Friday, August 20, 2010

Giving Up on #1... Or Not?

Getting something published in print was the first thing that came to mind when putting together this list because it was part of my original career goals. When I went to school for journalism, the plan was to be an on-staff writer at a magazine. But in media, technology shapes the business, and I found myself going down a road to be a web editor/writer -- which isn't a bad thing. It's the future. Or the present, really.

So putting this on the list was a way to get back to that original goal (without losing my full-time job, heh). But I'm going to be honest with myself and say I don't have the time or heart to do it anymore. Pitching and writing freelance work is another full-time job on its own -- it's not as easy as Carrie Bradshaw and other TV frauds make it seem. And I'd like to be able to have a life outside of work. Spending time in front of a screen is just not how one should spend life. There.

Or...for a non-quitter's version, after some shuffling at work I've found myself contributing to the print pages a little more. Because I want to keep this blog separate from my job (it's that whole I-want-to-keep-my-job reason again), I won't mention names, but if you know me, like know me, you know where I work, so pick up a copy and scan the front pages for my bylines. No 2,000 in-depth articles (yet?), but it's my name in print.

I like to think of this as a mature decision because I don't like giving up on anything. Seriously. (I'm still working on being a Sudoku master.) But you have to realize when you have too much on your plate and decide what's more important in your life.

Peace.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

"Each step is one less step you have to take."

That's what an old-ish man told his running partner as she (and I) made the halfway mark at the Sgt. Keith A. Ferguson 5k this morning. Technically this wasn't my first 5k, but it was the first one I ran through its entirety -- no walking breaks!

Total time: 33:51 seconds. Bizarre, considering I ran/walked this one in about 31 minutes but I'm just glad I fought every urge to stop running and walk instead and finished it. One step at a time. Thanks for the advice, old runner man.

Speaking of old people, there were runners of all ages this morning. The female overall winner was a 16-year-old (ah, to be an energetic youth), while there were 70-79 year-olds who finished in less time than I did. To be honest, one of the things that kept me going was seeing kids as young as 6 and old people run past me. If they can do it, why can't I? (Also, kudos for being ridiculously fit.)

Monday, August 2, 2010

Week Without Coffee - DONE!

I don't know why I chose to give up coffee as part of my to-do list. Yes, I like a challenge, and yes, a part of me likes to inflict pain on myself, but I also like to think that I wanted to test myself in case I ever got addicted to something and needed rehab. I know now that rehab and withdrawal from serious substances must be AWFUL. (I'm rooting for you Lindsay Lohan!)

I started my Week Without Coffee on a Saturday. I figured with two days of the weekend under my belt, I'd be more capable of facing the work week sans cafe. Did it really make a difference? Meh.

Because I knew I would forget about this whole blogging on a regular basis thing, I kind of live-blogged (does Google Buzz count as blogging? Sure.) the entire week.

Monday, Day 3 of Week Without Coffee. I want to cry. I want chocolate. (Honestly, I don't think Monday was the hardest day. I was just half asleep most of the time.)
Day 4 of Week Without Coffee. 1 cup of black tea at 7:30, 1 withdrawal headache at 10. Nice.
Day 5. Woke up with a headache, first thought: iced coffee, mmmm. I'm not caving! (I lay in bed ready to give up on this, I swear. But as much as I love coffee, I am also hard-headed. I did not cave.)
Day 6. At the elevator on my way to my desk, I want to cry. Upon opening my inbox, I want to cry. Cofffeeeeeeeee. (Did I mention I wanted to cry? But at the end of that day, I surprisingly got a lot done. Random burst of productivity or was I actually getting by without my preferred caffeine dose?)
Day 7. I'm pretty sure I'm craving comfort food as a substitute for coffee. I can't stand tea right now. (I remember having a cup of black tea - my 2nd - on my desk and wanting to fling it against the wall. But I didn't. I also didn't finish it. I also skipped a new workout I really wanted to try because I was exhausted, hungry and had no patience for hoity-toity men who do yoga without their shirts on. I want to workout, not have a fashion show, damnit. Be flamboyant in your own space. I considered getting an iced coffee because technically the last time I had coffee was the Friday morning the week before, but I didn't. Instead I had some Chipotle. No regrets.)
You'd think after all this the first thing I'd do on Saturday morning was have a cup of coffee. But nope. I had a banana and black tea and went for a morning run. AND THEN, I had coffee with my pancakes. Aaand then I passed out on my couch having barely finished my cup. Ah, gotta love having a high caffeine tolerance. 


What did I get out of all this? I learned that if I ever need to go to rehab, I would cry. But I might also make it. And that if I didn't have coffee, I'd compensate with chocolate, cake and other junk food. I'll stick to coffee.