The more things change, the more they stay the same

We get so ingrained in our daily routines, our lives become habitual. Our days operate like clockwork. We talk about our bad habits, the things we do that come so naturally to us that we wish didn't. And, perhaps less frequently, we talk about good habits. But the way we live, in fact, becomes one big habit.

We all fall into the trap of habitiual motion. We're caught off guard by the slightest differences, the slightest upsets in the routine.

This morning, I felt a sense of unease because traffic was lighter than usual on my way to work. I felt eerily alone on the streets for my morning drive. It was a change from what I'm used to.

I leave my house for work at the same time every day. I travel the same route. The traffic is always the same. I go to the same building for work. I think the same morning thoughts as I punch the code to the back door. I sit down at the same desk, open up the same laptop and begin the same day. I have it practically down to science. I check my e-mail and get caught up on world news and celebrity gossip (we all have our vices). I spend the first bit of my day easing into my day. Then comes the exchanging of e-mails and the phone calls. I flip through my post-it note to-do lists and typically add on to them. I conduct interviews, I research, I write. At about the same times every day, I feel the hunger pangs that drive me to raid my snack drawer or compel me to eat lunch.

I felt a sense of dread this morning when I realized how monotonous my life had become that fewer cars on the road caused me to do a double take. Sometimes I forget that change can be good, spontaneity can be good, straying from the norm can be good. Sometimes you just need to drive a different route, listen to a different radio station, think outside the box. Don't let life become a habit.

Thank goodness for lazy weekends

For the first time in a while, I didn't have to go anywhere this weekend and had virtually no plans. But that's not to say my weekend went without accomplishments:
-went on two runs
-tried a new recipe
-made a nice-sized dent in the book I'm reading
-saw What Happens In Vegas and LOVED it

Happy Birthday to Me (a few days late)

Yes, I wore a tiara for my birthday lunch.

Break the monotony

Most days I love having an office job. I love having a desk, a computer, a phone that’s all mine and a set of daily tasks to complete at that desk of my very own. And besides, I don’t spend all of my day at that desk. Being a reporter allows for trips here and there, to and fro at random intervals, breaking the monotony of the day.

But generally speaking, I have an office job. And that’s cool with me. But some days I have an insatiable desire to be outdoors, outside of what feels like a cage closing in on me. I want to be guiding a safari or looking for pebbles in a creek bed or skipping through a field a-la Maria from The Sound of Music.

Some days feel just like the day before. Some hours the hand on the clock appears to be in the same position as it was before. Some articles read just like the articles I wrote before.

I wonder if Christiane Amanpour or Bono or the Queen of England ever get bored.

I want to go salsa dancing, sky diving, get a tattoo, stand under a giant waterfall, experience the vastness of the Grand Canyon.

Perhaps I can settle for something a little less grandiose. Just sing me a song or take me to the park or bring me an ice cream cone, stat.

Random

Spray tans may be a quick solution to extreme white-ness, but they are sticky, smell weird and make people ask the question: "What happened to your face?"

I miss the Redbone Alley in Sumter.

It's way too hot to be early June. Seriously, what's up?

I can't believe my little sister is graduating from high school. I feel so old.

I want to happen upon a great fortune.

T minus three days...

Till my birthday! The big 2-5. Hard to believe. Hard to believe 2008 is almost halfway over. Hard to believe the years are flying by. Hard to believe I'm hitting the quarter century mark.

I freakin' love birthdays. For serious. I mean really, what's better?

Learning

I've learned some valuable life lessons lately. I've truly begun to appreciate the power of patience and prayer. I kept trying for so long to force changes in my life, to force my next step. I finally realized that to be happy with the end results, you can't do that, but rather you have to wait for the chips to fall where they may. God's will is amazing and his plan for my life is so much more dependable, so much greater than my own plan.

I went through a spell of several months -- maybe as many as six months -- being dissatisfied at work. I stopped loving what I did. I stopped being satisfied with the fruits of my labor.

Then finally, within the past two or three months, I've experienced a shift. A shift in my thinking, in my peace, in my sense of trusting God. Simultaneously, I began enjoying what I have, enjoying life, enjoying work, and at the same time, seeing my work get better, my rewards get better. It's amazing how that works.

I truly starting loving my job again. In turn, my articles improved, my writing improved, the respect for my work improved.

And then, the reward of all rewards. I applied for a trip through Rotary's Group Study Exchange program. A trip that four people get to take this fall to England.

I interviewed a few weeks ago, and -- dun da dun -- was fortunate enough to snag one of the four slots! Watch out everybody -- Mary's going to England.

The program sends working professionals 25-40 to a foreign country to learn about their profession and to share information about what it's like back home. The trip will be five weeks, from the middle of September to the middle of October.

I am so very excited and feel truly blessed to land this exciting opportunity. Oh the doors that open when you just sit still for a bit and let the Lord do his work...