I'm catching up on wedding related posts here, so please bear with me!
Wedding planning in the 21C is all about online searching, and it can be pretty overwhelming. But I came across a fun quiz that determined whether you are someone who likes to revisit memories via video or photos, based on current media consumption habits. I like watching videos, according to the quiz.
This helped us decide, among other things...like aging parents and friends and family that live far away, that we wanted a video!!
I think our videographer did a great job, and I'm so excited to see that friends and family make an appearance in the video. I do wish more people, like Chris' extended family were captured as well, but I still think it is a good representation of our day.
Caveat: This video was supposed to be 10-15 minutes long, but I think our videographer got overwhelmed with where to cut my dad's speech and ended up leaving the whole speech in. It's about 30 minutes long.
I'm back! There are so many things I missed writing about that I found myself paralyzed with uncertainty of where to start. A vicious cycle that I'm putting an end to now! There will be some catch up involved.
So here we go---let's just jump right in! I had actually started most of this blog post about looking back on 2016 back in November, but I never finished it. So I want to highlight some important events, in order of importance!
IMPORTANT EVENTS
1. Wedding! - Chris and I finally hosted a wedding celebration with family and friends on June 25, 2016. I will have to dedicate a full post to this soon with some highlights and low-lights, but this was a huge accomplishment for us! I'm glad we did it.
2. Family visits - I got to see my family twice this year!!! It is so difficult for us to get together, but this year we managed to spend a week together in Chiang Mai, Thailand and we all came together in LA for our wedding. Chiang Mai, Thailand was also a big deal because it was Chris' first time travelling to a "developing" country and I was excited to share that experience with him. This definitely deserves a follow up post. This is me and my sister at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.
3. Politics - A lot of people said they couldn't wait for the elections to be over in 2016...but now we see comedians reminiscing about how great 2016 was. I think now that I'm in my 30s, I have a better sense of how policies can affect my day-to-day, and if not MY day-to-day, how it affects my neighbors...and how important it is to show up, be informed, read history, and to stand up for your neighbors.
4. Surgery - I've been fortunate in my life to never have had to have surgery. Last December- I had my first medical procedure that required me to be on bed-rest for 2-3 weeks. It was not a serious medical issue- I had a very large fibroid in my uterus that needed to be taken out. It was a simple out-patient surgery, but it took all day. I'm thankful to Chris who waited in the hospital all day and spent the next week or so responding to all of my requests (including...helping me sit up) with patience. I'm fully recovered now! But I do marvel in medical technology and am grateful for the thoughtful inquiries of friends and family. I'm also thankful to have a job that allows me to take 2-3 weeks off, I recognize that it is not a given in this country and not everyone has that luxury.
5. Loans - Them student loans. Last year Chris and I were at our HEIGHT of paying them loans back and we did an amazing job. They are still with me, mind you...but it is a much more manageable amount. I'm proud of what we were able to do last year! Yay team!
Aside from events, some stories, sounds, and sights I take away with me...
2016's most memorable podcasts:
I love listening to podcasts. My favorites are the ones that force me to change how I think about something or are about life lessons that we tend to forget and someone is able to miraculously present it in a simple story. Below are my favorites from this year that I keep coming back to! In no particular order:
2. The Buried Bodies Case- this one BLEW my mind away. I felt so much sympathy for the lawyer in a way that I would've never thought. I don't know what I would've done in his situation. Reminded me not to judge, for I don't know what challenges people are faced with.
3. K-Poparazzi - I loved this one because it was about modern Korea and about K-pop, which I'm not a fan of, but Chris is. I also loved it because it was a story about decency, which I feel is something we as a society value less and less these days. 4. Maurice Sendak - It wasn't until this podcast, that I grasped the extent to which Maurice Sendak's books were part of my childhood. I loved the little books he wrote about chicken soup and the alphabet. I read them over and over again when I was little. This one makes me cry. I think this is one of my favorite podcasts of all time..and I 100% agree with what he says:
"I am in love with the world...it is a blessing to get old"
5. NYC police- This year was no different from previous years in terms of disproportionate police violence against Black citizens. But this podcast helped me better understand the challenges of being part of law enforcement and I was thankful to broaden my understanding of the problems, the complexities, and those who work to solve it.
6. Yellowstone National Park - Chris and I both have a deep appreciation for nature and National Parks. We both grew up visiting them as children and one of the most memorable parks to me as a child was Yellowstone National Park. I remember seeing bison, a black bear, and those miracle geysers. Last year I put money behind my love and have finally started donating to the national parks. This is a fascinating story of how this beautiful park is being loved to death. 7. Michelle Obama's speech at the DNC- Do I need to say more? She is such an amazing orator and her incredibly talented speech writer deserves just as much credit.
8. Spanx - This is about a hardworking, resourceful, and courageous business woman! I found myself laughing, sympathizing, and being in complete awe at how amazing this person is. 9. LGBT older adults - okay, this is definitely not a favorite podcast, but it is the first time that I was a guest on a radio show and it was very exciting!! It's hard to talk on radio when you're very nervous--I also felt super self-conscious talking about LGBT older adults when I clearly am not one. In any case, I did learn that I say "umm..." too much and it made me want to practice public speaking.
Books I take with me from 2016:
My goal in 2016 was to read 10 books. Low bar right? Well...I ended up reading 2-3 books a month and rekindling my love for fiction. I don't remember all of the books I read, but have a short list of the books I sometimes find myself thinking back to:
1. Little Bee - Sometimes I really miss working in international development...and this book reminded me of how connected we all are in this world.
2. Fluries and Flories - I thought the writing was so beautiful and vivid.
3. Where'd You Go Bernadette - I couldn't put this book down, it is so funny and so thoughtful.
4. Sick in the Head - I often think back to the interview Judd Appatow does with Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller about the movie the Cable Guy. Mainly because I remember watching that as a kid and thinking this is the WORST movie ever...and then reading about the thought process these guys went through to make the movie and the after effects (momentarily ruined their careers) is fascinating to me.
5. Norwegian Wood - I haven't picked up a Murakami book since I read Kafka on the Shore...that was book was so strange so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one. I had heard such great reviews about it...and I'm still on the fence as to whether I liked the book or not, but it made me think a lot about growing up.
Music I have discovered and love this past year:
I don't proactively search out new music...but this year I really fell in love with some new sounds.
1. Oh Wonder - especially Livewire
2. Anderson Paak - especially Celebrate
3. Jon Batiste and Stay Human - I really just love his energy on the Late Show with Colbert!
Images I take with me from 2016:
I can't even describe the feeling of being up close and personal with an elephant. In Chaing Mai we visited an elephant sanctuary for the day...these gentle giants are majestic. I think this one was blind and my heart started racing and it moved closer and closer to me.
How cute are my parents?!! I miss them everyday.
That time the three of us went surfing at Venice beach...and I remember thinking...see having three wetsuits makes a lot of sense! and it was good we are all around the same size.
Nature is amazing. You can't make this shit up...Joshua Trees at Joshua Tree National Park.
Every time I walk around the beach...I'm thankful for having the opportunity to live here. This is two of my DIS friends and I riding bikes along Santa Monica in December. December! I hope this wonder and appreciation never goes away.
Overlooking Yosemite Park with my parents. They were so excited to go to Yosemite Park, the one park my dad never had a chance to go to when they lived here back in our Utah days. I think my parents loved that they weren't in charge anymore and that they just could sit back and relax and I was happy we were able to do that for them!
This weekend a few friends and I drove to Las Vegas, Nevada to canvass for Hillary. I have never canvassed before so it was a really new experience and I'm glad I made a contribution to this election.
We did three sessions--mainly just getting the vote out and asking people to vote early. They asked us not to engage or escalate any situations, and just talk to people who are registered Democrat voters about voting early and the congress and senate races. Here we are after a full day of canvassing!
Some observations:
1. Nevada and Florida have the largest number of volunteer canvassers from outside of the state. Everyone at the Hillary campaign volunteering to canvass was from California! Maybe the transient nature of Vegas explains this?
2. People were really reluctant to open the door and/or surprised that a stranger knocked at their door. I would feel the same way...we aren't used to having people knock on our door unless we know who they are. In a way, that makes me think as a society we are isolating ourselves and fear each other.
3. We take exercising our right to vote for granted. People are annoyed that we tell them about early voting polling areas or that we even bother to talk about voting. We didn't engage in convincing people, just telling them to remember to vote.
4. I met an undecided voter...I am confused as to how anyone can still be undecided.
5. This election cycle is really taking a toll on everyone's psyche--I can't wait til it is over. And I fear the politicking that may commence after the election if Hillary wins. I fear what will happen to this country if she doesn't win.
6. Young people own huge houses in Vegas---property is so cheap! We stayed with friends from ND, and they had TWO guest bedrooms!
7. Vegas at night is inspiring and exciting with all the lights! The Bellagio fountains are majestic and make you feel hopeful :) But, Vegas in the day is not so exciting.
I stumbled upon it years ago and have been following it since. Recently, I have been ignoring the weekly email updates, but as I recognize myself in a downward spiral these days (in terms of motivation), I revisited his blog for some help.
Of all his suggestions, I think these rules will help me keep motivated the most since it is all about accountability!
Make someone else pay for your failure. This is a really powerful form of motivation. Set a challenge for yourself for a month, and if you fail, then a friend agrees to have something bad happen to her or him. For example, if you don’t run three times a week for the month of January, then your friend Amit gets an ice bucket dumped on him. Or your wife has to go three days without her phone. Obviously your friends have to agree to the consequence, but you can agree to be each other’s consequence, and pick a consequence you’d be unhappy about but willing to do. This is much more powerful than if the consequence of your failure happens to you, because you really don’t want to be the cause of someone else’s misfortune.
Make someone else benefit from your success. This is just the reverse of the previous idea … if you succeed at your monthly challenge, then a friend gets to have something nice happen to him or her. This is really nice, because you will be motivated to make someone else happy.
Though I think these will be effective...I couldn't find a single sorry sap who wanted to volunteer to be rewarded or punished by my efforts. haha I guess I can't blame them.
Well... back to square one. Maybe just doing without thought is the answer.
My favorite post of Zen Habits is Breathe. and I come back to this several times a year.
At the beginning of this year, I quickly jotted down some goals for myself.
So far... one thing has been accomplished, but it is a very big thing so I don't feel so bad about being behind on the others. I'm working on the others on a more day to day basis, and figure I safely cross off goal 5. blog.
2016 goals 1. Have a wedding
2. Arrive at work by 8am (finally starting to do this)
3. Graduate to a different surfboard (summer is here!)
4. Make dinner twice a week (getting better at this) 5. Blog
6. Stay off phone at home (doing poorly here)
7. Exercise 5 times a week (doing very poorly here)
8. Do some career goal planning
9. Work on cutting down those student loans to 45K (on track!)
With only half the year left, I think I need to re-prioritize those big goals to focus.
2016 Birthday goals
1. Graduate to a different surfboard (this is going to be a reach)
2. Re-evaluate career goals and come up with a concrete plan for 2017
3. Student loan goals= 38K
4. Comfortably fit back into my black dress
a. Swim 3 times a week until December
b. Go to class at least 2 times a week until December
