Category Archives: Travel

Staying Is Settling: Why You Need To Move At Least 5 Times In Your Life

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Original Article here. Reposting as affirmation. I just did this and have done it many times. The sentiment in this read captures it completely for me. I’ve never felt so alive as when I’ve begun again, started over, challenged myself to try something that scared me.

 

 

Time to leave now, get out of this room, go somewhere, anywhere, sharpen this feeling of happiness and freedom, stretch your limbs, fill your eyes, be awake, wider awake, vividly awake in every sense and every pore.  – Stefan Zweig

 

Turn around, look at your life and decide right now if this moment, this place makes your pulse race and your heart bend. If there’s not a fluttering feeling in the deepest part of your soul, questioning and absorbing everything around you, get out right now.

If you feel comfortable, content and unchallenged… stand up and walk away. Make plans or don’t make plans, but whatever you do, leave this place and find somewhere new.

There’s a reason the word “leaving” sounds so nice. Like saying “see you later” instead of “goodbye,” it puts you at ease. It signifies a fresh start, a departure from the old and overrun. Because leaving is just the precursor to arriving, and there’s nothing better than a fresh start.

Whether it’s a new apartment or a new city, starting over isn’t about changing your scene, but the way you’re living in it. It’s about opening your eyes again, walking to the ledge and looking up, down and across, once again comprehending the vastness of life that sits openly waiting for you.

Life has a tendency to get stale. Like your favorite food, it loses its edge after a while, that special quality that made you love it so much in the first place. We, like the places we confine ourselves to, become as dull and boring as our surroundings.

New experiences are the reason we live. They are the reason we get up every day, the reason we carry on. While we enjoy comfort, we crave experience. The point of living is not to resign yourself to one part of life, but to continually redefine yourself. It’s to baptize yourself, over and over again, in new waters and new experiences.

You have your entire life to be comfortable, to sit in your house and bask in the familiarity of it. But right now, while you’re young and uncomfortable, keep going, keep challenging yourself. Keep making yourself uncomfortable. Because it’s only when we’re uncomfortable that we are growing and learning.

To truly understand yourself, your purpose and those around you, you must keep moving. You must move at least five times; five times to open your heart and dip your toes into something new, fresh and life changing.

1. To get away from what you know

Your first move is like taking flight for the first time. Like learning to fly, you realize the only thing stopping you from the world is yourself. You don’t have wings, you have legs, airplanes and trains. You have buses, cars and ocean liners. You have the world in front of you, with nothing but open sky and limitless possibilities.

But first you must leave the nest. You must say goodbye to everything you grew up with, the small world you once considered enough. You must unlatch yourself from the comforts of the familiar and place yourself in the middle of chaos.

This first move is the hardest. It’s the moment you willingly decide to be uncomfortable, scared and alone. It’s making the decision to become a foreigner, an outsider, a refugee. It’s abandoning everything you once cherished for the idea that there’s something better out there.

2. To find new experiences

The second move you make should be one of restlessness. You should be tired of the same flavors of your now comfortable surroundings. This move is about feeling again. It’s about accepting that you can’t possibly know everything, but you are going to try.

You are going to have experiences, adventures and an unforeseen future. You don’t know who you’ll meet, what you’ll find or how you’ll get there, but you will do it. You will jump into it blindly and openly.

You will make new friends, find new flavors and reignite that passion for life that came with your first move. You will not rest until your hungry soul is placated. You will leave your old friends for new ones, your first language for another and that idea that you’re home for that invigorating feeling of homesick.

3. To chase love

To chase love is to chase happinesses. It’s to decide that you will throw yourself into the swirling, maddening and restless chase we’re all trying to enter. Because love is the ultimate destination, is it not? It’s the reason we move, every day.

It’s the reason we get up and fight through the bad. It’s the reason we keep going, trudging on, meeting person after person. It’s the last goal, the final frontier and the only thing worth moving for.

If you think you’ve found it… in a person, a city, a job, you must move for it. If your dream job awaits in Spain, you must move there. If your heart yearns for the pink beaches of Bermuda, you must go there.

If you fall in love on the dunes of the Cape with a man you barely know, you must follow him. Chasing love is not irresponsible, it’s honest. It’s admitting that there is no greater chase, nothing more important. Because if you’re not chasing love, what are you running after?

4. To escape that love

Love isn’t infinite. It can be found in a moment, a single dose or a fleeting romance. It can be a year of perfect love with someone who isn’t supposed to stay in your life. It can be in beaches that bring you peace until your heart years for something new. It can be in the first bite of pasta and over with its last.

Love isn’t defined by its length but its capacity to touch you and change you. Just because it doesn’t last doesn’t mean it wasn’t real. You must leave for love but you also must realize when that love no longer remains.

You must be strong enough to walk away from finished love to find new love. You must flee the suffocation that comes from stifled love and keep your heart open for more.

You must never settle, never give in to the idea that you can’t have another one. Because the world is full of things to throw your heart into, things to make you weep and realize (yet again) why you’re alive.

 5. To begin all over again

You must resist the confines of comfort. You must defy the idea of settled. You must never resign yourself to the ordinary or the easy. You must challenge tranquility for the promise of something greater.

To live is to be born and to continually live is to be reborn, again and again. As a new person, new lover, new friend, you must willingly evolve and transform into new versions of yourself.

You must never allow the new place you’ve created to become the final place. You must consistently defy the idea of comfort for the idea that you’ll never be fully satisfied unless you’re exploring, changing and moving.

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Let It Marinate

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Sometimes it can take a while to reflect on a big adventure. I hardly know where to start. My mind is somewhere between the feeling of my feet in the sandy beach and reminiscing over giant noodle bowls.

Last month, I left Park City and drove to Sedona and saw a ton of family: grandparents, parents, brothers, and uncles. One of my brothers was a complete surprise that my whole family actually managed to keep the lid on!

It was a wonderful trip. The family took my Meme to the Grand Canyon and spent some really great time together. My Daddy spoils us ❤ and everyone had the perfect time. And Cowboy Club steak dinner, of course.

From there, I went to San Diego and saw a bunch of friends. I got to surprise some of them and celebrate a dear friends birthday.

Then I flew to China for two weeks.

What can I even say? The food, the culture, the sights…the whole thing was so much to take in. My brain is almost as full as the camera SD cards, haha.

After returning home (via San Diego again), I can’t believe the month that was.

I saw so much, experienced even more, maybe even grew up a little. Time will tell on the last one.

So I’m letting everything marinate for a while. I kept a diary and plan on doing a little daily update to share my China experience, like I did when I went to New Zealand forever ago.

Stay tuned. 🙂

I’m excited to have something to write about and share. I hope I can do it justice! Giving myself some time to unwind from travel should help.

In the meantime, here are some photos from the first part of my trip, to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Enjoy!

Helping You Helped Me

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A friend is going to New Zealand! How cool is that? In the wake of the earthquake I see her volunteering more than sightseeing, but that will still be a rewarding trip.

I got to reread all those blog posts – and I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since that incredible trip. It was really fun to sit, reread, and remember.

So, thanks, friend. I wrote all that so I would remember, but what makes you have the time to sit around reading about yourself? I’m glad I did and was able to enjoy my trip all over again. Although seeing the cathedral that I saw in Christchurch ruined from the quake was so sad, most of the memories are crazy happy ones. Made my day.

🙂

To The Masses

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Sitting around here is a bunch of my thoughts and life stories I’d chosen to share with my family and friends. If you google “pumpkin” you might find my Halloween post and glance at it, but I never worried whether or not you’d come back.

This new ‘job’ of mine will only be a success if you find me and are struck by my wit and banter so much so that you come back over and over, increasing the traffic to the site. At least, that’s how I’d measure my success. Not sure if the metrics over there will even tell them it’s my hard work increasing site traffic. I have a few skit and post ideas I’m really excited about executing over the winter, and hope humor and my concept of ‘skiing for the average masses’ connects with readers and helps promote skiing in Utah.

I’m supposed to start with an about me, where I plan to stress that this skiing thing seemed totally inaccessible to me not all that long ago, and then BAM!, here I am now, writing to others to tell them how to break the wall of ‘brosef’ and let skiing come to them in a whole new way.

What I’m wondering is if I’ll see just how effective a blog can be to media and marketing. Why would anyone go to that site? Well, the weather reporting is the bomb. To me, if you live here or have internet access while you’re here skiing, the site tells you where you should be that morning. And that’s valuable. I hope to produce content that makes you just want to hear from me, I think that’s all I can do. Any one else think there’s more to it? Let me know…

Amazing

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There’s no way for any picture to do the Grand Canyon justice. We took 1000 anyway. I’m so happy my parents invited us to AZ and we made the drive out. Getting to see it with my own eyes and experience it with them yesterday was remarkable. The white line you see at the top rim is 800 feet wide, 12 miles away from us.

Buy Me A Bed And Breakfast

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Last winter I got good (I think) at being a hostess. In fact, since we moved out of Austin, we’ve had over 50 visitors come and stay with us in various places at various times, I’ve lost count. And I really grew to love it. A full house is a happy house. Especially in Park City, in the winter, during the holidays.

Which is why I think I should buy you should buy me a bed and breakfast.

And it just so happens there is one for sale. On Main Street. I bet it’s easier to take care of strangers, I can accidentally become lazy around friends. And they can keep coming, at a reduced rate 😉

Here it is.

As you can see, it’s missing some things. Like walls. So long story short I need about 4 million dollars.

I could be good at this. Lots of fresh-baked muffins for breakfast to make the place smell yummy. After you hang some walls, I can remodel, paint, and decorate myself. Auction furniture to make each of the 10 rooms unique. MK can guide you around if you want a ski guide at any of the ski resorts. Dinner menus from all the great places on Main (of course I’d ask for specials). Want a night without the kids? Go to dinner and I’ll watch them for two hours and make them some pizza.

I can handle cleaning sheets. Make sure you’re cozy. Sell you stuff you may have forgotten (there is no drug store on Main, I could totally find a way to incorporate one for all the tourists…). Get you up for first chair. Host a happy hour after you’re home and showered. Have nice TVs and a decent DVD collection/Netflix hookup.

Convinced? I’ll let you know where to send the check.

Winter Wins

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Dude, winter rules. I left San Diego during one of those sunny and 75 degree days I told you were going to stick around. That’s why people love San Diego. I get it.

Then I fly back to Park City (if you’re counting this is the third trip). And it’s SNOWING. On September 30th.

Tell me what you’re thinking. “That sucks”? “Lame”? “Brr”? I’m thinking: “Awesome”. It was crazy. I wanted to stay! TB drove me to the airport and announced that she really loved winter. And I had to agree.

Dooce twittered that her daughter said something like “think of all the hot cocoa we get to drink”! I’m right there with her. Yay winter, snow, hot cocoa, skiing, and yes, even shoveling.

Don’t get me wrong, the beach is great. But if I have to pick what gets me more excited, I think I’m going for the cold weather. Besides, the beach is easier to visit. All you need is a bikini.

Going Back to Cali, Cali, Cali

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It wasn’t easy to get in the car and go. We had to wait for the property manager and say tear filled goodbyes. We finally got on the road at about 6pm. Utah was mad at us for leaving, so it rained most of the way through the state. You can only go about 55-60mph with a giant U-Haul trailer behind you, so it was slow going. MK drove the first three hours, then slept while I took over, back and forth until he woke me up and the sun was shining over Pacific Beach at around 9am.

There aren’t any exciting road trip pictures, we’ve made that drive so much it felt like a commute. The traffic at 2am on Friday in Vegas was crazy, but I survived it. Other than that and a little wind, it was an easy drive. We had breakfast and got our keys.

Immediately walking in the front door of our complex, you need a key to a gate. Then you need a fob to the elevator. Then another key. And there are stairs, so we couldn’t go in and out the front to unload our things. So we had to park the U-Haul out front, unpack the car in the garage, then bring those things up the elevator to the condo. Then you go take the car out and reload it. It was a rather inefficient system, since someone had to guard the U-Haul. We finished at around 2. We ran some errands and took a nap, since neither of us really slept that much on the drive.

I got to go see KE – which was awesome Number One because she’s doing well and Number Two, seriously our house is close enough to Garnet (where the bars are) that once I get my bike we won’t have to drive! Or we can take a cheap cab. Score.

I’m not taking pictures of the condo, it’s not that exciting. It’s a 2BR/2BA with a huge kitchen and dining room so it doesn’t feel as small as I was afraid it would. Plenty of room for company!

Sunday morning we went to the La Jolla Farmer’s Market. That might be my favorite thing on the planet – this time we even got a ton of fruit and veggies:

Delicious!

Delicious!

After the obligatory stocking up trip to Costco, we met some friends for drinks at San Diego’s first bar, The Waterfront – which is not on the water front. We watched the the Sea World fireworks from our pool last night. We got a great night’s rest and MK got his computers up and running in time for work. He’s unpacking his things now, I’m already done. I win.

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Delicious Humble Pie

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I keep thinking that I’m running a great website. That I spend time on it, and create content that keeps you coming back for more. Yesterday, computer running all fast and new, I reread my entire blog back to front.

I’m sorry.

If you’ve been here since then, my bad. I got a little too worried about finding you pictures. I should write you stories. It’s nice to know exactly where I hit my stride -about 20 pages ago. Too bad there are 150 pages. I’m a slow learner. There’s a little bit of funny mixed up in there, but there’s a lot of trial and error internet junk. I’m going to work on that.

I am so glad I do have this space to log our journeys and adventures – rereading all about my New Zealand trip brought back a ton of great memories. I tend to forget all the little things very easily these days, which has me all the more determined to do a better job of storytelling here.  I also get a little sick and tired of packing and moving, but was reminded yesterday that there is no reason I shouldn’t feel like the luckiest chick in the world to have such a fun if at times tumultuous life.

I’m pretty excited about the new header RD made just for me- surely you’ve noticed it by now. I’m going to think of robot fighting chickens every time I write, and that should spice this place up a little bit.

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😉