Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Thing About The Olympics

I'm such a sucker for the Olympics. Seriously--I will schedule my whole life around the games during the two weeks (winter or summer) that they're on. And let's face it. I will CRY LIKE A BABY.

So what is it that hits such a nerve as to evoke such emotion?

I think it's simple, really. The fulfillment of a dream. We sit on the couch in the comfort of our homes and watch these kids who have spent countless hours, sacrificing time with their friends, sleep, their parents' money, and a lot of other "kid stuff" for years. All because they had that perfect combination of unique talent and a dream strong enough to drive them to incomparable heights.

So maybe my dreams haven't involved as much time and sacrifice. And if I'm honest, they haven't involved as much heart. either.

But that doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day, dreams are dreams. And the thing about dreams is that most of them don't come true. And for most of us, that's a bit uncomfortable.

But here comes this moment in time, every two years, where we get to watch these kids compete their hearts out. And for the lucky few it all pays off and they get that sweet moment of victory. It's an amazing thing to watch.

My dreams....well, there are a lot of them that continue to falter. When I watch the Olympics my emotions swell with the satisfaction of seeing a dream realized just as much as they stutter with the reality check for those in that haven't come through.

Sometimes that hit is pretty deep, tapping into those areas of my life that I've hoped for but not yet realized.

But for the most part, I think the emotion is pure joy. Joy in knowing that dreams DO come true. That hard work and effort DO pay off. And that so many of us can sit in our living rooms and experience that joy together.

The thing about the Olympics? They shake us out of being content with anything less than all we have to give. They make us want more--to stretch ourselves and see what we can really do.

And really, isn't that what it's all about anyway?

[Side note: yes...I know I owe you details on life. When I have more than 2 free minutes at a time I promise I'll catch you up.]

Monday, January 25, 2010

When It Rains It Pours

So what’s up with our little buddy El Nino?? Last week had the craziest weather that Southern California has seen “ever.” (At least that’s what those who have lived here longer than my tenure of 14 days keep telling me.) I’m crossing my fingers that they’re right. My Texas friends will understand the conditions when I say that it was basically April thunderstorm weather—complete with a couple of tornados.

[Interestingly, though, the storms came without thunder. I’m going to need to go to the wiki on that one…I don’t get why the thunder didn’t come to the party.]

Anyway, I got soaked more times in the past seven days than I can even count. I’d like to order up the sunshine now, please.

One of last week’s agenda items was getting to the DMV and getting my driver’s license and registration taken care of. Apparently the fact that I had this on my list caused some friends to think that I’m overly conscientious about such things. Yeah…not so much. But my registration expired at the end of December and my license expired last Friday. SO…I carved out time from work and headed over to just get it done with. I left the DMV (soaked from waiting in line outside) 2 hours later with neither of these chores accomplished.

Long story on both, but I did go back the next day and get the properly licensed to drive. The registration…well, when your title is locked up somewhere in storage facility in Fullerton, you have to get the state of Texas involved. I love the Tejas, of course, but I’m not holding my breath on getting this one resolved very quickly.

Moving cross country: there’s so much more fun than just living out of your (unregistered) car.

To escape the wet dreary weather in SoCal, I headed to NoCal where I was delighted to be greeted by…more wet, dreary weather. I went for some meetings in San Francisco and then to Napa to celebrate the second anniversary of my 35th birthday. Let’s just be crystal clear—there’s no better way to spend a birthday weekend than sipping delicious wine in spectacular locations with a super groovy guy.

Especially when you get a good pour.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Not in Kansas Anymore

Whew. I honestly don’t know where to start. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind like no other. I completely feel like Dorothy…pretty much minding my own business and then…POOF…swept away to a foreign land in the blink of an eye. It’s crazy that it’s only been a few weeks since all this change was set in motion. And here I am tonight sitting in my (second…we’ll get to that in a minute) hotel room in Orange County California.

So let’s see. There was the move itself. I’m so glad that Mother Nature blew through with 20 degree temps the day of the move. That was ever so helpful to the whole process. I won’t soon forget the morning that the movers were loading the truck and my mom and dad and I were upstairs in the warmest room of the house with coats and gloves shivering away. Three hours with the door open with those kind of temps has that effect.

Other than being mind numbingly cold (I’m from TEXAS, people…I don’t have the constitution to withstand anything less that 45 degrees), the move went very smoothly. I gave away about half of my stuff and really regret that I didn’t take a picture of my garage before the charity came and took it all away. It was, if I do say so myself, one impressive heap of junk. Absolutely a case of where one man’s trash is another’s treasures. Seriously…I hope that others are enjoying that stuff. I feel so much lighter without it!

There were a few glitches of course (my favorite was about 20 minutes after the truck drove away and my mom happened to open the largest drawer in the kitchen. To find it FULL. Yep. Luckily that was the only thing the packers missed). But my belongings have arrived in California and I’m so happy to be back in possession of my car—not because I care about the car at all, but it was impressively packed with all the stuff that I will have access to in the next couple of months while most of my stuff is in storage. So now I’m not just living out of one suitcase…I’m living out of six of them. Good times.

When I got here I checked into an extended stay hotel. For some reason I thought it made sense to get a place where I could pick up groceries and feel somewhat settled in for the first week. I clearly didn’t factor in the 80 hours of work that left minimal time to eat…let alone shop. The hotel was absolutely disgusting (and I’m pretty sure the carpet hasn’t been changed since 1984). I can’t believe I stayed there for 5 nights, but I’m happy to report that I vacated the flea bag suites this morning.

I had hoped to move into an apartment today. I did find a place yesterday, but can’t move in until 2/1. I’ll be in a furnished apartment for a couple of months while I get the lay of the land and figure out where I really want to live. I found a super cute place in Laguna Beach about 3 blocks away from the beach and village. I can’t believe that I will live walking distance to the beach. This, my friends, is my dream come true.

So many other things have happened (including my car showing up broken…though apparently not the movers fault), but it’s all just coming together. It’s been quite a ride, but I’m not sure anything has just snapped into place for me before like all of the details around this whirlwind move have. I am so many miles from home and barely know anyone out here, but I’m so happy and at peace that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Even if the gas is $3.19 per gallon.