et patati et patata

{and so on and so forth} Tar Heel Born & Bred. I like: to be near a body of water at all times, reading without interruption, baseball, music, having friends far and wide, and you.

[laceeejo]

2018 - I changed jobs, to one that allows me to have a life (and health insurance!). Lost 75 pounds. Found joy in exercising and moving. Went to Colorado for the first time. Had ups and downs in my relationship, and fought through some growth. Adopted my best friend and trouble maker, Milo. Read 25 books.

Cheers to 2019! 🥂

[laceeejo]

This is 18 Around the World — Through Girls’ Eyes

What does life look like for girls turning 18 in 2018? We gave young women photographers around the world an assignment: Show us 18 in your

[laceeejo]

Loving

- the forever 35 podcast

- regular exercise and especially long weekend walks with my sweet pup

- the harry potter soundtrack(s) at work 

- the girls night in newsletter on friday mornings 

- my most recent read: circe, by madeline miller 

- the new season of serial 

- cooler mornings and nights, even if the days are stuck in the summer

- looking forward to a long weekend vacation at the end of october 

Happy Friday! xo

[laceeejo]

Hurricane Thoughts: Okay, shower at least twice a day in case I lose power any minute. Keep phone, laptop, and kindle plugged in at all times. Do I have enough water? How will I make coffee? Hm, maybe I should make sure my head lamp has a battery in it. Stare at trees in backyard swaying in wind - should I just go sleep at my parents’ house, because they do have a basement...What am I forgetting? Should I just go wander around the grocery store for inspiration? Exhausted from all of this worrying, going to bed and hoping for the best.

Thinking of all of you with the same panicky thoughts, xo.

[laceeejo]

I was interviewed for a podcast called “Women’s Work.” Check it out if you’re interested! Some of the episodes are so good - they’re all interviews with women in a very diverse range of careers. 

[coolkidsofhistory]

Princess Diana, 1980.

[laceeejo]

I have these in the wrong order (🤦🏼‍♀️) and there are lots of other things to update on but pretty proud of how hard I’ve been working over the last several months. Onward!

[laceeejo]

Saturday

It’s a slow Saturday morning, by choice, with a puppy gnawing on a bone at my feet while I browse the Internet and some articles I’ve missed over the past few weeks.  

Work has been emotionally, and then physically, draining lately.  It’s amazing how much stress and anxiety are tied to our physical well-being.  I keep having feelings of disappointment and fear that my career isn’t what I thought it would be and that maybe it doesn’t match my personal strengths.  For the most part, I like lawyering - and, in particular, indigent defense - but that doesn’t pay the bills. The business/revenue expectations as well as other extraneous “stuff” have been making every day a struggle. And I’m not sure what to do. 

I’m in a relationship that I’m so grateful for, but I’m struggling with not wanting to feel so dependent on him to be required to be so much to me.  He hasn’t complained, but I feel that I’m in a friendship drought.  When I first moved back home and started working there were a group of girls I spent time with, but we did not have much in common and I didn’t feel that I could be totally myself when with them.  While it’s true that there aren’t a lot of women my age around, especially that are unmarried and without children, this is something I feel is my responsibility to put more effort toward.  

But, what I do have are friendships that may not be as close but are from all stages of life.  My Friday lunch dates are both men in their 70′s and I had dinner this week with a couple I love in their 60s.  Relationship may just look differently than I expected. 

I am going to be 30 soon! In a few weeks, at least.  I’m not dreading it, but I am trying to use it as a time to reflect and take stock. 

To end on a happier note, I’m thankful for: silky soft dog ears, The West Wing,  the ritual of coffee, exercise, short story collections, a partner, BBQ Fridays, long walks, spring flowers, being more involved in the local Democratic party, a feeling (if brief) of productivity at work, and cool mornings. 

Love y’all, have a good weekend! xx. 

[laceeejo]

Friday (Fun) Reads

The NYT FAQ re: The Royal Wedding. I’m interested/will be watching, and yay for something happy! 

Molly Ringwald, John Hughes, and #MeToo. 

Ryan Adams’ reading list for music lovers. 

I loved An American Marriage, and this is a good interview. 

Have a good weekend! xo

[laceeejo]

My new dog is staying at my parents’ house while I’m in Chapel Hill for a class. 😂

[laceeejo]

Meet Milo!! Day 1. (my instagram: laceyjbeam for more to come..)

[laceeejo]

If this guy isn’t claimed by Thursday afternoon, he will be mine! He’s an approx. 1 year old lab mix. Any tips/suggestions/must buys? 😍

[laceeejo]

I thought I was going to scream this morning at work (already), so a few good things recently: 

+ a night at the lake where we could walk home from multiple cocktails 

+ good, meaningful conversation with my guy

+ the banff film festival 

+ seeing Zadie Smith and her husband speak last week 

+ early morning workouts, despite the initial alarm resistance

+ listening again to favorite podcast episodes on detox/mental health walks

+ slow suppers in good company away from the rush of the week 

+ a 3 day weekend in sight 

[laceeejo]

When your boss’s son is the coolest kid of all time/Zadie Smith’s personal assistant. 🙌🏼

[laceeejo]

Feel Good Friday

”Most afternoons out of the week you’ll find Dr. Bryan Young at Hannah’s Coffee House puzzling over a particularly onerous math problem. He’s usually at the seat by the window, and he’s always wearing a bowtie. Sometimes he drops in an extra tip in the tip jar and requests the barista to change the background music to something classical.

Not so long ago, Young would be standing in an operating room as day broke, ready to make the first incision in a patient’s chest.

He would leave home before sunrise and return after it had set.

As a cardiac surgeon, he said, he lived for the sight of blood before 7 a.m.

These days, you’ll most likely to find him at Hannah’s with a decaffeinated caramelo at his elbow and a copy of Complex Analysis and Calculus in front of him.

Young hasn’t embarked on a new late life career, however, he simply does advanced mathematics for fun.

“I enjoy the solitude and tranquility of math,” Young explained. “And the fact that it is concrete, not chaotic.”

For Young, the stability of numbers was a welcome change after the chaos of medicine.

He said he’s always been attracted to mathematics but has never been particularly gifted in the subject. Persistence, he said, trumps intellectual ability.

Several years ago, after returning to Shelby from Alabama, Young started taking algebra and other math classes at Cleveland Community College. Once he had completed all of those he moved on to Gardner-Webb University. Some of them he took twice.

“It’s like watching a favorite movie,” he said. “You learn things the second go around.”

Word of his mathematical abilities began to spread, and Young said he often has people approach him and ask for help. He tutors local high school or college students, and he does it for free. He said he never advertises, but people find him and he is willing to share his knowledge.

And hopefully his love for the subject ends up being contagious.

“Math should be like a fine wine,” he said, “sipped slowly and savored. Unfortunately, most math classes and exams are like a beer drinking competition.””

I just love this front page story in our hometown newspaper so much.

http://www.shelbystar.com/news/20180315/retired-surgeon-works-equations-for-fun

[honey-and-gin]

[laceeejo]