Posts tagged ‘lessons’

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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Puppy Chow with Jessie Sunday

Watch and learn how to make the most delicious of treats from my friend, Jessie!  I was so excited when she wanted to teach me how to make Puppy Chow but I must warn you.  This is a very dangerous skill because there is definitely a tipping point when the Puppy Chow takes over and you lose complete control.

Jessie and I met a couple of years when we both worked for Livingsocial.  I was living in NYC and she was in DC at the time.  I didn’t really get to know her until I moved back to SF and I’m so happy that I did.  Jessie is so great.  She keeps it real and hilarious.  She has a zest for life that is like no other.

Thank you so much, Jessie, for being an amazing teacher and cooking show host.  Also, a big thank you to Michael Seiler for being an amazing videographer and co-director.  It was truly a team effort.

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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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TOP ROCK with Bryan aka Rojo

Well I love when situations like this happen.  My friend Joe came over with his friend, Bryan, who was visiting from DC.  We were chatting when FWB came up in conversation.  Then Joe mentioned that Bryan is an awesome breakdancer.  Within two minutes, we were rearranging my living room to make a dance floor which of course had to include the epic party light to set the scene.  It was so much fun to learn a new dance move and hopefully one day I’ll be able to do it and actually look cool.   Thanks Bryan for being such an awesome teacher and willing to jump right in there and Top Rock it out with me.  PS-Please take note of the Canton sweater I am wearing for it was part of my 4th grade Pop Warner cheerleading uniform that I never returned.  Whoops.

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Golfing with Jerry (Dad)

I just got back from an amazing trip back to Boston.  It was so great spending time with family and friends as well as going to one of my first childhood friend’s wedding and of course seeing, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z at Fenway.  During my stay, I was super excited to have my dad teach me how to golf while my mom manned the IPhone. I loved making this FWB and spending time with my parents.  It’s hard living on different coasts and definitely not ideal.   I think a lot of West Coast transplants feel this way and go through the questioning of living so far from family.  (My ultimate dream of being bicoastal would solve this issue).  I also feel very grateful I was able to make this FWB and have my father around to do it.  We almost lost him to a stroke in 1995 and I can’t imagine spending the last 18 years without him.  My parents are the best and I’m so lucky to have such a good support system.

Thanks Mom and Dad again for everything!  You are the best and I love you SOOOO much! Love, your favorite:)

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Sewing In a Weave with Samona Squire

My friend, coworker and all around awesome person, Samona, blows my mind by showing me what a weave entails.  Samona and I work together in a center for developmentally delayed toddlers. She’s so patient and great with the children as well as the adults;)  This FWB was probably the most enlightening one yet.  I had no idea the logistics and skills behind sewing in a weave.  Thanks so much Samona for always entertaining and enlightening me!

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