Category: Uncategorized

A few weeks ago I went to Arizona with some friends. I spent a weekend taking in scenery unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I hadn’t realised how beautiful rock could be, but the dusky red rock everywhere was so stunning. Three days passed exploring slot canyons and boating and doing some (very light) hiking — it was August after all, and 100+ degrees was no joke. It was a really fun trip and a much needed break from reality.

We spent one of the evenings watching the sunset from the hotel veranda. It was wonderful and peaceful and definitely not something I’d easily be able to experience in New York. I’ve been getting an itch to have these kinds of moments more often — being able to curl up outside with a book and enjoy nature. Part of me wants to move away and get a house and live out my cottagecore dreams. The other, louder part of me reminds me that I can do that later, and to enjoy New York for now.

I think it’s the right move to stay here a while longer, but my trip to Arizona helped me realise that if I’m going to stay, I’d better do it right. That way I’ll have no regrets later. I have more clarity on the next few years now, which is a good thing. I’ve been antsy for months while trying to figure out my next steps, and I hadn’t been able to make any progress towards an answer. I’m all set now, I guess I just needed a trip to Arizona to figure things out.

This month I was a bridesmaid at a wedding. I went to Europe for a week. I held my friend’s baby for the first time. Exciting things.

I also got more V3 climbs this month than I ever have before. 5 of them to be precise. My climbing progress has been slow to say the least, and this month I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere. And it’s taken months of consistency and building good habits and gaining and losing and regaining strength. I’m so appreciative of all the strength I’ve gained and I’m so aware of how much further I have to go.

Climbing kind of altered my life. Seriously. I schedule my weeks around climbing. I think about problem sets when in my free time. I plan my eating and exercise to align with my climbing goals. There definitely are moments where I’m fed up with everything and feel defeated. But every time I complete something I fought for, it feels so worth it. It’s so cool to have a hobby that is also exercise and also is social and also keeps my brain occupied. It’s so cool to see my mind-body connection strengthen. I’m so glad my mom pushed me to give climbing another shot last year. And I’m so glad my brother let me use his guest pass on that cold January day.

June has been uneventful and I’ve been having mood swings. I’m bored. I’m excited. I’m sleepy. I’m restless. I feel like I’ve lost interest in everything but at the same time there are so many things I want to do and not enough time to do them all. I’m not sure what’s going on. This happens every summer. I start to feel uneasy and think through a million things that I could do and somehow end up doing none of them. This year I’ve finally picked up on this pattern. Which is great! Except for the fact that I still have no idea what to do about it and we’re almost at July. I’m going out of town shortly and I’m hoping the time away gives me clarity. But in case it doesn’t, I’ll think more on things. I feel like I need to take time to stop and spend more time thinking about stuff like that. In a vaguely related vein, certain events this month have made me realise that I really need to stop watching short form contact. It’s rotting my brain. I really need to get my life together and start taking advantage of all the resources and opportunities available to me. I’m going to do some thinking the next few weeks while I’m away and come back strong and ready to rumble.

I could barely run 3 miles on Jan 1st this year. And this month, I ran 13.1 in a half marathon. It’s crazy the difference 4 months of consistency can make. This was maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Physically of course, but mentally too. The last few miles felt like forever and I had to reach for every ounce of determination that I possessed in order to make it through.

I’m not a naturally athletic person, so the 4 month journey felt kind of transformative to me. I wasn’t going for time, just distance and completion. Endurance. I didn’t want to stop when running (and I didn’t!). This meant every time I was able to run an additional mile, it felt like a victory. Something I’d never done before. An accomplishment. It also meant I was able to be very forgiving when I couldn’t finish a distance I’d planned. Too tired to finish 9 miles? No biggie — 6 miles is still more than I could do before.

My next goal is to run faster. The half marathon motivated me to start running consistently, but I’m pretty slow. I’d like to improve my mile time. I think I’m going to sign up for a 5k next to help motivate myself. Though the thought of running during the summer when it’s muggy… well, we’ll see. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from the last 4 months, it’s that I can accomplish anything I want to.

It’s official— I moved! Today is my first day in my new apartment and… wow. This is weird. Things felt so bittersweet in the weeks leading up to the move. But now that I’m all set up, I don’t think about my old apartment nearly as much as I thought I would. Funny how things happen that way. I’m sure with time I’ll miss certain perks of my old living situation. The neighborhood was cleaner and the apartment was more spacious. I had a great view. But there are so many things about my new location that I just know I’m really going to appreciate. It’s closer to my office. It’s closer to the climbing gym. It’s closer to family. I’m excited to spend the coming year at this place. I think my life is going to change here.

It seems like short posts is the trend I’m going for in 2024. Ah well, that’s life.

This month I decided to move out of the studio apartment that I love dearly and into a new neighborhood. This is a big deal for me. I agonized over this decision for weeks. At one point I nearly chose to lease a different apartment just a block or two over from where I currently live. But as appealing as that idea felt, I knew I would just be playing things safe. So I decided to ignore all my fears of moving somewhere unfamiliar and just go for it. Sure, maybe I’ll miss how things are now. Maybe I’ll hate the new apartment. Maybe I’ll wish I’d never moved at all. But maybe I won’t! Maybe I’ll love it. I have to have some faith and take that chance. So I guess this means April’s short post might be about my new living situation. And hopefully I’ll like it!

The entirety of January was an attempt to get back into a routine. Sleeping consistently. Managing stress. Prioritizing the things that should be prioritized. I continued this for about 3 days in February before giving up. I let myself skip workouts when I felt like it. I lazed on weekends where I should have gotten things done. Because here’s what I realised — thinking about not being in a routine was stressing me out way too much to be worth it.

In a few days, I’ll be going on vacation for two weeks and everyone knows there’s no routine on vacation. My plan is to focus on eating well and sleeping well and having a lot of fun. And then I’ll revisit real life when I’m back.

It’s been a weird month. I set some goals for 2024 and went about it totally differently than last year. The key this time around is focus. I tried top roping and loved it. Next step is to purchase a harness. I presented at work, despite hating public speaking. I got weird sick — I didn’t have a cough or cold or anything but I was drained as hell and lay in bed for like 3 days straight. I read a book that had so much potential but ended up falling flat. I completely messed up my sleep schedule. I ran for longer than I ever have in my life. I cancelled my pilates membership. A weird month indeed. I’m kind of a huge fan though. I hope the rest of 2024 is just as fun. Minus the getting sick part. I don’t need that energy.

I’m falling into a bit of a pattern with these year end reviews. One year I make a graphic, the next year I don’t. And so on. This year I’m just too tired to even consider doing it. Plain text it is.

This was a really weird year. I did my first solo trip. I read less books than I planned. Last week I ran a 10 minute mile — a personal best and 2 full minutes better than my previous time — without having run in months. I also did a terrible job of documenting the year, so I have no idea what made this year so busy and crazy. Anyway, here are some of the things that I did this year.

1. Traveled to 2 new countries — Mexico and Spain
2. Ran a 10 minute mile
3. Climbed my first v3
4. Wrote 12 blog posts
5. Got all 12 Duolingo monthly badges
6. Read 15 books

I’ve never been to a spa before. I’ve never really felt the urge to. But I’ve been seeing Korean spas all over social media, and now that it’s getting cold in the Northeast, it felt like a good time to give it a shot. And I loved it.

I loved sitting there for hours in the oversized spa uniform. I loved feeling truly warm after constantly being subjected to the winter cold. I loved the different saunas and feeling my pores open up. I loved the satisfaction of sweating from every square inch of skin. I loved the refreshing coolness after leaving the sauna. I loved eating the Korean spa food and trying the different desserts. I loved chatting with my friends in between saunas. I especially loved that going in and out of the saunas meant we were effectively forced to be phone free for the entire day.

So I’m a spa girl now. I’m already scheming to go back again next month. And the weather be colder, so the spa will feel even better.