Living Intentionally – 14

  • Weekly Intention:  Without officially deciding it, I somehow decided to take March off. Days passed and I didn’t feel like writing so I just gave myself permission to feel that way. But now it’s April and I’d like to try to get back into setting intentions and trying to be a bit more aware. So this week I am in Zurich. I plan to work a lot as I often do while I am here. The intention I’d like to set this week is to be present, to be patient, and to be effective. I’d like to be able to be very organized and effective but not aggressive in the usual sense. I am normally very rushed and busy when I am here, which is fine, but I’d like to also make sure to be as calm as possible and to listen more than I talk. Let’s see if I can pull it off.
  • Choices I want to make:
    • One: I will choose to listen.
    • Two:  I will choose to take some time to rest and recover each day so I can last the week.
    • Three: I will choose to be really present and organized and effective so it feels like a very productive week.
  • I am looking forward to: some face to face time with all the people I work with, I love how much work I usually get done when I am here.
  • This week’s challenges:  I have to straddle four different agendas this week: two summits and two teams’ worth of meetings and I want to make sure I get through my whole list. I want to do all of it and I want to sit on the plane on the way back with a strong feeling of accomplishment. It will be hard. This is also the longest I’ve been away so I want to also make sure to talk to my kids each day.
  • Top Goals:
    • Work: I want to meet with each engineer, make sure the projects are in good shape, feel like it was super productive to come.
    • Personal: I want to listen more. Be kind to myself. Forgive myself.
    • Family: I want to talk to my family as much as possible.
  • I will focus on my core desires (kind, strong, true, generous, brave) by: 
    • I will be kind to myself. I will forgive myself.
    • I will be strong by working hard and long days.
    • I will be generous with my time and do all the work I can.
    • I will be true to my heart and my gut. I will listen to my soul even when it’s hard.
    • I will be brave by letting go and by forgiving myself.
  • This week, I want to remember: that I will get work done. I always do when I am here. It’s always a tough, long week. I had an emotional weekend but now I need to take the time to buckle down and work. Before I know it, the week will be over and I will be on my way back. And it will all have been worthwhile.

Here’s to a wonderful week!

April 4, 2016 | Living Intentionally | One comment

April 2016 – Lettering Wisdom – 02

All of these cards are drawn with the Micron pens and then I used watercolor pencils for the borders.

Card two says: Honor the space between no longer and not yet.

Lettering Wisdom is a Monthly Project for April 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

April 4, 2016 | Lettering Wisdom | Leave a comment

April 2016 – Lettering Wisdom – 01

As I finished my March project, I knew I wanted my next one to be about lettering. I couldn’t stop thinking about it but I was also scared of trying. My lettering isn’t so great. I wasn’t sure I could do it. But then I remembered that this was supposed to be both fun and practice. The goal was to just try. And if it’s not perfect, well so be it. Nothing I do is perfect. It’s just fun and as long as it continues to be so, it’s worth it! So it was decided. I picked some wise quotes I love and decided to letter one a day.

All of these cards are drawn with the Micron pens and then I used watercolor pencils for the borders.

Card one says: You only fail when you stop trying.

Lettering Wisdom is a Monthly Project for April 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

April 1, 2016 | Lettering Wisdom | One comment

A Book a Week – A Separate Peace

I read A Separate Peace because most people read it in high school but I never had and I decided it was time that I fill up this whole in my education. I read this little book in a few sittings. I enjoyed reading it so much that I often found myself wanting to put it down and think about it. I found myself wanting to slow down to enjoy the writing.

I found the story interesting, sad, poignant and I am glad that I read it after having been here this many years because there is a lot about being at an all-boys prep school that I would not have understood when I was in high school in Turkey. I kept wanting to ask Jake questions as I was reading it. Even though he didn’t go to an all boys school, he did have a somewhat relatable experience so I was curious how on point it was. But Jake didn’t really remember much of the book from his high school years.

I was very happy to read this one.

March 30, 2016 | Books Read in 2015 | Leave a comment

March 2016 – From the Back – All

And here we are. All the from-the-back drawings I made. Here’s another quick look at them all:

and set two:

and finally:

Another fun project. Looking forward to April to see what that one brings. Back with more daily art in a few days.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 30, 2016 | From the Back | Leave a comment

2016 Stories – 13 – CNN

When I was a teenager, my mom watched CNN constantly. At least it felt that way to me. I couldn’t understand why she kept listening to the news. What her fascination was with the terrible events everywhere. All throughout college, she would call me each time something major happened in the United States and I was often clueless since I never ever watched the news.

In my twenties and thirties, I continued not to watch the news. I would spend Sundays reading the New York Times and I would spend my nights watching the Daily Show. Those two were my source of news in the world.

Until this year.

Early in the election cycle, I became obsessed with the election news. Watching the debates turned into watching CNN for the latest news about the election and next thing I know, I can’t stop watching CNN. So much so that when I was traveling all summer, I made sure both my phone and my tablet can play CNN on wifi using my cable account from home. So much so that Nathaniel asked me if I still watched CNN when I was in Zurich, Seattle, and Sydney for work. And yes, of course I did.

Yes, it’s sad.

If you’ve spent any time watching CNN, you’ll know that they repeat the same information every hour. This means if you’re watching it for 3-5 hours, you’re listening to a lot of repeats. It also means I’m hearing a lot of non-election related news. Most of which is depressing and sad.

It got to a point where I’d wake up in the morning and be scared to walk down the stairs and turn on the TV to find out yet another terrorist attack or terrible news about Turkey. It has definitely affected my peace.

And yet I can’t stop. This election has me reeling. I am not one of those people who slows down when there’s a traffic accident in the lane going the other way. I don’t like to watch it. I drive carefully but pay attention to my own road. And yet, I can’t seem to ignore this one. I keep coming back for more and more.

Stories from 2016 is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 29, 2016 | Stories of Twenty Sixteen | Leave a comment

March 2016 – From the Back – 20

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card twenty says: Only from the heart can you touch the sky.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 28, 2016 | From the Back | Leave a comment

March 2016 – From the Back – 19

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card nineteen says: Never suppress a generous thought.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 25, 2016 | From the Back | Leave a comment

March 2016 – From the Back – 18

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card eighteen says: Be your own biggest fan.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 24, 2016 | From the Back | Leave a comment

A Book a Week – A Reunion of Ghosts

I read A Reunion of Ghosts because amazon said it was the best book of the month. I liked the premise of the three sisters in Manhattan. I thought it would be good story. Even though I didn’t like the book, I kept reading it. (Actually, I listened to it on audible.) I kept going and going even though I can’t remember a moment when I actually enjoyed it.

Not even in the end.

Even though I wanted to like this one, I just did not.

March 23, 2016 | Books Read in 2015 | Leave a comment

March 2016 – From the Back – 17

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card seventeen says:  Eventually Everything Connects.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 23, 2016 | From the Back | Leave a comment

March 2016 – From the Back – 16

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card sixteen says: Everything is temporary.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 22, 2016 | From the Back | Leave a comment

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