thirty one

there's nothing like a new year to start over. goodbye 2010, hello 2011 =)

thirty

virginia mason (where i currently work) was named the top hospital of the decade by the leapfrog group. pretty neat. check out the article.

twenty nine

when the space needle was built, there was talk of putting a stork's nest at the top. then someone realized storks can't survive in seattle's climate. and there went that idea.

twenty eight

being stranded in NJ due to a blizzard is bad. having your flight cancelled and rescheduled several times is bad. having the roads (including the parkway) not plowed after 2 days is bad. getting to the airport and having your flight ultimately delayed additional 5.5 hours is bad. but it all gets put into perspective when you meet the family that's been sleeping at newark for 3 days. then you realize you had it easy.

twenty seven

33 inches of snow is cool to look at. until you've been shoveling it for hours and still haven't made any progress. then you're quickly over it.

twenty six

saying goodbye, even when inevitable, is incredibly difficult. especially when love is involved.

twenty five

some xmas facts courtesy of music choice TV: "jingle bells" was originally written as a thanksgiving song; santa claus was generally depicted as an elf until 1931, when coca cola ads portrayed him as human-sized; in 1923 calvin coolidge became the first president to light an xmas tree on the white house lawn; FDR officially moved thanksgiving a week earlier to have an extended holiday shopping season; in 2007, mall santas in australia were asked not to say "ho ho ho" b/c it was supposedly derogatory to women.

happy xmas =)

twenty four

my mommom is not as innocent as she appears. she definitely made me blush tonight, which she promptly followed by also making my brother blush.

twenty three

the nj devils stink. and i'm officially excited for baseball season.

twenty two

there are hotels that stock vibrators amongst the sodas, snacks and baby alcohols in their mini bars.

twenty one

i used to be much better at trivia. i'm losing my skills.

twenty

missing the total lunar eclipse merely b/c it was too cloudy to see, rather than it being too late to see, stinks. especially since it was during the winter solstice, an incredibly rare event.

to note: the last time a total lunar eclipse occurred on the winter solstice was in 1638. the next one won't be until 2094. i'd be 112. i hope i don't live that long.

nineteen

eggplant doesn't taste so good in a stir fry. well. my stir fry, at least.

eighteen

pretending to be "over it" does not guarantee others won't still be able to see through your act.

seventeen

"ahhhhhhhh!" as said by kevin mcallister (macaulay culkin) in home alone, accompanied by face slap, is one of the greatest movie scenes of all time.

sixteen

there's a church of the flying spaghetti monster.

fifteen

i blush incredibly and embarrassingly easily & there's absolutely nothing i can do about it.

fourteen

even the most positive people have moments of doubt. today i had my moments. i acknowledge & accept them. but - oh, life..

thirteen

time is everything. really. e v e r y t h i n g.

twelve

things get better with time. even if they really really REALLY suck right now (this one's for you cass-hole. miss ewe!)

eleven

tonight i learned if wearing pasties, how to twirl one, then the other, then BOTH simultaneously. talented, huh?

ten

sometimes doing your part isn't enough, especially when an outcome depends upon others also doing their parts. but, if in the end it's out of your hands - accept it and let go.

nine

i can now use a sander to professionally sand floors.

eight

love is all you need.

PS: how has it been 30 years?

"all you need is love, i believe that. i'm not claiming divinity. i've never claimed divinity. i've never claimed purity of soul. i've never claimed to have the answer to life. i only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as i can... but i still believe in peace, love and understanding." - john lennon

seven

it's beneficial to push your boundaries, even if it's uncomfortable. b/c it's in the discomfort that you really come to know yourself and those you surround yourself with.

six

needtobreathe is one of the best bands in america. they continue to amaze me every time i see them, which is very hard to do (i'm picky and hard to please - musically, at least). i officially envy everyone going on rock boat this year & predict needtobreathe will be the best band on it.

five

after meeting an aussie last night (who was moderately physically attractive, but a smoker - that's gross dogg), i learned that i need to learn how to stop meeting foreign men in bars & how to turn off the "instant swoon" button when it comes to men with accents.

four

oolong tea boosts metabolism & helps to decrease weight/waist size; ginger tea blocks prostaglandins to relieve headaches; ginseng tea blocks chemicals like PDE5 allowing better blood flow to genital organs, boosting sexual arousal.

thanks dr. oz! and note to self: buy ginseng tea... ;o)

three

i miss rock climbing.

two

at the museum of history and industry (1st thursday free day) i learned: there's something called the "seattle spirit", a "never-say-die optimism" that got the city thru the great fire of 1889 and allowed it to rebuild, stronger and better than ever. maybe i AM supposed to be here...

of note: i also learned seattle is named after chief seattle of the native duwamish tribe; seattle had the nation's first general strike in 1919; seattle is home to the nation's first female city mayor, bertha knight landes; and early settlers shipped in "the fairer sex" from the east coast b/c seattle was overwhelmingly male - funny how some things never change..

one

happiness can only come from within.

you learn something new, every day

on 1 december 2010, i had a thought. truth be told, i had many thoughts that day. but one in particular struck me in a way that only such particular thoughts can. i thought - i have everything i need to make me happy, right now. i might not have everything i WANT, but there's a big difference between NEED and WANT. this is something i've been struggling with for quite some time (as many of you know, my august 2009 - august 2010 year was a real doozy). but for some reason on that day, i felt i came to know that statement as truth.

so, you ask... who cares?

well. as many of you also know, every year i vow to make a new years resolution that will impact my life for the better. it might be a simple task (like 2008's be in more photographs - which i was quite successful in), or it might be more challenging (like 2009's be more assertive - which i failed miserably at, but ultimately learned my lessons when it comes to speaking my mind).

2010 commenced my "year of positive thinking" experiment. i vowed to only have positive thoughts, or to see the silver lining when i had negative ones. i wanted to see how that could change my life, which was unfortunately in a very rapid downward spiral. i strongly believe in the power of positive thinking. i mean - i see it all the time in healthcare. i can have two patients with the same medical diagnosis, and inevitably the one who thinks positively will get better and the one who is negative won't. and that's proof enough for me.

as 2010 comes to a close, i really have looked back on this year, and i believe i probably would not have made it through without my positivity. yes, i felt like i had a cloud over me - both literally (thanks to the glorious seattle weather) and figuratively (oh, heartbreak). yes, oftentimes the positivity felt forced and maybe fake. and yes, i was often a grump, i admit it. to my friends who stuck by me this year (especially JR, AR & KH. and yes, you too GW..) - i cannot thank you enough for putting up with me.

but that thought, that i had everything i need to make me happy, came from the realization that happiness actually comes from within. no one and nothing else can make me happy - only i can. and it was at that moment that the silly cloud lifted. both literally (the sun actually SHINED in seattle!) and figuratively (my spirit returned to a more balanced state).

before you think i'm getting all new-agey on you (and maybe i am, a little - i do meditate, do hatha yoga & completely believe in karma, after all), i'll tell you the point of this blog. that day i also thought about the old saying, "you learn something new every day." well, DUH. but i thought of another neat experiment (you can tell how bored i've become in my 3 months of unemployment). i'm going to actually notate something that i learn. every day. for a year. and i'm going to start it december 2010, as january 2011 is around the corner, and i must reserve that month for setting my new years resolution.

it always amazes me the difference a year can make. my hope is that by december 2011 i'll still continue to wonder what life as in store for me, but i'll also come to appreciate even more the lessons i learn along the way.

so here it is: the things i've learned.