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By kilax, January 11, 2013 6:57 am

What is your definition of a “people person”? Do you think you are one?

I am starting to wonder if my mom was right. 

When I was in my hometown for the holiday, we were having a conversation about me not wanting to go shopping and be in large crowds, and my mom started teasing me that I just might not be a people person. To be funny, I tried to build my case as to why I was…

but I have thought about it more since then, and become even more confused. Maybe I really don’t like people (just kidding!). 

I love hanging out with people when I want to hang out with them. I love being social when I want to be social. I love seeing my friends and family, and yes, I love talking to new people and even strangers. I had a conversation with the lady sitting next to me on our flight to Minneapolis last week* and honestly enjoyed it. And while I greatly appreciate my me-time and quiet time, I know that I thrive off of some interaction with others on a daily basis, hence the constant emails, texts and other methods I use to bug my friends to PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!! Ha ha. 

But yesterday left me for a spin. It was my first day physically back in our downtown office since before the holiday. Everyone was in. It was people overload – social stuff all day. I felt fake. I felt overwhelmed at times.  I felt frustrated**. I felt anxious, thinking about all the things I wanted to get done during all of the social interactions I needed to participate in. I could talk a lot about how working from home affects the social culture of the office, and that the days we are in can be overwhelming like this, but it really isn’t appropriate, especially when working from home works so well for me (in getting work done and in a life balance sort of way) and when it is really just something I need to learn to adjust to. It’s really a Kim problem, not a work problem. 

But, blah blah blah. So I had this overly social day, and then had Erin‘s fun birthday party to go to, which I had been looking forward to all week, but then found I felt drained and quiet from my day at work. Totally not like myself, and that bummed me out a bit. I had a great time, but felt more like an observer, listening to everyone’s fun conversations about their Starry Night paintings… but just not feeling “on.” Or like some of the definitions above say not “good at interacting with others,” at least in that particular moment.

So to answer my own question, I wonder if a people person is someone who is, yes, good at talking to others and makes friends easily, but maybe also someone who is almost always energized by socializing, and can handle A LOT OF IT in one day***… kind of like how we discussed extroverts finding energy from being around other people, and introverts feeling a bit drained… if THAT makes any sense.  Does any of this make sense? Ha ha. I think this is the LONGEST Friday Question EVER.  

*We had layovers both ways to KC
**This greatly has to do with the fact that I had work to get done but no working phone and computer issues as well. 
***Even if some of it is forced, like at work. 

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By kilax, January 10, 2013 4:56 am

• I realized yesterday that I am going to three birthday celebrations three nights in a row (Wed-Fri)! On Wednesday night we threw a little surprise thing for Brian, our trainer, after class. Class was really frickin’ tough. I was not sure if he deserved the cupcakes/balloons/card after class. Just kidding. Sort of. Alright, I can’t kid. I love Brian. Even when he’s tough. 

• I received a giftcard to my favorite salon for the holiday. For what should I use the salon gift card – waxing, massage (deep tissue, hot stone, etc), warm shea butter wrap, detoxifying seaweed wrap, nails, facial?! Ooo, there are so many possibilities! 

• It bugs me when people say “not to play devil’s advocate, but [insert whatever opposition here].” It’s kind of like when someone says, “not to offend you, but…” Dude. Don’t start your sentences that way. Just own whatever you are about to say. Prepping your sentence like that just gives me a sinking feeling and makes me anxious. Am I the only one this annoys?

Halloween 2010

• I didn’t really make any 2013 goals, but damn, a lot of things are coming to mind that I should improve. Like, I really need to QUIT trying to multitask. I just can’t do it. Especially when it comes to listening to phone calls, and doing anything else at the same time. I just gotta quit. It totally makes me space out on the call. 
• Speaking of 2013 and focusing on the new year, Heather wrote a neat post about her what she wanted her “word” for 2013 to be. Click on the link to see what she chose! I think my word would have to be kind. I would like to focus on being more kind and less, well, let’s get real – judgmental and bitchy this year. Think I can do it?! Will people even recognize me anymore?!

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XVIII, XXVII, XXVI, XXV, XXIV, XXIII, XXII, XXI, XX, XIX, XVIII, XVII, XVI, XV, XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

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By kilax, January 8, 2013 5:33 am

While I was on the phone with my mom last week, I mentioned how Steven and I wanted to stay in a secluded cabin in the woods (not this one) as a vacation to celebrate our five-year anniversary*.  So my mom and I started to look at cabins on our respective computers. We found some beautiful ones in the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. But my mom was a little bit worried about my safety if we stayed there. 

“There are probably bears in those mountains.”

“I know you will be hiking. And there are probably bears in those mountains.”

“I don’t think you should go in to the mountains! It’s not safe! THERE ARE PROBABLY BEARS IN THOSE MOUNTAINS!”

Unfortunately. I do not recall verbatim what my mother said. So this could be partially made up in my mind. 

Well, guess we just need to bring Will with us. 

POW! Okay. Enough bear jokes. 

Seriously. My mother’s motherly concern cracks me the eff up. We’re looking at pictures of a gorgeous cabin**, talking about this great getaway, and she is worried a bear is going to maul me. 

BUT! I would be lying if I said her motherly concern did not make me feel cared for and loved. Because it does. 

When I lived in Rome, I volunteered at a cat shelter every night (<— I really am that cool). Check out what my parents sent me in this awesome care package:

Let’s see. Lotion, nail files, my fave (still to this day) pens, Ramen, chocolate, a Spanish phrase book and… dust masks. And latex gloves. Hmm. Was that mom’s idea to put them in there?

Yes, indeed. She wanted me to wear the masks and use the gloves when I cleaned out the litter boxes (I maybe cleaned 30+ of them a night) so I didn’t breathe in litter and… the stuff cats put in litter. So thoughtful. Such a motherly concern. 

She also got me two schweet tops to wear to protect my clothes. I still have them to this day! In fact, I plan to wear one to a painting event on Thursday night, so I don’t ruin my clothes***. Mom, aren’t you proud of me for still having these tops?

Who shows you motherly concern? How does it make you feel? Or are YOU the giver or motherly concern?!

*which was over four months ago
**Which looks suspiciously photoshopped.  
***That would probably not be a bad thing.  

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By kilax, January 7, 2013 6:27 am

I decided to register for my first triathlon – Ironman 70.3 Lawrence! I’ve never done a triathlon before, but I am a decent runner, and somewhat strong on the bike, so it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out the swimming part by race date in  June, right?

Ha ha ha. Just kidding, guys. I am registered on a RELAY team. I won’t be doing this race on my own, I’ll be doing it with these two fools – 

my brother-in-law Andrew, and my sister’s fiancé, Will. The three of us have been talking about doing a tri relay together for awhile. So when Will suggested Ironman 70.3 Lawrence, and my schedule was free, I was in! Andrew was on board right away too!

I have actually participated in a sprint triathlon relay as the runner before, and had a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to this event and may make it my goal race of the year, despite the fact that I will be running in the Kansas heat in an afternoon in June. Yeah. I’ll probably rethink that later. 

Have you participated in a triathlon relay before? Or any relay?

We were in Kansas City this weekend for our belated holiday celebration with Steven’s family, and there was much to be discussed in regard to racing! Andrew and I will be doing another relay (with Steven!) in NYC in February, and Andrew is going to be running the Wisconsin Half Marathon again this year! Our goal is 1:45 or faster for the half. JUST KIDDING. That is just what we say our goal is when we talk about it, since we are ridiculous. Don’t forget! Prices go up for the Wisconsin Half and Full on January 9th! You can use code KIMRUNSWI for $5 off (before and after the prices go up)!

Kansas City was fun, albeit quick. It’s so awesome that my sister and her fiancé live there now and I get to see them when we visit! I have probably mentioned how awesome that is before… but yeah. It’s still really exciting. Because I can’t really act this way around anyone but my sister. 

Ha. A few more shots from the weekend:

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By kilax, January 6, 2013 9:10 am

Highlight of the Week: Dragging myself to try a new class on Thursday, despite feeling really lethargic. And exploring a new-to-me trail with friends on Friday (ha, even though the wind on the way back was KILLER)!

Monday | December 31, 2012: 4.9 m run
Loc: neighborhood, Temp: 28°/27°, Time: 52:30, Pace: 10:43 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: barfy
Tuesday | January 1, 2013: 5 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 19°/19°, Time: 53:21, Pace: 10:47 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: beat by the hills
Wednesday | January 2, 2013: strength class + 3 m run (w/Bobbi and GRCers)
Strength: weighted bars and kettlebells, Difficulty: medium, Felt: capable
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 25°/25°, Time: 31:11, Pace: 10:23 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: hungry/weak
Thursday | January 3, 2013: cross (kickboxing class)
Cardio: Boxing (punching and kicking), core and a lil strength, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Friday | January 4, 2013: 9.1 m run (w/Bobbi and Kelly)
Loc: Hebron Trail, Temp: 18°/23°, Time: 1:33:43, Pace: 10:18, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, then hungry
Saturday | January 5, 2013: 4 m run
Loc: Kansas City, Temp: 37°/37°, Time: 47:13, Pace: 11:48 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired? sore? something
Sunday | January 6, 2013: rest

Notes:

• Sunday is the first rest day I’ve had since November! And it felt really weird. And it felt weird not to run seven days this week. But it is time to get back to more meaningful miles (ha ha – maybe)! The weird thing is, it feels WRONG not to run every day of the week after doing it for 33 days. 
• Steven’s dad and brother gave me some very nice workout items for the holiday… including CycleOps Climbing Blocks! Now I really want to get my new slicks on my bike. Steven said he would do it for me. I see me bugging him about that in the very near future. 
• I felt strangely judged at the new workout class I tried Thursday night. The instructor definitely thought I was a newbie, which, I was, to that class. And it was different than kickboxing I’ve done before. The class I took last winter was more choreographed, and this was just boxing and kicking with a bag (which I really liked), and strength and abs thrown in. But I have done all those things before… so I just felt odd when she was giving me (along with a few others) simpler moves than the rest of the class was doing. I do think she realized it wasn’t my first time doing those sorts of things though – she came up and asked me where else I work out. Maybe next time I will get to try the more interesting punch/kick combos. Either way, it was a good workout!

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By kilax, January 5, 2013 11:02 am

Isn’t it interesting how certain places, songs, sayings, items, etc., can trigger very specific memories? What are some of your triggered memories?

There is a trail I usually run when we visit Steven’s father in Kansas City. It astounds me, that to this day, I cannot run this trail alone without triggered uncomfortable feelings of helplessness and loss. Even on a day like today, when parts of the trail are covered in snow, and it looks nothing like it did on the hot summer days of 2010, I am still transported back to exactly how I felt then. That was the summer we surprisingly lost Steven’s mom. That was the summer when I first dealt with the awful hospital waiting game. That was the summer when running stopped working as my therapy – instead of letting me escape, it made me feel guilty for leaving the hospital to run and just threw me deeper in to my own thoughts.

As I ran the trail today, it was nice to see a few other people to pull me out of my thoughts. But they are still there. I need to:

1. Run this trail with other people
2. Start running with music again
3. Or just deal with my emotions… eww

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By kilax, January 4, 2013 8:06 am

Are you a tracker? What do you track?

Hmm, another question that doesn’t make sense! 

Well, with everyone declaring their 2013 goals I’ve been thinking about the things I tracked in 2012 and what I want to track in 2013.

In 2012, I did a really good job of tracking my running mileage and money donate to charities. But in 2013, I would like to better track money spent on races, miles biked, books read, weight (until I give up on eating healthy again), and so on. I can go back to my notes and figure out all of this stuff for 2012 if I would like, but it’s more fun to track it in real time that to look at it retrospectively for me (since I love spreadsheets!). 

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By kilax, January 3, 2013 6:27 am

• My blue tires finally came! But wait – these are not the original ones we ordered. Those were stuck on back order for five months. So Steven got me some new ones and we need to get a refund for the others. I am anxious to get these bad boys on my bike and use the trainer!

• I ordered new checks this week. They have KITTENZ on them. AWW YEAH. I bet you want me to write you a check just so you can have one to keep… and never cash. Moving along…can someone who works at a bank (or someone who knows more than me) please tell me WHY it is so much more expensive for me to order checks from my bank than from a second-party? $30 for a box of checks from my bank. $10 for three boxes from a second party online. That is like… .0001% of the cost if I went through my bank (I didn’t check my math here). Maybe I will have my identity stolen as a result of ordering them this way? Just kidding. I have ordered them this way before.

• I think I am the gift giver I described in this post. I’ve received so many thoughtful gifts this holiday. And so many thoughtful, personalized gifts – the book from Erin, the custom puzzle from Gina, this amazing shadow box (pic below) from my friend, Chris, commemorating the 5K where I paced her. I am lucky to have so many thoughtful and generous friends and family who know me and my interests and personality so well. And I need to step up my game!!!

• I bet you are DYING to know which puzzles I’ve put together so far… and how I fit them in to my busy social schedule (<– sarcasm). I will move on to the Star Wars one next (<– again, busy social schedule…). 

 

• We still have ONE holiday celebration left, with Steven’s family in Kansas City! Does anyone else have any holiday celebrations left? It’s selfish of me, but I prefer not to celebrate with our families back to back, because it’s a bit too much travel between all the states… and I like spreading the holiday out. Another question – were you relieved or sad when the holidays were over? My mom and I were talking about how it bums us a bit, but a few family members were relieved. 
• And… a message from Data:

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XXVII, XXVI, XXV, XXIV, XXIII, XXII, XXI, XX, XIX, XVIII, XVII, XVI, XV, XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

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By kilax, January 2, 2013 6:23 am

I spent part of New Year’s Day morning going through all of my 2012 photos to add them to the digital photo frame we keep in our kitchen. I was just doing the task yesterday because I had the day off from work, but it actually turned out to be a wonderful reflection on 2012! I had so many photos of good memories with Steven, friends and family. And now, for a photo recap of each month… JUST KIDDING!!! Ha ha ha.

Anyway, we have three digital photo frames in the house* – one in the kitchen, living room and office. The one in the kitchen had a bunch of random photos on it which is why I updated it. The living room one has wedding photos, and the one in the office has photos from my family’s trip to see me in Italy in 2006.

I was bad about updating the frame in the kitchen, so I’ve put a reminder in my calendar to add new photos to it at the end of each month. I think it will be a good way to reflect on the month.

But enough blah blahing**. I wanted to ask you about digital photo frame usage. I’ve noticed people don’t really use them like we do. We either put ours on a timer or leave them on all the time – but we rarely see them on at other people’s homes.

Do you have digitial photo frames? How often do you have them on? How often do you add more photos?

*And even one that we recevied and never put photos on – eek!
**Even though that is ALL this blog is.