it's kind of nice having a january birthday. january is a fresh start in a lot of ways, and so i'm able to really take stock of the last year and think about what i want to change/improve/accomplish in the coming year. kind of like resolutions, but they seem to stick better. at least last year they did. i tend to really not get very excited about my birthday, but when i sit down and think critically about the goals i set for myself last year and what i managed to accomplish, i'm really quite satisfied with how the past year went. some things are small and some things are more significant, but they all count for something!
probably one of the biggest things was completing the half ironman. on my birthday last year, i signed up for the steelhead 70.3 triathlon. not only did i commit to doing a race of overwhelming distance, i also pledged to raise $2300 to fight leukemia and lymphoma. the fundraising went very well, with a ton of help from friends and family. i met my goal early, which was great. the race itself was amazing. i had a hard time keeping on the training, but somehow still managed to finish. and feel pretty good when it was all said and done. it says a lot about mind over matter and all that and i feel great about being brave enough to step up to the starting line in the first place, and also for having the resolve to stick with it and finish the race. i have a tendency to get in my own head and beat myself up a bit, but i didn't do that at all in the race (well, okay, except for the first 10 minutes of the swim).
the same day i signed up for the race, i pledged to NOT cut my hair until after the race. i wanted to see if i could get it long and tolerate it. i had a habit of getting it just past chin length, then hitting an ugmo phase and cutting it shorter again. not this time, once i got past the race in august, it was long enough to pull back and wasn't bothering me. now i love it long, and am even getting better about not yanking it back into a ponytail all the time.
i also pledged to be more adventurous and not hold back from trying things because i was afraid or anything like that. i don't think people would typically think that i'm like that, i can recount things that i missed out on because i didn't just go for it. last year, i threw my nagging "you shouldn't probably do that" voice out the window and went to ireland with my friend to just cycle around the countryside, carrying everything on our bikes along the way. i would never in a million years ever thought that i'd be over there, let alone doing that. prior to that trip, a vacation to ireland seemed like one of those fantasy things that you say you'll do but never really will. it was a great trip, and i'm so glad i went.
last year, i was very frustrated with my job. i was bored and couldn't see where i was headed in that position, so i was very unhappy there. with heath's help, i updated my resume, got some confidence about my abilities, and started applying. quite quickly, i landed a job at a small IT/healthcare company in a northern suburb. i've really flourished here and am working with and for amazing people. i believe in the mission of the company and in importance of the work i'm doing. i feel rewarded, challenged, and appreciated. it's the perfect job for me for where i am in my career, and they are supportive as i consider pursuing my mba in the fall.
i was also sick of being in the wrong sort of relationship, and wanted to really try to meet somebody that i could imagine having a future with. so i went the semi-stigmatized route and used that supposedly very scientific online matchmaking service, you know the one i mean. after a few so-so dates, i managed to meet heath. we started dating and found that we had so much in common, very substantial things and also very random, but comforting things. so, i managed to get myself into a much more "real" relationship than i've been part of in a very long time. he even knows me so well, that the flowers he sent for my birthday are prettier than i could've picked out for myself. thanks hon! (note that the picture doesn't do them justice - they're much more vibrant orangey and red than they appear here. the fluorescent lights and my camera phone are certainly limiting.)
