GETTING BACK TO BASICS (UNIT 10)

With my lease ending soon, I've been thinking a lot about what I'll be moving, how I'll be moving it and more importantly where I'll be moving it to.  Lately I've felt somewhat claustrophobic in my apartment.  1) because it's very tiny, 2) I basically live in my bedroom; while the living room is just a few feet away, it never quite felt 'homey' enough for me to want to spend a good amount of time in there and 3) it seems inevitable that after a year in one place I always seem to become somewhat restless and anxious to toss all my stuff out and start fresh.  In addition, as more time passes, I seem to notice the downsides of my living space rather than begin to enjoy it more.  This could be due to multiple factors (roommates, location, living style, focusing too much on creating the 'perfect' ambiance, etc.), but either way, it's what seems to end up happening.

This has been an 'issue' ever since I came back from living in Honduras, where my bedroom consisted of a dresser, bed, ceiling fan and 5 hangers, which held all of the clothing items I owned.  Sufficed to say I quickly got used to living a very basic, unattached lifestyle.  But with that lifestyle came certain aspects, or lack of, for that matter.  I was never stressed, never cared about what to wear or the clothing I had/didn't and was just more at ease, carefree and relaxed than I've ever been in my life.  Granted, we can't all live on a small island in the middle of the Caribbean, possession-free and teaching tourists how to scuba dive forever (actually, why can't we?  That's a whole other blog post in itself!).

Considering that I'm not at a point where I can return to that lifestyle at the moment, I've recently started wondering why I've had it engrained in my head that I can't be that happy or stress-free again unless I were to return to the same environment.

After talking with my mom about the whole topic, she left me with some great advice: where you are shouldn't determine your happiness.  Obviously living in what most would refer to as paradise definitely makes anyone at least a little more content, but the main message she was trying to get across was that at the end of the day, you are responsible for your happiness.

It's a pretty empowering thing, if you think about it.  A lot of the time, this can be a really hard thing for some of us to grasp control of; it can be easier to succumb to unhappiness than to 'fight' for happiness. But in coordination with my posts from Unit 8 & 9, things such as remembering to smile or recognize the simple things in life can make 'obtaining' this personal happiness just a little bit easier.

On that note, I've made it a major goal of mine (who needs New Years to make resolutions?) to really try and take power of my happiness when I move on to my next destination, whether it be a studio apartment somewhere in Seattle or a tiny house with a roommate I don't really know in LA.  My happiness is mine and that's something, unlike many other things, that I always have control over, despite my surroundings, and I plan on utilizing that power a lot more often from now on.

THE SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE: (UNIT 9)

In honor of today's terrible tragedies and losses, as well as in coordination with the overall theme of UNIT 9 ('The Future and Understanding the Past') as well as the theme of my blog (a simplistic theme, free of clutter and focused on the small yet important things - one of my previous posts was on organization and 'remembering to breathe'), I decided to make my blog post about how important it is to remember the simple things in life and also how easily we tend to forget this.

After following the news throughout the entire day, hearing that the shooter at large in Seattle earlier this afternoon and learning that Seattle Police had finally tracked him down and that more information was being discovered was somewhat reassuring - it allowed Seattleites to feel more at ease while at the same time bring a sort of justice to the horrific acts.  The first shootings took place less than a block away from my apartment, the woman was someone close to people I am associated with, and the suspect was finally caught just blocks from where I mainly work.  Finally earlier this evening, the news released more personal information on the suspect as well as his victims.  I read one specific article (you can find the link below) that caught my attention; the article was one of few that mentioned small pieces of background information on one of the Cafe Racer Ravenna victims and chef, Leonard Meuse.  Details included excerpts from his father about who Leonard is as a person; he studied Japanese and zoology at UW, is extremely intelligent, went through pastry school at Seattle Community College and aspires to be a baker.

While these little tidbits of information initially seemed irrelevant to the 'hyped up' information on the shooters whereabouts, condition, etc., I found them to be extremely touching and heartwarming; they reminded me of the simple things in life, such as personal interests or hobbies, achievements (both academic and personal) and what comes to mind when our family members think of us.  Most importantly, they brought me 'back down to earth' and allowed me to think of Leonard Meuse as a person with interests, friends, family and a life, rather than simply a victim of Seattle's unexpected 'Deadly Day.'  It really made me think about my past, future and how important it is for all of us to recognize the little things in life every once in a while.

Check out the article here:

http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018320941_meuse31m.html

K.

REMEMBERING TO SMILE (UNIT 8)

While my blog initially started out with quite a general, open theme (always seems easier but can leave things 'too' open versus a specific topic/theme), over the last few units I've come to find myself writing posts on the things I think are important to remember, and just things that can make life easier, more enjoyable and stress free.  I personally am always trying to find ways to relax, de-stress and stay focused, remembering that while things can seem so chaotic at times, there is always a calm at the end of the storm, and that in fact chaos can be a very motivating thing as long as we know how to 'deal' with it.

On that note, I wanted to write a post about something that keeps popping up; through Instagram, Tumblr, personal experiences, etc.  I recently have kept coming across little sayings about smiling.  Yep, smiling.  Simple, not something we ever think about but rather something we do without thought; an automatic human instinct and reaction.  Or do we do it as often as we think?  I was going through an Instagram that I regularly follow and discovered a little snippet of advice: "Smile - it confuses people."  I immediately thought, 'that's silly, people smile all the time, so why would it catch someone off guard?'  But after a few minutes, I realized it was true.

After that, I started paying attention to 'smiling.'  As I walked down the street, I took the time to look at peoples faces.  For the most part, everyone seemed pretty smile-free, especially those by themselves.  Of course, someone would have no reason to be smiling if they were quickly trying to get to work or school, but then again, what wouldn't they have to smile about?  Maybe not everything in their lives (or mine, for that matter!  I applied this to myself, as well) justified a smile, but there had to be at least one thing.  And even though these smile-less folks didn't seem overly sad, they didn't seem overly happy either.

Next I began to focus on the smiles I was seeing; people smiling for what seemed to be no reason at all, friends laughing with each other, boyfriends and girlfriends smiling at their significant others, and my favorite of all: people smiling at their phones.  I know that sounds weird, but think about it.  Whenever I see someone looking at their phone and suddenly breaking out a huge smile, it always makes me wonder what they're looking at that made them happy enough to smile like that.  I think it's something we've all done at least once, or I know I have (but more like a million times).  When I happen to be the one smiling from a text, message, or whatever, I know that it always feels really good.  Whether it be a simple little text or huge, amazing news, it's a great feeling.  But I ended up enjoying these smiles the most, partially because I couldn't help but smile at the person smiling.

So yes, we all smile or laugh throughout our days, but think about how much we don't smile.  Sometimes we forget how uplifting it can be, whether it's us doing the smiling or simply seeing someone else smile.  It's truly something that, if even for a second, can bring a bit of light to a bad day, enhance an already great day, or just make someone else feel good.  It sounds corny, but seriously - don't forget to smile every once in a while.

One of my favorite quotes:

Cheers,

K.

REMEMBERING TO BREATH (UNIT 7)

"Peace.  It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."  -unknown

Having recently gone through a bit of a chaotic month (and because I created my blog theme with ‘organization and simplicity’ in mind), I thought it would be a great idea to have my newest blog post be about helpful tips and ways to keep life organized, stay stress free and remember to not sweat the small things!

"That's the music - when you never know what's gonna happen."  

- unknown

While I like to think of myself as an organized person (I am in certain areas), there are a lot of moments in my life where I wish I was a tad more coordinated (and I’m speaking in terms of homework, work, etc., not clumsiness!).  It’s always been a goal of mine to master this for more than a few days, ie. make it a permanent ‘lifestyle’ that comes without thinking, like eating healthy.  

"All great changes are preceded by chaos."

- Deepak Chopra

Although I haven’t mastered it 100% yet (since I seem to be organized for 24-48 hours and then become very disorganized and have to re-organize once again...yikes, it even sounds chaotic typing it out!), here are some of the main tips that seem to truly help me in my moments of disarray (and hopefully they can help those of you in need, too!):

1. Have everything ready the night before: on the rare occasion that I'm able to have my lunch packed and ready to grab from the fridge, my car keys hanging by my door, my outfit for the day chosen and laid out (and little things like setting the coffee timer to go off before I wake up or having enough gas to get to work), I've realized how much smoother my mornings go.
2. Visually mapping out my week: when I say visually I mean literally drawing out my week; sometimes I like to buy one of those big blank calendars to hang on my wall so I can sharpie in the week tasks ahead of me, while other times I'll just use my day planner and fill out things I need to remember before the week begins and map out a general 'game plan.'
3. Chalkboard door: this is one of my favorite tips; if your apartment or home allows, I highly suggest going to a craft store and picking up some chalkboard/blackboard paint (it's cheap!) - a few months ago I painted the entire back of my bedroom door with it, and it now serves as my massive "reminder" of tidbits I would normally forget...I'll write down important stuff on it so that I literally can't miss seeing it as I'm walking out the door!
4. Purging clutter: every once in a while (or during the 'Spring Cleaning Season' or after a horribly awesome episode of Hoarders), I think everyone enjoys getting rid of some clutter; no matter what it is - old, duplicate bathroom products, expired food, random junk in our desk drawers or purses, clothing we haven't worn in 2 years (or 6 months for that matter)), when you can get yourself to let go of things that are truly unnecessary (also known just as 'stuff'), it always feels as if you can start the next day with a clean slate.
5. Remembering to breathe: I think in today's world where everything moves so fast and we're constantly updating our Twitter, Facebook, Blogss, etc. while simultaneously following all of our friends updates as well, a lot of us forget how important it is to breathe; even in the middle of the day, I'll make five minutes to get some fresh air or take a break and do a few deep breaths; it can be surprisingly calming.
6. Taking a step back - don't sweat the small stuff!  This is one of the utmost important things I try to remember and channel as much as possible, and it's helped me in more situations - big and small, serious and petty - than I can count.  Like with forgetting to breathe, it is so easy to lose ourselves in the chaos and stress of our everyday lives, where we end up 'zoning in' too much but never 'zoning out;' ie. things that actually aren't as important, worrisome or stressful as we believe them to be at the moment get blown out of proportion.  It never fails to alleviate a cluttered day or make me feel better in general to remember to zone out, take a step back and remember that I shouldn't be wasting my time or energy sweating the small stuff!

"You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

What are some things you guys do to stay organized and stress free?  

Cheers, 

K.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY: HELLO LA

Touched down in LaLa Land last night!  My stepsister picked me up from the airport and we went and had an awesome dinner somewhere in Silver Lake (the name is escaping me at the moment); jalapeño mac & cheese, croque monsieurs and some good wine...

I didn't realize how big Los Angeles is.  I haven't been here for years, and the last time I was it was on the freeway booking it to Arizona with a jam-packed car full of my stuff.  It's very 'gridlock-looking,' especially flying in at night, but also so pretty - like coming down on a massive Christmas tree or something - everything sparkled.

Looks much different in the day now - woke up to 'wild parrots' (which literally scream; I didn't mind it - I'm used to the seagulls in the morning in Seattle so bird noises don't bother me) and palm trees.  I enjoy the scenery and environment much more than I anticipated, although I haven't had to experience any of the infamous traffic yet.  The hills dip up and down and have a city-jungle feel to them, with small, very narrow, winding roads, mexican-ish casas that still have a retro feel.  All the houses are packed together but not in a claustrophobic way because each one is different from the next...almost has a 'Capital Hill in LA' vibe to it.

Has anyone else ever been to LA or lived here?  I would love to get some insight on good restaurants, cool parks or fun things to do here!

Cheers,

K.