WO: Weekly Obsessions
Before we jump into this week’s four finds I have to take a moment and celebrate: Today’s post marks the FOUR-HUNDREDTH WO!! That’s right, you get a double exclamation celebration! It’s hard to believe this concept and ultimately, this blog, has been around so long, but it wouldn’t be possible without your support. Cheers to that!
- “Bodega Bathroom”: Not an actual bodega bathroom, no. But the hilariously oddball and perfectly fantastic sketch from last week’s SNL. John Mulaney’s past hit of “Lobster Diner” meets its match with this all-out musical marathon. Words won’t do it justice. Just watch.
- Luke Perry: On a much more serious note, actor Luke Perry died Monday after suffering a massive stroke just days before. He was 52. And while I’ve certainly enjoyed his resurgence with his role on “Riverdale,” I could never forget how instrumental he was for all us “90210” and “What I Like About You” fans. I can’t imagine how the Perry family feels with such a devastating shock.
- Lent: There’s no easy segue to the next topic on my mind, as the Lenten season is upon us. I’m holding out for tonight’s 7:30 mass and looking forward to one of my all-time favorite choral songs, “Ashes.” No matter what you sacrifice or start doing (or if you don’t celebrate at all), I’m wishing you peace, love and joy over the next 40 days.
- “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time” – Thomas Rhett f. Little Big Town: You know when you hear a song that speaks to you on just about every level? This does that for me. Partially because it mentions Wednesdays, partially because there’s a shout-out to my hometown (DAYTONA!), partially because Thomas Rhett is a national treasure. He debuted this and another song on SNL, giving my fave show yet another leg up.
WO: Weekly Obsessions
I thought I’d take a different approach this week, since a common theme has surfaced time and time again recently: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The Good: My beloved laptop did not have a meltdown, as I feared it might, while my young nieces played assistant and tapped, tapped, tapped away on my keyboard Monday night. I was fortunate to be able to work remotely during a quick trip to Florida, but man was I fearing the worst while they oohed and aahed over a non-touchscreen device.
The Bad: I did have a meltdown. A fatal flaw of mine is taking on the weight of the world, and it’s something I struggle with on a daily basis. It’s part perfectionism, part insanity, but I can’t seem to let things go or let others “do” for me. This often manifests itself in my impatience and lack of trust, and sometimes, it gets so bad I go into full shutdown mode.
The Ugly: The emotions from said shutdown, plus from seeing my family for such a fleeting few days, made for quite the ugly cry. Thankfully, hugs from my nieces, comforting words from my mom, support from my brother and sister-in-law, and all-around love from extended family and friends helped me get through the worst of it. Just goes to show, no matter how old you are, your support system is everything.
Which of these smileys most closely fits your week? Let me know in the comments below!
WO: Weekly Obsessions
You know the saying, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans”? I feel like that’s the definition of how this past week has been for me, folks.
You may already be well aware how Type A I am about planning, organization and attention to detail. Pshhh, that all goes out the window when the 24 hours in a day seem to vanish in the blink of an eye.
Between multiple birthday celebrations, a work trip (with a surprise snowfall!), candidate interviews, review cycles and a whole lotta other #firstworldproblems, I’m still dumbfounded that it’s already (and yet, only) Wednesday.
So here’s my penance offering — please enjoy and don’t @ me, bro!
WO: Weekly Obsessions
I have about an hour of energy left in me today, which is reserved especially for a wonderful co-worker’s farewell celebration. Alas, the show must go on:
- The Radio City Rockettes: I mentioned a few weeks ago how my family was going to see the ever-iconic Radio City Rockettes while visiting New York, and let me tell you, it was worth the 30-year wait. From the incredible choreography to the set design, it was one breathtaking scene after another. My faves? The toy soldier fall and live nativity scene were tops.
- A Life-Changing Letter: Get the tissues ready. This letter, penned by the terminally ill 27-year-old Holly Butcher, will make you rethink everything. From finances to traffic, from cake to Christmas presents, Butcher outlines all of the things on her mind as her battle with cancer came to a close. Even recapping it now, I’m misty-eyed. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this.
- “I, Tonya”: Something else you don’t want to miss? This Golden Globe–winning look at the scandal that rocked the professional sports — and 24-hour news — world in 1994. I remember watching it unfold as an elementary school kid then, and I’m even more fascinated by it now. If nothing else, you can’t look away from Allison Janney and Margot Robbie’s insanely believable… insanity.
- “Pitch Perfect 3”: That’s right, guys. I went a whole 18 months without seeing a movie in theaters and then saw two in just a few weeks’ time. Yes, it’s a little silly. Yes, it’s a little cheesy. And yes, you will enjoy the ridiculous end to the Barden Bella saga. C’mon, you know you want to!
Images courtesy of: Ticketmaster, BuzzFeed, Teaser-Trailer, EurWeb
30 Before 30
In honor of my upcoming 30th birthday, I’ve researched countless “things to do before 30” lists. And while there are plenty to choose from, I kept coming back to “Thirty Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She’s 30.”
The List was originally published in Glamour by columnist Pamela Redmond Satran in 1997. Over the next 30 weeks, I’ll be tackling each item on The List and reflecting about it here… publicly (gulp). I hope you enjoy and we can grow together. After all, turning older is a privilege denied to many.
By 30, you should have…
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship, and all those other facets of life that do get better.
Legendary anchor and journalist Katie Couric writes us into our halfway point this week. She begins by telling us she spent her 20s focused on her career, allowing work to take priority over her love life.
Sound familiar?
I don’t know if it’s because women are becoming more vocal, or because we have social platforms to have more public discussion, or because I’m nearing the end of my 20s myself, or some combination of the above… or none of those things at all.
I do know it’s a constant conversation among my circles for women to feel like they must choose one over the other: career or love?
Part of this is, unquestionably, biology. If we meet a partner at 25 and marry by 27, we still have some “good years” left in us to have children. Men, on the other hand, can possess none of Mick Jagger’s millions and have children well into their 70s.
Putting that aside, there’s also an expectation for most, if not all, women: We should want to have children. If we don’t, there must be something wrong with us. Or we just don’t know it yet. Or we haven’t found the right person (because who would ever choose to be a single mother?). As I once heard from a wise mother of two, “Any fool can have a baby.” Yet there’s still this need from society for all women to become mothers.
I’m getting deeper than Couric’s message was, but I felt it a necessary piece of the Career vs. Love debate: So much of this boils down to a woman’s choices and her desire to put herself first.
As I’ve often discussed on this very blog, and IRL ad nauseam, I’ve put my career ahead of most other things. In my seven-point-five years since undergrad, I’ve sacrificed some friendships, ended some romantic relationships, often worked tirelessly without need of recognition — and as long as I could get to a certain career milestone before 30, it’d all be worth it.
I’ll hit that career milestone on Thursday, as my role in my current company shifts. And you know what? I don’t know yet that it was worth it. Sure, I’m thrilled to hit this arbitrary goal I set so long ago. But I still question my career choices often and wonder where my next years will take me after this hurdle is overcome.
Part of that may be my inability to be completely satisfied. And while I should save that for a therapy session, I do question if accomplishing this career goal means I can finally ease my foot off the go-getter gas a little and refocus on romantic relationships. If I can allow myself to be loved, to be taken care of, to let my walls down and be vulnerable again.
Couric even briefly touches on losing her first husband to cancer, and how “the ability to accept and adapt gracefully to life’s twist and turns is one of the greatest skills you’ll learn.”
I know the ride’s not over yet, but I’m certainly going to buckle up for the journey ahead.
30 Before 30
In honor of my upcoming 30th birthday, I’ve researched countless “things to do before 30” lists. And while there are plenty to choose from, I kept coming back to “Thirty Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She’s 30.”
The List was originally published in Glamour by columnist Pamela Redmond Satran in 1997. Over the next 30 weeks, I’ll be tackling each item on The List and reflecting about it here… publicly (gulp). I hope you enjoy and we can grow together. After all, turning older is a privilege denied to many.
By 30, you should have…
13. The belief you deserve it.
Reminder: Last week’s task was to have “something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.”
So, I jumped the gun a little on this one, as I already spoke last week about learning to accept how deserving I am of something ridiculously expensive.
Taking that concept further, though, I read this week’s mini-essay with fervor. It’s a foreign concept to me… to believe you deserve something and not feel like a selfish prick for it.
But it’s also something that comes very naturally to most of my male peers. That’s not to say they’re selfish pricks at all; but it is to say there’s something innate for most men (in my experience) to believe they’re deserving of a nice life.
Without getting too political, there is — of course — the concern when someone believes they’re deserving to a point of taking without asking.
Rather, what I’m talking about is the ability for many men to go after what they want — a promotion, vacation, once-in-a-lifetime tickets, what have you — and reach out and get it. If it doesn’t pan out, it’s not because they’re not good enough.
The flip side, again from my experience, is that many women question their worth; we stutter and stall because we’re afraid of failure or embarrassment. Our self-worth is in question enough; why give anyone the power to make us feel like even less?
I’ve experienced this myself, particularly when I questioned what the hell I was thinking in moving across the country twice. I remember, specifically, calling my mom on the first night in my barren San Francisco apartment. I cried and asked why she “let me” make the move from Manhattan.
What I had to work through, with lots of help from my mom and other dear loved ones, was that I deserved to take this chance on myself. If I fell flat on my face and decided I didn’t like SF (as I had determined with NYC), that didn’t make me a failure. The only failure would be in not taking the chance.
If I looked back at 40 (or 30!), she reminded me, I’d kick myself if I hadn’t at least tried.
Am I successful here? That’s all relative. I’m not a bitcoin billionaire (or a startup septillionaire 😉 ), but I’ve made a life I’m proud of here and continue to take chances on myself often. I try new things, have difficult conversations, publish this blog for goodness sake!, and I’ve come out the other side just fine.
After all, falling on my face is just another of life’s lessons, which surely won’t stop at 30. It only means I took the steps to put myself out there and try to fly. And that’s something I think we all deserve.
The San-Fran Plan
I’m officially able to announce the big move I mentioned so cryptically Wednesday: I’ve accepted a relocation offer with my company and will be moving to San Francisco!
I have nothing but love for New York — well, except for MTA and rats and smells and why am I always sweating?! — but have dreamt of living in the Bay area for some time.
Fortunately, my West Coast team is pumped to have me there in person, and I won’t spend nearly as much of my workday on the phone or chasing email threads. I’m super thrilled for the opportunity and couldn’t be more grateful for my supportive senior leadership and company.
So, until the actual move happens (sometime in late September), I’ve got an NYC Bucket List started and about a million things to coordinate. Wish me luck as yet another huge adventure begins. Eek!
WO: Weekly Obsessions
Lately, I’ve been in a glass case of emotion. But before you judge, here are four very good reasons why I’m on an emotional roller coaster:
- Weird Al’s “Word Crimes”: Finally, a song to teach all the non-word nerds a thing or two about proper grammar. Set to Robin Thicke’s (literally) infectious “Blurred Lines,” good luck getting this one out of your head.
- 2014 MLB All-Star Game: I’m also a huge baseball nerd, so it should come as no surprise that I geeked out over last night’s festivities in Minneapolis. The Jeter tributes especially melted my heart.
- #RE2PECT: This #hashtag breaks all the word-nerd rules, but I just can’t help it. I’ve watched this ad approximately 40 times in as many hours and still get goosebumps.
- Making Moves: I have a major announcement to make regarding my career, but I have to wait just a little bit longer till I can shout it from the rooftops. More to come — stay tuned!
Images courtesy of: Huffington Post, Puckett’s Pond, Nike, Myself
What to Expect (When Someone Else Is Expecting)
It is with sheer joy and absolute excitement I can share the following news: Brother and Sister-in-Law are expecting! They’re set to welcome Baby in late September.
My first thoughts after the happy tears dried:
- Brother will be responsible for another life. We must get this kid a helmet.
- SIL will be a great mom. Her experience (and patience!) with children is incredible.
- We need grandparent names for Magz and Slick Rick. I’m campaigning for “Gam Gam” and “Gumpy.”
- I’m going to have to learn how to deal with kids.
Many will offer their varied opinion on everything from the baby’s name to nature versus nurture, and the list goes on.
Lucky for the parents-to-be, I have nothing to add. I’m deeply unqualified to care for a child — but I’ll be damned if that kid isn’t the best-dressed baby in Florida.
And just as I learned last Christmas to not joke with children about presents, so I’ll learn how to be an awesome aunt. I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome the next generation of Wittyburg kids to the world.
And I’m absolutely OK with that.
Wittyburg.com 