Two days in and two days out

Hello friends! I've spent the last two days at home in Tampa, and now I'm waiting for my (delayed) flight to go spend two days in Nashville! So far, my time back in America has been really enjoyable. Usually, I have breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner, and drinks dates all over town since I try to see as many people and hit up as many favorite spots as possible, but this time is a bit different! I had only arranged one lunch date in advance of this trip, and I have to say - I've really enjoyed having less of a schedule and just taking time to get things done!

Some things that I noticed after this first week of no longer living in Asia:

1.  I might be a bad tipper? I went to lunch with two girlfriends, and we all paid separately. But I left the smallest tip!! This is particularly hilarious/embarrassing for me since I was a server for such a long time!

2.  I crave super simple foods. My first meal back in America was at Panera Bread lol.  For some reason, an easy salad and sandwich sounded perfect to me. 

3.  Radio stations are boring. I listened to the same 10 songs over and over in my rental car. 

4.  Online shopping can really be hit or miss.  Per usual, I ordered a ton of stuff online and was really excited to get home and try it all on! Unfortunately, tons of it just didn't look great once I put it in, and I would guess that I ended up returning about 70 percent of what I had ordered. 

5.  I hate buying suits. I think they are ugly, and they are expensive! Lose-lose. 

6.  I am still gravitating towards summer clothes. After two years of basically never wearing pants or anything with long sleeves, it's a hard habit to break!

7.  I still love Tampa. In my first hour back in town, I randomly ran into an old friend from high school in the grocery store parking lot. 

8.  I still should not be allowed to have cable TV. Real Housewives and Teen Mom update shows are distracting me from the copies of Fortune, The New Yorker, and The Economist that I bought lol. 

One other random note - I'm looking for navy blue heels for work.  Either pumps or wedges, closed toe, and not sky high. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know!!

The Happiness Project: August

Hi all - two posts in two days!  Training ended a bit early today, so I've got some free time before heading to the airport.  I'm meeting my mom and cousins in Seattle for the weekend - super exciting!!

The end of July went by in an absolute fury, and to be honest, August 1st came and went, and I realized that I hadn't even read the next chapter of the book!  So, things are a bit scattered this month.  Sorry.  Anyway, let's check in with how I did on my July goals:

Go to bed on time:  Absolute fail.  In my last month in Singapore, I was trying to maximize all of my time there, so I was rarely able to go to bed on time.

Get out of bed on time:  Unsurprisingly, this was also a fail.  I did a better job of getting up on time than I did at going to bed at time, but this was still not a good success.  I did a TON of sleeping in during July.

Exercise at least three times a week:  I did okay at this one.  For most of the month, I think I exercised at least three times a week, but there was definitely one week of the month where I didn't exercise at all.  Oops.

Eat vegetables every day:  Success!  I didn't keep track of this very well, but I would be surprised if there was a day where I didn't eat vegetables.  Since I was trying to eat tons of Asian food during my last weeks in Singapore, I think I was probably extra mindful of eating veggies since most of my favorite Asian foods are a bit deficient in nutrition and a bit indulgent on salt, oil, and MSG.

Spend ten minutes a day straightening up at home:  Fail.  I had blocked out a long three day weekend for packing, and because of this, I completely ignored all cleaning, organizing, or any other "straightening up" until then.

Alright.  On to August.  The focus for the month of August was to contemplate the heavens. Many of you may already know that I grew up going to church, but the book's focus on eternity is a bit less spiritual than the title may lead you to assume. 

Gretchen offers the following points of focus for the month:
1.  Read memoirs of catastrophe
2.  Keep a gratitude notebook
3.  Imitate a spiritual master

The narrative that goes with these actions seems pretty relatable.  But seeing as how it is already August 8th, I guess I'd better get cracking.  I haven't done (or really even thought much about) any of these items yet.  Maybe I'll give it some thought on the plane tonight?  (Or maybe I will just think about what new Seahawks gear I will be looking for in Seattle!)

Talk to you guys soon :)

Exit strategy

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the sporadic blogging lately - I've been busy!  Last weekend, I went from Asia to Florida to California (so efficient), and I've spent this week attending a work training in San Diego.  I'll try to write a bit more later about my first week back in America, but for now, here is a look at my last few days in Singapore in pictures.

High tea at the Fullerton Bay

Frog leg porridge for dinner

Roti prata

Chinatown

Ladies night at the Lantern Bar

Fishball noodles and sugarcane juice

Murtabak

Banh mi

Din Tai Fung

Cramped quarters on moving day

All packed up!

Shophouses

Satay street

Singapore!

Korean for lunch

Chirashi at my local spot

Drinks!

Beautiful last meal in Singapore

Coming home!