My zen through snow

I am not a patient person.  I definitely think I am one of those insane people that thrive on chaos and more activities than I can handle.  When I was in Australia a very important person taught me to slow down and balance out my crazy planning with the cruzy Australian lifestyle.

Snow is another calming agent for me.  It seems almost counter intuitive because when you are standing in 30 degree temperatures the one way you can fight off the cold is by speeding up and exerting yourself in some way. Maybe it has to do with the way the snow makes everything seems quieter, softer.  Maybe it is that the snow can shut down entire cities, forcing families to spend time together under one, snow laden roof.  And maybe it is just the fact that I don't get to see snow that often, and so when I do I try to slow down and appreciate its beauty as best as possible.

I spent the last week in Blacksburg, VA with my dad's family and a post about my experiences there is in the works but my day today and a story my grandma told me this morning got my creative juices flowing early.  My grandparents headed to NYC for the night because of a dr appointment and so I headed to North Hampton, MA to visit a friend that I went to Israel with.  As I left West Hartford it started to snow.  The beauty and the quiet settled in around me and I watched dirty snow from the week before become covered by a fresh blanket.

Many years ago, my mom, jan, step-sis sarah and abba were in Connecticut for a few weeks.  There is a slight (and I mean slight) hill behind my grandparent's house and my sis and I wanted to go sledding.  There was not nearly enough snow to make the hill any bigger so my mom and I went and collected snow from around the house in plastic bins to aid this feeble hill.  We started walking around the neighborhood collecting snow from other people's yards.  Apparently, I turned to my mom and said "Mommy, don't we have to ring the doorbell and ask permission to take these people's snow?".  I am sure my mom stated laughing hysterically just as my grandma started laughing this morning when she retold the story of my naivety.

I may not be as cute as I was then, but I still love the snow and the peace that it offers.

The backyard this morning

All bundled up against the chill 

The beauty that is Covina...

You know the quote, "You never know what you've got till its gone?"...

I feel like that sometimes when I come home to Covina.  I feel like I have given it a bad rap and haven't been appreciating the beauty around me... To combat this, I have been taking pictures of the beauty in my backyard that I have been too blind/ignorant to see :) Enjoy!

Front of my mom's house :) love the fall colors! 

San Gabriel Mountains 

My street! 

More of our mountains after a week of rain down here and snow up there! 

More snow! Taken right by my dad's house

The view every morning when I go to the gym- can you blame me for going so often? :)

Conclusion: There is so much beauty in our day to day lives.  Take a minute to appreciate it!

Ps. I really wanna hike these mountains! Man I miss backpacking... any takers!? :) 

Hannukah and All Things Merry

Hannukah (like most Jewish holidays) are sneaky little buggers.  They come in and out of life without a second glance because they aren't monetized, commercialized and "Americanized" like most Christan holidays out there. Not that I have anything against Christian holidays!  I am a HUGE fan of Christmas as I grew up 1/2 in a Christian home and I love the idea of creating your own holiday traditions so who knows what mash up of Christian/ Jewish/ Buddist/Hindu/Agnostic/ Pagan ( ;-D) holidays I will celebrate in the future! 

In any case, I realized that my few and far between Australian readers may not know what Hannukah is so I have compiled a little info and pictures to help explain! :) According to wikipedia (the go-to site for info, yes I am rolling my eyes as well) Hanukkah , (the Festival of Lights) is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the second Temple in Jerusalem.  Direct Link to the Article here.  The story of Hannukah has to do with a lack of oil needed to light the eternal light that burns in all synagogues.  The miracle of Hannukah is that the oil that should have lasted for only one day lasted for eight.  To honor this miracle we eat lots of goodies fried in oil (potato pancakes, donuts etc) and light a candelabra called a Hannukiah for eight nights.  

Our latke before and after pictures :) 

 Makeshift Hannukiah at Liz's house because we didn't have enough candles... 

 Hannukiah at my house (I made that when I was little!) :) 

Ps. I got a new camera recently so more pretty pictures to come! 

Catch up time! :)

Los Angeles really has some pockets of goodness and when Tellu and Maarit were visiting a few weeks ago we tried hard to hit them all! One of my friends from Berkeley is a native LA-ian and so he gave us the tour  including some trendy bars/ restaurants in West Hollywood.  I have learned that West Hollywood is truly the place to see and be seen! We also went to Santa Monica and Venice beach, which is very close to where I work.  Venice beach reminds me a lot of Berkeley.  Lots of crazies out but the truly marvelous part is the mix of people and activities, cultures etc that mingle along the boardwalk.  We rounded out their time in LA with a trip to soup plantation (all you can eat buffet that actually rocks) and Costco (of course).  I had a marvelous time with them but they really made me miss the other Australian friends that I have left behind...

I hope everyone has had a marvelous Thanksgiving.  My mom and I drove up to Berkeley to see my sis and have a belated Thanksgiving with my cousin mark in SF on Friday.  He lives in an area of the bay called "Foster City" which was a beautiful little town right on the bay.  He shares a beautiful, waterfront house with some friends  and it was interesting to see a new part of the Bay Area.  Below are some pictures from our festivities :)
The rest of our weekend has been pretty low key.  I went to the farmers market this morning with Dan and Kristin which was great fun (despite the rain) and my sis got an awesome backpack for her trip to Argentina/ Uruguay at the North Face Outlet.  Unfortunately I was too small for all the backpacks but I hope to find my own perfect fit soon! ha ha

Thank you for everyone who has touched my life in the past and present.  If you are reading this you must mean something to me and I am thankful for you all! Happy Thanksgiving! xx

YAY Social Life!

Tellu and her friend Marit came into town today on a stop of their world tour and we had a blast... and the fun is still not over! I will be sure to update you all later but I just want to say that all is well and I will write more about my actual fun weekend later :-)
Here are some pics of Tellu and I from Australia, in case you forgot what she (or I) look like (since I haven't written in so long!) he he

Falls Festival 2009

First AFL game- Brisbane Lions! 

Race Day :) good times! 

YAY for Australia friends coming to visit! Makes me super happy! :-D 

Two Lessons

Part un: 

Up until this point I had not really grasped any illustration of personal growth due to my 13 months in Australia.  This weekend I took the coastal train down to San Diego to visit my friend Becks.  She came and visited me in Australia for a month and she kept mentioning how she felt she had grown even in that month away from the states.  Sorry to divulge your feels Becks, but she feels more independent and a generally stronger person.  I thought I hadn’t changed.  I thought I was still that same person from high school and then college to now.  Turns out I am wrong.  At one point in the weekend Becky and I talked about how we are thankful for the fact that we got out of LA for college.  I didn’t get into UCLA and at the time I remember feeling pretty bummed because I thought I would be unhappy if I didn’t live close to my family.  When my mom first dropped me off at Berkeley I cried, but I am so thankful that I ended up there.  In any case, when it came time for Australia I didn’t feel scared at all.  A year away from home, psh, I can do that.  I went without knowing a soul and yet I remember feeling happy and comfortable almost instantaneously.  One of my friends gave me four letters that I could open at different points in my year there and they were labeled “when you are homesick and just want to get on the next plane home” to “wanting to move to Australia forever” (or something to that degree).  In that 13 months, I opened all of them but the intense homesick one (which I opened at the end just for kicks).  My long winded point is that I really feel that I did grow in the past years and I am only now realizing it… hopefully my next adventure will be just as rewarding!

Part deux:

I have been an intensely shy person.  Not to the point of social crippling but definitely to a strong degree.  Yesterday, I proved that I am growing out of this and again, I have Australia to thank.  Becks and I stopped at the beach yesterday before I got on the train and we not only met, but chatted to (for over 30 min) these two guys from Spain.  The exchange started with the usual “can you take a picture for me” question which really can be the ultimate ice breaker if used correctly ;)  I complimented one of the guys on his California sweatshirt, written in the Coca Cola script, he mentioned that he got it in San Francisco, and we launched straight in.  We talked about Nor Cal vs So Cal (he agreed Nor Cal rocks, reminds him of Europe) and then talked about Spain and travel and the El Camino walk (he was very impressed with my Spanish knowledge).  Thirty minutes or so later, we were exchanging phone numbers so Jose could give me a call when he moves to Hollywood (his dream) and starts making music.  Pre-Australia there is no way I would have started a conversation with someone and given out my number.  AND to top it all off, I started another conversation on the train ride back with a guy from LA that was reading Orwell’s 1984.  My my, look how I’ve grown! :) 

I guess these adventures out of our comfort zones are the best medicine/ learning experience that can ever be discovered.  I am sure all you adults know all this stuff, and I am sure my family told me this would happen, but it is nice to learn all this stuff alone!  Again, next big adventure- BRING IT!!  :-D  

Workin' Gal!

After a relentless 3 weeks (big whoop I know) of looking for a job I have landed a Digital Marketing Assistant position at KNOCK KNOCK, a company that designs and manufactures office and general organizational materials.  Their motto is “we put the fun in functional” and I have to say, the office resonates that motto.  (Check out their amazing stuff here).   With bright orange walls, a magical never-empty pretzel container and two dogs underfoot, it is hard to think of the place as a conventional office.  Of course the Venice Beach location doesn’t hurt and the people in the office embody the laid back vibe of the town.  Of course we all get work done (but in a fun setting; just as work should be).  Lunch time is always a unpredictable event.  On Thursday, three people had an in-depth conversation about “soggy” vs. “moist” and which foods/ objects fall under each word. 

What does a Digital Marketing Assistant do? To summarize my job: I am compiling a list of their current media contacts, will find more contacts and then pitch our products to them.  Common advice from established business people is often “learn how to sell” (yourself, a product, etc), and I am starting another step in understanding how to brand myself and the products/ company I am endorsing.   Another aspect of my job will be public outreach through social media like twitter, facebook, blogs etc.  I think that the company has an amazing product but has not yet learned how to really establish themselves (especially in the websphere) and that is where I will come in.  I have a few innovative ideas about how to get the ball rolling and I will slowly feed them to my boss, Krista. 

Well the downside of this job (outside of the minimum wage which will barely cover gas money, kidding… sorta ;) )  is the drive.  It is in Venice and LA traffic is a terrible, unpredictable beast.  Last week was a veritable mix of hit and misses and I hope by the time Dec 15^th rolls around (my last day) I will actually have a good sense of the area and how to get around in the least amount of area possible. 

Things I have already learned: there are two Starbucks close by and I have written down the bathroom key code for each :) (very necessary).  I have a new website I am obsessed with: google analytics, which compiles tracking information for Knock Knock to see how their visitors find out about them.  I have learned the back end of the site and managed to take down products as necessary.  I have discovered that Venice Beach is actually a very cool part of Los Angeles… but still does not compare to my beloved Bay Area ;)