weekend o'fun
this weekend was awesome!! great weather! great time. it would be nice if every weekend could be like this.
friday night started off with a great time in the city with dinner with ben, nic and avery! it was so nice to see good friends and to see a new little friend again. though the night ended early, it was supremely wonderful to catch up and be together. so of course, on the way home...the inevitable question of "you wanna do something else?" came up. we ended up keeping it lowkey and heading over to our local borders for some enlightening. my form of enlightenment...harry potter and the half blood prince. yes...i'm a closet harry potter fan. no...i don't have my copy reserved yet. but i had forgotten what happened in book 6. it's been relax in some nice enjoyable reading.
saturday we slept in a bit and then went swimming! it was such a nice morning to go. water was cool...no one else in the pool! then headed to lunch at our favorite place, i'll call it...the College. they were grilling today so we had lunch outside. it was soo nice we pondered the thought of whether there was a difference in hanging out at a coffee shop or here at the College. and for us...we thought that hanging out at the College was just the same...if not better. You're not surrounded by strangers in close proximity who can hear every word you say. on nice days as it was on saturday...you can lounge outside in the patio...or if you had beach chairs...on the lawn. if the weather is not cooperating...there are lounges inside to relax in. and there is plenty of sustenance only a few steps away. pretty awesome. so vince and i chatted. relaxed...and just hung around. then later...just as conveniently...we went to go work out with our friends Kenny and Elle. we came home after...had some dinner...and relaxed in front of the tube.
sunday...church...which is always great. we found out that i didn't have to work that afternoon, so it was a brief jaunt around the mall...and then off to the College to the gym. before going to the gym however, we got on some bikes and rode around on the trail. i have to say...actually propelling yourself is much harder than sitting on an exercise bike. it was seriously cold with the with and all...but still...a nice ride. except for the one instance where i couldn't really get on the bike and start pedalling and was twisting and turning trying to avoid falling off...or veering towards the down slope into the creek, all the while vince laughing behind me. i have to say...it was funny...during and afterwards... hey...the bike was tall...my legs are short...and i hadn't been on a bike since 2000. that's my excuse. so then off to a stimulating work out on the machines and weights..and some basketball on the gym tv. pretty nice and relaxing...even it it was exercise. we left...picked up some items at trader joes...and then headed off for home. ending the weekend with a nice glass of wine...or two...or three...was super great.
and now it's monday. which isn't so bad...
Monday, March 26, 2007
so now that i've had some time to simmer and have gotten off the rollercoaster ride...i've learned a few things...
and isn't that worth it...that we can learn things from our situations and events....
1. i really want to work for and with good people.
2. i really don't care what it is that i do for my work subject (to some degree).
3. i'd rather work close to home (unless it's a dream job).
hmm...i guess that's it? haha. i seems that vince and i are going to settle somewhere in the southbay. we like the area. it's nice and suburby. no city-slicking for us. so unless there is a dream job in SF...which is what... i have no idea. but i like living around where we live. green. trees. not too crowded considering. donwtowns with nice streets of shops and restaurants and cafes we can hang in. and...when we want...we can head up to the city for some jam packed nightlife. but for the most part...a good ambiance...good friends...and perhaps a good bar is all we really need.
and as for job hunting i still need to learn that God has a plan for me...and i still need to be diligent in trying to find out what that plan is...and ultimately...He will bring me to the right place for me. i don't have to worry. i don't have to despair. i need not be desperate.
and isn't that worth it...that we can learn things from our situations and events....
1. i really want to work for and with good people.
2. i really don't care what it is that i do for my work subject (to some degree).
3. i'd rather work close to home (unless it's a dream job).
hmm...i guess that's it? haha. i seems that vince and i are going to settle somewhere in the southbay. we like the area. it's nice and suburby. no city-slicking for us. so unless there is a dream job in SF...which is what... i have no idea. but i like living around where we live. green. trees. not too crowded considering. donwtowns with nice streets of shops and restaurants and cafes we can hang in. and...when we want...we can head up to the city for some jam packed nightlife. but for the most part...a good ambiance...good friends...and perhaps a good bar is all we really need.
and as for job hunting i still need to learn that God has a plan for me...and i still need to be diligent in trying to find out what that plan is...and ultimately...He will bring me to the right place for me. i don't have to worry. i don't have to despair. i need not be desperate.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Let me off this roller coaster please!
For the past week, I feel like I've been on a roller coaster that I don't want to be on. It started out like all roller coasters. The anticipation...the incline...the thrill...then the twists and turns and even slight nausea...then seeing that the end of the ride is near. And instead of the slowing to a stop so I can get off...it jolts to a sudden stop...as if broken down...and leaves me strapped in awaiting not to step off...but to endure yet another ride.
This all stemmed from a job interview that I thought went pretty well. Well enough that it resulted in an offer. Encouraged to take as much time as I needed to contemplate my options and the offer, I was set to wrestle with the various pros and cons and impact of the specific offer. Was it what I wanted to do? Was it a good place? Was the commute doable? Did this position bring me closer to where I wanted to be career-wise? 6 days after the interview I was inclined to accept the position despite the few lingering cons. I was ready to contact said offeror only to wake up to an email saying, to the effect "you said you only would need 3 business days to consider, since you didn't get back to us I presume you got another job and so I gave an offer to someone else. thank you and good luck."
much to my surprise...the bird in the hand flew away. honestly, even though it was not the perfect job...I was crushed. I felt disappointed. I felt disappointing. I felt really really sad. I cried. I felt lame like I was stupid in the way I handled it. But I was certain of the conversation that transpired during the interview that resulted in my thinking that I had time to consider and that I had not promised to get back to them in 3 business days. so i responded back saying there must have been a misunderstanding because i thought i said something else and that if they offered the position to someone else, then that's the way it goes.
of course there are so many thoughts racing through my head. was that a ploy to make me accept? what did i say? did i lose out on a great opportunity? after sometime...i recognized that "me being perfect for the position" did not mean squat. otherwise they would have checked in with me and not given the job to someone else. to me...one week of consideration is not an unreasonable amount of time. it wasn't even a week. not that I'm trying to be petty. but if they told me to take as much time and to explore all my options and they really thought i was valuable...then they would have waited a week before giving the job away or at least checked in...as i was intending to check in. and then of course i thought "i don't want to work for someone who tells me I'm prefect and such a great fit only to know that their actions don't reflect that statement." i felt stupid for giving them so much consideration when they did not return the same.
all in all, it was a learning experience and it was sour but i know better than to let it influence me negatively. I love knowing that I was not meant to be there. I was that close to committing myself and my life and time to that place. and the only thing that would have stopped me was not something i would decide for myself. so it was decided for me. Despite having bouts of feeling sad and disappointed and lame, i revel in the knowledge that God protected me from getting into a situation that wasn't right for me. I could not see it. I did not see it. I may have sensed something. But ultimately, I would have overlooked that sense.
and as i continually operate in a fashion that reflects not knowing what God has in store for me...
i know that He is watching out for me and has something planned for me.
but it's hard being in this place...
For the past week, I feel like I've been on a roller coaster that I don't want to be on. It started out like all roller coasters. The anticipation...the incline...the thrill...then the twists and turns and even slight nausea...then seeing that the end of the ride is near. And instead of the slowing to a stop so I can get off...it jolts to a sudden stop...as if broken down...and leaves me strapped in awaiting not to step off...but to endure yet another ride.
This all stemmed from a job interview that I thought went pretty well. Well enough that it resulted in an offer. Encouraged to take as much time as I needed to contemplate my options and the offer, I was set to wrestle with the various pros and cons and impact of the specific offer. Was it what I wanted to do? Was it a good place? Was the commute doable? Did this position bring me closer to where I wanted to be career-wise? 6 days after the interview I was inclined to accept the position despite the few lingering cons. I was ready to contact said offeror only to wake up to an email saying, to the effect "you said you only would need 3 business days to consider, since you didn't get back to us I presume you got another job and so I gave an offer to someone else. thank you and good luck."
much to my surprise...the bird in the hand flew away. honestly, even though it was not the perfect job...I was crushed. I felt disappointed. I felt disappointing. I felt really really sad. I cried. I felt lame like I was stupid in the way I handled it. But I was certain of the conversation that transpired during the interview that resulted in my thinking that I had time to consider and that I had not promised to get back to them in 3 business days. so i responded back saying there must have been a misunderstanding because i thought i said something else and that if they offered the position to someone else, then that's the way it goes.
of course there are so many thoughts racing through my head. was that a ploy to make me accept? what did i say? did i lose out on a great opportunity? after sometime...i recognized that "me being perfect for the position" did not mean squat. otherwise they would have checked in with me and not given the job to someone else. to me...one week of consideration is not an unreasonable amount of time. it wasn't even a week. not that I'm trying to be petty. but if they told me to take as much time and to explore all my options and they really thought i was valuable...then they would have waited a week before giving the job away or at least checked in...as i was intending to check in. and then of course i thought "i don't want to work for someone who tells me I'm prefect and such a great fit only to know that their actions don't reflect that statement." i felt stupid for giving them so much consideration when they did not return the same.
all in all, it was a learning experience and it was sour but i know better than to let it influence me negatively. I love knowing that I was not meant to be there. I was that close to committing myself and my life and time to that place. and the only thing that would have stopped me was not something i would decide for myself. so it was decided for me. Despite having bouts of feeling sad and disappointed and lame, i revel in the knowledge that God protected me from getting into a situation that wasn't right for me. I could not see it. I did not see it. I may have sensed something. But ultimately, I would have overlooked that sense.
and as i continually operate in a fashion that reflects not knowing what God has in store for me...
i know that He is watching out for me and has something planned for me.
but it's hard being in this place...
Monday, March 12, 2007
As it was freezing here only 2 months ago...
It was a whopping 78 degrees today! break out the summer clothes!! of course, all I really have are summer clothes...being from LA and all. I find my range or clothes here to be quite deficient in utility. I must conform to the philosphy of layering! Once I can start buying clothes that is.
It was a whopping 78 degrees today! break out the summer clothes!! of course, all I really have are summer clothes...being from LA and all. I find my range or clothes here to be quite deficient in utility. I must conform to the philosphy of layering! Once I can start buying clothes that is.
i LOVE daylight savings!!! now does changing the law to have daylight savings a few weeks early and end a few weeks later really save energy? i suppose i'll have to read the article.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Jesus & your Job
What a perfect message for me! This past Sunday it was great to hear Nancy talk about working. She made it a point to say that it wasn't a talk about all things related to your job and Jesus. But her main point was how your job is a gift from God. That we often look at the negative aspects of working. How it distracts from the more valued things in life. How it's not what we really want to be doing. How people at and our workplace is a grind. So this Sunday I got to ponder the aspect of our work and our job and our workplace as being a gift. Of course, I'm not working right now so it was all a bit theoretical for me at this point. But it helped me gain perspective while I'm looking for the 'perfect' job.
So two main things Nancy emphasized. That we are called and designed to 1) do meaningful work and 2) have relationships. Meaningful work. It was nice to hear about the nobility of serving. It doesn't matter what position we have whether it's at the top or the bottom or the middle. We can all serve the company and the people around us in some capacity. And in the end, we have an audience of one. Relationships. It more than just building them for the benefit of the work or the company. It's because we are there to really know people and to exhibit love. Nancy shared how there was an ER doctor she had worked with who knew many details of the life of the man who worked in the janitorial services who would come in after medical care was rendered to clean up the room.
Service in what I do. I think that statement is much more broad than I had previously interpreted. There are so many ways to serve. It's not only the specifics of our job. But in more subtle ways. And when we work...we don't just do it for that raise or the next promotion. Or to impress our co-workers. But we do it because we were designed to our best regardless of what it is we're doing. I thought about that as I am working in retail. Not that I ever thought I was above it. But I certainly didn't place great value on what I was doing. I was not putting any heart into the work. I never wanted to be there. I always wanted to leave. Sure, I would do good work while I was there, but not with a good attitude. I did good work because it was easy or even brainless to me. But I should be doing my best while I'm there because that is what I am called to do. And that my effort reflects my character. And my character should be constant...not come out at certain times. I am created to do meaningful work. And I can do meaningful work no matter what it is I do.
I was reminded the other day how it is so great just to be known. In my quest for finding a job, I stumbled upon an old law school friend of mine. The name was familiar. Since lots of websites have pictures of their employees, I got to put a face with the name and confirmed that indeed, here was an old law school friend. Granted, we didn't hang out at the bars and we didn't study together...but we worked together for a little bit and I surely remembered him. So I emailed the standard..."hope you remember me" email. And to my great joy...he said he did remember me. Of course, I would not have been surprised had he not remembered me because we weren't drinking buddies or anything. But certainly, I have to tell you that it really really brightened my day just to know that he remembered me. And it reminded me how much value there is to just being known. Like the doctor in Nancy's past, there is no different value placed on a person simply because of their position or their function. People come into our lives everyday and we gloss over them as if they didn't matter. Not to say that we must delve into the personal aspects of every one's lives. But there is so much to communicate that goes beyond words when we simply and sincerely get to know those who work around and among us. And we spend so much of our lives at work, around the same group of people day in and day out. Do we take the time out to know who is around us. I confess I'm not good at that. I have a flawed memory so much so that I know I have to write things down or I forget. But I want to be sincere and proactive about knowing people around me. I won't force it. But I definitely want to be better at getting to know people around me.
I hope to find meaningful work. I hope to find meaning in and at my work. And I hope to invest in those people around me so that I can get to know them beyond "Hi, how are you" because I know that I want to be known more that that.
What a perfect message for me! This past Sunday it was great to hear Nancy talk about working. She made it a point to say that it wasn't a talk about all things related to your job and Jesus. But her main point was how your job is a gift from God. That we often look at the negative aspects of working. How it distracts from the more valued things in life. How it's not what we really want to be doing. How people at and our workplace is a grind. So this Sunday I got to ponder the aspect of our work and our job and our workplace as being a gift. Of course, I'm not working right now so it was all a bit theoretical for me at this point. But it helped me gain perspective while I'm looking for the 'perfect' job.
So two main things Nancy emphasized. That we are called and designed to 1) do meaningful work and 2) have relationships. Meaningful work. It was nice to hear about the nobility of serving. It doesn't matter what position we have whether it's at the top or the bottom or the middle. We can all serve the company and the people around us in some capacity. And in the end, we have an audience of one. Relationships. It more than just building them for the benefit of the work or the company. It's because we are there to really know people and to exhibit love. Nancy shared how there was an ER doctor she had worked with who knew many details of the life of the man who worked in the janitorial services who would come in after medical care was rendered to clean up the room.
Service in what I do. I think that statement is much more broad than I had previously interpreted. There are so many ways to serve. It's not only the specifics of our job. But in more subtle ways. And when we work...we don't just do it for that raise or the next promotion. Or to impress our co-workers. But we do it because we were designed to our best regardless of what it is we're doing. I thought about that as I am working in retail. Not that I ever thought I was above it. But I certainly didn't place great value on what I was doing. I was not putting any heart into the work. I never wanted to be there. I always wanted to leave. Sure, I would do good work while I was there, but not with a good attitude. I did good work because it was easy or even brainless to me. But I should be doing my best while I'm there because that is what I am called to do. And that my effort reflects my character. And my character should be constant...not come out at certain times. I am created to do meaningful work. And I can do meaningful work no matter what it is I do.
I was reminded the other day how it is so great just to be known. In my quest for finding a job, I stumbled upon an old law school friend of mine. The name was familiar. Since lots of websites have pictures of their employees, I got to put a face with the name and confirmed that indeed, here was an old law school friend. Granted, we didn't hang out at the bars and we didn't study together...but we worked together for a little bit and I surely remembered him. So I emailed the standard..."hope you remember me" email. And to my great joy...he said he did remember me. Of course, I would not have been surprised had he not remembered me because we weren't drinking buddies or anything. But certainly, I have to tell you that it really really brightened my day just to know that he remembered me. And it reminded me how much value there is to just being known. Like the doctor in Nancy's past, there is no different value placed on a person simply because of their position or their function. People come into our lives everyday and we gloss over them as if they didn't matter. Not to say that we must delve into the personal aspects of every one's lives. But there is so much to communicate that goes beyond words when we simply and sincerely get to know those who work around and among us. And we spend so much of our lives at work, around the same group of people day in and day out. Do we take the time out to know who is around us. I confess I'm not good at that. I have a flawed memory so much so that I know I have to write things down or I forget. But I want to be sincere and proactive about knowing people around me. I won't force it. But I definitely want to be better at getting to know people around me.
I hope to find meaningful work. I hope to find meaning in and at my work. And I hope to invest in those people around me so that I can get to know them beyond "Hi, how are you" because I know that I want to be known more that that.
Friday, March 02, 2007
It's sunny!! let the good times roll!
So the rain has stayed away for a few days and the weekend is upon us!!! I've been itching to play tennis. Don't know why. I'm not a super star tennis player. I only took lessons in the 1st grade. And I have proven time and time again that I cannot cover the whole court. (that's why I love paddle tennis). But it is one of those activities that you don't need a lot to do. A tennis racket. Some tennis balls. A tennis court. And someone to play with. And sadly, I'm probably more adept at tennis than I am at basketball or volleyball. Can't do a simple layup or even dribble with any skill. Can't set or spike the ball. But with tennis...I CAN hit the ball over the net within the boundaries!! Okay, not always. I know, I can't serve very well, but hey, it's just a friendly game of tennis. So it could be that tomorrow is the first day of my tennis hobby. I'm not sick. It's not raining. Awesome! Here's hoping.
So the rain has stayed away for a few days and the weekend is upon us!!! I've been itching to play tennis. Don't know why. I'm not a super star tennis player. I only took lessons in the 1st grade. And I have proven time and time again that I cannot cover the whole court. (that's why I love paddle tennis). But it is one of those activities that you don't need a lot to do. A tennis racket. Some tennis balls. A tennis court. And someone to play with. And sadly, I'm probably more adept at tennis than I am at basketball or volleyball. Can't do a simple layup or even dribble with any skill. Can't set or spike the ball. But with tennis...I CAN hit the ball over the net within the boundaries!! Okay, not always. I know, I can't serve very well, but hey, it's just a friendly game of tennis. So it could be that tomorrow is the first day of my tennis hobby. I'm not sick. It's not raining. Awesome! Here's hoping.
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