Things to Do Before I'm 30

I wrote this list about 5 years ago. I just found it.
Going to check off what I've done and add another 13 things to bring it up to 30.

Bolds are still to do.

1. Skydive/ Bungee jump
2. Learn to Belly Dance
3. Travel to Italy -- Venice, Florence, & Rome in 2004
4. Learn to surf
5. Learn Italian
6. Drive a stick-shift
7. Road trip -- VA beach, NY, MD (alone)
8. Donate blood ten times -- check, we're at 13 or so as of this week
9. Graduate from college w/ my BA -- soon
10. Live alone
11. Own a pet -- most likely a puppy
12. Fly -- I can assume I meant in a plane - so yes, multiple checks
13. Skinny dip -- haha yup
14. Sing Karaoke -- check, at T. Rowe for SB's goodbye party
15. Waitress -- Starbucks is as close as I ever want to be now
16. Have a child *update - I've giving myself til at least 35 to do this
17. Live in the city - 4 years now

18. Live in France for at least 6 months
19. Get 20 years in Girl Scouts
20. Pay off my credit cards (all of them!)
21. Start saving for retirement - Roth IRA
22. Hike one of the 5,000+ White Mountains
23. Visit Montreal with my mom/Meme
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

The Happy List: I do.

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Harpoon!

Just got an email that they have my application & they're looking it over. Now just waiting for the all-important "Yes, we'd love to interview you" call.

Update: It's not right, right now. But I think I'm going to keep trying. Maybe apply for the Six Pack training program as we get closer to graduation.

Where does time go?

We're already 75% through May. Where did it go?

I spent last weekend in New York for a friend's wedding. It's the first wedding I've been to without my parents for friends that were my peers. It was a slightly surreal experience. This guy no longer has a girlfriend - he has a wife. Another friend recently changed her last name to match her husband's. But in my head she will always go by her maiden name.

This weekend my best friend from high school is graduating from Boston University. She's going to wear her cap and gown, walk up and take her diploma, and then be done with college. She's not the only one - I went out with 3 girls who are all graduating this weekend too. It feels like just yesterday we were all freshmen.

And in only one month my little brother will graduate from high school. He'll be going to Johnson & Wales for culinary training. I'm so excited to watch the people my siblings are becoming. I'm so envious of their independence, defiance, and free spirits.

I'm already 22 years into my life. Where is it going?

I think I'm in love with Yvon Chouinard & beer

I've been doing the post-grad job search thing, though I have to admit still half-heartedly. The other day I looked at websites of companies that I thought were cool, or I admired. I was stumbling around on Patagonia's website and came across this essay (a related link on their men's shirts page). I excerpted my favorite parts:

Such lives are often called subsistence, which brings to mind the barest, hardscrabble survival. But there is another way to look at them. At Patagonia we choose to call them “economies of abundance.” In an economy of abundance, there is enough. Not too much. Not too little. Enough. Most important, there is enough time for the things that matter: relationships, delicious food, art, games and rest.

We [Americans, modern society, etc.] don't have enough money, and we also don’t have enough time. We don’t have enough energy, solitude or peace. We are the world’s richest country, yet our quality of life ranks 14th in the world. As Eric Hoffer, a mid-20th century philosopher, put it, “You can never get enough of what you don’t really need to make you happy."

Talk about values alignment. I think I'm in love with Yvon Chouinard. I would LOVE to work for them. But there are two big (and relatively important) obstacles: 1) they aren't hiring for any positions that I am qualified/interested in and 2) they are waaaaaaaaaay out on the west coast. Problem.

Another interesting job that I found was working for Harpoon Brewery, right here in Boston. (Fixing obstacle number 2). They're hiring for a position in July (damn!) that sounds pretty awesome - Harpoon Helps Coordinator.

There are definite perks to a job like this: beer, getting OUT of an office, and still feeling like I'm contributing something valuable.

It's fucking gorgeous out and I'm trapped in this glass box

I feel like some kind of hampster. Or house cat. Or child.

It's fucking beautiful out -- 80 degrees, sunny, slight breeze -- and I'm trapped in my cubicle. I spent time this morning purusing Idealist.org and STA Travel looking for work abroad instead of doing the data entry (that I have deftly been avoiding for a month). I was searching for jobs that were meaningful, jobs that will let me travel, jobs that won't make me feel suffocated and confined.

It's funny - I didn't get this feeling at the last big financial firm I worked for. I don't know if it's because my desk was in the corner near the windows. Or because I could take my editing outside to the patio and work down there. Or if I somehow found enough meaning in the work that it was okay being trapped inside from 8-5, because I knew that at the end of the day I would have the whole evening to myself.

I don't even get to enjoy the outside when I "leave" work today because I'm going to my second job at Banana. I wish I could build a sky light in the store.

I don't know what kind of jobs would let me be outside sometimes, with the fresh air in my lungs. Anyone have any suggestions?

Competitive Eating

I feel better about myself when I eat healthier than my roomates. Or when I run more than they do. Or when I eat less than they do. There's some kind of satisfaction that comes through my inner monologue that says, "Yeah, you're WAY better than them. You're being healthy."

Last night was like that. I got home after a whole day in my cubicle and could not wait to get outside. I grabbed some sushi on the way home because I was starving and a big bottle of water. I found two of my roommates playing cards in the dark living room and I secretly gloated to myself.

I ran hard for about 2 or 3 miles (quite an accomplishment for me, but I want to learn/train to run farther). From my apartment out to MIT across the Charles and back. Some girls even (drunkenly) cheered me on as they thought I was finishing up the Boston Marathon on my trip back down Mass Ave. It was pretty fun to have people cheering for me, even if I didn't actually deserve it.

I felt great and energized and focused. All the annoyances and frustrations of the day washed away as I got lost breathing, listening to my feet pound the sidewalk as I dodged tourists and commuters.

And then there's this morning. Free breakfast foods at work. I just realized I've eaten a pastry, half a muffin, half a bagel, a slice of pizza, and coffee already today. What happened to my healthy eating? It frustrates me because I will eat it and then I will berate myself later. I miss the discipline and self control I had on Weight Watchers. I might go back just for the structure. Start tracking again. I miss how strong and full and energized my body felt when I ate salads, fruits, lean chicken, salmon, and gallons of water.

I think the competitive eating syndrome can be useful to motivate you to do things your body is craving anyways - healthy habits. But I think that if you're doing it for the competition then you lose your inner focus (and end up eating 80 grams of sugar before noon!). I also don't want to let the competition turn into an ED because I know that's entirely possible. I think I need more time for myself and less time working/volunteering for other projects right now. I need to streamline, I need to focus on me.