The Clock Goes Tic Toc Tic Toc

It's already October yet 2015 can't get here fast enough! Still lots of exciting things to wrap up the end of the year, but I am completely anxious/nervous/excited about what's to come.

These last two years in NY/NJ have taught me a lot, and my job was definitely experience but I've been itching to get back to the Philippines since I left.

This zombie life is not the life for me. 2015 will be my revival.

Snooze Button

Two years and a mere 23 posts later, I'm ready to be re-inspired. Apparently I've been sleepwalking all the while and now it's time to WAKE UP!

Stability it great, but when your bad moments outnumber the good, it's time to identify and walk from what it is that is making you unhappy. Make a move and run towards your dreams.

Just don't fall asleep for too long.

Don't sit next to me just because I'm Asian

Much to my parents' disappointment, I didn't become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Much to their delight, I am dating one of them now lol Just kidding. Seriously though, their belief that I could be any of the above made me believe I was capable of doing anything at all, as long as I worked hard and did my best.

They were never pushy, but there were pangs of disappointment and moments when I felt like what I was doing still wasn't enough. As an adult I am still learning that precarious balance of striving for more and being satisfied with myself.

Read this article from the Washington Post, and you'll know what I'm talking about.

As an adult I am still learning that precarious balance of striving for more and being satisfied with myself.

Not so sure about the last two paragraphs though. What's so awful about "academic prowess" being coded as an "Asian thing"? Not a bad stereotype, if you ask me.

Break Time

I'm ready for a little break. I need to feel the sun on my face and put my toes in the sand. I need to re-group, because lately I haven't felt like myself. I'm tired. Drained. But that's what living up here does to you. You're always on the go, and the weekends go by so quickly, it hardly feels like you had time to rest at all.

It has been a rough, long, relentless winter. A few times, I think my face froze off. Once, I think a million needles stabbed me in the face all at once. Just a week ago, I was still piling on layers, and all I could think was that I've maxed out my used of fleece leggings and oversized sweaters. Seriously, how many times can I wear practically glorified pajamas and deem it socially acceptable?

Bring on the shorts, sundresses, crop tops and flip flops.

I need to feel like myself again. Fast. And I hope Spring will help me get back there until I get my homesick self back to Florida for a dose of family and friends. They're the best things to remind me of who I am.

Just Keep Swimming

That thing that you think about all day at work and can't wait to get to; that keeps you up until 1 or 2 in the morning when you have to be up in a few hours...

That is the thing that you should be doing for the rest of your life.

Keep going.

Jenna The Gypsy

Perfectly me. "Don't Date a Girl Who Travels"

Hana Hou, Hana Hou!

Traveling in 2013 slowed down a little bit, destinations limited to where friends were getting married. One of our friends' wedding spurned my big trip for the year, and JP and I's first big trip ever, starting in Southern California, ringing in the New Year in Las Vegas, and ending in Honolulu.

I have always loved traveling, and I have done a lot of gypsying on my own. It's liberating, self-assuring; it puts you in new, sometimes uncomfortable situations, teaching you so much about yourself. I love it. But as much as I enjoy my solo adventures, there is nothing like sharing new experiences with someone else. I'm not saying that I'm done exploring on my own. I'm saying that having someone along ain't so bad either.

When the Dust Settles

Everyone always says never to settle, but that's exactly what happened in 2013.  I have a real life, stable job, a long term lease on an apartment that is all my own, and I'm even in a steady relationship. (Crazy... All of it.)  "To settle" sounds constraining and inhibiting, but it can actually be quite liberating. Not having to wonder where to or what's next can give you the time to think about those things in the long term. When you "settle", it isn't always settling down, or settling for less. It's time when the pieces stop moving just long enough for you to figure out what the hell is going on, and what your next step should be. The time will come for me to start wandering again; this I am sure. In the interim, I will be scoping the terrain, planning, preparing, and fine tuning my skills to survive in this big ole world.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." I am hoping that 2014 will be the luckiest year yet.

Happy New Year!