Return to Oakland

I popped up to Oakland recently after the end of our final Power Summit (but first, I popped over to San Francisco and Google HQ (thank you, Falon!!) – both for the first time!), and it felt like coming home.

When I served my mission, Oakland had one of the highest murder rates in the country. (Does it still?) If you were to visit some of the areas I was in, you’d probably either A- never want to get out of your car, B- be paranoid that someone would jump you at any second, C- have the urge to flip a U-turn and get the heck out of there, D- all of the above.

But the things is… I loved my mission. I love the people. And in spite of the crime, the graffiti, the dirtiness, the rundown homes, the bars on the windows…. I love Oakland. It is sacred ground to me. I know it’s the missionary goggles, and I was a little worried that I’d feel differently going back after five years of being home.

I am happy to report that Oakland is just as beautiful and wonderful to me now as it was five years ago when I still had the mantle of a missionary on my shoulders.

I had to work East Coast hours while I was in Oakland, so I didn’t get to spend very much time visiting people, but I was grateful to spend any amount of time in a place that’s so special to me and with people I love so much. I was determined, at the very least, to make it up to the Temple, and to the Visitors’ Center where I very much became the person I am today.

My goal was to make it to Temple Hill in time to see the sun set. And I’m happy to report I made it!





I walked to the back of the Visitors’ Center – one of my favorite things was to sit on the back couch and watch the sun setting over the whole Bay from that back couch – and saw the blinds were down. Thankfully, I still remember the secret little cupboard where they keep the remote for the blinds, so I was able to lift them. Heh heh!

Tears came to my eyes as I stood in the back and watched that glorious sunset. The same sunset I’d watched so many times. I remembered one of my first sunsets on that couch. It was my first transfer, and I felt so discouraged and overwhelmed. I contemplated going home, and I was so distressed, I drew a handmade calendar to count down how many days, weeks, and transfers, until I went home. I also recalled my very last sunset as a missionary, where, tears rolling down my cheeks, I flashed back to that first sunset and reflected on how far I’d come in those 17.5 months.

And last night, I thought back to both of those sunsets and to the five years’ worth of sunsets since. Being back at the Visitors’ Center felt like coming home, and every spot, every exhibit, every corner held a precious memory or brought back a treasured lesson. I will be forever grateful that God saw fit to let me serve as one of his missionaries in the California Oakland mission – and especially in the Oakland Temple Visitors’ Center.

I closed out my VC visit with the Christus (of course), which was always my very favorite presentation. It struck me that the words of Christ haven’t changed – in the narration and in real life. So much of my life has changed and evolved. In the five years I’ve been home, I’ve completed my Bachelor’s degree, gone to grad school, started my professional life, dated, experienced heartbreaks, seen my parents and sister get divorced, dealt with health problems – both my own and my parents’… So much is always changing, but the ONE thing that never changes, the ONE thing that is ever constant is Jesus Christ. As we continue to make him the anchor and the foundation of our lives, everything is going to be OK, and we will be filled with a sense of peace, knowing He is in charge.



I also took some time to walk around the temple (hence the two previous temple photos), and then Hna. Velasco and I did sealings in the temple.

Here's an insider tip when walking around Oakland's Temple Hill -- make sure you walk ON TOP OF THE TEMPLE!! On a clear night, you can see all five bridges in the San Francisco Bay area, and you get an incredible view likes this --

NYC: Post-Power Summit

*Note: this is a catch-up post from earlier this spring. More coming your way soon!*

Back in April, we held our first Power Summit conference of the year in NYC. I stayed a day and a half extra post-Power Summit and had myself some lovely little adventures.

Sunday started out with Church in Manhattan, where I joined Jasmine, one of my mission companions. It was Stake Conference, and while I didn't see any of my favorite bloggers, I did see an old high school friend, Allison and her sweet baby girl, Scout! (Awkward (me, at least) photo below.)



After church, I took a moment to enjoy this concert at Lincoln Square:



And then I met up with my friend Rachel! We enjoyed the most expensive Whole Foods picnic of all time while lounging in the sunshine (along with the rest of NYC) in Central Park. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of this part. :( I took a sweet 360 video, buuut I deleted it from my phone. :( :( :(

Post-picnic, I made my way over to Jamsine's apartment and joined her and her friends for a little Mormon YSA BBQ. :) It was fun to get to know some of her friends in such a relaxed setting and with such a great view.



Post-BBQ, we went back to Jas's place, where we only managed to take terrible photos that shan't be posted, painted our nails, and watched "Dancing With the Stars." We girl talked and hung out, and it was so, so fun! We haven't spent this much time together in a few years, and it was awesome to see that our conversation flowed as if no time had passed at all. (And aren't those the very best kinds of friendships?) You know, I think I've realized about myself that, unlike, many people, I don't have a solid group of core friends who are friends with each other. I have dear friends from many phases of my life, and they are each dear and unique to me in their own ways, but there isn't this one solid group, where we've all been friends forever and ever and are all equally friends with each other. I suppose the exception would be my OCVC sisters, but that's a special group and bond unlike any other. :)

Anyway, here's a photo of Jas before she left on her bike commute the next morning:



And then I took myself on a walk in the UWS.

 

First up? Levain Bakery, of course! I wanted to spend the morning in Central Park, and obviously, I needed New York's best chocolate-chip cookie to make the journey with me. :) I bought two cookies -- one for Jimmy (aka partner-in-crime) and one for myself to enjoy back in DC.





I call the above my "collection of NYC clichés" gallery. Hot dog? Check. Central Park check? Picture of my feet while I lounge? Check.

Being raised by an avid Beatles fan, of course I had to stop by "Strawberry Fields," the Central Park memorial to John Lennon, near the site of his death.



On my way back to Jas's apartment to get my luggage, I passed a taco truck AND Gray's Papaya, so of course, I had to stop at both. (Don't judge! I needed something for dinner on the train back to DC!)

I got dizzy as I passed the Trump Tower.



And then I underestimated NYC traffic and missed my train. :( The worst part was that in my rush, I spilled my Gray's piña colada all over my hot dogs. :( The second worst part was I had to pay $80 to change my train ticket. :(



On the bright side, I still had my Levain cookie! And it was still a fun, super relaxing excursion. As stressful as work can be sometimes, I feel really blessed to have so many opportunities to travel because of my job, and I look forward to exploring more cities in 2014. :)

5 years

I've been home from my mission for five years today.

FIVE YEARS!!

You know what that means? It means I'm officially eligible to go on a second mission. Eeeeeep!! (No, that's not an announcement... Eeesh!) How time has gone by so fast is beyond me.

On a related note, this made me cry last night. It's the letter we received from our VC Directors at the end of our missions.

Oakland, you'll always be in my heart!

A Big Day

Today was a big day at work.

I feel... EXHAUSTED (I only slept 3 hours last night), shaky, void of energy, more ready for bed than I've ever been... But mostly, I feel... proud!

I was asked to speak on a panel (at-a-conference-where-VPOTUS-also-spoke-NDB!) on how to use online tactics to engage minority communities. I felt really proud (also humbled?) to be asked to speak, and I was surprised by how much fun I had presenting! 

It sort of took me back a little to my Visitors' Center days -- especially since we had to use a cordless microphone. I will never use a cordless mic again without remembering my VC Director, Elder Pedersen and how he would tell us over and over to either A- not fidget our hands while holding a mic (it makes the sound all wonky) or B- hold the mic to our chins and leave them there the whole time! Ahhhh, good times. :) 

Hopefully the folks in the workshop had fun, too. :)

with the other panelists (also, #BANGS!)

(photo from Elianne of #LATISM)

(The folks at the conference even SPELLED MY NAME RIGHT!! Accent mark and everything!)

Today, we also saw the fruits of a lot of hard work from our team. To make a long story short, I manage an issue campaign for my organization, for which I've launched a series of Google Hangouts to inform our audience about the Affordable Care Act. Normally, I moderate them, but today my boss did, because our guest for this Hangout was Secretary Sebelius of HHS. I honestly just could not have been prouder of this event and especially, of my team.

I can't stress enough how much I love and appreciate the people with whom I work. Whenever I feel like I'm about to fall apart, I know I won't, because my team has my back. When unexpected crises arise last minute, I know I won't be dealing with them alone. The work we do is often extremely stressful, but as long as we keep looking out for each other, we're always going to be just fine.

I had a surreal moment during the Hangout (I was in the studio during the filming) where I thought, "Holy moly, I can't believe this is actually happening!" The event was successful, and we got good press and social media coverage (we even had celebrities and Members of Congress tweeting about it!), and I really just can't say enough how proud I was of this event and of the work that we do to inform the community. The law is not perfect, but it affects everyone, and we do our very best to make sure we share information that is actually helpful -- and not fluffy. It was nice to see our hard work paying off in a very big way.

getting mic'd and prepped

LIVE!!

my boss is the most adorable pregnant lady :)

And that's all for tonight. Buenas noches! I'm off to bed...

Turning the Ordinary to Extraordinary

I had two Visitors' Center Directors while I was on my mission: Elder Pedersen (for most of my mission) and Elder Smith (for the last three months). Elder Pedersen is a successful businessman (check out his mega-successful company Del Sol! I have their color-changing nail polish -- it's amaaazing! -- and my Del Sol bear has a permanent spot in the middle of my mass of bed pillows), and he enjoyed spicing up our weekly Visitors' Center trainings with his sage business wisdom and general peppy good spirits.

On one occasion, he gifted all of us sisters with our very own Zipit purses. The lesson that day was about turning the ORDINARY into the EXTRAORDINARY. Like how the ordinary zipper was turned into something extraoridnary (ie- a purse!). I can't remember the exact application of the lesson to us as VC sisters (possibly about making each tour extra special, because while for us, it may have been the 10,000th tour of the day, for our guests, it was a special experience?), but I think of that lesson often in my life.

And last night, I took something I needed to do, something ordinary (ie- STUDYING) and took it up several notches and turned it into the EXTRAORDINARY (by studying at the Lincoln Memorial!). I just figured if I needed to read/write, why not do it somewhere beautiful? And it was SUCH a gorgeous night, too! I got there around midnight, and there were still quite a few tourists there. BUT! Tourists generally stick around the front of the memorial, while I... went around to the BACK! There was a couple makin' out back there (apparently, they had the same brilliant idea I did about going to the back), and yep, I totally killed their mood. 

On a semi-related note, I think it would be a *brilliant* date idea to come here with a movie and a laptop! (amiright??) Blanket and cuddling not optional. :)

I will NEVER get tired of taking monument photos!

President Lincoln makes a good stud buddy.

Ahhh! I love this view and want to have it for always!

what I looked like after two hours of reading...

I emailed this one to my missionary brother and his comment was, "Wow, nice hair." Umm, thanks? Ha.

Lesson reaffirmed: when you're stuck in a rut or faced with something "ordinary," go to the Lincoln Memorial! get creative and find a way to turn it into something "extraordinary!" (Bonus points if you get homework done, while you're at it. Which I did, btw!) Thanks, Elder Pedersen! :)

March 25th (4 Years)

It's crazy to think that I've been home from my mission for four years today. I loved my mission. It was sacred time for me, and I still know that the doctrines and principles I taught during that time are true. I know serving a mission isn't for everyone, but I'm grateful the Lord saw fit to make it for me.

You can read my musings from my 3-year mark here.

And you can check out my Mormon.org profile here to learn a little more about my faith and what it means to me.

Christmas Break, Part 3

(Last one, I promise! PS Part 1 and Part 2.)

Over the break, I was able to get together with some of my Oakland sisters. As much as I just LOVE these girls, I think the best part was seeing all the BAYYY-BEEEES!!

How adorable is little Eliza? Just like her mommy. Look how sweet she is with Michelley's Asher? :)

Baby Asher! Remember when he was just a newborn itty bitty thing?

And here is Jayli's little Joselyne giving a kiss to little Asher, the ladies' man. So cute!

I also got to see my cousin's beautiful daughter, Brianna, ON the day of her 15th birthday! Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to her quinceañera next month, but I got to see her practicing her dance for her big day!

And I got her tiara for the quince! She's going to look beeeaaauuuutiful!

Oh! And remember the time I went to Winter and Lee's Iron Chef/White Elephant/Ugly Sweater party? (I neglected to include these photos in Part 1. Ooops!) Winter has always thrown the BEST parties, and it was SOOOO fun to see friends from my favorite ward in college (SL University 38th ward, what-what!), because I hadn't seen many of them since BEFORE my mission.

This party had some of the most HILARIOUS white elephants I've ever seeeeen!

Redneck  "boob job" kit, amazing plaque, iPhone cover that you hold up by sticking your finger up the nostril

I redecorated in my brother's room (you know, since he's gone), and I think my favorite part was using our little kid photos on top of this bookshelf. :)

I FINALLY finished this blanket for my mom! I started it in September hoping to be finished before Christmas, but unfortunately, it took me about another week after Christmas to finish it completely. I'm so proud of myself! It's my first crochet blanket ever, and I was really happy with the way it turned out. :D

I got some love from my two youngest brothers.

and from the dogs (Jaxie on the left, Ringo on the right)

And I enjoyed a last-day lunch with both of my  parents (I know, right??) at Weber County's best Chinese restaurant (ABC Mandarin)!

Spending three weeks at home was exactly what I needed to refresh my soul. I had so much fun seeing friends and spending time with my family, and I'm glad I took advantage of the time off from school to be at home. (I mean, it probably IS the last time I'll have the luxury of taking off for that long, right?)

Thus ends the Christmas Break 2013 portion of this here blog.