They used to call me downtown Julie Brown. I used to be a hardcore dancin' club girl from eighteen to my mid-20s. Every weekend I was home during college was spent downtown. Every weekend after I turned 21 was spent in downtown Columbus (my college town). During grad school, I was in downtown Davenport every weekend (what else is there really to do in Davenport, Iowa??) Even as a professional, once or twice a month, my girls and I would rule West 6th in Cleveland.
Now that I'm older, that doesn't happen too often. I like to frequent bars where I can sit and chill with a good beer (or martini :-P) and great friends. Somewhere that my friends and I can catch up every once in awhile between our very busy lives.
Sometimes it's fun to even just go to a local townie bar! Last weekend I went to a local (and VERY townie) type bar to hang out with my friend and some of her family. Just a very simple bar with two other people in it, where we had full control over the jukebox the whole time. Cheap drinks, great fries, and friendly people. It was a simple night out, but even more fun than some of the outings I've had as downtown Julie Brown. :)
"I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind."
Albert Einstein
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Television
There is such thing as watching too much tv.
After returning from an adventurous six months in Asia, I wasn't sure where I wanted to live and work. I did know that I wanted my next move to be more long term than my last three ventures. This involved a lot of deep reflection, contemplation, and traveling between areas for interviews. After turning down and being turned down for a few jobs, I chose to move back home for the next step in my career.
The availability for jobs in my field are few and far between in my hometown. I had a couple good interviews, but weren't hiring for a couple of months. There was also a lead from a couple months prior that I was hoping would pull through sooner rather than later. It became the waiting game as I sat around and hoped that one of these possibilities would pull through for me. This resulted in way too much time on my hands and little money to do fun things. During these three months, I watched way too much tv. Grey's Anatomy and I reconnected starting with season one and working our way everyday via lifetime and amazon back to season 8 (the current season). When I was sitting around I would catch whatever daytime talk show was on at the present time--Rachel Ray, The View, The Today Show, Dr. Oz, and the list goes on....At least these shows are more informative and positive. I'm proud to say I did not get sucked into daytime dramas such as soap operas or trashy talk shows.
It almost sounds like I was depressed watching all this television. But the truth is I was in major decompression mode from the 6 month adventure I had just had, followed by a few weeks of traveling around the eastern half of the US. I was actually very happy during this time and the decompression/after-adventure reflection was just what I needed.
When you are leading a productive life, I think tv is one of life's awesome little pleasures. In Asia, I had one American channel that played season's past shows. And the internet was too slow to watch my faves online. Television in the right dosage is just what we need sometimes. After a long productive day at my new job, coming home to Grey's Anatomy or Revenge makes me smile. Sometimes we all need a little break from reality to enter another world for an hour (or two).
“The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it's all that matters.”
― Audrey Hepburn
After returning from an adventurous six months in Asia, I wasn't sure where I wanted to live and work. I did know that I wanted my next move to be more long term than my last three ventures. This involved a lot of deep reflection, contemplation, and traveling between areas for interviews. After turning down and being turned down for a few jobs, I chose to move back home for the next step in my career.
The availability for jobs in my field are few and far between in my hometown. I had a couple good interviews, but weren't hiring for a couple of months. There was also a lead from a couple months prior that I was hoping would pull through sooner rather than later. It became the waiting game as I sat around and hoped that one of these possibilities would pull through for me. This resulted in way too much time on my hands and little money to do fun things. During these three months, I watched way too much tv. Grey's Anatomy and I reconnected starting with season one and working our way everyday via lifetime and amazon back to season 8 (the current season). When I was sitting around I would catch whatever daytime talk show was on at the present time--Rachel Ray, The View, The Today Show, Dr. Oz, and the list goes on....At least these shows are more informative and positive. I'm proud to say I did not get sucked into daytime dramas such as soap operas or trashy talk shows.
It almost sounds like I was depressed watching all this television. But the truth is I was in major decompression mode from the 6 month adventure I had just had, followed by a few weeks of traveling around the eastern half of the US. I was actually very happy during this time and the decompression/after-adventure reflection was just what I needed.
When you are leading a productive life, I think tv is one of life's awesome little pleasures. In Asia, I had one American channel that played season's past shows. And the internet was too slow to watch my faves online. Television in the right dosage is just what we need sometimes. After a long productive day at my new job, coming home to Grey's Anatomy or Revenge makes me smile. Sometimes we all need a little break from reality to enter another world for an hour (or two).
“The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it's all that matters.”
― Audrey Hepburn
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
A Simple Life
After living abroad for six months, it taught me a lot about living the simple life; experiencing life's little pleasures and what really matters to me in life. It made me appreciate the little things like the beauty of a fresh snowfall, driving down the highway listening to my favorite song, or just enjoying a glass of wine while watching my guilty pleasure, "Revenge".
When I moved back from the fast-paced city life with millions of people, the expensive lifestyle, and hours on public transportation, I thought I wanted that life again back in the good ol' US of A. Within a few weeks of being back, I realized that wasn't what I wanted anymore. I was ready to get back to suburbia life with a little less people, affordable taste, and being able to jump in my car at any moment. I was ready for a more simple life.
So here I am, back in suburbia America (near where I grew up) exploring what it means to live the simple life. Why the french title? Europeans really have this concept down pat (and there was no availability for the english version....) :-P
When I moved back from the fast-paced city life with millions of people, the expensive lifestyle, and hours on public transportation, I thought I wanted that life again back in the good ol' US of A. Within a few weeks of being back, I realized that wasn't what I wanted anymore. I was ready to get back to suburbia life with a little less people, affordable taste, and being able to jump in my car at any moment. I was ready for a more simple life.
So here I am, back in suburbia America (near where I grew up) exploring what it means to live the simple life. Why the french title? Europeans really have this concept down pat (and there was no availability for the english version....) :-P
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