Another year, another blog, that trip to Vegas, and reaching out for a new normal

I did a lot of reflecting when writing my last birthday blog - Call me crazy. A month and a half later, do I have more to add? More hikes and more selfies for sure, but there is always something more, sometime with the same co-conspirators, and sometimes new ones. 

For someone who swore never to wear a tutu in public, and never owned one, I did it again! In fact, my co-conspirator Fabiana and I were the only ones wearing a tutu on the Thanksgiving Gobble Wobble race, and had the pleasure of being stopped frequently to have our picture taken. Because running at 10K in 40 degree F weather was not enough, I went hiking with Steph in 36 degree weather on Friday morning. Even my car warned me that it was only 36 outside! But that was not going to stop me from the Saturday hike to Skyline, the 4th this year, with my regular bunch of crazy hiking friends, and even getting a movie companion for the evening. All that activity helped burn off any extra helpings at our Thanksgiving dinner. 

But now, let's talk about what happened in Vegas. Yes, what happened in Vegas will not stay in Vegas for this crazy bunch of friends, as we are only going to build on the success of that great trip. I planned it perfectly - with the right group of people, of course. Some older, some younger, but all fun-loving friends who went on a little birthday celebration with me. Steph and Lovey really put the pedal to the metal by getting on the flight and room reservations, months in advance. Mark, our aspiring Olympic weigh-lifter in training went with us as our bodyguard. And Jeni, our nightclub VIP guest list connection was the star of the weekend. 

Some of the highlights of the trip included my first trip to a Vegas nightclub, tipsy bodyguard, lots of tequila, lots of dancing, lots of coffee to stay awake for the lots of dancing and tequila, MJ One, another visit to a nightclub with a sober bodyguard, more tequila,more dancing, and pizza at 2am. 

Lovey got over her frustration with her Fitbit not recording her dance steps by walking up to the very last minute before boarding the plane back home. She also discovered an enjoyable way of gambling, and winning, by hanging out with me at the roulette table. She did lose most of her winnings by sneaking out of the nightclub to go gambling by herself. 

To summarize as they do in the Amazing Race - 
20 miles walked
10,000 dance steps (accurately recorded by Jeni's Fitbit)
8 hours of sleep over 3 nights/days
"x" number of shots (no one counted)
"x 3" coffee consumed
4 meals at celebrity chef restaurants

Let's just say the trip in Mark's famous tipsy sentence was "one, two, three, four, boom"! 

To everyone who celebrated my bonus year with me, thank you! My life is what it is because I have you in it.

In conclusion, the single biggest gift this year was my brother's trip. It was only 3 days long, but spending even that with him after 3 years reminded me of how much I miss him and his family, and wish they were closer. 

Wishing everyone a joyous, healthy, prosperous and active 2016! Reach for the stars, and think of every new challenge as the new normal. 

Call me crazy..... A blog for my birthday

It's raining! It's cold! And it's 6 am on a Sunday morning! The first thought after texting, "yes, we are" to Sheena's question, "the sky is falling, are we still on?" was to stay under the covers for 15 more minutes. But I was wide awake, and instead of wanting to go back to sleep or curling up with a book, I wanted to get into my warm rain-proof clothes and hit the road! 

Yes, call me crazy, but Geralyn and Sheena have made waking up early on Sunday mornings somewhat of an adventure to look forward to. 

From the first time that Geralyn showed up to hike with me, really nervous about being able to keep up and finish what I claimed was an easy 3 mile loop, to the day she asked when we would hike the 13 mile loop I had promised, it has been months of very joyful hikes every weekend. And then Sheena came along for a 13 mile hike, breaking all kinds of records on her first day using her Fitbit. The jewel in the crown - Geralyn's idea to hike at Land's End followed by brunch at Louis' for Sheena's birthday. Aloma joining us was a big bonus! 

We walked, we laughed, we took a lot of pictures. And we started a new tradition - birthday celebrations at Land's End! 

Call me crazy, because I started my birthday morning by waking up at 4:45 am, driving my cousin to the airport, and then heading out for my practice 10K to prepare for the Thanksgiving Gobble Wobble. I answered birthday calls, texts and Facebook messages while on my walk/run. And I spent some time thinking back on the year since I wrote my first blog for my birthday. 

This year, I did a few things that most people who know me would consider either crazy or just not me! I made choices that would normally scare me, I made decisions that were unlike me. I learned that, in life, you often feel that you are rationalizing decisions to reconcile them with your core values, but when you are rooted in those values, you are simply finding ways to make sure that your decisions don't go against them. This allowed me to open my heart to new friendships, and embrace people I felt I had nothing in common with (and could never work with). It made me a believer in second chances, for myself and for others. 

Among other things, I spent a whole day in Disneyland wearing a tutu, and even danced with the band. And I wore pink Minnie Mouse ears with a red tutu - shockingly unfashionable! I climbed on a fallen tree, and tried to balance on it. I crawled up on a tree trunk, and pretended to sleep (while getting sticky sap all over my clothes). 

Call me crazy, but I believe that being in the company of nature with someone else who believes in you is the most therapeutic thing you can do for yourself. 

I am going to end this birthday blog with a quote from Sheena that is going to be my mantra. 

"Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no selfie hard enough" 

It's the little things #Oahu2015

The ocean, the beaches, the mountains, Pearl Harbor, and many many more breathtaking experiences await on a trip to Oahu. I will blog about that another day. Today, it's the little things that made us, and still make us laugh that I want to put down in words.

When you get on the Interstate..... Wait, what? Yes, there are Interstate highways in Oahu. I don't think they connect to another State in the United States, or we could drive to Oahu from California.

There are people who wear beach wrap hoodies. Apparently, it protects their head when it rains. I don't think Stephany was thinking about that when she bought one. So when a torrential rainstorm hit us, she pulled up her hood and proudly said, "Fayeza, look! I have a hood!" Except, the hoodie was a crochet pattern with big holes in it. Her head was just as wet as the rest of her. 

The only person who didn't see the perfect parking spot that was completely different from what everyone else in the car saw was the child in the child seat. She kept her opinion to herself as she was asleep until after the big car was parked, and missed out on the discussions, suggestions, hand signals and cursing that accompanied our parking adventures. Jay's hang loose signal at every opportunity only added to the hilarity. 

Speaking of the child, we learned a few new things from her. She does not sleep when her "body is not tired". She can't sleep when she drinks. But best of all, a new word - "dangerrocks"! A word she came up with when I asked her to be careful on the "dangerous rocks". 

The most precious moment of the trip was standing in a shaded spot on Lanakai beach, listening to and looking at the beautiful ocean, and suddenly hearing a little voice singing - "do a deer, a female deer......." 

So long, Oahu! 

The hiking chronicles: stories of friendships, love and advocacy - the early days

It wouldn't be an exaggeration if I said I have thousands of photos, to be precise, iPhone photos, of my hikes. Over the last few years, I have hiked uncountable miles, mostly in Woodside.

I cannot remember precisely when I got interested in hiking. I always loved walking, but going into the woods on trails was something that was new to me. I remember the first time I struggled up the Alambique trail in Wunderlich Park. It took several stops before I made it past the first half mile of that steep incline. The friend I was hiking with is an amazing storyteller, and her funny stories made the huffing and puffing worse as laughing itself was quite difficult. I somehow made it that day, but the best part of the day was really the delicious burger we treated ourselves to after the hike. This is before Facebook and iPhone, and there was no bragging since I was not really sure it was worth bragging that I hiked a little over 3 miles in 4 hours.

After listening to me talk with such wonder about the beauty of hiking, my close friend Aloma said she knew of the perfect place to try next. It was the weekend of the 4th of July in 2004. We headed to Purisima Creek in Half Moon Bay. We picked the longest trails, because, yeah, we knew we could do it. We went up to Skyline and back. We saw the Pacific Ocean and Mount Tamalpais from an amazing location. We walked, we talked, and ate all our snacks. It was just a little over seven and a half miles. We crawled back to our car. We still felt great, until it was time to get out of the car. And we could barely move! I think we lay flat for hours for the fatigue and soreness to leave us. I still remember that beautiful day, and I repeated the hike with a group of people a couple of years later. That second time, it was on a Sunday morning after a sleepover at my house the night before. A sleepover where we had to force ourselves to go to bed at midnight since we had to be up early to hike.

Aloma and I wizened up a little, and picked shorter hikes after that adventure. The real adventure started a few weeks later after a friend generously gave me his book on the best hiking trails in California. Little did I know that reading the words and navigating a trail are very different things. Maps only confused me more, and it didn't help that my orientation did not always match that of the map. We hiked every trail in Pacifica and Woodside, carrying the big book with us to guide us. We often got stuck on very narrow trails at the edge of a precipice. Talk about being paralyzed with fear!! More than once, we had to crawl on our butts to make it to a safer path.

One of my favorite memories is what I call "the cobwebs incident". As Aloma and I were slowly making  our way down on the Bear Gulch trail in Wunderlich reading the fat hiking book. Aloma was reading out loud, and said something about the beauty of the Redwoods clearing the cobwebs in our heads. Just as she was done reading that, we found ourselves suddenly surrounded by the most amazing Redwood trees, and cobwebs! The cobwebs were everywhere! Small and big, and I as a spider-hater, I hate to admit that they were beautiful! We burst out laughing as we both had the exact same thought. The cobwebs in our head would soon join the ones left there by previous hikers :). 

For Aloma and I, hiking was never about the exercise or the great outdoors. It was a chance to talk, bond, eat, and spend time together uninterrupted by anything else. We laughed, we vented, we strengthened an already strong friendship. And somewhere along the way I fell in love with the trails, the Redwoods, the fresh air, and the exhilarating feeling of accomplishment every time I conquered a difficult uphill trail. 

I dedicate this post to my bestie who got me into something I love so much now, for listening to me for hours with no sign of escape, and for inspiring me to perfect my spicy egg toast that I made for our hikes. 

Pictures below are courtesy of another very patient friend who humored me by being the photographer.

Routines, spontaneity, and my secrets of adulthood

Until about a decade ago, I didn't think I was a morning person. Honestly, I have no idea why, as I did my best work early in the morning. Perhaps it was because almost everyone I knew wasn't a morning person, and I wanted to fit in? In the last few years, I got into a routine of starting work early with a few occasional exceptions. I also started hiking early, and this has become an important routine. I was also not much of a routine person, and today I realized that I actually like having some routines but like the spontaneity of other things. Just as I realized and recognized that I like some routines, while driving back from one of my favorite routines, my early morning hike, I decided to do something very spontaneous. I stopped outside a friend's house, called her, asked her if she was home, and said I wanted to give her a hug. She asked me three times if I was really parked outside, then she told me three times that she was still in her pajamas but she would love a hug!

This is a good time to come up with the second list of "my secrets of adulthood". 

I wrote my first list over a year ago, simply called "My Secrets of Adulthood" and talked about my inspiration. That list is still true, and I am now adding a few more to that list.

I will kick it off with one from the previous list:

What you do every day matters more than what you do once in while (from Rubin's list)

You can love structure and still succeed in ambiguous situations

Routines are important, and if you can't think of one, brushing your teeth counts 

Drinking half a bottle of wine the night before an eight mile hike is perfectly okay
A regular message that makes you laugh is more valuable than an occasional dinner
It's okay to love Facebook and Instagram
Giving someone a second chance may sometimes help you survive

And to end, a quote from my favorite television personality -

"The best defense against bullshit is vigilance. If you smell something, say something" - Jon Stewart

Spicy scrambled eggs

If you have read / tried my other recipes, you already know that green chillies are an ingredient in most of them. I use either Serrano peppers or Thai chillies in many of my recipes, for their flavor and of course, hotness. And my scrambled eggs also include this spicy and flavorful ingredient. Over the years, I have experimented with a few ingredients that enhance the flavor of the scrambled eggs I love to cook, and eat. And I can eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anytime in between.

Ingredients:
4 eggs, well beaten

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, chopped

2 Thai chillies or Serrano peppers, chopped (add more or less based on your preference)

I clove garlic sliced or 1/2 tsp minced garlic

I tsp red chili powder

Pinch of turmeric

1 tsp salt 

Mix the eggs, milk, chili powder, turmeric and salt. Set it aside. 

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the green chillies and onions, and fry until the onions start changing color (about a minute). Add the garlic and mix well with the onions. Add the egg mix and stir to mix well with the fried onions. Continue to gently stir so the eggs don't stick to the pan. Continue on low heat until the eggs are fully cooked. 

Serve with bread, chappatis, or tortillas.

An ode to sentimentality - selfies, hashtags, and the Jobvite days

Ode: a poem in which someone expresses a strong love or respect for someone or something

A poem, I cannot compose

A post, I can

That is how far I got with the poem......

Those who know me know that I love taking pictures, and being in them. Selfies, however, scared me. I had no problems being in other's selfies, but posing in my own was, well, scary. And then I joined Jobvite! 

I walked in wearing my favorite outfit on my first day, was handed a beautiful orchid by my manager, and heard someone say, "if that dies, you are fired". Considering that none of my previous orchids survived, my days were numbered if I didn't prove myself in other ways. As I settled in at my new desk, trying not to look at the beautiful orchid that could end my career at Jobvite, I was handed my next challenge - a scavenger hunt! A scavenger hunt, with scenarios on a spreadsheet for selfies! Scenarios on a spreadsheet - love it! Scenarios for selfies? Not so much. 

Over the next few days, I was added to the employee Facebook page, provided instructions for publishing jobs on social networks, and I favorited all things Jobvite on my social networks. I slowly embraced my new world of hashtags and selfies.

 #Jobs for the Jobvites on social networks

#carded selfie when our business cards arrived

#Twinkie selfie when we dressed in matching outfits

#CSFoodDrive when our team won the Second Harvest challenge

#StevieSilver when our team won the super awesome Stevie Award for Customer Service

It was fitting to celebrate my last two weeks at Jobvite in a manner similar to my first two weeks. Between meetings, and other things considered "working", I ambushed people who passed my area, and even stalked those who did not, to capture selfies. With some, there were almost daily selfies, sometimes more than once. With one person in particular, who never allows selfies, every selfie was a special moment. And of course, sometime during the day, the selfies were added to Instacollage and posted on Instagram and Facebook with the appropriate hastags.

Along with the many friendships and amazing memories, I will take with me the unforgettable hashtags that will always remind me of my days at Jobvite and the lifelong friendships.

#Awww for my partner in crime (only those that are not punishable by law, of course)

#myheartandsoul for the friends who lifted my spirits when I needed it the most

#loveyousomuch for my friends forever

The last day was long, and it went fast. My #Awww made me a book of selfies that I will cherish forever. I arrived in the same outfit that I wore on my first day. I made sure that I had enough charge and memory on my phone for selfies. I also made sure that those who avoided eye contact in order to avoid a selfie were ambushed and gently persuaded to take one. And I have to go back for those I missed.

The last picture of the day, however, is not a selfie. It is a picture with my manager, proudly holding her Stevie Gold trophy and the two Stevie Silver plaques that our team won that arrived earlier that day.

Special mention - the orchid is thriving, and I hope to watch it bloom for a very long time!

So long Jobvite, or should I say #solong #Jobvite?

Smiling all day :)

I smiled all day! At people I could see, at people on the phone, at people on my monitor, at my headset, even at the bathroom door! I want to capture this feeling and save it for a day when I feel like throwing things at all of the above. 

This is the power of gratitude! 

I got to work a little after 7am, and scanned my emails before dialing into my 7:30 call. I only had time to read a few, and even less time to respond to any. Of the three I read, one started with "Thank you" in the subject. Thank you notes are so special, they always make the priority list. It was no ordinary thank you note. Written by one of my toughest clients, it elevated my spirit and I knew that no matter what happened, nothing could ruin my day today. With 4 back-to-back calls, no time for breakfast, and just a few minutes to get coffee, reading that email every time a tough moment was about to arrive just made everything easier. 

A couple of years ago, I received a similar email. It blew me away, and I think I fell from my chair. My ridiculous but genuine response was, "believe it or not, I am speechless". I didn't just save this email, I created a special folder for it. 

My response today was genuine but slightly more polished. I didn't create a folder for it, or add it to my Love Letters folder. I left it in my inbox as an unread email. Now I see it every time I go over my unread emails. 

I will wake up tomorrow and think about this. And tomorrow, I will wish two very amazing women a Happy Birthday! A friend whose passion for volunteering brought us together, and whose wit, charm, and compassion kept me wanting to be a part of her life. She was also my SQL accountability partner, amongst other things, and I know I wouldn't have made it without her. I will celebrate the birthday of my niece, whose intelligence, talent, perseverance and can-do attitude will inspire many others. She is an amazing young woman who is doing great things, and I can't wait to celebrate her future successes! 

Still smiling :)

Three birthdays and a joyful blog

Twenty years ago, I met a little girl, standing at the entrance with her brother, holding a drawing book with blank pages. It was a cold, snowy winter day in Chicago, and all I could think of was getting inside and warming up. As soon as I took off my coat and shoes, I was handed the books along with crayons and pencils, and asked to paint. I am not sure what my aunt told these kids, but they pretty much stayed by my side until I had painted a few flower pots, and the only reason I finally got to stop is when one of the kids, I don't remember which one, asked me if I knew how to paint anything besides flower pots. Phew, saved by the boring flower pots!

One of them celebrated a birthday this month! An amazing young woman, who remembers me for the popcorn and soda at the movies, and not the (thank goodness) flower pots I painted when we first met. She tires me with her constant talking (sounds just like me at her age), annoys me with her defense of Tiger Woods' multiple affairs, baffles me with her checklists, exhilarates me with her willingness to take selfies, but mostly, inspires me with just who she is - a talented, committed, beautiful, young woman who is doing great things, and will always be an inspiration to many!

Three people I love celebrated a birthday this weekend. Unlike my cousin above, I met this friend on a somewhat warm, extremely late evening (if you call almost 11pm an evening) in Bombay, at her wedding. I was trying to get to the wedding reception of my friend, and after several expert directions from locals which made us go around in circles for 2 hours, I finally made it after the dinner had been cleared, the wedding cake was gone, and the bouquet was about to be tossed. I could not wait for her to move to Chicago so I could clear up my sterling reputation of always being on time. Over the years, she has become one of my closest friends, someone in whose presence I can completely be myself, someone who makes me laugh often at her own expense, someone who is always there for me, and someone who probably has never had to take selfies with anyone besides me. The jokes we have shared are not repeatable even anonymously, as she will surely kill me.

Last, but not the least, a charming and joyous human being who I have known less than a year, who makes every day, or at least weekdays, something to look forward to. Always calm, almost always smiling (yes, there is the occasional frown), always dapper, always willing to help, and always available for a hug, he makes open office plans kind of awesome for those who sit across from him.

I am very blessed that I get to celebrate amazing human beings like these everyday, even when it's not their birthday.

Yearful - a reflection on my first year of blogging

Last January, I created this blog, with lofty goals of blogging at least twice a month. I had quite a good run in January with 9 posts, which helped average out for the occasional decline that happened during the following months. The blog was a stretch goal for 2014, and accomplishing a stretch goal in the first week of the year was the wind beneath the wings of the other goals. Since I sometimes struggle to keep up with the twice a month, I am going to start the first post of 2015 with a reflection on why do this at all.

First, the goal itself. Why blog? A few years ago, a friend's mom, a woman I admire and love deeply, said to me, "you have a lot to say, you have a way of expressing an opinion and you must write so it is never forgotten". Inspired by her words, I started a journal. Soon, the journal was buried amongst a stack of other things, never shared with anyone, and the writing completely forgotten. When setting goals for 2014, my biggest challenge was personal goals. I did not need to lose weight (I do this year, but not then), I already had an exercise goal, and some of my professional goals were tied to personal development as well. I randomly picked a chapter in a book, in which the author wrote about how starting a blog was one of her biggest challenges, and once she started one, it was one of the most satisfying experiences. I created one on the same day!

Ah, the joys of picking a color, a background, a picture. Red - easy, my favorite color. Picture - when in doubt, just go with the Facebook profile picture, right? Background - the profile picture. That was mostly impulsive at the time, but when I look back, subconsciously, I picked a picture that is a reflection of myself. Wearing one of my favorite outfits, a hairstyle I love, with my favorite cocktail in front of me, my phone right where I can reach it, a gift box from my favorite store, and most importantly, in the company of some of the people I love the most, at a restaurant celebrating my birthday.

After writing a few posts, I wrote what I call a birthday blog. The first of a few, it made me reflect on the many valuable friendships I have, and the amazing memories that bring so much joy and laughter.

It wasn't all just personal. One of my Lean In articles was included in another blog, a recipe was included in a food blog, an article about Merline Saintil was tweeted by none other than the amazing woman herself, and I have a recipe published in a book!

It's 2015 - what now? Coming up - the January 17th birthday blog, and a new recipe.

Thanks to all those who read my blog, and always send me encouraging words which often inspire the next blog (or at least a Facebook post).

Cheers to 2015!