an unlikely sabbatical

I did it! Well, sort of... I semi-mastered my first week of my final rewirements. My current job at my company is in lined with what a Scrum Master does. To lead by example, I've conducted a retrospective on myself. What I did well : Intentionally, use one of my signature strengths each day.  What I need to work on : jotting down what I'm thankful for each night.  What I'm changing :  goal is to meditate at least four of the seven days for ten minutes.  Day 1 - Tuesday, May 5th I am thankful for  The support of my friend Olivia  as we complete day 2 of The 7 Day Ab Challenge by Blogilates. Plank jacks for life. The generosity  of my landlady as she dropped of the famous and hard-to-find  brown sugar milk tea ice cream bars . (I am doing my best to savor each and every bar). Feedback from my boss knowing that I am a valued employee Being able to work out my path forward as I help a product line find its way in our company's transformation  The warm greetin

As a child, I was always into horoscopes, personality tests and the like. I think that I was trying to find my place in the world.  Due to my dislike of science and math and fear of blood, I quickly eliminated being an engineer or doctor at the early age of five. So I turned to Myers Briggs and Yahoo horoscope to unlock the puzzles of life. Even now after going to college and entering the workforce, I'm still struggling to find what my future holds... For the Science of Well Being course, we had to take the VIA Character Strength Survey . The 15 minute survey results in a ranked lists of the 24 strength s , which are understood and valued across cultures and nations.  The top strengths are your signature strengths, or those character strengths that are most essential to who we are. I was a little surprise by mine, especially number five, but I was willing to give it a try. Creativity Zest Kindness Love Social Intelligence  In week two and week five of the course, Profess

During the first few weeks of shelter-in-place, a collection of restaurants, fitness apps, and universities offered free and/or discounted services. I still had my college mindset, so I quickly took advantage of my extra time and these freebies. After surfing through SF Funcheap --my usual weekend activity planner-- I happened upon a coveted Yale course called The Science of Well-Being by Laurie Santos and decided to enroll and jump start my old studying habits. The ten-week course is a mixture of videos, readings, and rewirements uncovering what we should be desiring and how we can reshape our misguided beliefs.. The weekly rewirements consist of a single exercise, like savoring or conducting random acts of kindness, based on the lectures of the course. I have entered the final four weeks of the class and felt it was time to share what was going on. For the final weeks, Professor Santos wanted us to truly put our learning into actions. Therefore, our final challenge is to commit

When I used to live in Texas, I had a lovely hour commute into the city to work. It was rough and grueling and called for some very long days. When I moved out here, I moved into a spot that was 10 minutes away, and last December, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had to relocate. It was for the better because now, I'm five minutes away and have my own cute space. I promise. These details are important to the story... Prior to all of this happening, I was able to do two mini weekends trips in the snowy weather of Denver and at the warm beaches of O'ahu. As I was flying back from the island, I sailed right into the shelter-in-place directive that went into effect Tuesday, March 17th at midnight. First ski adventure in Breckenridge, CO A hike to the coastline in Northeast O'ahu Being from Texas (and a girl scout), I have the mindset to always be prepared. I had purchased the essentials between my trips and was ready to use the cookbooks on my shelf that were

When all of this first started, I had the urged to blog. I felt extremely fortunate because of the situation I was in. I live in lovely in-law unit by myself. I am blessed by the humid-free weather. I have a relatively stable job that has continued to support me during these times. My family was prepared down south and was well situated.  To top it all, I like to describe myself as an adventurous introvert that is easily amused. What a way to spend the time locked-in and sheltering in place. In week one, I wrote my ideas down on a notebook, collected my thoughts, and snapped some photos to complement the ideas. I was ready to get started. Yet, I was distracted by this newness, the opportunities, and the challenges. It took some time for this reality to settle in. Now, I feel ready. I felt it was time to reflect and see how I could continue to gracefully adjust to this new normal. Thank you for joining me during this unlikely sabbatical.