Good 1st week of 2009

* Take spanish classes - registered
* Take a jewelry making class
* Commit to an organization and do volunteer work -volunteered for the Tarrant County Food Bank on Thursday afternoon. It was actually really fun! I and 10+ of my fellow MBAs spent 3 hours packing 40 lb boxes of food. Manual labor can put things in perspective, especially since b-school does not really train you to do that sort of thing. We were responsible for sifting through huge bins of cans, condiments and dry food, sorting out donated food that was expired or dented, and making sure each box had 40+ lbs. It was very satisfying and of course, I found a way to make it competitive (who could find the heaviest items, who could find the best and most useful combinations of food). I felt very good about my efforts after the afternoon was over, and I got to hang out with some people i wouldn't normally see.
* Visit my parents in CA once a quarter

Socially, i thought this week was a success since i had made 3 plans with people and nobody canceled on me!! This is monumental and has never happened to me before in Dallas, so I felt pretty good about that. Even though one or two of them were awkward like first dates, but i am hoping over time that feeling will go away. I went to the Crow Museum of Asian art for the first time with this couple that i love from work and we saw this amazing tiger painting exhibit and had some free wine.

Lastly, I went to a detox yoga workshop this afternoon, and while it ran a little long and was a little too chatty and crunchy for me, I learned a lot about detoxing the body and bought a neti pot!! Also, the yoga practice at the end was amazing. I'll let you know how the nose cleanse goes...

A few things i learned - 1. the flatter the bladder, the better, so go when you need to go!
2. burping and gassy-ness typically means that you have too much waste in your intestine (so poop already!), and there is nowhere for the waste to go but via burping and farting.
3. Sweating is great because it releases toxins, but if you don't rinse it off after 45 minutes, then your skin will reabsorb it.