A Hard Thing For Me To Admit

There was once a point in my life where I weighed over 300lbs.

Wow. That was a hard sentence to write. It will be amazing if it makes it onto the blog. Yes, about 2 years ago I was SEVERELY overweight. January 2011 - I had a friend who wanted to get fit. She asked if I'd be her 'accountability buddy' and maybe - even come to the gym with her. I have this issue with asking someone to do something I'm not willing to do myself, so - I decided to go for it!

Does Facebook make a Reunion redundant?

Photo Credit: Here

This summer will mark 7 years since I've graduated high school.
I remember talking to people on that last day of school in the gorgeous sunshine. Signing yearbooks, crying, laughing and excited for "the future". We joked with each other, saying "See you at the reunion!" It seemed so far away.

Now, more than ever, we are able to connect with practically anyone we are thinking about. Anyone who crosses our minds is a point and click away. Thanks Facebook. I now know that those two who were inseparable in high school have separated, that the girl we all thought was easy lived up to her name and got pregnant right out of High School, that one of the girls from my rugby team still plays rugby and that this guy can take some really amazing pictures and has made a living out of it. I know most of you have done it. Googled, Facebook stalked, found on twitter...etc that person from high school that you wanted to see "Where are they now?".

I was having lunch with a couple of girls that I make sure to stay in touch with, even if it means 1 lunch a year. One was the valedictorian and she brought up an amazing point. The point of a reunion is to catch up with those who you're interested in catching up with. Find out what they've been up to. However, the internet has taken the mystery out of it. The big reveal of "WOW, she lost a lot of weight!" or "Man, he's so much nicer now!".

So here is my question to you: Does Facebook make a Reunion redundant? Should we, who live in this technical age, even bother with the time and effort it takes to put together such a big event? If I want to meet up with someone... I can just send them a message and get together for a personal 1-on-1 coffee date!
I'm really curious, let me know what you think in the comments below! :)

Moving Sucks. Do your friends suck too?

Photo Credit: demotivation.us

Why is it that nothing ever seems to go as planned when you move? Aside from all the things that went wrong, I learned that the people in my life are AWESOME.

The night before the move I found out that the person driving the truck couldn’t anymore and I had to find someone on short notice – for a Monday morning. I called @Shelter68 – Sheldon. He got up early and rearranged his morning for me and for that I couldn’t be any more thankful.
During the move, my mom came by to drive us to get food. A much needed necessity at that point of the day. 

In the evening between moving out and moving in I was so exhausted that I just burst into tears and couldn’t stop crying when I got to my boyfriend’s house. I have to be thankful for my AMAZING boyfriend who hugged me and listened while I complained like the whole world was against me.

When you're in need,
Call Woody!

In the morning the next day, we went to start the truck to return it… and it wouldn’t start.
My sister raced over to help us jump start the battery. After 30 minutes of trying to get it to start I called the rental company and I learned something new: You have to jump start a diesel vehicle with a diesel vehicle of equal or greater size.
We called Woody’s Towing. Not only is Woody awesome but he has a new BEHEMOTH truck. Our truck was so dead that it took Woody’s TRUCK OF DOOM (as I will forever refer to it as) 20 minutes to charge it enough that the frozen cold engine could turn over. Or that’s at least what I gathered. Lol

The guy at Uhaul was nice enough to wave the late charge, my old landlord was super nice during the exit inspection and of course my new roommates Brian and Liz who helped move all the stuff to our new place and helped me clean my old one.

So the moral of the story is this: Surround yourself with awesome people try to be awesome yourself and maybe when YOU need a truck driver, a mover, a jump start, some lunch...etc there will be someone there to help you out.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THE MOVE POSSIBLE!

Facebook: How do YOU use it?

When I use a tool in one way, I sometimes forget that the way it is used is as unique as the person using it. I've recently had a few discussions with friends and acquaintances about Facebook. Here are a few uses that have come up in conversation.

Staying "In The Know"

I had lunch with a couple of high school friends this weekend and one thing they said stuck out. "Facebook makes the idea of a 10 year reunion pointless." While I would still love to see everyone in the flesh for a reunion, they make a good point. Facebook is a great way for staying informed on what your friends are doing. Same is true for a reunion, finding out what your friends have been up to. For my generation, it would be strange to see one of my fellow graduates not on Facebook.

Games/Entertainment
There are those that have a Facebook account, but the only thing that seems to bring them back there are their Farms, their Restaurants and Monopoly. You won't see any updates from them unless they need your help to unlock the next level!

                                      Business Page
One of my favorite uses of Facebook that I've seen recently has been by Tourism Nanaimo. They ran the "Amazing Nanaimo Getaways". It was a great way for people to see the things that Nanaimo has to offer and to bring some new people to the city. The only thing I didn't like about this contest was that I didn't win!

Daily Ritual

Yep, there are those people for which Facebook isn't an option. They log on every morning, noon and night. They don't live without it and it's their source for the news. They love to tell you exactly what they're doing and they are active on commenting and liking your posts.

There are so many different ways that Facebook is used. I actually don't fall into any of these categories. Do you?

You are what you choose to be.

I was at a BBQ the other day and ended up in a conversation with a gentlemen that got me thinking. I really don't put myself in enough situations where I have truly intellectual conversations.

Self discovery is different for everyone. I've always found that for me, it's not in reading or studies that I find out more about myself, it's in discussion.

In the conversation I made a statement. I said "People decide for themselves how they feel in the moment. You are what you choose to be."
People have the choice of how to react in all situations.

For example, I went to go to hang out with a new group of my boyfriends' friends. The first time I went there, I was so uncomfortable I asked my boyfriend if we could leave early. My boyfriend acknowledged the fact that they were a bit "different" but asked me to perhaps give them one more try and to go in with an open mind because they really liked me and kept asking when I was coming back! So the next time I went I thought to myself: These people are all people. So I just decided that I was going to have a good time. Do you know what? I did. Not only that, but I ended up having great conversation with a couple of the people there.

It was all in the decision. I found out that if I just treated those people like we were already friends then I was able to accept them for who they were. They are a little rough around the edges... but aren't all our edges a little rough?