Announcement: I’ll Be Speaking In LA On Saturday January 11th! Also, A Quick Love List, Because HAPPY

January 10th, 2014 - filed under: Furthermore » Feedback

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This is not a picture of me speaking at the Animal Advocacy Museum on 1/11/2014 . . . because that hasn’t actually happened yet. But this is a picture of me speaking on a panel, and I’m sure it will look very similar. I might even wear the same dress.

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Hello!!! Happy Friday . . . evening. Or Saturday morning, depending on when you read this. My goodness, I have had a wild and wacky week as an actual, for really real, jump-in-let’s-do-this grad student! It’s been crazy and hard and really really time consuming. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking. On the first day of school I had a mini meltdown about halfway through, and holed up in my car furiously texting Gena (she just finished a post-bacc as a returning, older student) and plotting how I could disappear myself. She was sweet and talked me down. And yes, I’m being a little bit hyperbolic, because mostly the week was fine and fun and . . . no, that’s not true. It really was totally overwhelming and chaotic and why can’t anything just go smoothly? Sheesh.

I am lucky to have an amazing support system and I made it out alive. So much ♥ to all of them.

And guys, SO much ♥ to all of you! You left such wonderful, kind, and heartfelt comments on my last post, and I just wanted to let you know how much that meant to me. I think I replied to all of them (I hope!). Thank you all so much for the kindness and support.

So, An Announcement!

I just wanted to remind you guys that I’ll be speaking alongside my friend and colleague Matt Ruscigno, this Saturday at the Animal Advocacy Museum in Pasadena. The topic of our talk is Exploring the Ex-Vegan Phenomenon, and I’m certain that it will lead to a lively discussion. If you’re in SoCal and are free tomorrow/today afternoon around 3, I sure would love to see you there! You can get more info at the Facebook event page, here.

For everyone else, we do hope to film it, so I’ll be posting that soon (if it works out!)

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This is my “Holy CRAP I’m about to start grad school!” face. And yes, that is a 3-liter bottle of wine. Otherwise known as “school supplies”.


And now, because life is awesome but even more awesome but we stop to be thankful for all the ridiculous amounts of awesome, Le Love List!

Jeremy threw me a surprise “OMG You’re Going To Grad School” party, it was amazing and all my friends brought me presents like sparkly sharpies and gold stars and miniature staple removers, and it was fantastic and made me feel so loved. Man, that man ‘o mine . . . .|. Feeling my Type-A kick into FULL GEAR literally the moment that school started. I worked hard to become a lower-stress person, and a lot of that meant letting go of my TCB attitude (which always bummed me out, ’cause I liked being on top of things). I knew that going back to school would bring back the Type-A, but I worried that it would also bring back all the stress and neurosis. But so far, I’ve managed to just get. shit. done. without getting super stressed out. So, back on top of All The Things, and feeling more like my old self, in all the best ways, than I have in years. YAY! .|. People who help, and go out of their way to help a little extra. Gosh that helps. .|. For his new year’s resolution, Harley went vegan! I’m so happy for him and so happy to share his journey with all of you. .|. Going to farm animal sanctuaries with Waits, hugging cows together, feeding horses together, and generally just watching him light up around all the animals. .|. Bike rides and beach picnics on new year’s day. Watching Waits play in the surf. .|. Buying presents for Waits and Jeremy at the UCSB bookstore, because I wouldn’t be there without them. .|. Black tea and green juice. .|. Finding the perfect avocado. .|. My new mantra is “It hurts because I’m growing.” It’s a really scary-overwhelming-transitional-self doubty-WTF kind of time for me right now, but so far I’ve managed to maintain perspective. I just have to stay in the eye of the storm, while everything swirls like chaos around me, and remain calm. One foot in front of the other. It got me through 2013, right? It’ll get me through this year as well.

So my dears, feel like sharing? I’d love to hear a Love List from you!

And, I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

♥ ♥ ♥

  • stephie137

    Having a project group that I thought had let me down and then they show up the next day, and blow my now-grumpy expectations out of the water and we’re back on track/pushing the comfort zone with my sweetheart of 15 years/kids asleep by 9 pm/getting wise advice/happy sisters/veg fajitas/Isa’s Boston Cream Cupcakes/Kindergym with the kiddos…it’s Friday night and the house is silent…I’ve got lots to look forward to!

  • vegyogini

    I used to love the UCSB bookstore; I found some treasures there that I still have.

    Congrats on making it through your first week! There are certainly days that I wish I were back in school.

    Love list: Watching my buddy Jason charm the masses with a vegan cooking show on the Cooking Channel**Morning meditation**MUSIC**The burning desire to reorganize my whole home**Writing**Taking on my New Year’s intentions with full force, knowing that I’ll eventually go from surviving to thriving**Recipe testing for cookbook authors I respect**Weekends, especially those that let me hang out with my baby niece**Books**Deeply studying Vedic astrology

  • Rebecca Hawkes

    Oh I forever have love for the love list but don’t always comment. Really I should always make time for a love list!

    This week I completed my first five day juice cleanse with my partner, I feel healthier and closer to him after sharing this experience + Food after not eating for five days! So good + doing at least 15 minutes of yoga every morning in the hope that starting small will keep me going + clear skin and a flat stomach (thank you juice!) + going out for Indian with new friends and then drinks + having a positive outlook on life + the sun coming out of the clouds and the fresh snow on the ground

    Love from Oslo!
    X

  • katie

    you go girl! school is complicated, so many moving pieces, the money stress, all the stress can overshadow the actual joy of learning. at least it did for me from time to time. with your supports, i’m sure you will make it through and look back and say “i’m glad i strong-armed through all of that.”

    hmm, my own love list: watching friends succeed in their careers. time spent together just me and my cat. finding the amazingness that is walk/run marathon training and just how much more manageable that is than all run marathon training. my husband giving me a big hug and kiss after work, especially after a bit of an argument earlier that day. this week i started asking my patients at the end of session “how was this session for you” and the responses i get are surprising and food for my soul…teach me what to do better and what’s working so so well.

    love from italy,
    katie

  • http://coconutandberries.com/ coconutandberries

    Woohoo, you’re doing great Sayward. It’s going to be scary and overwhelming because it’s all new but just take one step at a time :) Certainly sounds like you’ve got lots of loving friends and of course Jeremy and Waits to keep you going.
    On my list: some weirdo health problems I’ve been dealing with clearing up, walks in the park in the SUNSHINE! getting back into running, letters from family, delicious food, a few days free with almost no engagements.
    Happy weekend!

  • Alanna

    Sayward, best of luck on your talk today! It’s a subject I’m very interested in, but sadly I live ‘way on the other side of the continent and won’t be able to attend. Do you know if it is being recorded? I would love to be able to access it as a podcast or other online recorded medium afterward!

  • lysette

    Augh! I wish I could be at the panel discussion. If there’s a video I’d love to watch it. Challenging and interesting topic. As well as vegan dogs, certainly not black and white. Congratulations Harley! Looking forward to witnessing the journey :)

    Gosh my love list is long and luscious right now but in brief:

    xo Walks with my Mom and hikes with my brother and our dogs.
    xo Beautiful portraits my friend is painting of our dogs.
    xo Friends adopting rescues instead of breeders.
    xo Taco potlucks so the vegan isn’t left out.
    xo Being encouraged and supported.
    xo Watching a meteor shower with a 29 year old that had never seen a shooting star before. We stared awe struck into the massive galaxy above and made as many wishes as we could.
    xo The upcoming Chinese New Year. My year! Year of the Horse unite!

    Big love from wintery Canada!

  • http://bittsblog.blogspot.com bitt

    So much to say congrats on! Finding your love, finding a program that gives you direction, wow! So happy for you!

    My dogs have been vegan ever since they came into our home (with exception of sometimes getting a few salmon treats stolen from the cat). They’ve done great! They have had vegedog with homemade food and V-dog which is a great gluten-free kibble.

  • bohemianmatka

    Yes! It would be nice to watch even though we are far away :)

  • bohemianmatka

    I haven’t posted much in a long time, but I’ve been reading; I’m so happy for you, Sayward, and admire how you have pushed through this year! You will be awesome in grad school, no doubt!

    my oh-so-late love list: *this month away from my husband (the time away makes me appreciate him all the more) *taking advantage of all the ‘little moments’ with my children *ginormous dinosaur replicas! *tarot card readings via Facetime with my bestie *fried tofu and chili sauce *planting seeds with my daughter

    Hope everyone else’s weekend!