Wednesday

It's now been over a week and I have yet to update. I keep meaning to write but...what to write about?

I have been reading a lot more lately. The last 3 books were The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Ham on Rye, and now reading Gone Girl. They all have the whole "writing to my diary" vibe. It is inspiring while I am soaking in the book but afterwards I never really set time aside to write and whatever thoughts flittered through my mind are long gone.

Do I aspire to be a writer? Is that what I want? What would I write about? Could I actually develop characters and a whole plot revolving around those characters?

Perhaps I can keep this blog going for myself as practice. It'll keep me focused and into the habit of writing more often.

I always assumed that with a nice set up the words would just come to me. I remember when I first moved into a bigger bedroom, at age 15, and my eyes immediately went to the two windows facing the backyard. They were evenly divided on one side of the wall and I thought how great it would be to put a desk between them so that I could write and have the sun stream in through the windows. I imagined writing and looking up every so often to the trees and birds outside. Of course things didn't go that way.  When I was at my desk, my time was spent instant messaging friends and "surfing the web" via land line (painfully slow) or doing homework. I only attempted short stories once or twice and by now they are gone along with the old computer my dad gave away.

I still long for the perfect writing spot but if and when it ever happens I will still probably end up writing in bed in my pajamas.

wander..

Spent a couple minutes reading the very few past entries. I noticed I mentioned travel more than once. At some point I seemed very doubtful of being able to take the vacation I wanted. Having just come back from my second Europe trip makes me realize that anything is possible.

The first time I really got the urge to travel was when my brother's teacher sent him a postcard from Greece. I know it wasn't for me but I couldn't help save it. I held it in my hands knowing that this little piece of paper had started off so, so many miles away and had now made its way to me. It was exhilarating. Even know, the thought makes me smile. In my heart I knew the feeling would never go away. And so my heart broke a tiny bit because as a kid I just didn't think it would be possible. My family didn't spend money on anything extravagant and that included cable tv. So how would I ever be able to make it?

In social studies class we'd learn about mummies and the pyramids and I would dream of going to Egypt. In science our teacher would bring in sand from different beaches outside California and I would wonder what it would be like to feel the sand and sun there for myself.

I finally realize that it is true what they say; if you want it bad enough you will make it happen.

I can and will continue to dream..and to make those dreams become reality.

A little reminder to myself:

Dublin

London

Paris

Barcelona

Madrid

October days..

This past month has been filled with hot days, Saturday classes, and lots of movie watching.

 

Took a trip to the pumpkin patch and walked through a tiny corn maze.

Made a Tom Collins on a night in.

Adored the cute halloween themed Netflix envelopes.

Carved pumpkins while watching horror movies.

Left carved bat-kitten pumpkin on the front porch.

Tried for the bitten by vampire look without much success.

Picked delicious guayabas from the backyard.

Ate at my favorite vegan cafe.

Had many beautiful, quiet drives to school.

And as October comes to an end, I enjoy another warm afternoon.

6 months later..

I am horrible at this blogging thing. Still having commitment issues with it. Obviously.

I can't recall anything of major importance occurring since I last wrote.

Today would be an ordinary Friday except that I took the day off as a last hoorah before summer ends. I sit on my bed now, with laptop on my legs, feeling the breeze of a nearby fan. The only plans I have are to eat vegan takeout (probably chow-mein and fried rice from the Loving Hut), read a bit, maybe go for a walk, and meet up with the girls tonight. It is a lazy day of sorts. I do allow myself too many of these but with the heat of summer it's all I can do to not melt.

In an effort to be more productive with my life, I have signed up for fall classes. Actually, just one class. History of film. I haven't been able to not drop out of a class in a long time. Since I enjoy films so much I figured this would be the best way to get myself to stick to something. The classes are only once a week for 8 weeks on a Saturday and the it's on my favorite campus. Can't lose, right?

I know we are expected to have it all and figured out by now. But how do others do it? How do you know what your niche is?

I'll will try on as many as I need to, to find the right one. I just hope I don't spend my entire life just trying things on for size.

And so as not to leave things in a terribly depressing manner, here is a picture of Pixie blissfully sleeping on a hot afternoon.

Something I learned over the weekend? The more time I have on my hands, the less I tend to get done. I had more than enough time to do laundry, grocery shop, blog, etc. but instead I spent most of my weekend being a hermit in my room.

I also decided to switch from writing my "thankful for" things on the blog to writing them down in a notebook. It makes it much easier. I tend to think of the best ideas when I am doing the most mundane things. I wish Siri on the iphone would learn to take voice memos. It would make all those great ideas that I get on the drive home last. By the time I pull into the driveway I have forgotten my brilliant ideas and am on to thinking about what is for dinner.

Speaking of which, I should probably go make something quick to eat before I go do the laundry that I neglected over the weekend.

Just another Thursday

Today was a typical day. Work, drive home, feed the cat, use the treadmill, make a quick meal for dinner, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary happened but I still wanted to continue with the happiness exercise.

Three new things I am grateful for:

1. My family- I may have grown up as the only girl with my dad and two brothers but they helped shaped who I am today. And I will always love and appreciate them (even when they get on my nerves haha)

2. My boyfriend- I never expected to get so lucky, to have someone who is a partner, who I can count on, who respects me, and makes me smile everyday. I'm so lucky to have found my match at such a young age.

3. The scenic part of my drive home- on that short drive through the 133 I get to enjoy some greenery. Nature still exist there and never fails to make me want to open the sun roof and turn up the music.

new month. fresh start.

Resolutions don't seem to last long. Actually, much of what I start doesn't get finished. But this morning I really liked the feeling that I got when I woke up. I woke up happy and productive. I was all caught up with work stuff by 9am.

Tomorrow, I start my new work schedule of 6am to 3pm. It just adds to the feeling of getting back on track. I enjoy routine with a few dashes of spontaneity.

Ideally I would like to eat less junk, work out, blog more, read a book a month, stay organized, be nicer (more positive) and travel. I'm pretty sure I can accomplish the reading part. The book for January was One Day. This month I started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. As for the others... I am working on them. I might even try blogging every day, even when I don't have much to say.

Something else happened this afternoon. My favorite vegan food truck posted a link to a video of Shawn Achor giving a speech on the happy secret to better work. I am going to take his advice and for the next 21 days I will write down 3 new things I am grateful for each day. It starts today.

I am grateful for:
1. Books-I have no words for how much I have always loved them.
2. Pixie-adopted as a kitten and now almost 3yrs old. She makes me smile every day.
3. Living in orange county- it's a short drive to the beach, san diego, mexico, LA and the weather tends to be in the perfect mid 70s range.

I have a feeling that this happiness/grateful thing is going to look great on me. ;)