I'm back!

Welp...it's been over year since I have last post.  My last post was about my half marathon...I completed it successfully!

Yay!!

Just wanted to pop in and say hi.  I'll do my best to post more later.  For your viewing pleasure I saw someone close to my heart. 

This person has had such a vast impact on my generation.  Seeing him on stage a few weeks ago warmed my heart.  I hope this photo does the same for you.

Hey Buuuuuuddy!!!

Pauly Shore!!!

13.1 Miles to Freedom

For those of you that follow me on social media, you are aware of the half marathon I've decided to take on.  I once wanted to run a half, but was too scared of failing that I kind of gave up on the dream.  (I also got lazy with running and stopped for a few years.)

Well...I'm back!  This past January I, randomly, decided to start running again.  I truly had no motive other than, I need to work out, and because I can run...I will.  I started just running on the treadmills at the gym, then I started running outside.  I wanted to get back to running 5 miles on the weekends...only because I can.  One February, day I decided to run with a friend of mine, Jennifer, who is an avid marathon runner.  After about a month of running I was running 4 miles with Jen.  (I didn't think anything of it...cuz running IS a lot to do with your physical body, BUT even more so...its mental.) During and even after our run Jen commented at how good I was, especially for being back at running in just a month.  (When I say running...i really mean jogging...I jog an 11 min mile)

The following week I decided to try 5 miles on for size.  WELP...I did it, and bragged to Jen...next thing I knew...she was convincing me train for the half marathon.  I wasn't sure if I could do it, cuz in the past, 5 miles would have me limping and napping all day, but I wasn't sore or sleepy!  So, I figured I had some magical jogging gene that I needed to let loose.

March 25th, I'm running the Rock and Roll Half-Marathon here in Dallas.  I was hesitant to run cuz its a little out of my price range to sign up, but Jen's husband signed up and is unable to participate, so...you can call me Scott on race day. :)  (THANKS AGAIN JEN & SCOTT)

Since, I'm not breaking the bank to run...I thought this would be a wonderful way to raise awareness and money for an effective and trustworthy NGO! (Non Government Organization)  I've created a campaign page for people (that means you :) to donate money to International Justice Mission.  IJM is an NGO that works to free victims of human trafficking.  They train and set up locals to go into businesses, brothels, etc to free victims of this appalling form of slavery.

Victims of human trafficking include women and children being sold as sex slaves, women and children being sold to work, there is bonded labor, child soldiers, and the list goes on.  (Visit the state site for a more in depth description.) 

No matter what...this is inhumane and needs to be stopped.  IJM is a legit organization, and I would be honored if you would join me in supporting them financially, if you can, or prayerfully.  These men, women, and children need to be bathed in prayers.  Some will be freed and some will die where they are...pray that they feel and know God is with them.  Below is the link to my page where you can learn more about IJM, and there is a "DONATE" button if you wish to contribute.

https://ijmfreedommaker.org/campaign/229/13-Miles-to-Freedom

Can't wait to post the results of my race and campaign!

No...I didn't already have this...

For the past few years everyone asks me why I don't have my nose pierced. I'm Indian so I should get one, right?!  Wrong...I'm not gonna fall for the stereotype, people!!

Well, gravity won...the past couple of weeks I've actually been pondering the idea.  I was looking at images of piercings and realized how pretty the ring options are.  I figured that since I AM Indian it would look pretty natural and not too dramatic.  So Friday night....I got my friends Joy and Joey to join me!  ('ello brief alliteration)

We went to Cat Tattoo and I ended up with the SWEETEST piercer!

Joy took more pictures, but let's be honest...I'm getting my NOSE pierced...they aren't flattering pictures. 

Friday (when i got pierced) I had only told a handful of people at work about my exciting Friday night plan, so when I came to work on Saturday I was expecting some *gasps* or something!  NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!  No one said anything...I saw them looking, but nothing.  I finally started pointing it out to them and everyone responded, "You haven't always had that???"

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Really?  Whatever...its good.  It looks natural and not dramatic...so I'm happy. :)

Enough of my ditsy vanity...Here's the photo finish. :)

 

(Actually 2 coworkers noticed on their own.  I hugged one of them for noticing.)

Turkey or St. Kitts?

It is December 4th, and GLOOMY!!!!!!!!!!  I thoroughly despise this weather.  The fact that shorts and sandals are not an immediate option makes me sad.

Which is why when my parents & I hopped on a plane to St. Kitts, I was beside myself with joy to pack ALL SHORTS and SANDALS!

Donde esta la St. Kitts??

(Animal Print??  Only cuz its trending!)

 AQUI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not a big fan of Thanksgiving, or the holiday season in general.  (Feel free to say/think whatever you'd like about me.)  Last year I went to Portland, Oregon...remember?  So this year, I asked my parents if they would wanna go somewhere instead of sitting around eating turkey.  The results to my question:

From the Hotel:

         

Roommates...let's get one of these for our weather forecast!

We took a tour of St. Kitts:

  

  

We returned from the tour to this!!  Get yo dance on mon!

 

 Another day we took the ferry over to the island of Nevis:

After we caught our 45min(?) ferry ride, we haggled with some taxi drivers, but I (yes, i'm bragging) found us a cheaper driver for the day.  Our driver, Teach from Dominica, took us on a lovely island tour.

One of the stops included a visit to an old, slave plantation that had been refurbished into a swanky hotel.

I didn't think to take pictures of the actual pool, cabana area, or the rooms, but trust me...LOVELY!  So, here's their website, Montpelier.

 Random dog wanted to be in our family...Can you blame him?

 I took this especially for Mary...Princess Diana stayed here with William & Harry!!

Teach took us around the island, which was beautiful!  We had a late lunch and then jumped on our ferry to head back to St. Kitts.

 Waiting for the ferry...no better time for a little photo shoot!

On the ferry...not picture - annoying, [drunk?], LOUD passengers sitting right next to my ear.

I forget when this was, but one night we went to dinner and took some after dinner photos.

  

LAST DAY/THANKSGIVING DAY:

We spent our morning on the beach, and the afternoon 'till midnight traveling back to Dallas.

All in all it was a great trip to avoid the holiday and enjoy some Vitamin D.  Favorite moment was when I asked a staff member where I could get coconut water.  (I heard you could get it at the hotel.)  He asked what pool I was at, and he would meet me there to tell me where I could buy it.  NEXT THING I KNOW, he's knocking down coconuts by my pool, asks me if I want ice, and starts pouring it in a cup for me!!!!

WELL!!  On our last day my parents & I were chillin on the beach...I ran into this same staff member, and later he came around with a huge cup of iced coconut water!  He left us another coconut for our refill.

Hope you enjoyed the photos, and that they made you feel a tad warmer!!

UPDATE

It's 11-11-11.


Babies are being born.
People are getting married.
Veterans are being honored.
An emotional day for our country and world.

So, today is a great day to update you all in a chapter of my life.

After my last blog I did some serious thinking about the UAE and being overseas in general.  If I were to get this job most of my time would be spent in the classroom, physically and mentally. For me, teaching is a 24/7 job.  I spend a lot of time setting up and breaking down the classroom, I spend a lot of time grading, and I spend a lot of time trying to sleep.  I enjoy teaching and I enjoy being with students, but I know I don't enjoy subject teaching.  Now, if I go to the UAE there wouldn't be much time to actually travel.  I know I would get summer, but I'm not sure how much time I would have in between.  I'm starting to doubt the glamor of TEACHING overseas.  If only Rick Steves needed a co-host...

After a month of being at Zara (my current place of employment) my boss offered me a promotion that includes a raise, benefits, and GROWTH.  I like learning new things and I really like the idea of growth...teaching didn't hold much room for growth.

I didn't know what to do since I had an option of a promotion that I knew was right there, or keep waiting to hear back from the UAE for an interview date I may or may not pass.  I ended up running into an old friend that really helped me process through this career decision.  Instead of typing out our conversation and my thought process...let's just say I ditched the UAE and took the promotion at Zara.

I think I picked the right option.  Zara is offering me a promotion with a pay raise, benefits, growth that can lead to me moving to different stores throughout the country and eventually to stores in other countries.  I also found out that Zara is partnered with a language learning program.  So, I can start learning Spanish and eventually French and something else if I'm feeling like an overachiever!

On the other hand...I feel like I picked the wrong decision...especially since I've spent the past 6+ months thinking I'd be living in another country.  Well, Wednesday I received this email:

Thank you for your patience and co-operation while awaiting the dates and locations of the upcoming interview sessions with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). We have received the final schedule from our partners in Abu Dhabi and unfortunately they will not be visiting Houston.

 
You may be able to be considered for a August 2012 start date with ADEC depending on their needs for the upcoming school year. There are likely to be on-going interview sessions in the New Year in Houston.

I was annoyed with this program but felt a sense of contentment with moving forward as a Zara employee.  I've been working at Zara for about 3 months, and I have quickly befriended a majority of my coworkers.  I never ever saw myself in retail.  Especially as a full-time job.  WEIRD!

Currently, my mind is trying to stop flying around and park itself in Dallas.  I've been dreaming for so long about being in another country for different holidays and seasons, but I'm still gonna be here, so its taking some time to realize I'm still here.  (But let's be honest...I'm already thinking about what city my next promotion may take me too!)

I'm not sure how this post is coming across.  I'm not sure what emotion I should be feeding to you guys, or myself at that.  C'est La Vie Mon Amis!

Thanks for your support and prayers.  I see God's hand working.

D.O.N.E.

Hello Readers,

As you all know, I like to make my posts fun and interesting.  I started this blog 2 summers ago to journal my travels, which I feel I have done pretty well.  Sadly, I haven't been anywhere since March...I know, I sound stuck-up, snobby, whatever...I don't care.  I haven't posted anything of true excitement cuz I've been bored out of my skull with life.  I've been bored since 2007 and have struggled to find what I'm actually good at, and have struggled to find my confidence.  "Fake it till you make it."  Let's just say I've been faking for a long time.

I used all of my traveling to help squelch, quench, distract myself from my unhappiness, confusion, disappointment with life.  I've been wracking my brain for months trying to think of blog post ideas, but instead of forcing another post about being excited about new a shirt, a funny commercial, or my disappointment towards the future 40 degree & below weather, I thought I'd let you in on a little secret.

I wasn't going to say anything till I was 100% sure of this, but screw it.  I've applied for a teaching job in the UAE with a 2 year commitment.  Over the summer I got TEFL Certified to teach internationally, and in July (?) I applied to teach English or [hopefully] Math/Science to 3rd/4th grade Emirati students.  I passed the phone interview back in August, and was informed my face-to-face interview will be in early October.  The end of September slowly arrived with no interview date, so I emailed the program to learn my interview has now been pushed back to late October/early November.   

*SIGH*

All I want to know is if I can start packing.  IF I get the job I would leave in Dec/Jan and pretty much start immediately.  I want to get excited and be excited, but life has happened too much that I've learned to be guarded with everything.  [Jaded much?]

I've been applying for jobs for the past 3 summers.  Have you applied for a job lately?  It's a bitch on the soul.  Don't get me wrong...I've found contentment with the newness every year, and I enjoy meeting new people, but I just want to land 1 job for more than a year.

I know I'm being whiny, but I will say I've matured over these years.  I'm measuring this because I'm not sitting at Wall Street right now, or sleeping in a tent in Dallas.  That's right...be proud!!!  But don't worry...I'm still filled with comments that'll make your eyes roll.

Now that you're aware of this info, I'm gonna need you to pray.  Pray for peace within myself as I wait, and pray the organization will hurry and call me for the interview!

I've given you one thing you can do while you wait with me, so please don't feel obligated to give me cliche statements to help ease me.  I've heard 'em all and used 'em all.  Just pray.

Thanks...hopefully my next post will be filled with positive news.

And the winner is......

Lotto Tickets, Bingo, Red Rover...these are games you will never see me win.  The only time I've ever won something was in middle school when I called the local radio station and won an EP of The Shake.  (A fantastic local band!)

Lately, I've been in the mind-set of, "do it all, whats the worse that'll happen?"   

C'est La Vie, mon ami!

So, I've been applying for lots of random sweepstakes, trips across the world, free pants...whatev.  I'm game!  The only annoying consequences have been my email blowing up from spam & my new found friendships with telemarketers.

Dearly Beloveds....my time has ARRIVED.

Bobbie Thomas is a fashion expert you can find on the Today Show and on Hoda & Kathy Lee.  (FYI, today was Wine Wednesday)  I decided to follow her blog awhile back, cuz I can use as many fashion tips I can get!  Well, BT has a Weekly Win-It every Friday.  I've started entering these contests in hopes of winning something.  This past Friday's contest had these:

 I LOVE these!!!!!!!!  I've been wanting a new case for my newly purchased iPhone, so I entered with the only thought, "Hmm...do I get to choose which one when I win????"

BT mentioned the winner would be announced  by Saturday evening.  Sunday rolled around and there was no announcement.  Monday crept up and there was still winner.  I commented, "Do we know who won this?  I keep checking back in hopes to see my name announced.  :)"

Well, today I was at Target to receive this email:

Hi Natasha! The original win-it winner never replied to our email so we picked you as the new winner (noticed you'd been checking back so figured you earned runner up :)

Please send us your full name and address and we'll get it shipped out to you!

xo,

Team BT

 

I tried to respond with a cool, trendy, breezy (Friends quote!) email:

 

No way!!!  Persistence does pay off! :) This is so nice of u guys! Thanks. :)

 

Natasha Saran

 

So...YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have no clue which one I'll end up with, but who cares! 

 

I won something else!!! 

Yay :)  

 

To check out my win, go to Bobbie Thomas' site.