London Calling?

Lately I’ve had these strong urges to move to San Francisco, back to New York City, or as in this morning’s case - London.

...uh what?!

I learned fairly quickly after moving to LA, that this isn’t where I’m meant to end up.  I’ve been okay staying here because I don’t want to spend the precious money moving all over the place in my attempt to find the place that “feels right” and I did come out here for a reason and I’m not completely sure I’ve fulfilled that just yet.  But I’ve found these urges to move somewhere else occurring more and stronger than they have in the past.

I was surprised when I woke up this morning and one of my first thoughts was “I want to move to London” while I was eating my breakfast.  I honestly had never really thought about living abroad.  Maybe this is the adventurous person in me that’s realizing I haven’t seen enough of the world or I haven’t done enough traveling.  (I’m sure my sister is nodding her head thinking I could have told you that.)  Or maybe it’s the part of me that’s itching to figure out what my next steps are and move on from my current pace.

What also surprised me was the crazy support I got for what felt like a random idea to me when I posted my sudden urge on Facebook this morning.  I wasn’t necessarily surprised by my sister’s outpour of support but everyone else’s “go for its” (especially the one from an ex-bf I haven’t heard from in over a year).

And while it was so amazing to realize how much support I have out there, it also really messed with my head and made me realize how much I really need to figure out what I want to be doing right now so that I can figure out how to do it.  There is clearly a major part of me that’s ready to move on from where and what I’m doing now.

New York City? Maybe.

San Francisco? Maybe.

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London?  Maybe.

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Somewhere else? Maybe.

Moving Tips!

There’s still a lot of unpacking that needs to be done but I definitely started to get myself settled last night but man am I exhausted!  Thankfully my legs and feet are feeling a bit better than they were at 2am when the pain radiating through my body woke me up and kept me up for awhile.  I think I have earned a massage on one of my days off coming up!

Anyway, while I’m still preparing the apartment to share with you all, I thought it would be fun to find more of the fun “moving tips” I shared yesterday.  Apparently Budget used to use these on the side of their moving trucks, though the truck I got yesterday didn’t have one. :( 

Anyway, these are super fun - enjoy!

Today is the day!

Well everyone, today is the day, the day of officially moving!  I decided to forego a truck and stuck with a Cargo van instead as I feel more comfortable driving that and hope it will save some of the moving stresses that come up.  Though while maintaining relatively calm on the outside my insides are twisting and turning with all sorts of nervous energy.

I have 2 friends helping me, Blayne and Heather, the others who said they would help are either working or on their way out of town.  Just my luck, huh?  But either way, I’ll be walking to get the truck around 10, driving it back to my apartment and then moving will begin.  It’s a Saturday, I booked last minute and apparently truck rental places want to work super short hours making you rush to move so I’ll have to drop it back off by 2!  Good thing I’ve been moving so much on my own via my car!  (And I’ll be back for the last bits with my car because I ran out of boxes...oops!)

Anyway, if I can and I’m not super busy unpacking, sleeping from exhaustion or just too lazy from the day, I’ll give you and update on how it went later.

For now - wish me luck!

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Foodie for a Day - Farmer's Market!

Better late than never, right?

It’s been a crazy day!  After a crazy busy (but still good) day at work, I hurried home and more moving work immediately ensued.  I had a few minutes before Heather joined me, so I started calling Time Warner, the Gas Co, and the electric company.  All that is done - phew! (And I get to ignore the two bills that showed up this week - yes!)  After that was done, Heather and I took over packing!  Heather started tackling my “odds and ends” then began taking over the kitchen, while I finished up my dresser and then joined her.  We packed until I was out of boxes and it was after 7 so we packed up my car with as much as could fit and moved things into the new apartment!

Then we stopped at the grocery store, jump started Blayne’s old car and made dinner.  Well, Heather made dinner.  And a delicious one at that.  And now that I think about it, I should have taken photos and used her yummy Honey Dijon Salmon w/ Asparagus for this post, but alas, I didn’t.  But it was very delicious!!

Anyway, I live in LA and one of the greatest things about SoCal are the year-round amazing Farmer’s Markets.  One of my favorite things about Wednesdays is that 1- I generally don’t have to work (though I did today) 2- Wednesday Wellness flow w/ Gigi Yogini at The Yoga Collective 3- Shopping the Santa Monica’s Farmer’s Market either before or after my yoga class.  The fresh fruits and veggies catch your attention because the colors are so bright and the aromas so enticing!  The colors are also outstanding and my iPhone 3GS camera does no justice, but I thought I’d just share some photos of the Farmer’s Market today.

the hustle and bustle and apparently my finger also made the shot...oops!

Mmmm...

My orange guy...yes, I have an orange guy! (Though I saw some that looked better the other day for cheaper so I may switch orange guys...shh!)

Herbs and mini veggie plants.  I would like to hit this up and start a veggie/herb garden on my new patio!

yum yum! green bean heaven!

...now I just need to work on my “meal planning” so I can stop wandering aimlessly around the Farmer’s Market passing up a lot of the delicious produce only because I don’t know if I would eat it before it went bad.  I’m working on this one. :)

Things are moving

Or more like I am.  My apartment + my body!

I will be hitting the hay probably earlier than I should admit tonight, but I’m tired and so are my feets! (I think I need a new pair of shoes to throw into my regular rotation but those cost money, so my feet will continue to hate me.)

The apartment move is going well so far but I am quickly approaching the time when I need to pick a date to move the furniture and rally my friends for their help and support.  That’s generally the day I dread and stress over, so for now, moving everything else slowly and by myself is working just fine.

Anyway, more music I’m loving right now: Adele’s new album, 21.  Here’s a fun video of “Someone Like You” and boy can I relate..

Another Day

Another day of work completed.  Another pile of stuff dropped at the new apartment.  Another day of breathing.

More blog posts being planned.  More thoughts being had.  More music to get through it all.

Speaking of music, I’d like to share Death Cab for Cutie’s new single “You Are a Tourist” from their recently released Codes and Keys album.  Good song, good album, somewhat strange video.

While my class doesn’t officially start until tomorrow, the week 1 assignment was posted today so I’m off to start studying.  Call me an overachiever all you want but it’s an Anatomy & Physiology class - I don’t anticipate this being easy!

So with that, enjoy the video song!

A Whirlwind..

I’ve done a terrible job following this Trust 30 Challenge (I’m sorry Justine!) but I think Justine and I share some frustrations with the writing prompts, thus making it difficult for me to make myself sit down and do it everyday.  Instead, I’ve just been saving the prompts (and jumping around), to whatever feels fitting on a day that I want to write.  With that, the prompt I chose for today was by Corbett Barr regarding what we’d say to our past and future self.

“There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in their hour.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

5 years ago:  Don’t be so hard on yourself.  Open up and let go.  Breathe.  Things may seem rough soon, but they’re really not all that bad - you’ll move on.  Just keep breathing through all of it.  It will make it go by much easier.  Keep working for your goals and your dreams and things will fall into place.  You work hard and people see that, be ready to keep working hard.  Be ready to deal with ambiguity and adjust your path as needed and continue to as time goes by.  It’s okay, you got this!

5 years from now:  Have I learned to overcome the fear of success?  Have I continued to use my breath as a guide and to let go of the stress and anxiety?  Has all of the hard work, drive and practice continued to pay off?  Have I opened up to finding and falling in love, instead of fearing that pain again?  Am I still feeling like I have no money, ever?

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On another note, yesterday marked the delivery of my first pile of stuff to the new apartment!  Since we were allowed to start moving things in early (free of charge), I decided to take advantage of that extra time and move slowly begin to move my things.  I’m not doing big car-fulls of things, but rather 5 or 6 small (and management) things every to every-other day.  Obviously, at some point I will hit the time when I need a truck and help to move the larger items, but for now, I’m trying to take it easy and not allow this move to stress me out (if I can help it).  

  

But at the same time, my to-do list is rapidly growing, remembering all the things you need to do and change when you move.  And to add to that list, class starts Monday!  It’s an online course, so it’s based on my schedule and when I have time but it will still mean more to do and a big ol’ text book to read!  (And because I’m that much of an over-achiever, I just logged into my class, got my syllabus early and my “assignment” to introduce myself to the class via the discussion board. This just got real! I’m excited but also nervous..)

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So what does my day today look like?

-Lots of coffee, music and relaxing

-Heading off to the gym for a run

-Dropping another pile of things at the new apartment

-Head to West Hollywood to see friends, chill by the pool and relax

Why am I still sitting on the computer? This day is going to be awesome and I better get to it before it flashes before me!

Hide & Seek

That's basically what I've wanted to do all day today: hide but not actually allow anyone to seek me out.  I was c.r.a.n.k.y.  It was upsetting too because as much as I tried, I couldn't snap out of it.  My morning began with a (short) nice run to warm up before lifting some weights.  My shoulders are a little sore so I'm not sure if I pulled something funny or if they're just sore.  But when I got to work, things were just not sitting well with me and I just couldn't seem to breathe through it today.  A little work in the attic and trying to avoid as much human contact/avoid those that I found extra aggravating today (this didn't entirely work), plus getting hugs from the people there who give some pretty awesome hugs and next thing I knew it was 5PM and I got to go home.  I keep going back and forth between whether I should have gone to yoga tonight or not, especially with the madness of trying to figure out my day tomorrow due to a last minute shift change but I think I'm going to do a little 20-30 min yoga/pilates personal session over here and call it night.  Maybe even pack a box so I feel like I'm making some progres (I packed 3 small boxes of books last night)!

For now, I'll leave you with another song playing constantly in my head lately: Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek"  This song is on the older side (2005 maybe?) but came back to my life lately thanks to yoga.  The video is not very good but the song is beautiful - enjoy!

I wish a title could be the sounds in my ears

Yes I'm aware this sounds weird, but my brain is so focused on the music I'm listening to, I can't seem to determine a title.  There's no words, only melodies, harmonies, instruments, sounds - beauty...this will make sense as you read on...maybe. :)

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Today was quite the productive (yet mildly overwhelming) day.  I was hoping to start my day with the gym but when my alarm went off, I decided I didn’t want to move.  I’m finding getting back into my early morning gym habit more difficult than I expected, but I’m working on it because I really do love it (and prefer it to the evenings).  Work was a bit of an overwhelming task today, for numerous reasons that I don’t really need to get into here, but I survived and left feeling good so that’s what counts, right? :)

After work (and stupid traffic), I immediately headed over to the new apartment to drop off a rather large check, sign the lease and pick up my set of keys!  After we went over everything, I decided to stay a bit longer and measure out the space.  Yes, I’m planning on mapping out my new apartment like I did my current one.  Thankfully, it won’t require quite the same mastery with furniture and use of space, but it will definitely give me a sense of where things should go while I’m slowly moving in and setting up.  I’m very excited about this process!

After I got home, I made some dinner and started looking into flights home for August and to my surprise, I found a rather decently priced flight.  I immediately called my travel agents (aka my ‘rents) for their sign off and BOOKED! 

The rest of my evening has been spent watching The Bachelorette (and yet again this series has hooked me in), mapping out my new apartment and now I’m listening to the new Bon Iver album (released today!).

Tomorrow is a well-deserved day off to be filled with fun, fitness, food and hopefully friends!  And maybe even the start of some packing?

OH! And we’re in the home stretch to the start of my Anatomy class - which is MONDAY!

When the going gets tough...

...the tough go to bed?!

Who doesn’t want to fall asleep to Bon Iver and then start their day with more Bon Iver?  All I know is it sounds amazing to me and is exactly what I’ve been doing.  (I told you I was obsessed!)

I ended up canceling my plans for last night and going to bed rather early as I was not feeling well.  I woke up still not feeling great.  It’s the downfall of working in retail and around so many people - germs!  I don’t even work on the floor anymore but it’s like once something hits one person in the store, it spreads like a wildfire!  I’m not completely taken down by whatever this is, it seems to just be in this little cold stage.  I hope this is as bad as it gets because I’m ready to be over it already.  I’d been feeling a a little off all week (waking up stuffy, feeling extra tired and lazy, etc) but thought maybe it was allergies.  Nope, it’s a cold.  And skipping my plans while upsetting, I know it was best to just get some extra rest and not push it.

Now with my day off today, I hope to continue relaxing and resting so I can get back to my usual self and gain strength and energy to prepare for this move!

I’m so excited the new roommate and I got the apartment we wanted!  We go to sign our lives away + lose our entire savings on Monday.  Okay, so that might be a bit of an over-statement but you know what I mean. ;)  Then locks get changed and we’ll be allowed to start moving in a bit early (free of charge!).  While I have until mid-July, I’m definitely planning to start moving things in early.  I plan to get all nerdy and map out my room just like I did with this apartment for the best possible layout and organization.  I’m already excited to get settled in and optimistic about the changes ahead.

Now I just need to figure out this thing called money...I’m going to be saving about $100/month on rent plus all of my utilities will be split, which will help quite a bit.  But I hate the feeling of living paycheck to paycheck and I’m over asking my ‘rents for help.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the help and their support and willingness, but I don’t feel like I should still need it.  I feel like I need to find a way to stand on my own two feet now and allow them to use their money for themselves or to fly me home to visit them. ;)

So this brings me back to my daily internal brainstorming session: How can I supplement my income?  Even just a little bit without driving myself into the ground?  I’d gladly welcome your ideas and advice...

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Rollercoaster

This is what my day looked like:

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And if you know me even a little bit, you know I don’t do rides, especially roller coasters.  (I won’t get into this now, remind me and we can dig into this little topic on another day).

The moment I walked into work today I knew something was up and as the morning progressed, things sped up rather quickly!  And not in a “where is my day going?” kind of a way; it was the “what is with today?” way.  It was not fun but it did prove to show just how much we can live in ambiguity, prove our knowledge, know our resources and learn plenty of new things at the same time.  I feared where the day was going at times but kept a positive optimistic attitude as much as I could and knew the escape of a heated yoga class would warmly (literally) close out my workday and welcome in my evening.

As I was picking up my phone from the desk about to leave (after cleaning up the managers office for Ziggy Marley - no joke, he had an event at our store tonight and I knew he’d probably end up in the office at least for a little bit), I saw I had a missed call + voicemail from my new roommate.  Hoping she was bearing news, I stood in the office listening while two of my managers tried to read my facial expressions...WE GOT THE APARTMENT!  We are now working out a time to meet with the manager to sign the lease and pay the deposit + 1st months rent so she can stop showing the unit and change the locks.  I am so hopeful and optimistic about this new place!

So I grabbed the box I saved from an order that came in to use for packing, dropped it at my car, picked up my yoga mat and headed to yoga.  I was looking forward to yoga all day so I was glad when it did not disappoint and I was physically and mentally there 100%!  We all have those days when we need yoga and we try so hard to let go, that in turn we’re trying too hard and can’t - this was NOT one of those days.  Phew!

I had debated all day if I was going to go back to the store after yoga to catch the Ziggy Marley event but after such a hard yoga class where I was seriously dripping sweat all over my mat + the floor around me (gross, I know but I was directly under one of the heaters), I decided I was too smelly, sweaty, and sticky to step anywhere near my place of work, let alone for an hour long event where I could potentially meet Ziggy Marley.  Instead I went home, made a delicious pasta dinner and then decided to bake some cookies!  I’m not sharing the recipe or any cookie pictures tonight, you’re just going to have to wait for next Wednesday (unless I decide I can’t wait until Foodie for a Day Wednesday to share)!

In the meantime, distract yourself with some pictures of the apartment I took a few days ago when I went to grab the rental application.  They’re a little dark and for that I apologize.  Once we move in and get things set up, I’ll take more pictures.

PATIO!!!!

Productivity...Excitement...Organization!

What a productive day!  Even if it wasn’t that productive, I feel like it was so I’m going to go with that. :)

Work definitely started off challenging and really continued to be for quite a bit of the day, but aside from the beginning, I was able to maintain my composure and move on with my day.  Assuming positive intent, is something I need to work on. 

I originally had plans to hit the gym after work but decided to listen to my body’s desire to just go home and I don’t regret the decision one bit.  Generally I like to make myself go, knowing that you never regret a workout but it was either go after work or go before work tomorrow and so I went with tomorrow.  It will mean waking up super early but especially after getting quite a bit done and it still being just after 9, I have no problem wrapping things up a bit and still getting to bed around 10.

The new roommate and I have agreed upon a place and now we’re just waiting to hear back from the company to confirm it’s still available and take the next steps! I’m so excited!  It also means, it’s time to prepare the letter to move out of my current place.  That will be on my agenda for tomorrow evening...

The apartment searching has had me very motivated to go through all of my stuff.  While I had laundry going this evening, I was also going through my closet, dresser and pile of shoes.  I recently went through a donated quite a bit of clothing so there wasn’t too much this time but I’m breaking away from several pairs of shoes I just don’t wear anymore.  (Note to self: you need black flats that aren’t Toms).  Seeing as I work in retail + the music industry, I’m pretty sure I can toss the majority of my “business casual” clothing that I never wear.  I would obviously keep a few because you do need them as staples for any interviews or gatherings that require such, but there’s button up shirts I don’t wear even during those times (partly due to a lack of comfort and confidence in them).  I would probably keep a couple on hand.  This is where the cheap side of me shows itself where I’m afraid to throw something out that I may “need” even though it isn’t currently serving me.  

There’s also years of papers that I’ve been moving since I was living in Boston.  The handheld shredder I bought from Target.com came in handy this weekend.  It’s also clearly a $20 product because it can’t take on the 5 pages it claims it can and the slot is only about 4” long.  It’s great for receipts but years and years of paperwork was quite the challenge to shred this weekend, but I did it anyway.

I’m so excited about the potential and possibilities of what’s ahead right now.  I’m also so proud of myself for making 2011 all about me and improving my life.  The clearer mindset and determination, is helping things fall into place.  I’m feeling super optimistic that I’m on the right path.

Now to end my evening with a little 20 minute yoga session.  Namaste.

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P.S. Does anyone know of any good dream interpretation books / websites? I had the strangest dream last night (woke up like it was a nightmare but I don't know it was.  Except I couldn't look a coworker in the face who was in it because things didn't end well for them)....

The hunt is on!

It’s only 2 and I’m already exhausted!  I started my morning bright and early (not as early as I originally planned but that’s ok).  After some breakfast and a cup of coffee, I filled up my thermos with (more) coffee, dressed in my gym clothes and out the door I went for the ever-so-fun apartment hunting.

Now, unlike most people in this world, I have always enjoyed the process of moving.  There are many stressful and far-from-fun qualities about it, not to mention the moments when you stop and realize how much this is going to cost.  But I love looking at different places and imagining how your furniture may fit into the space.  And I love starting with a fresh, clean slate (literally).  And I love the process of going through your stuff and throwing out the crap you realize you don’t need anymore.  And if things go the way I want, selling some of the things you don’t need because they’re already in your new place and therefore, not needing to move it (because it becomes the new purchasers duty to move it).  You know people, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s the little things in life. :)

I saw 5 different places this morning is just over 1.5 hrs!  Personally, I don’t think that’s too shabby.  I took notes, took pictures of some places and just wandered around gathering thoughts.  I have a favorite and I don’t want to tell you about it yet because I don’t want to jinx it.  And I’m waiting to hear from my future roommate if she can agree that this is the place.  But I’m super excited! 

It’s funny when you look at apartments and all of the different things you have to think about.  

Safety is always a big one for me, even more so when I’m living alone.  Some of the places I looked it, I would have driven past if I was looking only for myself, including my favorite.  But based on different locations and the fact there will be someone else there, gives me an added sense of security.  

And when it comes to LA, the whole “do I need to buy/move a fridge” is a huge one!  I have a fridge so the buying aspect wouldn’t be there but I don’t want to move it.  My goal is to sell it, possibly even to the building owners if they would like to make it an “added” benefit of this apartment.  

And let’s not forget laundry, because who really wants to drive (or walk) their clothes down the street to a laundromat and have to waste a few hours there while you do your laundry?  Not me, that’s for sure.  Especially after having an apartment in New Jersey with my own washer and dryer in my unit! It was ah-maze-ing!

Parking is another big one!  My goal is to get gated parking but again, this is LA and if a place can require you your own parking spot, you really just need to be happy and call it a day.

Anyway, here are some pictures of a few places I saw (including the runner-up in my opinion):