Inspiration

Things lately have inspired me. My friends, my husband, my parents, autumn, autumn leaves, my acupuncturist, road biking and cooking. The way the sun sets over Twin Peaks and what I call The Eye of Mordor (ok, Sutro Tower - geek moment). The way R, my husband, always makes me laugh. How I can call up my friend A and see if she’s free for after work drinks to talk about life, careers, happiness... How I can call my friends in Seattle, N & S and discuss the same things. And how I can pick up friendships from across the country just by spending a weekend in NYC. I am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life. And I need to always be inspired. I recently realized that it had been awhile since I was inspired and needed to stop for a minute and try to look at the world around me every day for inspiration. Even if it’s just cooking a meal or a smile from R. How about you? When was the last time you were inspired? Need some inspiration? See this video!

Above photo: view from the street in SF that I live on, looking towards Twin Peaks with the Eye of Mordor peeking up in the background. The street on the left is the steepest street in North America!

I know it sounds sort of corny, but this bout of inspiration really started the week of Steve Jobs’ passing. Watching his commencement speech from 2005 really made me wonder: “why am I sitting on my ass in a job I rather dislike?” And really, why am I? I’m not hungry or foolish as Steve Job’s so famously proclaimed in this speech (by the way, if you haven't watched this, please do, it's worth 15 minutes of your time, I promise!). Coincidentally, the year that he gave this speech is the same year that I graduated college - it’s amazing how much it speaks to me over six years later. And also pretty incredible that this inspiration coincides with the whole Saturn Returns thing.

And so, it is with much shyness that I discuss my latest inspiration. For those who know me - I’m not a shy person. In fact I’m quite outgoing. For whatever reason, however, this topic pretty much scares the shit out of me. It must be serious. So I’m shy.

So, deep breath, here we go...

I went to the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine open house on Saturday. Ok, you say - no big deal! But, this feels monumental. Just writing about it makes me nervous! Thinking about changing my entire career, jumping off a cliff and *hoping* that a new pathway in life would be much more rewarding. Even clicking "publish" for this blog makes my stomach have butterflies (or flutterby's, my Dad's childhood name for it).

It’s just that it would be such a huge and monumental change. “Giving up” my career, my paycheck, my colleagues, everything that I have worked so hard for through high school, college and the past six years - just to see if becoming an acupuncturist is the right thing? Bloody scary. I put “giving up” in parenthesis because really, is trying something new, stepping out on a limb, taking that leap of faith really giving up? Not really I try to convince myself, and this is where I circle around to inspiration. Chinese medicine inspires me. It’s time to be hungry. It’s time to be foolish. I’ve spent my previous lifetime being calculating, controlling, anticipating every action, every move, being successful. And you know what? I’ve spent the past six years working towards something that really doesn’t interest me or inspire me in the least.

I feel I must take a moment here and be mindful of the advice A recently gave me during our after work drinks - even if I decide to go back to school and fail and/or hate it, I wouldn’t have really failed in the end. Or even have made a poor decision. *must remind myself of this... must remind myself!* If it doesn’t work out, at least I would have gained in some respect.

This isn’t to say that I haven’t taken a leap of faith before. I went to college. I moved to NYC with R right after college. I bailed on science after a year as a research tech and went into sales. It’s just that it seems harder the older I get to take those risks given that there is so much on the line. Or is there? Really? Yes, life would have to change. I’d need to spend less money, we may have to move apartments, take fewer trips to see family & friends, skimp on vacations, eat out less and I will have to stop buying new gear for my many outdoor hobbies! But is that worth it for something that could change my life? Could change my career? Could bring me more happiness than I’ve ever imagined? Since graduating college, I’ve always said that I should have been a nurse or should have been in the health care industry. I want to see others heal, be healthy and be happy. Sitting in my box of a cubicle doesn’t really allow that unless someone isn’t feeling well and I suggest a tea, a netti pot or some EmergenC.

So let me conclude with a few thoughts here. I don’t know if going back to school is the right thing for me. In the meantime, I continue my hunt for a new job in SF city limits (I plan on posting later about commuting). Even if it pays less, so what? I spend countless hours in the car/on the bus commuting and plenty of moo-lah on that commute. Maybe I find a new job that inspires me and fulfills this desire for a more rewarding job. Maybe I don’t. My plan (because yes ladies & gentlemen, I must always have a plan) is to take a public class from this college starting in January. It’s six weeks long and meets once per week for 2 hours. Manageable. My acupuncturist, who started recruiting me to the field to begin with, invited me to sit in on a class that she teaches at this same college I visited today. Ok, I’ll go. And then, on the side, I’ll do a money saving project. See if I can, over the next 6 months, save a chunk of change, just to see what life is like without this extra cash I’m so used to having. And then, ta-da!, I hope that in 4-6 months I’ll have my answer. We shall wait and see! All I know is that I cannot continue living how I live with my current career. I commute 1.5-2.5 hours per day (depends on if I drive or take the bus), I sigh every Sunday night knowing that I’ll have to go to work the next day. I say “happy almost Friday” every Thursday to my coworkers. And I look for any excuse to bail work early. This has got to change. And it will. Because it has to.

View of the sunset from my kitchen with the Eye of Mordor. Beautiful.

And now for a healing recipe. It’s my favorite. Should you be feeling like you’re coming down with a cold, have nausea, upset stomach, or just feel plain chilly on these lovely autumn nights or afternoons, I leave you with one of my most recommended and loved remedies: Ginger Tea.

Ginger Tea
-6-8 slices of organic fresh ginger (cut into 1/8 inch thick rounds)
-4 cups cold water
-Optional: stick of cinnamon or add ground cinnamon after the tea is done (this is great if your stomach is really, really upset; I used it recently for food poisoning and had great results)

Place the ginger in a pot (I use enameled cast iron, but stainless steel will work just fine), optional cinnamon stick and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 30-45 minutes. Strain and enjoy plain or with raw, unfiltered honey from a local provider or farmer’s market.

A few words on ginger tea- I drink this all the time during the fall and winter (minus the cinnamon) as I’m always quite cold. Should you always feel warm, all the time during this time of year, limit taking this tea only for when you feel unwell. This tea takes some getting used to! Start with a few slices of ginger and just add boiling water in a cup and let stand for 10 minutes. Then drink. You can then work your way up to the recipe above as it is much, much stronger!

Be well. Be inspired. Be hungry and be foolish.

Food, food, food

So there I am. Standing in Terminal 2 of JFK in Delta’s crappy terminal of the airport. And I am hunting for dinner! Ah, I'm ahead of myself, let me take a step back...




Elephant in Columbus Circle, he has an apple!


I think I’ve said (and will likely say many times over) that my acupuncturist has changed my life. After I began acupuncture, I kept describing my GI distress in each session that I saw her. I had been encountering stomach problems for the previous 5-6 years and never quite knew what my problem was. I just thought it was how it was supposed to be. BWAHHAHAH! And then entered Chinese Medicine into my life. One day, J looks at me and says “I think you might be gluten intolerant.” Ugh, ugh, ugh! Really?! Wheat? But I LOVE bread and cookies and farro and cupcakes and wheat berries and pain au chocolat and cous cous! How could this be?

So I grudgingly took her advice and stopped eating wheat.

And I’m sure you can guess the outcome from that. What an amazing change in my life this has made. I don’t often have tummy problems, I sleep less, feel less tired, have more energy and spend fewer nights laid out on the couch in GI pain. Luckily, I do not have ciliac sprue - the allergy to gluten, the protein that is in wheat. I simply have an intolerance. I usually indulge once every week or two... and am reminded why I should stay away from wheat! Luckily, I have a plant enzyme pill that I can take before eating wheat that mitigates most of the unpleasant side effects that gluten has on my GI system. I just sleep a bit more.

Back to the airport. There I am choosing between a Clif Bar, potato chips and a Naked drink (oops, have to check the label, sometimes they have wheat too). On my flight to NYC, I was able to bring left overs and enjoyed a yummy meal of baked sweet potato, rice, spinach and some goat cheese. Yum.  Not so lucky on my flight home. Sighing, I spend the next 30 minutes hunting through the airport for me-friendly foods and end up with some chickpeas, a Clif Bar and that Naked juice. Dinner of champions!

It’s quite amazing to me how much the prevalence of food intolerance's have grown in the span of just my lifetime. When I was a kid, everyone ate peanut butter. Now my coworkers are telling me peanut butter is banned in schools. It seems the prevalence of gluten intolerance is sky rocketing - I have two other close friends besides myself who have discovered that they too must be wheat avoiders. It makes me wonder why? I cannot remember where I read this, but there are some hypotheses that food allergies and intolerances are on the rise given our food supply, i.e. the Western diet.

How about you? Do you feel tired after eating a meal? Get “brain fog” in the afternoon? Sleep a lot? Feel low on energy? I’m not saying that you feel this way because of a food intolerance/allergy, however, I ask these questions as we are so busy in our every day lives that we don’t take time to pause and think about how our bodies feel. Maybe you have a cold, but maybe there is something else going on. If you’re really worried, simply do an elimination diet. Not fun, but will certainly tell you a lot (a word of caution here: you should probably see an acupuncturist or doctor if you’re to the point of an elimination diet). For 1-2 weeks, remove the following foods: wheat, dairy, soy, corn, caffeine/alcohol and any refined sugar. Basically, you’ll end up eating a lot of rice, vegetables and fruit! Or you can remove one at a time over the course of a few months. Personally, I’m going to remove dairy from my diet for the next few weeks - I’ve been feeling a bit phlegmmy/crappy after eating cheese (god, I LOVE cheese). Then I’ll introduce it back into my diet.

Anyway, here's a few more pictures from my awesome weekend in NYC. It was a fantastic weekend of seeing friends - seriously, I just socialized all weekend long. It sounds funny, but I think I discovered more about myself through my friends. They're always listeners and quick to offer support and wonderful friendship even though we live on opposite coasts. I feel so lucky...

The new World Trade Center being built

 A sign on a tent next to Central Park the day after the marathon. I thought this was pretty hilarious!

A perfect day in NYC with my good friend C!

Saturn Returns

First, a photo of a recent trip to New Zealand. I went to Queenstown for a research conference for work. What an amazing place and a wonderful way to escape the office for a week (minus the fact that I had previously traveled home from Africa for 32 hours, to stay in SF for 30 hours and then travel to NZ for 28 hours - I was a tad jet lagged). I HAVE to go back - this place is too beautiful for words. I even met Steven Colbert on my flight home. I asked him why he was visiting with his family and he responded "because of Lord of the Rings." Hilarious!

So, remember how I said I have a degree in Microbiology? I am incredibly scientific minded. What I mean is that I have a hard time understanding something unless I understand the scientific mechanism behind it.

About a year and a half ago, I finally broke down and saw an acupuncturist. I had a lovely long journey of a running injury and went through 2 orthopedic doctors, 3 physical therapists, an extremely painful MRI (involving a huge ass needle stuck into my hip), exercises, pilates classes, etc. You name it I did it. Except acupuncture. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around something so *out there.* But, alas, I finally took the plunge after one of my bf's, N, encouraged me to give it a try. Fine, I said...

I had no idea that my first appointment would change my life forever! The very first session I had with my acupuncturist, J, eliminated a horribly painful knot in my lower back and it has never returned. I could go on and on about J and acupuncture, but for brevity, I shall keep it short here. Besides, part of this blog is me wanting to explore my interests in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), so I’m sure I’ll write a lot more about it later!

Anyway, back to Saturn Returns. What is it you ask? Sounds like some sort of crazy astrological talk you’d expect from a card reader right? So, about a month ago, I’m seeing J for an appointment and it had been nearly 2 months since I had last seen her. I mentioned I had just turned 29 and she gets this knowing smile on her face and says, “aww.. you’re going through your Saturn Returns!.” And I’m thinking, “J, you were never into tarot cards or anything!” but kept it to myself and thought on it.

Later, I looked this weird topic up and find this article. I then even became more and more skeptical of J and her Saturn Returns. I read a bit more and found that in astrology, there is an idea that every 7 years you have a release of energy. Ok... well, I guess that makes a bit of sense. After 7, you change from baby to child. At 14, you change from child to teenager. At 21, you change from teenager to adult. And then, voila! Saturn returns and you hit a shit storm. Or at least that how it feels for me right now. Out of desperation, I mention to my husband, R, that I thought about seeing an astrologer for $75. He said he’d divorce me after 3 months of marriage. Haha! He’s right! I really needed a dose of reality. I even emailed another bf, S, who at the time was just starting an incredible teacher training class in Bali for 3 weeks. Funny, she said she met another girl there and they were talking about it. I’m going to Seattle to see her and N, so I cannot wait to hear more from her...

So there I am, last week back in J’s office, having a bit of an emotional break down and asking her more about Saturn Returns. Ah, then she stepped in with her calming, caring voice and advice and explained more. She isn’t into astrology (huge sigh of relief) and she stated that many cultures have this idea that every 28.5 years things go wonky for you. Old Chinese women, Tibetian monks, even ancient Europeans had this idea. It’s just that we don’t have anything like this in our culture. I was in awe. And then I promptly said that this really sucked. She responded - “it doesn’t have to.”

And so, it really doesn’t have to. Now, with renewed optimism (I’m a die hard optimist anyway), I decided to figure my shit out. Supposedly this lasts for a little while. I saw R go through it (he’s a few years older than me) and wondered why life was so turbulent for him at that time. He figured it out and is incredibly happy. Now it’s probably my turn...

As I am in marketing, trapped in my box of a cubicle, I would like to refer to Scott Adam’s most awesome comic that explains it all... and is even more hilarious because I used to be in sales!

Sometimes Life Dumps You on Your Ass

Yup. That's me. I'm the one with the pair of black legs in the air. Sometimes life picks you up and dumps you on your ass like it did to me from the top of an 8 foot camel. 


Starting from the beginning...


I have always been an overachiever. A type-A person who color codes their closet (I'm sorry to admit it... I'm working on it...). I went to college and met my future husband, R, and the best friends a girl could ever have in life. College was fun but really hard, as it should be, and majoring in Microbiology isn't kind! 


After college, R and I moved to New York and lived there for 3.5 years. I was a technician in a lab, grew tired of it and the crazy grad students I had to work with. I went into life science sales, grew tired of my company and switched to a better company. I grew restless in NYC and R got a new job in San Francisco so we moved there. After another year and a half of sales, I also grew tired of the demanding quotas and managers. Now, I'm in marketing and am also not satisfied. Sound like a Generation X'er? Well, almost.


I'm that weird generation between Generation X and the Millennial Generation. Not quite as self entitled as the Millennials, but not quite as jaded as the Generation X (ok, I exaggerate, but this is how it's been portrayed in recent articles I've been reading). I just turned 29 - yes, I'm really 29, but may celebrate "29" for many years to come!


My point here is that I feel incredibly lucky: have the most amazing husband ever, parents who aren't divorced and who are incredibly supportive and wonderful, amazing friends that I have no idea what I'd do without them and a steady job - why am I so unsatisfied? My bet is on the job! 


Back to the above photo... I was recently in Tunisia for a sales meeting for the Emerging Markets. I was training sales reps and this was one of our team building exercises. This whole trip was one major HR violation after another! Herding goats (ever filled out a customs form where they ask you if you've been in contact with farm animals?? take a close look the next time you come back to the US), enormous burning signs at a club on top of a roof, riding a camel without a helmet... you get the picture. I love going to other countries where they aren't hindered by so many laws! This one experience so happened to give me a bit of whip lash and a bruised butt as the South African sales rep pulled me off. But you know - that's life! It pulls you in a direction you never knew you'd go. And I think that's what's happening to me right now.


I hope to use this as an outlet to explore how to fix this conundrum that I see plaguing my generation; well, at least personally for myself. I also want to use this blog to explore the outdoors, share my travel experiences, go through the growing pains of figuring out who I am and who I want to be as defined my by life's work. Also, I want to share my passions: food, French, travel, outdoors, nutrition, Chinese Medicine, cooking, to name a few. Most of all, I want, no need, to share, to parse and to grow.


On y va (fr: "let's go!)