Friday, June 11, 2010

Fish, Life, & Coffee

I have decided that the life of a fish must be so boring. And by fish, I mean "pet fish." Sea fish have it much better-- I mean, they have the sea. But pet fish? They're trapped in a glass globe filled with colorful rocks and water. End of story.

That's their life.

I realize the need to keep this in perspective... I doubt a fish can even process the fact that his life is kind of a lame gig. But nonetheless, fish are needed in this world, especially pet fish, if for nothing else but to teach young 5-year-old children the "cycle of life" and inevitable "death of pets" when their very first goldfish dies, and their tear-stained face watches the orange pet swirl down the toilet to its tomb.

Why the discussion on fish? Well, I have this beta fish. I've had it for about 2 years now. Its name is Calvin Klein. I can't say that it serves much of a purpose other than to look pretty in my room. It matches the walls-- its purple. But other than that, it just swims around all day. And sometimes I realize I haven't fed in in a couple of days and then I feel really bad.

But today, I had this thought that I have often have... how trapped must a fish feel? And what kind of life is that, anyway, swimming around in about 2 feet of space with nowhere else to go?

If nothing else, I now feel like I lead a pretty exciting life in comparison.

Enough on fish. That topic is quickly becoming about as dull as the life of one.

I have been extremely busy lately, and only getting busier. Kristi and I have 6 weddings in a row coming up, all of which will take place within a 5-week time period, which means 1 weekend has 2 in a row. Despite the fact that this past week has been CRAZY and next week won't be much different, bring it on. I'm ready for summer craziness. As I always say, I'd rather be busy than bored. For sure.

But busy has its negatives. Late nights in the office, and exhausting weekends. But, I'm doing what I love. And when the right balance is found, I find my job is a gift.

There's also another big piece of news I'd like to share, but I don't want to quite yet. So stay tuned. It's exciting.

Last weekend, I was on caffeine detox. For about 3-4 days, I drank very little to no caffeine. The first day or so, it happened by accident, and then I just decided to see how long I could practice self-control. I think mid-week, I finally had a coffee, but I definitely established the well-known: Caffeine, as found in coffee and soda, can be an addictive habit that leads to feeling like you "need" it to get through, when in fact, you don't. This artificial stimulant does nothing but kick up your heart rate and thereby make you feel more alert, fooling you into thinking it's the only way to stay awake in the morning or early afternoon. Does it help, at times? Sure. But there are better ways. Of course, I could stand to take my own advice and reduce the amount I put into my body. I'd say this week's efforts come to a 6/10. Not the greatest, so I have some work to do. But it could be much worse. I'm not this girl who has 3 cups of coffee a day or can't live without my afternoon pop. BUT, I am slightly addicted to very sugary coffee drinks, and I look forward to them a little TOO much. So, I challenge myself to reducing this habit.

You know, I'm all about balance. Really, I am. But when I find myself at the extreme end of something to my detriment and I know I need to change, I sense a pattern in my approach. I am always very "all or nothing." This goes against my "everything in moderation" and "balance is the key to life" motto. I guess those sayings are the ultimate goal for my lifestyle. But when my lifestyle doesn't reflect that in some area, I go from one extreme to the other. Drinking too much caffeine? My quick fix is: Stop drinking it all together for a week. Wasting too much time online? My fix: Stop going online at all, or at least until priorities are accomplished. Right or wrong, I find that the best way to train myself back to balance is to totally wipe out what's overtaking me and then ease back into a healthy dose.

Not quite sure what this blog post accomplished just now. Please forgive my scattered nature. If ever you wanted a chance to take a field trip to my brain, perhaps this post is a nice preview. I told my mom the other day, though, writing is like therapy to me. It allows me to unwind, even if I'm typing about silly things or telling a story. So for those of you who read-- thanks for making it through some of my not-so-brilliant posts.

Love you all!

T

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