My first bus/bike to work day!

Today was my first bus/bike to work day and it was kinda AWESOME.

I found a route that didn’t require me to get a sitter in the morning; so the boy and I left the house at the same time. The school doesn’t allow scooters on campus, so until I get him his own bike (and yes, that will be soon), he has to hop on with me. He spent much of his ride going “Ooooh…watch out, watch out” because he was afraid I would hit something or “ouch!” because the crotch bar was hitting him in…well…the crotch (that is until he figured out to sit on his backpack). And since my bus stop is at the same corner I usually drop him off to walk to school, we just parted ways there.

I felt like an old pro in the morning. I confidently threw my bike on the rack, flashed the driver my pass and found a seat. I could have transferred but since my connection wasn’t supposed to arrive for 20 minutes, I hopped on my bike and got on my merry way.

The air was crisp, the traffic was light and alert and the sun was lovely. There were bike lines all the way from the connection stop to the office and I probably made it to the office before the bus ever arrived at the stop. I didn’t even break a sweat until I hit the major intersection just before the office corporate park (thank you yoga & pilates!).

At the end of the day, I walked out with a coworker who also takes the bus. He got on his route and mine arrived a few minutes later. And boy was I clumsy about the whole thing.

Maybe it was just the bus driver being helpful but he treated me like it was my first time riding the bus. I couldn’t get the bike rack down and once I got it down, I struggled to get my bike on. He actually got out of his seat to show me how to do it. When I got on the bus, he showed me that I had to activate and swipe my pass (why the other bus driver didn’t say anything, I’ll never know). As we got on the road, he informed me that if the bike rack was full, I’d either have to wait for another bus or lock my bike and leave it (which explains the occasional bike left at the bus stop). Neither sounded like agreeable options, but whatareyagonnado?

Exited the bus to find my stop caticorner to the bike shop but since the YMCA had a closing time, I decided it best to pick up the boy first. We headed over to the bike shop where I had the cruiser fitted with a basket and got myself a helmet. It’s a little dorky looking but better safe than sorry. Besides, its practice for when I get my motorcycle.

I was already tired when we left the bike shop but then it was time to make the ride home. It wasn’t that it was far (because it wasn’t), it was the helmet in the basket, the bumps hurting the boy’s testicles, my purse sliding off my arm and my skirt billowing behind me (oh shut up, I had on yoga pants under). We had to stop like four times to get adjusted but once we did, we had a fun and quick ride home.

The whole experience was great and when I do get my car, I’ll probably still use my bike a lot.

I <3 my new bike. I also love the fact that riding every day enables me to keep getting regular exercise while I get where I need to go.

I wonder if I’ll be saying the same thing at the end of the week.

Tags: bus/bike to work, epic, I did it, Work/Life Balance

On productivity and weekend relaxation

Today I decided not to be lazy. I got up early for breakfast, sent off a couple emails I had been procrastinating on, spent some time polishing an essay I’ve been working on and then headed off to do laundry.

It’s still early.

So now I’m going to allow myself time to relax in this space. Feeling good about getting things done but not pushed to get much more done. Hey, weekends are made for relaxation. Or at least that’s the way I like them to be.

I often find myself asking if it’ll stay like this even when my business is booming. Will I have time to spend most of the day farting around the house or will I have my nose to the grindstone, working, working, working?

Truth is be told, I’m kinda lazy and I like having my weekends. So I’m thinking once I go freelance full-time, I’ll be able to find full blocks of time to just lay on my sofa, drinking cocktails, cuddling my boy and watching TV.

For now, I think its best I get my ass in gear.

Laziness doesn’t build an empire.

Tags: Goals, Productivity, Reflections, Work/Life Balance

Pushing past fear lesson 1: Stand up for yourself

Earlier this week I talked about pushing past fear…well this week I got past one major fear which was not taking any more shit at work.

No…no…contrary to popular belief, one need not be a bitch when deciding not to take any shit (though I did snap at someone; don’t worry I apologized). Rather it means standing up for yourself when you know you deserve more. When one door is slammed in your face, you just find another one to pry open.

I’m being a little dramatic but it was truly a challenging week. If you follow me on twitter, you probably saw my very unhappy tweets that probably seemed completely out of character…

Stress does strange things to a sistah, what can I say?

Without going into details about what was going on, let’s just say that I was able to circumvent one obstacle and find someone willing to help me find a workable solution to my problem. The truth is that I’m not worried, whatever will be will be and I’ll not be a passive observer in that process.

Here’s to not being passive in my own life!

Tags: Conflict, Fearless, Stress, Work/Life Balance

Days like this…

I wish I had the flexibility and freedom to just say fuckitall.

Nothing in particular, just feeling the weight of life and the daily grind on my shoulders. I want to fire my boss and my best friend. I want to drop the boy off with his dad and leave him there indefinitely. I want to get rid of the damn cats. I want to snuggle under my covers and cry.

Precisely what I don’t need to do, since nothing’s wrong. Read more…

Tags: Bad Day, Discouraged, Fuckitall, Goals, Stream of Consciousness, Work/Life Balance

Squandered time and low productivity

Some days it seems like life leads you along. You don’t need to know where you’re going because the path finds you and all you have to do is walk it.

Other days, the way isn’t quite as clear. You know there are things you should be doing but you’re either too unfocused or too scared to get anything done. You flounder in uncertainty and paralysis.

Today is one of those days. Ironic considering that yesterday I wrote about how productive this month was. Thing is, that this was a very unproductive weekend, spent mostly catching up on Lost and taking long naps.

I don’t get the chance to veg out often, so when I do, its definitely a luxury these days. Still, the lazy days feel like stolen time. Time I should be using to get something done instead of loafing about.

At least I’ll go to work well rested tomorrow.

Tags: Goals, Productivity, Weekends, Work/Life Balance

I’ve never been so happy to see the 405

Miami was great, it really was. The trip home seemed extra long. No worries though, I made it safely. As we descended on the airport, I spied the crowded 405 freeway, which I’ve never been happier to see. It was a beautiful parking lot of a freeway to behold.

I’m home now, sitting on my bed, warming up some chili and listening to the wonderful sound of the boy playing video games.

Man, its good to be home.

Tags: Home Sweet Home, Travel, Work/Life Balance

Miami Beach Totally Rocked!

Beautiful city, great company what more can you ask for? It was busy for sure. Running around “live blogging” the event, making sure speakers had everything they needed…it was great.

Highlights: I met Susan Gunelius who I’ve known and worked with for nearly five years but met in person for the first time today. Having a friend from Twitter send someone on a search for me to give me a hug. Having drinks with other editors and getting to know each other. Meeting Bob Reiss, a beloved guest expert. Meeting Tim Berry, sweet columnist extraordinaire.

I must say that attending a conference three time zones away was much more fun than attending and sitting in a room with my leg propped on a chair (stupid bum knee). This year, I was in good health and even better spirits.

It was a rockin’ conference and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Tomorrow, I travel back to SoCal. The hotel bed is unbelievably comfortable, but somehow, I think I’ll be happy to sleep in my own bed.

Tags: Growth Conference, Miami Beach, Travel, Work/Life Balance

Today was a good day

Up early for yoga. I even let the boy try the class. I think 30 minutes is good for a 7-year-old. Even the instructor had to admit it had been a tough class. But we all left feeling stronger and energized.

I invited a friend over for breakfast and went home to whip it up. Potatoes, bacon, sausage and eggs. It was goooooood. After my friend left I settled in to watch “Lost” but it ended up watching me. A few hours later, my friend hit me up again, inviting me over for a swim (I love how just last week it was pouring and we were actually having weather in California. But today it was sunny, blue skies and warm enough for a night swim). So I went over. And swam a 500.

It’s nice to have a friend close to work out with and just swim in her pool. Afterward, we sat and talked in the jacuzzi.

Here’s the thing. I went from nothing to three or four-times a week exercising. And I love it! I know once my two months are up, I’ll probably work out fewer days a week but I’m going to use this time like hell week when I used to swim. We’d work really hard the first couple weeks and then we’d get into our routine.

I also remember feeling like I didn’t have any friends. Now, I’m starting to accept that I enjoy being active and I like being social.

I almost feel guilty saying that. But it’s how I feel and I want to own it.

Oh. Next week I’ll be blogging from Miami Beach for Entrepreneur’s Growth 2.0 conference. Last year’s conference went down as one of the hardest days of my life this year there is the promise of fun, adventure and mischief.

I’m excited.

Life is good.

Tags: Exercise, Health/Fitness, Life is Good, Work/Life Balance

Like James Brown Said: I Feel Good!

I’m just realizing that sitting down to write this post is the first time I’ve sat down since getting home. That’s right, got home and went straight to work flat ironing my hair that had gotten all sweaty during pilates, and prepping tomorrows dinner in the slow cooker, making my lunch for tomorrow, tucking the boy in the bed and…

Shit. I’m tired again, just thinking about it.

Actually, I’m not all that tired at all. In fact, since I started working out last week, I’ve been feeling stronger and more energized. No afternoon crashes and I’m not exhausted when I get home.

Whoda thunk?

Seriously though, I think this working out thing might be all it’s cracked up to be.

Tags: Energy, Health/Fitness, Work/Life Balance

Today Was a Stressful Day

Today was one of those days. Not the kind you know you’re going to hate. Nor was it the kind of day you hope for at the end of the week.

It started out alright. I had a nice talk with a business consultant and got to the office early. The was a deadline looming and I was hoping I could knock it out and go home early to be with my boys. I was fooling myself. This project was massive and there were lots of tricky things in the preparation.

The project dragged on forever. I worked through lunch, and walked into the house to see my kitchen spilling over with dishes. I needed to get dinner on and help the kid with his science project before sending him home on Sunday.

I may have just left work but I was still working. I just wanted to sit down.

But I couldn’t.

The kid offered to wash the dishes but gave up after only completed half. So set him to work on his science project while I got dinner on. It’s just that he needed help. I didn’t have any notebook paper and he was having trouble organizing his report.

So I had to sit down and walk him through it, while he complained about being hungry. We did however work through his whining to get his assignment done, I got dinner on, cleaned the kitchen and by the end of it I was in a crappy mood.

And I forgot to do my baby step for the day. *sigh*

Oh well. Tomorrow’s another day.

Tags: Stress, Work/Life Balance