An Amazing Weekend...

I was going to write something long and attempt to be eloquent about this weekend in Washington, DC for the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States, as my friend Ann over at Tragic Optimist did. But I realized nothing could possibly capture what it was like to be here, on the ground, as it was happening.

Beginning on Friday night the crowds began arriving, and the city was in full swing by Saturday night. Many of us residents were worried about the revised bar closing time of 5:00 AM, but our worries were for nothing. There was such a positive atmosphere, there were no incidents, no fights, no nothing! That feeling lasted all weekend, culminating in the explosion of excitement and joy when Barack took the oath of office.

Here are some of my favorite moments (in chronological order):

• Standing opposite the Lincoln Memorial with 400,000 other people, listening to The Boss and U2, then laughing at the spectacle of Jack Black trying to be serious and reciting Lincoln
• Rocking out to Moby spinning at a local club from 12am - 2am, then rocking that much harder after the power came back on again at 2:45am
• Showing up at RFK Stadium as part of the Day of Service on MLK Day, and realizing that 10,000 other people listened to Barack's call to serve on Monday just at that location alone!
• Waking up at 8am and realizing that the Mall was already 3/4 full of people, so having to book down to try and get as close to a jumbotron as possible
• Standing in a sea of a little under 2 million people chatting, laughing, and talking while we waited for the ceremony to start
• The roar of joy when each of the following showed up: Al Gore, Teddy Kennedy, Hillary & Bill Clinton, Michele Obama, Sasha & Malia Obama, and loudest of all, Barack Obama
• The thunderous boos when each of the following showed up: Clarence Thomas, Dick Cheney (also accompanied by laughter though), and George W. Bush
• The fact that 2 million people stopped and became perfectly silent for 10 minutes while a quartet including Itzak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma played Classical Music (Air and Simple Gifts, arranged by John Williams in this case)
• Watching Barack Hussein Obama take the Oath of Office, and feeling the surge of joy and hearing the roar of the crowd.

And that was my experience....I will leave you with a picture, that I feel captures the mood of the whole weekend:

Things to Do

So I read this fun post on The Tragic Optimist, and decided coming up with my answers to the meme would be a fun thing to do the night before I start a new job, so here it goes

The 100 Things to Do list…
Things in life I’ve done in underline
Things I’d like to do in red
I’ve added comments in parentheses

1. Started your own blog (yep…which is why you’re reading this now!)
2. Slept under the stars (in college…camping…etc…)
3. Played in a band (I would never wish that on anyone – musical skills are nada)
4. Visited Hawaii (favorite place on earth…especially Kauai!)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (since I never feel like I have given enough I don’t know what will be more than I can afford, but I would like to someday get up the courage really sacrifice for something more important than my own comfort…)
7. Been to Disneyland (tons of times…one of the benefits of growing up in Southern California and having an aunt who lived 15minutes away from the happiest place on earth…my favorite time was when I was “Queen of the Morning” in Fantasy land!)
8. Climbed a mountain (well…sort of – see this post)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (hah! – see also #3)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (ah…Paris…)
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I would love to REALLY learn photography…)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (I’ve been to China a lot…’nuf said)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (does a couple of peppers and some tomatoes count?)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (actually, I’ve been to the Louvre several times, but never thought fighting the hordes to see this one painting was worth it when there was so much incredible art everywhere around me…)
20. Slept on an overnight train (Europe & China)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (hasn’t everyone?)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (I think I have a vague memory of doing this in High School, but I’m not sure)
27. Run a Marathon (and never will…though I did just ride 109 miles over 9 hours on my bike – I think that counts right?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (oddly, though I was in Venice, I missed this…I’ll have to go back and try it)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (almost every day in High School…I’d drive down to the beach and do my homework and watch the sun set…not a bad way to live)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (and have no desire to…unless it’s one of those ultra-riche Caribbean sailing cruises, which I’ll never be able to afford anyway)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (who wouldn’t want to go to the Czech Republic?)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (I guess immersion doesn’t count…but does pig latin?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (see also #16)
39. Gone rock climbing (while I’ve done it in the safety of REI, I’d love to really get into this and climb out west…)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (I tortured friends with the caterwauling on March to the Reub night in 1998)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (who wouldn’t???)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (Egypt fascinates me…)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (one of my favorite things in the world to do – everything in the world that is bad in your life seems so much less important walking in the dim light with the ocean crashing next to you…)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (*sigh* only been half-way so I guess I’ll have to go back)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (I’d like to do both someday, but for now I’ve only been snorkeling and adore it)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business with a partner
58. Taken a martial arts class (Aikido…loved it while it lasted…)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen (see also #6)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (one more benefit of living in San Diego as a child…field trip every year to watch the Humpback Wales migrate)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (though it really wasn’t my fault – the check was 3 years old from a bank account in a state I no longer lived in and had closed 2 years prior - they modified the date to make it not stale-dated and tried to cash it…I almost sued them when they reported me to a credit agency, but it wasn’t worth the hassle for only $25)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (would anyone actually say they wanted to do this??? Hmmm...)
    
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (this one’s beyond cool…I was standing on stage behind Obama the day after he clinched the nomination…and the picture on the front page of the Washington Post was one with me in it, standing right behind and between Obama and Tim Kaine…)
85. Read the entire Bible (close though...even though I've never been to Church, I always found the Bible itself fascinating...)
    
86. Visited the White House (but I may try now since I like the fellow that’s going to take over!)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (I guess I never want to be in a position of someone needing my saving if you know what I mean…)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (former VP Mondale and Nicholas Kristof were the coolest ones…)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (this one is a question still…so I’m not going to say I want to…YET…)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
    
100. Read an entire book in one day

I guess that's the list...and if you got through that you're quite a patient person!

Things I Am Thankful For

After seeing a list on my friend's blog here, I thought I should make my own on this Thanksgiving Day. Note that this is in no particular order...

• good wine
• the best friends ever
• a warm toasty home
• that I am not in Mumbai
• Pandora music on my iPhone
• fire (cause without it we wouldn't have great food...or coffee...or warm crackling fireplaces)
• coffee
• that I reconnected with long-lost family
• Doug
• that I have some skill in the kitchen
• beauty in all its forms
• ...

Thank you to everyone who has made this last challenging year better for me, and for bearing with my uncertainties and insecurities. Your support (you know who you are...) has helped me make it through when I thought I'd never make it.

So on this Thanksgiving Day, let's take a moment to think about those who are hurting, hungry, or need us, and vow to help in the next year in any way we can....

It Never Rains But....

I had a plan. It was a good plan. It was organized and ready to go. First, I would finish the fundraising and the 109-mile bike ride. Then I would finish studying for the GMAT and finish my business school applications. Then I would find some causes to work for while I was waiting to find out what would happen with my applications, take a couple of classes (Chinese and Calculus), and work on a fall-back position for if I didn't get into business school. HAH!

Well, as often happens in life, a new twist entered the mix. Turns out after all this time I'm going to be gainfully employed again. It's very exciting and terrifying at the same time. However, I'm excited about the new job (even if it is in DC). And it gives me an excuse to go shopping (though I guess I won't be able to sit in my robe until 11am anymore....).

New job for a new year....guess it's fitting!

Yes We Did

Last night's election was inspiring for many people, disappointing for many others. But for me, it was a moment I will remember forever.

Happenings....And Pictures

So I am truly a bad blogger, in that I have had almost nothing to say for a while now. However, I thought I should take a couple of minutes to at least give a minuscule nod to the idea that I do have a blog that is not dedicated to my training for my 109 mile bikeride. Really...the training and the fundraising has been taking most of my creative energy these days, which I guess is kind of pathetic that I can't drum up any additional effort to write a couple of words here on this blog that I started almost exactly a year ago.

Yes...it was a year ago that I began this little blog. I started it in an effort to communicate with friends and family while I jumped off a bridge and flew off to China for 3 months. It then morphed into musings on life, the universe, and everything, but ended up a little boring as once I returned from China last December I didn't have much to say. Searching for work, searching for your goals in life, etc., etc., apparently doesn't lend itself to much communication with the outside world.

But I thought I could take this time to list a few things that I have learned over the last year:

1. I am not as open-minded and able to adapt easily as I always imagined myself. My trip to China taught me where my boundaries are and where I need to let go and let life be life rather than trying to control it.
2. Looking for a job sucks. I mean really sucks. While I have had some incredible validation from some amazing people that I "should" be able to find a job (and have come relatively close a couple of times), the reality is decidedly more humiliating and confidence-crushing. The only thing that has gotten me through is having wonderful friends that have done their damnedest to keep my spirits up...but it still sucks!
3. Tangential to #2 is I've learned that I have the BEST FRIENDS EVER!!!
4. I need to stop thinking so much about what is logical and expected, but start thinking about what will make me happy and make the world a better place.
5. Control over one's life is completely impossible, despite my best efforts. Every day now I am having to learn all over again that I don't know what is going to happen, and if I try to make the future conform to my ideas of what it should be I will go insane.
6. Doing something difficult and new for someone else is amazingly rewarding, and the payoff is seeing these numbers rise...

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive in the last year...it has meant the world to me...

I'll leave you for now with some of my favorite photos from this last year:




Hopefully I'll find a new voice and you'll hear from me again soon.

What To Do Next?

Well, it has been almost a year since I left my job at the Department of Commerce, and I have to say, this is not where I thought I would be. I took the leap, got out of a job that had taught me a lot but also created un-abating frustrations, and did something that I had always wanted to do but never had the courage to do - run off to China and learn Mandarin. My experience in Beijing was unique, I learned a lot, and it only reinforced my love of China and my interest in continuing to be a part of the extraordinary development happening there.

At first, I did not think that much about what would be next, in that I decided to take the next logical step and look for a job in China using what I already knew and the skills I already had. That first leap, largely due to the current economic woes, while teasingly close to getting me what I wanted, fell apart at the last minute in April. What I had been working towards, however, lacked forethought and personal discovery of exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and what I wanted my life to mean.

Since April I have been spending a lot of time in self-discovery, as I find job postings that would have excited me a year ago merely ok. I've seen friends get married, attended a college reunion, and met a bunch of new friends. I have done some volunteer work for the Obama campaign, spent a lot of time exploring my creative side in the kitchen, and generally re-evaluating my life. The conclusion I have come to is that I am tired of the easy path I chose for myself. I want to do something meaningful, important, and most importantly help people.

As a first step, I decided to get off my tired rear end and DO something, which is why I signed up to help raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society while training for a 109-mile bike ride. Fundraising is nothing I have ever done before, but I find it incredibly rewarding to see each individual donation appear here.

But still the larger question is how to take my past experiences and roll them into a longer-term life experience. In my time in China I have seen some horrible things, from labor conditions, to living quarters, to thick films on rivers and lakes, to toxic hazes over cities. My own experiences in Beijing left my lungs feeling like I had been a pack-a-day smoker my whole life. I have met some incredible people in my time in China, and I wonder why they should have to live in that kind of environment, and feel bad that I have not done more to help over the years.

The problem is, right now, I feel like I lack the knowledge to meaningfully contribute to helping businesses bring environmental technologies to China and work with the government to get them executed. So I am thinking of going back to school to merge my business and government experience with study of emerging environmental technologies. Who knows if this is the right decision, but at least I will be moving towards bringing a better life to the myriad people I have met over the years. But for now, I will be spending the next month studying for the GMAT (standardized tests...the bane of my existence), and deciding what schools would best serve the purpose I have chosen...

I would love to hear from friends and family about life-changing decisions you made, and how you knew what you were doing was the right decision.