Introduction to Yoga

Yes, I am back.  Finally.  I didn't drop off the face of the earth.  I just sort of got... busy.  Very busy.

It was more than just that though.  Yes, there have certainly been 60-hr work weeks which pretty much consumed me.  But there have also been lulls and little recovery periods in between crazy weeks.  I'm in one of those down times now, which is part of the reason I'm back to blogging.  Still, I like to think that the main reason I'm here again is because I want to manage my time better.  Time management is a frightening concept for me.  It brings to mind school and homework and term papers and group projects.  Time management has always meant somehow increasing the number of hours in the day so that I'll have enough time to finish the million and one things that absolutely have to be done.  So maybe I shouldn't scare myself away by calling my new goal "time management."

Let's call it "balance" instead.  Yes, there are still things in my life that have to be done.  I have to go to work, pay my bills, wash my dishes, and keep my apartment from deteriorating into a pigsty.  Then there are the things I would like to do, like hang out with my friends, spruce up Apartment 1925, read books, blog, and just enjoy myself.  The problem is that I don't always make the "fun stuff" a priority.  Yes, it is undoubtably more important for me to have a roof over my head than to re-read my favorite book ever.  But, if it's possible without stretching myself too thin, why not do both?  Why not carve out a chunk of time for those moments of bliss?

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No, I'm not going to be able to do every hobby I've ever dreamed of and run a marathon a day, just for fun.  But if I pay more attention to how I spend my time, maybe I'll find that I do have more time for activities beyond work and sleep.

Books and Coffee

Maybe this is a fluff post but I'd like to share some things that have made me quite happy lately.  Contentment has often been an elusive feeling for me.  I spend so much time being busy and stressed that happiness has usually been a fleeting emotion.  Since making some changes and moving to Apartment 1925, I've felt like good things are just washing over me and I'm enjoying them.  I wake up a lot of mornings now and just think "I love my life!"

It's a funny thing because there's so much uncertainty in my life right now.  As someone who thrives on schedules and plans, it's odd for me to find so much happiness even while I'm lacking direction.  Some days I feel empty without the structure of school, but mostly there is enormous joy in the freedom and the change.  I try not to use the word joy lightly, but I feel this truly is joy- it's soul-deep and so fulfilling.

Yesterday, I went to a local independent bookstore.  I admit I don't spend much time in brick-and-mortar bookstores.  I'm an amazon.com girl through and through.  I like to know what I want, search for it, and order it.  I tend to be overwhelmed by big-box bookstores.  Don't get me wrong- I love bookstores but I get so stuck.  It's like museum fatigue- there's so much to see and you want to give it the attention it deserves but you just run out of focus.

I bit the bullet and went to this little bookstore and it was amazing!  There were certainly tons of books and I spent quite a bit of time scampering from one section to another.  It was a sensory overload of sorts but I loved it.  Some books were highlighted as "staff picks" and had mini-reviews.  I liked the human facet and it also made it so much easier to look at only one book at a time.

I didn't end up buying anything for myself but here's one of the books my brother picked out:

The pictures are amazing and the language is beautiful.  It's one of those gorgeous picture books that's not necessarily for children, my favorite kind.

I keep saying that I'm living in a new city, which is true, but I did live here for a couple months last summer.  During that time, I had an internship that I loved.  Today, I had coffee with one of my former supervisors.  It was wonderful.  I loved that internship and I really miss it.  What I hadn't appreciated until now is just how nice my supervisor was.  Having coffee with her today and updating each other on our lives made me realize that she is one of the sweetest and most caring people I know.  It blows my mind that she really only knew me for two months and yet she feels like a friend.

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I guess this is all just to say that I have a lot to be happy about lately and I want to be aware of that.

Sunny Side Up

Morning after morning I wake up to the delightful smells of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and every other sort of breakfast delight.  At first it was kind of exciting.  I figured I had very enterprising neighbors and it was fun to have my apartment smell of food.  After about three days, I got a bit... annoyed.  There I was, smelling delicious breakfast smells before I was even fully awake, only to get up and eat my honey bunches.  Don't get me wrong; I love honey bunches.  But I was starting to feel just a bit aggravated with that neighbor.

After about day five, I was really longing for eggs and bacon of my own.  Really, seriously, wanting to throw the budget out of the window and go get yummy breakfast foods.  It's lucky that I'm not at my best until after I've had my breakfast.  By the time I would finish my cereal, the longings (and the annoyance) would mostly have dissipated, and I would go on being content with my life.

Then I had an epiphany.  I didn't need to be annoyed with my neighbors.  It wasn't them; it was the little breakfast and lunch café two doors down from my apartment.  Of course!  Why hadn't I thought of that?  I could hardly be annoyed with the owners of this sweet restaurant for making their living by torturing innocent passers-by with delightful smells until they give in and stop by for breakfast in an honest, hardworking manner.

Somehow it's not so bad, now that I know that the source of the delightful odors is a restaurant.  It reminds me that I live in a cozy little neighborhood.  It reminds me that I appreciate the way my apartment building is stacked on top of local shops.  It reminds me that I love the fact that nearly everything I need on a daily basis is within walking distance.  If the price I pay for that is just daily unrequited longing for bacon and eggs, that's okay with me.

The Time Seems Right

Honestly, I've wanted a blog for quite some time.  I'm an avid follower of other blogs and have often thought about what it would be like to have my own.  The problem is that I had no idea what I would write about or when I would have the time to do it.  So I read and I dreamed and that was it.

It's funny how life changes sometimes.  Everything is completely different now and suddenly my heart and my mind were both chanting "blog blog blog."  When you have that sort of accord, there's no way to say no.  So here's my new blog, to go with tons of new changes I'm making in my life- new city, new apartment, new job, new everything.  With so much going on, I think I'll find plenty to write about.  I've got tons of diy projects planned and now is the right time to do them.  Somehow, planning to write about diy, cooking, and adventuring makes me think I'll do more of the things I really like.  So often, fun seems to get pushed down to the bottom of the priorities list.  Sometimes that's necessary, but part of this new life that I'm carving for myself is about making time for happiness.

So here's a toast to everything that's new in my life.

Cheers,
Mary Catherine