2019: Year in Review

I burst into 2019 with a theme: OPEN.  I had been finding myself feeling stuck in my comfort zone and less-than-satisfied with the state of things.  With the mindset of open, this last year has brought new skills and friends, a big job change, and unexpected experiences abroad.

Now, with the turn of one calendar page we've entered a new year, a new decade.  Caught up in the muddle of the holidays and being sick the last couple weeks, I haven't really sat down to consider how I feel about the occasion.  Ultimately, the extent of my reflections and intentions are in this post.

Going into the new year, the word that speaks to me most is INVEST.  Invest in myself, my community, and the causes I care about.  I've been ramping up on this the last couple months, signing up for courses in reiki and personal finance (because invest can be quite literal too!), and reevaluating the nonprofits that I contribute to monthly to make sure they support the causes I'm most passionate about (climate change, gun control, and decarceration).  I want to be better about putting my money where my heart is (baby steps!) and feeding my mind and soul.  Because of course, investing isn't only monetary.  It's time and effort.  Continuing to meditate, to read daily, to practice yoga and reiki, to pour love and energy into my friendships and family is the most important.  I hope this will build on a continued sense and intentionality of openness and bring more simple abundance to my world.


In 2019, I...

Braved the Vegas cold for fireworks with these favorites to ring in 2019

Got crabby at the annual Portuguese crab feed with family

Got on the Konmari train (and am realizing it's time to do it again!)

Took a leap of faith and applied to a job that didn't exactly fit my background but did fit my interests...and got it

Turned in my Box badge and felt the love from my fellow Boxers

Went on my first yoga retreat, at an incredible resort in Mexico - can't remember the last time I'd ever felt this free, focusing on mind, body, and spirit, all on my own, and with no job responsibilities whatsoever!

Received an "emotional therapy massage" at said retreat that released my chakras and made me sob in relief, much to my surprise

Started my new job at Zendesk, as the Global Travel Program Manager

Toasted the end of an era as Brittany moved out early in the year, after six in our Glen Park HQ together

Am going on seven years in my beloved apartment, now living with roommates Maddy and Katie

Ate my way through Hong Kong and rode the iconic Star Ferry

Took another leap of faith and went to Nepal with Amanda to support a local nonprofit, where I:

...met Nasreen, the inspiration behind it all, who is working tirelessly 

to create economic opportunity and safe spaces for women 

while promoting fair trade and equality

...joined in healing shamanic ceremonies

...danced (and dodged) my way through Holi in Kathmandu

...stood absolutely in awe of the Himalayas

...and fed, pet, and traipsed through the jungle with an elephant!

Just one more - I survived "Nepal belly" which sounds quaint but made me feel I had one foot in the WC and the other in the grave.  My favorite English sign from the trip, which portended this fate, read, "Thank you for visiting open defecation."  I'm not kidding.

Got some April reading in with 11-month Rosalee

Got almost all of Suite 108 Book Club and babies together for brunch Brittany's birthday weekend

Met one of my heroes, my finance guru, Ramit, and he called me a "huge nerd"

Learned about the Galapagos at Cal Academy's Big Bang Gala with Britt

Led a mentoring group for Leading Women in Technology again this year

Celebrated Kasey's birthday in Russian River

Was as disappointed as everyone else at the GOT series finale

Got a new headshot

Gobbled up more time with baby cousins

Dylan's baptism

Dylan, 1

Kendall, 4

Shaking our butts at the penguins,

Monterey Bay Aquarium 

Milynn's bridal shower 

Ok, so I wasn't even here for this one 

but it's my favorite picture of them all year!

Christmas

Accepted the fact that college graduation was one decade ago

Went to PRIDE in NYC on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall

Celebrated Independence Day in Mystic, Connecticut

Kicked off summer German-style with close friends at the Tourist Club

Welcomed a new baby to our Zendesk team: James

Went on another yoga retreat, this time with Brittany in Santa Cruz

Enjoyed Fleet Week on a boat for the first time

Captained my team into winning gold in our office olympics

Did a 5 minute, 40 second plank in said olympics

Returned to Disneyland after many years, with my family

Got to catch up with Ian and Kelsey in LA

Celebrated two October weddings; first, Brandon + Milynn

...and second, Nathan + Michaela

My brother cleans up pretty well, eh?

Got to experience the suite life at Chase Center for a Warriors game

Wore one of my favorite 80's dresses of my mom's for Halloween

The original!

Learned about reiki from people in Mexico, Nepal, and at home, and had to take the course for myself

Celebrated the holidays with lots of festive events including...

...Ice skating to support Larkin Street Youth Services

...Civic Center lit up on my way to The Nutcracker with Brittany

...Christmas tea at the Haas-Lilienthal House

...and the Zendesk "Miami Vice" party!

Me and Mikkel, the CEO 

 My plus-one Mermaid Mechanic

(Most of) the squad 

Survived the Christmas Sick

And last but not least, celebrated 33 in Napa!

Travel

Ironically, now that I work in travel, I actually do it a lot less.

1. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Xinalani yoga retreat)
2. Nepal: Kathmandu, Namo Buddha, Pokhara, and Chitwan National Park
3. Russian River, CA
4. New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
5. Disneyland, Camarillo, and Burbank, CA

Live Shows

Only a few concerts this year!

1. Maggie Rogers @ The Fox
2. Elton John @ Chase Center
3. Sara Bareilles @ Chase Center
4. Lizzo @ Bill Graham

For theater, I settled into my third Hamilton, and enjoyed my December Nutcracker!  I also got to see David Sedaris read live, and met him for the book signing, which was a big highlight of the year.  I didn't list him in my top books (below), only because I read so many of his and could never pick.

My Spotify Wrapped:

Was not surprised that Sam Smith shook out as my most listened-to artist of the decade.  I saw him live three times, including the first, when I won the Amazon/Capitol Records sweepstakes and got to go backstage in LA to meet him in 2014.  Explains a bit of the obsession!

2014, LA Greek Theatre

Books

I read more books this year than ever before: 91!  I'm not sure I can keep beating my personal record, but I sure do enjoy trying.  Here are my favorite recommendations.

Top five fiction:

1. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
2. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
4. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
5. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Top five non-fiction:

1. The Unexpected Truth About Animals by Lucy Cooke
2. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
3. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
4. Heavy by Kiese Laymon
5. Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene

Obsessions

• The New York Times Sunday edition: Kristen and Amanda finally got me convinced to get the weekly paper.  Yes, sometimes it can feel like homework for me to "get through it" in a week, but mostly I feel a sense of nostalgia and worldliness as I crinkle the pages.  I now feel like I'm tapped into a knowledge keg with a huge community of citizens pulsating with ideas and opinions, and I certainly don't mind the fun anecdotes I pick up.  Quiet weekend mornings on my couch surrounded by plants with a cuppa and my paper has become a top happy place of mine.
• Brene Brown: I've read three books so far and have watched the Netflix special, which is part standup and part auditorium therapy.  She's changed the way I view relationships (both personal and work) and has me looking at vulnerability, boundaries, and showing up for people in a new, more empathic and healthy way.  Do yourself and your relationships a favor and at least start with the Netflix special, Call to Courage.
• Wellness travel: I very recently would roll my eyes at people who used their vacations to do yoga, but now I get it.  Most trips are so optimized and indulgent that they require a detox with a side of salad and the proverbial "vacation from your vacation."  Wellness travel is fun and centering without so much planning or injury to your sleep, gut, and liver.  One gets the chance to really reset.  I loved my week in Mexico so much, that I've signed up with Brittany for a Portugal yoga retreat in the spring (which will be a good balance of retreat life and normal vacation)!

Wishing you all a beautiful start to the year and the decade!

Nepal: Pokhara & Chitwan

"Ladies and gentleman, we have arrived at airport.”  Still somewhat disoriented from food poisoning and the chaos of the aeronautical industry in Nepal, we could've used more specifics, but we landed in Pokhara to find all our bags, the Glacier Hotel and Spa van waiting for us, and most importantly, breathable air.  Most stunning, of course, were the sharp views of several snow-capped mountain ranges that lined the town and beyond.

Boarding our tiny plane (we were to find smaller, later)

The most adventurous we got off the hotel property that first day was crossing the street to look at the lake.  Imagine how much more beautiful this picture would look to someone who had only seen rivers filled with trash for the previous week.

We dedicated our afternoon to a massage and a not-quite-regulation Ayurvedic oil drip, bookended with thrilling meals of boiled vegetables on rice and Clif Bars.  Here's what my hair looked like after the oil drip, several shampoos, and a few hours to "dry."

Still saturated with oil

The highlight of Pokhara was our sunrise tour, led by the owner of our hotel.  We woke up an hour before dawn, got in his truck, and started the extreme offroading adventure up the backroads to a spectacular 360-degree lookout over the Himalayas.  It literally took my breath away to see the sweeping beauty, to feel insignificance in the face of majesty, to take in hope and clarity and grace.  Amanda, yoga teacher in training, captured it best: "How can we approach every day like it offers its own sunrise over the Himalayas?"  Indeed.

Amanda, amazed

Me, hoping the guide won't say it's time to leave

With Annapurna (L) and Machapuchare (R), 

the latter meaning "fishtail"

Time for reflection

That afternoon we hired a captain, if you will, to paddle us around the lake.

And early the next morning we were back on a Buddha Air flight, this one smaller than the last, with only one seat on either side of the aisle, stairs that folded into the cabin and doubled as the door, and an open cockpit.

Oh, hello sirs

We splurged on a resort called Kasara near Chitwan National Park, which had exotic-feeling rooms (check out the entrance to our abode, with the bedroom through a door on the right, and the open-air bathroom and shower through the left), lots of organized adventures in the park, and a pool.

 

You may imagine we spent most of our time in Chitwan
on safari, but in actuality it was perched right here

We were in the last suite off of this long, lush path

Early our first morning we climbed into the resort's stadium jeep with several retired couples and headed into the jungle in search of wildlife with our driver and guide.

Sunrise over Chitwan

The jungle is so still until it's not

Had to keep our eyes peeled!

View out the roof 

What all will we see?!

We saw a lot: peacocks both flying and dancing, storks, king fishers showing off their bright teal feathers, darter birds with necks like snakes, creepy, greedy little monkeys, and according to Amanda's scrupulous safari notes, the "lesser white something," which I recall as my personal favorite.

The highlight was our search for the greater one-horned rhinoceros.  We parked the jeep next to a tall grassland, and kept an eye out for rustling.  The guide spotted a rhino, and while at first we could only spot a wiggling ear or hear him marking his territory, eventually he emerged onto the path, casually traipsing over our tracks!

An awed hush befell the group while we took in this 

suit-of-armor-clad wonder!

As we contentedly thought that was as good as it would get (barring a miraculous tiger sighting, of course), a mama and her baby came out of the brush, scurrying away from us:

At that point, we felt very satisfied with our safari!  Not everyone gets lucky enough to spot rhinos.

 A few stories above the thrush where the rhinos grazed

Certainly what Amanda was most looking forward to was visiting Stand Up For Elephants, an NGO providing direct aid, education, and advocacy for and about elephants at Chitwan National Park.  There is not a single free elephant in Nepal, as all have been taken into captivity, chained, and used for transportation or tourist attractions under conditions any human worker's union would balk at, not to mention animal rights activists.  

SU4E has found an elephant owner that allows them to rent a couple of their calmer elephants to host "elephant happy hours," wherein they have ethically-conscious tourists feed the elephants and wander the jungle with them and their handler, giving the elephants a much-needed break from carrying throngs of tourists on their backs.

Amanda was so excited for this activity that she barely slept and ate before it, elephants being her absolute favorite (spirit?) animal.  And when Rupi, our gorgeous new friend emerged, I swear she almost cried.  The last time I saw her this aglow had to be her wedding day!

WE FED AN ELEPHANT.  She ate all kinds of fruits and vegetables, snaking her trunk around a couple bananas or a squash and curling them up into her mouth whole.  As she grabbed the snack, we had the opportunity to pet her trunk, which was absolutely surreal.  I was equal parts excited, amazed, and terrified, as she was this majestic creature who could've killed us all at any moment.  

But Rupi, whose name means "beauty," was calm and sweet.  In just an hour with her, I honestly felt that I got a sense of her personality, and I feel emotionally connected just thinking of her.  She loves exploring the jungle freely, which she is only allowed to do during these SU4E hours.  You can imagine she's learned to love the people leading the groups and to understand what special privileges are in store for her when they come by with visitors and weighty grocery bags.

Sadly, most elephants in that region never get any sort of breaks like this.  Many are chained so tightly that they can't even lie down to sleep.  They are washed frequently by handlers whose pride dictates they must have a sparkling clean elephant, even though the dirt protects them from the sun.  They get sores under their tails from the platforms attached to their backs to hold riders.  The list of injustices goes on an on, each item so unnecessary and heartbreaking.

In a national park, where animal protection is seemingly sacrosanct, elephants just don't make the empathy cut.  They have for too long been seen as a financial asset (an elephant often selling for ~$80k in the area), and as a type of transportation mule.  Researching this, I found it is estimated that a living elephant brings in almost $1.6 million over its lifetime in ecotourism dollars (via the iWorry campaign by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust).  They are simply too valuable and too engrained in the economy for the local society to change their minds about them.  This mentality is what SU4E hopes to change.

If you're interested in helping their cause, you can donate here!

Rupi engaged in her favorite activity:

scratching up against trees

Can you feel the love tonight?

One last, awe-struck glance

I was so appreciative to Amanda for making sure we were being ecologically conscious on this trip, and as a result I hope to be more thoughtful in future travels.  So many tourists are not well-educated (often myself included) about the implications of the attractions they put their money towards, and are just doing it because they're seen it on social media, or its in the tour books of what to do in a certain place.  This is a great example of putting your money where your mouth is.  If riding elephants wasn't lucrative, it simply wouldn't be the issue it is today.

Last night of vacation vibes

Bird watching, our last adventure before the long journey home, turned out to be a more adventurous undertaking than originally imagined as we alighted from the stadium jeep and received a brief, contrary, and less-than-comforting safety orientation from the guide: "If you see animal, don’t move. I may tell you to run in zig zags."

A guide to take up the rear and three generations of a New England family rounded out our tour, with Grandma Nancy rapidly emerging as our favorite with her sleeper sense of humor, deadpan and unexpected.  Owing to her husband's birdwatching fascination, the family had several binocular options on hand and generously offered to share.  As the bird guide constructively narrowed the visual search by telling us to "look at the green tree," Nancy proffered her binoculars to Amanda, who declined, preferring for Nancy to catch a flash of feathers.  Nancy insisted, whispering conspiratorially, "I can’t really see them, I just pretend," initiating a bond as Amanda accepted the binoculars and replied, "I do that sometimes with my husband, too!"  Walking further into the jungle, Nancy confided that she had been known to spot the occasional descending leaf bird.

 
Nancy, a veritable spirit animal in her own right,
casually holding a deer antler (!)

Along the way Amanda, feeling something was amiss in her shoe, tapped the guide and said simply, "I need your help."  She removed the airy sneaker, with Nancy offering stabilization and I photojournalism, and the guide nonchalantly removed a leech from her foot, which had been happily snacking on her for about ten minutes.  The guide proceeded to show us the leech by letting it crawl around his hand.  Word to the wise: do not google leeches-no good can come from it.

Did we see some beautiful birds?  Yes.  I even spotted a rare woodpecker for the group and fleetingly felt like a professional naturalist.  But what I will remember is Nancy.  And the leech.  And the terrifying recommendations from the guide about what I should do if we encounter a rhino.  But yes, the birds were nice, too.  Even the ones we only pretended to see.