More or Less: The Road to 30

Sunday, 10/23/2011, marks my 30th birthday on this planet. Wow. I really wasn't sure I would make it this far (life's got no guarantees after all), but now that I'm nearly there, I've got a few folks to thank:

• Parents: Way to give me life and keep me alive during my formative years - I can't thank you enough and owe you everything.
• Siblings: Thank you for teaching me to look both ways before crossing the road. Oh, and feeding me. And taking me to the doctor's office. And teaching me to defend myself with my wit, mostly because I'm too small to defend myself with my teeny, kid-sized fists.
• Nieces and Nephews: Thank you for taking the burden of childbearing off of me. As I see more and more of you kiddos come into the world I realized that I really don't need to pass on my DNA material -  it's been done. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to not have the weight of having to "perpetuate the species" on my shoulders. I can fly!
• Friends: Thank you for being my sounding board because stress is a big killer! And thank you for making life just a little more fun all the time.

Thirty is a big milestone, especially on this blog, because I started with the premise of having 30 major'ish things to do before I turned 30. My list has evolved (read: changed) a bit since I was 26 years old. Priorities shift after so much living, but a lot of the essence remains the same: to live a big life - simply - and to never stop learning.

It's just funny to even have this bit of retrospective because - AND PARDON MY FRENCH! - to quote a friend in a recent conversation, I really had my head up my own ass in my early twenties. But that's part of the growing process, isn't it? Making stupid bold claims that you're so cocksure about and then slowly... growing, changing, and learning. And realizing what an idiot you were to make those claims in the first place. But that's all part of the process!

At my core, I'm still the same person I have always been, but I'm also very much honing in on the person I want to be. And I guess that's why I make lists. I make them so I can focus my thought and energy and guide myself in the right direction. So, here it is, my Year 30 list:

1. Find a way to give more (time and/or money) to the community, and do it on a regular basis.
2. Get better at documenting my life, privately and/or publicly. I find it's easier to share publicly, so I hope this means I will update this blog regularly.
3. Work on my craft. Finesse it. Hone in on it. Make it smooth like butter. No, better than butter. Yep, better than butter!
4. Be more open about my thoughts and feelings. GET IN AN ARGUMENT EVERY NOW AND THEN.
5. Learn something new, like maybe attend Toastmasters or a language course regularly. I learn better when I do things on a regular, regimented basis.
6. Lessen the personal belongings. This is a work-in-progress thing.

That's all for now.

Hooray for 30!

Half Moon Bay, California

The weather was photogenically overcast - rejoice!

Hello, Kitty Kats!

Look at these two - based on their expressions alone, you just know they're up to no good. Chip (the black-and-white one) is mine; the little light-brownie in the background is Sasha, my friend's little Missy. It's fun to see the two of them together because they're oh-so different in terms of personalities and interests but man, you open a can of cat food two towns over and their interest is piqued! Great (kitty) minds think alike.... :)

Reputations

It's crazy but even as an ex-now-current citizen of Oakland, I buy into the hype that it's completely unsafe and marginally habitable. The everyday truth? People are pretty quite nice.

A man in his car told me to have a nice day today, and not facetiously, either. And because of that small act of random niceness, I uncharacteristically spoke to a stranger at IKEA and offered him my assistance. The poor guy was poorly managing two heavy shopping carts at the same time and I offered to help push one of them to his car and he accepted.

I hope he did something nice for someone else later on.

And so on, so forth.

Slice of Life

As much as I love quick instant updates through social media and blogs, I'm also well-aware that we always self-edit. I'm especially guilty of this because while I may live my life a little bit publicly here, I almost never touch upon topics that really get me riled up.

I don't like fighting with strangers. And even friends. I reserve all my snark for the boyfriend. (Poor guy.)

I've always wanted to change that about me. I feel like in my quest to avoid any and all conflict, I take away my ability to truly relate to people dynamically. Nothing is always sunshine and smiles. Except for the noble unicorn.

Anyway, here's a slice of my life (aka my uncharacteristically early morning today):

• 6:05 AM - The alarm goes off and I quickly hit snooze. I contemplate getting up but man, it's hard. I open my eyes again and it's 6:36 AM. I give in and get up.
• 6:40 AM - This morning's rituals bypasses the shower (I showered yesterday... I think?). I rinse my face quickly after brushing my teeth. I remember to apply sunblock. Today's outfit includes my free Gap jeans, my purple t-shirt, my tuxedo-like wool coat, and my pair of green ballet flats. My outfit probably cost me, cumulatively, $40. At most. And all was second-hand except for the free jeans.
• 7:00 AM - I drive to West Oakland BART and park my car parallel to the post office. I'm still working out the kinks of my commute, but all I know at this moment is I'm (1) too lazy to walk the 2 miles from home and (2) too cheap to pay for BART parking ($5/DAY!!!).
• 7:05 AM - Whoa, the train is here already - commute win! The train ride was only slightly awkward as I caught someone's eyes. I kind of just like looking around at people, things, shoes, and I try my best not to catch people's eyes ('cause it's kinda awkward!). He and his boyfriend were super adorable together, sharing their commute. I thought that he was a little too perfectly manscaped (his plaid shirt was nearly half unbutton and he basically had no chest hair whatsoever). He was also wearing kick-ass cowboy boots.
• 7:15 AM - I'm walking to the Blood Centers of the Pacific location on Bush Street. I don't actually remember where it is so I pull up the confirmation email on my cell phone with the address. Ah, found it! I apologize for running late and the nurse'ceptionist eyes me and asks if I weigh at least 110 pounds. I contemplate lying to her, but opted not to. I was very disappointed to find that they absolutely will not take my blood if I don't meet the weight requirement. D'oh....
• 7:20 AM - I console myself with a small latte from Starbucks and a $2 veggie breakfast sandwich. It's not bad, but then I realize I could make something like this from home for a lot cheaper. Umm, not the latte, but the breakfast sandwich. I was completely overwhelmed with the choices at Starbucks but seeing the prices right next to the caloric content made the selection a little easier.
• 7:27 AM - I saw about three people who were panhandling on my way to work. I thought about whether I was a complete asshole for not helping them out, especially in lieu of splurging $4.xx on my breakfast. (I made up my mind that yes, I am a bit of an asshole for my inhumane semi-indifference to their plight. I'm still trying to reconcile my yuppie guilt and balancing that with actually helping people in a tangible way. It's a work-in-progress.)
• 7:33 AM - I'm at work and notice that there's no coffee. Although I have my latte, I start making a pot for the people who'll be rolling in soon. Sure, it's a nice thing to do, but I really just like making coffee.

The end, for now.

And, I'm Alive Again

Well, let's see. Since the last time I blogged, I moved homes, moved cities, moved sides of the bay. It's been about seven years since I've lived on the East Bay, so I guess I'm due a revisit.

So far, it's been pretty cool. And by pretty cool, I mean relatively warm. And fog-free. What I'm most excited about is the prospect of checking out the nearby cities and little neighborhoods a little bit more. Despite my free-spirited wanderlust, I am essentially a creature of comfort who likes to hang near her nest.

Which is why I move nests a lot. :)

I hope everyone's doing well. Now that my living situation is a little bit more settled, I will be a little bit more present here. And hopefully with hilarious updates and amazing photos to share!

Until then.