I drove to work in what Jacksoville considered "traffic." But can you really call it traffic if you are moving the whole time at speeds of 70 mph with other people passing you like crazy? I think not.
Man, how prepared I was because of my time in LA to make my morning commute. Now I do have to travel a bit with this new job, but the scenery is gorgeous (crossed over 3 beautiful bridges this morning) and the drive is continuous the whole time. There were so many times I sat in LA traffic wanting to shoot myself or someone else...think I had a bit of road rage? But this morning I actually was thankful for all the training LA gave me in my patience level in the car. Who would have thought...patience and car in the same sentence.
I am slowly feeling settled in here in Jacksonville. I am still doing all those annoying moving in things....electricity, internet, cable, etc. But for the most part I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I thought as I drove home tonight, how living where we live at the beach (I promise I will put up pictures soon!) is like going on vacation every night after work and every weekend. I feel like we escape to this little vacation home, relax (well currently we unpack and then I have to drive Sam back to his place, but for the illustration it works) enjoy the feel of the ocean and then get up the next morning and face life all over again.
It has been such a crazy ride this last year an a half and I NEVER EVER would have guessed Florida, much less a beautiful place at the beach, but man is it fun after not having a room of my own to move into a super spacious place. There have been some treachourous moments this last few weeks, and I am an idealist and always want life to be perfect. The more and more I learn about life, though, the more and more I realize just how to enjoy the moment in front of you.
A lot can happen in 12 months, and this year shows that like none other for me. Life is risky and I don't do it well, or without mistakes that is for sure, but I am glad I took this risk. I think I realized this week I would rather make tons of mistakes and experience the thrill of learning to trust people and God than never have that experience. It is hard, I'm not gonna lie. And there were many times I wondered if I would make it, but the thrill of trusting and holding on to hope in God and humanity is like nothing I have ever experienced. Sam reminded me this last few weeks that faith isn't just hope and trust in God but hope and belief in the human spirit and the value of humanity. That has sat with me for the last few days and as I started a new job, in a place where profit is important but they choose to value humanity just as highly or higher it is an interesting thought. What will this new place and these new people teach me about faith and trust. I think I have a lot to learn. So in the learning curve of a new job, I have a feeling, is a hidden many many other learning curves...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The High Pass Difference
Funny how sometimes such a slight thing can make such a HUGE difference. Sam has been working on this new technique for his photos this past week and as he was showing me the results of a few slight moves on his computer I was amazed at what a difference it made. He took a picture that I thought was already very good and transformed it and it seemed the people jumped out of the picture. I didn't quite understand all the different things he did to get the outcome but it was slight and minute yet his eye was able to see the difference it would make. He sees things that the normal eye just doesn't seem to catch.
Contrary to popular belief Sam is not the reason that my blogs have been lack of late :) I was teased this week by quite a few people about why my blogging has seem to come to a sudden halt. It might seem with pictures like this that Sam is the reason behind this...
Visiting some of Sam's friends in San Clemente
(I put this picture in purely for the fact that these boys teased me relentlessly about blogging...now they are on my blog!)
(One fun weekend at the beach...of course!)
Unfortunately the reason I was able to be teased by some of my favorite people like Rayetta and Aunt Delores and my Grandma was a bittersweet occasion. My grandad passed away this week and Sam and I traveled home late Wednesday night for the funeral on Thursday. It really was a mix of emotion. While saying good bye is never easy there is something about seeing family and friends you haven't seen in years. There is a sweetness in the reminiscing and catching up. Sam was IMMERSED in my family and close friends for sure! I think I heard 5 people say to him..."keep talking I LOVE your accent." My reserved boyfriend that isn't a fan of huge groups and meeting tons of new people at once probably met over 80 people in a matter of 2 hours. And my most favorite part was those that said, "I know you from the blog." hehehehe It just made my heart dance with delight.
Spending time with my family and especially my brother who flew home from Holland was such a wonderful experience. Unfortunately my sister in law and nephew couldn't come and were SO missed by us all. I forgot how much fun my brother is since we don't get him at many holidays. He is in the Air Force and it had been three years since I had last seen him. I was so glad that Sam would get to meet him and laughed at how well they got along. My dad and brother are pretty quiet and they had quite a good time going outside and smoking cigars and drinking a beer. It was such a great time with my family and the day after the funeral my mom had all the immediate family over for a fish fry and even had some antelope thrown in there! My dad and brother did the cooking and we got to enjoy a fun night of yummy food, laughing and telling stories--some of which I wish we would have left out, and just being together with my Nana.
The best part of the trip was the surprise that it was that I got to stay home. Amy, my friend who I am working for at the job that is keeping me from blog world these days. I LOVE it still but man I just haven't had time to sit down and write what is going on, in two weeks is the Show and I will be back in blog world once again. I saw how one small gesture made a bigger impact than I could have imagined. We were SO busy at work and the project I have worked on since I started all was due the day of the funeral. I was planning to come home right after the funeral on Thursday. Instead I got a call after the funeral and Amy told me to just stay with my family and she would get my work done. My family was absolutely fine with me having to leave but the pure joy I saw in their faces was breathtaking when I told them that Amy had worked it so I can stay. She didn't have to do that and we had SO much to do, but one small gesture and a minute phone call gave my family quite a few special memories that we wouldn't have had.
Funny that earlier in the week when Sam was showing me the High Pass technique that I would experience the High Pass technique in my life...a sacrificial gesture and a simple phone call was the High Pass Difference in my life and my families.
(my whole family in one place!)
Me and my bro...I am SO proud of him. He is a major in the Air Force!)
(Sam even had to get in the family pictures...here is my spunky 94 year old Auntie Velma)
(Here is my sweet sweet Grandma and us)
(Me and Mike had to get a pic with my wonderful grandma and our lovely auntie!)
(We LOVE our grandma!)
Contrary to popular belief Sam is not the reason that my blogs have been lack of late :) I was teased this week by quite a few people about why my blogging has seem to come to a sudden halt. It might seem with pictures like this that Sam is the reason behind this...
Visiting some of Sam's friends in San Clemente
(I put this picture in purely for the fact that these boys teased me relentlessly about blogging...now they are on my blog!)
(One fun weekend at the beach...of course!)
Unfortunately the reason I was able to be teased by some of my favorite people like Rayetta and Aunt Delores and my Grandma was a bittersweet occasion. My grandad passed away this week and Sam and I traveled home late Wednesday night for the funeral on Thursday. It really was a mix of emotion. While saying good bye is never easy there is something about seeing family and friends you haven't seen in years. There is a sweetness in the reminiscing and catching up. Sam was IMMERSED in my family and close friends for sure! I think I heard 5 people say to him..."keep talking I LOVE your accent." My reserved boyfriend that isn't a fan of huge groups and meeting tons of new people at once probably met over 80 people in a matter of 2 hours. And my most favorite part was those that said, "I know you from the blog." hehehehe It just made my heart dance with delight.
Spending time with my family and especially my brother who flew home from Holland was such a wonderful experience. Unfortunately my sister in law and nephew couldn't come and were SO missed by us all. I forgot how much fun my brother is since we don't get him at many holidays. He is in the Air Force and it had been three years since I had last seen him. I was so glad that Sam would get to meet him and laughed at how well they got along. My dad and brother are pretty quiet and they had quite a good time going outside and smoking cigars and drinking a beer. It was such a great time with my family and the day after the funeral my mom had all the immediate family over for a fish fry and even had some antelope thrown in there! My dad and brother did the cooking and we got to enjoy a fun night of yummy food, laughing and telling stories--some of which I wish we would have left out, and just being together with my Nana.
The best part of the trip was the surprise that it was that I got to stay home. Amy, my friend who I am working for at the job that is keeping me from blog world these days. I LOVE it still but man I just haven't had time to sit down and write what is going on, in two weeks is the Show and I will be back in blog world once again. I saw how one small gesture made a bigger impact than I could have imagined. We were SO busy at work and the project I have worked on since I started all was due the day of the funeral. I was planning to come home right after the funeral on Thursday. Instead I got a call after the funeral and Amy told me to just stay with my family and she would get my work done. My family was absolutely fine with me having to leave but the pure joy I saw in their faces was breathtaking when I told them that Amy had worked it so I can stay. She didn't have to do that and we had SO much to do, but one small gesture and a minute phone call gave my family quite a few special memories that we wouldn't have had.
Funny that earlier in the week when Sam was showing me the High Pass technique that I would experience the High Pass technique in my life...a sacrificial gesture and a simple phone call was the High Pass Difference in my life and my families.
(my whole family in one place!)
Me and my bro...I am SO proud of him. He is a major in the Air Force!)
(Sam even had to get in the family pictures...here is my spunky 94 year old Auntie Velma)
(Here is my sweet sweet Grandma and us)
(Me and Mike had to get a pic with my wonderful grandma and our lovely auntie!)
(We LOVE our grandma!)
Friday, January 16, 2009
One of the many reasons I am LOVING LA....
80's in January...gotta LOVE that! Especially when I had friends send me a facebook message telling me it was below zero where they were this week.
Work is still fun...busy and a new world that I have no clue what I am doing some days, but a fun challenge. There is so much to learn and so many fun people I work with. I am excited to be a part of what I am doing and am not even minding traffic that much...guess life is just pretty happy these days.
I still am in transition and realized this week that I left for NZ one year ago this week. What a YEAR! If anyone ever would have told me what I would be doing this January I would NOT have believe them. I love a plan, I get excited about calendars and schedules and love to think ahead. But funny how when I didn't plan out my life and tried to enjoy the moment what great things I have got to experience. I still don't think I will ever "live in the moment" by nature. I love to think ahead and plan but I have learned some pretty good lessons in REALLY fun ways about living in the moment and enjoying what and who is in front of you.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Fun in the Industry
I have NEVER worked in an office job and said the things I said today...
"I feel SO energized!"
"That was SO MUCH Fun!" (said after leaving work at midnight last night and said once again after coming in at 7AM the next morning because of a HUGE fiasco with the Awards Show I am helping with for the Art Directors Guild)
"I feel like I was created to do this"
"What they stock the fridge!?!"
"YES FOR SURE!" (Said after my friend told me there was a guy here to wash our cars, and would I like mine washed?"
"It was so fun calculating number and diffusing angry men." (said once the Fiasco that was full blown was completely resolved)
"I had a GREAT first week!!" (with no more than 5 hours of sleep a night...less than 4 last night. I do have to say that wasn't all the Guild...some of the 5 hours are due to having my incredibly cute boyfriend to hang out with each night....:)
What a great first week in the Industry and at the Art Directors Guild. Amy (my friend who I work for) always told me that a lot of my strengths in work and people settings would lend themselves to really enjoy Production. And today when I told her how much fun I had she reminded me that this was "Production Like Energy" and she knew I would love it.
Plus I can rember loving playing "office" when I was little, yet I always seemed to die in office settings. Maybe, just maybe I was in an office just not doing the right jobs. Funny how sometimes you can be so close as to what you are gifted at and doing something that gives you life, yet a small adjustment can make the HUGEST difference. I haven't been drained leaving work and have even left with energy and a feeling of satisfaction. What we did when we were kids is often times so much more accurate than any personality or career test...you just have to be willing to test the theory, take jobs that you don't think are you, and experiment. But once you taste feeling like you were "created to do something" you will stop at nothing to get that feeling back.
Who knew the Entertainment Industry would be a place I would fine some energizing work and fullfilment. I mean, I know my life could be a TV show how crazy it is sometimes. And ironically a guy last night at our Awards Show meeting said, you could be your own TV show because I was introduced as "Dana the new Rachel (the girl who did this job last year. I smiled to myself and thought...if you only knew...
"I feel SO energized!"
"That was SO MUCH Fun!" (said after leaving work at midnight last night and said once again after coming in at 7AM the next morning because of a HUGE fiasco with the Awards Show I am helping with for the Art Directors Guild)
"I feel like I was created to do this"
"What they stock the fridge!?!"
"YES FOR SURE!" (Said after my friend told me there was a guy here to wash our cars, and would I like mine washed?"
"It was so fun calculating number and diffusing angry men." (said once the Fiasco that was full blown was completely resolved)
"I had a GREAT first week!!" (with no more than 5 hours of sleep a night...less than 4 last night. I do have to say that wasn't all the Guild...some of the 5 hours are due to having my incredibly cute boyfriend to hang out with each night....:)
What a great first week in the Industry and at the Art Directors Guild. Amy (my friend who I work for) always told me that a lot of my strengths in work and people settings would lend themselves to really enjoy Production. And today when I told her how much fun I had she reminded me that this was "Production Like Energy" and she knew I would love it.
Plus I can rember loving playing "office" when I was little, yet I always seemed to die in office settings. Maybe, just maybe I was in an office just not doing the right jobs. Funny how sometimes you can be so close as to what you are gifted at and doing something that gives you life, yet a small adjustment can make the HUGEST difference. I haven't been drained leaving work and have even left with energy and a feeling of satisfaction. What we did when we were kids is often times so much more accurate than any personality or career test...you just have to be willing to test the theory, take jobs that you don't think are you, and experiment. But once you taste feeling like you were "created to do something" you will stop at nothing to get that feeling back.
Who knew the Entertainment Industry would be a place I would fine some energizing work and fullfilment. I mean, I know my life could be a TV show how crazy it is sometimes. And ironically a guy last night at our Awards Show meeting said, you could be your own TV show because I was introduced as "Dana the new Rachel (the girl who did this job last year. I smiled to myself and thought...if you only knew...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Life in LA
LA has away of evoking much emotion for me, and this time is no different. I thought I would give you the highlights as I enter blog world again from BLISSFUL World. Though I have to say, the two worlds are about to collide here now that Sam is here with me. :)
Highlights of the last 2 Weeks:
10. One Word....SAM!
9. Disneyland--laughing SO hard on "It's A Small World" at the pathetic display and representation of New Zealand...and laughing hard as Sam noticed the HUGE display of Australia next. Hehehehehe
8. Laughing for hours while doing nothing in LA with Sam.
7. Seeing friend at Mosaic and feeling so HAPPY to be back.
6. Driving up the Hwy 1 Coast Drive...for HOURS!! But loving every minute of it with Sam.
5. Hanging out in Redding with all our friends! (I bet Sam's highlight was sleeping Lakey's Race Car bed...I think he felt like he was living the dream!)
4. Meeting my parents and Aunt Denise and Jim!
3. Starting my job at the Art Directors Guild, and working on the Academy Awards Show. (only one air head moment so far: I changed Amy's (Amy Reynolds is my boss) email to Korean with one little click. Who does that? And I had no idea how to get it back. So I did what any former IT assistant would do...kept clicking buttons until it worked again. Later I found out I had just clicked the "deleted folder" Oops...hehehehe)
2. Staying in Zane and Audrey's room in a fun bed Amy and Scott set up for me. (What a year...living in New Zealand, living in a 6 year old's room and living with an 8 year old and 4 year old! What a FUN year of memories!!!)
1. And I have to say the highlight of the last two weeks is SAM!! Hands down, no contest!
Highlights of the last 2 Weeks:
10. One Word....SAM!
9. Disneyland--laughing SO hard on "It's A Small World" at the pathetic display and representation of New Zealand...and laughing hard as Sam noticed the HUGE display of Australia next. Hehehehehe
8. Laughing for hours while doing nothing in LA with Sam.
7. Seeing friend at Mosaic and feeling so HAPPY to be back.
6. Driving up the Hwy 1 Coast Drive...for HOURS!! But loving every minute of it with Sam.
5. Hanging out in Redding with all our friends! (I bet Sam's highlight was sleeping Lakey's Race Car bed...I think he felt like he was living the dream!)
4. Meeting my parents and Aunt Denise and Jim!
3. Starting my job at the Art Directors Guild, and working on the Academy Awards Show. (only one air head moment so far: I changed Amy's (Amy Reynolds is my boss) email to Korean with one little click. Who does that? And I had no idea how to get it back. So I did what any former IT assistant would do...kept clicking buttons until it worked again. Later I found out I had just clicked the "deleted folder" Oops...hehehehe)
2. Staying in Zane and Audrey's room in a fun bed Amy and Scott set up for me. (What a year...living in New Zealand, living in a 6 year old's room and living with an 8 year old and 4 year old! What a FUN year of memories!!!)
1. And I have to say the highlight of the last two weeks is SAM!! Hands down, no contest!
Friday, January 2, 2009
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