I was reminded twice in the recent past that I haven't blogged in awhile and am severely overdue. I am happy to report that the dismal tone of which many of my posts were taking is now gone and I hope it doesn't return anytime soon. It wasn't so much a list that got me back on track, but it was saying 'get on with it' that eventually sunk in and gave the nudge I needed. I give most of the credit to getting up off my ass and getting my exercise and diet back to where it used to be - even better than it used to be. Ever since I was a senior in college I've had to fight black clouds overpowering my thoughts on a regular basis and I've done a lot of that management through exercise because I can't stand to be on medication. After the spiritual high of Italy, I was already on a downward slide as I came back to my real life and with that came being a couch potato, eating whatever I wanted and drinking far too much. The all out downward spiral resulted as was slightly chronicled in this blog, but to be honest, I kept a lot of it to myself with only a few people knowing how bad things were getting. To those few, I owe a big hug - I hope they know how special they are. Thanks to them and working with a trainer that showed me how to re-tool my diet, I was able to start to feel whole again. It's funny, I was wallowing in self pity for at least three months and it only took three weeks to lose almost 10 pounds and for my ego to rebound. Guess it goes to show that sometimes when you have your mind set on something, you can do good things.
So for the physical aspect of life, I've gotten a big lift. I recognize though that it probably wouldn't have happened quite so easily if I didn't have the job I do. I've talked about the flexibility it affords me, but it became very apparent as I was able to add in tennis drill sessions on Friday afternoons at lunch, workout for an hour on random afternoons with my trainer, and making meals at home that fit my new diet. The culture of the job I have now allows for those things. Granted, I pay for it by having to work later at night and on the weekends, but it's worth it to me. I'd rather have the time to screw around a bit during the week and work a few hours on the weekend then have the 9-6pm locked schedule at an office. The other factor is that I can work anywhere in the world - when I interviewed and got this job when I was over in Italy, I remember talking about how I could move to Italy if I wanted to and it wouldn't matter. While I still have no plans to move overseas, I do have plans to work from Philly while I visit my family for a week. I could go anywhere or visit anyone and as long as I have an Internet connection I don't have to take any vacation. Again, that's pretty amazing and I am hugely thankful for it.
And speaking of Italy, Lucie and I touched base via email and I passed on the news that I will not be making it over there until September. The summers get quite warm there and she highly recommends that I wait until then so that I can enjoy it. I'm going to take the opportunity to work remotely in Philly to show my boss that I can work away from home and have no issues or loss of quality with my work. The thought of being able to work at Lucie's house with the cats roaming all over the place and getting back to feeding the horses in the morning and everything else that was so magical there makes me want to get on a plane immediately. I was thinking the other night about the places that have had the most impact on me just by the air of the location. Lucie's farm is definitely one of them. I will never forget walking back from the barn from feeding the horses and looking onto the house with a thick fog enveloping it, the grass green and wet, and the chickens roaming about. I will also never forget watching the sunset at Athena'sTemple on the Greek island of Naxos. Being able to stand on that hill and watch something so beautiful with no one around will never happen again. And the last place that hugely stands out in my mind is the Black Hills in South Dakota. I haven't been back there since I was in AmeriCorps, which is a huge failing on my part, but it will always be with me as one of the most spiritual places in the US. Everyone has places that stick with them, experiences they carry with them - it reminds me of a toast a friend recently gave this past weekend at dinner. There was much more to it, but the takeaway was this: "Life is a collection of stories". We share in the experience of them, intertwine with them and connect through them. This weekend I added a huge collection of stories to my life and this coming weekend I will add another collection as my friend gets married and moves on into another phase of her life. I'm also observing my 33rd birthday, although it doesn't feel like that is coming up at all which seems appropriate this year. Maybe I just want my friend to have the spotlight for her wedding. Maybe I'm just content this year. But something feels good, something feels right. Finally.
So for the physical aspect of life, I've gotten a big lift. I recognize though that it probably wouldn't have happened quite so easily if I didn't have the job I do. I've talked about the flexibility it affords me, but it became very apparent as I was able to add in tennis drill sessions on Friday afternoons at lunch, workout for an hour on random afternoons with my trainer, and making meals at home that fit my new diet. The culture of the job I have now allows for those things. Granted, I pay for it by having to work later at night and on the weekends, but it's worth it to me. I'd rather have the time to screw around a bit during the week and work a few hours on the weekend then have the 9-6pm locked schedule at an office. The other factor is that I can work anywhere in the world - when I interviewed and got this job when I was over in Italy, I remember talking about how I could move to Italy if I wanted to and it wouldn't matter. While I still have no plans to move overseas, I do have plans to work from Philly while I visit my family for a week. I could go anywhere or visit anyone and as long as I have an Internet connection I don't have to take any vacation. Again, that's pretty amazing and I am hugely thankful for it.
And speaking of Italy, Lucie and I touched base via email and I passed on the news that I will not be making it over there until September. The summers get quite warm there and she highly recommends that I wait until then so that I can enjoy it. I'm going to take the opportunity to work remotely in Philly to show my boss that I can work away from home and have no issues or loss of quality with my work. The thought of being able to work at Lucie's house with the cats roaming all over the place and getting back to feeding the horses in the morning and everything else that was so magical there makes me want to get on a plane immediately. I was thinking the other night about the places that have had the most impact on me just by the air of the location. Lucie's farm is definitely one of them. I will never forget walking back from the barn from feeding the horses and looking onto the house with a thick fog enveloping it, the grass green and wet, and the chickens roaming about. I will also never forget watching the sunset at Athena'sTemple on the Greek island of Naxos. Being able to stand on that hill and watch something so beautiful with no one around will never happen again. And the last place that hugely stands out in my mind is the Black Hills in South Dakota. I haven't been back there since I was in AmeriCorps, which is a huge failing on my part, but it will always be with me as one of the most spiritual places in the US. Everyone has places that stick with them, experiences they carry with them - it reminds me of a toast a friend recently gave this past weekend at dinner. There was much more to it, but the takeaway was this: "Life is a collection of stories". We share in the experience of them, intertwine with them and connect through them. This weekend I added a huge collection of stories to my life and this coming weekend I will add another collection as my friend gets married and moves on into another phase of her life. I'm also observing my 33rd birthday, although it doesn't feel like that is coming up at all which seems appropriate this year. Maybe I just want my friend to have the spotlight for her wedding. Maybe I'm just content this year. But something feels good, something feels right. Finally.
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