What?

Blogging is such an interesting form of communication with the world.  Some people use it to communicate with family and friends who live far away, others use it as a way to earn income, while still others use it as a way to track projects or hold themselves accountable.  I started this blog in 2008 before I really started using Facebook.  A lot of my early posts are now what I would most likely do as a status update or shared link on Facebook. I don't think they justify a full blog post. I don't quite know what my blogging should look like now.

While I was in the Peace Corps, I created a new blog to keep in touch with family and friends.  I didn't want to spam people with e-mail updates of what I was doing and I wanted a good way to share photos. In some ways I regret using a blog as my means of communication.  First, I think using a blog as a way to communicate made me feel even more alone.  People didn't write back as they might with an e-mail and I don't think I encouraged people to leave comments enough. The other reason I regret using the blog to communicate was that our blogs were heavily monitored by the Peace Corps and we were told we could only share positive experiences on our blogs if they were public.  This means I didn't really blog about a lot of my experiences and it also means that my friends and family (and anyone else reading) didn't really get an accurate portrayal of my service.  In hindsight, I wish I had just written an e-newsletter about my service instead.

Now that I have finished my service, I find I do still want to write and I have come back to this blog. However, I find myself at a bit of a loss when it comes to what exactly I want to write about. I am still trying to figure out what I want my blog to focus on.  In the mean time. I guess a little snapshot of what I have been up to will suffice.

Chicago Activities

Since my previous posting in August, I spent a week in Chicago having a reunion with some of my amazing cousins.  The weekend involved lots of yummy food, seeing Ira Glass speak at the opening weekend showing of "Sleepwalk with Me," and miniature golf. I also spent three and a half weeks in NYC work on a temporary job collecting samples of waste and recycling at transfer stations. As September ended, I found myself back in Seattle and back on the job hunt.  This is where I feel like things sort of stall.  I have had some phone interviews, but nothing has turned into anything.  While I do feel frustrated, I think more than anything I feel embarrassed.  At my age, all my friends seems to have a major successes or life changing events occurring that seems to make my existence pitiful at best.  I cheer on the new babies, promotions, new homes and loves found, but another part of me is so conscious about my own lacking that it makes it hard to be around people.  I hope in the coming months that things will change.

fUNEMPLOYMENT

One of my friends works on political campaigns and throughout the years has found herself unemployed between campaigns a few times. As I face my first time being unemployed in ten years, she introduced me to the concept of f-UN-employment; the idea that you accept your time without a job to be a time when you allow yourself to have fun between job hunting and networking.  It is actually a hard thing to do because being unemployed I feel like every free moment should be spent looking at job postings, tweaking my resume and trying to network.

I have taken decided to spend my "fun" time doing projects with clear attainable goals so I can feel like I am making progress doing things.  I completed by first small project today.  I painted my childhood dollhouse with the hope that next time my niece visits she'll want to play with it.  The original dollhouse was just plain wood like the shingles, but I thought it might be nice to have it match my parents' house so it will be even more special for her.  Without further ado, voila!

The Elusive Box

A little over a month ago I moved back to the U.S. after finishing my 27 months in the Peace Corps.  I have spent the last month getting acclimated back to stateside life and hunting for jobs.  I have also spent time trying to go through stuff I left in my parents' basement and figure out what I need and what I no longer want.  The good thing about coming back and looking at stuff again is that it gives me a fresh perspective on what I don't need.

The funny thing about Peace Corps is that although the application process takes forever (it was over a year for me), you really don't get much time between finding out when are where you're going.  I basically knew I would be invited in a particular window, but then I only had five weeks between when I found out and when I was leaving.  In that five weeks I had to quit my job, sell my car, pack up and move out of my apartment, not to mention buying supplies for the next 27 months and saying goodbye to all my friends and family.  In short, I was a wreck for five weeks and most my memories of that time period are a blur of feeling sick to my stomach and crying a lot. 

This being said I don't have very specific memories of packing, plus I moved everything from my apartment to various spaces in my parents' house.  I know I also got rid of a fair amount of stuff, but there are some things I thought I kept and just haven't been able to find.  I found all the stuff I need which is lovely, but there have just been odds and ends that I can't find. I find myself in the limbo of hunting for a job and an elusive box which may or may not have a mustard yellow purse in it and one fabulous blue and white striped blouse.

Paris

I've been doing some spring cleaning and sorting and compiled a few photos from my trip to Paris last month.  Please enjoy a few shots of the Lourve, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Notre Dame and Arc de Triomphe. It was a lovely trip. 

Mapping It Out

I have always loved maps, both old and new.  Today I found myself marveling at all the creative things that people do with maps, both traditional and modern.  From t-shirt designs to jewelry, from art to tablecloths, I love them all!

United Shirt of America on Threadless

River Thames Brass Cuff Bracelet from Jezebel Charms on Etsy

Colorful US Map Print by Lazy Daisy on Etsy

Map of Canada Pillow Cover by Nicole Tarasick on Etsy

1901 Antique City Map of Stockholm by bananastrudel on Etsy

Vintage California Tablecloth from VINTAGE DYETOPIA on Etsy

Perhaps someday I'll have a crazy map themed room!

All images in this post belong to their owners.

Music

I used to post about new music on this blog, but being in Romania means that I am hopelessly out-of-date when it comes to music.  Thus, rather than try to showcase new music, I thought I would post a few songs that I am currently addicted to.

I think Somebody That I Used Know by Gotye resonates with me so much these days because of the undertones of frustration that echo through both vocal parts.  I love singing along to this song at the top of my voice after frustrating days in the classroom teaching.

I am sucker for pretty vocals and Flaws by Bastille fills that void for me.  The live performance is also especially impressive when you see the group playing their knees as drums.  Love it!

I recently watched the documentary Still Bill about Bill Withers, which is an amazing portrait of a beautifully complex and thoughtful musician.  I have always Bill Withers, but after watching this film I love his music even more and Lean on Me is one of my favorites.

Tilting

I have recently become addicted to TiltShift Maker, a free online tool which lets you edit photos so that they look like miniatures.  Below are a couple photos from travels last year edited with this fabulous and free tool!  I am still very much a beginner at it, but it's very fun to play with and see how to tweak the focus on the images.

Mosque in Istanbul

Boats on the Bosporus

Athens

Germany

Romania

Intuition

Today I was doing one of my favorite Baron Baptiste yoga videos when I was struck by one of the things he said.  Normally, I tune out most of what is said and just focus on my breathing and movement.  I have done this DVD at least a hundred times and probably could do the routine without it, but I like the background music and the pace of the routine.  Anyway, today I was struck by one of the queues; "to move intuitively" until you find enough stretch and challenge without doing damage.  This is one of the things I love about yoga; that if you pay attention to your body you can make micro-adjustments to intuitively find muscles that need stretching and work others that need strengthening.  

I began to think about how I wish life worked like that.  That I could intuitively know which direction to move in my life for my own benefit.  I am sure that there are hundred, if not thousands, of self-help books and workshops that claim to teach people how to do this, but what if you could physically feel when you are making the right decision?  Perhaps, some people can, but alas, I am not one of them.

In six months, I will finish my Peace Corps service and I wish I knew how to move intuitively forward in the right direction.

On Letters and Things

In some respects I have old fashioned taste.  While I embrace the ways in which technology lets us communicate quickly and efficiently, I still love the old fashioned art of letter writing.  I love the feel of good paper and seeing ink on the page.  When I open a letter, I imagine the writer sitting down and thinking of me as they wrote. This fills me with joy.

 

When I have time, I love to make cards for friends and family by hand.  However, I admit that I don't do this as often as I would like, but I am usually glad when I take the time to do this.  Usually I opt for a collage technique.  Recently, I've enjoyed using scraps from an old wallpaper sample book my mom gave me. 

When I don't have time to make a card I love using cards from small letterpresses.  As we enter the new year, I've been thinking about stocking up for the upcoming birthdays and weddings in 2012.  Esty offers some lovely options.  Here are some of my favorites.

Berry Birthday from Smock.

"Congratulations on tying the knot" by Leland Manufactory

Cupcake Wrapper Letterpress Birthday Card from FINE DAY PRESS

Special Occasions Letterpress Variety Pack from ilee

I wish you all a letter-filled and joyous 2012.

All Etsy images from their respective owners.