This week, I finally finished Luke, the 15 year old yellow Lab. The lady who commissioned me to draw him, loved it. Feels good to have this monkey off my back. :)
Charlie bought me new roller blades for Valentines Day. Finally, no more old school clunkers. I bought myself a new MP3 player as well. Profit sharing checks come out on Valentines Day every year. It is like Christmas all over again.
Still no word on the new job. It hasnt even been posted yet. And believe me, when it does finally post, I will write all about it.
Still working on getting up early...not much luck yet. Going to try to go to bed earlier tonight. I am hoping it will get easier. Just hoping. Sigh.
Well, it seems like much has happened in a week. I might be changing jobs. Nope. Not from being a flight attendant, but from being an instructor. There is an opening to work in the Regulatory and Compliance department. I would be writing and updating the flight attendant manual. That part might not be so exciting but the part of investigating accidents and incidents on the airplane would be. It would be a 12 month pull. So basically, I remain a flight attendant, but I will be working in an office. I would learn tenfold. And I would get weekends and holidays off. Weekends and holidays. I just love the sound of that. And if they cutback on jobs, they will always need a person to write manuals. (That is, if that big merger happens...but of course, it is not.)
So I am going to apply. They announced the position today. This also means, I would also be giving up teaching. That part will be tough to let go. And I will be giving up the photography job. That was never a guarantee though...and that would only be for a couple of months. So this changes the name of the game. Should I still join toastmasters to learn public speaking? I will not be dealing with people anymore...so is this still worth pursuing?
This will be something to think about.
The job is supposed to start March 1. So if I get the job, I will know something soon. I will keep you posted. What ever will be will be.
Well. I have not wanted to write in the blog because I have not been proud of the fact I have not finished anything I have started. Maybe it was just too much too fast? My 30 day trial of waking up early lasted 3 days. My self portrait project also needs to be restarted. But hey, at least I am keeping with this goal of writing in my blog at least once a week. :)
So I should focus on the positives. I have been juicing at least 6 times last week. It has definitely given me more energy. Now I know why spinach made Popeye so strong. But I find that familiar side of me becoming bored with this project already. I am going to research some different combinations. I would like to overcome this part of my personality.
I also ran at least 3 times last week. I have signed up for the March 8th Bayou City 10k run. It has been a rusty beginning since the half marathon but I am sure I will be up to speed in no time. I have given up sweets for Lent, and that has been also been a tough one. The cravings have been horrendous and I hope they start to fade away. Charlie is doing it with me so that is helping me more than he will ever know.
What have I learned so far in the first 11 days of this month? I am not going to change overnight. I tell Charlie, my motto is from that song from Chumbawamba, "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never going to keep me down!"
I am going to treat the getting up early like a baseball team on a winning streak. My goal will be to make the winning streak 30 days. Now this might take all year, but I am going to do this so I can cross it off my list.
I have been doing some more reading too. I would like to highlight the biggest points I have learned.
Sing on the top of your lungs when you are alone in your car. It makes your voice stronger.
There is a man in Alburquerque who lives on under $4,000 a year comfortably. I found the article interesting and inspiring (although I would never follow his extreme, I admire his self discipline.)
Too much time is spent time looking at the grass in other people's lawns that we dont see the diamond mine in our own yards. (From Earl Nightengale: Take the Lead)
I missed teaching. I am glad to be back. I am still shaking off the cobwebs though. I learned today, people will say to my face they dont like me because I am a mean. (I did not let people cheat on their testing.) I shall not take this personal. It's just business and I will not take it to heart. That was my challenge of the day and probably will be for the month.
Ok. So I failed on the first day. I was supposed to wake up at 5:15 am. I did not wake up until 6:15am. But I have some pretty good excuses lined up. Ready to hear me out?
We went to the birthday party of our friend Brandon this weekend in Austin. We sang karaoke until the wee hours of the morning. I went to bed close to 4am. It was a blast! My voice was hoarse all day Sunday. Does this mean I can cross this goal off my list? I am undecided, because it is easy to sing in front of friends....but strangers? That is a different story. Maybe I should just modify that goal...
The GIANTS. Need I say more? I was so pumped up last night. It took me awhile to calm down and go to bed. Best Superbowl game ever for me! It was so awesome. And the fact we won $450 in our football pool is gravy...just gravy. :)
Okay, so maybe I only have 2 excuses. But damn it! They are big ones! I was just a wee bit sleep deprived. Not the best time to start this trial, but nevertheless, I still tried. So, here is the new plan. I woke up at 6:15am this morning. Tomorrow, I will wake up 15 minutes earlier, 6:00am. And then 15 minutes earlier the next day...and so forth, until I can get to 5:15am. And that is when the 30 days will begin. Baby steps to victory! Who is with me?!
Oh, and if you have been wondering about the self portrait project, I am still going strong. I just need to upload those. I will get to them soon. Promise.
This month flew by, no? I did not get called out today. Whew. I got to spend another day at home. Today was a free day. Charlie and I went to see the movie Juno. I really liked it. Not a typical, selfish, "Oh, I am preggers, whoa is me!" kind of movie. You gotta go see it. Then Charlie and I spent about an hour at the half price bookstore. I took my old unused books to sell and they gave me $24.50! That felt so good. But then I turned around and bought $12.00 worth of books. One book is called 52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity and Streamlining Your Life. I definitely have a book addiction. But at least I applied one of my 101 goals of selling at least 5 books, before I buy one. I get a pat on the back for that one.
I walked the dogs. The wind was alive today. Roaring through the trees. Literally. I love walking through the greenbelt this time of year. There is something about not hearing the roar of all the air conditioners on the entire block. There is a stillness in the woods that is endearing. And when the wind blows, there is an aliveness I cant explain.
I did some grocery shopping tonight and I bought all the fruits and veggies for my juicer. Why oh why am I semi-scared to try it? Part of me fears I am going to hate it. I really want to eat healthier though. So I must do this. As I am checking out, I stare at the computer screen and watch the price pop up at every bleep. Bananas. Cilantro. Spinach. Yes, I am mesmerized. Until I see my blueberries pop up at 2 for 10 bucks. Yes, you read that correctly. I freeze. I think to myself, should I be one of those annoying people in line that say, "WHOOAAAA, that is not the price of those blueberries....can we have price check on those blueberries!" And as I say this, people give me evil eyes in line behind me. But man, if I don't speak up, I will sacrifice a big fat 10 dollar bill. I decide to split the difference. I go to the shopping bag, and pull out one of the containers of berries and tell the lady to take one off because I did not know they were so much. And of course, she does the dreaded price check BUT as a result she changes the price of the blueberries to $1.50 each (as I originally saw them). And what do you know? It was not the end of the world AND I did not see any dreaded evil eyes behind me. In fact, the eyeballs were quite busy checking out those tabloids. Thank God for Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie. I am so happy I spoke up.
Wow, I cant believe a week has gone by. I wanted to write tomorrow instead but to keep to my goal of writing in this blog at least once a week, I am committing to doing it now. Although most of my week was spent flying, I do have some highlights to post. Charlie and I had a really nice dinner at Phuong and Jason's on Saturday. They had invited other guests and we really had much in common. They were really into movies and had the same dry sense of humor that Charlie and I appreciate. Phuong cooked a wonderful meal. She really is amazing hostess, no matter what she says.
Sunday, I was off to Portland, but then I was in bed with the worst headache. I slept most of the day. I bet you are wondering, what happened to my self portrait project. I had to start all over. I was sick for a week and hated the pictures I took. I never thought sick could look so scary. I need to get over that and move on with it. Being sick is just part of real life.
On Monday night, I was sent to Phoenix. They put us in a hotel downtown and the Superbowl craziness had already begun. The convention center across the street was holding a media convention and there were media peeps everywhere.
I have family that lives pretty close to the airport in Phoenix and I gave them a call, worried that it was too much trouble for them for such a short layover but of course, I worried for nothing. My Uncle came out, picked me up, and I had such a wonderful time. I thought my cousins would be too grown up to want to hang out with me but was I ever wrong. We ate pizza, looked at photos, played video guitar, and colored with crayons. Time just flew by. They are such a beautiful family.
Now I am home. Still on call for tomorrow though. I did not get called out today and I was able to do quite a bit around the house. I am hoping I get the same opportunity tomorrow. Mom, Charlie and I went out to eat tonight at a yummy Italian restaurant. I made a monthly plan of menus for February, so I thought we could splurge just one more night. I got my juicer ready to go, and I am starting to get psyched for my early wake up calls. I have decided the date I will begin my 30 day trial of getting up early is February 4th. And I am almost pretty sure it will be 5:30am. Oh, and I will post some new pictures tomorrow. Oh and one more thing...I registered Charlie and I for the half marathon next year. Yes, it is official, we are doing it again. :)
So here it is! Charlie and I running across the finish line at the half marathon. Actually, it is more like hobbling! Charlie is wearing a white and gray baseball cap and I am wearing a black sweatband.Check us out! You will see us about 20 seconds into the video.
Okay, so I have been doing a lot of reading on eating more fruits and veggies. Writing back and forth to my friend Alyssa about the benefits of cutting back on animal products. And lo and behold, what do I see on TV today but a special on Montel Williams on the importance of eating fruits and veggies. Is that not a collaboration of the universe leading me in the right direction or what? But do I listen to the messages? Well..sort of. I have brought a bag of fruit with me on this 3 day trip I have started. But then on the otherhand, I just ate some amazing BBQ next door to the hotel in New Orleans. I am a work in progress. When I get home, I am dusting the cobwebs off my dad's old juicer. And although, it is a slow start,there will always be room for improvement. So one might wonder, where is all this coming from? It is another book I have been reading called "Eat to Live" which is not about becoming a vegetarian per se, but about eating foods with a high nutrition density. So far, it has been very inspiring and it has me eating better as a result of it.
So I am on this easy trip. Tomorrow is supposed to be a hard day, but really, it wont be tough with the loads so light. I am to go MSY-EWR-IAH-SAT with a short short night in SAT. Now I know why my friend Phuong (another flight attendant) calls me all stressed out of all these airline mergers. Because it is the favorite topic among crews. We had a maintenance delay and that was the favorite topic of discussion. It drives me nuts because everything is speculation. SPECULATION PEOPLE! But oh, everyone seems to want to torture each other with the ideas of what can happen and how miserable we will be. That said, I did actually hear of some combinations I like. So at least if it is going to happen, I am going to focus my energies on the best case scenarios and not the worse case ones. Ask me in person about these combinations if you are interested, so I dont reveal these secrets to any airline spies. (wink-wink)
Oh so the cold I had became worse. I was so miserable the next few days. But I feel much better today. Good thing my colds only last 2-3 days. I dont have the patience for them to go much longer. We were able to go to the Foo Fighters last night. Oh my GOSH! Amazing show. The lead singer really knows how to put on a show. Little ole me, with my short attention span, if I dont recognize a song, I am off in la-la land. But not with this guy, he had my attention front and center, even with songs I had never heard of. We were in the Toyota Center arena (which does not have the best sound construction) but even that did not seem to matter. The stage stretched across the entire floor and the lead singer of Foo Fighters made those in the rafters (which is where we were sitting) feel as if they had front row seats. I loved it! Even feeling under the weather...I had such a great time! If they come to a city near you, you wont be sorry if you go. It was worth every penny. And it was funny how relaxed the night was. I was scheduled to work so we did not buy tickets. Luckily I landed at about 6:30PM. On the way home from Charlie picking me up from the airport, we decided to go straight there, buy tickets at the door and avoided the $25.00 convenience charge by doing so. We got there right on time since the show started at 8 and ended at 12. Everything went perfectly and we had a blast. Needless to say, we were very happy campers. It was a very good night.
