If you got tax refunds most years, wouldn’t you rush to file your tax returns in order to get that refund as soon as possible?
Well if you’re me, then the answer is no. In fact, I only just filed my returns last night. On the up side, I did get them in a week before April 15th so that’s kind of a win, right?
So note to self for next year – remember this feeling and FILE EARLY! And then go out and reward yourself with something pretty.
In this day and age, it’s easy to be cynical…especially if you live in a big city. Last night I tried my hardest not to be.
After an admittedly frustrating day at work, I was thankful to go to yoga class and relax. As usual, I felt tons better afterwards.
And then I met Janet*.
Janet was a slightly older woman in a sleeveless long dress that stopped me on my way home for help. She appeared frazzled and explained that she was brand new to the area and had just been in a car accident in her mother’s car. The car had been towed, her mother was out of town, she didn’t know anybody in the area and had no way home.
I know, I know, it sounds like a classic scam right? That’s what I was trying to figure out in my head while she was talking. I dissected her story, her expression, her clothes, her mannerisms…anything to give me a clue to her honesty. In the end I believed her sincerity more than I disbelieved her and gave her some cab money.
As I headed home though, my inner cynic came out and I started to question my decision…and fell into a depression based on the belief that I had just been scammed. My boyfriend and sister tried to make me feel better but I just couldn’t get the incident out of my head and continued thinking of ways I could have handled the situation differently.
This morning, I was still obsessing over what had happened. Fed up with myself and not wanting to put a damper on the whole day, I finally released the incident and any possible feelings of regret. I figured on the bright side, I had helped someone out (even if they didn’t really need it) and I’d have a few extra karma points on my side.
Less than an hour later, while driving to work, I got a call from one of my co-workers informing me that a water main break near our office had closed down our building and everybody was to work from home – YES!
So thank you Janet - the money I gave you was certainly worth a day home from the office!
And thank you karma - I will never doubt again that you have my back!Two steps forward, one step back.
So last year I committed to starting my own company and began to buy up domains as soon as I had come up with the name of my business. Due to my lack of commitment and uncertainty about actually going through with the whole thing, I only registered them for one year.
Fast-forward to January.
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been ignoring renewal emails from GoDaddy. It actually took me a few weeks to even open the first email and when I did I saw that my first domain was going to expire on March 6th. And so I made a mental note to go online that night and make sure that it would auto renew.
Last night, I finally sat down to handle all of the renewals and started to mentally kick myself when I realized I had missed the March 6th cut off! I started to kick myself harder after I called customer service and found out that there was an $80 penalty fee for getting back an expired domain.
ARGGHHH!!!
I was informed that if I registered the domain for 5 years, GoDaddy would kindly discount half of the fee OR I could buy a 10-year registration and not pay any of the late fee. Ah, the catch.
So even though it scares my commitment phobic self to commit to 10 years, I went with option B because at least all of my money would go towards the domain and not to the fee. I thought maybe that would lessen the feeling of guilt and regret over having succumbed once again to my old ways. So far it hasn’t worked because even though I’m not paying the penalty fee, the 10-year registration cost me $199!
ARGGHHH!!!Starting yoga last January was the first step I took towards making a change in my life. It had been something I’d wanted to try for years but always procrastinated about pursuing. Then my boyfriend’s membership at a local gym gave me the opportunity and motivation to join myself and start a weekly yoga class.
Fifteen months later, I feel amazing! I finally have decent upper body strength (yeah!) and I feel so much healthier. That feeling has driven me to become more active and to challenge myself physically (a la rock climbing). It has also proven to me that pursuing my interests will pay off.
So I felt a sense of loss tonight when my teacher announced that she’d only be teaching our class for one more month. But something she said at the end turned my initial sadness into admiration.
She ended her announcement by saying that when you make a decision; it is often at the sacrifice of something else. And while the choice was a difficult one for her, she knew that it was the right decision for herself.
My head started to spin as we started our meditation and downward dogs. All I could think of was how hard it would have been for me to make that same decision - knowing that I’d be letting down so many who counted on me. I envied her because I’ve always felt bound by others expectations.
It’s the reason why I’ve stayed at my current job for seven years…because the thought of leaving and disappointing my boss and co-workers has been too hard. And why I’ve stayed in the same city as my family because I know how devastated my mother would be if I moved away.
But now I’m starting to realize that your life is the only one you get and sometimes you have to be selfish in order to lead the life you want. I’m going to remember the lesson that my yoga teacher gave me tonight as I start to evaluate what I need in order to be happy, not what everybody else needs from me.Remember that cute poster of the kitten hanging from the tree branch with the motivational header “Hang In There!” underneath? Well that came to mind today when I crossed off the third item on my goals list – learn to rock climb.
Initially the plan for today was to play hooky from work and go snow tubing. Unfortunately, the recent bout of unseasonably warm weather made that impossible (global warming strikes again!).
Luckily, we had a Plan B. Which is why this afternoon I found myself taking that kitten’s advice to heart and hanging on for dear life to the side of a faux rock wall.
Initially I had felt confidence while watching the guys in our group easily make it to the top of the wall on their first attempts. This quickly turned to panic when it became my turn. It wasn’t a fear of heights that was getting to me though; it was a fear of failure. I had waited so long to rock climb that I was worried I wouldn’t be able to live up to my own expectations.
But instead of letting the worry of failure paralyze me, I let my sense of pride take over. Since there was no way I was going to let a couple of guys show me up, I quickly hauled my scrawny butt up that wall and slapped the top in victory!
The lesson learned today was that even though I ‘failed’ to make it to the top of the wall on every line we attempted, I didn’t feel one ounce of failure in myself. Instead I was proud of myself for making the attempt and taking action to do something that I’d always wanted to try.
Three down – seven to go!
The March for America took place downtown today. Thousands of people gathered in front of the capital to protest for immigration reform. And I was there as an observer.
This year has been all about changing my life and my destiny. But today made me think about those who don’t even have that opportunity. There are so many who come to this country looking for the freedom that is denied them in their homeland, only to have it denied here as well.
I’ve wasted so many years not going after my dreams, while so many immigrants sacrifice everything to go after theirs. I look to them for inspiration and the courage it takes to change.
Let me preface this by saying that I understand books are inanimate objects. But if I could love an inanimate object like a person, I could truthfully say that I have fallen in love with this book.
The book in question is “Etcetera” by stylist Sibella Court and I have Danny Seo to thank for the recommendation. I have become a recent fan of his “eco-friendly and crafty ideas” and am now addicted to his daily blog of inspiration.
His recent post on the book included a peek inside the cover of “Etcetera” and I was instantly hooked. Desperate to have it, I searched Amazon and Barnes & Noble without luck. Turns out that Anthropologie is exclusively carrying the book and I was fortunate enough to track down a copy at one of my local stores.
And the book did not disappoint! It is absolutely incredible and brimming with amazing insight of decorating with ordinary objects and filled with page after page of inspiration. Sibella layers her vignettes in the most extraordinary way; with always something new to discover each time you study one.
Genius! I mean who else would think to display old paintbrushes and loose pages from books?
I want a hobby drawer like this! But if I did, I wouldn’t want to ever close it. Even the most ordinary of objects is made beautiful with age and an eye for arranging.
Even the actual book is hiding something unexpected. The cover I discovered underneath the book jacket was so extraordinary that I’m never putting the jacket back on!
And it got my creative juices flowing like no other. I now have so many new ideas for decorating my home, which has caused me to become slightly less productive at work because I’ve been poring through eBay (don’t tell my boss!). With any luck, I’ll soon have a collection of my own “curiosities” and I can’t wait! Half the fun is in the hunt though…so watch out fellow eBay buyers - I am a woman on a mission!
