On Everyday Goals

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Yesterday, my friend came over at around 10 PM and asked me what I'd been doing since we last talked at 5 PM, and I listed the following:

did an hour of yoga, wrote two blog posts, made two miniature chicken pot pies, watched a DVD on public speaking techniques (while doing some crunches and arm exercises), took a shower, researched graduate school programs, looked up new job opportunities, negotiated for work, hung out with my roommate, and planned my recipes for my baking contest on Sunday

Some people think I'm crazy and would never want to live in my oxymoronic organized dissaray, but other people ask me how I get so much done. It's quite simple though really: set goals for yourself over your lifetime, once a year, once a month, once a week, once a day, every few hours. I kid you not. It is as easy as creating a mental checklist for the daily goals, but it's as complicated as reflecting on the narrative your life has taken on for your lifetime and yearly goals. 

But let's start easy here: At the start of each morning when I get to my office, I reflect on the day before, read my horoscope (yes, I give into that one new age-y thing), go through Twitter quickly, look at pretty things on Pinterest, and then concretize what I have to get done that day both at work and during breaks. Only then do I really take the time to go through and answer my work emails. 

I couldn't do any of this each day if I didn't have larger narrative arcs I wanted to follow throughout the month and year. For instance, this month is the month of my birthday, but it is also early fall. For me, that means clearing out the old things I have and making room for new opportunities. To that end, last week I held a garage sale and I obviously set my yearly goals during my birth month. I have several concrete goals in mind for this month: make travel plans, clear out the clutter in my room, do more yoga and run every other day, and begin studying for the new GRE. I make sure that I have the time to do at least a bit of this each day. It helps me sleep better at night, what can I say?

So, okay, I'm a little bit crazy about these things. I don't know how the people close to me can stand me sometimes because I can be so adamant about accomplishing so much in an afternoon. But the people who make plans to make things happen are the people who get shit done and change things and are in control of their own pathways in life. And I want to be one of those people. 

One of my goals this month is also to relax about the goals and let things unfold in their own time. Which is why I love a good cocktail in the late evening to wind down and take life slowly again. Sigh. Life is beautiful, but only if you are determined to make it so. 

And, to finish, some words I live by:

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[Get Involved Tuesdays] To Eat or Not to Eat...

Meat. (Please excuse the rambling of these thoughts, but there are a lot of ideas going on here, lol)

Last night, my brother and I had Scott and Grant over for dinner and we had a lively discussion about what it means to be a vegetarian. We discussed the controversy of raising one's children vegetarian and if that takes away their freedom of choice, which then turned into a comparison to religious families and forbidding pork or beef in the household. This led Scott to question whether vegetarianism could be on the same level of religious or spiritual importance and left us all scratching our heads. (Any ideas on this?) And at this point, my mom said what she has always said, which is "Everything in Moderation."

Which is a great philosophy, but one that many Americans do not prescribe to. I referenced a lecture I saw of Jonathan Safran Foer. He said that since he wrote Eating Animals many people would approach him, lamenting the fact that vegetarianism was important but they could never commit fully to a vegetarian diet because of events such as Christmas dinner made by grandma that includes a succulent ham. Foer argued that for many there may be these significant occasions that can dissuade vegetarianism for that one day, but that one day does not eliminate the significance of making a conscious effort to eat more "green" on other days. I compared this to my fall off the vegetarian "bandwagon." I had traveled to another country and decided to try local dishes, many which contained meat. When I came back to LA, I began negotiating with myself, arguing that if I slipped up and had bacon for breakfast, then the whole day was shot and I could help myself to steak for dinner. These became wasted days that then became a habit and there went years of vegetarianism, because I had convinced myself that it was an all or nothing deal. But as Foer pointed out, abstaining from meat for just one day a week can make a difference. In addition, he discussed that in his own evaluation of meat-eating, he did not necessarily have those "events" that warranted the consequences of meat-eating, so why waste a meal?

In my own life, I feel the same way. I like not eating a lot of meat; in fact, too much meat, especially red meat, tends to make me lethargic and almost ill. There are times that I want to eat meat and these are few and far between. Perhaps once every couple of months, I'll really crave my mom's chicken curry or when I'm traveling, I'll have a desire to have real souvlaki. In those cases, eating meat and being conscious of my decision to eat meat proves much better for my health and the world's health.

I want to transition to a (mostly) vegetarian diet again, but this time, I don't want it to be an all or nothing process, where I end up putting so much pressure on myself, I feel deprived of something that I didn't really like in the first place. Instead, I want to look for sustainable/local/organic meat if I am really craving it and know that every day/meal that I refrain from eating meat makes a difference to the world, whereas meals that I eat mindlessly may end up doing a lot of harm.

What do you guys think? Is vegetarianism an all or nothing thing?

May Goal Update - Amber

Despite the incredible awfulness that has been finals, I am proud to announce that I too have followed through with my goals! And accomplished quite a few other things in the meantime.

As far as new things in the last four weeks:
A. I saw a ballet at Sadler Wells
B. Went to the Experimental Cocktail Bar in Soho that the girls and I have been talking about for months.

C. Finally did the St. Pauls and South Bank Walk with Leiley complete with sweets from Miss Simms.

D. I bought a pair of Kurt Geiger shoes, which now officially makes me a Londoner.

Other new things: Eaten al fresco (yeah, this was definitely new with the improved weather in London,) eaten ice cream (again the weather has finally allowed it,) and finally taken photos of my neighborhood since I'm moving soon - sadness.

New things planned: the walk from Regent's Park to see the rose gardens and through the canals to Camden. Also, my roommate Seda is coming for a visit and I just booked our ticket to Bath, which I have been meaning to visit this entire year. In addition, the girls and I are planning on hitting up The Mayfair Club, which is where the royals have been rumored to hang out. (Plus, IBIZA!)

Less related new developments: Seda and I found an apartment, so that is a relief for sure. Although apartment hunting and choosing was nerve-wracking from across the world, Seda was absolutely amazing. I've finished all my law school paperwork and decision-making, so J.D. here I come! In addition, I've sorted out apartment furniture, summer plans, which includes birthdays, a wedding, house-warming, a trip to Portland/SF and maybe even a cruise to Mexico :-)

As far as my other goals, I've been pretty good with posting on BohoBeat, but my personal blog certainly needs some attention, so I need to refocus on that once I'm done with finals on Tuesday. I'm counting down the hours.

I think I am most proud of my gym routine. I have been going almost everyday (minus three days in the last month), upped my mileage for the half-marathon goal, and increased stamina and strength, despite an ankle injury.

I have to say that I am so proud of Carrie and I and I really like that we have been working on these goals together. Love you Care-Bear (and I am so so so so excited for our trip to Portland!

xoxo

May Goal Update

Remember this post? Well, it's been a month, dear readers. We thought we'd let you know how we fared. SPOILER ALERT: Extremely well.

Carrie:
I've made more progress this month than I ever could have imagined. Not only did I perfect my pie crust recipe, but I got a blog going, received my first order (fulfilled, with a happy customer and word-of-mouth referrals to boot!), received my second order, have experimented with many new recipes, and have begun getting to know other food bloggers. I also worked at the Underground Market in San Francisco and now all my co-workers know me as "the girl who bakes". I'm even taking on a giant work bake sale next month! So, yes, I accomplished my goal... but I did even more than I had set out to do. Just setting my intentions in the right place and having concrete benchmarks to reach made it happen.

Here's an idea of what I've been working on:

Pecan Cookies

Success! Mini Pecan Pie 

Pie Success + View from My SF Kitchen

My All-Local Ingredients

Epic Fail, but still yummy

My Logo

Learn more about my project on my blog: www.southxsanfrancisco.com

[Art] The Northern Ballet - Cleopatra [Review]

As part of my goals for this month, I decided to do something new in London every weekend. Last night, I saw Cleopatra at the Sadler's Wells Theater. The Sadler's Wells theater happens to be literally across the street from me and it is a shame that I have just taken advantage of that :-/

But enough of the Debbie Downer-ness because Cleopatra, directed by David Nixon OBE, was effing amazing. In fact, I don't even know where to start with my thoughts. Obviously, the dancers were some of the best I have ever seen. But I wouldn't really expect anything less, especially from the lead. And of course, because I am a fashion fiend, the costumes had to go through an extremely skeptical and thorough evaluation. The verdict: the pared-down Monique Lhuillier royal costume with the glorious white chiffon and beaded bodice had me at first glance. And the summer look with the teal shorts made me wishing that it came in a ready-to-wear bikini style. (I freely admit I sound on the brink of idiocy right now, but you know you love it, so shush.)

Onto the music, which was specially composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg (Miss Saigon, Les Misérables) and played live by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia, was a little up and down for me. However, I really enjoyed the heavy, active beats of the scenes with the Roman soldiers as well as the scene with the Senate members and the doomed Julius Caesar. The slower, melancholy pieces seemed to drag out a little, although all in all, the music seemed a perfect fit for the story line, alternating between upbeat tempos of passion and violence, with the slower, introspective breaks.

The set and lighting impressed me to no end. I loved the interplay of shadows and minimalist set pieces. Every moment framed the bodies of the dancers in lit frames and silhouettes. The most stunning was the blindingly white ending scene, which just now reminded me of Black Swan's ending scene. The stark, harsh scene abruptly brought Cleopatra to a close in a beautiful way.

I also have to say that the ballet was a perfect length and didn't drag on, which sometimes happens to me. And the theater is world-famous for a reason with space for mingling, multiple bars on multiple levels, and of course, a plethora of places to chill at after, such as Exmouth Market and our favorite pub, The Harlequin. Ending the week with a pint and cheeseboard after an amazing ballet? Priceless.

Goals for June - Amber

Yo yo yo,
So as you already know, Carrie and I have been feeling a little unfocused, a little unmotivated, a little un-everything. I think that I am in a slump mainly due to constantly studying but not really accomplishing anything. The best word to describe me right now is agh. So I'm really digging this goal thing. In fact, I'm like it so much, I'm currently making a list of 24 before 24 and 30 before 30. But one step at a time! So here are my two goals for this month:

1. Do something new every weekend in London. I only have six weeks left and I need to make the most of it and of course, break up my mundane life of studying. This weekend, I am finally getting around to seeing a show at the Sadler Wells theater, which is world famous and across the street from my apartment. Yay! I haven't figured out the other three weekends, but I think one will be exploring the South Bank, since I haven't done much of that since I've been here.

2. Make sure I do a daily blog post on my personal blog and ensure we have a daily blog post for BohoBeat. Blogging is a stress reliever and a creative outlet for me, so I shouldn't lose sight of that in the midst of all my reading.

(Also on a side note, I want to maintain my healthy exercise routine, but setting that goal is like saying I have a goal to finish my finals. It has to happen so it will and there is no point in making a goal for it :-) )

Do you have any goals for the next four weeks?

xoxo

Goals for June

Those are words to live by. Today, both Amber Lee and I were in the midst of life crises, which we shared via the Internet from our respective workspaces across the world from one another. Instead of merely whining, we decided to set one concrete goal each. We must achieve these goals by June 16, exactly one month from today. Mine is to practice making my favorite southern desserts so much that, by the end of the month, I have a signature dessert that I will submit to the taste-testing at the Underground Farmer's Market. Amber Lee's got about a million of her own goals to whittle down to one. 

There are raindrops tapping on my window, and I look forward to doing more of what makes me happy tomorrow. For tonight, I am doing my research and eating cookie dough ice cream under two down comforters. Life is good, even in its simplicity.

Image via Chris Pino.

Amber's New Year's Resolutions

1. Exercise everyday for at least 30 minutes, even if it is just a brisk walk. My last year of college I was so good about going to the gym almost everyday for a hour, but moving to London and losing my gym membership, coupled with the weather, made it less than appealing to traipse outside. No longer will I use my new surroundings to make excuses for bad health. In addition, Carrie and I are planning on running the SF Marathon this summer and I need to start my marathon training again!

2. Get back into yoga, even if its just a couple of sessions a month... I always go through yoga phases; it makes me feel so much better and yet I get so lazy about it. I find it both calming and energizing.

3. Participate in Project 365... I'm proud of my progress as an amateur photographer, but I know I have a long way to go.

4. Be a better listener... I am the first to admit that I talk to much. It is a social crutch to avoid awkward silences or maybe that is just an excuse for my motormouth. I've realized that if I stay cognizant of how much I am talking and when, I can better control the urge to chatter away and I get way more out of conversations when I actually listen.

5. Have my blogs updated everyday

6. Be proud of the work I have done and keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason. Constantly comparing myself to others only frustrates me and makes me frustrated with the relationships I have. I need to move past this immature way of self-awareness.

7. Write more creatively. I am great at journaling everyday, but have lost my desire to write the short stories that I used to. I'm changing this NOW.

8. Stop making excuses - I recently told a friend that during the times that I felt my best, as a daughter, friend, student, etc., I said "yes" to things more often and followed through with these commitments. I have found myself getting a little lazier about doing this, esp. with my move to London. Sometimes it seems to take too much energy to schedule things and do things and meet people. And this is a poor excuse. I need to better take advantage of London and its opportunities by saying "yes" more often.

What are your NYRs?

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