Kevin and I have been talking for awhile about moving out of the DC area. While we are happy here, we worry about the cost of living and what our lives will look like in the long term. Over the last year we’ve considered moving to several different cities, but mostly in a hypothetical way.
It’s not hypothetical anymore. We are moving to Austin, Texas!!
Last year my employer, BB&T took over a failing Colonial Bank. Colonial is headquartered in Alabama, in addition, they also have a small presence in Austin and Dallas. Because of the tremendous opportunity that exists in Texas, BB&T decided to keep these branches and create a new region for the bank. Currently, there are only three branches in Austin.
A few months ago, I let the regional leadership in Texas know that I would be interested in joining their team. I didn’t hear anything for a long time and had almost given up hope that anything would happen. Instead I threw myself into this 30 for 30 project and let go of the dream of moving to Texas. Just when I thought it would never happen, I got an email letting me know of an opening in Austin, asking if I was still interested.
From there, things have moved incredibly fast. I expressed interest in the job, they made an offer, and now I’m moving at the end of August. I’m nervous to leave all of my friends and family, but so excited about this new opportunity. Kevin has been talking about moving to Austin since I met him. I’ve had the dream to go back to Texas for as long as I can remember, but it’s always been just that. A dream. I can’t believe it’s actually happening. Austin is consistently listed as one of the top ten cities to live in, top cities for young professionals, top city to be a dog, etc. This is a great opportunity for Kevin and I in the long term. We’ll enjoy a lower cost of living and have more career possibilities in the next few years.
I think the common bumper sticker in Texas reads “I wasn’t born here, but I got here as fast as I could.” Well, I was born there, and it’s taken me 25 years, but I’m headed home.
I can’t think of a better way to wrap up this project, I really couldn’t have planned it better if I had tried. Working through this list has taught me so much about living in the moment, and making my life into what I want it to be. I turn 30 tomorrow, and I’m starting a whole new chapter in my life. I’m not at all scared of being older or sad to let go of my past. I can honestly say I’m happier now than I have ever been and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.
30 Done!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
#26: Drink a Bottle of Wine from each of the Major Regions in France
What an enjoyable task! I mean, I was really on board with this one from the beginning. I did a little research and decided the major wine regions in France, for me, would be the following:
Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire, and Rhone
Obviously there are many more, but to narrow it down I went with this list. I took my list and my internet research over to Total Wine, and spent about an hour making my selection for each region. I chose somewhat based on price and descriptions from the Total Wine employees, but mostly on the look of the bottle. I’m a sucker for packaging.
Alsace: I had a Pinot Blanc from this region. I love Pinot Grigio and thought this would be a similar choice, and it was. We sipped this bottle over a light dinner on the patio.
Bordeaux: I had a 2006 La Croix Margautot. It was bold and meaty, and so we had this one with the Beouf Bourguignon. It gave me a moderate headache the next day, making me a little leery of Bordeaux in the future.
Burgundy: 2006 Marsannay. This one was a lighter red and tasted a little fruitier. I ended up having a glass after work with the leftovers in this bottle, and it was enjoyable and relaxing.
Loire: Vouvray. I had heard of Vouvray before as a suggestion for people who don’t typically enjoy wine. Vouvray is a white wine, whorishly sweet and finishes with a bit of a head rush. Not something I would want to drink again, but not bad.
Rhone: We had a 2002 Santa Duc. I’m not sure what happened with this bottle. Either the wine went bad, or it is just the worst wine on the planet. Kevin sniffed it and said it smelled like salad dressing, never a good sign. I had about two sips, and then ended up pouring out the rest. Really gross.
Champagne: No surprise here, we had French Champagne. A Brut to be exact. To celebrate the end of the list and our trip to Cancun!!
29 down; 1 to go
Monday, August 2, 2010
#11: Make a Self Portrait
This was probably the most commonly suggested idea when I was solicting advice in making my list of thirty things. I thought it would be a fun project and I'm actually surprised I didn't get to it earlier.
As a kid I loved to draw, and I wasn't half bad at it either. I haven't drawn anything in years now, but I thought if I took my time I could probably do a pretty good job on a self portrait. At least well enough that you all would be impressed and surprised. I thought I would do my portrait in charcoal because it would be one of the easier mediums to work in, and probably one of the more forgiving as well.
I have never been able to close my eyes and draw an image from my head. I need a picture in front of me to "copy" in order for anything to turn out well. Because of this, I had the genius idea to take a picture of myself, print it out and then draw it in charcoal. I waited until Kevin was out of town, and had a solo photo shoot which took over an hour. As it turns out, photographing yourself while amusing, is also quite difficult. After over 80 photos had been taken, I finally got the one I was hoping for.
Weeks have gone by since I took the photograph, and today I thought "Oh NO, I have to draw this picture tonight, when will I find the time." And then it hit me, photography is a medium itself. I've already made a self portrait, I took the picture! Below is the finished product and I'm really happy with how it came out. To the casual observer this is just a picture of a girl, but there is so much in it that represents me in my twenties. For a lot of my twenties I was a shy girl, that kept most of her thoughts to herself. I spent a lot of time observing the world, while trying to keep the world from observing me. I'm wearing a ring that has huge sentimental value to me, but that is now part of a past I'm able to let go of. And I couldn't be wearing anything other than camoflauge as a salute to my best friends in Richmond that taught me so much about who I am. I am so proud of this girl, and so excited for the path that she is on. I can't wait to look back on the eve of my 40th birthday and describe who I was in my 30s.
As a kid I loved to draw, and I wasn't half bad at it either. I haven't drawn anything in years now, but I thought if I took my time I could probably do a pretty good job on a self portrait. At least well enough that you all would be impressed and surprised. I thought I would do my portrait in charcoal because it would be one of the easier mediums to work in, and probably one of the more forgiving as well.
I have never been able to close my eyes and draw an image from my head. I need a picture in front of me to "copy" in order for anything to turn out well. Because of this, I had the genius idea to take a picture of myself, print it out and then draw it in charcoal. I waited until Kevin was out of town, and had a solo photo shoot which took over an hour. As it turns out, photographing yourself while amusing, is also quite difficult. After over 80 photos had been taken, I finally got the one I was hoping for.
Weeks have gone by since I took the photograph, and today I thought "Oh NO, I have to draw this picture tonight, when will I find the time." And then it hit me, photography is a medium itself. I've already made a self portrait, I took the picture! Below is the finished product and I'm really happy with how it came out. To the casual observer this is just a picture of a girl, but there is so much in it that represents me in my twenties. For a lot of my twenties I was a shy girl, that kept most of her thoughts to herself. I spent a lot of time observing the world, while trying to keep the world from observing me. I'm wearing a ring that has huge sentimental value to me, but that is now part of a past I'm able to let go of. And I couldn't be wearing anything other than camoflauge as a salute to my best friends in Richmond that taught me so much about who I am. I am so proud of this girl, and so excited for the path that she is on. I can't wait to look back on the eve of my 40th birthday and describe who I was in my 30s.
28 down; 2 to go
#2: Have my Palm Read
When constructing my list, I thought this would be one of the easier tasks to accomplish. However, as it turns out, palm readers are fairly hard to find. Psychics are fairly common, but those specializing in palm reading, not so much. The few that I did find worked out of their homes, and there was no way I was going to a stranger’s house who claimed to be a palm reader… I mean, if that doesn’t scream “murderous con man” I don’t know what does.
Needing help, I turned to someone who always comes through for me when I need it, my mom. She googled “how to read a palm” and took a crash course in the art of palmistry. And this afternoon, the last day for blog activities (my birthday is in two days, but we leave for Cancun tomorrow!!), she sat down and read my palm.
Everyone’s palm has (or should have) three main lines on it, the Love Line, Head Line, and Life Line. Palm reading is interesting because unlike astrology it is not set in stone forever. Your palm can change in response to the events in your life. It is not a predictor of your future, it’s more of a road map to your past.
Here are the details of my palm, according to Sister Moon Whisper, which is what I have now started calling my mom.
The head line reveals not how smart you are, but how you think. Mind has a gentle curve and a moderate slope to it, indicating that I’m creative. It’s also a deep and long line which says that I have clear and focused thoughts. My head line is separated from my life line, which means I have a taste for adventure and an enthusiasm for life.
The life line is an indicator of the quality of your life. I have more than one life line (some people do) which means that I have extra vitality and positivity around me. One of my secondary life lines is longer that my primary indicating that I’m occasionally prone to wasting time and energy.
My love line starts under my index finger revealing that I’m content in my love life. It is a bit curvy and very long, suggesting that I’m able to freely express my emotions and feelings. It is also almost exactly parallel to my head line which means I have a good handle on my emotions.
All in all, while a great deal of this was subjective, I would say it seemed to be fairly accurate. And pretty interesting. Your palm can actually change in response to trauma, great joy, or big loss. And it does change as you go through life trying to take in everything that comes at you. Sister Moon Whisper has lines on her palm for all of the deep relationships she has formed in her life so far. I have very few, which only leaves me excited and confident about what the future might have in store.
27 down; 3 to go
#9: Raise $1,000 for Charity
First and foremost I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who helped me reach this goal. I absolutely could not have crossed this off the list without all your support and generosity. Together, we smashed the goal of $1,000 and ended up raising $1,400 for The Water Project. Thank you to friends, co workers and parents that got me started, and thank you to the Bass Family for the big push in the end.
Originally I wanted to do some sort of charitable work for my 30 before 30 project. I felt like I was in a position to make a meaningful donation to a charity, but then I thought with a little effort, I could probably do better than that. I decided to raise money instead of making a single donation, so that we could all make a bigger impact. The difficult part was identifying a charity to work with. At first I wanted to find a local project, but living in Fairfax County made that difficult. This area is so affluent that $1,000 really wouldn’t go that far. And that got me thinking about people who lack for the most basic of human needs.
Those of you that know me well know that I’ve been slightly obsessed with Africa ever since taking an African Geography class in college (and yes, that actually fulfilled some sort of requirement). Africa is the continent I would most like to visit, and it is my dream to climb Kilimanjaro someday. (Due to time restraints that did not make it on the 30 list). So I thought it was fitting to work with The Water Project and their mission to build wells in impoverished African villages. Truly, without water, no other progress can be made. You can send medical supplies, seeds to grow, and other goods; but without water, none of it will help.
The money that we raised will combine with the money from a few other donors and will change an entire village forever. The folks at The Water Project will be sending me the location of our well, as well as pictures documenting the building process. I’ll be sure to forward it along once I have it, so you can all see the impact that you helped make.
Thank you again for your support. I was truly overwhelmed by your generous response, and I couldn’t have done this without you.
26 down; 4 to go
Originally I wanted to do some sort of charitable work for my 30 before 30 project. I felt like I was in a position to make a meaningful donation to a charity, but then I thought with a little effort, I could probably do better than that. I decided to raise money instead of making a single donation, so that we could all make a bigger impact. The difficult part was identifying a charity to work with. At first I wanted to find a local project, but living in Fairfax County made that difficult. This area is so affluent that $1,000 really wouldn’t go that far. And that got me thinking about people who lack for the most basic of human needs.
Those of you that know me well know that I’ve been slightly obsessed with Africa ever since taking an African Geography class in college (and yes, that actually fulfilled some sort of requirement). Africa is the continent I would most like to visit, and it is my dream to climb Kilimanjaro someday. (Due to time restraints that did not make it on the 30 list). So I thought it was fitting to work with The Water Project and their mission to build wells in impoverished African villages. Truly, without water, no other progress can be made. You can send medical supplies, seeds to grow, and other goods; but without water, none of it will help.
The money that we raised will combine with the money from a few other donors and will change an entire village forever. The folks at The Water Project will be sending me the location of our well, as well as pictures documenting the building process. I’ll be sure to forward it along once I have it, so you can all see the impact that you helped make.
Thank you again for your support. I was truly overwhelmed by your generous response, and I couldn’t have done this without you.
26 down; 4 to go
#17: Build Something
Inspired by my newest favorite song, Miranda Lambert’s “The House that Built Me,” I decided to build a house. Not exactly your typical single family residence, rather a house of cards. (Kevin and I have been debating over whether to call it a house of cards—my vote—or a card house). Ok, so I know that this is a cop out. Originally I was going to build a new fence but Lowe’s didn’t have a truck to rent the day we had set aside for building so I couldn’t get the fencing home. (In retrospect I’m really glad I didn’t spend the money to fix up this house. This will make more since in a later blog post). Then I decided to help Mike B build some steps up into his hot tub. But the weekend I went down to Richmond we ended up doing more partying than building. Which left me with very little time to actually break out the power tools and lumber. Instead, I took advantage of the vague wording and built a house of cards. Or a card house, whatever. It might be lame, but my blog, my rules.
25 down; 5 to go
25 down; 5 to go
#7: Leave an Outrageous Tip for a Waitress
Welcome to Tripps.
Tripps, or TK Tripps as it was originally known, is my former employer. I worked there in my twenties, but my relationship with this restaurant goes back even further than that. In high school, my date took me to Tripps before my first homecoming dance. I think I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. Not because I was trying to be dainty, but because it was pretty expensive for a 10th grader. Fast forward a few years later and my high school boyfriend would start working there after school. He would come home with stories about a manager so awful I remember thinking he couldn’t exist. Oh, but he does… and years later I would experience it first hand. Mr. Kyle, you ruined Boston accents for me. Not that they needed much help, but still.
Anyway, as I said I worked at Tripps on and off for several years. And it was here that I met my two best friends. The three of us worked together at Tripp, at a bar downtown, and lived together in a split level house in the West End. Outside we parked our three Honda Civics, and at least one was usually drivable at any point in time. Those were probably some of the best days of my life.
At the time I was completely dependent on tips, (well tips and the monthly loans from Burke Bank). And every so often you would get that one table who asked for nothing and then left you a giant tip on their way out without saying anything. I can’t tell you how it makes your night when that happens. Back then I used to think that one day when I was successful, I would come back and make someone else’s night with a ridiculously big tip. I can’t afford to do it all the time, but definitely at least once. While in Richmond this past weekend, I took Kevin to dinner at Tripps. Marissa was our waitress and she was absolutely excellent. We ordered a bottle of wine and she had another waitress come out and uncork it for us, the exact same thing I did during my first few months. We had a delicious dinner and left a tip that I’m absolutely sure made Marissa’s night. It was a great feeling to do that for someone else who will remain a complete stranger to me.
24 down; 6 to go
Tripps, or TK Tripps as it was originally known, is my former employer. I worked there in my twenties, but my relationship with this restaurant goes back even further than that. In high school, my date took me to Tripps before my first homecoming dance. I think I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. Not because I was trying to be dainty, but because it was pretty expensive for a 10th grader. Fast forward a few years later and my high school boyfriend would start working there after school. He would come home with stories about a manager so awful I remember thinking he couldn’t exist. Oh, but he does… and years later I would experience it first hand. Mr. Kyle, you ruined Boston accents for me. Not that they needed much help, but still.
Anyway, as I said I worked at Tripps on and off for several years. And it was here that I met my two best friends. The three of us worked together at Tripp, at a bar downtown, and lived together in a split level house in the West End. Outside we parked our three Honda Civics, and at least one was usually drivable at any point in time. Those were probably some of the best days of my life.
At the time I was completely dependent on tips, (well tips and the monthly loans from Burke Bank). And every so often you would get that one table who asked for nothing and then left you a giant tip on their way out without saying anything. I can’t tell you how it makes your night when that happens. Back then I used to think that one day when I was successful, I would come back and make someone else’s night with a ridiculously big tip. I can’t afford to do it all the time, but definitely at least once. While in Richmond this past weekend, I took Kevin to dinner at Tripps. Marissa was our waitress and she was absolutely excellent. We ordered a bottle of wine and she had another waitress come out and uncork it for us, the exact same thing I did during my first few months. We had a delicious dinner and left a tip that I’m absolutely sure made Marissa’s night. It was a great feeling to do that for someone else who will remain a complete stranger to me.
24 down; 6 to go
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