Every morning

Besides scrambling out of bed to get to work on time and making sure I get some sort of breakfast (lately it's been oatmeal), I have been working on incorporating a small meditating time. By the time I get a moment to do this, it is usually at work. My routine goes as follows:

a tea- matcha or earl grey, sencha green and english breakfast are too sharp for this process
peony hand creme
Headspace app

I normally choose the 5 minute version since I am at work and closing my eyes for more than that seems a little weird to passerbyers. From the small amount of times I've used Headspace I've come to realize that meditation for me isn't as much of learning to be "comfortable" with myself, as many  suggests meditation to be. For me, meditation is just being at peace and being able to keep my anxiety in control.

The app is really beautiful and the man who leads the meditations has a really calming voice, both which I appreciate. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a meditation app.

Memorial Weekend

Weekly reads:
I'm all about healthy eaint and online publications this week.
·Model diet
·a VS breakfast
·Brain food.
·and some articles from Brain Behavior & Immunity. I think I'm going to make it a goal to read (at least) one journal a day.

Weekly goals:
·Continue daily workout
·Decide on one sofa (upstairs or downstairs ok)
·Work on punctuality
·Get back into learning French.

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T gave me his Fire HD 8. Looking for any cool how-to, hacks, tips, wallpapers, etc for the tablet.

Saw Bon Iver last week at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall (second time, first time at the Bowl ♥). I feel that he his vocal skills have improved...NOT that he was lacking or bad previously, but you can definitely hear maturity of the techniques. Went to Marin for the weekend; it was beautiful and the weather was just perfect. Mostly overcast, not too cold, and a splash of sunshine from time to time. We went kayaking, on small hikes, watched Solo (Starwars) on one of the night, visited Stinson Beach, and took trips to the ice cream shop. When we traveled through SF, I honestly thought it wouldn't be bad to live/work there for a while in the future. But when I traveled down the west part of the city going to the airport on the last day, I was reminded how filthy the rest of the city is...a dusty worn down trashpile. Besides the golden gate park, FinDi, North Beach, endless food options, and Karl (the Fog) looming over the city, I think I still prefer LA to SF. And having moved up to Portland now, it's so much prettier, nicer, not-as-dirty/cleaner, and nature-y than SF/LA.

I worked yesterday (Monday) even though most of the employees had the day off, since I took Friday off. I thought I would dread being alone at work without friends, having the cafe closed and all the drinks/fruits taken away, but it was surprisingly blissful and I didn't have any desire to leave work early. I did take a longer lunch break to grab a salad and soup off-campus and get my nails done.

Btw Deadpool 2 is great, I liked the first one as well...

"...my own personal anxiety acted as the driver of my wellness journey..."

"...If I could give any advice for someone just starting out, what would it be? It took my own journey to understand: What works for someone else may not work for you. I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to fit myself into the latest crazes that, in the end, simply were not for me. Group classes, keto diets, many forms of meditation, and green juices don't work for me. Waking up at 4:30 a.m. every morning to swim, bike, or run and eating a high-calorie, nutrient-dense macro-focused diet is something I can get down with. Alas, training for two to three hours a day is my journey and it works for me. If you ever find yourself whining about not wanting to do a specific exercise or participate in x-y-z wellness fad, just don't do it. Course correct. Find what motivates you to get moving."

-NL.




I can relate. Thanks Nicole.

Weekly Gems

Gems because they're precious in some way, shape, or form.
Some of my weekly musings:

[to READ]: This is a good read. I think even though most of us are out of school, but these are good guidelines for if you're still pursuing your academic career and if not then they're great guidelines to stick to even in your professional career.
[to WATCH]: Ghibli's Porco Rosso
[to LISTEN]: Please Don't Leave | Free n Losh
(these last two are for my personal self improvement..)
[to DO]: Continue learning French!
[to THINK ABOUT]: how to better take care of plants, when I will make that NYC visit, and if/when I should start on GMAT prep...

I guess I'll make these like a few times a month, at least once if anything. That is, if I remember to come back to this blog. I finally have a primary care physician (yay!). But that makes everything negative more official than just assuming before.

Weekend

Spending the weekend catching up with [old] friends over Israeli food, getting late brunch, browsing used/vintage books on Hawthorne, watching a Wes Anderson film at an 20's indie theater, making dinner at home on a Saturday night, browsing a 1910-built house in downtown, and cuddling a rainy day away isn't a bad way to do it...

The rest of 17

Oh yeah, Outsidelands was wonderful. Also fell in love with Marin.



But Italy was even better...




I got a job in retail coffee when summer began, so that was fun for a bit.
And then I quit that to take an offer at my dream semiconductor job/company.
Went through the headache of becoming a homeowner (yay?), but feeling blessed nonetheless.
And here we are...

-i

The thrill of knowing how alone we are...

now playing: creature comfort | arcade fire

It has been so long since the last time I wrote on here, so much has changed.
I am learning how to be alone, myself being away from myself.
There is a certain feeling of satisfaction with being alone and dissociating though.
like people watching in a house alone, except there are no people around or outside.
and enjoying a few hours without connection to the virtual world or any other humans.

There are a good number of things to explore and see out here.
a few parks, a number of coffee shops, a stroll downtown, a drive down southwest.
houses to fantasize about. music to discover. even new shows on Netflix to discover.

I love my company but I am unsatisfied with my job...
As usual, unrealistic expectations from the opposite sex trouble me and cross too many boundaries.
I miss my friends, I miss the beach.
Thank god spring has come and waking up means purple peach dawn skies, otherwise I've been waking up, leaving the house, and leaving work in the dark.

-i

hi & nonsense ramblings

Post about feelings and things coming soon.
For now, I'm eavesdropping on a young adult talking about his job as a process engineer in Peets #overheard.
I'm also triggered/motivated by one of my (younger) colleague's successes and motivations. He is insanely aggressive and overachieving. Goals, goals, goals. I want to be, I need to be, I can be, I will be.

I'm quite content with my new laptop but I think there are some sound card?board? problems. I still prefer the UI of an Apple's Macbooks though.
Leo season is about to be over. I think there's not much that actually influences my day to day well-being, but there's a sense of pride and what not just with the thought of it...something to muse over I suppose.

I still need to plan out my trip to Italy, I feel obligated to meet up with this person even though I don't know him very well.
And if I'm lucky enough to get my job, I have to make a stop by NYC before I start another cycle of chaos.

I'll talk about OL and bay area in the next post