Breakthroughs: all they are quacked up to be.

I recently had what we call in the yoga community, a breakthrough (yes! breakthroughs continue to happen even after practicing for 5 years).

I’ve always (unintentionally) operated under the Jacob M. Braude quote, “Always behave like a duck- keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like the devil underneath.”

At work, giving a presentation – I appear cool, calm and collected while boiling inside. When stepping on an airplane, I pop anxiety pills but appear to an outsider to quietly fall asleep to the drum of the engine. When rock climbing at a great height, you can’t see my heart thumping from the ground because I am scared of heights. And on my mat, my annoyed thoughts toward downward dog echo only in my ears.

In addition, I’ve had a year of great loss. I lost my Uncle Hawk (George), Aunt Carole, Aunt Sandee, my “step-sister” Kara and my dear yoga friend Indrani. Each time I received news of loss, it brought me back to my 20-year-old self when I lost my best friend, my Mother. Only a select few have seen me break down, the paddling underneath. I’ve become very skilled at remaining strong and positive, unruffled on the surface, but almost to a fault.

Recently, during a yoga practice, this became clear to me. I’m not sure that operating under this duck paddling quote means that I am truly living authentically. I realize that I thought if others appeared me how I want to be (cool, calm, collected) then that’s all I needed- I was ‘getting away with’ it. But now, I’m ready to strike a balance. While I am a strong person, I have moments of weakness. I realize I need to accept these moments in order to overcome them – both in appearance and in reality.

So why am I writing about this on my blog that no one reads? I’m not 100% sure, but hope that by putting my intention out into the universe, I will stop hiding my weaknesses… and possibly bring awareness to other fellow ducks in the process.

What does it take to have clean clothes around here?

November 8, 2011
Dryer begins to make a rumbling noise.

November 17, 2011 AM
First visit by American Home Shield. Dryer parts are ordered.

November 17, 2011 PM
Washing machine fills up with water and will not drain. Landlord schedules repair with Sears.

December 3, 2011
Sears makes first visit to inspect washing machine. Orders lid switch and timer.

December 5, 2011
Dryer parts come in. Dryer is fixed. (1 POINT: Home Shield)

December 10, 2011
Tenants at local laundromat threshold. Out of quarters.

December 22, 2011
Sears make second visit. Installs lid switch. Realizes timer is missing.

December 28, 2011
Appointment scheduled. Tenant worked from home to accommodate. Sears did not show up. Called at 6pm but tenants already left due to plans that evening.

January 4, 2012
Sears makes third visit. Installs timer but notices a leak.

January 25, 2012
Appointment scheduled but parts are not in. Forced to cancel.

February 6, 2012
Sears makes fourth visit. One man arrives. Says its a two man job. He leaves.

February 9, 2012 AM
Fifth visit by Sears pending.
Sears cancels scheduled appointment. Doesn't appreciate tenant's frustrated sarcasm when asking if there is a Frequent Customer program that could give us visit priority.

February 9, 2012 PM
Celebration planned.

February 16, 2012 AM
Fifth visit by Sears pending (seventh scheduled)

February 16, 2012 PM
Celebration Planned.

Hurricane Irene opens escape route for Arlington dogs

Dogs rejoiced in South Arlington, Va. early Sunday morning as destruction from the recent Hurricane Irene opened a new escape route at a local dog park.

Towers Park Community Canine Area (CCA), located steps from S. Scott Street, is a regular hangout spot where dogs of all shapes, colors and sizes can run free, off-leash. Surrounding trees create a shady environment at the dog park. It was the falling of one of these trees that opened the fence to a potential escape route.

While it remains safe to visit the dog park, owners are urged to keep a close eye on their four-legged friends as a quick escape is possible through the 1 foot getaway portal in the fence. Many dogs are known to possess extreme strategic thinking skills, including the ability to calculate the precise moment to flee as their owner turns their head.

Fortunately, there were no injuries aside from the damage to the structure of the fence.

Dogs are left to wonder a popular philsophical riddle, "if a tree falls in a dog park, and no dog is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Office Grinches

It's that time of the year again... time for family, friends, food... laughter, giving and love.

However, these popular holiday themes seemed to have slipped from the awareness of my undisclosed colleague(s).

Please observe the savaged advent calendar photo to the left. This photo was taken on December 9. Please also observe the numerous "windows" that are opened. The thing that strikes me as odd is that not all of Dec. 1-8 (the days leading up to when this photo was taken) are opened. However, the Grinch had no problem bypassing these acceptable dates to undermine the future.

As Wikipedia defines:

"An Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas.

Today, most Advent calendars are made for children. Many take the form of a large rectangular card with "windows" of which there are often 24; one for each day of December leading up to Christmas Day. One is opened every day during Advent. In many of these calendars, each window opens to reveal an image, a poem, or a portion of a story such as the Nativity story itself. More elaborate Advent calendars have a small gift concealed in each window, such as a toy or a chocolate item."

I'm from a small town. I always thought I was slightly sheltered, not having more than 5 television channels and a duck as a pet. Nevertheless, I know what an advent calendar is, and how to operate one.

So, how in Rudolph's name did this happen?

I have but a few theories:
A) The Grinch does not know the purpose of an Advent calendar.
B) The Grinch knows the purpose, but is apathetic and simply doesn't care.
C) The Grinch believes this is a backwards Advent calendar, and is counting down from 25...
D) The Grinch is continuously extremely hungry and/or craving chocolate
E) The Grinch believes the Advent calendar makers saved the best chocolate for the end

Whatever the case, Merry Christmas you filthy animals!

My dog ate my mobile phone.

Culprit name: Zara

Hair: mostly brown with hints of black, tan and white
Eyes: blue
Age: nearing 2 years
Breed: collie/husky/shepard. aka. mutt
Hobbies: chasing tails, eating cupcakes, squirrel hunting

Charge: After being left alone for a mere 30 minutes, Zara is charged with Blackberry Attack. (see photo below) This is out of nature for this four legged canine as I usually leave her out of the crate, free to roam around in my room for 8 hours a day while I go to work. She is usually an angel. Until... I leave to grab lunch one Sunday afternoon. BAM! There goes my poor, helpless Blackberry. Of course she chose to chew on the Blackberry that is owned by my company. Spiteful, Zara... spiteful. One cracked screen and missing button later, I am left to wonder why she chose hard plastic over chewy peanut butter to claim as lunch that day.

Being a dog owner has taught me a lot of things. Mainly, that I do not want children any time in the near future. Second, how to have patience, and last, how to forgive. Zara has been crated every day since the AoB (Attack on Blackberry). However, I am happy to report that because of the Humane Society's Crate Training Tips, my four-legged friend enjoys her crate. It might be the peanut butter kong that awaits her each morning, but as soon as I open the door to the crate, she walks right in. Although its not my preferred style, the world is now safe from her jaws while I am away. I'm hoping someone will tell me dogs are like wine - that they get better with age. I consistently blame this on her terrible 2's. Let's hope there are no terrible 3's, 4's and so ons. I guess it's not all bad, though. There is no other creature in this world who can give unconditional love such as man's best friend. And, she makes a good vacuum. I sometimes wonder if she is teaching me more lessons than I do for her. Maybe it really is a dogs world after all.

My life in boxes and keys.

This past week I celebrated my one-year anniversary of living in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. And I must admit, I've caught the beltway blues more than once during my 365 days in presence. I had to transition from a small, country town in Ohio -- where my uncle is the mayor, everyone knows everyone, there is no cell phone service, no red lights, a town square, and sitting on the porch with lemonade and listening to the rain is a good time. I quickly found myself in a fast-paced "city" called McLean/ Tyson's Corner where there are more people in one apartment complex here than there are in my entire hometown. My office is 7.5 miles away from my apartment-- there are 34 stop lights (most of which are usually red) and 4 stop signs on my way to work. There are next to no sidewalks in Tyson's corner which results in having to drive everywhere. A few days ago, a 2.1 mile drive took 26 minutes and 47 seconds. I wish I were joking. However, when I reflect back on the past year, it's not all complaints. I've met some great people, learned so much through my job, cherish the fact that so much history is simply down the road, and can honestly say I haven't been bored since I moved here. There is so much to do! Whether it's playing baseball at the National Mall, getting a mind, body, and soul workout at Dancing Mind Yoga, or going to concerts at the local venues-- I've been successfully kept busy.

Tomorrow, I move from the Terror of Tyson's Traffic, to Arlington, Va. Ahhh.. a place where you can walk to get your groceries, easily access bike and running paths, only steps will take you to the metro-which opens doors. It's funny how packing up my belongings throughout the past week has made me think back to the first day I moved in. I would get lost literally every single time I left my apartment. I owe a lot to Google Maps. But seeing my room almost empty, just as it was when I first arrived, has reminded me of how much can change in just one year.

Now, the other part of this title is 'keys'. My key ring has exponentially grown. Last year at this time I had one key - my car key. Now, there are Harris Teeter, Petco, Borders, Giant little tag cards swinging right next to my car key. There are also two apartment keys (two locks-would be better if we had 3 because we live in the ghetto) and a mailbox key. Then, I began volunteering at the yoga studio and have two keys to allow access. Yesterday, the biggest key was added. The key to my boyfriend's apartment. Yes, it really is the biggest- metophorically and literally. Tomorrow, I will be giving away my apartment keys and getting new ones. I'm left to wonder how the ring will change and what I'll be carrying around next year. What's on your key ring?

I'll close with Hello, Arlington! Goodbye, Tyson's.
My new home.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo

Transition from Fearful Facebook to Transparent Twitter

Facebook:
It’s on everybody’s mind. Multiple times per day. It’s on your cell phone. It’s on your computer. It’s your lunch break, and your mind break. Thinking back to my early days of college, I first heard of this social networking site from my friends at bigger universities. As a student at a college of less than 1,000 students on a good day, Facebook did not exist. That is, until Kari Jo and I began sending e-mails with information such as our college size, residence halls, fraternities and sororities on campus, dining halls, and other information on the “Petition to add your school to Facebook” form. Once Facebook was introduced to Bethany College (not sure if Kari Jo and I had anything to do with this-but we like to think we did), the world changed. I set ground rules. I would never give out personal information to people I didn’t know. I would never accept a friend request from a person I didn’t know. I went on in my merry keep-everything-to-my-own-personal-bubble way until… I met social media. With the service known as Twitter, I find myself following people. Yes, I admit: I am following complete strangers; and in some cases, products and services. That just sounds creepy. And, I’m somehow okay with it. That leaves me to wonder, when did I become so transparent? And who am I to think the world really cares about what I am doing. Okay, maybe they do. But why? It’s all about the sharing of information. It also has a lot to do with the personal interest factor. So Susie Q is “snowed in for the day”… maybe you are too? You can relate. People love to relate. Tweeple love to relate. It's actually pretty pretty useful in not only personal life, but work/business life as well. Many links, informational pages, facts, and ideas are presented daily through Twitter. Twitter is a great way to expand your network and build your very own web-u-tation.

Well, that’s my 2cents on this. I’m only left to wonder, what’s next? When will the line between my information sharing and privacy cease to be blurred?

Big Brother…is that you?

*Side note: While I still do not accept people I don’t know on Facebook, I’ve become lenient and do accept people who went/go to my alma mater and people who work for the same company as I…and the occasional mutual friend or two. :P