weekend update: cassava

This post is much delayed, but I have a good excuse: in the best way possible, it’s been nonstop with the house.  So many little projects filling up all those 15-45 minute chunks of time I find during the week, and in this case weekend.  And I promise to share those with you.

For now, my weekend update… from a week ago – I was in the Bay for all of 36 hours, so I stayed in the Outer Sunset with Andyman and Anne on Thursday, and with the pops on Friday night.  The kids wanted to do a fun dinner on Thursday, so Andy and Anne took me to Cassava, a small, cozy and cute little spot in the Outer Richmond I now highly recommend, to anybody and certainly those who are gluten/wheat-free. No promises to the GF, because all I am looking to eliminate is wheat, but ordering was cinch and I wasn’t very limited.

 

i think i learned this weekend that these are hydrangeas…copycat decor in the house coming on the next post.

make my (long) day

I have a Pinterest board dedicated to images that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Today is going to be a long one as I head to Port Orchard to meet with our volunteers; one of my favorite parts of the job, but 12 hours is exhausting no matter how you look at it.  So here’s to conjuring up a few images that always make my day while I’m in the ferry line, eating lunch in the car, or rushing through emails to make it to said ferry line.

hey ladies!

Morning routine

I’m slowly figuring out how to have manhattan in my life while working in Long Island and living in dear Brooklyn. It’s been interesting. And by interesting I mean I have been actively grieving the loss of the city daily. This has led to fits of mental hysteria, answers and ideas to fix the situation ranging from quitting my job and traveling the world (ok, maybe that has to do with commitment issues more than anything), moving into the city immediately, finding the person of my dreams who happens to own a loft in SOHO (that fantasy has probably always been there) and finally, shelling out another $130 a month in transportation costs so I can easily go back and forth.

The last option is the most reasonable. It’s not even hysterical. Just expensive. All in all, I still spend less than I would if I had a car, and my body remains my form of transportation, which is key.

The point being, change is hard and I effing love manhattan. It’s funny. This is not a cool thing currently. It’s I finitely cooler than Long Island. But folks this days are so into Brooklyn. You’d think I had betrayed the early thirties posse by dreaming of manhattan.

But who cares about cool. I moved here for the city. Period. Early career moves are about dues paying. And I am dumping my chips in the bank that will one day love me into the city with a commute that only consists of walking. No subway even. I want that option.

In the meantime, viva la Long Island Railroad.

To begin again

Alright. Here we go. Gettin’ back on the horse.

Monday number two of new job. New job equaling permanent position. No year long commitment, no set graduation date, no sense of how long this era will last.

I’m not one to have a crazy travel bug, but let me tell you, this week I’ve imagine moving and it adventuring to Ireland, Paris, Switzerland (they have a palliative care fellowship there), the bay (I mean, obviously, permanent job means it is time to move home immediately), LA, escalen (my hippy nature is dying here and must be revived with a month long intensive in somatic body work). I’ve imagined all the careers I could have choosen- the ones that make more money, are mote FUN, young, creative, social, cool.

I’ve essentially spent a week indulging in not right now, not the here and now, not my daily life.

This created a crap storm of emotional distress. Woah. Wanna freak yourself out? Let your mind revel and tailspin in all the things that aren’t right now.

It’s kind of like snuggling up to this cactus. It’s a pretty plant, but you don’t want it as your cuddle buddy.

So, I spent my Sunday gathering myself. Harnessing the tools I have to keep me here now, the tools the tender attend to my life admit is today. Who the heck knows what’s gonna happen. Permanent job? No end of this era? Come on. I’m at least a little wiser than that.

It’s humbling to get smacked around by … My mind. That thing can really run rampant and like a bull in a china shop, make a mess of my experience! Trying to make permanent states out of things that will naturally evolve.

So, today we will be working with today.

Happy Monday.

do you love your job?

For the first time in years the other night, honey asked me how my day was, and I said “good”.  I didn’t sigh and talk about the things I couldn’t get done, I didn’t use the word “stressful”, and I didn’t say “I’m just always so busy”.  I had a good day.  Because finally, I love my  job again.  It’s been a few years and a lot of hard work, but I’m there.

For awhile I had been feeling like I was doing two jobs – managing a decently sized team of fundraisers and managing my own large event(s).  It was overwhelming and exhausting, but I work with very good people and for an organization doing very important work, so I stuck with it.  I pushed through too many long and isolating days and I turned down too many fun after work and weekend activities with friends.  Then, in January, we made it official and hired someone to do my “second” job.  What a difference it makes.  For everyone – maybe mostly for the people who ask me “how’s work” and no longer get an earful about how busy I am.

Don’t get me wrong – there is still plenty to do.  But it’s manageable and I feel like I have the time and brainpower to do it well.  I feel like I can finally support the team and plan for the future.  Yes… today I love my job.  And that feels really good.