wyoming photos posted!
[June 28, 2009 at 11:30am]
i’ve been spending the weekend melting in the apartment with this over 90 degree weather. we had a nice bicycle ride around to return library books and grab ice cream yesterday. it definitely feels like summer around here! the heat is a bit embarrassing since i’m trying to read more and i keep falling asleep on top of the pages… it also makes it harder not to scratch all of my mosquito bites!
now i can say that i've seen a moose
[June 26, 2009 at 05:53pm]
we’re back from yellowstone and into life’s grooves again. i love vacation, but there is also something kind of wonderful about returning home, especially after flight delays and meat and potatoes kind of food.
webb and meredith had a beautiful wedding in the tetons. i loved that it rained because it just made it more interesting and special that we all sat out there with the raindrops to see their vows. it’s all about the memories, isn’t it? we stayed in a small cabin with the coldest floor on earth. i had to force myself to muster up the will to walk outside and use the shared bathroom when it was early morning and late night. it was pretty cold in general from the start of the weekend, even hailing at times. leith and i had a nice half-day hike in jenny lake where we boated across the lake, hiked up a mountain and even saw moose close up! we started out with blue skies and ended up soaking wet and stepping through parts of snow towards the end of it. that teton weather can be pretty unpredictable.
the following day, we trucked back into jackson to pick up my mom, sister and jon jay for a few days in yellowstone. we had cold weather the first day and even hiked over some snow banks the next day, but our vacation ended with warm weather. the biggest drawback was the food in the park, which was a bummer. if i had to do it over again, we probably would have bought provisions to see what we could make throughout our stay. xanterra has pretty bad food and we didn’t have a great dining experience until our last night at the roosevelt lodge. my family did some reluctant hiking, but i think all in all, we all had fun. i definitely underestimated the wildlife, and it was such a good surprise to see so many bison (hundreds!), elk (tens!) and we even saw a couple bears and coyotes off the side of the road. it was a great experience to enjoy nature for a few days and disconnect from the internet and television.
i’ll try and post pictures soon - i’m waiting on my sister, who took the bulk of the family ones!
webb and meredith had a beautiful wedding in the tetons. i loved that it rained because it just made it more interesting and special that we all sat out there with the raindrops to see their vows. it’s all about the memories, isn’t it? we stayed in a small cabin with the coldest floor on earth. i had to force myself to muster up the will to walk outside and use the shared bathroom when it was early morning and late night. it was pretty cold in general from the start of the weekend, even hailing at times. leith and i had a nice half-day hike in jenny lake where we boated across the lake, hiked up a mountain and even saw moose close up! we started out with blue skies and ended up soaking wet and stepping through parts of snow towards the end of it. that teton weather can be pretty unpredictable.
the following day, we trucked back into jackson to pick up my mom, sister and jon jay for a few days in yellowstone. we had cold weather the first day and even hiked over some snow banks the next day, but our vacation ended with warm weather. the biggest drawback was the food in the park, which was a bummer. if i had to do it over again, we probably would have bought provisions to see what we could make throughout our stay. xanterra has pretty bad food and we didn’t have a great dining experience until our last night at the roosevelt lodge. my family did some reluctant hiking, but i think all in all, we all had fun. i definitely underestimated the wildlife, and it was such a good surprise to see so many bison (hundreds!), elk (tens!) and we even saw a couple bears and coyotes off the side of the road. it was a great experience to enjoy nature for a few days and disconnect from the internet and television.
i’ll try and post pictures soon - i’m waiting on my sister, who took the bulk of the family ones!
i’ve been working on the railroad
[June 08, 2009 at 07:04am]
yep, so since vacation it has been non-stop work for me. this past week has meant more than 10 hour days, but i feel pretty good about where i’ve set my boundaries. i’m not working on weekends anymore, which actually keeps me less stressed and focused/motivated during the week. plus, i’m not bringing any work home. i used to do this a lot and most of the time, i wouldn’t have time to get to it anyways. i mean, if i get home at 7:30 or so and eat dinner, by the time i get into work mode, i’ve moved onto TV or reading. all i did was take out the guilt factor for not getting to work. so all this means is that i’m a lot less stressed overall.
the main bad impact on my life is that i’m not exercising, aside from my weekly yoga class. i’m willing to deal with that for a couple weeks, especially since i have lots of hiking coming up for our yellowstone vacation soon.
leith and i have been so lucky lately, because we’ve seen so many good movies randomly. we’re always checking DVDs out from the library, but i’m used to getting more misses. some highlights from this week were Up (in 3-D of course!), snowcake and then she found me. they’ve all been touching stories with unique perspectives. Up was the saddest cartoon i’ve ever seen, and it was refreshing to see a main character that was another race without being caricaturized. snowcake was just such a wonderful story about autism, acceptance and loneliness - it’s one of the most honest movies i’ve ever seen. and ‘then she found me’ was such a fun romantic story with a lot of witty remarks and an all-star cast. ah, movies help with everyday escape, don’t they?
the main bad impact on my life is that i’m not exercising, aside from my weekly yoga class. i’m willing to deal with that for a couple weeks, especially since i have lots of hiking coming up for our yellowstone vacation soon.
leith and i have been so lucky lately, because we’ve seen so many good movies randomly. we’re always checking DVDs out from the library, but i’m used to getting more misses. some highlights from this week were Up (in 3-D of course!), snowcake and then she found me. they’ve all been touching stories with unique perspectives. Up was the saddest cartoon i’ve ever seen, and it was refreshing to see a main character that was another race without being caricaturized. snowcake was just such a wonderful story about autism, acceptance and loneliness - it’s one of the most honest movies i’ve ever seen. and ‘then she found me’ was such a fun romantic story with a lot of witty remarks and an all-star cast. ah, movies help with everyday escape, don’t they?
back from sydney!
[May 13, 2009 at 09:31pm]
our visit to australia was truly a vacation. we only checked our e-mail briefly, walked hours a day, ate in delicious cafes and such and went hang gliding. sydneysiders are such warm, friendly folks and we experienced their generosity time and time again. we’ll miss the trains and that beautiful autumn weather!
25%
[April 26, 2009 at 10:05am]
2.5 out of 10 people is 25%. for some reason, it took me almost a full week to realize that that’s the percentage cutback we took in our department. i’ve mostly been processing the loss of people and friends, but when you step back and look at the numbers (and that we aren’t having 25% less work, but in fact more..) it’s a little appalling. so we did finally experience layoffs over here. in a way, it’s a blessing because we don’t have to agonize over when and who each day we come in, but i won’t lie that there’s still a lot of emotion involved and this unknown in terms of how the work itself is going to get done. i have a lot of questions and frustrations organizationally about who and why, but i’m just trying to get past that, since what’s done is done. yuck.
so now you know why you haven’t been hearing from me…
in other news, unfortunately it turns out that i have high blood pressure. it might be stress-related, or perhaps genetic, but i feel way too young to be having this problem. i went through the list of risk factors, and my conclusion is that i’m mostly doing the right things, but for some reason, i’m going to have to work harder. so from the things i can control, here’s what i’m trying to do:
drink green tea instead of black tea at work
wii fit twice a week
make an effort not to skip my monday yoga class
check sodium levels in food - particularly in the prepared vegetarian entrees we turn to
run or some other cardio activity once a week (in addition to bicycling every day)
do not take work home
anyways, i hope those efforts make a big difference, because i have another checkup in a month and i hope to see some improvements. i’d like to get a clean bill of health. my dentist appointment was a success this week, so at least i’m scoring well in one area. :)
my good news is that we’re heading to sydney on friday. i truly can barely contain my excitement. with all the stress at work and months of piles of work (notice a trend here…), i’m in dire need of rest, exploration and a little adventure. we leave late friday night for australia, and after 14 hours in a plane, i’ll be down under for about 9 days! i’ve been planning a good trip with lots of outdoorsy stuff, performances, delicious food, and hopefully a little hang gliding if weather conditions are good - that should get me out of my comfort zone. so to get me through the week, i’ll be focusing on vacation daydreams!
so now you know why you haven’t been hearing from me…
in other news, unfortunately it turns out that i have high blood pressure. it might be stress-related, or perhaps genetic, but i feel way too young to be having this problem. i went through the list of risk factors, and my conclusion is that i’m mostly doing the right things, but for some reason, i’m going to have to work harder. so from the things i can control, here’s what i’m trying to do:
drink green tea instead of black tea at work
wii fit twice a week
make an effort not to skip my monday yoga class
check sodium levels in food - particularly in the prepared vegetarian entrees we turn to
run or some other cardio activity once a week (in addition to bicycling every day)
do not take work home
anyways, i hope those efforts make a big difference, because i have another checkup in a month and i hope to see some improvements. i’d like to get a clean bill of health. my dentist appointment was a success this week, so at least i’m scoring well in one area. :)
my good news is that we’re heading to sydney on friday. i truly can barely contain my excitement. with all the stress at work and months of piles of work (notice a trend here…), i’m in dire need of rest, exploration and a little adventure. we leave late friday night for australia, and after 14 hours in a plane, i’ll be down under for about 9 days! i’ve been planning a good trip with lots of outdoorsy stuff, performances, delicious food, and hopefully a little hang gliding if weather conditions are good - that should get me out of my comfort zone. so to get me through the week, i’ll be focusing on vacation daydreams!
raising my morale
[March 16, 2009 at 11:20am]
this month has been a total learning process in terms of morale for me. at work, i tend to be motivated the majority of time, staying late for focusing on projects and what needs to get done, not just putting in the 40 hours for the job. with budget cuts, depressed departments around and the anxiety in our building with upcoming layoffs in the next couple of months, it’s changed the atmosphere. i’ve been pretty surprised at myself even, to experience this feeling and trying to redirect energy into work and getting things done. it’s kind of like most days become those days where you wake up and it’s cold outside of the bed, so you just linger until you talk yourself into getting up. oh well.
in other news, i’m trying to be a bit more regular with exercise. the nice weather means that i’m back to biking to work every day. also, i’m more consistent with wii fit. saturday it was beautiful out and leith and i went hiking at castle rock state park. i think it’s been my favorite california hike so far. it was chilly, but we walked about 5 miles and the scenery is so varied with mountain views, walking along a stream and in some places, even climbing over boulders in your path. it’s a bit of a drive, but we had such a good time, i’m sure that we’ll return some time. leith even convinced me to go jogging yesterday (mostly walking, but some jogging did happen), so i feel proud about that too.
the only things i tend to be slacking off on are:
wedding planning
reading (it’s taking me forever to finish stegner!)
australia planning
my puzzle
i still have plenty of time for all of these things, but my mom likes to remind me how i’m behind on planning leisure activities, so they are at the forefront of my mind…
in other news, i’m trying to be a bit more regular with exercise. the nice weather means that i’m back to biking to work every day. also, i’m more consistent with wii fit. saturday it was beautiful out and leith and i went hiking at castle rock state park. i think it’s been my favorite california hike so far. it was chilly, but we walked about 5 miles and the scenery is so varied with mountain views, walking along a stream and in some places, even climbing over boulders in your path. it’s a bit of a drive, but we had such a good time, i’m sure that we’ll return some time. leith even convinced me to go jogging yesterday (mostly walking, but some jogging did happen), so i feel proud about that too.
the only things i tend to be slacking off on are:
wedding planning
reading (it’s taking me forever to finish stegner!)
australia planning
my puzzle
i still have plenty of time for all of these things, but my mom likes to remind me how i’m behind on planning leisure activities, so they are at the forefront of my mind…
worst blogger ever
[March 12, 2009 at 04:26pm]
i love march because the rain has stopped and it means it’s time for film festivals. we saw a few movies at cinequest and the asian film festival is fast approaching, so i’ll be busy with those. i’m hoping the weather stays beautiful and we can get outside and go hiking this weekend.
the sound on our television went out, which is a bummer. we could buy a new one or send it in for repairs for a long time, which is probably what we’ll do. in the meantime, we’ve connected leith’s computer speakers, which is working, since we have our homemade DVR. thank goodness for that! the only impediment is that we don’t have sound for the wii, which has made it really funny when we play wiifit - you really don’t realize how much the exercises depend on rhythm and sound until you try going without it.
some exciting news this week, leith and mike are in the stanford magazine, for the money they received from SSE ventures. it’s good to get a little publicity for diffbot, so that’s nice. they’ve been working so hard lately and i hope the news gets them some more traffic and progress forward.
we’ve been hitting up the library a lot lately. i’m reading wallace stegner’s "angle of repose," which i’m enjoying. plus, we’re completely addicted to the office and season 3 awaits us at the library right now, so we can keep plugging along.
that’s just a quick update, but i’ll try to stay on top of this site, lest i become another one of those young text messaging type people that only connect through twitter… oh what a bad fate that would be!
busy bee
[February 10, 2009 at 10:33pm]
let’s see. i should be packing since i won’t get home until late tomorrow and thursday morning i’m off to hawaii. but for 2 weeks, i’ve been feeling guilty for not posting on my blog, so here i go. (somehow updating my facebook status seems 10 times easier, but less fulfilling.) at least i have time to cover the highlights of my life lately.
i’ve been doing a lot of planning lately. it seems like this is an obvious thing, but i feel like i’m doing it more than usual. take this week - i’m only working mon-wed, but i have 5-6 meetings each day. right now i’m probably doing about 10 hour days at work and i did take lunch each day. since i’m leading some of those meetings and there’s transition time, i actually have to build in time to make sure i’m ready for meetings and get some work done in between. i guess i’ve had to be more strategic with my schedule, just so my life will progress.
aside from that, i’m feeling very fulfilled at work. morale is low with the economy, but in general, my projects are going well, i feel like my team dynamics in different areas are solid and there’s a lot on the horizon. since i’ve been spending so much in the office, this sense of fulfillment can only be good.
i wish it would stop raining. it’s good for nature, but i’d like to ride my bike more to work. i was glad for the sun to come out today so i didn’t have to think about parking. it’s my favorite type of weather when it’s sunny and crisp cool outside.
long lunches rock. there are days when i don’t leave the building, but when i meet up with friends outside of my normal line of work, it can be the best use of that hour - to get away, decompress and just get into some good conversation.
i’m SO excited about going to hawaii this week (in 2 days!!!) my mom and i are heading out there for a little vacation and to check out a few houses as potential wedding venues. i’m looking for a good backyard, lots of room for friends and family and a place that feels like a getaway.
speaking of that, wedding planning is becoming a little hobby for me. i’m not spending a ton of time on it, but i just check things out every now and then and it’s pretty fun. my favorite part of it? connecting with friends and family for ideas and thinking about spending so much time with loved ones in a great setting.
reading. it’s kind of fallen by the wayside and i’m hoping the long plane ride will give it a kick in the pants. i think the research going into yellowstone, australia, the wedding and hawaii moved me off of reading for pleasure and i need to get back on track. i’m still amazed at what a wonderful resource the library is…if only they let you check out puzzles it would be the most perfect place!
i am obsessed with earl grey tea. i am just flying through the boxes and i can’t get enough of it. i think i had my first cup in my twenties and i’m definitely a lifer.
speaking of obsessions, leith and i have been playing a ton of mario kart, which is one of the best video games. i’m trying to be more consistent with wii fit and i think when i can balance my workday a little better i can be more successful with it. if i’m still biking to work i would feel less guilty… the good thing is that leith and i have tried to eat at home more and we’ve been pretty good at it. i want to save our restaurant experiences for groups and fun dates so that they are treats instead of conveniences.
so there you have it - my life in stream-of-consciousness form. i hope it was worth catching up on me.
aloha!
i’ve been doing a lot of planning lately. it seems like this is an obvious thing, but i feel like i’m doing it more than usual. take this week - i’m only working mon-wed, but i have 5-6 meetings each day. right now i’m probably doing about 10 hour days at work and i did take lunch each day. since i’m leading some of those meetings and there’s transition time, i actually have to build in time to make sure i’m ready for meetings and get some work done in between. i guess i’ve had to be more strategic with my schedule, just so my life will progress.
aside from that, i’m feeling very fulfilled at work. morale is low with the economy, but in general, my projects are going well, i feel like my team dynamics in different areas are solid and there’s a lot on the horizon. since i’ve been spending so much in the office, this sense of fulfillment can only be good.
i wish it would stop raining. it’s good for nature, but i’d like to ride my bike more to work. i was glad for the sun to come out today so i didn’t have to think about parking. it’s my favorite type of weather when it’s sunny and crisp cool outside.
long lunches rock. there are days when i don’t leave the building, but when i meet up with friends outside of my normal line of work, it can be the best use of that hour - to get away, decompress and just get into some good conversation.
i’m SO excited about going to hawaii this week (in 2 days!!!) my mom and i are heading out there for a little vacation and to check out a few houses as potential wedding venues. i’m looking for a good backyard, lots of room for friends and family and a place that feels like a getaway.
speaking of that, wedding planning is becoming a little hobby for me. i’m not spending a ton of time on it, but i just check things out every now and then and it’s pretty fun. my favorite part of it? connecting with friends and family for ideas and thinking about spending so much time with loved ones in a great setting.
reading. it’s kind of fallen by the wayside and i’m hoping the long plane ride will give it a kick in the pants. i think the research going into yellowstone, australia, the wedding and hawaii moved me off of reading for pleasure and i need to get back on track. i’m still amazed at what a wonderful resource the library is…if only they let you check out puzzles it would be the most perfect place!
i am obsessed with earl grey tea. i am just flying through the boxes and i can’t get enough of it. i think i had my first cup in my twenties and i’m definitely a lifer.
speaking of obsessions, leith and i have been playing a ton of mario kart, which is one of the best video games. i’m trying to be more consistent with wii fit and i think when i can balance my workday a little better i can be more successful with it. if i’m still biking to work i would feel less guilty… the good thing is that leith and i have tried to eat at home more and we’ve been pretty good at it. i want to save our restaurant experiences for groups and fun dates so that they are treats instead of conveniences.
so there you have it - my life in stream-of-consciousness form. i hope it was worth catching up on me.
aloha!
more fun stuff and happy new year
[January 06, 2009 at 06:19pm]
2009 is starting out fine.
i’m back at work and i was kind of dreading it because i had slipped into this relaxed productivity mode at home, but it’s not so bad. the week before it was nice to sleep a lot every day, make a solid breakfast and then get things done around the apartment like starting to read about wedding stuff, visiting the library, meeting up with friends and hemming pants. leith and i played some video games, hiked at rancho san antonio and did all kinds of fun things.
one exciting moment was that i took leith to bingo and he won! we were high fiving all day. he had to split the pot, so it was a smaller amount, but it’s hard to beat the feeling of winning something.
we spent new years day with the twins. i wish i ever said anything on this blog beyond how cute they are, but truly, that sums it up. now that they are in the 16 month range, you really see personality come out. we’ve seen miki and yonit a couple times since we’ve been back, which always makes me happy.
i am thinking about wedding planning quite a bit, at least until we set the date so i’ll know better about how much time i have left. we sent a survey today to get that answer and i’m pleasantly surprised that so many people are available and willing to make the travel - it really makes me feel happy and loved!
i’m back at work and i was kind of dreading it because i had slipped into this relaxed productivity mode at home, but it’s not so bad. the week before it was nice to sleep a lot every day, make a solid breakfast and then get things done around the apartment like starting to read about wedding stuff, visiting the library, meeting up with friends and hemming pants. leith and i played some video games, hiked at rancho san antonio and did all kinds of fun things.
one exciting moment was that i took leith to bingo and he won! we were high fiving all day. he had to split the pot, so it was a smaller amount, but it’s hard to beat the feeling of winning something.
we spent new years day with the twins. i wish i ever said anything on this blog beyond how cute they are, but truly, that sums it up. now that they are in the 16 month range, you really see personality come out. we’ve seen miki and yonit a couple times since we’ve been back, which always makes me happy.
i am thinking about wedding planning quite a bit, at least until we set the date so i’ll know better about how much time i have left. we sent a survey today to get that answer and i’m pleasantly surprised that so many people are available and willing to make the travel - it really makes me feel happy and loved!
back from the holidays
[December 29, 2008 at 07:29pm]
let’s see, so LOTS has happened since my last post. for one, i got engaged over thanksgiving. my mom and sister tricked me into thinking i was going to an event site visit and when we got onto the UT campus, my sister left me there with leith in front of the tower. it was a total surprise and after registering that he was actually somehow in austin, of course i knew the reason why. :) we cried and cried, strolled around UT to our favorite places and to see the new changes and lily had left us her car to spend the rest of the day together. (the picture is us right after it happened.) it was so much fun. then i was met with another surprise - a small party of friends and family at my mom’s place was arranged so i could see everyone at once. it was such an emotional and important day for me…and a reminder that leith is a total professional at pulling off surprises - this isn’t the first time!
thanksgiving otherwise was wonderful as always. we played a lot of mah jongg and this year my mom stole everyone’s money! she could not do anything but win. i also think the food was the best ever and she really outdid herself with the turkey and stuffing, we even had my favorite leftover the next day and munched on turkey fajitas.
i skipped out a couple days early since leith and i planned a trip to miami. our apartment has been so cold this month (we blew out the pilot light to save money but then were on the waiting list to have someone come back out to re-light it). anyways, the 80 degree weather was a much welcome change. we walked a ton around south beach, saw a couple performances and the highlight was the 15-mile bike ride in the everglades. it was peaceful and we were so close to nature, seeing alligators, blue herons and even snakes just a few feet away. this picture right here shows a family of baby alligators we stumbled upon. we also discovered a lonely path in key biscayne to hike and explore and it led us to this open area covered in mangroves in the ocean, which was beautiful. you can see the rest of our photos here.
happy holidays everyone!