Last week I received an email that made me smile.
Hi, Katie. I just wanted to tell you that your blog is awesome, and
because of that, when I was given a blog “award” today and asked to
pass it on, you were one of the first people I thought of.
I hope you don’t mind the shout out to your blog here:
http://mylifeslist.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/blog-award/
Feel free to pass it on, or not. I just wanted you to know you’re one
of my favorite travel bloggers. 🙂
When I started this blog, I really didn’t know what to expect. I wanted a way to share my travel experiences with others, not just my friends and family. I also saw it as an outlet for my creative side that had been a bit repressed for the last 20+ years. And I hoped that maybe someone out there would find it inspiring or encouraging or helpful in some way.
So while it has been fun to see my traffic grow over the months and know that more people are stumbling across this site, what really means the most is feedback like the email above. It makes it all worth it.
The “award” that was passed on to me has two terms – that I share 7 things about myself with my readers and that I pass the award on to other bloggers. So here goes:
7 Things About Me (that you may not already know)
1. I hate parallel parking. I failed my driver’s test on the first try because I couldn’t parallel park.
2. I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. At various points in my life, I have wanted to be an interior decorator, an architect, a fashion designer, a journalist, an international corporate attorney, an immigration attorney, a legal recruiter, a career counselor, and a travel agent. (note that these do not include the two careers I actually have pursued…)
3. I am intellectually lazy. Really, I am. A partner I once worked for when I was a lawyer even told me this in my annual review and I couldn’t disagree. I love to explore, I love to learn, I can overanalyze some things to death (like why didn’t that guy from the bar ever call?), and I can have strong opinions about certain topics. But sometimes, I just really don’t like to think. That probably has a lot to do with why I’m not a lawyer anymore.
4. I am a reality TV show junkie. It started with MTV’s The Real World (yes, my friends and I tried to find the cast when they filmed in Chicago). And of course Road Rules and The Real World/Road Rules Challenges. Then came the Amazing Race, America’s Next Top Model, Biggest Loser, Big Brother…the list goes on. My latest guilty pleasure? My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding on TLC. Please don’t hold this against me.
5. I am a romantic at heart and I can’t help but believe that everything happens for a reason. To that end, I love the lyrics to Haven’t Met You Yet by Michael Buble:
“I guess it’s half timing and the other half’s luck.
Wherever you are, whenever it’s right, you’ll come out of nowhere and into my life.”
6. I love to read. When I was a kid, I would check out the maximum number of books allowed from the library and finish them all in a couple days. I stopped reading for pleasure while I was in college and law school (likely because I had so much other reading to do!), but as soon as I had taken the bar exam, I started reading again and now I rarely leave home without a book tucked into my purse.
7. The only thing I love more than travel may be sports. I spend most fall Saturdays watching college football and most Sundays with the NFL. My favorite time of year is March Madness, when I run a survivor pool and take off work for the first two days of the tournament to watch all the first-round games. I’ve been to all four Grand Slam tennis tournaments and have been known to wake up at 2:00 a.m. to watch a big match at the Australian Open. I watch the Olympics in real time online instead of waiting for the tape delayed replay.
- At the US Open in 2008
Blogs That I Am Loving Right Now
In addition to those listed under What I’m Reading, I’ve recently discovered the following blogs that really inspire me:
Paige Worthy – Paige writes with great insight about love, relationships and life.
The Fearful Adventurer – Torre writes about facing fears and following dreams. I just found her blog through Twitter, but I am totally hooked.
Uncornered Market – Daniel and Audrey have been traveling around the world for over 4 years and have been to a lot of places that are on my must-see list, including the ‘Stans in Central Asia and Mt. Kiliminjaro (which they recently climbed and wrote a super-inspirational post about the experience and lessons learned)
The last two years, I have stayed up until the wee hours of the morning watching the Australian Open. I love sports like you but my favorites are college football, soccer, and baseball.
I’ve never gotten too into soccer, don’t know why. I went to college at Iowa, so I’m a big college football fan too. And I grew up going to Minnesota Twins games (and got to experience 2 World Series wins!) so I still follow baseball pretty closely too.
I am still upset about that 91 World Series. Stupid Lonnie Smith for sliding into 2nd base!!
As for soccer, I am huge fan of European soccer – but not here in the US (except for the US national teams). The women’s World Cup was pretty awesome to watch.
As for college football, by far my fave! As a South Carolina Gamecock, I could talk college football all day! 🙂
I’m so stoked to be on your list. Thank you! I’m a reality TV junkie too. Nothing better than crawling into bed with an episode of America’s Next Top Model. It’s my secret shame.
Fun award! I’m with with your #6, #2… I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I at least know what I don’t want to do (my previous 2 ‘careers’), but that still leaves plenty of options.
Thanks for the shout out on the Kili piece. Glad it inspired you.
By the way, knowing what you want to be when you grow up must be overrated considering how popular career-hopping is.
You’re welcome! Kiliminjaro is on my to-do list, it was great to read about your experience and what you learned.
And yes, knowing what you want to be when you grow up is totally overrated 🙂
#2 is me – to a T! Love your post and your great sense of humor.
Write on.
Thanks Amber! Glad you enjoyed it.
I totally loved that season of the Real World! That was an amazing stretch there with Chicago, New Orleans, and then it all came crashing down in Vegas when the show changed forever in my opinion. I also used to take the first two days off of the NCAA tournament, lol!
Yeah, after Vegas it really went downhill. I caught a few episodes of a season last year and it was just horrible! But RW still set the stage for all the reality shows that followed…
What a lovely email! I have had some nice ones too and don’t they just brighten up your day?
There’s not many better feelings than a variant of “I like what you’re about and thank you for sharing it with me.”
I’m ALL over 1 (a little bit of 5 without the Buble)and 7 in your list!
Yep, always nice to know someone is reading and appreciating what you’re doing 🙂
What a fun award 🙂 I hear you on the job dreams aspect. There are many things that I think could be fun. Yet, I am doing a job just because I am fairly good at it – well, and the fact that it comes with a US visa isn’t that bad either since I for sure want to be here until my boyfriend graduates 😉
Thanks for sharing! Definitely relate to this! #2 & #6 especially. Glad to see I’m not the only one who has wanted to be just about everything when I grow up! Still trying to figure that one out…so what job do you find yourself in now?
Hi Hayley and thanks for reading. I went from being a tax attorney for 6 years to working in alumni relations for a university for 3 years and development (i.e., major gift fundraising)for the same school for the last year.