Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Thursday, August 22, 2013
new & old beginnings
I found an old blog of mine, and though I'd share a post written a year and some months ago. It's amazing how much better things can get over time.
Last June, I graduated with my undergrad in Business Administration, with an emphasis on Hospitality, and a minor in Music. About a month out of college, I was promoted to a management position at my job, at a restaurant and hotel. Lucky, right? Fresh out of school, and straight into a management position "in my field," in the middle of the recession. Everyone congratulated me. I was taken out for drinks. My dad told me how proud he is of me.
I almost turned it down.
I hated my job. But it was okay, I told myself. If I just get in another year at this place, I'll have management experience to put on my resume. It's the practical thing to do, especially considering the economy. Plus, I would gain experience. Never mind that I already knew I wanted to get as far away from hospitality as possible. Never mind that I had planned to quit and travel with my friend on the WWOOF program after summer. I could apply management experience to anything I wanted to do in the future! ...I think. And I could always travel later... right?
Three weeks ago, I put in a month's notice. Do I have another job lined up? Nope. Maybe some interviews at least? No - I'm going to go on some road trips instead. Do people look at me funny when I tell them that? Do they tell me about the job market, and make mental calculations about how spoiled I must be? Have a delightful number of my friends and family decided I am naive, ungrateful, and headed for financial ruin? Yes.
Am I happier and more excited about my life than I have been in the past year and eight months? YES.
I've been pretty good about always doing the practical thing so far in my life. I never spend too much money, and am good at saving. Previously, I quit a job I LOVED in order to have a job that didn't pay me under the table. I majored in business, not music, despite that it was obvious where my heart was. I pay my rent on time. I'm always the designated driver. I look both ways before crossing the damn street.
The most impractical thing I have done yet was to take a quarter off of school and go to west Africa to volunteer and study for four months. And I don't even have to say it - you already know what I'm going to say because it's intuitive - but here it is anyway; it was one of the best experiences of my life.
But what about the economy? How easy do you think it's going to be a job when you get done with your little excursions? Have you ever not had money to eat? I didn't think so. And you're getting paid $12 an hour plus tips? Do you know how lucky you are? Don't quit. Tough it out, it can't be that bad. This economy is terrible. And the economy's really bad. And I have I mentioned the economy? IT'S KINDA SUCKY.
I know I have been lucky. Lucky doesn't even begin to describe it. And I know the economy is dismal. But I don't want to live my life by other people's rules and perceptions. I don't want to live in fear, going through the paces of a soul-draining job when I'm only 24 years old. I'm told life is what you make it. I'm of the opinion that happiness is not something you arrive at one day, but something you must be choosing constantly. I'm young, with no family to support - this is the time for adventures.
I also think fear of the economy is one of the things that are keep people exactly where they are, thus contributing to a lack of flow in the job market, and perpetuating this economy. So, there. I'm doing my part. As I leave, one of my staff members is getting promoted to my job. And someone will be hired in her place.
It's the circle of life, dude!
And so I begin this blog with a journey in front of me. I will chronicle my adventures with travel and job searching, road trips and interviews. My budgeting schemes, and reckless abandon. So far, I just have a handful of small road trips planned, with close friends and even closer destinations. They're what you might call practical.
...
Or maybe I'll go to Thailand. That sounds like fun.
And then I did.
Last June, I graduated with my undergrad in Business Administration, with an emphasis on Hospitality, and a minor in Music. About a month out of college, I was promoted to a management position at my job, at a restaurant and hotel. Lucky, right? Fresh out of school, and straight into a management position "in my field," in the middle of the recession. Everyone congratulated me. I was taken out for drinks. My dad told me how proud he is of me.
I almost turned it down.
I hated my job. But it was okay, I told myself. If I just get in another year at this place, I'll have management experience to put on my resume. It's the practical thing to do, especially considering the economy. Plus, I would gain experience. Never mind that I already knew I wanted to get as far away from hospitality as possible. Never mind that I had planned to quit and travel with my friend on the WWOOF program after summer. I could apply management experience to anything I wanted to do in the future! ...I think. And I could always travel later... right?
Three weeks ago, I put in a month's notice. Do I have another job lined up? Nope. Maybe some interviews at least? No - I'm going to go on some road trips instead. Do people look at me funny when I tell them that? Do they tell me about the job market, and make mental calculations about how spoiled I must be? Have a delightful number of my friends and family decided I am naive, ungrateful, and headed for financial ruin? Yes.
Am I happier and more excited about my life than I have been in the past year and eight months? YES.
I've been pretty good about always doing the practical thing so far in my life. I never spend too much money, and am good at saving. Previously, I quit a job I LOVED in order to have a job that didn't pay me under the table. I majored in business, not music, despite that it was obvious where my heart was. I pay my rent on time. I'm always the designated driver. I look both ways before crossing the damn street.
The most impractical thing I have done yet was to take a quarter off of school and go to west Africa to volunteer and study for four months. And I don't even have to say it - you already know what I'm going to say because it's intuitive - but here it is anyway; it was one of the best experiences of my life.
But what about the economy? How easy do you think it's going to be a job when you get done with your little excursions? Have you ever not had money to eat? I didn't think so. And you're getting paid $12 an hour plus tips? Do you know how lucky you are? Don't quit. Tough it out, it can't be that bad. This economy is terrible. And the economy's really bad. And I have I mentioned the economy? IT'S KINDA SUCKY.
I know I have been lucky. Lucky doesn't even begin to describe it. And I know the economy is dismal. But I don't want to live my life by other people's rules and perceptions. I don't want to live in fear, going through the paces of a soul-draining job when I'm only 24 years old. I'm told life is what you make it. I'm of the opinion that happiness is not something you arrive at one day, but something you must be choosing constantly. I'm young, with no family to support - this is the time for adventures.
I also think fear of the economy is one of the things that are keep people exactly where they are, thus contributing to a lack of flow in the job market, and perpetuating this economy. So, there. I'm doing my part. As I leave, one of my staff members is getting promoted to my job. And someone will be hired in her place.
It's the circle of life, dude!
And so I begin this blog with a journey in front of me. I will chronicle my adventures with travel and job searching, road trips and interviews. My budgeting schemes, and reckless abandon. So far, I just have a handful of small road trips planned, with close friends and even closer destinations. They're what you might call practical.
...
Or maybe I'll go to Thailand. That sounds like fun.
And then I did.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Thai food & fall colors
Been inspired lately by all the fall themed clothing and smells and weather. And it's all mixed in with the day dreams I'm having more and more frequently about visiting Thailand.
Waterfalls near Chiang Mai
Stumptown Coffee - Portland, OR
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
veggie of the week: Spinach
Spinach is my favorite leafy green thing. This is probably because it was the only leafy green thing I could manage to down in large quantities (besides romaine) when my friends suddenly started ordering salads instead of burgers in high school. Suddenly, veggies weren't annoying things your parents pushed at you, they were sophisticated. Who knew?
Depsite my rough start, I taught myself to love spinach, and soon many salad staples in general.
My favorite easy-to-make salad is as follows:
- Spinach
- Dried cranberries
- Walnuts
- Raspberry vinaigrette (like Annie's)
- (Apple chunks sometimes)
There are all kinds of variations you can do on this basic recipe, like the above picture with strawberries and slivered almonds. And of course, spinach doesn't have to be confined to salads - making other stuff with it is pretty awesome too.
Reasons to love spinach:
- It is high in dietary fiber, protein, vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and a whole lot more. AKA a definite super food.
- It is 7 calories for one cup raw (natural, whole, QUALITY calories)!
- It is anti-inflammatory (kind to your stomach).
- It is linked to cancer prevention (
surprise)! - It is really yummy!
And remember to pick it up organic, as spinach is one of the infamous dirty dozen otherwise.
Happy eating!
Happy eating!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Importance of Food Quality
Wherein I rant about weight loss-related body misconceptions and food quality ignorance. You have been warned!
I was perusing my facebook today, when I came across a status that I rather liked, that basically stated "No, swimming isn't making you gain weight, eating crappy food because you think you're burning it all off is making you gain weight." I am always pleased when friends display an understanding of normally misconstrued things, like "I don't weight train because I'll look like a man," or other similar oddities. However, this inspired a friend of hers to reply the following little gem:
"Actually, you gain weight by taking in more calories in a day than your body has utilized over that same day. Quality of food makes little difference. Quantity of calories and macronutrients [are all that matter]."
...
AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
</melodrama>
Okay, let me start off by saying that yes, "burn more calories than you eat" is the basic math behind losing or gaining weight, and I don't disagree with that, but to imply that it doesn't matter where these calories come from is the same logic that makes Americans decide that a "100 calorie pack" of processed mini-cookies is somehow a better choice than the 200 "fatty" calories from an avocado. It's not. Okay, time for a quick lesson.
A calorie is not a thing floating around in your food, that makes you fat. It is the measurement for a unit of energy, or more accurately for food, potential energy. That means your food is capable of creating that much energy when it's being broken down by your body, but it might not. The way your body absorbs and metabolizes different types of food (and other non-foods that are often thrown into processed food) and converts them to energy (or fat) is affected greatly by the health of your digestive system, how dehydrated you are, what else you've eaten lately, genetics, your hormone balance, and many other factors, which means every body interprets food energy a little differently. The calorie, as related to food labels, is more subjective than we'd like to think. On top of this, the way we burn that energy is also affected by all the above things, plus body composition, gender, even the temperature of the room. And we haven't even started talking about how the actual food affects everything on top of that.
Toxins and man-made ingredients in food have been shown to associated with many illnesses and diseases that would certainly help to bring metabolisms to a screeching halt and encourage weight gain. Processed food is continually working against you, because it is engineered (genetically or other wise) to be addicting. Companies want you to eat more than you should (yes, even the ones that proclaim to want to help you lose weight). By eating real food, you avoid additives that affect your chemical balance, hormones, and metabolism for the worse, and tend to intake far more vitamins and minerals (MICROnutrients) that help with weight loss. Not to mention organic foods have more vitamins and nutrients in the first place.
Yes, it certainly matters a lot for weight loss how much you eat, but "calories in minus calories out" is merely a starting place at best (I say "at best" because it would actually be more helpful to start by eating healthy, organic, whole food, all day everyday, and if that doesn't help you lose weight, THEN start calorie-counting on top of that). There are a great many reasons for this, but the main one is that eating healthy foods from the earth (not "diet/health foods" from the food industry) makes your body healthy, and healthy bodies have higher metabolisms, more efficient digestive systems, less sickness, and more energy (which makes you more likely to exercise). All of this leads to natural, sustainable weightloss.
Never mind that being healthy should probably be the main point in the first place. Geesh.
Alright. I feel better, and a little like this character:
I was perusing my facebook today, when I came across a status that I rather liked, that basically stated "No, swimming isn't making you gain weight, eating crappy food because you think you're burning it all off is making you gain weight." I am always pleased when friends display an understanding of normally misconstrued things, like "I don't weight train because I'll look like a man," or other similar oddities. However, this inspired a friend of hers to reply the following little gem:
"Actually, you gain weight by taking in more calories in a day than your body has utilized over that same day. Quality of food makes little difference. Quantity of calories and macronutrients [are all that matter]."
...
AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
</melodrama>
Okay, let me start off by saying that yes, "burn more calories than you eat" is the basic math behind losing or gaining weight, and I don't disagree with that, but to imply that it doesn't matter where these calories come from is the same logic that makes Americans decide that a "100 calorie pack" of processed mini-cookies is somehow a better choice than the 200 "fatty" calories from an avocado. It's not. Okay, time for a quick lesson.
A calorie is not a thing floating around in your food, that makes you fat. It is the measurement for a unit of energy, or more accurately for food, potential energy. That means your food is capable of creating that much energy when it's being broken down by your body, but it might not. The way your body absorbs and metabolizes different types of food (and other non-foods that are often thrown into processed food) and converts them to energy (or fat) is affected greatly by the health of your digestive system, how dehydrated you are, what else you've eaten lately, genetics, your hormone balance, and many other factors, which means every body interprets food energy a little differently. The calorie, as related to food labels, is more subjective than we'd like to think. On top of this, the way we burn that energy is also affected by all the above things, plus body composition, gender, even the temperature of the room. And we haven't even started talking about how the actual food affects everything on top of that.
Toxins and man-made ingredients in food have been shown to associated with many illnesses and diseases that would certainly help to bring metabolisms to a screeching halt and encourage weight gain. Processed food is continually working against you, because it is engineered (genetically or other wise) to be addicting. Companies want you to eat more than you should (yes, even the ones that proclaim to want to help you lose weight). By eating real food, you avoid additives that affect your chemical balance, hormones, and metabolism for the worse, and tend to intake far more vitamins and minerals (MICROnutrients) that help with weight loss. Not to mention organic foods have more vitamins and nutrients in the first place.
Yes, it certainly matters a lot for weight loss how much you eat, but "calories in minus calories out" is merely a starting place at best (I say "at best" because it would actually be more helpful to start by eating healthy, organic, whole food, all day everyday, and if that doesn't help you lose weight, THEN start calorie-counting on top of that). There are a great many reasons for this, but the main one is that eating healthy foods from the earth (not "diet/health foods" from the food industry) makes your body healthy, and healthy bodies have higher metabolisms, more efficient digestive systems, less sickness, and more energy (which makes you more likely to exercise). All of this leads to natural, sustainable weightloss.
Never mind that being healthy should probably be the main point in the first place. Geesh.
Alright. I feel better, and a little like this character:
And of course, I'll close by mentioning that I am not a professional and this is largely my (researched) college kid opinion. And, for the best book in the world on all of this, from someone much more educated about all of this than myself, read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. I wish everyone in the world would read that book. It's about respect for natural food, eating for a lot more reasons that having "good nutrition," and some of the fallacies of current nutrition science.
Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programing! Next up: veggie of the week.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Run, run, run
I've been running off and on for about six years. I really can't say I'm any better at it than when I started, but I still love it. My body was not built for running, so I'm proud of what it manages to do anyway.
I love the strength in my calves, and the slimming of my thighs that happens if I do it consistently enough. I love the feeling of flying down a hill. I love the slowly increasing endurance and even the slightly sick feeling in my stomach when I'm pushing myself just outside of my comfort zone. I love the feeling of power.
I love the endorphins ;)
Mostly I love it as a component of taking care of myself. Going to try to alternate running and the elliptical at the gym as my sources of cardio. Oh, and I almost forgot.
I love the challenge of it.
Some of my favorite running resources/articles
Map My Run - Your best friend for running outside and tracking mileage
Runner's World - Lots of good articles and magazine-style entertainment
Sustainable Running - A cool interview about making a difference while running
Photo credits: sportsyndicator.com, nationalgeographic.com, treckearth.com
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
solstice
Yoga celebrators in NY
Fremont parade rocks it, Seattle
Solstice bike fest, Ontario
Still enjoying the sunshine on the west coast. Celebrating with a sun dress and a mojito later. Solstice is such a good time to reflect on life's gifts and dance in the sun. I'm so thankful for this beautiful place I live in.
Bought some organizational bags today that I love - I'll post about them later. Also got off of work and cleaned my room to pristine conditions this evening. I now have two and half garbage bags full of clothes I need to thrift, and I still feel like I have too much. Starting a period of simplicity. I'm hoping that will get rid of the feeling of eternal clutter I seem to have developed over the years. Spring and summer cleaning.
Happy summer days.
Photo credits: washington post, tumblr, seattle pi, stonehengetours.wordpress.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)