Lucky Number 2013

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do that by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

In twenty years I will be 43 and I do not plan to be disappointed by any of the things I didn’t do. When I was 18 years old I made a new year’s resolution to “never turn down an opportunity for fun, ever.” Myself and my friends have kept me fairly true to course since I uttered those words, and I could not be more satisfied.

Taking Twain's words to heart I literally sailed away for the new year of 2013. A group of my favorite people and I headed to the British Virgin Islands to bring in the New Year with new friends, lots of champagne,  confetti, island drinks, sand, viking hats, etc. I met so many amazing people who have and will continue to pop up in my life over time.

The week looked something like the following pictures and a link to one of the videos put together by one of my friends here.

 

I returned to my house the first Saturday of the year at midnight and left the next day at 5pm to continue working in Philadelphia. Philly is a really cool city with tons of great restaurants. I enjoyed my time there but I really enjoyed the fact that I could travel to places other than home on the weekend. I did not have a lease at the time and decided to make the best of it. The following months were a blur of airports, new places, friends, and fun.  

The first "trip" was actually a weekend when the Field sisters came to visit Philadelphia. Caroline, Kathleen and I were at the height of Yacht Week withdrawals and decided that a weekend up north may cure our ailments. Physically it probably made us worse as we were out and about in the city in freezing temperatures, but it was a great weekend. Katie took the train from DC and Carol flew from Dallas and we headed straight to check out the nightlife of PHL Old city. The next morning we brunched at what may be my favorite brunch spot in America, White Dog Cafe. They have a bangin' omelette and bottomless mimosas. We took full advantage and then made our way to the art museum. Post art museum we decided to dye Caroline's hair before we went out that night. It looked good but it stated a long train of questionable post brunch decisions. One decision that we all fully supported was Kitty booking a trip to Austin 3 weeks later.

Fast forward and the three of us are back in Texas where we introduce Kathleen to the ways of the South and some of our favorite places to go out. (I think this is when the W became one of our "places"?)  It was an awesome time that resulted in yet another trip a bit down the line.

It was starting to get warmer and spring in Texas means SXSW festival in Austin. This was my first year to do SXSW properly. By properly I mean of age but still sneaking into things. I got to see quite a few really cool bands, most notably St. Lucia, where Caroline and I sneaked into the back gate of a party with some random girl who was pretending we were with one of the bands. I almost got punched by a guy at Faderfort. All in a days work.

The next weekend it was time to head off Los Angeles to stay with my wonderful friend Christina, whom I met the previous summer at training for work. Another coworker/friend Kandice also came that weekend and we were able to see many sides of the city. The first night we stayed with our friend Pete in Santa Barbara. The next day Kandice and I worked from the Capgemini office in Burbank while our friends were working on the client site. The office is next to the Warner Brothers Studio so we got to walk around at lunch and saw none other than the Michael Kelso. Well actually it was Ashton Kutcher standing outside the set of the 2.5 Men studios but I heard his voice and though "Kelso!"

That night we stayed with Christina at her place in Beverley Hills and it was awesome! We went out that night to meet a group of her good LA friends. The next day we took a bike ride along the beach and hung out on the pier. It was a beautiful day and a really fun time. That night we went out for one of her friend's birthday for bottle service at Hollywood's Premiere Supper Club. Swanky.

I was supposed to stay for two weekends in Philadelphia before our system go-live but our project manager allowed us to leave for the first so I booked a ticket to see Zach while he was working for a few weeks in Tampa. The first night while he was with work friends I got a FB message from Tedz, my yacht week skipper. He was in Germany and I told him I was in Tampa. It turns out one of his best Irish mates lives in Tampa as well so I met up with two Irish guys for a few drinks. Small world.

The weekend that Kathleen came to Austin she met one of  my friend's name Britton. I don't know how it happened exactly but in early A we all ended up doing a Philly/NYC weekend, where we are also able to meet up with our friend Greg from Yacht Week. The first night I went out in Bowery with my friend Nicco and had a nice dinner and drinks. Kathleen and Britton arrived the next day. We did a few touristy things and went out that night. Britton ate LOTS of hot dogs and Kathleen post brunch purchased a Swatch. It was all very fun and then we took the bus back to Philly.

I have never been one to be super excited about my birthday or want a huge celebration, but this year was different. I invited a pretty large group of my girl friends out to Vegas to celebrate and ended up with a group of 8 of us coming for the weekend. Girls flew in from Texas, PA, California, and two sweet Russian friends came in from Canada. It was BEYOND AMAZING. At the check in desk I ran into a coworker and went to dinner with him and his friend. Caroline and Kathleen, Dasha and Anna came in that Thursday night as well and we made it a point to visit all of the bars at the Cosmopolitan where we were staying.

The next morning we went to brunch at The Wicked Spoon- the only true competition for the White Dog Cafe in PHL. Huge buffet with really ornate food and bottomless mimosas. You may be seeing a trend. I like champagne. The other girls began to trickle in as we waiting with bottles and OJ on the table. My birthday was off to a good start. Later that day we hit up Encore Day Club with our new found Greek Speedo wearing older friend Dimitri- he was in cabana 16. That night we went for sushi and a Calvin Harris show where we got to enjoy bottle service before watching Calvin.

The next say we went to Encore Day Club to see Avicii play a set. They had frozen mojitos and they were revolutionary. We spent the majority of the day there and Caroline and I ended up getting a ride home in a limo because the taxi line was too long....

The following few months were weird for a two reasons: 1. I was now working in Houston and was not happy about that at first and 2. I lived in Travis' living room

Summer was broiling but a blast. A few highlights include "Pizza Weekend" where Caroline came to stay with Travis and I. We went out on Friday night and then Travis almost burned the complex down by cooking a pizza on a muffin tin in the middle of the night. By cooking I mean leaving the oven on and the pizza out. The next day we hit up the UT Texas Exes crawfish boil, went to Casey and Jared's engagement party and then drove to Austin for a Green House Boys welcome party.

For Memorial Day, my friend Van invited a group of people to go out on the lake with his family's boat. Huge thanks- it was a great time!

Next came FPSF, or Free Press Summer Fest. It was a cool experience because a lot of my friends were there and I found out that I have a doppleganger, BUT I am not in to festivals at all and will probably never go to one unless it is ULTRA or Tomorrowland or something, but we will see about that.

I think I was more patriotic this 4th of July than all previous 4ths combined. Maybe it was because there was a Swede in town or maybe I was just digging the RW&B but I had a great time. A bunch of friends came down to our beach house for beers and barbeque. How American.

In early August one of my managers told me that I should plan for a vacation in September as it would align with my project schedule. I was contemplating places to go and Whatsapping with my friend Pepa from Chile that I met during Yacht Week. A few days later I booked a plane ticket, Caroline booked one as well and we had a trip to South America on the books.


Before heading South it was time for one more American celebration- Labor Day. Kathleen's roommate from PHL is a Dallas native and invited a HUGE group of people from Texas and the North East to come out to her ranch for the weekend. There were probably 50 people there at one point. We swam, rode horses and shot guns. I needn't say more. Perfect weekend.

These "Don't Mess" Texas shirts have become a travel staple- thanks Haley!

Mid September had arrived and it was time to pack our bags for Chile. We were going to stay with Pepa at his family's house as well as check out some beaches and mountains while we were there. I absolutely fell in love with Chile. The people, the scenery, the food, the drinks, it was all so vibrant. The Villarroel family were amazing hosts and Pepa and his friends showed us a great time. It did not hurt that we were there for their independence day celebrations either. We ate barbeque and drank Piscola for 4 days straight and went to these crazy parties at night called Fondas. Words cannot describe. I cannot wait to get back down there!

beaches at Viña del Mar

Portillo

Chilean Independence Day- Sept 18th, ft. Tx flag tanks

fonda friends!

 

amazing hosts!

Back almost long enough to catch my breath, I was ready to go again. Caroline and I went to visit our friend Casey Ryan who had moved to New Orleans earlier in the year. She lives in the cutest house and is such an amazing host. We had a great time roaming around the streets, into art museums, under trees, into several happy hours.

could not think of two better butterflies to drink wine with on the porch

The weekend before Halloween and the weekend after Halloween I was in Austin. One of the was F1 weekend and the only UT home game I would be able to attend. The next was the Green House Halloween party. Both were crazy, both were fun. I also went back to Austin and ended up at a Danny Avila concert. He is Tiesto's prodigy so, that's cool. 

My mom, Gram, and Keith were going to spend Thanksgiving in Arizona, while my dad and Spencer would be at home. Logical destination? New York City. I spent the week with my friend Zack, who SO GRACIOUSLY let me crash at his place for the week. We had a good time and I met all of his new friends. We had a friendsgiving with all of the traditional foods. I was also able to catch up with and spend some time with my friend Tristan. We went to the MoMA and walked around Manhattan. It was really nice. I unexpectedly saw Van Gogh and Monet.

            

From NYC I took the train through Philly all the way to West Chester to see Kathleen at her parent's house! We went to a light display at the DuPont Manor and I now have high expectation for my own future manor.

Somehow 11 months have passed and December started and it was overwhelming that the year had come and nearly gone. I spent the week of Christmas with my family in the British Virgin Islands. Seriously lucky that I got to start and end my year there- very grateful. We stayed in a house on Virgin Gorda, ran around the island, hung out at yacht clubs, snorkled, and drank.

The year should have been winding down but it was time to head to Austin to celebrate New Years Eve! A group of us were headed to a soiree to celebrate. There isn't a group photo but there were a ton of our friends there. Here is the last photo of the 2013. 

I left Austin at 6:15am on January 2nd for ski trip in Park City, Utah. That is 2014 though and will have to wait for next year. It is January 16th now and this year has yet to disappoint. Big things on the horizon.

xxoo
Julie

New York City

Friday Night I went to New York City and the first night I went out we first went to the bar at the Bowery Hotel. Within the first few minutes Mischa Barton bumped into me on her way to the bathroom, Josh Hutcherson/Peeta Mellark passed me on his way to sit down at his table and I stared at Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell from Game of Thrones) for at least 10 minutes as she chatted with a man a few feet from me. I had been in NYC only for a few hours and thought this was a pretty cool happenstance, because seeing famous people it cool, right? For what it's worth, seeing famous people is cool.

We left the Bowery Hotel and went across the street to a bar called The Wren. It was hard to tell what the establishment looked like because people were lining almost every wall and inch of space and specifically every walk way in the place. We ventured down stairs and got a table. A groups of friend's friend's and Zack invited them to sit down with us, not realizing the one he targeted specifically was actually not in any way associated with any of our extended friend groups. He sat next to me. His name was Chase. He was studying medicine. He was very nice and seemed sort of shy, but he was talking to me, so he couldn't have been that shy.


The conversation began with the obligatory name, origin, school, job ritual.

----- At the airport the day before I had made what I deemed a mature purchase.

+ a copy of Inc.
+ a copy of Entrepreneur
+ a copy of Fast Company

I was excited to read the articles within and have a better idea of what is going on in the business and tech world, and I was even more excited to get to engage in conversation about of of the articles I had read.-----

Chase pursuing an advanced degree in some sort of medicine, I don't remember which exactly. I asked him if he wanted to practice medicine and he said that he wanted to improve the medical field. I told him that earlier that day I had read an article about HealthTap, an application that links doctors and patients together online as a triage system before the patient ever reaches the hospital. This gives many people access to doctors that may not be able to afford an in office visit and allows doctors to build their reputation in the online community.

It was 1:30 in the morning and I was downstairs in a bar in Manhattan talking to a guy about the future of medicine in the US, including the influence of technology and the outcome of Obamacare. He was extremely smart and very nice and could potentially make big things happen in the future.

Monday I met with my friend Tristan who I know from The University of Texas. We had a long, adventurous, very fun day. We started near Penn Station, went to the MoMA, had lunch at Delicatessen, walked through the financial district to Brooklyn and back, grabbed a coffee and then wrapped up the day.

I enjoy spending time with Tristan for many reasons, one is so that I can pick his brain about business and about the world. Another reasons is that he obliges me in these inquiries. I learn a lot from Tristan and he also likes art, so that is fun! He makes big things happen in the present.

All week I spent with my dear old friend Zackary. It was incredible to see him in the place that he belongs- in a huge thriving city that is a mecca for entertainment. For the many years that I have known him he has always been extremely witty, artistic, and entertaining. It is inspiring to see that he has been able to make huge strides toward his dreams in the past months as well as establish himself in the entertainment industry, find a group friends, and most impressively effectively navigate his way on the subways (minus the time we accidentally went to Harlem at night)!

I enjoy New York as a destination but I do not think it is a place that I could ever live. I would not mind maybe having a a condo or something there to stay at when I feel like shopping at Bergdorf, but I'll come back down to earth now and say, it's a great place to spend a week!

xoxo

Luck Always Comes in Threes

People say that bad luck comes in threes. The past few weeks have been ultimately strange and I found myself at times thinking, "OK, two bad things have happened, so once the third one occurs, I am safe for awhile." I am not superstitious, so I don't know why I was having these thoughts.

About two weeks ago someone backed into my Mercedes. (B)
Last week I found out that the motor mount in my Civic was broken. (B)
Last Friday I failed a $500 certification exam required for promotion. (B)
Last Saturday morning I PASSED MY CERTIFICATION EXAM. (G)
An hour after I passed this test I lost my iPhone. (B)
On Monday morning I chipped my tooth.(B)
Yesterday a button popped off of my favorite Banana Republic sweater. (B)
I just changed a flight out of NYC>OKC to PHL>OKC and it only cost $6.50 (G)

My life in the past week or so reads like a weird, sad poem. Even though I labeled some things as bad (B) at the time of occurrence, I have found most of the silver linings. All in all it was a lesson to enjoy life as it comes. Don't dwell on the bad, and certainly don't wait for (B) #3 as it will certainly come and does not need your anticipation waiting at the door step. Take joy in your successes, the minimal flight change fees, and don't set your phone down in a public restroom!

Silver Linings:
About two weeks ago someone backed into my Mercedes. (B)
      still working on this one....
Last week I found out that the motor mount in my Civic was broken. (B)
      there used to be a weird rattling noise out of the right back panel of my car that has stopped now that the motor mount is repaired
Last Friday I failed a $500 certification exam required for promotion. (B)
     I failed by one point and passed by 13 the next day
Last Saturday morning I PASSED MY CERTIFICATION EXAM. (G)
     maybe I will get promoted now
An hour after I passed this test I lost my iPhone. (B)
     there is nothing good about losing your phone, BUT I was overdue for an upgrade, and despite the fact that my phone has said that nothing was backing up to the cloud for the past 8 weeks I still had the recently added contacts. Also the 5c is much faster than the 4 and has panoramic camera.
On Monday morning I chipped my tooth.(B)
     my Dad can fix that and I guess it is a lesson in humility
Yesterday a button popped off of my favorite Banana Republic sweater. (B)
     .... it was on sale when I bought it?
I just changed a flight out of NYC>OKC to PHL>OKC and it only cost $6.50 (G)
     how does that even happen? awesome

White Bread and Mondays

 

There are two things that I think are gross and those are white bread and Mondays. The truth is I don't mind most Mondays, but today is depicted above.

I recently made a significant (in my world) purchase. I bought a 1982 black Mercedes Benz 300D. I have fawned over this car since I was nearly 14. My parent's would not let me such a make and model at the ripe age of 16 as it would likely no be reliable. 

At the slightly riper age of 23 I found this car for sale and I bought it. It runs and the A/C works and I blast classical music very loudly in it as I drive around. It is my car to take to the park and to Sunday brunches. 

I have recently done some self analysis and come to the same conclusion that my parents came to when I first showed them the car on Craigslist. I do not need a second car. I need to sell my car. I don't know how to do this really. This irresponsibility that I have exhibited does not worry me in the slightest as I did it as a sort of test on myself. I knew that I should not buy the car. I knew that I would not be able to maintain two cars or really afford them fully. I knew that I had not made any real mistakes up to this point and if buying a Benz was my first real mistake, then it would never even really be a mistake. 

Upon this conclusion I started to think further about what I do and do not need at this point in my life.With this experience and introspection I was able to better assess my current state in life. This whole situation really will have no effect on others, but I urge you all, if you are thinking of making any sort of big change in your life, start with the small steps. 

Get a fish before you get a dog and certainly train the dog before you have kids, because if you can't teach a dog how to sit, how are you going to teach a child about the world?

When September Ends

The passing of time is a really peculiar thing. An event can feel both very recent and very distant all at once. Sometimes a song or a place or even a breeze at a certain temperature will throw me right back to a previous point in my life. It is usually a happy time but sometimes it's sad or just weird. The past is constructed though our own perspective on the current and the way we piece together what we think is the past.

I remember this girl in high school was grounded for a month or so because she got in trouble with the cops. The text of her aim buddy profile read "wake me up when September ends". These are Greenday lyrics. She simply meant that she was grounded through September and basically to contact her to hang out after that. Whenever I hear that song, which isn't often, it sends me back to the fall of 2005. Weird vulnerabilities, listening to things like Greenday, and a plethora of other activities associated with one's 15th year.

September has always been for some reason a strangely nostalgic month for me. It probably started in that 15th year with this hard reference point of that Greenday song. It may be that is when I started high school and that is when things started to seem like they mattered more. Maybe I can reference back to middle school September for the football games, but before that seasons just feel like "youth" nothing definitive apart from summer vacation.

Reflecting on Septembers past I wondered, what will forever mark September 2013 for me?

September kicked off in Dallas with a huge Labor Day party in Dallas at our friend Haley's ranch house.

My best friend turned 24, which means that very soon I will also turn 24. The idea of 24 almost feels old but it even more so seems incredibly young and that is beautiful. It is still the youngest of times. These years are mine.

I think I blinked twice and Caroline and I were already in Chile. I am still reminiscing on the whole experience  and will dedicate an entire post as soon as I am able to collect my thoughts and pictures and throw them down here.

Drake's new album NWTS dropped on September 24. The news of this album is by no means supposed to compete with the trips I have taken or the times I have spent with friends this month. It does though, serve to remind me how quickly time passes. I remember waiting in anticipation in October of 2011 for Take Care to drop. The weather was cool and I remember walking back from the business school to my apartment. I remember so clearly the anticipation for the album, the the holidays, for the nearing end of my senior year, etc.

I downloaded  ios7. A new iPhone operating system also seems highly inconsequential. My phone feels new now, so that makes me happy.

The Breaking Bad finale was last night. I haven't listened to much discussion on the episode, but I liked it. My questions were answered. Walt died like I knew he had to and he did it in the most caring way possible. He told Jesse to end it all but really gave Jesse the opportunity to walk away. I now think that the songs "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and "Baby Blue" will always sound a little different to me.

September 11, 2013

Yesterday I was thinking how much things change from year to year.

Today at work someone asked if we all remembered where we were that September morning when the plane hit the first tower. I was young, but of course I remember. I was at my breakfast table eating cereal preparing for another day of 6th grade. I was mostly unaffected by the event due to spatial separation from New York, a lack of understanding of what terrorism truly was, and the fact that I had no friends or family for whom I feared their death.

Twelve years later much has changed. I have seen a lot more of the world and have many more people in many more places who I would worry about if disaster were to strike in any country or city. I have walked the streets of New York. I have seen Ground Zero and the partial construction of the new memorial tower. I have worked on the 62nd floor of a building and felt and unnerving pinch in my stomach at the thought of a plane crashing into a lower floor and knowing that there would be absolutely no escape route.

I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly close last year, which I highly recommend. No other book has ever extracted so many tears from my eyes. Months later I watched the film on an airplane with the same reaction. Not only is is a story about the attacks on 9/11 but it is a story about family, about childhood, about coping with loss, about getting through things, and eventually about moving on.

Today I think of those who lost their lives. In honor and respect, I weep for the individuals and what they went through those minutes or hours that the towers were hit, filled with smoke and flames and fell. I pray for their families who searched for their loved ones, for those who found them and especially for those who were never able to speak to their friends and family one last time.

I almost think that it is human nature to take life for granted, but when I rethink this statement, maybe it is just that way for the privileged. There has never been a day that I have opened my eyes and for any specific reason thought that I shall not make it through the day. September 11, 2011 goes to show that events occur out of the norm that can bring your life to unexpected end. This seems unfair and unfortunate, but at least every other day you wake up essentially without worries.

It is important to keep others in mind. There are millions of people who wake up with the goal of surviving the day. Whether this is due to war in their country, an unstable and corrupt government, a lack of clean water, a lack of shelter, anything, there is the fear that they may not live to see another sunrise.

You are blessed to have access to power, a computer and the ability to read this blog.  You are blessed to have learned to read and write. You are blessed to not only be able to eat lunch, but to have a selection of 45 different sandwich toppings, and to not have to think about throwing away the half that you don't want. You are blessed to be alive. Never take that for granted.