Is it so? Are we at the point where we have been in our "careers" (yes, in quotation marks because, really? we have careers?) long enough to not be considered the bottom feeders anymore? Is it so? Do we have enough years experience under our belts to be truly knowledgeable in our professions/industries and contributing substantially on a daily basis?
Finally.
Every once in a while, I get an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction. All from my job. I feel like I know what I'm doing, I do a great job and I'm truly proud of my growth. Who would have thought that career gratification could feel so good.
Not only is it a sense of personal accomplishment, but it's a reminder that with age comes experience. One of the reasons I have always been one to welcome birthdays. One year older, one more year of life experience.
Bring it on.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
dooce makes my world go round
Wanted to highlight a few excerpts from heather armstrong's most recent post on dooce.com:
"And it wasn't easy, there were times when both of us didn't know if we were going to make it but loved each other enough that we were willing to try."
i. so. believe. in. this. statement.
"My friend Leona gave me some really profound advice last night as we were talking about how much better our thirties are compared to our twenties. She said, "No matter what horrible thing you're going through, when it's all over it only takes three seconds to sum it up. Remember that.""
it's so true. right? no matter how SHITTY things are, after it's all said and done, no matter how crappy it was...it's over. and life goes on. and eventually. you heal.
and really? 30s are better than the 20s? i mean, don't get me wrong. there have been and im sure there will be some AMAZING times. but it's definitely encouraging to hear that it gets better. and seeing as how i am that girl who cant wait to find my someone, have that stability, build a life together, raise children, etc. i totally believe my 30s will be amazing.
but that's not to say im not living for today. so hey, cheers to now.
"And it wasn't easy, there were times when both of us didn't know if we were going to make it but loved each other enough that we were willing to try."
i. so. believe. in. this. statement.
"My friend Leona gave me some really profound advice last night as we were talking about how much better our thirties are compared to our twenties. She said, "No matter what horrible thing you're going through, when it's all over it only takes three seconds to sum it up. Remember that.""
it's so true. right? no matter how SHITTY things are, after it's all said and done, no matter how crappy it was...it's over. and life goes on. and eventually. you heal.
and really? 30s are better than the 20s? i mean, don't get me wrong. there have been and im sure there will be some AMAZING times. but it's definitely encouraging to hear that it gets better. and seeing as how i am that girl who cant wait to find my someone, have that stability, build a life together, raise children, etc. i totally believe my 30s will be amazing.
but that's not to say im not living for today. so hey, cheers to now.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
i wish i was one of those girls
I wish I was one of those girls, straight out of a relationship and relishing in newfound freedom. Feeling like this is the BEST gift he could have given me. I can do what I want, when I want, and with who I want. I wish I was that girl. Wake up smiling, thinking that it just feels so right. So right to have finally let go of what was familiar, not knowing if and how it would all feel right again, but knowing that eventually it would. And bottom line, it was the right thing to do. To finally let go of that comfort. And that new leaf would have turned, and their hearts and minds and souls…would feel RIGHT. I wish I had that aching pain that there simply just wasn’t enough time to do everything on my list for life. That life’s possibilities were boundless and that I had the world at my fingertips. I could do anything, with anyone, at anytime.
I wish I was one of those girls.
I wish I was one of those girls.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
it's our job.
they're promoting the new season of lipstick jungle on tv right now and in the recent version of the promo i saw, one line really stood out to me.
the characters are talking about their lives; mistakes with children, failing relationships, career faux pas...and one of the main characters says, "it's our job to take care of each other" - it totally struck a chord.
we are all going to continue adding stresses to our life. at one point or another, things are going to go a-wall; marriages are going to go through rough patches, children are going to take every ounce of sanity away from us, careers will produce great moments and not-so-great moments, etc.
but through it all, it will (always) be our jobs to take care of each other.
the characters are talking about their lives; mistakes with children, failing relationships, career faux pas...and one of the main characters says, "it's our job to take care of each other" - it totally struck a chord.
we are all going to continue adding stresses to our life. at one point or another, things are going to go a-wall; marriages are going to go through rough patches, children are going to take every ounce of sanity away from us, careers will produce great moments and not-so-great moments, etc.
but through it all, it will (always) be our jobs to take care of each other.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
month: august; year: twothousandeight (gasp)
it's amazing how time flies. seriously.
who would have thought? 2008, already. it's almost fall. winter is just around the corner. then 2009. TWOTHOUSANDNINE. wow.
i keep putting notes into my pitching grid and go to type in the date. third time today, i almost put a 6 (june, for those of you who are confused with life) and i have to pause, and remind myself it's august. each time so far it has been a surprise. august? already.
junior's mom often says, "if you think 20 to 25 is fast, 25 to 30 is twice as fast"
i only have two words in response to this, holy shit.
who would have thought? 2008, already. it's almost fall. winter is just around the corner. then 2009. TWOTHOUSANDNINE. wow.
i keep putting notes into my pitching grid and go to type in the date. third time today, i almost put a 6 (june, for those of you who are confused with life) and i have to pause, and remind myself it's august. each time so far it has been a surprise. august? already.
junior's mom often says, "if you think 20 to 25 is fast, 25 to 30 is twice as fast"
i only have two words in response to this, holy shit.
Friday, August 8, 2008
You know what I’m glad I’ll never have to miss?
[Going off of melvin’s post]
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love music. And my favorite place to listen to music, perhaps more than a great live show, is blasting music in my car…volume way up. It is something that I have done since the day I got my drivers license. Windows down, volume up.
I can’t explain the feeling that rushes through my entire body. Without a doubt, however my day was and however I had been feeling, at an instance my mindset veers towards a positive path and I feel empowered. EMPOWERED. The music feels like it’s running through each and every vein in my body and I get chills. (or, are they tingles?) Every. Single. Time. I feel like I can take on the world.
Even as the years go by and my life goes through big, small, humongous changes…this is and will always be my constant. Music is my constant.
I wish I could successfully put into words the feeling. But I guess it isn’t something I have to take a picture of to capture the moment, even as things change and time passes, this is something I’ll never have to miss. Music is my constant.
[arnold]
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love music. And my favorite place to listen to music, perhaps more than a great live show, is blasting music in my car…volume way up. It is something that I have done since the day I got my drivers license. Windows down, volume up.
I can’t explain the feeling that rushes through my entire body. Without a doubt, however my day was and however I had been feeling, at an instance my mindset veers towards a positive path and I feel empowered. EMPOWERED. The music feels like it’s running through each and every vein in my body and I get chills. (or, are they tingles?) Every. Single. Time. I feel like I can take on the world.
Even as the years go by and my life goes through big, small, humongous changes…this is and will always be my constant. Music is my constant.
I wish I could successfully put into words the feeling. But I guess it isn’t something I have to take a picture of to capture the moment, even as things change and time passes, this is something I’ll never have to miss. Music is my constant.
[arnold]
Thursday, August 7, 2008
you know what i miss?
basketball.
it's weird because i haven't played in over ten years and by no means was i ever a great athlete. i doubt i could even dribble now without falling over myself. and yet i can recall so clearly how good it felt. how good the pebbled rubber ball felt under my fingers, how good it felt to hear the fanatical parents cheering on the sidelines. how good it felt to run. back and forth. across the half court line, to the top of the key, under the basket, layup, rebound. running. always running. back to the other end of the court. again and again and again.
in retrospect, i don't even think it's the basketball that i miss. it's the feeling of never wanting to stop. no matter how out of breath i was or how tired i felt... or even how badly we were losing, it just felt good to be in the game. there was never a time that i could remember thinking, "coach pull me out. i'm done." never.
and to be perfectly honest, there have been a few occasions in my adult life that i've wanted to throw in the towel and walk away. days that i've had to shut everything off and lay in bed and just be very still... so that everything around me would stop spinning so fast and life could go on at its break neck pace without me for a few hours.
logically, being a child playing a 48 minute game of basketball isn't comparable to the daily responsibilities and obligations of an adult, but i hope that one day i'll have that feeling again. that something will move me so passionately that i'd never want it to stop.
[melvin]
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Mid-life crisis? No, way bigger….QUARTER-LIFE CRISIS
It’s been a topic that has always been so far away. Hasn’t affected me, been in conversations with friends, nor has it even crossed my mind. It was a distant topic, as foreign as let’s say, going through menopause. But more and more, I am seeing this phrase (read: monumental stage of life) surface. Whether it’s someone who is going through the “what am I doing with my life” and simply hasn’t labeled their issue as their “quarter-life crisis” or if it’s someone a bit more dramatic, like me, who proclaims “holy crap. Quarter-life crisis. Chapter one. HERE WE GO!”
Either way, it is exactly what it says it is. A crisis. when you’re about 25. Give or take a few months, or give or take a few years! It happens to the best of us. And whether or not we’re in full blown crisis mode, however slowly it creeps up, we all have those days where we wonder…
Am I where I’m supposed to be?
Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?
Should I go back to school?
Will spending all that money really help me in the end?
Have I met him yet?
Have I accomplished enough to tuck into my pre-25 folder?
What do I need to be doing to get to where I want to be in the next 10 years?
Where will I be in the next 10 years?
Who will I be in the next 10 years?
Who will be standing next to me in 10 years?
Why didn’t I study abroad in college? (oh…I digress)
WHO ELSE FEELS THIS PRESSURE?
I have seen countless friends run these questions over and over. A lot of times it has to do with career oriented issues, and so many of those other times it’s about relationships. At the mid-20s, you can no longer claim the infamous “I-just-got-out-of-college” because plain and simple, you’ve now been OUT of college just as long as you were IN college. We’re far too old to run to our parents and hide behind them. Far too mature to NEED our parents. (So. Not. True.) It’s no longer about depending on your friends to make decisions for you…it’s about figuring out for yourself what you want, what you need, and what you need to do to get there.
Of course, your friends and family are always going to be there – supporting you, offering advice. But it’s advice, just that. And it’s from an outside standpoint. At this stage of the game, we know ourselves best. We know better than to ignore those little voices, the knot in the pit of our stomach, the strings tugging at our heart…we know that they are so much more than intangible hindrances. They mean something, boy oh boy do they mean something.
But what I do think that friends can offer at this so-called crisis point is comfort. The realization that yes, I may in theory be living through and having to solve this crisis on my own…but everyone is in the same boat. True, others may have it easier (or worse) but everyone, in their own way, has their own quarter-life crisis.
Here’s to leaning on each other and really believing in ourselves. With the right mix of that, raw soul searching, a pinch of confidence and a great sense of humor about LIFE…I haven’t a doubt that we’ll all make it to our…mid-life crisis!
Cheers to that!
Either way, it is exactly what it says it is. A crisis. when you’re about 25. Give or take a few months, or give or take a few years! It happens to the best of us. And whether or not we’re in full blown crisis mode, however slowly it creeps up, we all have those days where we wonder…
Am I where I’m supposed to be?
Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?
Should I go back to school?
Will spending all that money really help me in the end?
Have I met him yet?
Have I accomplished enough to tuck into my pre-25 folder?
What do I need to be doing to get to where I want to be in the next 10 years?
Where will I be in the next 10 years?
Who will I be in the next 10 years?
Who will be standing next to me in 10 years?
Why didn’t I study abroad in college? (oh…I digress)
WHO ELSE FEELS THIS PRESSURE?
I have seen countless friends run these questions over and over. A lot of times it has to do with career oriented issues, and so many of those other times it’s about relationships. At the mid-20s, you can no longer claim the infamous “I-just-got-out-of-college” because plain and simple, you’ve now been OUT of college just as long as you were IN college. We’re far too old to run to our parents and hide behind them. Far too mature to NEED our parents. (So. Not. True.) It’s no longer about depending on your friends to make decisions for you…it’s about figuring out for yourself what you want, what you need, and what you need to do to get there.
Of course, your friends and family are always going to be there – supporting you, offering advice. But it’s advice, just that. And it’s from an outside standpoint. At this stage of the game, we know ourselves best. We know better than to ignore those little voices, the knot in the pit of our stomach, the strings tugging at our heart…we know that they are so much more than intangible hindrances. They mean something, boy oh boy do they mean something.
But what I do think that friends can offer at this so-called crisis point is comfort. The realization that yes, I may in theory be living through and having to solve this crisis on my own…but everyone is in the same boat. True, others may have it easier (or worse) but everyone, in their own way, has their own quarter-life crisis.
Here’s to leaning on each other and really believing in ourselves. With the right mix of that, raw soul searching, a pinch of confidence and a great sense of humor about LIFE…I haven’t a doubt that we’ll all make it to our…mid-life crisis!
Cheers to that!
Monday, August 4, 2008
the best thing
i look in my planner and the next several months of my life are booked solid. i cant find time to do laundry or sleep for that matter. gone are they lazy weekends at home spent in bed, watching nothing in particular on tv, and staying in pjs until lunch. how did that happen? i dont have kids, i dont have pets, i'm not taking classes, and i can barely stick to my "gym 3 times a week" schedule.
i have no time because i finally have the freedom and the financial independence [for the most part] to do what i want, when and where i want, how i want.
that is the best thing about being 20something... having no time for the daily mundane activities that "grown ups" call life. getting an oil change, picking up dry cleaning, buying groceries. sure, not being able to sleep in anymore sucks a little, but there are too many other things to do and places to see.
the very best thing about being 20something?
spending all that time not cleaning the house, not balancing my check book, and not running those errands that really can wait with my equally fabulous 20something friends.
<3 cheers!
[melvin]
Perhaps change lies merely in the eyes of the beholder??
During a fun-filled weekend with some of my favorite girls in the world, I realized something…we’re getting old(er). Yeah yeah, I know the main reason we all got together this past weekend was to celebrate birthdays; so naturally, yes…I was kindly reminded that we ARE indeed getting older. But what I’m referring to showed me that we are getting older. (read: relationships) Perhaps these relationships aren’t any different than before, but it’s just our views on them that have shifted? Perhaps the change lies merely in the eyes of the beholder??
Here are two examples that simply crushed me, melted my heart.
When we were at Bungalow club for dinner on Saturday night (finally) – Mel and I were sitting across from Jenn and Mike. (Sidenote: Noticed this weekend that Mike is more affectionate with Jenn in front of us, more so than ever before) He was sitting next to her and I think she was talking to us or something, and he just nonchalantly put her hair behind her shoulders. First one side, then the next. It doesn’t seem like much right? But I think what it is, is that that is something you would think a HUSBAND does to his WIFE. I’m not in any way trying to scare anyone, but I mean….a college student (even a young man right out of college) wouldn’t necessarily do something like that. It is the actions of someone who has been with someone for a long time, something that is natural to them…effortless. Just something sweet you would see from an old couple, and I guess it just hit me…they have been together for a really long time and I think that we’ll be seeing that kind of thing for years to come. And I also think, especially from someone who hasn’t normally been super affectionate with his gf in front of us, becoming comfortable enough in front of all of us to be affectionate with her…is just so sweet. Not to mention he has totally put forth the effort to spend more time with her (and her friends).
The other example was in my room on Saturday night when we got home from a night out drinking (we’re not getting that old, yet) and Aaron and Mel were sleeping over. He was in my room sitting on my medicine ball just hanging out when she was washing up. Mel comes in and just curls up into his lap while he’s still sitting on the medicine ball. It wasn’t weird or awkward, she just snuggled and fit…right in his lap. And she just kind of tucked herself into his “nook” and it just… looked….so perfect. And I just melted, right there and then.
I don’t think I’m conveying what I’m feeling very well. But I think that I am realizing/seeing is that my friends are with the people they’re meant to be with.
Another example would be J and Elaine together, where he is the outspoken and crazy one, cracking jokes and you can SEE her silent adoration. She’ll kind of shake her head and laugh... I can see them acting like this forever.
Maybe it’s just because I am the sentimental type, but I feel like we’re getting older and the TYPES of relationships that people are in…are moving into an entirely new arena. Scary. No, scratch that…exciting!
Here are two examples that simply crushed me, melted my heart.
When we were at Bungalow club for dinner on Saturday night (finally) – Mel and I were sitting across from Jenn and Mike. (Sidenote: Noticed this weekend that Mike is more affectionate with Jenn in front of us, more so than ever before) He was sitting next to her and I think she was talking to us or something, and he just nonchalantly put her hair behind her shoulders. First one side, then the next. It doesn’t seem like much right? But I think what it is, is that that is something you would think a HUSBAND does to his WIFE. I’m not in any way trying to scare anyone, but I mean….a college student (even a young man right out of college) wouldn’t necessarily do something like that. It is the actions of someone who has been with someone for a long time, something that is natural to them…effortless. Just something sweet you would see from an old couple, and I guess it just hit me…they have been together for a really long time and I think that we’ll be seeing that kind of thing for years to come. And I also think, especially from someone who hasn’t normally been super affectionate with his gf in front of us, becoming comfortable enough in front of all of us to be affectionate with her…is just so sweet. Not to mention he has totally put forth the effort to spend more time with her (and her friends).
The other example was in my room on Saturday night when we got home from a night out drinking (we’re not getting that old, yet) and Aaron and Mel were sleeping over. He was in my room sitting on my medicine ball just hanging out when she was washing up. Mel comes in and just curls up into his lap while he’s still sitting on the medicine ball. It wasn’t weird or awkward, she just snuggled and fit…right in his lap. And she just kind of tucked herself into his “nook” and it just… looked….so perfect. And I just melted, right there and then.
I don’t think I’m conveying what I’m feeling very well. But I think that I am realizing/seeing is that my friends are with the people they’re meant to be with.
Another example would be J and Elaine together, where he is the outspoken and crazy one, cracking jokes and you can SEE her silent adoration. She’ll kind of shake her head and laugh... I can see them acting like this forever.
Maybe it’s just because I am the sentimental type, but I feel like we’re getting older and the TYPES of relationships that people are in…are moving into an entirely new arena. Scary. No, scratch that…exciting!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
welcome junior.
melvin and i extend our warmest welcome. welcome to the blogosphere, the public blogosphere [gasp]
Friday, August 1, 2008
off to a [slow] start, but a start nonetheless
[i love the word nonetheless]
you know? it's my job to find blogs. read them. and figure out if we can pitch those bloggers our products to review/giveaway. i've never denied to anyone on my team that i cant help but READ THEM. not peruse and analyze, like i'm supposed to. i've been sucked in. not just starting with this job but the entire BREATH of what blogging is, has captured me. i've always been a bit of a voyeur. so hungry to live through people's words and their experiences. in dire need to feel what they feel, and to know what they know.
and i guess it's just that time of year. who am i fooling, it's always that time of year. where i feel ambitious, and so ready to just shout to the world all of my thoughts. what better place to do this, than a blog. A NEW BLOG. [especially now since i have an iphone and i can BLOG FROM ANYWHERE, AT ANYTIME] if only i had the guts to make my private blog, public. to share my most trivial and not-so-trivial thoughts with the world, and not just my closest and dearest friends. i would love to say that one day i'll be so brave as to click that button and let myself be seen. who i really am, for what it's worth. but i'm going to use this space as an entity of truth. so i won't lie. it probably won't ever happen.
but what will happen here is we will share our trials and tribulations of being 20somethings. living life, as we know it. it ain't always pretty but it is what it is. and hopefully as we document these "mid-20s" years and try to make sense of it all, we'll capture a few readers [most likely our unlucky friends who we force to read/comment] and maybe a few internet nomads.
welcome. eat your hearts out.
[arnold]
you know? it's my job to find blogs. read them. and figure out if we can pitch those bloggers our products to review/giveaway. i've never denied to anyone on my team that i cant help but READ THEM. not peruse and analyze, like i'm supposed to. i've been sucked in. not just starting with this job but the entire BREATH of what blogging is, has captured me. i've always been a bit of a voyeur. so hungry to live through people's words and their experiences. in dire need to feel what they feel, and to know what they know.
and i guess it's just that time of year. who am i fooling, it's always that time of year. where i feel ambitious, and so ready to just shout to the world all of my thoughts. what better place to do this, than a blog. A NEW BLOG. [especially now since i have an iphone and i can BLOG FROM ANYWHERE, AT ANYTIME] if only i had the guts to make my private blog, public. to share my most trivial and not-so-trivial thoughts with the world, and not just my closest and dearest friends. i would love to say that one day i'll be so brave as to click that button and let myself be seen. who i really am, for what it's worth. but i'm going to use this space as an entity of truth. so i won't lie. it probably won't ever happen.
but what will happen here is we will share our trials and tribulations of being 20somethings. living life, as we know it. it ain't always pretty but it is what it is. and hopefully as we document these "mid-20s" years and try to make sense of it all, we'll capture a few readers [most likely our unlucky friends who we force to read/comment] and maybe a few internet nomads.
welcome. eat your hearts out.
[arnold]
20somethings.
more specifically, mid 20 somethings.
[i blanked... mostly because i am blank. 25.... what now?!]
[melvin]
[i blanked... mostly because i am blank. 25.... what now?!]
[melvin]
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