I've heard people say that I'm well travelled. I disagree, but that's not the point of this post at all. Or maybe it is. Hear me out. I enjoy traveling and getting to experience new cultures and new worlds. It's just fascinating. On my last trip to Portugal, I had a fabulous time navigating the narrow cobblestone streets, but yet, I find myself thinking about the beach. I think about lounging all day, reading a book, or writing and doing absolutely nothing. Two very different prospects of travel. For the past few years, my husband and I have been doing the all-inclusive adults only chain of Sandals. It started with our honeymoon. I remember it clearly. Brad said to me, "we should come back here!". I replied with "Here? Here as in another Sandals or here as in here, this place, this same resort." He said, "This same resort." I told him that there were so many other resorts to explore, so many other islands to explore, even in the Sandals chain. We could stick to the chain, I told him, but we should really try the others. That was 5 years ago.
Today I find myself waiting for a Sandals vacation. My mind will skip past fantastical vacations I've scheduled, waiting to return back to Sandals and back to the beach. Yet, I plan future non-beach vacations also. So many places to visit. I mean, countries. If you've visited parts of a country, should you return to other parts of the same country? Is that repeating? Or should I just try a different country because part of travel is about new and exciting? Is it about getting a notch on your belt?
As I get older and find myself wanting to be at the beach and as I discuss with my husband about the one Sandals resort we want to continue to keep returning to every year, I think about vacations and travel. I've heard people criticize me about going back to the Caribbean over and over. I've heard comments about why Sandals, over and over. I wonder if at 45 years, peer pressure is still getting to me or should I just do what I damn well please?
There is comfort in the familiar and yet there's excitement in the new. I would say, familiar to me would be Sandals - a resort chain that has been tried and tested for us. Recently, we were at Puerto Vallarta at one of the Vidanta resorts - The Grand Bliss. It wasn't all inclusive and while the resort was large and the room was fabulous, it was next to impossible to find a beach chair. Yes, we took long walks along the beach and we had a tamarindo daiquiri, which we hadn't had at any other resort, but the resort was too large for my taste.
I return back home and get online to check the deals at a Sandals. Yet, there's a part of me that wonders if I want to go back to a Viking river cruise. I think to myself that it was rush, rush, rush and a lot of bus travel but then again, we got to see a lot in a short time. Sure we didn't have time to breathe or take it all in, but hey, it was a great way to get a sampling of the cities we visited. I can always argue that we love the hop on hop off bus tour in the cities we visit. Isn't that a bus tour and isn't that a slice of the city in a short time?
The other grand travel factor is of course the F word - finances. The places and trips that I have my eyes on, do not sit well with my wallet. So, it's a factor of actually saving money, a little every month to be able to experience the unique, in a relaxing setting. The time factor is critical as well. I'm not retired yet. Far from it. Owning my own practice gives me the freedom to take time off as I choose, but it also limits me in that I don't get paid when I take time off. So, there's only so long I can be gone before the office needs me to make an income and take care of the little pesky things called bills.
I took a travel test a couple of months ago on Facebook. It recommended my top places to visit as Banff and Iceland! Maybe I won't be walking along the beach there, but the hiking and canoeing can be quite relaxing. I remember canoeing in Alaska. We were on a small ship cruise (max 36 passengers) with Fantasy Cruises. The canoe was part of the trip and couple of days we were on the canoe and they pretty much let us canoe for as long as we wanted. So, we canoed for almost 2 hours watching the bald eagles above us. It wasn't the beach, but it was peaceful and ultimately I think when it comes to travel, I just want my mind to clear and to connect with nature and forget the world that I've left behind briefly.
So, maybe it doesn't have to always be the beach. Maybe, if finances allowed, time to rejuvenate my soul may just be my most valuable asset, wherever that might be, in whatever country that might be. It is a blessing to look at the mirror and live an honest life. A life of your choosing. Not one that is riddled by the comparisons that we frequently find ourselves fighting.
Wishing you all a well travelled and well experienced life of your dreams.
Best to you all,
TTR
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
A few kind words can keep you going
I was between patients today when I checked my phone and my email. There was one new email from my theythrowrocks account. Usually, such emails are junk, but not this time. It was someone I did not know and it was someone who did not know me either! The message goes as follows: I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don't know who you are but certainly you are going to be a famous blogger if you are not already ;) Cheers!
Wow, I thought. Me? Famous blogger? When did this happen? Not yet, but someone believes it as a possibility and that someone put a big smile on my face. The post was "Moth Pitch" and I wondered if the video in the post was the kicker, but I need to slow down and stop wondering. I think I need to just enjoy the moment. Of course, when someone comments on your blog, it's a huge compliment. They read my blog! They READ my blog. Awesome! One tends to get carried away for a bit and then I have to plant my feet firmly on the ground and plug along. I realized that I hadn't done a post this whole month. Now was as good a time as any to write one.
This past weekend I was at a wedding and for whatever reason, I decided to do most of the events on Facebook live, instead of taking pictures. Well, family from around the world who could not attend the wedding were thanking me for the live videos. At the same time, my Facebook friends who had never been to a desi wedding were confused about what was going on. I got a private message asking me about the wedding and I told her that I would have to blog about it. Well, I do need to make a post about it, but my schedule is super tight. I'm out of town next weekend also. A lot of the days, I'm just tired. Today's email gave me that shot I needed to get on here and post something. I figured it doesn't have to be earth shattering. As long as I keep it going, I may accidentally cross paths with someone else I do not know and hopefully that kind of thing will keep happening over and over and over again.
So, with that said, I wish you all a life filled with kind words.
TTR
Wow, I thought. Me? Famous blogger? When did this happen? Not yet, but someone believes it as a possibility and that someone put a big smile on my face. The post was "Moth Pitch" and I wondered if the video in the post was the kicker, but I need to slow down and stop wondering. I think I need to just enjoy the moment. Of course, when someone comments on your blog, it's a huge compliment. They read my blog! They READ my blog. Awesome! One tends to get carried away for a bit and then I have to plant my feet firmly on the ground and plug along. I realized that I hadn't done a post this whole month. Now was as good a time as any to write one.
This past weekend I was at a wedding and for whatever reason, I decided to do most of the events on Facebook live, instead of taking pictures. Well, family from around the world who could not attend the wedding were thanking me for the live videos. At the same time, my Facebook friends who had never been to a desi wedding were confused about what was going on. I got a private message asking me about the wedding and I told her that I would have to blog about it. Well, I do need to make a post about it, but my schedule is super tight. I'm out of town next weekend also. A lot of the days, I'm just tired. Today's email gave me that shot I needed to get on here and post something. I figured it doesn't have to be earth shattering. As long as I keep it going, I may accidentally cross paths with someone else I do not know and hopefully that kind of thing will keep happening over and over and over again.
So, with that said, I wish you all a life filled with kind words.
TTR
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Friday, February 9, 2018
Thursday, February 8, 2018
The Columbia Titanium Story
It's winter here in St. Louis and it's a cold one. Temperatures have been dropping into the single digits and while I'm working, I see patients walk in all bundled up in their jackets. I take an active interest in what my patients are wearing. Why? That's a whole different story but a couple of days ago, I noticed this dad wearing a really neat bright colored Columbia Titanium jacket. I didn't make any comment about it but I wondered about the whole brand. I'd heard of Columbia, but was this the new thing? Columbia Titanium? Don't get me wrong. I see North Faces and Patagonias and I just hadn't seen the Columbia Titanium brand. Well, with that dad, I didn't say anything.
The next mom that had a black Columbia Titanium had me curious. "So, tell me what's with the Columbia Titanium. I know the brand name Columbia, but what's with the titanium?" I had to know. I got a real story and a lesson in that simple curious question. She started with, "Oh this thing! I don't know about the titanium." She unzips her jacket to reveal a shiny inner layer. She proceeds to talk about how warm it was and she thought it used her body heat. She told me that the jacket was so warm that she needed to cool down while skiing. She raised her hands and there were zippers there to open up the armpits, to cool you down if you get too hot. I said, "Wow! That's pretty neat!" and she replied with, "Yes, and we got this free. Columbia just mailed it to us!"
OK. Now she had my attention. A nice Columbia Titanium jacket (now that I figured out how warm it was) was mailed to her for free. How does that happen? There comes the story. She laughed and said, "My husband and his friend were just messing around in our basement and making YouTube videos with camping gear. They were comparing all kinds of camping things and they had never been camping themselves, but we got tons of beef jerky mailed to us. Once we got 3 kayaks sent to us!" The Columbia jacket was one of their mailings! I'm still not completely buying this story. I'm buying it, but there's more. There has to be. I can't just have a YouTube channel and things coming through my door? "How many viewers did they have? How often did they do this? There is no way they are getting all these goods just because." She explained that they did a video every 2 weeks consistently and they would mention that they are comparing products and ask for companies to send them products to be included in the comparison and that's how they got the products sent to them. She said, "People want their products talked about!" Then she continued to talk about how the whole thing was a joke and they didn't do it anymore. With that kind of innovative mentality, they took it to marketing and motivation and I can't recall, but they made a lot of contacts on LinkedIn and they apparently have a multi-million dollar business currently. Very cool. I think Tony Robbins was one of their contacts (a friend of a friend) but still I sit back and listen to the story and I told her that they were deserving of everything because they were consistent. I told her about this blog I write and I talked about how I would write 4 blogs one day and then nothing for the next few months. I said, "it's consistency that gets you places" and I believe that.
I remember watching a video where this person talks about the ONE factor that made high school kids succeed in their future. It wasn't their grades or anything like that. It was their "grit". That was the word she had used. Call it what you want. Grit. Consistency. Sticktoitivity. It doesn't matter. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. That's where success lies. We know about it through a very famous childhood story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Another great example of progress - small, dragged out, tedious, micro step at a time progress, non quitting progress. The progress that gets you to the destination. I bow down to the tortoise. I'm a hare. I move fast and can move 20 paces forward at lightning speed. And then I can move 50 paces sideways and diagonally backwards at that same speed, while I watch my husband, the tortoise, make slow, steady deliberate steps forward and he has made it to destinations (published plays) while I zip back and forth in my confused state of a pseudo-progress. Ah. Wouldn't it be great if I could just use my own lessons?
I will say that my personal progress, micro steps, is coming along. Last year, I had a goal of reading one book a month. I know. It's nothing for most of you, but for the hare here, it's focus and consistency. The destination was 12 books. I gave this hare, the choice to read 12 books in a month or spread it out in a year. Some months I read 3, some months none, some months one but I finished the goal. 12 books done! This year is destination 24 books. We're in the first week of Feb and I'm at 3. So far, so good.
Here's to a more consistent life to all of us!
Best to you all,
TTR
The next mom that had a black Columbia Titanium had me curious. "So, tell me what's with the Columbia Titanium. I know the brand name Columbia, but what's with the titanium?" I had to know. I got a real story and a lesson in that simple curious question. She started with, "Oh this thing! I don't know about the titanium." She unzips her jacket to reveal a shiny inner layer. She proceeds to talk about how warm it was and she thought it used her body heat. She told me that the jacket was so warm that she needed to cool down while skiing. She raised her hands and there were zippers there to open up the armpits, to cool you down if you get too hot. I said, "Wow! That's pretty neat!" and she replied with, "Yes, and we got this free. Columbia just mailed it to us!"
OK. Now she had my attention. A nice Columbia Titanium jacket (now that I figured out how warm it was) was mailed to her for free. How does that happen? There comes the story. She laughed and said, "My husband and his friend were just messing around in our basement and making YouTube videos with camping gear. They were comparing all kinds of camping things and they had never been camping themselves, but we got tons of beef jerky mailed to us. Once we got 3 kayaks sent to us!" The Columbia jacket was one of their mailings! I'm still not completely buying this story. I'm buying it, but there's more. There has to be. I can't just have a YouTube channel and things coming through my door? "How many viewers did they have? How often did they do this? There is no way they are getting all these goods just because." She explained that they did a video every 2 weeks consistently and they would mention that they are comparing products and ask for companies to send them products to be included in the comparison and that's how they got the products sent to them. She said, "People want their products talked about!" Then she continued to talk about how the whole thing was a joke and they didn't do it anymore. With that kind of innovative mentality, they took it to marketing and motivation and I can't recall, but they made a lot of contacts on LinkedIn and they apparently have a multi-million dollar business currently. Very cool. I think Tony Robbins was one of their contacts (a friend of a friend) but still I sit back and listen to the story and I told her that they were deserving of everything because they were consistent. I told her about this blog I write and I talked about how I would write 4 blogs one day and then nothing for the next few months. I said, "it's consistency that gets you places" and I believe that.
I remember watching a video where this person talks about the ONE factor that made high school kids succeed in their future. It wasn't their grades or anything like that. It was their "grit". That was the word she had used. Call it what you want. Grit. Consistency. Sticktoitivity. It doesn't matter. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. That's where success lies. We know about it through a very famous childhood story of the Tortoise and the Hare. Another great example of progress - small, dragged out, tedious, micro step at a time progress, non quitting progress. The progress that gets you to the destination. I bow down to the tortoise. I'm a hare. I move fast and can move 20 paces forward at lightning speed. And then I can move 50 paces sideways and diagonally backwards at that same speed, while I watch my husband, the tortoise, make slow, steady deliberate steps forward and he has made it to destinations (published plays) while I zip back and forth in my confused state of a pseudo-progress. Ah. Wouldn't it be great if I could just use my own lessons?
I will say that my personal progress, micro steps, is coming along. Last year, I had a goal of reading one book a month. I know. It's nothing for most of you, but for the hare here, it's focus and consistency. The destination was 12 books. I gave this hare, the choice to read 12 books in a month or spread it out in a year. Some months I read 3, some months none, some months one but I finished the goal. 12 books done! This year is destination 24 books. We're in the first week of Feb and I'm at 3. So far, so good.
Here's to a more consistent life to all of us!
Best to you all,
TTR
The Empathy Story
Hello all. This is my first time actually trying to post from YouTube directly into Blogger. I hope this works! This was a story I did in the Fall of 2017. Just hadn't published it yet.
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