Tests from the Universe

I'm a big believer in the idea that events in this life unfold for a reason. Not in the, "it's meant to happen because that's your destiny" sense, but more that the Universe has this way of guiding you in ways of bettering your life, if you're open to it.

Often times, as I've found, this means learning a lesson before getting to the good stuff. In recent years, I've noticed that the world has shown me the value of such things as attention to detail and thoroughness - though at the time I had no idea I'd become a skydiver where these attributes would be critical to saving my life. It's also slapped me upside the head recently and let me know that, difficult as it may be, speaking up for my own wants and needs is critical to my happiness - after all, no one else is going to do it for me.

So that takes me to what I believe is my latest lesson; patience.

I'm on to you Universe, you're testing my patience right now...and let me be the first to tell you that you're not going to make me fail at this one. Difficult as it may be, I'm giving every ounce of energy I have left to practicing patience. You're not going to drive me mad with this one.

Sometimes when you see good things start to unfold you just want to skip to the end to reap the rewards. Turns out, this isn't the way things work. And sometimes, no matter how hard the waiting part is, there's nothing more you can do to fill the space between effort and result - aside from waiting.

As the song goes, waiting is the hardest part. And no matter what the result is, making the best of it can be the most important...it's just a matter of not knowing, living in limbo that tends to drive people crazy (well, me at least). So, I'm taking this as a test from the Universe once again, that ultimately will show me the benefits of being patient, and remaining positive at the same time.

But it's far from easy. The questions that run through the mind are enough to drive anyone a little nutty, but it's important to remember, not to doubt yourself, because in the end you don't want to have to pick up more pieces of your shattered self than is necessary.

So tell me dear readers, what are some of your tips and tricks for patience?

Cheers!

-A

RAVE: PeiWei Asian Diner

This one has been a long time coming. For anyone who knows me, it's no secret that I like to eat. It's truly amazing that I'm not twice my size; thanks mom and dad for great metabolism.

Two sentences and I'm already off topic...

Back in 2005, when I took a trip down to visit a friend in Tucson, AZ, Pei Wei Asian Diner was the first stop after the airport. I'd never heard of it before, but I do like asian food so it sounded like a good idea.

Being a quick-casual restaurant, we were eating within 10 minutes of ordering.

I really like how the system is set up there. You walk in, look at the menu that's on the wall - they also have a couple available in smaller print on the counters where you place your order - a cashier takes your order, gives you your glass and you get your drinks and find a seat. Then, within 9 minutes your food is at your table. It's pretty great, actually.

Quick casual. A very smart concept.

What I enjoy most about Pei Wei though, is their food. When I lived in Dallas, my apartment was only a couple miles from the nearest Pei Wei. I experimented with their food, as it was fairly inexpensive, which is a plus for a single 20-something just beginning her career.

Early on in my experimenting I tried their pad thai and fell in love. It was the perfect amount of sweet and spicy. Just the right amount of sauce, not too thick. It was almost refreshing, silly as that sounds. Between the pad thai and the fact that they had Diet Dr. Pepper available in their fountain (c'mon, everyone knows fountain soda is the best), I was hooked.

It wasn't long before I decided that it was time for a weekend job to supplement my entry-level PR salary, so what a better place than Pei Wei, where I was a patron at least 3 times a week anyway.

This is when I realized how great this company really is. All the cooking takes place in the woks outside the kitchen where the public can watch. Everything is incredibly sanitary.

Having previously been a server in a restaurant in college, I can honestly say I didn't want to eat there knowing what went on in the kitchens. Not the case with Pei Wei. I continued to eat there as often as I once did...in fact, I probably at there more as an employee.

They treat there employees with understanding and respect. Even though I was 20-something working as a cashier, I did have a career that was important to me during the week. My manager respected the type of employee I was, and that I had a lot going on outside of the store.

We were recognized as important, no matter which role you filled. I could go on, but this isn't what's important.

What IS important, is how great this restaurant is for it's customers. When you food is delivered to your table, your every wish can be catered to...everything from extra sauces to napkins to a drink refill. Sure, these are things you could do yourself, but all you have to do is ask :).

I'm beyond thrilled that Pei Wei is opening a store out here in the Chicago burbs this week. I've been looking forward to this since we moved here in October, and something I've been talking about for years. I truly miss this place and will be making an appearance out there this week.

So, here's the scoop:

Price: $$ (very reasonable, less than $10/person and often there's enough left over for tomorrow)

Menu Selection: **** (vietnamese, thai, chinese...there are plenty of options for all asian tastes)

Taste: ***** (my favorite asian food anywhere!)

Service: ***** (so nice and welcoming, and prompt with the order)

Atmosphere: **** (laid back, friendly, quick)

Patience ≠ strength

I want to share something that slapped me upside the head recently.

Now, it's no secret that patience is not one of my strengths. When there's something I want, I want it now. And if it's something that needs to be done, I expect it to be done right. This used to mean that I would do just about everything I wanted done myself so that I knew it was done right. But, considering my career, I've had to loosen up on that and learn to trust a bit more.

Waiting in lines also has become less of a chore, but I can thank my iPhone for keeping my ADD brain busy and allowing me to multitask. Cuz as we all know, if I'm not doing more than one thing at a time, I'm not in my comfort zone :).

But even with these improvements, I'm still not a very patient person. I could never be a teacher. I thank my stars frequently that my brother decided to pursue a career in IT, making him the go-to with all computer and techie questions that my family can think up. I just don't have the patience to teach people who don't have the first clue about technology - it's easier to do that crap myself.

The funny thing is, even though I'm acutely aware of my lack of patience and need to work on this area of my life, I still expect that other people will be patient with me. Great example: I'm a question asker, an information seeker, if you will. I don't like to make decisions or give a concrete answer to anything unless I'm certain about what's being asked of me. So I have a tendency to ask questions to fill in the blanks...sometimes lots of follow up questions. This tends to irk some people who aren't from this same camp. And when frustration happens, I tend to lash out, just expecting patience to overcome them.

This, my friends, makes me a jerk.

I mean really, who can possibly expect perfection from others when I myself can fully admit to being FAR from perfect in every aspect of life. On top of that, I'll be the first to tell you that perfection is more times than not, completely annoying. Who wants to be surrounded by perfect people? I mean, they're just a constant reminder of how imperfect you are anyway, right? So expecting perfection is just asking for annoyance. C'mon Ashley, wise up already!

Wow, this post doesn't seem to be going in any real direction...my apologies if you're having trouble following.

I guess my point is this - I'm impatient, especially with people who aren't patient with me. Which is totally wrong on my part. But I'm aware of it, and I'm working on it. So, thanks to those who are patient with me while I work on my understanding of the fact that you're not all that patient either.

Um...even I'm having trouble following this logic now. But I hope it makes some sense, if you've been patient enough to have read this far.

Cheers!

-A

New Opportunities Ahead

Two Thousand Eleven has just begun and I'm already excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Since moving to Chicago there have been lots of chances to grow as a person, not only in my personal life, but in my career and in skydiving as well.

There are still so many question marks about where things are headed, but I have to say that I'm excited about the possibilities.

So far I've done a good job about not stressing over it - normally question marks make me uneasy, but I'm just going to take things as they come this year. After all, things seem to have this way of working themselves out the way they are supposed to in the end.

Needless to say, I've already spent quite a bit of time getting my ducks in a row as much as I can. I've come to realize that there's never an ideal time to make any change, but if you don't dive in head first and do it, you'll never grow. So, I'm doing what I can to get comfortable in case the time comes where change is knocking at my door.

And if you've been following along, you know this tends to happen quite frequently in my life. Even though I'm getting married and settled into my career, I just don't foresee myself "settling down" anytime soon. Thank god for a fiance who has a much (if not more) energy than I do :).

So that's really all I have, I guess I was just wanting to write more than anything this morning. Looks like I've got another busy day ahead.

What opportunities do you see in your near future?

Cheers!

-A

RAVE: Uncle Bub's

In keeping with one of my 2011 resolutions (see Write more), I'm doing just that. So that means that on occasion you'll get two posts in one day.

Deal with it.

I wanted to start this year out on a high note with the review portion of this blog, by talking about an incredible BBQ restaurant just up the road from my place in Chicago.

It's touted as Chicagoland's Best Award Winning BBQ and let me tell you what, it lives up to that.

Now, if you've been reading long, you're probably thinking, "but Ashley, aren't you a vegetarian?'

True, I used to be a full veg, but things change and I've come to find that meat can be your friend in small doses. Plus, it's yummy!

Anyhow, so in trying out new, local restaurants, my fiance and I stumbled into Uncle Bub's in Westmont one afternoon.

We decided, since this was our first time, that we'd pop that cherry by splitting the sampler platter, which has three ounces of each of their meats (though, I really think there was more than 3 oz of each....they really loaded it up). You also get corn bread and two sides - this was more than enough for us. In fact, we ended up taking some home!

I was a huge fan of the brisket, while my partner in crime was loving the ribs. He also loved the friend mac & cheese while my favorite sides were by far the mashed potatoes and gravy and cole slaw.

One of the cool things about this place is that they have a wall of sauces you can pick from and take back to your table. We indulged in a few hot sauces and a couple different BBQ sauces aside from what was on the table. On top of that, they have homemade pickles and pickled veggies as well.

I think what I liked most about this place though was the service. Everyone was so nice! They were slow as we showed our faces at 3:30 in the afternoon, but that gave us time to check everything out and mingle with the staff. It had a very Midwestern flare for a BBQ joint.

This would be a great place for one of those Food Network shows like Man vs. Food or Diners, Drive ins and Dives. I guess the latter had to finally contact Uncle Bub's and request that their patrons stop sending email requests to the show because their inbox fills up. Well, hello Guy, maybe that's your clue to come to Westmont, eh?

I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the Chicago area or traveling out to the burbs. It's worth the drive!

Price: $$ (big portions at a reasonable price)

Menu Selection: *** (not sure what is standard for BBQ places)

Taste: **** (yummy!)

Service: ***** (so nice and welcoming, and prompt with the order)

Atmosphere: **** (laid back, friendly)

Cheers!

-A

Resolving

In keeping with New Year's blogging tradition (well, my tradition anyhow) I've decided to share my resolutions for 2011.

These are a bit different that in previous years. If you've been following along, 2010 was a year of significant learning for me, so I'm going to do everything I can to apply what I've learned to making my life better.

Here's what I've got:

*Be honest. With myself and with those around me. Make it known what I want, then work out a compromise if it doesn't match others that are involved. Being unhappy about an outcome can only be blamed on me if I haven't spoken up, and it does nothing by harm me and those around me.

*Write more. Journal. Blog. Start a book (that might be a lofty goal...), but whatever it takes, make an effort to sit down and write!

*Make yoga & meditation a priority. I've already started down this path, now I just need to stick with it again. :)

*Photography: be better about capturing memories on photo. I sucked at it this year and really only have pictures from my vacation last January. That's totally unacceptable.

*Relax. I have a tendency to be wound a little tight sometimes. I need to just chill the hell out and only control what I can. Myself. I think I need to learn to be a bit more selfish, and enjoy it.

*Wear more jewelry. When I met my fiance he pointed out my lack of jewelry. Aside from my engagement ring, this is pretty true. So, I've decided to start experimenting more.

What are some of your resolutions for 2011?

Cheers!

-A

Year in Review 2010

Well, it's been quite a year, and sticking with blogger tradition I'm going to do a year in review. I'm a follower, not a leader ;). Only kidding of course.

But first, I have the last Reverb10 prompt to think about: December 31 – Core Story What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world?

As I've said through most of my posts this past month, the theme of 2010 was definitely learning. I'm grateful for every experience I've had this year that's taught me a thing or two about who I am, who I want to become, and who I want to surround myself with in the process.

Now, let's get on with the 2010 Year in Review...shall we? I tried to include a picture or video from each month. As you can see, I need to start taking more pictures again...

January

This was a month of adjusting and anticipating for me. I'd recently moved in with the first boyfriend I've ever lived with (which turned out pretty well, given that we are now engaged), and I spent the last days of the month traveling to warmer climates for, you guessed it, skydiving (video). This was also the month that I experienced my first cutaway, saving my own life. Pretty fun!

February

I started the month still on our 10 day Florida vacation, skydiving in Z-hills (video). Then it was time to get back to the grind. Finishing out the winter by reminiscing over all the fun things we did on our vacation and editing video.

March

The first half of the month I went up to Michigan to spend time with family I hadn't seen since the holidays and to celebrate my grandfather's 80th birthday. This was when I really realized how much I miss my grandparents by living so far from home. I made it a point to start reconnecting with them on a regular basis. So far, I've done a pretty good job of this each time I head home.

This month I also got the last addition to my skydiving tattoo...for now ;)

April

The skydiving season really starts to pick up as the weather gets warmer. But my boyfriend and I head down to South Carolina for a visit with his aunt and some skydiving action in a new city. We had a great time and came home with an open invitation to go back. Hoping to take advantage of that again this year. This was also the month where I really started to ramp up on the Jump for Diabetes promoting. I did a lot of outreach in my spare time for the event and, having just cut the final check to the ADA yesterday, I can honestly say it was well worth the work!

May

I got a couple offers for sponsors for the Jump for Diabetes. Not only that, I was asked to write a legit review on my blog and I got my first advertiser. This was a good month for Skydive Chick. For my birthday, we headed out to New York to skydive at a place called The Ranch. It was a fun weekend away.

June

This was a huge month for me in terms of skydiving. I started flying a wingsuit, which I haven't done much of in the past 6 months, but I was all about it in June and July! Then I was able to demo a much smaller canopy on a trip down to one of our favorite Ohio dropzones. It showed me that I wanted a 120 square foot parachute...bad. Unfortunately, this was also the month that I lost my grandmother. Though, as we joked at the funeral, this was her way of finally getting my cousins, aunt and uncle from California together with the rest of the family. It'd been too long...I miss them all!

July

This was a HUGE month for learning for me. Between the death of my grandmother and the loss of a couple friends (who, really, turned out to be not such great people after all) I really took a step back to evaluate what's important in life. For the first time I saw myself and the life I was leading. I saw that I was really living up to the spoiled little sister of the family, and that I was doing only what I pleased, whenever I wanted. I made a promise to myself to make my family and (true) friends more of a priority in my life, and skydiving, a little less. It was the first time I said to myself, "there's more to life than skydiving," and truly believed it. I also realized that I'd been slacking on my photography and yoga. At least I was able to re-commit to the latter.

August

Jump for Diabetes was here at last! We raised nearly $10,000 for an incredible cause (it all went to the American Diabetes Association, earmarked specifically for diabetes research). On top of that, people had an amazing time. Even with the rain we experienced, we were able to celebrate, enjoy good times and give away over $10,000 in donated skydiving gear in our raffles. Thanks to all who participated! (video)

September

Labor Day weekend we headed down to the Work Stinks! Boogie in Southern Ohio to celebrate our one year anniversary by jumping out of airplanes. Cool! Not only that, we got engaged on that first skydive. On top of that, we had our engagement photo shoot with Norman Kent. Be sure to check out the video here.

October

Another skydiving boogie, this time in Los Angeles at Skydive Elsinore. I was able to keep a promise to my California family that'd we come out for a visit. Weather was weird, so not nearly enough skydiving happened (video) but it was great to spend a week with my cousins and my aunt and uncle, and make some great new connections in the skydiving world. I need to make this a tradition. Then, we came back for 4 days before the big move to Chicago. The rest of the month was spent getting adjusted.

November

Lots more learning this month. Recommitted to my good friend yoga. Started working out regularly, played lots of racquetball. Skydiving came to a screeching halt when the weather turned sour. We've yet to find a local dropzone that will toss you out of an airplane even in the winter...still looking.

December

This month went by too fast. Between the holidays and the transition from my office in Cleveland to becoming a Chicago staff member I had my hands full. Not to mention planning for all the great things that will happen in 2011, like a wedding and more travel. So much on the horizon.

Here's to hoping that 2011 just keeps getting better.

Cheers!

Ashley