The Unexpected

Last month I traveled to Austin, Texas for a work training conference with the U.S. EPA. I had never traveled to Texas before and had many preconceived notions about the Lone Star State. What I experienced while I was there surprised me, a lot and in all honesty I may have fallen in love with the place.

Austin Skyline from Auditorium Shores Park

View of Lake Austin at the Hula Hut

Barton Springs

If you know me, I know you're thinking "You fall in love with every place you go", but this runs deep into many aspects of live in the city. The climate is warm and the attitude is very relaxed and beachy (even being 3+ hours from the coast). People are friendly and there is tons to do between the lakes and rivers in the area, the natural springs, the music scene and nightlife, the food trucks, and activities around the Texas state capital. Who knows, may one day I'll get to experience life there. =)

Here Lately

The fact that Americans work too much is completely true, especially for this American lately. The 76 mile stretch of Interstate 64 between Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky have become a very familiar commute for me in the past few months. Juggling projects and meeting major deadlines have kept me busy, but I honestly cannot complain. I enjoy what I do and everyday is a new challenge that is fun to tackle. For that, I am lucky and continue to work onward and upward while enjoying life.

I must say among all the work I have found plenty of time to enjoy the warm weather we have been having. A few weeks ago I spent hours downtown for Lexington's St. Patrick's Day Festival with friends, doing the Run/Walk in the morning and drinking green beer all afternoon. This past weekend I celebrated my 25th birthday with my mother and friends on the patio. 

St. Patrick's Day Celebration with friends

Rainbow Birthday Cake (!!)

It has been glorious taking advantage of this weather and spending as much time as possible outside! I am heading on vacation later this week, but hope to be posting regularly upon my return.

Firm Foundation

It has been a busy two weeks for me and I feel like I have been running 100 mph non-stop. 

I have been tearing up Kentucky's Golden Triangle for work recently, primarily spending my days in Louisville working on an inspection program implementation. I will say for the most part, that I enjoy my job because it is constantly dynamic and always provides a challenge for me, but not staying at home has been tough and I am grateful when I am home in my bed.

In my personal life, the past couple of weeks have also been a reminder of the strength that I possess within myself. I am not always the quickest learner; I have always been a 'learn by doing' individual, that makes the same mistakes a few times before I realize something doesn't work. The difference is that by acknowledging my strength and standing up for myself, I have begun to realize when I am in the midst of something that is not working and am able to assess and correct this.

Between work and personal life I feel like I am truly growing up. While working hard on myself and enjoying all that I am so lucky to have, I have grown to a place where I am strong to stand for myself and focus inward and proceed upward. I was reminded of all of this today as I was catching up on blogs and stumbled across a note from Things We Forget that captures it perfectly.

It makes me feel at peace and really realize that, while cliche, everything happens for a reason.

Busy Thoughts

To start, let me state the obvious and say that it has been over a month since I have blogged. The tail end of my summer has been full of trips, a heavy workload, local weekend festivities, and the overall dealings of day-to-day life. I've been to Michigan to visit a friend, Florida (Fort Myers to be exact) to hijack my parents' vacation, and put in countless hours of report writing/ compiling for projects at work.

Kalamazoo, MI

Picnic with the Pops in Lexington, KY 

View over Bowditch Point Park in Fort Myers Beach, FL

Things have slowed down a bit now and I have thoughts of days past and current that I am dealing with. I have recently become very aware of all I have accomplished in my 24 years on earth. I also am very aware of my dreams and desires for my life and realize I have a lot of ground to cover. The conflict lies in the fact that I would like to pursue a number of these dreams but doing so may not be the most 'responsible' or 'safe' by societal standards (and my family's).

My sixth anniversary of living in Lexington has come and gone and I find myself somewhat rooted here. My problem is I don't feel settled here, per se. I find myself desiring other things for my life and struggle with what exactly that is and making preparations to pursue other dreams. Thinking about pursuing dreams and settling down has left me with the difficulty of not growing complacent, bitter, or withdrawn from other activities I generally would enjoy because I am in Lexington.

It is hard to see what is on the horizon when you know you want a change of scenery or pace, but you have no idea where to start. I know I will figure out, but I struggle with my nature of planning it and having the stars perfectly aligned before I leap and sometimes we just have to go. 

Alas, time will tell what's in store and I'm going to keep on trucking now and "suck the fun out of this place" as a good friend phrased it. 

Ciclovia

Every place I have lived in Lexington has been walking distance from my work and at most a miles walk. My recent move has taken me a mile further, totaling my distance from work to 2 miles. Given my record of morning punctuality, I cannot walk this distance and have taken up to biking to and from work. I. LOVE. IT. 

My Trusty Steed

I got my bike from a friend of mine, it's an old girls bike that doesn't have any gears and comes with it's fair share of quirks, but I've bonded with it quickly. I love riding it almost everywhere.

Not only is biking healthy, but its fun, sustainable, and just makes me feel better all around. Not to mention it is in my blood, being Dutch and all. I have committed to Clif Bar's 2 Mile Challenge and have really gotten into it, logging my rides, taking different routes, even biking to the grocery store.

     

BIKING FACTS

• 40% of U.S. trips are 2 miles or less
• 90% of those trips are by car
• 12 bicycles can be parked in the same space as 1 car

It's not all fun and games though. You have to be smart, conscious, and aware of everything going on around you. I have been laughed at numerous times, had names shouted at me, honked at, run off the shoulder by bus drivers, the list can go for pages. But I have enjoyed it and really miss it on the days that I cannot bike (because of work).

My Evening Commute

If you have a bike and live less than 2 miles from your destination, I challenge you to bike. It may be tough the first time of two, but it's worth it!

I'd Settle for a Slow Down

The past twenty days have been somewhat of a whirlwind. I have been settling into my house, adapting to a roommate and two very charismatic puppies, having work proposals rain down from the heavens, planning an engagement party, and travelling back and forth to Virginia to help my mother clean up the house.

New Roommates

Roanoke Star

Needless to say, updating my blog has been far from my priorities. I have been pondering how people do it with a family; it's just me and it is so crazy! The past few weeks have been very trying for me, pushing me to my limits creativity, brain power, and sleep. I have found myself wondering if I am in the right business or if I am just frustrated with growing up. During my teenage years I always worked and I dreamt of having a "grownup job" so I could pay my bills, but now I just long to sleep in past 9 a.m. I'm wondering if I have reached burnout where I am.... but I will figure out in time.

Alas, the working part of my summer has now slowed down and I am looking forward to my trip out to Los Angeles. Even though I am heading for a friend's wedding, I will have plenty of down time to explore the City of Angels and it's surroundings, enjoy all the restaurants (I'm kind of a foodie), and soak up some sun on the beach! I am very excited for some time off and relaxation. 

That's my adventure right now.... hope to blog about some fun things rather than just updates in the coming weeks.

A Capital Affair

Wow, it has been a busy couple of weeks! Work has been busy and I have simply just had nothing to blog about except for rainy weather. The tides have turned however, with a few days of plentiful sunshine and a once in a lifetime experience.

The company I work for recently won a Kentucky Small Business Development “Pacesetter Award”. This award recognizes high performing second-stage businesses that are producing innovative -products, increasing sales, creating jobs and serving communities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This has been a huge honor for my firm and has created a small buzz of excitement around the office.

Wednesday I attended a few activities in the state’s capital of Frankfort to honor the recipients of this award.  The morning consisted of an award ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, which is an impressive building that I have never stepped foot in. Following the award ceremony, a few employees were selected by my boss to attend a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion.

 Kentucky Capital Building

Governor's Mansion 

Luncheon in the Governor's Mansion

The Governor was supposed to be in attendance, but had to cancel for some other obligation, which I was sort of bummed about. None-the-less, it was an honor to be there for the award festivities.

San Diego

Recently, I was fortunate enough to have been sent to San Diego for a training conference for my job. I love travelling and have a continual zeal to explore new places, so I was pretty excited to go and arranged to fly out early and even take off a day of work to explore and get to know ‘America’s Finest City’ a little bit.

I flew out on a Friday after work and was able to have free time until my conference started on Tuesday. Arriving exhausted, I picked up my car for the weekend, went to check-in at my hotel, and instantly became energized about being in a new and energetic city. I got in the car and drove to the neighborhood of Hillcrest. A lady from my office grew up in San Diego, and she told me this would be a great place for me to go given its culture, nightlife, and shops. While out for a beer (or two) that night, I wound up meeting a few people that I wound up spending some extra time with during my trip; but that’s a separate blog entry.

Saturday was a little dreary, but it wound up being a gorgeous day. My close friend and her fiancée from Orange County were down for an anniversary party in northern San Diego County, so we started the day off meeting up. We drove up to Pacific Beach enjoyed the beach a little bit. With advice from my cousin (and maybe copying her—A LOT) we walked the boardwalk, watched the surfers from Crystal Pier, and ate a late lunch at the awesome PB Shore Club.

 (Trying to copy my cuz on Crystal Pier)

(Surfers in Pacific Beach) 

After lunch we drove over to Old Town Historic Park which is supposedly the earliest part of San Diego. This area was neat to see with historic buildings and a genuine effort to feel the history, but ultimately reminds me of Colonial Williamsburg with automobiles driving around and nothing but restaurants. Soon after we headed out, tired after walking and decided to call it a day. My friends headed back to Orange County and I went to dinner and out to Hillcrest (again) for a drink or two and some dancing.

 (Old Town, San Diego)

Sunday I woke up to a misty morning with the anticipation of heavy showers for the day, which being my luck does not happen frequently in Southern California, so I decided to drive to see my friend up in Orange County and where she lives. I took my time getting up there, driving along the Pacific Highway visiting La Jolla which has a gorgeous beach front park, a bay of seals, and a different feel than the rest of San Diego. I continued up the Pacific Highway along the ocean and eventually got on the freeway and headed to Orange County. Once I arrived, my friend and I didn’t do much but lounge around, talking about life, her wedding, watching movies and just enjoying our friendship. We went out to dinner at an amazing restaurant ‘Yard House’ for what turned into a little birthday celebration for me.

 (Sealsbay in La Jolla, San Diego)

 (Birthday dinner at Yard House)

Monday was my last day of freedom in Southern California before my conference and I decided to go for a hike. I went up to Black’s Beach, north of La Jolla, which is a notorious nude beach, but also one of the most beautiful beaches I have been to. I intentionally saved this for a Monday with hopes to avoid any nudists, thinking they all work on Mondays. The hike was quiet a chore, but well worth it. Once I reached the bottom, I spent a couple hours just sitting on the beach enjoying the sound of the ocean, enjoying the sun, and just soaking in the beautiful setting.  

(View on the hike to Black's Beach)

After my hike, my coworker arrived and I turned in my car and much of the exploring of larger San Diego ceased. We spent the rest of our days in the Gaslamp Quarter for our conference, exploring the restaurants, shops, and nightlife. The Gaslamp is a cool area and very different from the rest of San Diego. It is oriented for the many people that come to San Diego for conferences and for dining out, but with a few historic jewels sprinkled throughout (old houses, warehouses converted into shops, restaurants, nightlife, or hotels).

  

(San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter)

 (San Diego Convention Center)

It was a good trip. I love being in a city that has many neighborhoods to explore with different vibes to each of them. I met a few people, learned a lot about a new city, worked, ate amazing food, and thought about a little more of where I want to go with my life, which is after all an non-stop adventure. 

(California Sunset)

San Diego Snippets

This week I have been at a conference for work in San Diego. I flew out early for a little vacation and wanted to share some of the sights...

(Mission Beach Park)

(Gaslamp Quarter)

 (Black's Beach)

I've had blast exploring all the neighborhoods and enjoying Southern California. Will share more details and thoughts soon!