T Plus 1 Day...Finally

The Last Challenge

So, I know I promised this a while ago but what can I say…my first couple of weeks of 30 have been really busy! It’s probably a fairly natural response, whenever you hit a milestone in life, to reflect on your life. I’m no different but I’ll spare you ALL of the thoughts that went through my head on my birthday. Rest assured, some of them were pretty crazyJ. And some of them made me a bit weepy…in a good way. I’ve been a very lucky girl...well, woman. I guess since I’m 30 I should start calling myself that even if it sounds weird to me. I was already sure of what I’d be doing today to meet the challenge but first I’m going to let you in on how I got to this decision.

I was able to take half of the day off of work and get a facial…you know, so I could look younger than 30. It should have worked because the lady thought I was only about 26 BEFORE she did my facial. And then I spent the evening with some great friends enjoying some delicious steaks, drinks and my absolute favorite DQ ice cream cake. They’ve gone through great lengths in the past to get me one of these on my birthday, so I’m glad it was fairly easy this time around. I’m pretty lucky to have friends that are willing to find a DQ  between Salida, CO and Denver, CO to buy an ice cream cake (even if it was half melted in a rental car trunk by the time they got to Denver) and make sure that I was unaware they were getting it (that’s how it went last year).

When I showed up for dinner at my friends’ house, I told them I had been a bit weepy that afternoon and didn’t really know why…so I blamed it on the alcohol I’d already had… Well, that’s not entirely true. For some reason, this 30 day challenge has really made me reflect on how lucky I’ve been. I’ve met some really incredible people and gotten to have some really amazing experiences in my life. And, I’m lucky enough to know that I have a strong and supportive network of family and friends literally spread across the world. We’ve shared some absolutely ridiculous and hilarious experiences, from little moments to epic nights and weekends. (I will apologize now but I’m going to reference some inside jokes. There should be at least one for all of you…if I know you…some of these have happened a lot more than once, or twice, or even three times...):

•  “Jon, ARE WE UP?!?!
•  getting a ticket for driving on a road in a federal park…hello court summons that says United States of America vs. Megan Sip
•   the numerous amounts of stag parties in Ireland
•  “Uh, no, I can’t go out tonight, I have to be at work at 6 a.m.” and then getting dropped off at home around 4:30 a.m.
•  vacation mojo
• “Don’t use ‘double fisting’ in Ireland”
•   Peachy keen
•  Ivanabitch
• The Hop
• Halloween as some soldiers’ French liberated whore…I still can’t drink Long Beach Iced Teas
• Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy
• Saran Wrap
• Let's do some shots!

We’ve had some happy experiences and some not quite as happy experiences. There have been break-ups, illnesses, marriages (of friends, not mine!) and kids (of friends, not mine!), divorces (again…not mine), dream jobs (not many people are lucky enough to have counted themselves among flight controllers for the U.S. Space Program)… I could go on forever but I think you get it.

One of my favorite movies is The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it. The basic premise is being able to erase your memories after a bad break-up. It seems like a good idea but in the movie, you can only erase ALL of the memories from a time period. So, that means erasing the good memories with the bad memories. While it would be nice to not have to have lived through some of the less fun experiences of the last thirty years, I wouldn’t give them up at the expense of also losing the fun experiences. Those are what have made me the person I am today. And while I may not be perfect, I’m pretty happy with how my life is as I start my thirties.

I watched my Grandpa on my mom’s side die from Alzheimer’s and it was pretty devastating for the entire family. By the time he passed, he didn’t recognize anyone. I think this is probably the cruelest way for anyone’s life to end because our memories and the people we love are what really make it worth getting up every day. Why the sudden bout of unexpected seriousness? Where am I going with this? My final ‘Random Act of Kindness’ for this 30 Days to 30 Challenge was a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association. Hopefully, there will be a cure found for this one day and no one will have to face the end of their life with the absence of all of their memories and not recognizing the people that love them.

P.S. While on the website, I noticed there’s a fundraising walk coming up in October. So, just a warning to those of you around Houston…I’ll probably be seeing if any of you want to participate and help raise some money. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

P.P.S. This has been kind of fun. So, I’m considering continuing some sort of challenge to make 30 just a bit more entertaining. Maybe something new twice a month or something… Thoughts?

T Plus 1 Day

T Plus 1 Day: Wednesday, August 15, 2012: I'm 30

Well, I made it. I'm 30. I have a pretty fun evening with some great friends planned, so I'll post the update on the last day of my challenge tomorrow.

This has actually been pretty fun and is making me think I might want to do some sort of challenge for myself throughout my 30th year. Not a daily challenge but maybe monthly or twice a month...

T Minus 0 Days

T minus 0 Days, Tuesday, August 14, 2012: "Be a Kid"

First, no, today is not my birthday. Don't let the '0' fool you. Look at yesterday's post about the numbering...July has 31 days. It screwed me up.

Today is the last day of my twenties. Kind of weird... I've been in my twenties for a long time! And a lot has happened, good and bad, that has brought me to where I am in my life. Of course, I wouldn't have minded spending the majority of my day doing something other than what I was doing. I spent most of the last day of my twenties doing requirements tracking and sitting in meetings. On the bright side, that means I have a job...

On to the fun stuff! I slept in this morning (thank God for flexible schedules!) and then I stayed up super late watching a movie. I watched 'Mirror Mirror' with a friend and it was actually pretty entertaining. When I was a kid, I used to love getting to stay up late and watch a movie. So, my last night in my twenties was spent doing just that. Of course, I had an adult drink with me while doing that. I'm pretty sure that's different from when I was younger...

T Minus 1 Day

T minus 1 Day, Monday, August 13, 2012: "Be a Kid"

First, I feel like my countdown days are screwed up because tomorrow isn't my birthday. But, I went back and counted and I've got all of the numbers from 30 on down. And then I realized that July really has 31 days... So, I should have either started the challenge on July 16th or called it the 31 days to 30 challenge...which isn't exactly as catchy. So, instead, you'll be getting some weird countdown numbers the next few days. Get over it, I'm old, I can't be expected to remember these kinds of details!

On to today's challenge. The "Be a Kid" thing could really be called "Be a Toddler" today because that's totally what I did. I had dinner with some friends that I hadn't seen in a ridiculously long time. They have a super cute kid who's 20 months old (I'm not sure I want to calculate how many months old I am...)

First, it was nice to be able to catch up with them. Second, it was great to be able to have real dinner since I don't have any food in my house because I just got back from San Diego. And the dinner was delicious! Before and after dinner, I played with their son. He was a little shy at first (I find most kids that age generally take a few minutes to warm up to people) but he got over that really fast when I asked him to show me his toys. He's really into trains, so we played with some little ones for a while. Then we played with one that he can sit on. Then I made some fresh whipped cream for dessert and let him lick the beaters (he loved it, who wouldn't??). Then it was his bath time and after that we played with more toys.

He showed me his giraffe, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, horse, tiger and monkey. He also made sure I knew what they all said. We jumped just for the sake of jumping. Then we jumped on one foot to show that we could. Then there was some spinning. I can't spin nearly as long as he can...it's hard when you're old like me :P

Then, it was bedtime. And, I had to go back to being an adult and went to the grocery store. But, those few hours of jumping, spinning and show and tell just for the fun of it were pretty awesome. I've said it before but I highly recommend spending time with young kids as much as you possibly can. They remind you to just enjoy things for no other reason than it's fun.

T Minus 3 and 2 Days

T minus 3 and 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12, 2012: "Be a Kid"

Yeah, that's right, this is going to be another one of the two-fer posts. Mostly because the activity I did on both days was fairly similar so I didn't think it was worth making two separate posts about. On these days, I'm chalking up my beach play to being like a kid. We spent a lot of time hanging out on the beach in the San Diego area. On Saturday afternoon, we hung out in the Ocean Beach area. And, some other good friends drove down from where they live north of LA for the night with their two kids. I was so excited that they were able to make it down for the weekend!

Of course, since they have two kids, they also brought a lot of beach toys! We got some use out of the boogie boards and this beach ball/frisbee ring contraption. It was a lot of fun to throw around in the water because if you missed it, it would just float like a beach ball. Their six year old son enjoyed it because the waves would wash right back up to him near the shore.

Sunday, we went to the Mission Beach area in the morning before we had to get ready to go to the airport. We were able to get in a couple of hours on the beach and it was awesome! I honestly think it was my favorite time of the whole weekend, including the surfing. I had a great group of friends around me, got to play in the sand and waves with the kids, we tossed the ball/frisbee ring thing around, had a race to the buoy with three people (and I totally beat them all to the buoy :P) and just general beach laziness. I did notice that most other adults were just laying on the beach... I can't really just lay there for a couple of hours, so the "kid" type beach activities were the perfect way to fill the time.

It was an absolutely perfect way to finish the weekend. We got a pretty good group picture of us before we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the airport but two people bailed out fast so they aren't in this one...bummer!

The last morning after enjoying some kid activities on the beach.

T Minus 4 Days

T minus 4 days, Friday, August 10, 2012: "Be a Kid" and "Random Act of Kindness"

Today was the first full day in San Diego and it was a blast. There were six of us here at this point and we all started off with surf lessons. Well, minus one person who already knew how to surf but whatever. This is what I'm chalking up to being like a kid. We first spend some time on something called an Indio board that was to help us get used to the balance part and I can tell you that we all fell and we all laughed about it. It was pretty entertaining. Our instructors were also pretty entertaining and regaled us with some pretty awesome jokes. I'd put them on here but the punchlines need to be said in a certain way, so I'd hate to ruin it for you!

Anyhow, the surfing was super fun. We all stood up on the board a couple of times and of course felt triumphant! The only bad part was all of the sea weed in the water...I just tried to pretend it wasn't there. Which was a little hard when my feet got tangled in it but whatever. Unfortunately, since we were all surfing, there aren't any pictures of us actually surfing. But, this gives you an idea of how good we looked:

What can I say, we're fast learners :)

After we were done surfing we went and checked out this pretty cool lookout, cliff area called Sunset Cliffs. It wasn't sunset but it was still a pretty spectacular view.

The cell phone picture really doesn't do the view justice but it's still pretty cool.

A few of us climbed down part of the cliff area and contemplated the possibility of jumping into the water.

Hello up there! They didn't want to climb down where we were. I guess they had no desire to contemplate the success rate of jumping...

We were pretty sure it was deep enough but none of us were brave (or stupid...either way) enough to go first. So, we didn't jump. But, I did pick up some garbage from the cliff and threw it out on the way back to the car. I can't understand how hard it is for someone to carry their trash 50 feet away to a garbage can. So lame to dirty up a beautiful place with trash.

Then we got a pretty good group picture. Ignore the fact that my shorts are so baggy I look like I'm packing something extra in there...

If we look exhausted it's because we spent all morning surfing. See the picture above!

T Minus 5 Days

T minus 5 days, Thursday, August 9, 2012: "Random Act of Kindness"

In case you haven't noticed, the random act of kindness has probably been my favorite thing to do. Usually, it's pretty simple to complete but gives me a nice boost for the day...so it's actually kind of selfish. But, whatever!

Today, I flew to San Diego to spend the weekend with a bunch of friends. We were celebrating my last weekend in my twenties and it was an absolute blast. I arrived about seven hours before everyone else from the Houston area did and my friend Tara picked me up at the airport. We went and checked out Coronado Island and it was beautiful!

Coronado Island. It's a little nicer than the beaches of Galveston.

One thing I learned about California is that the parking is ridiculous! On Coronado, there were parking meters everywhere and from what I've heard, the parking tickets can be a little high. So, while Tara and I were getting ready to leave, I saw a parking meter with only about 15 minutes left on it. So, I put some money in it and gave them an extra half an hour on the meter.

Of course, the person could have returned two minutes after we left and wondered why the heck they had so much time on the meter still. But, that's fine with me. Challenge complete! Tara and I went and go ourselves a few drinks as a reward :)

T Minus 6 Days

T minus 6 days, Wednesday, August 8, 2012: "Random Act of Kindness"

Ok, this one is going to fall a little in the gray area again because it involves my little sister from Big Brothers/Big Sisters. But, like I said before, I still think it counts. Of course, with all random acts of kindness, I feel like I get more out of our visits than she probably does. She came out with a friend and I to get our nails done and then just her and I went to get dinner. For some reason, I feel like this challenge has really gotten her to open up to me a lot more.

When we've been hanging out the last few times, she's asked what I did on that particular day for the challenge. So, while driving to the restaurant for dinner, we started talking about another teenager in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program who's had a much more difficult life than my little sister. We talked about how fortunate she is to have at least one parent in the picture who's actively involved in her life and wants her to become a successful, independent women. And, lord only knows how, but somehow this conversation transitioned to sex...eek! What the hell?! All I can say, is that I'm definitely not ready for that talk! But, I think we waded through it fairly well. Thankfully, she's nowhere near caring about boys but my hope is that this "random act of kindness" lets her know that there's more than just her dad that cares about her having a successful future. And that there are things about her boys should care about than just being able to hook-up.

While I hope that she'll feel comfortable bringing this up again in the future if necessary, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't happen for a LONG time!!

T Minus 7 Days

T minus 7 Day, Tuesday, August 7, 2012: "Random Act of Kindness"

I've done something similar to this before but a friend recently posted on Facebook that she was on the receiving end of someone doing this and it was awesome. So, I decided to do it again.

A good sign that I'm getting old is that I've recently taken a liking to coffee. If you've known me for a while, or ever were around me in the morning, you know I've never been a coffee drinker. That's changed in the last three weeks. I can't even say it was a gradual change. I had some one morning with some friends and loved it. I think since that day about three weeks ago, I've only not had coffee about four or five of those days. Crazy, I know.

Anyhow, I was on my way to work and stopped at Starbucks for an iced coffee (my favorite way to drink it) and decided to pay for the car behind me. The guy at the window asked if I knew them or if I was just being a "creeper" I laughed and told him I was just being a creeper. Then, he told me their bill was $18!! What the hell?! At that point, it's not like I can back-out. That wouldn't be very creeper-ish of me! But, that's a lot of Starbucks! Ideally, that means that more than one person was able to enjoy a free coffee this afternoon... And hopefully, more than one person will be willing to pay that little joyful moment forward to someone else. Because if not, this creeper is out $18 for no reason...

T Minus 9 and 8 Days

T minus 9 and 8 Days, Sunday and Monday, August 5 and 6, 2012: "30 Letters to 30 People"

I'm calling this another two-fer. I came up with this idea today and then realized that I could get two days out of this idea!! I have a lot of siblings (5 brothers and a sister). The four youngest are half siblings, and I have an older brother (he's 32) and younger brother (he's 25) who are full brothers. Of course, I don't really divide them like that in my head...and I generally only call them all either my brother or my sister. I usually only clarify when people are shocked that my youngest brother is 6. That's right, my youngest brother is 6 and my oldest brother is 32. We span 26 years...

Anyhow, my older brother lives in Minnesota and my 25 year old brother lives in Florida. I don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like to and of course, these visits can be filled with some bickering. We don't fight nearly as much as we did when we were kids but we still do a little...that's how we show we care. We're that mature :)

One of the rare times we're in the same place at once...this was about three years ago. See how mature we look!

So, today, I was thinking that I don't think they realize how much I admire them. My older brother is an incredible mechanic. He's one of those people that could take a car apart and put it back together and it'll still work. I'd have half of the parts left and be wondering what the hell to do with them... I tend to call him when something is wrong with my car to see if I'm being lied to by my local mechanic and to see if what they're telling me is reasonable. My 25 year old brother is an incredibly talented musician. When we were younger, he just decided to teach himself how to play the guitar. And he did. And now, he can write his own music and has earned a scholarship for music at the college he goes to. I'm seriously jealous of them both.

So, they'll both be getting a letter (one to be written today and one tomorrow) telling them that. I think the letter will be better than doing it in person because mid-westerners (MN is in the mid-west...) aren't exactly emotionally demonstrative people. We'd all be embarrassed if I tried to do this in person! This way, they know and we're not embarrassed. And, everyone likes to get something good in the mail :)

T Minus 11 Days

T minus 11 Days, Friday, August 3, 2012: "30 Letters to 30 People"

I took a little "artistic license" with today's challenge... I didn't actually write a letter to anyone. But, I did call a friend that I hadn't talked to in a long time. I would consider this friend a good, close friend. But, we all know how life can get busy and before you know it months have gone by since the last time you touched base with someone. I wonder, at what stage of life did we change from wanting to spend hours on the phone with our friends as teenagers to sometimes dreading having to talk on the phone...?

And then she said... And I was all, like...

Anyhow, it was great to chat on the phone with my friend. We didn't have much time to actually talk because of the time difference and things going on on both sides of the call. But, we were able to have a good conversation and catch-up on life. And, it was genuinely a good feeling at the end to be able to have had that moment to just chat with a close friend.

Sometimes, trying to fit in time to call someone you haven't talked to in a long time can seem like a huge chore. But, then when you actually do it, it feels great.

T Minus 10 Days

T minus 10 Days, August 4, 2012, Saturday: "Random Act of Kindness" and "Be a Kid"

Does anyone else remember how exciting it was, as a kid, to hear the ice cream truck coming around? Seriously, it was pretty exciting. I was sitting around this afternoon, trying to motivate myself to do something productive and losing at that endeavor when I heard the glorious sound of the ice cream truck. I seriously jumped up, hurriedly searched for some money, got worried that I wouldn't find it in time, found some, ran out the door, jumped over some bushes (they're really low), and caught the ice cream truck man. Who then made fun of me for watching the Olympics too much (probably true because I'm exhausted!) because of my bush leaping...

I think if my ice cream truck guy had looked like this, it would have been less creepy.

When I got to the truck I had a few thoughts:
1. Did these seem as creepy when I was a kid as they do right now?
2. Am I being too judgmental? He's just trying to make some money...
3. Am I seriously about to eat ice cream from this truck?
4. At least it'll be prepackaged...

I bought some sort of cookies and cream bar because I was craving some ice cream and chocolate. It wasn't as good as I remembered... Maybe I should have stuck with the old standby of the Flinstones push-pop.The best part of the experience was when one of the neighbor kids came running up to the truck as well with $1. He picked out his ice cream, I paid for it and he didn't seem to realize that. So, when he tried to give the guy his money, he told the little boy that I'd paid for him. He looked at me a little shyly, then got pretty excited that he got the ice cream and a dollar. So, my bush jumping skills worked in favor for that kid.

T Minus 12 Day

T minus 12 Days, Thursday, August 2, 2012: "Random Act of Kindness"

So, one thing I've learned while doing this is that there are a million easy ways around us every day to do something kind that can make a positive impact on someone's life. Feds Feed Families is a food drive for federal employees. They make it pretty easy to donate food to a food drive because the collection boxes are at work...and we all know that we spend a lot of time at work! While I'm not officially a federal employee, I'm just a contractor, I suppose I'm close enough.

So, I was able to do today's challenge pretty easily. I've had food in my pantry that I know I won't eat. Honestly, I'm not really sure how I got it... Maybe it's just that my tastes have changed or whatever. Either way, it helped me to clean out some food from my pantry and I was able donate it to a worthy cause. So, just a reminder, there's easy opportunities all around you to make a positive impact that take minimal effort.

T Minus 13 Days

T minus 13 Days, Wednesday, August 1, 2012: "Be a Kid"


First, whoa! Only two weeks to go! Second, I must be getting old because I was hanging out with a friend this evening and had to ask several times what day it is...only to confirm AGAIN that it's still Wednesday. I will blame it on being at work until about 1:30 this morning. Yes...it's totally that...has nothing to do with my age...

On to the challenge. I knew I was going to hang out with a friend this evening and I knew I had some sidewalk chalk. Clearly, this mixture promises to be fun! When I got to her house, we decided to play a rousing game of hopscotch. I remember this game being SO MUCH fun as a kid! Over and over we'd play. Apparently, I didn't play enough times to remember the rules or point of the game. Thank God for smartphones! So, after Googling how to play hopscotch, we went out to her driveway and drew a big hopscotch board (or whatever you call it...)

We thought this was bigger than when we were kids but decided it was ok because we're a little bigger, too. And, yes, that's a beer...I may be doing a kid's activity but it doesn't mean I can't enjoy an adult beverage at the same time.

With our fabulous hopscotch "board" ready to go, we couldn't find a rock to toss. That's how you know where to jump to...or turn around...or something. We still don't understand what Google told us about the point of the rock. But, whatever, we couldn't find a rock. Apparently, my friend and her husband take care of their yard pretty well. The nerve! So, I improvised and pulled the tab off of my beer can. Yes, that's right, we played hopscotch with a beer can tab. We're classy that way.

Look at me tear up that hopscotch board!

Here's what we both learned tonight: some things are better left to fond memories of your childhood. We each did it once, tried to figure out what the point was and couldn't. Tried to figure out how you win and still have no idea. I think it's just a game you played with no winners...you just played. But, honestly, I don't know how the heck I played this so often as a kid! I went a second time, still didn't get it, and then we went back inside. Am I missing the point of hopscotch?? Does anyone know what the purpose is of this game?? I mean, I didn't think my brain was so poorly developed as a child that jumping in boxes that are right next to each other would be so enjoyable. So, I'm pretty sure I'm missing the point.... Skipping was way more fun!

But, at least I got the challenge done for the day. And, I dragged a friend down memory lane with me...even if we both still don't get it!

T Minus 14 Days

T minus 14 Days, Tuesday, July 31, 2012: "Random Act of Kindness"


It seems like summer just started but stores are already gearing up for 'Back to School' sales (I suppose that shouldn't surprise me because some stores have already busted out Christmas stuff but whatever...) I remember being excited about the first day of school. New clothes, new backpack, new lunch box, new notebooks...although I don't think I was ever able to get a Lisa Frank binder or a REAL Trapper Keeper (not a knockoff). Somehow, I survived...shocking, I know!

About a week after schools starts, they'll be running AWAY from the bus!

I didn't get to have those fancy, expensive versions of basic school needs because we weren't exactly rolling in the dough. But, we could at least afford to get some new school supplies. Not all families can even do that. When I was grocery shopping at H.E.B today, they offered customers the opportunity to participate in a school supply drive called 'Operation Back Pack' that is in conjunction with the YMCA. They had prepackaged some basic school supplies into bags and priced them out already. All I had to do was grab one of the bags and throw it in my cart and pay for it on the way out. It cost me a whole $7. That's less than what I paid for the random person's dinner in the drive-thru a couple of weeks ago! So, they catered to my desire to do something kind for the day and my desire to be lazy :) Here's a link to participating stores in the Houston area: http://www.heb.com/sectionpage/back-to-school/how-to-help/sd30430087#operationbackpack

If you're not in the Houston area, I recommend seeing if any businesses around you are doing something similar. It's hard enough to get kids excited about going back to school...new school supplies can make it just a bit easier and take some stress off of the parents who can't afford to buy them.

Just because I'm a nerd and I think this is funny. I probably only understand this because I wasn't busy staring at my Lisa Frank folders or playing with my Trapper Keeper.

T Minus 15 Days

T minus 15 Days, Monday, July 30, 2012: "30 Letters to 30 People"

Many people know that a large number of people that work for my company were laid off in the past couple of years. It sucked. For a long time, I was expecting to be one of them. What many people don't know, is that when I was expecting to be laid-off, I was organizing my life to be able to be gone for a couple of years. I had started the process of applying for the Peace Corps several months before what I was anticipating to be my layoff date. As part of the application, I had to write a couple of essays (oh, joy!). One of the essays had to address why you wanted to join the Peace Corps, how these reasons relate to your past experiences and life goals and how you expect to satisfy the Peace Corps 10 Core Expectations (feel free to Google them).

My essay focused on a person who's had a huge impact on my life by demonstrating how a community can be built around you that supports you through all aspects of life. Both good and bad. I like to think that I've learned from that example and put it to good use around me. Since I don't live anywhere near my family, I've tried to build a good circle of friends that are basically my surrogate Houston family. I believe this person's example taught me how treating people with respect, caring, kindness...( I could go on but really the way we'd all like to be treated) builds that without you even realizing it.

That's totally what I look like when I'm writing letters and essays.

Obviously, I didn't join the Peace Corps. I was offered an incredible job opportunity that was very difficult to turn down. Although, it was a very close decision...ask my manager, we talked about it A LOT!! But, today, I decided to mail that essay to the person I'm talking about. With a thank you note for the quiet, unassuming and positive example of building a supportive community around you. Hopefully, it will bring a smile to this person's face.