The Long Goodbye

So, officially, I'm quitting the New Things blog early. I know some of your will be disappointed, while others will relish that this doesn't show up in their Facebook news feed every day. This is a difficult decision, but I made it for a couple of reasons.

First and foremost, if it hasn't been pretty obvious, I haven't necessarily been trying to do New Things so much as I have been letting them happen to me and writing about them. That's not the intention I set out with, and not something I feel passionately about continuing for the next 100 some days.

Second is that I'm just swamped with projects right now, and something has to give. When I have the options of working my day job, planning a New Thing, doing a New Thing, blogging about New Things I'm behind on, blogging for Atlanta Yoga Scene, updating my events and schedules pages on AYS, getting affiliates and advertisers so that I can make money off of AYS, pitching my new business idea, working on the website for said project, actually executing anything, hanging out with friends and family, keeping up with my yoga practice---I'm just paralyzed.

I have gotten myself into TOO MUCH STUFF, and something has to give. This isn't the first of those cuts, and certainly not the last either.

But trust me when I say that this blog didn't go down without a fight. In the period since I stopped blogging, I

• Ran the Warrior Dash
• Listened to a radio preacher
• Did a forearm balance in yoga
• Held the littlest baby I've ever held (Mark's sister just delivered!)
• Met a documentary filmmaker (film: Marwencol--a MUST SEE!)
• Held a seance with my puppy when the power went out
• Ate the best pho in Atlanta (as judged by an outside party, not me!)
• Visited my apartment complex's swimming pool (we've lived here a year and hadn't been!)
• Watched the Casey Anthony trial
• Attended and had my name mentioned at Wanderlust
• and lots lots more

And, truthfully, this blog has been the catalyst for so much positive, life-altering change that I don't want to downplay it's significance. Learning about web presence, blogging, websites, building an audience, and offering unique content has been the driving force behind me starting both Atlanta Yoga Scene and a side business that might get me out of the 9-5 workforce altogether. My dream! My heart!

I would love to document this journey for you, because in many ways, this is where it gets interesting, but I need the time and space to explore this fully and without the pressure of reporting my daily dramas.

Many thanks to all of you who love and support the blog, and always know that now and forever, I'll be doing New Things.

And one day, sometime in the next few years, when I set my own schedule or I resign myself to one "real" job and one project, I'll start this up again. I can guarantee you that.

Day 240: Making it Rain

Doo do doo...how to approach this post.

To the uninitiated, there's a pop culture tradition(?)/action/demonstration of wealth/*thing* where young rich celebrity men throw money in the air in the VIP at clubs. It's called, "making it rain." They can either hold a stack of money and brush one off the top until a stack is gone, or they can just throw the whole stack in the air all at once.

Why? Who knows. When you're wealthy, be crazy, right? [FACETIOUS]

On Day 240, I made it rain. Now, I did this at 7:30 in the morning after waking up in the farthest thing from a club (my bedroom) after noticing that Mark had a whole bunch of singles hanging around. I would have been a much cooler person had I done this in a club with Benjamins, but let's be honest--that's not my scene and I'm not willing to pay the $20 cover for the privilege of throwing away my cash.

But my version was plenty fun anyway :)

Day 239: Hawking

On Day 239, I went to my very first Hawks game, which just so happened to be the most important game in recent Hawks-hood. They hadn't been to the Eastern finals in 30 years, and if they had beat the Bulls in this game, they would have gone to game 7.

And, if it wasn't painfully obvious, I don't know exactly what all this means, but Mark was super stoked about the game, and I was stoked to do New Things.

Win-win.

Which is ironic since the Hawks lost. Bad. They started out bad and ended bad.

I did, however, get an awesome t-shirt.

As for the experience, it was pretty good! I mean, I like basketball. They score a lot and fouls are pretty obvious. There's a lot to be excited about. Other sports like hockey and soccer and even football can be hard for me to follow because scoring and fouling aren't always obvious. I'm a girl. Cut me some slack.

I guess the best parts of the game were the more tangible things. Mark and I had good seats. I was on the jumbo-tron within the first 15 minutes of the game. I had delicious cold Sweetwater beer and a hot date. I also got those cool wavy white balloons with which to distract free-throwers. All of that made the game awesome. Even if the Hawks lost.

Day 238: The iPhone Strikes Back

You're going to think I'm the most spoiled person ever. I'm prepared. *deep breath*

On Day 238, I got my first cell phone bill.

Thanks to my 2-year anniversary iPhone gift, I am now the proud owner of a cell phone bill as well.

This is officially the last thing my parents were paying for on my behalf (look, I'm not proud of it, but I certainly wasn't stopping it either), and definitely another baptism into the real world, complete with a data package that keeps me connected and entertained 24/7. Worth it? I'm not sure yet. I'm certainly resistant, but also acknowledging that it's AWESOME.

Day 237: Environmentally Friendly

I've been trying really hard to commit to re-usable grocery bags for a long time. I've had them in my apartment and my car, but I've often forgotten to get them out and use them up until I walk up to the check-out counter. Sporadically, I'd pull them out, but I was never super consistent with it.

Now, I try to use these things because I notice how unbelievably wasteful plastic bags are. You use them once, crumple them up and throw them out. OR, you use them and then fill up some lower cabinet in your kitchen waiting to find a reason to use 3,000 bags again. It kind of bothers me.

My family has always had this motto of "waste not, want not" and I take it to heart for a lot of things in my life; food, material things, time, etc. It only seems natural not to waste waste too.

Plus, it's plastic. And knowing that plastic will never degrade in my lifetime also makes me feel bad about the plastic waste I produce...that my children and grandchildren will have to live with for their lifetimes too. Sure, most plastic waste is unavoidable (every freaking car on the planet is plastic), but grocery bags are a plastic that I don't have to waste.

So I'm committed (read: enslaved) to reusable grocery bags. And they hold so much stuff!!

*Steps down from soapbox*