OtterGirl537

Two hours on a gorgeous Saturday morning. Ct and went up more than 800 meters. We were exhausted when we got down but it was worth it. 8 months ago

Flew to the North Island of New Zealand. Saw new stars in the Southern Hemisphere. Enjoyed tasty Irish beer with local fishermen. Tasted wine from Wahine Island. Traveled down a river in a cave to see glowworms. Saw a Kiwi and a ritual Maori greeting ceremony.

Flew to Hawaii and lounged on Waikiki beach for 5 days. Walked the beach at night. Drank Two Fins to the Left margaritas. Slept in the sand and floated in the blue.

Celebrated my birthday with new friends, T and AV and Ct.

Made Fondue. 8 months ago

For the tea ceremony at the Temple of Heaven.

For easy immigration through both airports.

For getting home at a reasonable hour.

For nothing having gone wrong with my losing my ATM card in the Chinese ATM… 8 months ago

For a day at leisure.

For successfully navigating the China Subway and finding the Hard Rock Cafe.

For taxis back to the hotel after finding the Hard Rock was shut down under criminal investigation.

For tea in the revolving restaurant at the top of the hotel.

For a lovely dinner in an Irish Pub. 8 months ago

For Tianamin Square and the Forbidden City.

For silly faces on Chinese children.

For lovely holiday floral displays.

For an afternoon rickshaw ride and being invited into a local home. 8 months ago

For Gangnam Style on the Great Wall with Ct, laughter.

For making it to the highest point on the old side of the wall.

For my new jade phoenix pendant.

For walking the Summer Palace. 8 months ago

For safely arriving in China.

For the awesome acrobatics show.

For a comfy mattress. 8 months ago

For the start of my China adventure with Ct.

For getting to start the day out a little later than normal. 8 months ago

So upon State Department recommendations, I’m not taking any of my electronic gadgets nor will I be logging on to anything. Let’s see how I deal with 5 days of no tech. 8 months ago

“Every thing will be alright in the end, so if it’s not alright, then it’s not yet the end.”

“Nothing here has worked out quite as I expected.” Response: “Most things don’t. But sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff.”

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing.”

“Nothing happens unless first we dream.”

“The only real failure is the failure to try.”

I love this movie. It’s about how we cope when the world around us forces us to change. It’s about doing things we don’t want to because we have to. It’s about finding beauty in places we never expected.

The actors in this film are superb: Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, all whom I adore. There are moments I forget this about senior citizens and think this could be about any person from age 20 to 80. It reminds me of all the challenges of living away from one’s home country and the strangeness that comes with it.

Watch it and get lost in it. 8 months ago

all be perfect, so the Yankees must be my weakness. My favorite is Mo and I’ve missed him this season.

I’m hoping we can bear up under the injuries and stay healthy for another month. 8 months ago

Houston was much worse! 8 months ago

those extraordinary people who were once in my life but no longer are. I don’t know where they went; I wish I did and that they were still here. Scared that other extraordinary people in my life will disappear as well. Loneliness creeping in at the edges. 8 months ago

For the Yankees FINALLY clinching the division.

For all my friends here, even though I’m leaving in 27 days.

For good news for 3 co-workers, so happy for them. 8 months ago

Yes, I’ll do this TOMORROW! 8 months ago

And I’ll keep it in mind as I settle in at my next location. For now, I think I’m going to take it easy and go back to the frozen dinners. Better to eat some thing healthy than nothing at all. 8 months ago

definitely and it ranges from just not being interested in food to getting anxious over messing up and not having any thing to eat to just being overwhelmed by dishes at the end. Easier to just not eat… 8 months ago

with this is (and always has been) cooking for myself. Cooking doesn’t get my attention and then it gets less interesting with clean up as well. I’ve loved the easy microwave dinners from Healthy Choice, but I’ve been trying to cook more of late. Of late, it means I often just snack on unhealthy things rather than cook anything. Which also means I usually waste the fresh food stuff I’ve bought to cook. I do want to cook more but I get overwhelmed by the prep/cook/clean cycle on my own. It would help if friends could eat with me every night, but that hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps it will be better when I’m not also trying to write résumés and divide/pack up my life… Sigh. 8 months ago

For getting up early again today and working on résumés before work.

For getting all my vacation time confirmed with the company experts.

For the Yankees coming from behind to beat the Sox and get one step closer to the playoffs.

For booking out most of the rest of my sister’s European visit. Only one more trip to take care of. 8 months ago

For T helping me to figure out how to get the car looked after when the Koreans X’d me out in Hangul…

For the early morning phone call from the employment agency which will get me going on the job hunt. 8 months ago

Both Planned Parenthood and the Gates Foundation have offices in DC and Seattle which means I could start in DC and move to Seattle later with contacts, connections and experience. All this makes me feel a little more positive about going to DC first… 8 months ago

For having the day off for Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving, making this work week only 3 days long.

For getting going on the separating the household.

For Ct coming to my rescue with a bottle of wine and the puppy when I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. 8 months ago

Recently I’ve been struggling with my decision to move to Seattle. I’ve never been there and I know no one there. However, I have very strong emotions telling me I should go there despite this. The conflict is coming from the changes in my relationship with Mk, the traveling I’ve done alone and the dinners I’ve shared with friends. If I go to Seattle in January, I will be lonely for a while. I will have to find a home and job immediately. There won’t be anyone there to help or lean on. DC would give me all the support I need plus dinner and weekend brunches with friends, the ability to explore a relationship with Mk, to be able to take my time finding a job and a home.

Yet, I still have reservations about going that way. I think the gist of it that I’m afraid if I don’t go to Seattle now, I won’t ever make it there. And I don’t know if that’s good or bad. 8 months ago

Week 39 was a huge success and I feel so much better. I will be working to get my 1,400 calories in before I leave for China on Friday this week. Given that, there won’t be any bike riding as the sunset times make riding after work too dangerous.

Swim 1 – Monday afternoon (SKIPPED!)
Swim 2 – Thursday afternoon

Run 1 – Tues Morning (SKIPPED!)
Run 2 – More of a walk… 120 Cals
Run 3 – Fri morning

Totals – 120 Cals8 months ago

about making a mess? The confidence is not a lack of worry about making a mess of life; instead, it is a strong belief that regardless of how much of a mess one makes of life, one will be able to get through it and even clean it up.

I’ve found throughout my life that I am absolutely going to say something wrong, do something idiotic, laugh at the wrong moment. That used to riddle me with anxiety. However, I’ve noticed over time that most people are more forgiving of my gaffes than I am, if they notice the bad moments at all.

Be kind to yourself and keep faking it. 8 months ago

For a quiet day at home with nothing to do.

For an evening with friends, new and newer, eating fondue and s’mores.

For having a very blessed life. 8 months ago