Yeah....so, it's almost 2012 (insert bad cliche about time flying here). This is the fourth post in a series on New Years Resolutions; mine, and others. Read my other resolutions here, here and here.
I have a secret. Do you want to hear it? It might surprise you, so prepare yourself. I'll give you some time and post this nice video of two hipsters singing a song in a hipster way.
Did I give you enough time to prepare? Okay, make sure you're sitting down. Here's the secret:
I'm shy.
Yes! I'm shy. I love to laugh and I love to talk and I love to meet new people. But I'm terribly shy. Contradictory, I know. But if I have to do the approaching in a social setting, good luck getting me to do it. And, if I meet you one time, I'm usually afraid that you won't remember me and that I'll look weird for remembering you...so I smile, but not enough to be a creep. Because who wants a creep approaching them at Whole Foods?
As someone who will be looking for a job come July 27 (know any nonprofits in need of someone to give them a voice? Give me a call!), I need to learn how to approach people. And to not be afraid to remind them who I am. Or better yet, stop assuming that they don't remember me.
It's a shame that I'm so shy, at the beginning, because that's really not who I am. Once you get to know me, I'll never shut up. And I'll laugh so loud that you'll be embarrassed to be out in public with me. But if you see me out somewhere and we've only met once, you're going to have to approach me. Because the idea of approaching people just makes me feel awkward.
So, there's my fourth resolution for 2012. I'm going to start approaching people and stop being so darn shy. The more I do it, the more comfortable I'll be. And then I'll have more friends and gainful employment! And who doesn't want that?
(Between you and me, this will probably help in my dating life too. But. That stays between us.)
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Supporting. [Resolution 3]
Yeah....so, it's almost 2012 (insert bad cliche about time flying here). This is the third post in a series on New Years Resolutions; mine, and others. Read my other resolutions here and here.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love my job. I love it for so many reasons, but mainly it's because I'm in the neighborhood. It's my job to love and care for where I live. Isn't that great?
Because I am all about the neighborhood, I get to do things like walk over to the Boulevard to check on the trees. Half an hour to roam the streets? Definitely work. Take a walk around the commercial core on a sunny day. I pop in to the businesses and say hello. Part of the job!
I also consider it part of my job to support these local businesses. Yes, I could go over to Target and grab a cup of Starbucks. But, I could also walk nearly the same distance in the other direction and grab a cup of direct trade coffee from Kazanda's (her dad grows her beans on his farm in Haiti. Seriously!).
It's not just in East Liberty, though. Pittsburgh has plenty of small, locally-owned businesses. So, in 2012, I resolve to support local businesses more than I did in 2011. Farmer's markets (East Liberty has one year-round and one Citiparks summer market. How lucky are we?), shops on Butler Street, Kazanda's.
What kind of new years resolutions are you cooking up?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love my job. I love it for so many reasons, but mainly it's because I'm in the neighborhood. It's my job to love and care for where I live. Isn't that great?
Because I am all about the neighborhood, I get to do things like walk over to the Boulevard to check on the trees. Half an hour to roam the streets? Definitely work. Take a walk around the commercial core on a sunny day. I pop in to the businesses and say hello. Part of the job!
I also consider it part of my job to support these local businesses. Yes, I could go over to Target and grab a cup of Starbucks. But, I could also walk nearly the same distance in the other direction and grab a cup of direct trade coffee from Kazanda's (her dad grows her beans on his farm in Haiti. Seriously!).
It's not just in East Liberty, though. Pittsburgh has plenty of small, locally-owned businesses. So, in 2012, I resolve to support local businesses more than I did in 2011. Farmer's markets (East Liberty has one year-round and one Citiparks summer market. How lucky are we?), shops on Butler Street, Kazanda's.
What kind of new years resolutions are you cooking up?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Writing. [Resolution 2]
Yeah....so, it's almost 2012 (insert bad cliche about time flying here). This is the second post in a series on New Years Resolutions; mine, and others.
Time for resolution number two! I've had this here little blog for 16 months, and it's time I start acting like it! Other than my (unbelievable, cheated) month with NaBloPoMo, I haven't been the most consistent writer.
I don't mean to ignore you. I have the best of intentions, really. But when I open the Blogger window, then I open another window and pretty soon I've been Pinning for two hours and my blog post isn't done. Or, like what just happened now, I opened Facebook and debated about a new cover photo for my timeline for 30 minutes. I'm sorry. In 2012, I vow to write more. Here, and otherwise!
For now, it's a good thing that people like Shannon (AKA @BrassyLibrarian) are around to keep me writing. Shannon and I met out of a mutual fear of attending the PodCamp mixer (along with Carrie and Lauri) alone. We had an enjoyable time at #pcpgh6 and I've loved reading her blog, A Librarian's Lists and Letters ever since! Seriously, read her stuff because it's great.
Anyways, I was thrilled when Shannon asked for guest posters. I've been thinking for awhile about the characters that I've seen nearly every day on my walk to work. What better way to express myself than through an open letter? It's mostly a list of gratitude.
Check it out over at A Librarian's Lists and Letters!
Time for resolution number two! I've had this here little blog for 16 months, and it's time I start acting like it! Other than my (unbelievable, cheated) month with NaBloPoMo, I haven't been the most consistent writer.
I don't mean to ignore you. I have the best of intentions, really. But when I open the Blogger window, then I open another window and pretty soon I've been Pinning for two hours and my blog post isn't done. Or, like what just happened now, I opened Facebook and debated about a new cover photo for my timeline for 30 minutes. I'm sorry. In 2012, I vow to write more. Here, and otherwise!
For now, it's a good thing that people like Shannon (AKA @BrassyLibrarian) are around to keep me writing. Shannon and I met out of a mutual fear of attending the PodCamp mixer (along with Carrie and Lauri) alone. We had an enjoyable time at #pcpgh6 and I've loved reading her blog, A Librarian's Lists and Letters ever since! Seriously, read her stuff because it's great.
Anyways, I was thrilled when Shannon asked for guest posters. I've been thinking for awhile about the characters that I've seen nearly every day on my walk to work. What better way to express myself than through an open letter? It's mostly a list of gratitude.
Check it out over at A Librarian's Lists and Letters!
Learning. [Resolution 1]
Yeah....so, it's almost 2012 (insert bad cliche about time flying here). This is the first post in a series on New Years Resolutions; mine, and others.
This time of year is used for a lot of things: family, vacation (maybe a vacation from family), finishing up the end-of-the-year tasks, prepping for the year ahead. It's a busy time. We're supposed to write resolutions: the things that we're going to work on over the next 365 (or 366) days. Usually, these are about losing weight, spending more time with family or cutting back on habits like smoking.
My main resolution is a little different, though. Something I've noticed about myself is that I don't take a lot of time for reflection. Do you? I'm trying to reflect more (hence the purchase of this lovely item, props to Sarah) and that's part of my resolution. Something that I'm prone to do, though, is look back and focus only on the mistakes I've made. I end up kicking myself for the actions I took or the words I said.
There's sometimes a place for regret, especially if those actions or words caused someone else pain or sorrow. But more often than not, I'm judging myself too harshly for not doing what I think would have been the "right" thing to do, based on what I know now. That's the thing, though. My opinion about my former actions is based on hindsight.
With that said, this year's first resolution:
This time of year is used for a lot of things: family, vacation (maybe a vacation from family), finishing up the end-of-the-year tasks, prepping for the year ahead. It's a busy time. We're supposed to write resolutions: the things that we're going to work on over the next 365 (or 366) days. Usually, these are about losing weight, spending more time with family or cutting back on habits like smoking.
My main resolution is a little different, though. Something I've noticed about myself is that I don't take a lot of time for reflection. Do you? I'm trying to reflect more (hence the purchase of this lovely item, props to Sarah) and that's part of my resolution. Something that I'm prone to do, though, is look back and focus only on the mistakes I've made. I end up kicking myself for the actions I took or the words I said.
There's sometimes a place for regret, especially if those actions or words caused someone else pain or sorrow. But more often than not, I'm judging myself too harshly for not doing what I think would have been the "right" thing to do, based on what I know now. That's the thing, though. My opinion about my former actions is based on hindsight.
With that said, this year's first resolution:
 |
| [Obviously it's not mine; it came from notsalmon.com (via Pinterest).] |
Isn't that a great idea? View your life with kindsight.
Like I said, I think know I'm too hard on myself when I look back at what I've done. So I'm going to be nicer to myself over the next year. I'm going to reflect on my days (weeks and months, too) with the question of "what was I learning?" instead of "what was I thinking?".
When you look back, are you too harsh on yourself? Would you benefit from a cleansing breath, instead of a forehead slap? Remember to view your life with kindsight!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wordless?
So these are words, but they aren't mine. And it's an image. So, kind of Wordless Wednesday.
Love this:
Love this:
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