The Day Before Your Life Changes Feels Like Every Other Day

A couple months ago when I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand I met an American girl at our posh hostel. The day I arrived I went to check out the pool and I saw a "white girl" across on the deck. As soon as I heard her talking I knew she was from America! We said hello and shared where we were from. Turns out we both had connections back in my hometown! She was actually about to move there! We hung out a little the week I was there, hanging by the pool and at this awesome jazz bar down the street (like a 20 minute walk down the street). She was glowing from her recent yoga certification in Bali, and could not stop raving about it.

It was a fun week. We were actually staying in the same room, and with us both being named "Elizabeth" it made for some funny moments. She actually went by EB, thankfully, or "the first Elizabeth" because she was in the room before me. LOL. Soon enough we parted ways and kept in touch via FB, targeting to meet up in the coming months back home, too.

About a month ago EB was in a bad diving accident and she is paralyzed from the chest down. Even with insurance the cost of continuing care, rehab, and home modifications are expensive. I just wanted to share in case anyone wanted to help.  Click here to read about and donate to her cause.

https://m.helphopelive.org/campaign/5473?3.8.753


It's crazy that life can change in the blink of an eye. Love. Listen. Laugh. Clap. Travel. Love more. Love harder. Never let your passions die, let them take over your soul and body. LIVE OUT LOUD!

And SMILE, it's contagious.

Guys - ASK FOR HER NUMBER!

Man, I don't know if I'm more sad or mad at the dating scene these days. It seems most men want to skip over the courting and dating and go straight to your bedroom. Why the rush? Is the world about to end, did I miss the memo?!

I'm not posting this rant after a one time experience. Over the past few years that I've tried dating, even dating sites, I'm frustrated with the lack of old school chivalry skills I've encountered, if at all. I can understand asking a girl out in person may be nerve wracking and/or awkward for a man. But it's really not that difficult. All it really takes is five simple words - "Can I call you sometime?"

I know guys are just as weary of being turned down as we all are. I get it!  BUT - there are TONS of fish in the sea!  Like they say, men and women are like buses, if you miss one it's OK, another one is coming in 15 minutes!

Asking a girl out in person may be tough, but it's doable.  So, you would think over email, a guy wouldn't have a problem asking for your number, right? WRONG. In my experience 99.999% of the guys I've met on a dating site always drop THEIR number after a couple weeks of email exchanges. WHAT THE FUCK!!!!! What is the deal? You really want to drop YOUR number so the girl will text YOU?! WHY CAN'T A GUY ASK FOR A GIRLS NUMBER ANYMORE??????? What is the problem?! Why is that so difficult?

I'm so glad that I was raised on old school values, although they are hard to find these days. But in a way it is a gift and a curse. If I was OK with a guy texting me all day and not communicating to my face I would be in heaven in 2014. But unfortunately I feel like it's hell. A bunch of fast paced non investment cowardly men out there looking for some quick action. No wonder they aren't chivalrous because they probably don't have any chivalrous intentions!

Anyway, yes, I am venting. All I want is to meet someone that is tired of getting it wrong as much as I am. A guy that respects the journey, not the destination. Someone who enjoys the excitement and thrill of what could come next. The elated feeling of pondering the next level and depth we could reach together.  How exciting is that!

These are some official #FirstWorldProblems and #OldSchoolProblems but I'll be alright!  ;)

#venting 

Adjusting Back Home?

It's been almost a month that I've been home from my travel adventures in Asia. I was only gone two and a half months, but I'm amazed by how much my perspective has shifted, and continues to shift....

At first thought, two and a half months doesn't sound like a lot of time. Especially if you're staying in the same city doing what you do, day in and day out. But, two and a half months of traveling, leaving everything you knew and loved back home, being in multiple foreign countries, being stretched emotionally, physically, and spiritually, is A LOT to take on. From airlines to buses to trains to new curry dishes to new horizons, my world has exploded in color and new perspectives. I can feel the weight of this new vision on my shoulders ready to be digested. I'm processing it slowly, every moment of every day. I've had a few reflections where I find myself challenging some things I thought I knew and wanted. I'm finding some old things I dreamt of unattractive an undesirable and new things coming to the forefront of my interests that weren't there before. I've completely changed the direction of my life from just a few months ago, and I could not be more excited for what this unknown will turn into!

I thought I would be gone two years or more, not two months! It's crazy how life shifts you. But I feel I am right where I need to be. I came home early for a reason. There's a reason why I changed careers. And it's all starting to make more sense. I'm listening to myself and pushing my boundaries. I'm testing my limits, and I'm growing, further, deeper. You have to create space for change and growth, and we all have space for it, only some of us choose to see it and push our limits to receive it.

I'm excited to see how I feel as each week passes. Slowly letting my travel adventures unfold me into my new days. What's even more exciting is I feel even more excitement is on the horizon. Shaking your life up is actually fun. I feel more creative, more ballsy, more FREE. And that is just what I wanted!

HollerAtAPlayerWhenYouSeeMeInTheStreetz

✌️

Choosing to Stop Traveling (For Now)

This year I made a BIG decision. I decided to give up my successful 10 year career in banking to go travel the world. I was lucky, I found two other girls willing to do the same, willing to give up everything to go on this journey together. This type opportunity was once in a lifetime, and was one I could NOT refuse.

So off we go. Thailand for a month. Vietnam for three weeks. Cambodia for a few days. Bali for a month. My life is just SO awesome, right?! I just have it so good, right? I am just SOOOO lucky!!

Don't be so quick to judge. It's quite easy to assume other's situations are amazing, great, terrible, etc. But looking from the outside in, it's merely your illusion of how you assume their life is based on your reality. Just because someone is traveling the world doesn't mean they're the happiest person in the world and have it the best, and just because someone is poor and has dirty clothes doesn't mean they're unhappy or have it the worst, either.  I think studies have been done that have proven those with less are actually, happier.

Don't get me wrong, I am very blessed, and am very lucky to have traveled to all the places I have traveled to. But as of now, I think I'm over it. For the longest time I think I was searching. For what I didn't know exactly, but I just knew going to these exotic places would help round out, or fill in rather, all the gaps I was feeling inside, right?  That these places had the answer!  Little did I know these places helped ME find the answer.

The answer is not anywhere "out there."  I had to learn that I had the power, for everything.  For success, happiness, for love, strength, courage, all of this lies within me, within you, too.  Sometimes you have to get to a point of total confusion and delusion to realize that YOU are the only one who has the power to change your life.  

If you are unhappy about something, change it, or change your perspective on it. If something or someone stresses you out, stop doing it or stop hanging around them. If you hate your job, stop complaining about it and get anther one, or change your perspective on it.

Changing your perspective, challenging yourself, and stepping outside your box breaks down barriers allowing new energies to form and grow.  And that's what changes your life!  

We all have this capability within us, and the answer is not far, not in a far away land or in a new designer purse or new pair of boots.  The answer is not even a foot away, the answer is YOU.

Will I ever travel again?  Damn right!  But my intention will be different.  Sharing life with my family and friends is what I've learned brings value and happiness to me in my life.  And traveling with them will only be the icing on the cake!  :)

Bali

I'm sure everyone has heard of Bali, right? Oh it's the most luxurious, peaceful, beautiful, most zen place on the planet, right? Well, depends on who you ask....

My three weeks in Bali were cool. We rented a house, or "villa" as some like to say, in the Seminyak area of southwestern Bali. We had a private pool, a maid every other day, and a kitchen where we could cook our own food whenever we felt like it. Not too shabby!

We could walk to the grocery store and convenience store, and could run or walk a mile into town for shopping, restaurants, etc. But that mile walk, frequently, and once it turned dark, was just not going to work all the time. So taking cabs everywhere was the norm, and they were on our speed dial. Here's the view of our walk into town.

So, what did we do?! Some days we relaxed by our private pool. Oh the perks oh having a private pool. Correcting my tan lines was first on the priority list! :)

We actually had a few friends come and visit us often at the pool!!! Aren't they so cute!!!!

Other days we went out shopping in local Seminyak. It was such a cute little town with plenty of bars and restaurants to explore! There were actually a couple of large impressive venues, Potato Head and Ku De Ta. They reminded me of Vegas! They were modern, huge, busy and expensive! LOL. It was a great place to mingle and chill, and that is exactly what we did!

Other days we checked out different beaches. Honestly I don't remember which all ones we went to. I know one was Dreamland Beach. LOL.

The beaches were great, don't get me wrong. But I think my expectations were VERY high for Bali. Your whole life you hear about Bali, almost imagining it looking something like heaven. And to me, it looked like a normal exotic beach. We had a great time though! The one main difference I noticed in Bali were the waves. Never have I seen such large, strong and violent crashing waves!  Here are pictures from some other beaches we visited.

I did get to see my first black sand beach!

Being a yogi of course I HAD to get some yoga pictures on the beach! 

A couple of days we went to check out the town of Ubud. This town is known for its energy, cool shops, restaurants, etc.

We actually set up appointments to meet with a couple of energy healers there. Check out one of my interesting encounters here. It's so cool to meet other like minded folks who recognize the depth and energy of the nature that's all around us. Those experiences I will never forget.

Of course a night or two out on the town was a must!!!

One blissful moment I will NEVER forget dancing in the rain at a nigthclub.  Read about it here.

I actually ended up leaving Bali a week early, yes, for real. I am in no way "bashing" Bali, because it is a special place. Three weeks was just enough for me. :) I think staying at a resort on the beach will give you a different experience than I had. Don't get me wrong, I did not have a bad time, just was nothing like I had pictured it in my head. I was able to relax, lay out, beach it, shop, eat at cool restaurants, etc. It was fine! I'm glad that I can check Bali off my list. But I'm also glad that I realized I don't have to travel halfway across the world to find "paradise." It can be a lot closer than you think. ;)