back resulted in a ‘sweet’ expression, and a non-expression or glare resulted in a ‘sour’ expression. I’m not sure how we determined who won, but that was a game we played nonetheless.
Another way I think of sweet and sour is related to being who you genuinely are. It sounds pretty simple and it probably is. When I think of sweet, I think of character traits like charming, kind, nice, elegant, sincere, etc.. Sour, on the other hand, makes me think of bold, sassy, electric, spontaneous, and exciting. Being too sour can likely be bitter, if you know what I mean (ever had a Super Lemon?)! Sweet and sour represent two very different qualities which can affect how you are viewed by others.
After reading an article in Real Simple,I was inspired to think about this after reading the motivation section in my February issue. After all, the publication is about making your life, well, more simple. The main punch line here was to be a little sour sometimes! “Add a lemon,” they say. Why? Because those that are truly themselves without worrying about being liked by everyone are the ones who stand out. Those that do not hold back and mask their true identity are the ones that shine in whatever specialty they may be in. In our world of conflicting opinions, there will almost always be people that don’t like you.
Take Rachael Ray for example. Many of you know that I really enjoy her cooking shows, books, and personality. The main reason is because she is just being herself, spunky and all. She’s got millions of fans that love her as I do. On the flip side, I hear there are community groups that congregate to show their annoyance of her! Yes, apparently people do have that kind of time to waste. The point is, she still loves what she does and has that little bit of sour in her. And for the folks that don’t like her – they don’t matter.
Sometimes I catch myself aiming to be more sweet than sour. It’s certainly not a bad thing, but obviously the title of my blog indicates what my real purpose is – to be the real me! I still think that you can’t have too much of one thing, but sometimes having that extra sour punch is what draws the line between one thing and another.
Maybe that’s why people like sweet and sour pork – it has the unique and proportional combination of sweetness and tang to it. I still don’t like it, but I do like kettle corn, which is sweet and savory 
Just
“Just a dog? Porthos dreams of being a bear, and you want to shatter those dreams by saying he’s just a dog? What a horrible candle-snuffing word. That’s like saying, he can’t climb that mountain, he’s just a man, or that’s not a diamond, it’s just a rock. Just.”
From my old blog, I quoted this from Finding Neverland, but I did not elaborate on what the importance of it was. Without commentary on a quote, one will never fully understand why or how the quote was either significant or life changing. Sometimes quotes can do that to you, even if it was fictional, like from a movie. I happened to watch this movie again on one of my days off, and it still felt heartwarming and inspirational, just like the first time I had watched it.
Mr. Barrie (Johnny Depp) was explaining to Peter that his dog Porthos, with a little imagination and faith, could become anything it wanted to become (a bear, for example). I suppose that such a statement may seem foolish, but it is true to some extent. Peter was a vulnerable and skeptical child that was not too high on life at such a young age. Mr. Barrie was a big believer in achieving goals and overcoming challenges. I suppose the combination of the two seemed to fit well. An ordinary object can become valuable if people or society associate it with some sort of value. Just look at money or gems. Houses. Cars. An ordinary person can be extraordinary if they choose to be.
Sometimes I feel like classifying myself as ‘just a girl.’ Yes, just. I ‘just’ have various things in my life and I ‘just’ do such and such for a living. The word ‘just’ can be such a pessimistic word when used in a certain context. What it really does is understate the weight of something, whether it is an object or action. You know, no big deal.
When I find myself saying ‘just’ about the things in my life, I try to snap out of that mode. Having a certain attitude about life and the things around you can determine its course. There are so many things I want to accomplish in the next 1, 5, 10, or 20 years of my life that should not be deterred from having the ‘just’ mentality.
I think 2007 will be very interesting.
Fresh Faces
With the help of a buddy, I discovered a new breed of hangout spots that adds to San Francisco’s unique and rich character. Lately I have been catching myself saying “Wow, that’s a great idea,” and this was definitely one of those times. Think half laundromat and half cafe. Yes, that’s right, a laundromat with baskets, suds, hangers and all. Wireless Internet (at no charge, unless you don’t have a laptop; you would then pay to use their in-house computer). Laundromat customers with Macbooks galore (to the point where I’d feel shameful for having my PC). Live daily performances of local music artists. This definitely suits the needs of an urban city.
Today’s music group was what brought me to Brainwash. Ken Oak Band is an independent group of 2 guys that have incredible talent. Their bio is on the site, and it describes how they weren’t a natural hit at first. They just kept at it and soon enough, they were noticed. It was very nice to see some bright new faces and original sounds. These days I rarely get chances to hear new music, unless someone (or the virtual Pandora) recommends something to me. Combine an acoustic guitarist and a cellist with contemporary vocals and I’m there. Oh yes, and make that live. You really can’t beat the sound quality of live music.
Ken Oak Band’s style is a hybrid of artists like The Fray, Dave Matthews, Damien Rice, John Mayer, Depeche Mode, and many more, evolving into a new genre called cello rock. Now that’s my cup of tea! It has been said that the cello emits a sound that covers the range of a human voice. Maybe that’s why the the combination of an acoustic guitar and cello creates such a vibrant and harmonious balance. Very complimentary. Call it quasi contemporary, or even classical. Their music can be sampled on MySpace or iTunes.
there’s more to it than just the turkey
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I woke up on 11/22 to retrieve my Gmail items, and my Real Simple Daily Thought of the Day (yes, I do have time to read these at least) got my morning off to a good start:
I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new. 
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Isn’t that lovely? It might be good to add family in there as well.
From the media, our culture seems to value turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and Black Friday when it comes to Thanksgiving. I remember even in elementary school when we would create mini arts and crafts items that included turkeys and cornucopias (I’m thinking color by number turkeys and such). It just seems like it’s another holiday that gets lost amongst the consumerism, much like Christmas. So while I enjoy creating my post-Thanksgiving turkey leftover concoctions and sleeping in on Black Friday, I do have much to be thankful for.
Information Overload
Thinking back to my initial usage of the Internet, I was amazed that even a site like Yahoo existed as I slowly surfed the web with my 14.4 kbps modem (1997?). It was neat that more and and more websites were forming for different organizations, newspapers, and personal homepages. Instant messaging was a big hit as well.
Now we have these same tools that have advanced tremendously, only with infinitely more available. They are bigger and badder. There are sites that aim to consolidate the most popular social networking sites into one simple interface. The only social networking site I knew of in 96-97 was Yahoo Chat. Now there is an abundance of sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Orkut, and so many more. Need help organizing life? There are magazines, blogs, online to-do lists, and who knows what else out there to help you. Need some opinions before buying? Sites like Epinions or Consumer Reports will do it for you. There’s just…a lot of stuff. Literally anything you want or can think of – it’s out there.
One of my new favorite gadgets on the Internet is my trusty RSS feed reader. From Bloglines to now Google Reader, I have learned to love and hate this online device. This is truly my one stop shop for information, and tons of it. I have bookmarked sites like Digg, friends’ blogs, National Geographic, BBC, recipe pages, etc., and it feeds me new information in real time. If I want more information, I look for more sites to add that have this feature. Most news and popular blog sites now do. Every time something new posts on these pages, I turn to Google Reader to view them. As you can imagine, there could be hundreds and thousands of posts to read if I don’t check periodically. That leads to my hate of information overload. OK, I don’t really ‘hate’ it, but let’s just say that too much of a good thing can be stressful!
In the midst of all this information, I often feel overwhelmed. I have magazines that pile up on my coffee table every month. Now that stresses me out. I subscribe to things like Real Simple, Shape, The New Yorker, and I barely have time to read them. It’s ironic because Real Simple is a magazine to, needless to say, simplify your life! And I hardly have time to read it?! How can I simplify my life, then? With Google Reader, I get the latest news headlines, but some turn out to be 10 page articles when I link to the actual page. That’s a bombshell right there. It’s information competing with other information. Perhaps I could live a simpler life like my mother does and disregard the many online gadgets and information available. She gets by somehow, but with less information about the latest happenings. Ignorance is bliss!
On the flip side, I could (and am trying to) learn how to prioritize and channel information more efficiently. There is indeed a lot of information out there, and the world would not end if I didn’t read all of it. Thoreau wrote “Simplify, Simplify” which for me in this case, translates to “Filter, Filter.” I crave more knowledge, but I think there are times when knowing a little about a lot is better than knowing a lot about a little.
The Cold
Two weeks ago, I was excited to write a post about ‘how not to get sick.’ Two years ago, I probably had a cold of some sort and have had a clean streak of nonsickness since. Two days ago, I’m thinking to myself,”Dang it, I’d be silly to write about strategies for staying healthy while I’ve been sick for over a week.” I was definitely tagged by the cold fairy this year, and apparently my body wasn’t ready for it. I think my overconfidence wore off.
Because I haven’t been sick for so long, I forgot how costly (and uncomfortable) it was. I tallied up my cold-related expenditures so far, which looks something like this (tax not included):
I did learn something new, though – for those of you who use FSA’s during the calendar year (Flexible Spending Account), all of the above items count for your claims. Too bad I used my entire FSA amount on braces already.