ever since i woke up on january 1, 2011, i have felt a change a'coming. i have no idea what it will be nor when it will come, but i feel ready for it.
going to new york inspired me to get my arse in gear to get out into the world again and find something else to to for a little while. to not be afraid to leave the comforts of my home town again and to explore a little more, knowing that there is a whole lot of awesome to come home to anytime i choose. the beauty of an economy fuelled by a commodity-driven industry that is on the up once again, i suppose.
i cleaned out my closets, giving away a bunch of stuff and consigning some others (wherein i chose not to consign my clothes at one shop because they give all the unsold merchandise to an 'orphanage in africa' and couldn't answer me which of the 50+ countries they were referring to nor why they made the orphanage pay for the shipping of the clothes to their magical unnamable part of the continent). i updated my vaccines, passing out in the process, so that if i feed the urge to up and leave to a yellow feverish place, i will be covered (in fact, the reason i am up right now, even though it is midnight and i have a week full of early morning and it is the day of the year that daylight savings kicks your ass is because i forgot i have to take a live typhoid vaccine on an empty stomach and well, my stomach is not empty.
i have also decided to give up impatience and self doubt for lent. yes, i know this is not in the typical spirit of lent, but i needed a time frame and well, it was conveniently timely (is saying conveniently timely redundant??). i am reminding myself that everything has worked out thus far and will continue to do so, in a time frame that is never going to end or stop and as i have always said, there is no finish line and the whole success is not a destination thing (i think you can find some lame quote from me on the interwebs about that, actually).
i am trying to remember that an opportunity will come my way. no sense in worrying or fretting that time is passing me by (I AM GETTING OLDER, OH MY GOD, I AM BEHIND... you get the idea). if the past two years are any indication, opportunities find me and i do my best to put myself right in their path as best i can. i feel as though i have done that now and so now i just wait.
but waiting is not so bad. last week i braved the -20* temperatures and went to the joshua radin, cary brothers, laura jansen show and it was amazing. as i said on twitter, it made me want to fall in love and break up again and again. well, not really, but they sure did make it sound poetic and romantic and wonderful and heart wrenching. and a concert at the former silver dollar action centre? not so bad, especially if you like a little greasy pizza with your handsome singer/songwriters.
i followed that up with so many pints, breakfasts, coffees, and dinners with so many inspiring, intelligent, and hilarious people this past week that i was pleasantly reminded that i am surrounded by a community of people and i have a few greatest fans out there, which is always a nice boost to the confidence.
oh, and i ate at boxwood, which was a chorizon/polenta delight, had breakfast at wake in kensington, where they brew a strong cup of coffee and make mean eggs benedict, and had a perfectly poured latte at vendome cafe. so if you are in the city, go try those newcomers to the ever expanding culinary/coffeehouse scene around these parts.
Showing posts with label nyc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nyc. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, March 07, 2011
ready for this
apart from a really kick ass trip to an amazing city, my visit to new york was actually for another reason entirely and i just appended my own fun to the end of a 5 day training session. as these things often do, it certainly had its ups and its downs, but my overall impression was a positive one and i felt that i walked away with practical skills and a pocket full of contacts that could potentially be helpful for future professional gigs.
i prepared myself before going that i would likely be the odd one out, the one who is not currently based 'in the field' and who doesn't have scathes of emergency experience, but has been selected just like everyone else to attend. surprisingly, this didn't feel like an impediment throughout the time and i am not sure if that was because i was ready for it, i am more confident now than when i was last in one of these situations, or the other participants and facilitators weren't dickheads. i think it was a little from columns a, b and c.
the best part of it all was that at a few different points, i thought to myself, i can do this. and not only can i do this, i think i could do it well. as someone who regularly battles with self doubt, internal criticisms, obsessive thinking, and anxiety, this was good, very good.
the best part of the entire experience was a few days after it finished and i was wandering my way around new york city (rather than long island, where we had been holed up for the training), when i got an email telling me that i was an asset to the training and asking if i was interested in potential positions that could come up. with a resounding yes, i politely responded and there was a little back and forth. i suspect it all comes down to waiting on funding, but i was happy to be considered after what felt like a 5 day job interview. i guess i passed.
but. of course there is a but! but, now i haven't head for a few weeks and i am terrified that all this momentum is going to come to a screeching halt and i will be Stuck. with a capital S. and that is the terrifying part. i have spent the better part of the past 2 years rebuilding, settling and repairing. and now i am ready to head back out into the big, bad world.
last year i thought that i wasn't strong enough or interested enough or something enough to start again in a new city or a new country alone. for a long time, i had in my head that i would only ever being doing that with someone. well, that someone isn't around and hasn't been for a few years now, but it took me awhile to feel strong enough and excited enough to uproot again and start a new job and build a new life in a new place. and now that i feel that i am there, i am scared that an opportunity is not going to come my way. i will keep applying for things that interest me, but the anxiety is creeping in.
and this after i had some serious conversations with myself about what i would be giving up if i left calgary now. the stability, the money, the closeness with my family, the familiarity, the nest... and although i am still not sure how i would manage all that change, i feel like i would figure it out. but now i just need the opportunity to allow me the chance to figure it out.
eesh.
and there you have it, interwebs, that is what has been on my mind for the past few weeks since returning from new york. i needed a shake up, but i am also feeling impatient and just want to get on with things now that i have made a decision. so, universe, are you listening?
i prepared myself before going that i would likely be the odd one out, the one who is not currently based 'in the field' and who doesn't have scathes of emergency experience, but has been selected just like everyone else to attend. surprisingly, this didn't feel like an impediment throughout the time and i am not sure if that was because i was ready for it, i am more confident now than when i was last in one of these situations, or the other participants and facilitators weren't dickheads. i think it was a little from columns a, b and c.
the best part of it all was that at a few different points, i thought to myself, i can do this. and not only can i do this, i think i could do it well. as someone who regularly battles with self doubt, internal criticisms, obsessive thinking, and anxiety, this was good, very good.
the best part of the entire experience was a few days after it finished and i was wandering my way around new york city (rather than long island, where we had been holed up for the training), when i got an email telling me that i was an asset to the training and asking if i was interested in potential positions that could come up. with a resounding yes, i politely responded and there was a little back and forth. i suspect it all comes down to waiting on funding, but i was happy to be considered after what felt like a 5 day job interview. i guess i passed.
but. of course there is a but! but, now i haven't head for a few weeks and i am terrified that all this momentum is going to come to a screeching halt and i will be Stuck. with a capital S. and that is the terrifying part. i have spent the better part of the past 2 years rebuilding, settling and repairing. and now i am ready to head back out into the big, bad world.
last year i thought that i wasn't strong enough or interested enough or something enough to start again in a new city or a new country alone. for a long time, i had in my head that i would only ever being doing that with someone. well, that someone isn't around and hasn't been for a few years now, but it took me awhile to feel strong enough and excited enough to uproot again and start a new job and build a new life in a new place. and now that i feel that i am there, i am scared that an opportunity is not going to come my way. i will keep applying for things that interest me, but the anxiety is creeping in.
and this after i had some serious conversations with myself about what i would be giving up if i left calgary now. the stability, the money, the closeness with my family, the familiarity, the nest... and although i am still not sure how i would manage all that change, i feel like i would figure it out. but now i just need the opportunity to allow me the chance to figure it out.
eesh.
and there you have it, interwebs, that is what has been on my mind for the past few weeks since returning from new york. i needed a shake up, but i am also feeling impatient and just want to get on with things now that i have made a decision. so, universe, are you listening?
a nyc success
hello internet!
yes, i am still around and apparently still have a blog. i have been spending a lot of my internetting time on twitter lately, so if you haven't already found me there, go on and do it now. it feels a bit like the lazy person's blog, but i also sort of love it, especially as i had been on a bit of a soap box with all my sharing links and it is a great platform for that.
let's get back to that trip i took to new york city though. and how amazing it was. i felt quite at home in a way, in a city where it seems everyone belongs, which i hadn't felt in some time. and i just enjoyed it. the along time to sit and think and walk and think and just be and think was much needed.
it was a little chilly for me, but i managed to bundle up and hit the pavement. i did a few touristy things that i suppose someone out there would say that you 'have to do' like thetop of the rock, which was over priced, but did offer a good view of the city at sunset. one of my favourite things was the greenwich village food tour operated by foods of new york. not only delicious, but really interesting and well worth the money. i also went on a walking tour with the lower east side history project, also fascinating. and it all was made more relevant because, like the dork i am, i was reading the historical fiction creatively titled new york that covered the various periods of the city and historical events that shaped the city and its communities. a good historical account of the city, if not a little long.
i also had the opportunity to meet up with friends and friends (and in one case, an ex girlfriend of a friend) and although it could have felt like an awkward blind date, each of the three women i met up with for a day of sightseeing and photo-adventuring, coffee in midtown, or dinner and drinks in the village were absolutely delightful. it was with these awesome canadians abroad that i rode the staten island ferry to see the statue of liberty (she's so tiny!), got the perspective of a student and a lawyer working in the city, and ate at the most delightful french bistro whose name i have forgotten, but really wanted to link so i will try and recall it in the coming days and update this.
new york is certainly a place that i could imagine living one day and one that was not nearly as intimidating as i had thought it would be. i even made friends with an eye doctor and his staff as we bonded over the edmonton oilers (even though i am decidedly not a fan and he certainly is) and got a brand new pair of specs that just arrived in the mail last week.
my apologies for the disjointed post, but i wanted to have some sort of documentation that i in fact did go to new york, did love it, and can't wait to go back.
and here i had hoped blogger would've made it easier to upload and format photos, sheesh. they are all over the place!
yes, i am still around and apparently still have a blog. i have been spending a lot of my internetting time on twitter lately, so if you haven't already found me there, go on and do it now. it feels a bit like the lazy person's blog, but i also sort of love it, especially as i had been on a bit of a soap box with all my sharing links and it is a great platform for that.
let's get back to that trip i took to new york city though. and how amazing it was. i felt quite at home in a way, in a city where it seems everyone belongs, which i hadn't felt in some time. and i just enjoyed it. the along time to sit and think and walk and think and just be and think was much needed.
it was a little chilly for me, but i managed to bundle up and hit the pavement. i did a few touristy things that i suppose someone out there would say that you 'have to do' like thetop of the rock, which was over priced, but did offer a good view of the city at sunset. one of my favourite things was the greenwich village food tour operated by foods of new york. not only delicious, but really interesting and well worth the money. i also went on a walking tour with the lower east side history project, also fascinating. and it all was made more relevant because, like the dork i am, i was reading the historical fiction creatively titled new york that covered the various periods of the city and historical events that shaped the city and its communities. a good historical account of the city, if not a little long.
i also had the opportunity to meet up with friends and friends (and in one case, an ex girlfriend of a friend) and although it could have felt like an awkward blind date, each of the three women i met up with for a day of sightseeing and photo-adventuring, coffee in midtown, or dinner and drinks in the village were absolutely delightful. it was with these awesome canadians abroad that i rode the staten island ferry to see the statue of liberty (she's so tiny!), got the perspective of a student and a lawyer working in the city, and ate at the most delightful french bistro whose name i have forgotten, but really wanted to link so i will try and recall it in the coming days and update this.
new york is certainly a place that i could imagine living one day and one that was not nearly as intimidating as i had thought it would be. i even made friends with an eye doctor and his staff as we bonded over the edmonton oilers (even though i am decidedly not a fan and he certainly is) and got a brand new pair of specs that just arrived in the mail last week.
and here i had hoped blogger would've made it easier to upload and format photos, sheesh. they are all over the place!
Sunday, February 06, 2011
stuck in chicago
but hopefully not for long!
just a little weather delay, i hope.
one of my biggest irritations about canadians is their belief that they can somehow speak really derogatorily about americans as though we are inherently better by the simple fact that we are not americans. it is lame and goes against all that we like to pride ourselves on as canadians.
but. but, i have been at the chicago airport for only a few hours and i am already finding myself want to assert my canadian-ness. either by being overly polite or enunciating my words or refraining from overusing the word 'like' in conversation.
i am not quite sure why. i hope it is not coming from the same place that allows canadians to get smug and self righteous.
and a real shame that i couldn't have planned with this delay in mind because they i could've wandered out of security and visited one of my favourite chicago residents!
just a little weather delay, i hope.
one of my biggest irritations about canadians is their belief that they can somehow speak really derogatorily about americans as though we are inherently better by the simple fact that we are not americans. it is lame and goes against all that we like to pride ourselves on as canadians.
but. but, i have been at the chicago airport for only a few hours and i am already finding myself want to assert my canadian-ness. either by being overly polite or enunciating my words or refraining from overusing the word 'like' in conversation.
i am not quite sure why. i hope it is not coming from the same place that allows canadians to get smug and self righteous.
and a real shame that i couldn't have planned with this delay in mind because they i could've wandered out of security and visited one of my favourite chicago residents!
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
29 + 12 = 30!
i made it! survived 2010, a sometimes trying year, and my 29th year. i warmly welcomed my 3rd decade with a wonderful birthday with deliveries of flowers and cupcakes, hilarious ecards, wonderful presents, and well wishes from across canada and the united states, ireland, georgia, kenya, south africa, the philippines, australia, the uk, italy, thailand, mexico, bermuda, africa's newest country of south sudan, japan, france, and afghanistan!
and here is how my 9 for 29 goals shaped up (or, in a few cases, shipped out!):
1 - conquer my anxiety, or at least win a few battles against it. this last month of 29 has left me feeling content and calm, not normally my modus operandi, and at peace with my future. part of that has come from knowing i get to go to new york next week for more un speak and potential career connections. i certainly have had some down days, but overall, i feel as though i am entering my 30s in a much more solid place in terms of anxiety and stronger than recent years in my 20s. exciting and reassuring. but as i have said all year, this battle might be won, but there will be a constant war against anxiety in my world.
2 - be more thoughtful of others, especially around special occasions. i can't really remember the motivation behind setting this goal, but i feel as though i managed ok. i am not sure that i improved much on previous years, but i maintained my thoughtfulness and tried to observe special events and occasions of those around me.
interestingly, i find this much more difficult now that there are so many ways to communicate with your friends, family, and acquaintances and more places to store information. i used to have 1 daytimer and a phone that received calls. now i carry a blackberry, an iphone, AND a daytimer and i need to streamline this whole system so that i know when people's birthdays are without having to rely on facebook to tell me.
3 - continue making visiting family and friends a priority. this year, i got to visit a friend in vietnam, my dad on vancouver island twice, and many friends and near-family in south africa. i had intended on doing more travelling within north america, but the cost and timing didn't work out during 29. i STILL have washington dc and chicago on my travel list and am hoping to get to at least one of those in the coming year. i will get to see some old friends from my nairobi days while i am in new york next week and that should be lovely.
4 - nail down some sort of short-term career goals. remember what i said last month? yes, that 2011 will be the Year of Direction! i hadn't done a lot of work to get to the bottom of this goal in the last year. i did a lot of thinking and a lot of worrying and even a little daydreaming over the past year, but not a lot of the work that i think will be necessary to help me to get to where i want to be. or figure out where i want to be. that might be a better place to start.
5 - lay a nest egg to accompany my nest. the nest egg is there. but it is more like a robin's egg when i wish it was an ostrich egg. i think that as long as i stay in calgary, this will be moved higher on my list of priorities. as life planning goes, this is one of those elements that needs to be there so that i can do whatever it is that i want to do (once i figure that bit out...).
i am not bad with money per se, i am just still unsure of how much money i should be spending on my house, on entertainment, on food, on travelling, on savings, on investments...
but i have a new(ish) friend who is a financial planner and i might hit him up for some advice or business once i am back from new york.
6 - eat more balanced, regular meals. i don't know what has happened to me over the past few weeks, but i have been a human garbage can, eating cheeseburgers, chips, pizza, chocolate, and ever other bad thing within my reach. i am not normally a compulsive eater, but i can't seem to stop once i get started (typically in the evenings) and nothing satisfied me.
i hadn't been cooking, but i am back on that train and have brought out the slow cooker and my newest addition to my kitchen, a kichenaid food processor (that did nick my finger during its installation on my counter resulting in a lot of blood).
throughout the year, i fluctuated between eating really regular and healthy meals to forgetting to eat until 4pm or munching on crap late into the night. this will likely always be the case, but man does it feel gross if my eating habits are not in order (like now).
7 - sleep an appropriate amount. there were some weeks there in the fall that i could have slept for hours and hours and right through the morning, but lately i have been getting by on less sleep and that is probably a good thing. mostly because i have actually been getting out of bed when my alarm goes off and waking up relatively rested and ready for the day.
part of what makes it easier not to sleep and sleep and sleep is not being on any anti-anxiety medication, which makes me rather sleepy (although i do still miss the technicolour dreams) and being busy, which means that i don't have the option of hitting snooze (well, more than twice) and have to get my arse out of my bed.
one thing that i do notice is that if i haven't started the week with sufficient sleep, i play catch up all week and never feel as though i am well rested until friday night where i am useless and just want to put pyjamas on and sit beside the fireplace.
8 - maintain my priorities. perhaps one of the challenges of this goal was that i never officially stated my priorities, but i do think i made sure that when i was becoming overwhelmed with one job or the other, that i took a step back and did something for myself. one area that i feel as though i should've made a stronger effort to prioritise was physical fitness and running. after my half marathon training ended last spring, i ran a little bit here and a little bit there, but without any specific goals or program. i like the fact that after a few weeks without running, i can hammer out a 10km run without much difficulty, but i know i need to replace running (or something physical) back in my list of priorities moving forward.
9 - keep asking for what i want. i did a really good job of this during 29. when i wanted something, i asked for it. most often, i got what i asked for, and the times that i didn't didn't turn out so bad either. i am heading to new york next week because i asked for something and i have already asked a few people there to meet with me to explore opportunities and chat about life in new york.
i started my 30th year with a job offer in my inbox (but sadly, i do not speak the francaise, which i really should get back on one of these days...) an even though that wasn't a suitable post for me, i do feel as though that once i figure out what i want, i will certainly be asking for it!
***
i am not sure if i will draft goals for my 30th year. if i do, i want them to be more specific so that i can use them to stay on track rather than recap what i have been up to and see if it fits. i think goals are important, but i do thin that to make them effective and useful, i really should spend quality time unpacking what it is that i want and how that would translate into goals for the coming year.
work in progress, i tell ya!
and here is how my 9 for 29 goals shaped up (or, in a few cases, shipped out!):
1 - conquer my anxiety, or at least win a few battles against it. this last month of 29 has left me feeling content and calm, not normally my modus operandi, and at peace with my future. part of that has come from knowing i get to go to new york next week for more un speak and potential career connections. i certainly have had some down days, but overall, i feel as though i am entering my 30s in a much more solid place in terms of anxiety and stronger than recent years in my 20s. exciting and reassuring. but as i have said all year, this battle might be won, but there will be a constant war against anxiety in my world.
2 - be more thoughtful of others, especially around special occasions. i can't really remember the motivation behind setting this goal, but i feel as though i managed ok. i am not sure that i improved much on previous years, but i maintained my thoughtfulness and tried to observe special events and occasions of those around me.
interestingly, i find this much more difficult now that there are so many ways to communicate with your friends, family, and acquaintances and more places to store information. i used to have 1 daytimer and a phone that received calls. now i carry a blackberry, an iphone, AND a daytimer and i need to streamline this whole system so that i know when people's birthdays are without having to rely on facebook to tell me.
3 - continue making visiting family and friends a priority. this year, i got to visit a friend in vietnam, my dad on vancouver island twice, and many friends and near-family in south africa. i had intended on doing more travelling within north america, but the cost and timing didn't work out during 29. i STILL have washington dc and chicago on my travel list and am hoping to get to at least one of those in the coming year. i will get to see some old friends from my nairobi days while i am in new york next week and that should be lovely.
4 - nail down some sort of short-term career goals. remember what i said last month? yes, that 2011 will be the Year of Direction! i hadn't done a lot of work to get to the bottom of this goal in the last year. i did a lot of thinking and a lot of worrying and even a little daydreaming over the past year, but not a lot of the work that i think will be necessary to help me to get to where i want to be. or figure out where i want to be. that might be a better place to start.
5 - lay a nest egg to accompany my nest. the nest egg is there. but it is more like a robin's egg when i wish it was an ostrich egg. i think that as long as i stay in calgary, this will be moved higher on my list of priorities. as life planning goes, this is one of those elements that needs to be there so that i can do whatever it is that i want to do (once i figure that bit out...).
i am not bad with money per se, i am just still unsure of how much money i should be spending on my house, on entertainment, on food, on travelling, on savings, on investments...
but i have a new(ish) friend who is a financial planner and i might hit him up for some advice or business once i am back from new york.
6 - eat more balanced, regular meals. i don't know what has happened to me over the past few weeks, but i have been a human garbage can, eating cheeseburgers, chips, pizza, chocolate, and ever other bad thing within my reach. i am not normally a compulsive eater, but i can't seem to stop once i get started (typically in the evenings) and nothing satisfied me.
i hadn't been cooking, but i am back on that train and have brought out the slow cooker and my newest addition to my kitchen, a kichenaid food processor (that did nick my finger during its installation on my counter resulting in a lot of blood).
throughout the year, i fluctuated between eating really regular and healthy meals to forgetting to eat until 4pm or munching on crap late into the night. this will likely always be the case, but man does it feel gross if my eating habits are not in order (like now).
7 - sleep an appropriate amount. there were some weeks there in the fall that i could have slept for hours and hours and right through the morning, but lately i have been getting by on less sleep and that is probably a good thing. mostly because i have actually been getting out of bed when my alarm goes off and waking up relatively rested and ready for the day.
part of what makes it easier not to sleep and sleep and sleep is not being on any anti-anxiety medication, which makes me rather sleepy (although i do still miss the technicolour dreams) and being busy, which means that i don't have the option of hitting snooze (well, more than twice) and have to get my arse out of my bed.
one thing that i do notice is that if i haven't started the week with sufficient sleep, i play catch up all week and never feel as though i am well rested until friday night where i am useless and just want to put pyjamas on and sit beside the fireplace.
8 - maintain my priorities. perhaps one of the challenges of this goal was that i never officially stated my priorities, but i do think i made sure that when i was becoming overwhelmed with one job or the other, that i took a step back and did something for myself. one area that i feel as though i should've made a stronger effort to prioritise was physical fitness and running. after my half marathon training ended last spring, i ran a little bit here and a little bit there, but without any specific goals or program. i like the fact that after a few weeks without running, i can hammer out a 10km run without much difficulty, but i know i need to replace running (or something physical) back in my list of priorities moving forward.
9 - keep asking for what i want. i did a really good job of this during 29. when i wanted something, i asked for it. most often, i got what i asked for, and the times that i didn't didn't turn out so bad either. i am heading to new york next week because i asked for something and i have already asked a few people there to meet with me to explore opportunities and chat about life in new york.
i started my 30th year with a job offer in my inbox (but sadly, i do not speak the francaise, which i really should get back on one of these days...) an even though that wasn't a suitable post for me, i do feel as though that once i figure out what i want, i will certainly be asking for it!
***
i am not sure if i will draft goals for my 30th year. if i do, i want them to be more specific so that i can use them to stay on track rather than recap what i have been up to and see if it fits. i think goals are important, but i do thin that to make them effective and useful, i really should spend quality time unpacking what it is that i want and how that would translate into goals for the coming year.
work in progress, i tell ya!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
new york recommendations, please!
i have been negligent in my trip planning, which is rather unlike me as i typically spend more time planning for a trip than actually on a trip. call it a hobby, if you will.
and now i am need of a) a place to stay in about the ~$100/night range that offers a fantastic location, good atmosphere, the opportunity to meet people, and enough space that my 5'2" frame can sleep comfortably. b) ideas on places to eat that are absolutely delicious, not particularly fancy or expensive, but just tasty. c) your thoughts on what attractions/sights/museums/events that are not worth my time/money/energy.
for instance, if you were going to travel to san francisco on your own i would offer you the following advice:
a) stay at the mosser where you might have to share a bathroom, but the rates are completely manageable, and the location is ideal.
b) i would insist that you go to the ferry building martketplace and sample the delicious fish tacos at taylor's automatic refresher (which, a google search tells me has been rebranded as gott's roadside, but i would still insist you eat there because its owners are the same), have a pannacotta at miette, and a cup of coffee at blue bottle coffee. i would also suggest grabbing a newspaper and hitting the neighbourhood of north beach to savour something on a cafe's brunch menu while you people watch. and i would also suggest going to knob hill for a cappuccino and to poke around the boutiques. eat anything mexican, mexican sounding or otherwise latino in mission and make a stop at tropisueno for more authentic mexican food.
c) i would suggest that you make fisherman's wharf your last stop and fit it in only if you need to kill some time, do alcatraz if you really love prisons, self guided tours, or really chilly boat rides, and give the bridge a miss unless you need to see the thing up close.
how do you feel about new york city? i have 5 days to bust a move about town after spending a week on long island holed up in a conference facility, no where to stay, no itinerary as yet, and a whole lot of scarves to wear to keep warm during february.
and now i am need of a) a place to stay in about the ~$100/night range that offers a fantastic location, good atmosphere, the opportunity to meet people, and enough space that my 5'2" frame can sleep comfortably. b) ideas on places to eat that are absolutely delicious, not particularly fancy or expensive, but just tasty. c) your thoughts on what attractions/sights/museums/events that are not worth my time/money/energy.
for instance, if you were going to travel to san francisco on your own i would offer you the following advice:
a) stay at the mosser where you might have to share a bathroom, but the rates are completely manageable, and the location is ideal.
b) i would insist that you go to the ferry building martketplace and sample the delicious fish tacos at taylor's automatic refresher (which, a google search tells me has been rebranded as gott's roadside, but i would still insist you eat there because its owners are the same), have a pannacotta at miette, and a cup of coffee at blue bottle coffee. i would also suggest grabbing a newspaper and hitting the neighbourhood of north beach to savour something on a cafe's brunch menu while you people watch. and i would also suggest going to knob hill for a cappuccino and to poke around the boutiques. eat anything mexican, mexican sounding or otherwise latino in mission and make a stop at tropisueno for more authentic mexican food.
c) i would suggest that you make fisherman's wharf your last stop and fit it in only if you need to kill some time, do alcatraz if you really love prisons, self guided tours, or really chilly boat rides, and give the bridge a miss unless you need to see the thing up close.
how do you feel about new york city? i have 5 days to bust a move about town after spending a week on long island holed up in a conference facility, no where to stay, no itinerary as yet, and a whole lot of scarves to wear to keep warm during february.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
a little stuffed, but doing well otherwise
how was 2011 been for you?
i have only one thing to complain about so far. and it is this damn cold that i can't seem to shake. it began in my sinuses, moved to my chest before christmas where it stole my voice and turned me into someone who sounded like they'd worked in a smoking lounge for 30 years, and now it is back to my sinuses and my head. maybe it is a new cold (not sure how exactly this medical science thing works when it comes to cold viruses) or if it just won't leave, but it sure is frustrating. a lot of sneezing, a lot of congestion, and not a lot of drainage.
other than this damn cold, i am enjoying 2011 so far. i woke up on new years morning with an email saying that i have been selected to attend training in new york city on gender based violence programming and coordination in emergencies and i am really looking forward to learning more about the field, meeting some interesting people, and exploring the big apple for the first time.
and, as always, i am hoping that some sort oracle emerges to tell me what i should doing with my life, where i should live, and what i want to be when i grow up. hopefully this training and this trip will help me do that. but the idea that i have something on the professional and personal agenda is enough to tie me over at the moment
oh yeah, and it will also be a good way to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday!
i have only one thing to complain about so far. and it is this damn cold that i can't seem to shake. it began in my sinuses, moved to my chest before christmas where it stole my voice and turned me into someone who sounded like they'd worked in a smoking lounge for 30 years, and now it is back to my sinuses and my head. maybe it is a new cold (not sure how exactly this medical science thing works when it comes to cold viruses) or if it just won't leave, but it sure is frustrating. a lot of sneezing, a lot of congestion, and not a lot of drainage.
other than this damn cold, i am enjoying 2011 so far. i woke up on new years morning with an email saying that i have been selected to attend training in new york city on gender based violence programming and coordination in emergencies and i am really looking forward to learning more about the field, meeting some interesting people, and exploring the big apple for the first time.
and, as always, i am hoping that some sort oracle emerges to tell me what i should doing with my life, where i should live, and what i want to be when i grow up. hopefully this training and this trip will help me do that. but the idea that i have something on the professional and personal agenda is enough to tie me over at the moment
oh yeah, and it will also be a good way to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday!
Friday, January 07, 2011
today at work
here are some of the things that happened today at work (x2) that make me love my jobs:
- my boss and i figured out the percentage of time that humans have been capable of rational thought and then came up with a tonne of examples on how we screwed ourselves over by evolving (never underestimate having a boss that has also studied evolutionary psychology)
- my boss also saw me at work, dressed in skinny jeans rolled up with chuck taylors and asked where my skateboard was. then my colleague (and friend) had to educate him in current fashion and the term 'hipster.'
- i found out that i can access twitter at work! this is great as i think that i am addicted. i used to think it was simply a way for people to tell the world they just took a whiz (and for some, it likely is), but i already feel incredibly connected and have been referred to a number of great resources and links.
- i was approached by another volunteer, bringing my total up to 98 volunteers. (this is not necessarily one of the reasons that i love my job, in fact it makes it exponentially more difficult and less rewarding the more volunteers i collect, but demonstrates i am doing something right, i suppose).
- two of my favourite volunteers invited me out for dinner and drinks tomorrow. and although that might appear like a slight conflict of interest, i am confident it is not. i trust it will be a great.
- i am getting a whack of american dollars at the current wicked exchange rate for my upcoming trip to... new york city!!! (yes, i got the spot on the training! and i suppose that the cash is not a result of my job, but a good friend's job so i am throwing it in here).
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