Posts tagged ‘friendship’

How To Get A Mentor With Lizzy Thomas

I met Lizzy on Christmas two years ago when Charlie, Bi, Lizzy and I spent it the Jewish way, movies and Chinese.  Lizzy is so delightful and knows how to keep it real. She’s hilarious and a major go getter working at one of the best companies in the world and absolutely killing it. I think this FWB is really important and I feel really grateful to have Lizzy to teach it to me.

Topics like this seem so elusive to me because I just did not receive this information anywhere up until now.  I think there are probably a lot of reasons for this including I never really connected with any adults in my school career aka I had pretty bad teachers.  Side note: This is one of the main reasons why I currently work in elementary schools…to be the adult I never experienced in my school career and of course, the sweet vacation schedule;).  I also spent very little time in a corporate america environment and do not have anything close to a straight forward career path trajectory.  But what I learned from this conversation is just how important having a conversation like this really is….

I felt really empowered learning about the mentor relationship from Lizzy and hope that this inspires others to take action to look for a mentor, become a mentor or just get more clear on the subject.  This relationship seems so important and helpful to have.  The definition of mentor is an “experienced and trusted advisor.” To have one or more successful, experienced and trusted advisors in your life and have them share their experiences and knowledge for the benefit of your success, yes please.   I would love to hear your experiences with this topic…do you have a mentor? are you a mentor?  where did you learn about the importance of having a mentor?  Please leave a comment below.

Thanks again, Lizzy, for sharing your wisdom.  Your mentees are lucky to have you!

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AcroYoga with Claudia and Daniel @ Burning Man

I impulsively decided to go to Burning Man this year.  I had all of these reasons of why I wasn’t going: Money, Work, Timing, Money and then I surprised myself by saying yes to a ticket offered the Friday before it started.

I met Claudia and Daniel naked in a steam bath with 20 other people and we began talking about AcroYoga.  I was so excited when they offered to teach me for FWB.  It’s always a goal for me to do lessons but actually getting them done is always a challenge and I feel so grateful and excited when it actually happens.  As for the steam bath, it was my everything.  I hurt my back the day before I left and the constant bending over to get in and out of the tent and move things around as well as biking all day put my back into serious spasms.  You can see from my attempt to do “The Bird” pose that my back was in dire straits and “The Falling Leaf” felt amazing for releasing pressure. The steam bath helped so much not only for my back pain but also to become more comfortable with my body and “baring it all.”   And I guess that’s what Burning Man is about for me.  Feeling a little more connected…to myself, to others, to our world.

Make sure you stay tuned until the end to watch a montage of my experience this year. It was great to reflect on my first year at Burning Man to this year (two years later) and how far I’ve come.  This year for me was a lot about letting go, loving myself more, realizing that I’m guided and to trust more.  All things I continue to struggle with but felt a little more connected to out there at That Thing In The Desert.

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Finding the Best Version of Yourself with Olga

I loved everything about this FWB: the topic, the location, the teacher and it’s timing.  Olga and I met at a silent disco party a year ago at Gauntlet Gallery.  We became friends on FB and would run into each other around the city.  She is also the number one person who is always the mutual friend on Tinder;).   We reconnected after her travels a year later at the same silent disco party where she agreed to do an FWB.

This topic is near and dear to my heart.  I, too, took the risk of leaving my life in NYC in 2012 to travel and relocate to SF to honor my truth and happiness sans job.  As Olga said, it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows but I don’t regret that decision for a minute.  The same day as filming this FWB, I attended a Women Catalysts event where Elle Luna was guest speaking about her new book. My main goal for going was to network for SMITH & STARR (stay tuned) not really knowing much about the organization or the speaker.  Well, my mind was blown.  The Women Catalysts founders truly created an empowering environment and Elle’s message that there are shoulds in our life and then there are musts and we must honor our musts spoke to me on so many levels.

Talk about a “concrete signs” day.  This day proved to me that I’m on the right path, things are falling into place and I have honored myself to be true to my musts. My musts include traveling (booked a trip to the Galapagos for Christmas), working for something that I believe in (children, emotional intelligence, innovation, self development, entrepreneurship), sharing my art and creativity (FWB), work/life balance, being part of support networks, yoga/self care, and continuing to develop and nurture my big dreams.  Of course, self-doubt, sadness, distraction, fear and confusion all tend to creep in at any moment but I’m so appreciative to have had this day and such a concrete reminder that yes, it’s happening.  And remember, for whatever you’re going through right now…as Nicolle says, “It has to work out. There is no other option.”

 

 

 

 

 

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BABY FREEZE WITH ERICA SPERBERG

I was so happy when my friend from home,  Erica, better known as Sperberg in my world (or Sperm, Spermy, Sperminator) decided to make a trip to SF to visit the Canton girls.  We’ve been talking about her FWB for a while and I was so pumped when we made it happen while hanging out at Dolores Park.  Erica is a very talented dancer, choreographer, and teacher.  She is the director of The Dance Academy in Newton and they are so lucky to have her.  She’s the best.  Hang out with her for five minutes and you’ll soon realize that.  You can always count on her giggling, smiling and having fun.  We’ve been friends for so long and I appreciate our friendship so much!

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Yo-Yo Skills with Rob Martinez

I was so excited to have Rob teach me an FWB.  Rob and I worked at our first corporate america job out of college together in SF.  It was quite possibly the worst job ever especially when seated near the water cooler during the month of March when all it did was rain and everyone felt the need to discuss the rain at the water cooler, everyday.  But I digress.

Rob has since moved to many places and is now living in Nebraska. I, of course, harassed Rob to teach me something for FWB when he was visiting SF for the weekend.  He was hesitant but came out on top highlighting one of his many skills that I definitely did not know he had.  He’s really good with a Yo-Yo.  As most of you know, my hand eye coordination and fine motor skills are not my strengths so I was excited/hesitant to take on the old school Yo-Yo.   I grew up with Yo-Yos but never really mastered it and soon switched over to the ever popular Yo Yo Ball in ’92.  As someone on youtube once put it,  it’s the yo-yo for kids who suck at real yo-yos.  And how I remember the pain of losing control of the Yo-Yo Ball and having it slam into my front teeth……Hey Man It’s a Yo-Yo Ball!

 

Thanks Rob for playing along.  Great reunion and I hope it’s not another 4 years until our next one!

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Clothing Swap with Amie Wong

This FWB really had its benefits.  I am not only a huge fan of Amie but I am now a huge fan of the clothing swap.  I came home with two bags of clothes without spending a dime, cleared out my closet of clothes that I’ve had for way too long and got to hang out with some of my favorite people as well as meet new ones.  Amie did such a great job of creating a very fun and casual atmosphere (champagne included).  This world needs more clothing swaps!   Thank you Amie for being such a genuine gem.  You are the best!

 

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FADAZZLE WITH CASSANDRA LOVE LAMBERT (C-LOVE)

I loved everything about this FWB. The topic, the way it came together and, of course, the people involved.  C-Love is so talented and you need to follow her on Facebook and Instagram to see her amazing art and also to find the best parties in SF.

Chelsea and I met Cassandra in September at Mighty where she FaDazzled our face for the first time.  We continued to see Cassandra around town and on FB FaDazzling the beautiful people of San Francisco.  On New Years Day, we ran into each other at Breakfast of Champions, where C-Love once again FaDazzled our faces and discussed that an FWB needed to happen.

I love this FWB so much because C-Love’s talent brought our friendship together and I love supporting her because she is following her purpose on her own path and making it happen one amazing FaDazzle and party at a time.

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HUGGING LIKE YOU MEAN IT WITH KATE DANAHER

My friend, Kate, shows me how to hug like you mean it.  I was really excited when Kate came up with this lesson because I definitely noticed her amazing hugging skills the second time I met her.  Kate informed me during my lesson that this is pretty standard; she always gives a hug the second time she meets someone.  I think that’s pretty impressive and I’m sure helps create a great relationship.  I have definitely been trying to hug like I mean it more which means a tighter, longer embrace filled with confidence and good vibes.  So far, I’d call it a success!

I met Kate through Alicia when we both moved to SF around the same time almost two years ago.  It’s been awesome getting to know her and I’m so appreciative of all the new friendships I have developed during my second stint in SF.  I really hope everyone who watches/reads this tries to put more effort into their hugs.  Let me know how it goes for you in the Comments Section!

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KAMIKAZE SHOT-SKI WITH STEVEN

 

This was quite the lesson.   Ashley and I were at the tail end of our 2 week trip in Central America when we met Steven while enjoying the night life of San Pedro in Belize.  There was another couple in the bar when we came up with the idea to do an FWB.  The guy offered to film and the girl was going to take the shot with us.  As we are going through the lesson, another man entered the bar (I thought he was going to be our fifth participant).  I soon realized he was super angry when he took the girl’s phone and slammed it to the ground and then threw it into the ocean. Definitely not participating.  Apparently, she did something to really upset him (relationship woes).  The girl started crying and ran to get the pieces of her phone all while we are trying to make a kamikaze.  Chaos and laughter ensue, but we kept it together and finished with a celebratory shot.  Thanks to Ashley for being the best travel buddy a girl could ask for and to Steven (I will figure out a way to export Fireball to you).  Good times!

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