Today is the last day of Vlogging Everyday in August. I have to confess that I’m so happy it’s over. I will return to just vlogging weekly instead of daily on Totes Awesome Channel. Last year it was a life changing and rewarding experience. This year, it was rewarding and fun but I have to be honest, I’m burnt out keeping up with it with the traveling and the moving!
Before I bid VEDA adieu, here’s the obligatory blooper reel.
Be very proud of me. I vlogged straight through moving, through Dallas, and now through a vacation in Vancouver. I haven’t missed a day! I’ve been patting myself on the back all morning. Here are my VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) Vlogs from Vancouver.
You don’t need sound to see this video! I write it out. In case you still can’t view the video, I listed tardiness (>10 minutes), flaky people, and people who talk during movies in movie theaters as my pet peeves. You get to see my bad handwriting!
For the Day in the Life topic, I talked you through my first day in Vancouver. We landed at 10. I was running on 4 hours of sleep, Alan on 0. We got to the hotel at 11 ish and Alan napped while I explored and lunched. We met up our friends Mike and Amy who live in Seattle and drove up to see us. We all visited the Vancouver Aquarium and had a grand time. We both adored the sea otters. No penguins at this aquarium. (Sad!) Then dined at a Japanese tapas place (look for it soon on my food blog!) and drank 3 bottles of Sake. Then Mike and Amy left and Alan and I met Paul, a new Canadian friend. We enjoyed some live music with Paul and then was in bed pretty late.
I wrote this vlog out so if it’s sound that keeps you from watching the vlogs, you can watch this one! If not, I listed out things I used to believe in but no longer do.
1. True love is first love.
2. Friends who do wrong are not friends at all. (No one is perfect.)
3. Wait til you’re married to sleep with someone. (Ha!)
4. Wait til you’re married to move in with a dude. (Ha!)
What are things you used to believe in but no longer do?
There’s not much about which I’m not passionate. Good food, books, family, love, travel. There’s so many things that taste good, look good, smell good. I know I can be annoying when I’m raving about things so enthusiastically so often, but I just cannot help myself.
This week on Totes Awesome Channel, we disclose some of our Secret Single Behavior. Coined by Sex and the City, Secret Single Behavior is what you do that you don’t want anyone seeing.
For those without video capabilities, I like to do my grooming in private (plucking, pore strips, teeth whitening strips, and nail clipping) and also I revert to lots of Korean ramen when I eat at home by myself. There’s a bonus bit for those who can watch.
2.
Today’s VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) topic is to talk about some of our controversial beliefs.
I’m Anti-Capital Punishment, Pro-Choice, and Pro-Gay Marriage. Let’s still be friends?
3.
I haven’t yet linked and embedded the videos from Tuesday through Thursday. You can catch them on my channel. Or! Here are the individual links: Books, Vlog to Future Self, and my laminated list.
4.
Last week I got my sketchbook from Sketch Book Project 2012 in the mail. The dust from the move hasn’t settled and we’re gearing up for a vacation but I cannot wait to get started. This will be my 2nd year participating. Here’s the post I did about SKP touring Austin in March (with links to some of my sketches).
My Sketchbook and Me during Austin Tour, March 2011
5.
Vancouver in 6 days! What’s on the agenda there? So far nothing!
6.
We didn’t have hot water til Wednesday. We still don’t have internet or cable but here’s hoping (for real this time) we’ll get them Sunday.
7.
This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ every time I flatten a box and put it outside our apartment to be picked up ♥ trash valet Sundays – Thursdays ♥ the first hot shower after not having hot water for 4 days ♥ admitting that it was worth the money to have a cleaning lady do the last clean of my old apartment ♥ data plan ♥ Alan surprising me with True Blood ♥ phone calls to my BFF freaking out and her reassuring that what I’m freaking out about is normal ♥ watching Alan kill a fly ♥ seeing Brandi twice in one week despite moving 30 minutes further away ♥ making a healthy slow-cooker meal ♥ making it through last weekend and this week
I’m 99 percent moved into our apartment. It was a super tiring weekend but I still managed to upload videos for VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August). This is despite not having internet at the new digs yet. (Nor do we have a working stove or hot water.) Here’s my weekend recap punctuated by VEDA vlogs.
Friday, I spent all night packing. The topic for Saturday’s VEDA was to vlog with someone and tell the person how you feel about him or her. So I took care of that late Friday/early Saturday morning. Have you guys, met Alan? Meet Alan.
Sunday, I spent unpacking all day. VEDA topic was to cook something and vlog it. I didn’t have internet, a phone battery charger, or a working stove. So I vlogged this 43 second vlog straight from my phone and car telling you just that. I’m shooting for a completion grade for VEDA, folks.
I talk about how I love communicating with as many people as I can because when I listen, I can find common threads that tie us together. This is why I love VEDA so much. We have so much in common while still being unique. It’s beautiful to me that as often as we feel alone, we are surrounded by kindred spirits.
I find inspiration in seeking new experiences. New experiences invoke new thoughts, sights, and feelings and that could give way to a spark, passion, or new path to explore.
Finally, I find inspiration in feeling tiny. Stargazing. Oceans. Mountains. They’re all real life symbols on how big our world is and how endless the possibilities are.
It’s Monday. Insert long sigh. I had a great weekend in Dallas with two friends from high school. In fact, you can see them in the first vlog I’m posting. These VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) vlogs are for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, posted in that order.
Not much transcription needed. The topic is to get dressed up before going out. This 30 something second video is just us saying hi before rushing to our dinner reservations. My friends are pretty. I had wet hair.
I talk about how I’ve only been to four countries (Mexico, Vietnam, Scotland, and England), and wish I can do more world traveling. I’m heading to our neighbor, Canada, in a couple of weeks with Alan. I also mention (again), that I want to see all 50 states. I’m slowly ticking that off each year. I prioritize saving and buying plane tickets but in between the spending expenditures, I love being a tourist close to home as well. I love exploring the nooks and crannies of my hometown, and surrounding cities. I wanted to make the point that there’s a wide range to traveling and there’s no need to make big time and money commitments to satisfy a little wanderlust.
My dream job is to be paid to eat and travel. I’d love to be Anthony Bourdain’s sidekick, because then, I’d be paid to travel, to eat, and to hang out with a crush of mine.
Question: Pick one (or more) VEDA topics from today’s blog and tell me about it?
I talk about my top decisions. Moving away from home for college brought me a lot of growth. Letting go of an old relationship, let me become more my hedonistic self. And seeking help, put my relationships at a higher standard. You can hear more by viewing the video.
2.
Today’s VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) topic is our relationship with technology.
I basically ramble about my reluctant relationship with technology. I just got my smartphone last week. I’m afraid of downloading things. My last few laptops were hand me downs. And I’m afraid of technological changes. View the video for more.
3.
After work today, I’m driving up to Dallas on my own for a girls’ weekend. I’m really nervous because the last time I drove on my own to Dallas was in 2007 and I totaled my car when a 16 year old did not give me my right away. Anxiety! However, my extreme excitement to see these girls again is outweighing my anxiety. The last time I saw Hillary and Alex, was in San Angelou, Texas and it was also during Vlog Everyday in April. You can bet I will be recruiting them to join me in a vlog for Vlog Everyday in August.
4.
Last month, I was overwhelmed because of the busy schedule but it looks like THIS month is the busy month. We have vlogging everyday which is a huge commitment as it also means seeing as many of the videos of others doing it as you can. (We have 80 plus participants this year! Last year we only had 20 something.) Then here are the other major happenings for me in August:
August 5-7: Girls’ weekend in Dallas, Texas August 10: New lease starts August 13: Moving date for me August 20: Need to have old apartment cleaned and keys returned August 25-29: Going to Canada with Alan
On top of that I want to see my little from Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America a couple of times at least and I have a pregnant friend I haven’t seen in months. Another friend who’s been patiently nudging me to see her, and the list goes on with friends I keep dodging. I feel a bit haggard and also negligent of some of these relationships. They mean a lot to me but I just want to stick my head in the sand, get through these dates, and then call them in September.
5.
Earlier in the week, I had just finished up dinner with Alan, and saw that dusk was around the corner and I was minutes from the Congress bridge. Having never seen the bats in Austin, I called up Monica and Naz to see if they could join me for a few minutes on the bridge. We’ve been trying to go all summer. In Austin, we have thousands of bats who live underneath the Congress bridge and at dusk they all fly out to seek food. I’ve lived in Austin for 10 years now and have never taken the time to see them. Long story short, I was standing on the bridge by myself, waiting for the girls to join me, when out they flew.
It was so breathtaking. I stood there on my own and exhaled and tried to savour every second of it. It only lasts about 3 minutes. Afterwards, I called my friends to tell them that they missed it but should definitely come back when they have time. I am sad they didn’t get to join me but a part of me was very happy to have those three minutes to myself.
6.
I miss my food blog. Hoping the trip to Dallas will motivate me to give it some love.
7.
This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ lunch date with Naz ♥ many bags of chips ♥ chocolate orange cupcakes ♥ pork belly ♥ colorful salads ♥ spiced watermelon with goat cheese ♥ VEDA ♥ Google Doc that is the game plan for the month that BFF started for me ♥ seeing Kim’s everyday this week because of VEDA ♥ discovery of David Gray’s music ♥ last minute dinner date with Deesh
Question: What was the last breathtakingly beautiful thing you witnessed?
Today’s VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) topic is insecurities. In the vlog, I admitted I have the same two body insecurities (my small chest and the scar on my back) I vlogged about last year when we discussed body image.
Then I talked about how I cope with all the other insecurities. I mentioned that my dad has taught me to accept my shortcomings and know who I am so that when someone judges me for the outside things (money, clothes, etc), it wouldn’t hurt because the outside things don’t matter. When they judge me for my shortcomings, it wouldn’t hurt because I’ve already had that dialogue with myself. For every one person who doesn’t like me, there will be someone else who will.
Finally, faking confidence is a good way to gain confidence. Head high, chin up.
Questions: What are you insecure about? How do you cope?
Texas native. Living and working in Austin, TX. Twenty something. In hot pursuit of good food, adventure, and laughter. Dreams of owning her own place with a big giant library.
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