When I go to spas, I like to see the candles lit up. The flicker of the flame and the scent of the candle alone immediately make it a relaxation zone and add some zen to the experience. I also comment on lit candles when Continue reading
If you are anything like me, you have a full schedule. We live busy lives and as a result, sometimes we look forward to the end of the day. Or, if it is an extremely stressful week, we hope the week goes by fast, looking forward for the arrival of the weekend. I have been there, in the past, when I would wake up and before I would get out of bed, say to myself, “it’s Wednesday, just three more days to go!” I was referring to three more workdays until the weekend arrived, and then I could catch up on sleep and relax a little. That was during stressful periods where I had too much to do at work and my workdays were twelve to fourteen hours long. It seemed like there weren’t enough hours in the day to complete all the work. At the same time, I felt fortunate to have a career I enjoyed, appreciative of the position I had, and to work with some nice people and be able to help non-profit organizations (and the people they helped).
Lately, I have been reflecting on my life and career. I am still trying to find what seems like the forever sought after “balance” between career and personal life. I am also at a different point of my life because I am married now and enjoy spending time with my husband. I look forward to coming home and making dinner for him (shocking for me since I didn’t cook much when I was single), and hearing about his day. I also enjoy learning about his interests and hobbies, and sharing in those experiences. I continue to spend time with family and friends, and particularly enjoy my walks and talks with my girlfriends and sis/sister-in-law! Time with my family is more limited now that I am married, particularly since we live about thirty minutes away, and I usually get together with them only on weekends. If I reflect on the past few years, my fondest thoughts are the time spent with family, friends, and in my career the time with my colleagues, as well as kind words from people I helped. Almost every thought includes moments of laughter or joy….and hugs from my nephews or nieces.
I saw the Tikker “Happiness Watch” in a catalog recently and it made me think about time and how precious everyday is. Using statistics and an algorithm you calculate your life expectancy and the watch gives you a countdown of how much time you have left, to LIVE! It made me wonder if I would have a different perspective on life if I was counting the days backwards. Subtracting each day as it ended. Would it give me a different appreciation of how I spent me day?
It reminded me of vacations, when I count down the days left, “three more days of vacation left to enjoy,” then, “two more days and finally one more day left.” It made me think of friends that have had life threatening cancer and how they must have felt when the doctor told them how long they had to live, if they didn’t beat the illness. It reminded me of the day, seven years ago, when I felt a lump in my breast and thought I had cancer. I remember my doctor immediately sent me to get a mammogram the next day (he is a wonderful doctor). He contacted me the day after to tell me it was breast tissue and not a malignant lump. Driving home after the initial appointment, before getting the mammogram, I remember feeling sadness and having flashes of not seeing my nieces grow up, graduate from college, or share their wedding day with them. Since I wasn’t married at the time and didn’t have children of my own, my nieces were the first one’s to come to mind. Luckily, I was fine and continue to enjoy seeing these beautiful girls grow up. In the past years and with the arrival of more nephews and a husband into my life, I have tried to live more in the moment. To enjoy each day and be present when I am with them. To put down my cell phone or laptop, and enjoy the time I spend with them.
The Tikker “Happiness Watch” also made me think of my grandmother and how she lives her life, to the fullest, enjoying everyday, sharing her love with family, and trying not to judge others. She continues to wake up early and do things, everyday! She spends time with family, and enjoys every gathering and party. She puts on lipstick and chooses a different outfit everyday, even if she is staying home all day. She gets dolled up for parties by shopping for special dresses, and goes to get her hair done and make-up applied. She continues to have lots to look forward to and says she doesn’t know how long she has left, but she will continue to give back by contributing to her family and community, and will enjoy her life! It made me wonder if she lives her life differently today that she is in her mid-eighties, than she did when she was seventy, sixty, or fifty. I will ask her this weekend when I see her!
The idea for this watch came from Fredrik Colting after the death of his father. The title for the watch says, “A wristwatch that counts down your life.” The description lists, “ Make every second count with the Tikker ‘Happiness Watch’ inspiring you to live your life to the fullest. Using statistics and personal health algorithm your average life expectancy is calculated. The countdown begins, from years to seconds. Tic-Toc. Whether deciding to spend time in the board room or on a surf board. Tic-Toc. It also gives you the correct time.” It sells for $79.99.
Would you buy this type of watch? I don’t think I’ll buy the watch, but will look for a clock with similar features. Perhaps, to place it in our bedroom, so I see it everyday. It may help give me a further appreciation for each day.
Would you live your life differently if you knew how long you had to live?
What do you think about having a “countdown of your life”?
So, let’s try to live in the moment. Enjoy the present and remember, our life is a count down and we won’t get to live today over again, let’s enjoy it! We won’t be here forever! It may sound like a cliché, but life is short and time does flies by quickly! Let’s try to make it a happy life! Tic-toc!
I did some research and the Tikker watch has received quite a bit of media coverage. You can read more about the Tikker “Happiness Watch” and it’s founder in Medical Design Technology Magazine. There also have a Tikker Facebook page & a website.
I also found a video regarding Tikker on Kickstarter. The caricature video made me chuckle! It may seem too direct or a bit eerie, but is also honest and tells us that we have choices on how we live our lives.
Hugs,
Paola
Hi friends – hope your week is going well! Mine is flying by!
It seems that nowadays we all do more than we did before, more at work and at home. My workdays can be long, filled with meetings, calls, shoots, & deadlines. I love it, but at the end of my workday, sometimes I just want some silence & a relaxing evening at home. Now that I am married, I have cut down on the number of work related evening events I attend. I made this change, mostly because I like to spend time with my hubby, to exercise after work, and so I can spend time on my blog 🙂
It is easy to fall into a routine on weeknights. We have all done it at some point. I did it even when I was single. There is nothing wrong with having a routine, trust me, I am a creature of habit and can be quite methodical in the way I go through my day (I’ll leave that for another post). But, every once in a while, it is nice to change up the routine. I try to limit my weeknight outings to once per week (personal or work related events), not counting Friday. Once a week, I will either go for a walk with Lola by the bay downtown or she’ll join me to attend an event.
A few years ago, I met a sassy Latina named Samya, uber talented and outspoken. We’ve stayed connected over the years. Last week, she sent me an invitation for the Grand Opening of El Agave Del Mar Restaurant. I did what I usually do, looked at the invitation & geographic location (I usually don’t attend events too far from downtown), reviewed my schedule, and put it with the other “tentative” invitations. But, it stayed on my mind. Then, I looked at the invitation more closely and realized it was from Samya. I RSVPd.
After the many laughs I had yesterday, I am glad I RSVPd! I go to multiple events and Lola is usually my plus 1. We always have a nice time, but yesterday was lots, lots of fun! Multiple things happened that made the night fun. First of all, even though this may not sound funny, it was and turned into an on-going joke throughout the evening. Lola had on some gorgeous Michael Kors heals she had purchased recently. She had told me about the shoes, so it was nice to finally see them on her! This was her first time wearing them. As I am complimenting her shoes, she tells me they are uncomfortable, to which I frown, but say, “oh no, but they are so beautiful!” Then she turns around and shows me a small cut the zipper has made on the back of her heel, yikes. Luckily, I had a band-aid in my purse, so that helped. Second, we were chatting so intensely in the car that I missed the freeway exit in Del Mar! We laughed and just took the next exit, we were chatting anyway, so no worries. Third, as we exit the elevator, a metal decoration on Lola’s shoe just breaks off! It broke from one side but was still attached to the other side, so it wasn’t even removable. She is a trooper and laughed it off as we entered the restaurant.
Samya greeted us nicely upon arrival! Always a pleasure to see her and catch up! We scan the room, say hi to a few people we knew. We got some food, found seats, and started to enjoy our margaritas, with the most amazing sunset in Del Mar! There was a very nice server that kept bringing Lola food and drinks! And well, since I was sitting with her, he’d also offer me some food, ha! The event was a huge success and the terrace was packed, no surprise since Samya organized it & she’s a public relations pro!
Then, I saw my friend Luis getting food, I’ve known him for about 12 years! I said hi from afar and he came over to greet us! He told me he was sitting at the bar with Nelly, also a friend, and we agreed we’d come over to the bar later on or they’d come to our table. Lola and I continued to enjoy our margaritas & conversation. Within a few minutes, Luis and Nelly came over to sit with us and the laughters did not end for the rest of the evening! Lola and Luis were sharing pics of their adorable doggies, we were all catching up, and joking. Samya came to sit with us towards the end of the evening. Between her and Nelly, it is hard to say which one is more sassy, they were both throwing out lines that were hilarious! Both are sweethearts and genuine people, love that about them!
I wanted to take a picture of the sunset and realized I had left my phone in the car, a huge no-no for me, but figured in case of an urgent matter my hubby knew I was with Lola and could call on her phone. I did have my camera. We asked a server to take a group pic of us, but bless his heart, every picture came out blurry (he took about 5 pics, I posted two below), we kept posing for the pics and were laughing each time we realized it was blurry…..finally, Luis took out his phone and that became the picture we posted for the night. Somehow, Lola’s shoe malfunction got into the conversation and we all started comparing shoes. Luis was wearing converse style tennis shoes, with a business jacket, collared shirt, and gray pants. We thought that was just the look that he had been wearing all day. He frowned and told us he changed shoes in the car when they arrived at the event because, as he stated in a serious tone “you know, mens feet also get tired in work shoes and hurt after a long day,” hilarious! Again, we all burst into laughs!
We realized it was dark out and getting late, later than we had originally planned on staying. As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun and it did indeed! We ended the night with a group pic, with Samya (shown above). We walked out together and decided to take a group shoe picture in the elevator, again we laughed! It was a memorable evening, I am certain it will come up in conversations with Lola in the future, when we laugh about her Michael Kors shoe malfunction and Luis’ comment about mens feet hurting after a long day in work shoes, too funny!
The El Agave Del Mar Restaurant is beautiful, the food is delicious and the drinks amazing, they use good quaility tequila in their margaritas, and don’t even get me started on the freshness of the guacamole, empanadas…and sopes! The view is breathtaking, wonderful place to see a sunset or enjoy the scenic ocean view! Plus, as a Latina, I am always glad to see nice, classy restaurants that serve excellent Mexican cuisine!
I went out of my routine, my comfort level, and out of the downtown area….went to an event all the way in North County (ok, it’s not that far), and am SO glad I did because I had such a fun evening! So, next time you get an opportunity to do something fun on a weekday, try to pass on the comfort of just going home and getting in your jammies (I do this), instead go out! Break the routine, who knows what the night may bring, you may laugh and have a great time! Go out there and live life to the fullest, enjoy time with friends, a sunset, and have a margarita when you can!
Do you go to work related or personal/social events on weeknights? If yes, how often? When was the last time you had a surprisingly fun night at an event on a weeknight? I’d love to hear about it!
Hugs…TGIF it’s Friday mañana (means tomorrow;)),
Paola
Lola…in her Michael Kors shoes, before they broke that evening.
Blurry picture 1…of 5.
Blurry picture number 5, ha! 
Finally, a good picture…taken by someone else 🙂
Taken in the elevator on our way to the parking garage. Since shoes became a part of the evening’s conversation, the last pic of the evening was one of our shoes! It is fun to be silly sometimes!
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