Am I Living it Right?
On his infamous album, Room For Squares, aka: the soundtrack to my freshmen year of college, John Mayer posed the question, "Am I living it right?" He also asked, "Why Georgia, why?", but that is much less pertinent. The beginning of January is a natural time to evaluate how the previous year has gone and identify elements for positive change for the present/coming year. I am no stranger to this January reflection and resolution-making, and I thought I would give you an account for how I have spent the first 6 days of January and let you decide, "Am I living it right?"
My 33rd birthday was Dec. 29, and you better believe I am signed up for every freebie I could find on the internet. So when I made a to-do list for January, and it was really just a list of restaurants where I got free items.
For the sake of sharing, here's a sample of the freebies, so you, too, can enjoy them:
-$10 from Scotty's Brewhouse (this smokehouse bbq burger and fries was, indeed, ordered while walking around the track at the gym with my friend Sarah. Am I living it right? Yes, yes I am.)
-Free Medium Drink from Dunkin' Donuts (I went with the snickerdoodle latte, which oddly enough, tasted like Chinese hot pot...I still can't explain that one.)
-Welcome to Moes! Free burrito w/purchase of drink. Did I just mainly eat their free chips and salsa, take home the burrito bowl, and eat it over the course of 3 meals? Did I also get a bag of chips and salsa to-go and eat them for 3 days? Yes, yes I did. Am I living it right? Absolutely!
-Qdoba-buy one get one free entree. So I coerced my roommate, Casie, to join me and split the cost. Also, it was Jan. 1 and they were giving out free tacos, so we also had those. That made for 2 meals, my friends.
-Free pastry from Panera. Oh Panera, you have treated me so nicely this year. I do, indeed, have free coffee for a year. How, you might ask? I have no idea! It was just a random reward on my card, so we'll chalk that up to the grace of God. Because I go so often and use my free coffee, I inadvertently earn more rewards, so I also had an additional free drink. So I treated my friend Becky to coffee. I also had a free pastry for my birthday, so I'm basically residing in the lap of luxury at this point. I can't give enough thanks to Panera for making this a truly wonderful year.
-Chick-Fil-A: This is not birthday-related, but I wouldn't be a good Christian if I didn't mention them. Our Muncie store is giving out free chicken biscuit sandwiches every Monday during January, so you best believe I gathered 12 of my closest friends and had breakfast there. I bought a coffee (which was essential my tithe) and had a wonderful time. I'll see you again next Monday, Chicky! (I should also mention that lunch that day was my free panera coffee and pastry that day, so, yeah---living it right!)
-Ulta--you're my girl. Like, for real. You help me pick out make-up that works for my face (might I recommend the self-sharpening Smashbox eyeliner and Urban Decay Naked foundation?) AND you give me free Bare Minerals free lip gloss for my birthday. Inner circle, Ulta. Inner circle.
-Ruby Tuesday: Free burger up to $9. Did I once again order my burger at the gym? Yes. From a bicycle situated between an older gentleman and my enabler, Sarah, who never judges me for my post-gym burger. Also, the girl taking my order could have not asked more questions, requiring me to describe, in great detail, what Fatty McFatterson burger I wanted. Yes I do want the crispy onion straws on top, thank you very much! But since it was after Jan. 1, I decided to substitute the fries for broccoli, because health. Living it right? Absolutely.
So, It is January 1st and I've yet to make a meal for myself. So, yeah, I'm living it right. The birthday magic runs out tomorrow, but not until I've had some Thai with my old college roommates. And some ice cream as a pre-game.
So that's just food. Oh, and I'm totally getting healthy this year. I promise. Just...after the free stuff is over. No sweets starting...next Monday. You've gotta ease into it, amiright?!
Let's talk education.
I'm all about learning, furthering my education, because leaders are life-long-learners. Leaders are readers. So I've gotten about 10 books in a pile ready for me to read. But then, Netflix.
I was just at a conference so I'm recovering from what feels like jet-lag mixed with what I assume a hang-over feels like. So, needless to say, focus wasn't something I had in abundance. A trusted friend recommended the show, "Madam Secretary", so I decided to give it a go. It's hard to find shows that display healthy marriages without a lot of that sex stuff, that are actually intersting. So, I watched the 1st season in 3 days. That's a solid 23 hours of political drama mixed with humor, my friends. But guys, I learned so much. I mean, it's basically a documentary. Lemme 'splain.
I know shockingly little about how our government works. Like, if I would ever have one of those "people on the streets" interviews when they ask normal people simple questions about the government, I would lose the respect of the nation. Like, really. My ignorance would go viral.
Well, Madam Secretary has helped me understand what the Secretary of State actually does (I'm pretty sure...), educated me on historical events, and caused me to figure out who the current Chief of Staff is. (previously my best guess was Cyrus Bean). Because of my interest in the show, I did a lot of google-ing. Who are the USA's allies? What happened in Benghazi? Are there countries with whome we don't have diplomatic relationships? (Yes, 3, in fact. I can tell you now--Iran, North Korea, and Bhutan). So yeah, tv makes you smarter. I'm living it right, y'all.
Nothing is a better cure for watching less Netflix than a good, long binge. I'm so tired of staring at the television that I may literally vomit. My theory is the same for Netlix as it is for giving up sweets: You need to consume them as soon as possible so you won't be tempted anymore.So when I got my season of Madam Secretary out of the way, I made my way back to books. I'm currently reading a few:
-Martian by Andy Weir
-Messages of God's Abundance by Corrie ten Boom
-Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
Here's what I'm learning from these books-
Martian---I'm basically a scientist now.
Corrie ten Boom--seriously, just read it. Here's a sample: "God's love is the greatest reality, here and now-not only if we live in a beautiful house and have enough to eat, but even if the very worst happens in the life of a child of God, the best remains, namely God's love." This, coming from a woman who suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazis. What a testament of faith---she's a woman I want to learn from.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus---such great perspective on Islam, which has prompted me to learn much more about the faith and ask better questions of my Muslim or seeking friends. So good.
Also, I'm brainstorming for a sitcom I hope to create someday, I've written a couple more jokes for a new stand-up routine, I ordered toilet paper from Amazon and had it shipped directly to my house, and I learned how to electronically deposit checks from my phone. So yeah, watch out 2016. You're about to get owned. Am I living it right? I think so.
My 33rd birthday was Dec. 29, and you better believe I am signed up for every freebie I could find on the internet. So when I made a to-do list for January, and it was really just a list of restaurants where I got free items.
For the sake of sharing, here's a sample of the freebies, so you, too, can enjoy them:
-$10 from Scotty's Brewhouse (this smokehouse bbq burger and fries was, indeed, ordered while walking around the track at the gym with my friend Sarah. Am I living it right? Yes, yes I am.)
-Free Medium Drink from Dunkin' Donuts (I went with the snickerdoodle latte, which oddly enough, tasted like Chinese hot pot...I still can't explain that one.)
-Welcome to Moes! Free burrito w/purchase of drink. Did I just mainly eat their free chips and salsa, take home the burrito bowl, and eat it over the course of 3 meals? Did I also get a bag of chips and salsa to-go and eat them for 3 days? Yes, yes I did. Am I living it right? Absolutely!
-Qdoba-buy one get one free entree. So I coerced my roommate, Casie, to join me and split the cost. Also, it was Jan. 1 and they were giving out free tacos, so we also had those. That made for 2 meals, my friends.
-Free pastry from Panera. Oh Panera, you have treated me so nicely this year. I do, indeed, have free coffee for a year. How, you might ask? I have no idea! It was just a random reward on my card, so we'll chalk that up to the grace of God. Because I go so often and use my free coffee, I inadvertently earn more rewards, so I also had an additional free drink. So I treated my friend Becky to coffee. I also had a free pastry for my birthday, so I'm basically residing in the lap of luxury at this point. I can't give enough thanks to Panera for making this a truly wonderful year.
-Chick-Fil-A: This is not birthday-related, but I wouldn't be a good Christian if I didn't mention them. Our Muncie store is giving out free chicken biscuit sandwiches every Monday during January, so you best believe I gathered 12 of my closest friends and had breakfast there. I bought a coffee (which was essential my tithe) and had a wonderful time. I'll see you again next Monday, Chicky! (I should also mention that lunch that day was my free panera coffee and pastry that day, so, yeah---living it right!)
-Ulta--you're my girl. Like, for real. You help me pick out make-up that works for my face (might I recommend the self-sharpening Smashbox eyeliner and Urban Decay Naked foundation?) AND you give me free Bare Minerals free lip gloss for my birthday. Inner circle, Ulta. Inner circle.
-Ruby Tuesday: Free burger up to $9. Did I once again order my burger at the gym? Yes. From a bicycle situated between an older gentleman and my enabler, Sarah, who never judges me for my post-gym burger. Also, the girl taking my order could have not asked more questions, requiring me to describe, in great detail, what Fatty McFatterson burger I wanted. Yes I do want the crispy onion straws on top, thank you very much! But since it was after Jan. 1, I decided to substitute the fries for broccoli, because health. Living it right? Absolutely.
So, It is January 1st and I've yet to make a meal for myself. So, yeah, I'm living it right. The birthday magic runs out tomorrow, but not until I've had some Thai with my old college roommates. And some ice cream as a pre-game.
So that's just food. Oh, and I'm totally getting healthy this year. I promise. Just...after the free stuff is over. No sweets starting...next Monday. You've gotta ease into it, amiright?!
Let's talk education.
I'm all about learning, furthering my education, because leaders are life-long-learners. Leaders are readers. So I've gotten about 10 books in a pile ready for me to read. But then, Netflix.
I was just at a conference so I'm recovering from what feels like jet-lag mixed with what I assume a hang-over feels like. So, needless to say, focus wasn't something I had in abundance. A trusted friend recommended the show, "Madam Secretary", so I decided to give it a go. It's hard to find shows that display healthy marriages without a lot of that sex stuff, that are actually intersting. So, I watched the 1st season in 3 days. That's a solid 23 hours of political drama mixed with humor, my friends. But guys, I learned so much. I mean, it's basically a documentary. Lemme 'splain.
I know shockingly little about how our government works. Like, if I would ever have one of those "people on the streets" interviews when they ask normal people simple questions about the government, I would lose the respect of the nation. Like, really. My ignorance would go viral.
Well, Madam Secretary has helped me understand what the Secretary of State actually does (I'm pretty sure...), educated me on historical events, and caused me to figure out who the current Chief of Staff is. (previously my best guess was Cyrus Bean). Because of my interest in the show, I did a lot of google-ing. Who are the USA's allies? What happened in Benghazi? Are there countries with whome we don't have diplomatic relationships? (Yes, 3, in fact. I can tell you now--Iran, North Korea, and Bhutan). So yeah, tv makes you smarter. I'm living it right, y'all.
Nothing is a better cure for watching less Netflix than a good, long binge. I'm so tired of staring at the television that I may literally vomit. My theory is the same for Netlix as it is for giving up sweets: You need to consume them as soon as possible so you won't be tempted anymore.So when I got my season of Madam Secretary out of the way, I made my way back to books. I'm currently reading a few:
-Martian by Andy Weir
-Messages of God's Abundance by Corrie ten Boom
-Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
Here's what I'm learning from these books-
Martian---I'm basically a scientist now.
Corrie ten Boom--seriously, just read it. Here's a sample: "God's love is the greatest reality, here and now-not only if we live in a beautiful house and have enough to eat, but even if the very worst happens in the life of a child of God, the best remains, namely God's love." This, coming from a woman who suffered greatly at the hands of the Nazis. What a testament of faith---she's a woman I want to learn from.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus---such great perspective on Islam, which has prompted me to learn much more about the faith and ask better questions of my Muslim or seeking friends. So good.
Also, I'm brainstorming for a sitcom I hope to create someday, I've written a couple more jokes for a new stand-up routine, I ordered toilet paper from Amazon and had it shipped directly to my house, and I learned how to electronically deposit checks from my phone. So yeah, watch out 2016. You're about to get owned. Am I living it right? I think so.
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