Umm... Happy 2010! So clearly I fell off the wagon with consistant posting, but that's going to change! At least I tell myself as such. In effort to finish what I started in December, and move on with my bloggin' life here's my first venture into the realm of video blogs. Clearly there's work to be done yet, but in spite of that, please enjoy. :)
Part One:
Part Two:
To Join the Best of 2009 Challenge Check Out This Link: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
"Interesting" is most certainly how I'd sum up my 2009. An incredibly full blend of loss, stress, frustration, rebirth, discovery, socializing, karaoke, dipping my toes into the "dating scene", quickly removing aforementioned toes from said scene because the "scene" felt too much like an awkward joke people play on themselves, re-learning to be comfortable with myself and acknowledge my worth, breathing, soul-searching, acknowledging my passions, forging plans to get there, stopping to smell the roses, stumbling upon a true partner, bi-coastal travel, laughter, love, snuggles, driving, and growth.
My foundation was shaken to the core, my eyes re-opened, and I wouldn't change a dang thing about it. :)
To Join the Best of 2009 Challenge Check Out This Link: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
I absolutely LOVE coffee and could geek out forever experiencing various blends, roasts, brews... but I just don't crave the stuff. It might be that it's somewhat in my blood as my mom and her father before her both had stints roasting beans and running coffee shops respectively; and while my time spent in the trenches as a barista at "FourBucks" are some of my fondest memories... somewhere along the way I hit a wall with coffee. We have our mutual respect, but I think I began to grow weary I started seeing it as more of a utility drink to force my way through my days doing things I don't have my heart fully invested in, combined with the jittery, edgey, aggro-monster I'd sometimes become because of it.
Which is why earlier this year I began really gearing up my mind grapes to delve into the world of tea, moving from the off the shelf bagged variety (though I do love me some Tazo Zen blend in a pinch) and into the more diverse loose teas. Unfortunately I didn't get too far into my exploration this year, BUT I did find a tea that knocked my socks off!
Peet's Jasmine Downy Pearls variety is all sorts of soothing. The taste is very subtle, clean, and sweet enough that I didn't feel it necessary to add sugar or honey. But what's the big win is the aroma, especially if you're a fan of Jasmine. Another really fun aspect of this tea is that as it steeps the balled up "pearl" leaves bloom and unfurl into their more natural leafy state, and the aroma gradually takes on it's more subtle complexities. And through all this it's never over powering.
To bolster my conviction on my tea journey I'm shopping around for a modestly priced infuser for home so I can better watch what the tea does through it's steeping process, and would greatly appreciate any reccomendations. I'm easily amused, sure, but I like what I like, and I hope you enjoy it too. :)
To Join the Best of 2009 Challenge Check Out This Link: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
And find me on Twitter: @mikeisonthenets
Anywhere near this girl.
How to Join the Best of 2009 Challenge: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
Several weeks ago I visited my parent's home in Sebastian, FL with my lady. It was a warm, sunny day and I was lounging in the pool... just floating... floating and zoning.
Tara asked me what I was thinking about, as she often does, because I'm usually lost in thought with my trademark pensive furrow adorning my brow.
This is where I typically respond with some sad refrain about the ongoing saga of work stressors or how I'm visualizing tasks to be completed in the near future, as if though running through them in my mind will not only make me more prepared, but will events to unfold precisely as I picture them. But at this particular moment, a smile crept across my face (after first doing a follow up scan to insure what I was about to tell her was honest to goodness truth) and then I said, "Absolutely nothing... and it's AWESOME."
I was completely in the moment. Aware of my breathing, the rays of the sun as they touched my skin, all the sounds of the coastal breeze as it moved through the trees, and the sounds of the pool as filters ran and water gently lapped against the sides. I was right there with my family and dearest loved ones... no negative or stressful thoughts, just present, at peace, and grateful.
I need to make more time for "swimming pools".
How to Join the Best of 2009 Challenge: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
Without question, my notable favorite read of the year was Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close". At times whimsical, melancholy, joyful, and then utterly heart breaking, this story had a significant impact on me with it's themes of love and loss set in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and with significant reference to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima.
There is one passage in particular which takes form as a letter to the main character/9 year old boy, Oskar, from his Grandmother which says this:
"The night before I lost everything was like any other night. Anna and I kept each other awake very late. We laughed. Young sisters in a bed under the roof of their childhood home. Wind on the window. How could anything less deserve to be destroyed? I thought we would be awake all night. Awake for the rest of our lives. The spaces between our words grew. It became difficult to tell when we were talking and when we were silent. The hairs of our arms touched.It was late, and we were tired. We assumed there would be other nights. Anna's breathing started to slow, but I still wanted to talk. She rolled onto her side. I said, I want to tell you something. She said, You can tell me tomorrow. I had never told her how much I loved her. She was my sister. We slept in the same bed. There was never a right time to say it. It was always unnecessary. The sheets were rising and falling around me with Anna's breathing. I thought about waking her. But it was unnecessary. There would be other nights. And how can you say I love you to someone you love? I rolled onto my side and fell asleep next to her. Here is the point of everything I have been trying to tell you,It's always necessary."
I usually call my mom a couple times a week on the way into work, just for the typical catch up and general conversation. I've a very small and immediate family, the sort that can be a bit whacked out and hard on each other, but foundationally it's because we love each other so intensely. This love of course is one that is typically unspoken.
It was this book, and this passage in particular that really caused me to evaluate the familial status quo. And for that matter any sincere expression of love within any of my very close relationships. If it's there, and it's true, why let it go unspoken "just because"?
Now all phone calls with my mom end with me telling her that I love her. I noticed it threw her off at first (though definitely not in a bad way), but she's since taken to it, and such earnest exchange is our new status quo. :)
How to Join the Best of 2009 Challenge: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
While this is clearly not an "article" per se, it's hands down one of the most inspiring, influential, and ass kicking messages I've absorbed this year, and have shared with many.
On most days, there is a lot of noise in my head regarding my current job/career thing/path. Typically a cocktail comprised of discouragement with the present (feeling handcuffed by my paycheck to a job that doesn't jazz me up any more, and mostly frustrates me), self doubt in my aspirations and dreams, and fear regarding my gut's intuition to do something daring to break the cycle.
What I love about this lecture, apart from Gary Vaynerchuck's infectious energy and straight talk, is that it's a reminder that I need to do exactly that, but on a quasi-reasonable-still-be-able-to-pay-the-bills scale of course. :) If one is living a life without true fulfillment and happiness is it really "living"?
Every moment is truly precious, so why spend them in ways that not only make you feel miserable, but aren't playing key part in your bigger picture? Living your passion.
I've been on a tear the past several weeks getting gears in motion, and am incredibly excited! I just need to keep at overcoming those disparaging internal monologues born of fear, get back to taking chances, return to being uninhibited me.
I know it will be worth it. :)
How to Join the Best of 2009 Challenge: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
I have a tendency to tackle my posts in stages (as well as think too much, be hard on myself, and get confused in my brain), as I still work on training myself to take time to make time for focused writing sessions. With my Posterous account I'll submit via gmail, so I ready the draft in the morning, prep the title in the subject heading, and then will rattle off an outline in the form of a topical stream of consciousness. The intent being to return to it later in the day when I have a momentary break and flesh out the thoughts and ideas. But this stream I enjoy just as it is...
This particular evening was during this year's best trip to San Francisco. My lady took me on our first date to Foreign Cinema, and... yeah. :D
I'm very thankful for this best of blog challenge, as it not only provides me means of pushing through my blogging hang ups, but affords me time to reflect on some awesomely wonderful moments.It's been a most peculiar, frustrating, heart breaking, amazing, challenging, beautiful, redeeming, and resolute year. I guess that means I'm living. ;)How to Join the Best of 2009 Challenge: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
Sannnnnn-Franciscooooo. An extended weekend trip born out of a desire to get away and decompress for a while, became an excursion to not only take in the sights and sounds of the Pacific coast... But also to see about a girl.
A very, very special girl... but more on her at a later date.I walked ridiculously steep and amazing hills, drove down Lombard street, ate great food, visited the zoo, got lost gazing into the Pacific ocean, but most importantly had a first kiss that was "so passionate, so pure" it left those other 5 far, far behind. This trip was a game changer. I discovered where I wanted to be in the world, and most importantly... exactly who I wanted to be with.How to Join the Best of 2009 Challenge: http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
