Surreal

Today at work we went out and finally smashed the pinata from our Siete de Mayo potluck. Seriously. My job rocks.

Anyways, while walking over to the playground we have on campus (seriously!), I was struck with a moment of contemplation that Rosie caught on camera:


What was racing through my mind?

Our office is on a hill with a gorgeous panoramic view of Utah Valley - including BYU. I was staring at the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, or SWKT ("Swiket") - where I worked as an American Heritage T.A. for most of my college career. All I could think was, really? Here I am, six years into my career, and I can see my college job from my "grown-up" job?!

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job. I'm really pleased with that aspect of my life. But I'm not going to sugarcoat how hard it is for me to be back in Utah Valley. No matter where I go, I see specters from my past. Yesterday while cruising State Street on my way home, while stopped at the stoplight, I swear the guy in the next car over was a guy who I wrote during his entire mission. Twice now I've run into one of my BEST guy friends from college while running errands in Lehi - and twice now I've gone home shaken up and almost in tears about it. It's just plain bizarre and awkward to see someone you used to be sooooo close with - who will barely talk with you now that he's married with children. Mostly I'm delighted to run into people around town, but in this case, it really bugs me. I'd rather have left my memories of him on a pretty little shelf.

And that can be said with basically all of my memories associated with Utah Valley. I loved my time here in middle school. I loved my time here in college. But I don't want to be so close to them anymore. I want to break free and make a new start - and yet, everywhere I look, I'm reminded of my past. Heck, even within my department, a couple colleagues have ties to my past. Kind of cool, but kind of really annoying, too.

*sigh*

It is what it is. And I know I'm supposed to be where I am, doing what I'm doing. My job is so awesome, the tradeoff makes being here totally worth it. I just hope that I can find a way to balance roots and wings, so to speak.

Something's Coming

Oh, West Side Story. How I love you so. The musical genius of Leonard Bernstein AND Stephen Sondheim in one great show, coupled with delightfully kinetic choreography by Jerome Robbins? Count me in!

This morning I felt like bursting out in "I Feel Pretty" ('cause I do. LOVE the outfit I pieced together of a bunch of stuff I already have. Don't you love when that happens? It's rare. Let me revel in it!). Well, as much as I wish life were a musical, I doubt the rest of my department would appreciate the song-and-dance routine, so I've been listening to the soundtrack all morning instead. More cubicle-friendly and all.

And, wow! I forget how great this show is. Hoping to catch the national tour in Costa Mesa next fall. (The tour starts this October, but it's not coming to Salt Lake. Oh, gee. Guess I gotta take another trip to California. Twist my arm...)

Meanwhile, enjoy this video for one of my all-time favorite songs. Wouldn't it be great if we could all have such enthusiasm for the future and what life holds for us?

Working hard... or hardly working?

Man, work was KILLER yesterday! Here's a look at what accomplished:

Partook of some of proper nutrition for our Healthy Employee initiative...




Thought of ways to really drive home our key messages...












Immersed in ways to saturate the market with our products...










Took a hands-on look at some impressive technology to really target customers with a laser-like focus...






And, most importantly, built some winning memories as a marketing team...






Seriously, I LOVE my job!!! We have such a fun team - it's like getting paid to play with friends all day. (Well, if your definition of playing is finding the best way to market the leading software solutions for the property insurance and reconstruction industries.) But, trust me, it's fun!

Riddle me this

Well, Travis posted another math-ish trivia question today - and, once again, I managed to get it (but only after getting a hint from Jeff again). Ugh. One of these days I'll get it on my own! Seriously!

Meanwhile, let's see if you brainiacs can solve this bad boy:

I have 10 trees and want to plant them in five rows, with four trees per row. How do I plant them?

I'm actually enjoying taking a writing break to flex that other side of my brain. Which is good, seeing as I'm planning to take the GRE this fall and all. I'd better be getting that brain of mine into shape!!!

(And no, I'm not leaving my job for grad school. Never!!! I absolutely love my job. And in my next post, you'll see why. Meanwhile, the plan is to do an online master's degree in technical writing from Utah State. Should be a perfect fit!)

Adding to the list...

I can't do math to save my life. Seriously. It's the only F grade I've ever received (9th grade algebra - thankfully, I salvaged into a C by the semester, but still). I practically break out in hives whenever I have to deal with numbers. Hate does not begin to cover how much I abhor and detest math.

But when one of my colleagues sent out the following puzzle today, I didn't want to be left out in solving it:

2+3 = 10
7+2 = 63
6+5 = 66
8+4 = 96
9+7 = ?

Well, I'm quite proud to say that I got it... mostly on my own. I figured out that there was a pattern, but I did have to ask a friend for what I was missing. And with his slight nudge, I solved it!

So, perhaps someday I'll be able to fully conquer my math anxiety. And by someday, I mean by this fall, when I take the GRE. If I can study for math without becoming a stressbucket, it'll be a miracle - but anything's possible, right?

Doing that which I'd not supposed possible

"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves." - Thomas A. Edison

2009 was definitely not my best year. There were some MAJOR highs, but there were also some crushing blows, most of which came in the latter half of the year. I rounded out the year ridiculously homesick, adjusting to living somewhere I said I'd NEVER live again (talk about eating your words!), and with walking pneumonia to boot. Talk about sucktastic!

So when the new year rolled around, I decided that 2010 was going to be my year. It was time to start doing all those things I've always wanted to do - and it's time to sideline the bad habits and quirks that I've wanted to shed for years. After all, next month marks 10 years since I graduated from high school and moved into adulthood. It's been an amazing 10 years, but there are plenty of things I'd hoped to accomplish by now that haven't happened, and I've got no one to blame but myself.

Well, so far I'm crossing items off the list like a madwoman:

Always wanted to do community theater? CHECK! Singin' in the Rain. Delightful experience, made some wonderful friends, really enjoyed the arts, but also realized that it's severely time-intensive while working full time (I was "funemployed" for most of the run of The Sound of Music, so it was definitely a different experience!).

Always envied redheads? CHECK! Decided to become a ginger almost on a whim in February. Soooo glad I did it, but I'm ready to be brunette again. Now I know that I look awesome as a redhead - but awesomer with my dark locks. God knew what he was doing with the whole coloring thing. :)

Go dancing with friends? CHECK! It was fun - definitely going again sometime. Go hot tubbing with cute boys? CHECK! Seriously, why did I wait until my late 20s to do these two?! I should've been at that five, 10 years ago.

Take that Route 66 roadtrip FINALLY? Well, that's in the works. Just planning it out in concrete detail makes me giddy. I'm poring over my guidebooks (two of which were gifts - so glad to finally put them to work!) and have mapped out my daily itinerary. Who cares if it's 17 months away? At least it's tangible now. 19 days, nearly 2,500 miles, six-plus friends along the way, the open road, and a longtime dream? Count me in!

Always wanted to get in shape? CHECK (in progress)! Today I ran a 5K, friends. A 5K!!! My running plan says to only run for 20 minutes, but when I hit 20, I figured I had one more set in me (90 seconds running, 2 minutes walking). Well, I did another... and another... and another... and when I saw 2.8 miles done on the treadmill, I figured, might as well hit 3.2, right?

With cooling down, it was actually 3.6, and I feel AWESOME. Physically, sure, but wow - mentally. That sense of accomplishment is irresistible. I did it. I DID it!!! And while I know 5K is practically a snack for some people, it's a big step for me, especially when I'm running a race in less than a month. Even today, while getting started, I was wondering if I could really do it. Well, I can now say that I have, and I've got 3 1/2 weeks to just keep getting better and stronger.

Plus I bit the bullet and signed up for Red Rocks today - and with a friend, too, so I've got peer pressure working for me! I talked one of the guys in my department who's super-outdoorsy into running it with me, so there's no backing out now. Ever since I learned about Ragnar relays, I've thought that would be soooo cool - but it seemed so out of grasp. (Red Rocks isn't a Ragnar, but it's the same idea.) My friend Amelia ran a Ragnar race in L.A. recently, and reading her blog post about it really had an impact (so thanks, Amelia!). I set doing a relay like that as a goal to reach by 30.

And then I learned work was sponsoring Red Rocks. I mean, hello - do an awesome relay and not have to pay the registration, plus appear all hardcore to the work crew? What's not to love?! (My company is super-athletic - especially my department. Marketing seems to attract the jock type for some reason!) And the company's doing a Biggest Loser competition all summer, so what better incentive to push myself at the gym than a tangible deadline and accountability to others?

So, voila - 5K today, 180-mile relay tomorrow. Er, in September.

Moral of the story is, Edison was totally right.

We really, truly can do so much more than we think we can.

(Thank you, Biggest Loser, for being a vivid weekly reminder of this!)

Problem is, it is soooo easy to give in and quit before we reach our true breaking point. It's true with exercise, but it's a universal principle. When we think we can't, we really can - in overcoming a temptation, in studying that much more to get that A, in tightening the budget that much more to accomplish financial goals. It's not a coincidence that "discipline" and "disciple" have the same root word. Think of disciples, whether it be to Christ or to Islam or to any other idea or lifestyle. They believe in what they follow so much that they'll give their lives for it. How much do we want to achieve our goals? How much are we willing to sacrifice because we know it's for a higher purpose? Don't sacrifice what you want most for what you want in the moment.

Not to say I've been an unaccomplished quitter, because I have done a lot of cool stuff, but really? It's all come easily to me. I've never pushed myself on things that didn't come naturally, and that's a shame. All of those accomplishments could've been so much more, but I wasn't willing to push myself for it. I really wish I'd learned this lesson earlier than 27, but, hey, at least it's learned, right?

No regrets - it is what it is, and I've learned from it - but, man. The next 10 years of my life? They're going to be amazing. End of story.

Running the Red Rocks

Oh, friends - do I dare?

My company is sponsoring a team for the Redrock Relay in September, and... I wanna do it.

Except I think I must be crazy, because I'm worried enough about being ready for a 5K in a few weeks. Could I really pull off running approximately 15 miles as part of an 181-mile relay race through Southern Utah in a mere four months?!

And yet... why not? Our company is also doing its own "Biggest Loser" contest starting tomorrow, and I'm totally going for it. After all, that's my fav TV show because it's AMAZING, and I've been wanting to get in shape for so long - no better time than the present, right? If there's one thing I've learned from that show, it's that our bodies are capable of much more than we think they are. I stepped up my pace yesterday and was surprised to find I could totally do it - and then some! So why not push even more?

But I'm also at a company that is super-sporty - and competitive. I don't want to be the weak link on the relay team. That's why I've avoided sports like the plague since middle school, always opting for dance over P.E. I HATE team sports because I'm always petrified of letting the team down. And these aren't just other kids at school - these are my colleagues. How awful would it be if I fail but have to see them every day?!

So... thoughts?

Running: Day 1

You know, public accountability does wonders for making you do stuff you say you'll do.

After yesterday's blog post, there was no way to wimp out on hitting the gym - even if the whole time I was getting into gym gear, all I could think was "I really, really, really don't want to be here!" But, alas, I knew it would be good for me.

And so, with that, Day 1 of Couch to 5K has been conquered. The running plan is supposed to be three days a week for nine weeks, but my 5K is only four weeks away. Tricky, huh? So I'm going to double up and go six days a week until the race. Hopefully that does the trick. I've started Couch to 5K before, but I gotta say, running on a treadmill with a timer makes timed interval training WAY easier than doing it on the street, trying to use the timer on the iPod to gauge intervals. I'm not a huge treadmill fan, but it really does make this easier.

When I got to the gym yesterday - we have a really, really nice gym here at work that's free! - there was only one other person in there, a (gorgeous) guy from another department. Gotta say, working out in a small space with a total stranger is kinda sorta awkward, but it worked. After a while, two of my colleagues from Marketing joined me on the treadmills. It was fun to have comrades in arms. Kind of reminded me of Alias, except none of us are quite as awesome as Syd and Vaughn. Close, but not quite.

So, there you have it. And if you don't mind, I may report in every so often - knowing that I'm accountable to the world makes me more likely to push through the days I so don't want to do it. Meanwhile, if you have any running / strength training tips, I'm all ears!

Pounding the pavement

Why oh why is it so ridiculously difficult to start up a workout routine?!

Working out consistently has never been something that's come easy, I confess. But for a while there, early in the year, I was on a roll - until rehearsals for Singin' in the Rain became daily, in which case I was lucky to have enough time to work, rehearse and get enough sleep at night.

Well, the play wrapped up a few weeks ago, and I've had a steady stream of "reasons" - okay, excuses - that have kept me from the gym ever since. "I have a cold." "I'm swamped getting ready for my Seattle trip - I'll get back to the gym after it." "I need to catch up on all the stuff I've ignored during the play, like cooking. And laundry. And organizing." "I dropped a massive metal shelving unit on my right foot while assembling it and can't wear shoes." You know. Fun stuff.

It's 3:28 p.m. That means my workday is nearing a close - I've been good this week about getting in early so I can work out and still have my evening for errands and whatnot. My gym bag has been patiently sitting in my top desk drawer for almost a week, awaiting use. The 5K for which I'm registered is exactly a month away, giving me a mere 30 days to whip into shape if I have any hope of keeping up with my superrunner friends.

And yet I'm dreading working out this evening.

Why?! WHY?! I know I'll feel amazing afterward. I know it's a necessity if I'm ever going to get the figure I've been coveting for... well... forever. If I could get back to the shape I was in at 13, I'd be golden. I know getting in shape will do wonders for my health. I watch The Biggest Loser. I'm sold on this whole workout thing, and I know that if people twice my size can run a friggin' 5K after a few months of working out, I should be able to do it, too.

Ugh.

What motivates you to work out? What gets you back into the gym after it's been a while? Help me, friends. I need some serious motivation. And some chocolate.

P.S. Is it wrong to eat ice cream while watching The Biggest Loser? I always feel a little guilty...

Get your kicks!

As I've mentioned before, driving Route 66 has been a lifelong dream of mine. I don't know what it is about this Mother Road across our great nation, but it calls to me.

Maybe it's the illustrious history of the thousands of people who trekked across it during the Great Depression - including my own great-grandparents. Maybe it's because The Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite books of all time. Maybe it's just because I'm an American history buff who happens to love road trips (especially in my much-beloved Alfredo with his oh-so-awesome sunroof).

Whatever the reason, I've been DYING to drive Route 66 for years now - and today, it dawned on me that the time just might be here. Well, the time to plan, at least.

This morning the good ol' Nat King Cole song about Route 66 came to mind, and as I thought through the cities in the lyrics - you go to St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri, and Oklahoma City looks miiiighty pretty, you see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico... - it dawned on me that I know people in or near a lot of these cities!!! Plus, to start, I'd have to drive from Utah to Chicago. No sweat! I've got friends in Denver and Omaha, which present perfect stopping points along the way.

So... I'm thinking the mother of all road trips just may become a reality next fall. After all, my oh-so-fabulous job has plenty of time off, so I could actually swing taking a couple of weeks to do it the right way. The thought of this makes me beyond giddy.

Anyone want to join me? September 2011, baby!

And if you happen to live along the route, mind if I come visit? I'm looking for places to crash from Chicago to L.A. More than 2,000 miles all the way... :)