Many highs and lows have happened over the past few months, and through the good times and bad, I’ve realized  that there are aspects of my life that I can not control, can not change, and can not understand.

More importantly however, is knowing what  I can control, change, and make sense of, and being honest about accepting the things that I cannot.  Sounds simple right? It  really should be.

I’m still working on me but I hope this video inspires you to Do what you love and do it often. And the rest? Well, it will somehow figure itself out…

Inspiration:
The Holstee Manifesto Lifecycle Video from Holstee on Vimeo.

Quotes from the video:

This is your life. Do what you love and do it often.

If you don’t like something change it.

If you don’t like your job, quit.

If you don’t have enough time, stop watching tv.

If you are looking for the love of your life, they will be waiting for you when you start doing things you love.

Stop over analyzing, life is simple.

Open your mind, arms and heart to new things, and people.

We are united in our differences.

Some opportunities only come once, seize them.

Travel often. Getting lost will help you find yourself.

All emotions are beautiful.

When you eat, appreciate every last bite.

Ask the next person you see what their passion is.

Share your inspiring dream with them.

Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them.

So go out and start creating, life is short.

Live your dream and share your passion.

As I think about my relationships, career, and overall life goals, I can’t help but to be excited for the next few years to come! With 4 and 1/2 years til the big 3-0,  all the things I want to do, the places I want to see, and the life experiences that I want to enjoy seem to get more challenging to accomplish simply because of time, or the lack of it.

And although there isn’t a real deadline to crossing any of these off, it’s still motivating to have clear goals in mind and in sight.  I know, they say that your 30s are the new 20s because you really know who you are and what you want by then. But why waste time when you already know?

This is my #pursuitofhappiness (for now).

1. Achieve financial stability.
2. Attend the Olympics.
3. Be a mentor/ Change someone’s life/ Inspire someone  to do something awesome.
4. Be in the best shape of my life.
5. Camp in a tent.
6. Climb a mountain.
7. Continue to be a child at heart and don’t lose sight of the simple things.
8. Don’t stop the hustle – always thrive to learn and be better.
9. Establish my career in CPG Marketing (and on path to become VP).
10. Fall and stay in love (and get married to him!)
11. Fire a rifle, shotgun or pistol.[June 2011]
12. Go white water rafting.
13. Have a Professional Designation/ higher education (CMA,MBA,etc.)
14. Host Turkey dinner.
15. Learn to cook without following recipes.
16. Learn to do a cart wheel.
17. Learn to snowboard and/or surf.
18. Own a pair of designer shoes and a purse that I buy for myself.
19. Own a place.
20. Read at least 30 books.
21. Ride an elephant.
22. Ride in a hot-air balloon!!!!
23. Scuba dive.
24. Skydive. [Summer 2010]
25. Stop swearing.
26. Travel the world as much as possible –  Asia, Australia, Europe, Peru, South America,etc.
27. Upgrade the Acura EL.
28. Walk the Great Wall of China.
29. Watch the sun rise and sun set [Jan 2011, Jamaica] somewhere amazing.
30. Witness a meteor shower.

What makes the top of your list? Please share!

- C

My BFF is getting married in October and as her Maid of Honour, I had the privilege of planning/hosting her sexy Bachelorette Party and beautiful Bridal Shower [so far].  It’s been so much fun, but it’s only the beginning…..!

Let’s get sexy first.  I’m in Miami B!tch!
I can’t remember how many times we played the LMFAO song but we definitely lived up to the ‘drink all day. play all night. let’s get it poppin.’ truth of South Beach, Miami Florida.

Planning for 10+ girls (with all sorts of personalities) for a 4-day trip is no easy walk in the park.  Everything from arranging plane tickets to figuring out where the parties are at, to creating the perfect itinerary and making sure rooming situations are good, is your job.

Here are a few things that worked for me.

1. Set a Budget, they are not meant for breaking.  Budget for a) plane ticket and accommodations, b) budget daily spending for food, partying and other ‘mandatory’ activities you would like everyone to attend to (i.e. shows).  Your guests will really appreciate this, trust me.
2. Accommodate to your best ability. You can’t make EVERYONE happy, and you can’t ask everyone where they want to go and what they want to do. Remember, your job is to make Bride happy, everyone else will learn to suck it up.
3. Research. If your Bride or your friends are anything like us, food is a priority.  Whateverthe priorities are within your Bridal Party, research everything online before going.  We found the most AWE-mazing, non-db, super nice and connected promoter – all because I Googled Miami Pool Parties about a million times. lol I know we all like to be spontaneous and go with the flow…but with a big group [of girls], planning is essential.  It doesn’t mean you don’t leave any room for excitement, have a little fun. (;
4. Use visual tools to help plan the trip. Not being too familiar with South Beach, I used Google Maps and mapped out all the restaurants, clubs, beaches and other interesting hot spots on the map.  We knew exactly how far our hotel was and whether we could walk or take a cab.  It also really helps with the itinerary and planning your days out, which is my next point.
5. Create an Itinerary but don’t make everything mandatory to attend.  People like to know what they’re doing and when, mainly because we want to know what to wear and how to do our hair that day/night.  If you are a close group of girlfriends, its easy to do everything together.  If there is a large group and you’re in a big city, I would suggest that you leave some ‘free time’ for girls, who may not enjoy the same things as you/Bride enjoys whether its for shopping or visiting a monument; they will appreciate this.  Of course, all dinners and partying are a must-go event!   It was also very important to schedule ‘get ready time’; add an extra 30 min safety always.
6. Have Themed Nights. We had so much fun dressing up and making sure we were noticeably a Bachelorette Party.  You get free stuff, other girls are nicer to you, boys buy you drinks – it’s really all good in the fun!  Our themed nights consisted of Black/White & Sexy Ballerina (with corset tops).
7. Ignore the drama.  There will be drama, but ignore it.   Ignore it and it will go away.
8. Ask other MOHs/ Bridesmaids for help. People are very willing to help if you ask.  @millieng sent me her entire Vegas Bachelorette  itinerary for her BFF, but then we changed our plans and went to Miami! haha
9. Buy anti-acid pills.  If you’re Asian, you’re likely going to have the “Asian glow” – the effect of being flushed red after one sip of alcohol. Pepci Ac and Zantak work well and it’ll make everyone look less buzzed in pictures!
10. Have fun! Enjoy it and pray that you’ll only be MOH once. :P

Stay tuned for Part 2 – Showered with Love!

-C

It’s amazing what you see when you steer outside the ‘tourist bubble’.  Tourism is great for Jamaica as it creates jobs for locals and stimulates the economy. But outside of that, people here appear to live in much poverty.

People & Culture

As we were driving along the roads and passing by the numerous fruit stands, jerk centers and craft markets – all I could think of was “What do these people do all day?”  ”Do they just wait all day for tourists to come by?” “Do they have any ambitions for a better life?” “Do they even know what’s outside of their life as it exists?”

Life there in the small towns seem so simple.  Wake up, get the stand ready and then wait.  Sitting, waiting, wishing?  Of course I can only imagine what is going through their minds and what they do all day but as we drove by, I could feel their desperation for us to buy something.

In my interactions with them, I found that they were aggressive but respectful. They repeatedly ask for you to check out their shops, “just take a look and don’t have to buy”, but once you give them a firm No, they will back off. And sure guys will make comments, but it’s probably because people here wear long sleeves in 30 degree weather, and well I don’t!

Despite their persistence, and maybe I’m naive, people here seem to be very courteous, respectful and friendly (at least in the day time).  All of them with say “Good morning/afternoon/evening”, will help you when you need directions, and tell us about their culture.  Some of them seem to enjoy life for what it is – a true appreciation.  But maybe they were nice because they wanted something from us, but a part of me has the hope that they were just good people.  But maybe not.  One of our tires were deflated from going on  a pothole too fast and two Jamaicans quickly came to help us change the tire and pump up the other one.  He charged us only $1000 JMD no problem, that’s like $12 CAD!

Church also seems to be an important part of life here too.  In every little town, there is a church and on Sundays, they were packed with people.  There is also this sense of community/ “love thy neighbour”, as we saw locals helping other locals out; telling us about different things to do – i.e. visit Savana La Mar in the day and then go to Rick’s Cafe at night when it opens at 6pm – when in fact, the cafe is opened during the day.

Being in Jamaica also made me realize how much our Canadian culture is influenced by Jamaicans.  All the slangs that are used like, “What g’wan”, “Bredren”, “Boss”, “Seen” and “Respec” come from Jamaican culture.  Fly kicks, pimped out clothes, and hipsters may also be influenced from here.  Music, specifically reggae is a huge part of life and Bob Marley is the king.

In the end, I know I sound very optimistic about the people and the culture here, but I am a realist at heart.  I am aware that the crime and murder rate is extremely high and that there is a lot that I don’t know and don’t see daily. But for some reason, I have this glimpse of hope that things can be turned around because there is so much good in them too.

Nonetheless, I’m happy to have seen the “other side” of life by taking a road trip across the country.  It really makes me think about how fortunate we are and how much we should appreciate the little things in life.

Things to Remember When Travelling

With a renewed sense of inspiration gathered from my trip to Jamaica, I promise it won’t be another year til I blog again.

Peace!
- C