An Angel in Disguise

I met Sean the other day. He was hanging out at the Sugar Cafe bar all alone, and I just happened to sit next to him. He looked like he had just left work, dressed in a green button down and black slacks, drinking an Anchor Steam. The bartender (who is also my roommate) handed me a cocktail from the menu, and Sean and I sat in awkward silence for a few minutes not acknowledging each other's presence.

He looked lonely, and even though my mom taught me not to speak to strangers, sometimes I just can't help it. So I asked him what had brought him to this bar. Turns out he had come there once before, a few years ago on a layover from Australia to his home in Ireland, and he was repeating his tradition again that night.

Without any agenda or expectations - we ended up talking for almost 2 hours. Out of nowhere, he started telling me a story about how he had packed up his life about 6 years ago, and moved to Australia. He explained to me how it was the most exciting thing he'd ever done; he had met so many new people and had so many wonderful and spontaneous experiences, and he didn't regret a thing...and told me that I have to do it.

Funny thing is, with all this free time lately, it has lead me to start thinking radically, radically about what the next months of my life should be like. Every day is different: I go from pondering about a 9-5 job in the city, to living in London or down by the Riviera, to traveling to the Bahamas to bartend my way through tiki huts and clear blue water, or even to spending a year down under throwing shrimp on the barbie with the Aussies.

Before I left the bar that night, I told Sean that I was happy to have met him. And I genuinely was...and still am. He reminded me of the things I've been dying to do, of the things I yearn to do, and of the things I had pushed to the back of my mind because I was stuck in a routine. He reminded me of how much I love to travel and how much I love to experience new things. He reminded me not to be scared and that the first step would be the hardest and most scary, but that it would all be worth it in the end.

So, should I stay or should I go?

~C

On Meeting Famous People

Note to self: Don't meet famous people when you've had a few drinks. Because then you want to hug them...repeatedly. Thank you Cody Ross and Pat Burrell for not calling security.

Go Giants :)

~C

On: The Hunt for the Perfect Job

I began traveling at a very early age, and by the time I was three years old, I had visited big parts of Europe and Asia. I would get such a rush when my family and I arrived at the airport because I knew it was the start of a fun new adventure. Airplanes have always been comforting to me…in fact, the moment the plane breaks through the clouds I feel safe, suspended in the sunny, clear air high above the world (perhaps that's why I couldn't wait to jump out of a plane).

I remember this one day in middle school when a friend of mine had mentioned she was applying for a passport. I was  completely knocked off my feet - what did she mean she didn't have a passport? Wait a second, you weren't born with a passport? Little Cat had had a passport since she was born, and didn't realize that it wasn't an automatic right once you came into this world.

Via Startbackpacking.com

It still baffles me that there isn't some free program for children of a specific age to experience the world. Traveling has been a huge part of my education and I can't imagine who I would be right now if I hadn't of had the chance to learn about other cultures and see the world throughout my life.

Nowadays, I do my best to explore as much as I can, but being on my own budget doesn't readily allow for much travel. Three years ago I convinced my university to send me to France for a year, one year ago I worked my butt off to save up to go to Australia and this year, thanks to my dad, I'm going to Sweden. 

This is why I don't think I'll be happy with any ole' job here in SF. After about a year, I'll get antsy again, and I'll want to be in the exact place I am now. So instead of wasting another year doing something that doesn't make me happy, I'm on the hunt for the perfect job - one that allows me to eat, breathe, sleep travel. 

Wish me luck. Here goes nothing!

~C

In The Pursuit of Happiness

Things seem to happen to me all in one go. I'll go months with no real change; living a slightly stale life and then bam!, all of the sudden the universe throws me in the deep end. It's not like I can't swim - it's just that time went by so fast, I didn't even have time to put my bathing suit on!

...It's been interesting, to say the least. The biggest change, though probably not the most unexpected, is the fact that I am back on the prowl for a job and in the pursuit of finding happiness (which is a tremendous thing, let me add). I had been feeling like I was living in a dark cloud for the past year, full of frustration. But this last week has felt like summer vacation, and I'm loving it. This time around, I want to do something that I LOVE. I want to be passionate about what I do. I want to work in the travel industry because traveling is the most exciting thing to me.

So I'm going grab a cocktail and let the job hunt begin!

~C

An Un-Memorial Weekend

I've been trying to update this blog every week since I started it back up about a month ago, but this weekend caught me off guard. I was doing so well; it had been months since I last got sick. And this weekend I just got knocked down. Almost an entire long weekend wasted...grrr!

At least it started off well. B came down from Sacramento again this weekend to celebrate Roomie Ryan's (aka IllestRated) graduation at Sugar Cafe. The roommates and I had been waiting to meet the parents for a while now, and we finally got to meet them that evening. They were super sweet and so proud of him! His dad even stuck around a while later to hang out with us!

Ah, then Saturday came around. Saturday had such great potential. We had planned to go to Santa Cruz for the day, but our excitement was somewhat sullied when B got a speeding ticket halfway there. The cop was nice enough to warn us that there was a huge crash ahead, and gave us an alternate route. But I'm pretty sure B would have taken the traffic to the ticket.

"I'd be happy to sign that ticket, Officer" - B

It wasn't too bad once we got to Santa Cruz. We got to hang out at quality places like a very windy beach where we were covered in sand, a smelly beach cove full of dead seaweed and dogs, a bar full of smokers and a Mexican restaurant with horrible service...ya, it was just one of those days. Did I mention that it started raining too? Cattywompus! (Aussie slang for wow-what-a-shit-show.)

Although, between these small disasters, there were definitely some really fun and interesting moments...like getting to draw on this chalk board car!

Awesome chalk car we got to doodle on.

And we also took advantage of the free crayons and children's menus to document our day in neon crayon. Can you figure out what else we got up to that day?

The events of our day. In crayon.

The rest of my weekend ended with me huddled in bed/couch, blowing my nose and taking shots of Nyquil so I could get some undisturbed rest. Roomie Mike was sweet enough to make me a (what I assume was delicious since I couldn't breathe or taste much) Memorial Day bbq meal. That did help to make Monday bearable, so thanks Roomie Mike!

Roasted corn, baked potato and steak with sauteed mushrooms.

 So, how was your weekend? Better than mine I hope!

~C

One Small Leap

"Once everyone else is gone, scoot all the way down the bench towards the rear of the plane, sit on the floor, and swing your legs outside the door. Oh, and don't look down."

And thus I get to cross the first thing off of my list since I wrote it: skydiving.

Yes, I jumped out of an airplane and free-fell for a full 60 seconds -- and I got the important job of pulling the 'chute! The first 5 seconds of free-fall kind of gets you right in the stomach -- like going down a really steep roller coaster your stomach just lurches up into your throat. Luckily, that feeling is fleeting, and you're left with a gush of wind and absolutely no fear that you're falling face first towards the ground really really fast.

Once the parachute has deployed, you're literally floating in the air. And that feeling, that weightless, I-can-fly feeling, is one of the greatest I've experienced...and I can't get enough of it. Every time I think about it, I feel like a drug fiend yearning for more.

You know that point where your airplane has taken off, cleared all the clouds, and the sky is blue, the sun is shining and the white clouds look like fluffy cotton balls beneath you? That's my favorite "place" to be -- where I feel so completely calm and relaxed, like nothing bad could ever happen. And that's how I felt floating through the air -- calm, relaxed and warm. No fear.

This weekend has been all about doing new things. Being able to take that leap (literally) has made me feel like I can do anything. Jumping out of that airplane just popped this huge bubble of worry and concern, and has given me a huge positive boost. It feels like the first step towards a transition; a big change. And I'm welcoming it with open arms. It's about time I dig my way up out of this "life limbo" and get to living my life!

On a lesser, but still exciting note, I had brunch at The Tipsy Pig for the first time today with V. Brunch used to be about hanging out with my girls and having girltime. But lately, brunch has been scarce, and my girls have been scarcer. So it was great to have a few hours to brunch-it-up in the Marina with one of my best friends.

A Spicy Mary and a Strawberry Fields at Tipsy Pig

(Too bad we didn't see any Giants players hanging around Tipsy Pig this time...)

I hope you all had a happy weekend!

~C

An Animal-Inspired Weekend

This weekend was all about the animals. Of both the furry and the party persuasion.

For a while now, I'd been thinking of volunteering around the city. You know, to do something good for the planet, and to grow my good karma by a few points. I figured I'd be good at doing something eco-friendly and found this non-profit called One Brick. It basically lets you pick and choose what kind of volunteering events you want to participate in. So, I signed up to volunteer cleaning up the San Francisco Zoo for a day with friend and fellow blogger, Kenzie. Even though we were up at the crack of dawn, the hours spent de-weeding went by pretty fast - and One Brick was simple and fun, and the girls running it that day were really sweet (there are pics of us up on their site already which means we're totally official). After the required 3 hours, we were free to roam the zoo before it opened to the public, and got some perks like a free carousel ride and a discount on food, and, well a free day at the zoo and some good karma. I can't wait for the next event!

 

And on Sunday was the 100th annual Bay to Breakers...and our theme this year: Party Animals. Can you tell what I was? Most likely not since I'm a horrible costume maker. But B and I were My Little Ponies (not cats or parrots). It was a good time, until I got separated from the gang and stood on a corner trying to hail a cab for...ummm..like 2 hours.

Luckily I eventually got home and took a nice long nap!

~C