1 NO INTERNET ALL LAST WEEK - So last week was a little stretching, mainly because I didn’t have internet at home. There was a modem hiccup and no matter what I did I couldn’t get it to work. So everyday I had to walk to the nearby Starbucks in order to do my work. I’m really grateful for that monthly coffee allowance they give us even moreso now.
Anyways - I tried to be very mindful of the time I spent online. Allotting what I needed the internet for once I got there, and then just holding off on watching my TV shows until later. So instead I read a lot. Which is really good. Finished Quitter … working through Mockingjay. I’m kind of excited for this momentum I have from reading.
Time well spent. But I’ll be happy to have the interwebz at home again. Please & TY.
2 GRADUATION WEEKEND // UC BERKLEY EDITION - This weekend I hopped on a plane to North Cal to visit my cousin for her college graduation. Let me just tell you, sitting through 3200 names being called … wow. The things you do for family :)
But that’s OK. Got a mad tan. Read like 18 chapters of Mockingjay. And then caught up with family while I was up there. I’m really liking this catching-up-with-cousins thing. It’s kind of nice.
We ate a lot of Chinese food and had some down time. The good thing about sharing DNA with these people is that they like low key afternoons just like me. It was awesome.
3 HIMYM & ONCE UPON A TIME - I’m not going to lie about my immediate notion to watch TV once I got to my cousin’s house. Finale season is already sneaking up! I had a lot of family time in there, so I really only had time for HIMYM and Once Upon a Time.
As soon as I got done I really wanted to talk to people about it, but my cousins don’t watch TV. School has jeopardized their TV time. I remember that … I’m so glad I’m done with school.
Anyways - what are your thoughts?? Did you watch the shows?
4 PLANE CRASH - On a much more serious note, there was a plane crash this past Friday that contained passengers who were all ORU or Teen Mania alumni/staff. Of the five people on board, 3 died on impact. The other two were able to get out but suffered severe burns and were flighted to nearby hospitals.
This video captures the story better than I can:
5 A HERO & A SURVIVOR - I remember getting a text message to pray. Hannah Luce is the daughter of Ron Luce (TM’s president and also one of ORU’s Trustees). And all over Facebook all you can see are updates and prayer reports.
It’s definitely a tragedy. To lose 4 people so unexpectedly like that. And then there’s Hannah with burns on 28% of her body. We’re all praying for her healing and strength for all the families during this time.
It’s just heartbreaking because it’s so close to home. It’s people who were part of Teen Mania and ORU. The two places I was part of for 9 years of my life. Some of them just graduated. Like last week. It’s just so sad. My heart goes out.
Do you ever have those moments where you put your iTunes on shuffle and then stumble upon a song that you A) didn’t know you even had or B) have no clue what the song is.
That’s what happened to me when this song randomly popped up while I was working. I had totally forgotten that I downloaded this free song off the Nylon Blog awhile back and was just now listening to it.
Enjoy the music video! It’s pretty much video clips of dance tutorials mixed in with some actual footage of people street dancing in Barcelona.
I have a confession to make. I am absolutely HORRIBLE at remembering girls’ birthdays.
It’s really strange. I can remember every birthday of the guys that lived on my brother wing or guy friends from high school ten years ago. But I cannot for the life of me remember my best girl friends’ birthday.
I would always forget.
My best friend in high school, Angela … it’s somewhere in November.
And Ava’s. I’m pretty sure it’s in June or July.
Leighanna’s is in September somewhere, but I don’t know where.
But this year - I totally remembered Christina’s Birthday. Yeah buddy!
I even got her a birthday card. Hopefully she got it in the mail. If not, it’s coming!
Anyways - love you much Christina! So happy that you were born oh so many years ago :)
So I’m doing something I never do – read two books at once. And one of them is a fiction book at that!
I hardly ever read fiction. I like movies, but for some reason I couldn’t get into fiction books. Until recently.
MOCKINGJAY
So after watching “The Hunger Games”, I literally went out to B&N and bought the first book in the series. Which led to the second book. Which led to the third book. So yeah, now I’m on Mockingjay.
Fiction and I usually don’t get along. But something changed … who knows? Maybe I’ll read me some Harry Potter or Twilight now.
Anyways.
So that’s what I read in the evenings. A bit of Mockingjay goodness. The movie was gruesome and quite disturbing, but I had to know what happened next. I think the overall story is better than just the first chunk. Getting the entire scope of revolution is good.
I totally went out of order here. Mornings come first. Bah.
QUITTER
So in the mornings I’ve been reading Quitter by Jon Acuff. It’s about going from your day job to your dream job (you can even read the first chapter for free HERE). It’s really good. But I’m almost done. I kind of want to keep hearing his thoughts on this topic even after the fact. Or maybe I should just go out and buy Stuff Christians Like – that always seemed hilarious.
Plus, I never got my free copy from Zondervan. Mike said he’d send me one.
(He was one of my advertisers @ RELEVANT)
Anyways. I have a lot of swirling thoughts because of this book. Bullets for good measure:
I like the backstory of how he went from blogger to speaker to published author to landing his dream job.
I like that his dream job was to work at Dave Ramsey.I admire that man a lot.
I like the way Jon Acuff writes.It’s like the way he talks or tweets.I’ve heard him speak at Catalyst – and he was one of my favorite speakers then.
I really like the fact that Jon Acuff watched marathons of The Real World.At least I know we share this guilty pleasure.
Well, I’m reading this book and I’ve come to realize that I have no clue what my dream job is anymore. I used to know. I thought I knew. But things have changed.
I used to have a Post-It note on my desk that was written in Sharpie – “DREAM JOB: RELEVANT MAGAZINE”
And I did that. But now I’m done. And that’s long gone in the past.
And now I’m reading this book about landing your dream job, and I don’t know what that is. I don’t know what I’m passionate about. I don’t know what it is I want to do or be.
I guess I can refer to notes I’ve written in the past.
In an old notebook I scribbled a few dream job ideas. Obviously RELEVANT was listed there, but here are a few other things that I wanted to be:
VH1 commentator – like for certain shows (ie. I love the 90’s)
Fashion photographer
I could totally be a Coyote Ugly bartender. I would make BANK.
Anyways. Still brainstorming. Still wondering what will be my new dream job. And dear God, I hope I get there. Because you really need direction in order to go anywhere.
So yeah. Those are my thoughts on the books I’m reading right now.
ARE YOU READING ANYTHING GOOD? GOT ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO SHARE?
Happy Tuesday friends. It’s 11 AM and I’m at Starbucks. Coffee is good.
Anyways - here are five things going on in my life right now.
1 AVENGERS - Along with a gazillion other people out there I watched the Superhero Blockbuster “The Avengers” and was floored by its awesomeness. I’ve been a big fan of the X-Men movies, so it makes sense to love more Marvel goodness.
Not to mention, it was directed by Joss Whedon. That man is pure genius.
Favorite Parts (without any spoilers):
tossing him like a rag doll
ScarJo being totally BA
every hot superhero on screen
2 SPRINKLES CUPCAKE ATM - On Saturday my friend and I decided to hit up the novelty cupcake store Sprinkles in Beverly Hills. It’s one of those must-stop places (like Magnolia Bakery in NYC). Incredibly small. Line going out the door.
But you can easily bypass that long line by using the snazzy Cupcake ATM. Just plug in your order, watch the little arm grab your cupcake, and voila! Eat & enjoy!
Although, I’m pretty sure $4/cupcake is a bit high priced. And that I can bake better cupcakes myself. I may be a bit biased though :)
3 CINCO DE MAYO FAIL - I was busy hanging out with a friend this weekend and all I wanted to do was get a margarita! Between the movie, the cupcake ATM, and hitting up 3 different shopping centers … I never got my margarita!
Can it still count as Cinco de Mayo week? Can I get a margarita later this week? I’m going to say that’s OK.
4 NEW PASSION PIT - Yeah. Enjoy.
5 A PAINTING CONUNDRUM - I have this space above my bed that is perfect for some artwork. Which is great considering one of my friends gave me this print from IKEA. It’s beautiful … abstract purples, pinks, and yellows. And a naked woman.
So yeah. I’m thinking of ways to paint over part of it. I might give her a t-shirt. Or maybe make it more of a mountain landscape or something. Or I’ve thought about doing other types of paintings. There’s a lot of inspiration on Pinterest. If you have any ideas, let me know!
