Chance Encounters

The day started out sort of slow.  I went to sleep late and got up late.  I had planned to go rock climbing but plans needed to be adjusted.  No big deal.

Off to the gym for some exercise.  I ran for 17 minutes, talked with a personal trainer I want to start working with, and then went and changed to swim some laps.  My shoulders and arms were a bit worn out from Thursday's session so getting those muscles warmed up wasn't much fun.  I swam six (or seven) warm up laps then stopped for a minute or two to stretch.  Then I swam again, and I just kept swimming...total of about 24 or 25 laps.  Felt good by the time I was done.

Oh! So, the triathlon suit I got for Christmas was too small...as in my youngest sister probably couldn't fit in it-small.   So we returned that and ordered two different sizes of a different suit..but still cool looking of course!  So, one of them worked!! I squiggled my way into it lol... goodness those things are snug!

After the gym, I was going to head to work for a little while because there was some invoicing stuff needing attention (if I'm ever going to accomplish my branch manager's challenge to get three invoices done and submitted in 2 weeks).  I accepted the challenge; however, getting three invoices out when you have 10 subs invoices to collect, review, and then have mailed to you all on time is no small task.  I'm not sure I can do it but with branch managers and financial managers leaning on me (and encouraging me) to get these invoices prepped and out the door, I may have to exceed my expectations again....it's happened a few times lately.  Anyway, got some invoice cover letters laid out, progress reports drafted, etc.

After work, I decided I would try a new Thai restaurant.  I have a thing going where if I work on a weekend, I take myself out to dinner afterwards.   I usually go to a place on 56th St up near central park.  Mistake.  This new place on 28th and 3rd didnt compare.  :-(  

Anyway, on my way to the restaurant, I was walking and just happy to be... to be present, I guess.  I was passing a few Women's march ladies with signs and whatever.  I was walking and a girl asked me as I was passing by if I would buyy her demo CD.  Initally I said no thanks and breezed on by.  But immediately after I physically passed her, I turned around and said "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said no automatically."  She seemed happy that I said this.  We ended up chatting for a minute.  She's trying to get a record deal as a hip-hip artist.  She's on Youtube and the photo on the CD showed: Young Atlantic - Grind It Out ft. Prada.  So you should go check it out!!

I turned around and talked to her because I would have wanted someone to do that for me if I had been handing out copies of my dad's EP called "Tomorrow's Yesterday" (currently available on iTunes and Amazon).   The thought has crossed my mind to have some CDs made and spend some time handing them out/selling them to people on the street.

On another note, I have plans in the works that will be set into something a bit more flexible than concrete but less flexible than a maybe!! I'll be putting deposits down on the start of my international adventures with my first paycheck in February!  Want to know what these things are!?! Of course you do!

So, I am going to trek in to the Mount Everest base camp with a Sherpa tour guide!  That'll be a 2 week trek in and out.  After that, I'm going to do a volunteer internship in Bali working on a micro-renewable energy project as well as sustainable farming without pesticides.  Super exciting, right???  I have other concepts of what I want to do and places I want to go, as previously written in another blog post, but the order of those, beyond these two things, is yet to be determined.

I feel like there was something else I wanted to tell you all but it's escaping me...

The weekend train into the city usually stops at every single station between Denville and Penn Station.  It did on the way to the city... but did it stop at my station on the way home?  No... so my car was only about one mile away, so instead of paying for an Uber, it was in a nice part of town, so I decided to hoof it to my car.  Was on the phone with my dad the whole time.  Probably worried him sick... I'm sorry.  It's just that after running, alone, in the dark for Ragnar in October, well, I gained some confidence.  

Plans change.  Not really better or worse, just different.  Going with the flow and it'll all be great.  

Oh, the last thing I wanted to say... considering doing crowd funding for the micro-renewable energy volunteer internship project.  I'm not sure I want to, but I'm thinking about it.  It would definitely help prolong the internship and enable me to do perhaps another internship in a different place... I saw one I wanted to do in Nicaragua.   But a savings can only last so long with even with the best budget... so, I don't know.  You might see a crowd funding page from me, or you might not.  I haven't decided.  

Good night folks.  

Training Has Begun

I went to the gym for the first time since before Thanksgiving today.  It felt amazing!  I told my senior project manager and my project partner Adam, also a staff engineer, before they both left for vacation, that when they return I will be leaving the office by 5:30 eat least 3 times a weeks so that I can prepare sufficiently for my second Ragnar Relay at the end of April and my very first Triathlon which is at the end of May.  Got to build up to these things.  

So I just wanted to see how painful it was going to be getting back into the routine, and to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I was able to run for 10 minutes straight. Then I had to walk for a couple minutes, then to finish off I ran more of a sprint for a minute.  After than, I said hello to my personal trainer who I haven't seen since before Thanksgiving, and then headed to get changed for a nice lap swim.  

I haven't swam in I don't know how long.  I was no speed demon in the pool this evening, but I wasn't expecting to be.  I just wanted to see if I could swim my usual 5 non-stop to warm up the right muscles, then stretch for a couple minutes, and then swim 15 more.  And I'm glad to say, I was able to do it.  

So, now that I know that, for me it's all about improving time/speed, and endurance.  

When I got home, I opened up birthday presents to myself: I got a Live Infinitely Hammock (I think it was supposed to come with straps so I followed up on that) and a Bear Butt 10'x10' rainfly with straps.  The Bear Butt had great reviews so I nabbed it.  Love both of them.  Thought about pulling them both out in the living room, but as usual, the evening was flying by and I need to get to bed so that I can operate properly at work tomorrow.  

The last thing: I'm pretty sure I'm going to start off my international travels with a trek into the Mount Everest Base Camp with a local tour guide that I found through some internet research.  We've been chatting back and fourth.  It's a 14-day trek into and out of the base camp with 2 acclimatization days each way.  Who wouldn't say EPIC!!  Yup, I think that's the right way to kick it off... don't you?

Ok, have a great night everyone.  

Stop looking at my bear butt!! (hahahaha - I'm cracking myself up).  

Boring Day? Make Travel Plans.

Today was pretty boring.  It was my own fault I didn't have any plans made in advance.  I could have done something outside; it was a sunny beautiful day. But I'm usually a hard-charging, gotta-go-gotta-run-gotta-work-can't-stop type of girl.  Always busy, always doing something.   Oh well, I do need to slow down sometimes.  

Tomorrow I'm going rock climbing with one of my friends from work.  Looking forward to that.  Also, I do my grocery shopping; normal adulting stuff.  

Anyway, this evening I started reading my "No Shortcuts to the Top" book and that got me thinking about a trip to the Mount Everest base camp.  How awesome would it be to see the mountain from pretty close, but not too close.  The thought of it is thrilling.  

My first google search came up with one travel company with treks to the basecamp; that was a little more than I wanted to pay.  The second search on google came up with a more reasonably priced trek.   

The more I look at this traveling, the more I become convinced that I'll definitely need to supplement my savings with a little work while I travel which is ok; as long as I can find a job somewhere, I'll be fine.  

But I have been having some misgivings, not cold feet (it's too early for that), but just wondering if all of this is another one of my pipe dreams.  A lot of talk but no follow through.  But I keep telling myself, NO!  I am saving, I am preparing, I am doing my homework, and laying out a working plan that can change.  This is going to happen!  With or without company.  I'll find people to travel with.   Or maybe I won't and manage to find amazing places and talk to people that I wouldn't otherwise do if with a group.  Who knows.  

Has anyone done seasonal or temp work while traveling?  Can you make any recommendations?  I saw this one link online (from my Lonely Planet book section on finding work) about travel writing.  Apparently, you can sign up with this program, become a travel writer, and submit your articles to different published magazines and get paid a decent sum for it.  That sounds interesting.  I think I could write a pretty good story if what I was doing was exhilarating and epic enough.  

That's why I have to start my trip in Taiwan where my friend is.  I'm pretty sure I could learn a lot about solo travel from her.  

7 months seems like such a long time right now.  Sooner than I think and longer than I wish.  

Please feel free to give your comments and recommendations for tour companies or groups or work placement or anything!  Looking forward to hearing from the international traveling community!  :)