By Trina, August 20th, 2009 |
I like to think I’ve got great style, but often times I lack the confidence to pull things off. Many an outfit makes me feel awkward or fat, and I find myself wanting to run home and change the entire time I’m wearing said outfits. My brain begins obsessing that everyone is looking at me and mocking my failed attempt to be hip and stylish. I am my own worst enemy, because it causes me to seek encouragement by asking others, “Do I look ok in this?” Fact: I need a considerable amount of external validation to just be me.
By Trina, August 16th, 2009 |
Dear Irish Boyfriend,
I think you are as wonderful as a cool pint of Guinness on a Saturday afternoon, and I want to sing my praises for all of your help in my Trina Left Iowa adventure. This blog would not be possible without you. No, seriously it really wouldn’t!
By Trina, August 14th, 2009 |
There are a few certainties in the summer months: BBQs, blockbuster movies, tan lines, humidity and, of course, weddings. My earlier Iowan summers were filled with family cookouts at Lake Okoboji, endless days at the city pool achieving horrid tan lines, sticky nights up to no good in tall cornfields and the traditional exchange of nuptials between two Christian Midwesterners. This summer I’ve managed to take in all the aforementioned certainties in the form of hot dogs, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, wicked Texas-induced tan lines, makeup-melting sweats (myth buster: Dallas has humidity!) and two of the most wonderfully unique weddings I’ve ever attended.
Two August 2009 weekend road trips brought me to steamy Houston, TX for an Americanized Nigerian wedding and a traditional Indian wedding. I had no idea what to expect other than cake and some shameless dancing where others look on in horror. I went in with an open mind, and each one presented me with a different perspective on weddings, love, traditions and the union of two people ready to officially start their lives together.
WEDDING #2…
By Trina, August 11th, 2009 |
There are a few certainties in the summer months: BBQs, blockbuster movies, tan lines, humidity and, of course, weddings. My earlier Iowan summers were filled with family cookouts at Lake Okoboji, endless days at the city pool achieving horrid tan lines, sticky nights up to no good in tall cornfields and the traditional exchange of nuptials between two Christian Midwesterners. This summer I’ve managed to take in all the aforementioned certainties in the form of hot dogs, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, wicked Texas-induced tan lines, makeup-melting sweats (myth buster: Dallas has humidity!) and two of the most wonderfully unique weddings I’ve ever attended.
Two August 2009 weekend road trips brought me to steamy Houston, TX for an Americanized Nigerian wedding and a traditional Indian wedding. I had no idea what to expect other than cake and some shameless dancing where others look on in horror. I went in with an open mind, and each one presented me with a different perspective on weddings, love, traditions and the union of two people ready to officially start their lives together.
By Trina, July 29th, 2009 |
This post is one that I wrote for Leading Associates in February 2009. I’m proud of the posts I wrote for LA, and I wanted to include them here at Trina Left Iowa. Note: this dating venture was an experiment during a time when Irish Boyfriend and I weren’t together.
Right now I am in this fabulous life stage: I’m educated, single, emancipated from my parents, employed, full of life, cute (I have to give myself some credit), and blessed with a derriere that rivals JLO and Kim Kardashian (I’m learning to embrace rather than hate it). This is the time when I am supposed to be dating these great guys and going out for cosmopolitans with my fabulous girlfriends. Instead, I find myself going through the same routines and doing unglamorous things like drinking wine alone and watching the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries (I nearly tackled the delivery guy when it arrived from Amazon). Where do the cute boys and dates come in?
By Trina, July 29th, 2009 |
We live in a world that teaches us from the beginning not to talk to strangers, and it’s not shocking that when we get older we have trust issues with our fellow humans. I am usually skeptical of every other person around me and hope they won’t try to rob or sexually assault me (that might be the scared little small-town girl inside of me). Then there are the times where you let your guard down, and some jerk store takes advantage of you – that’s right, you know who you are car fixer guy in Woonsocket, RI. On the flip side, I find it hard to trust the people I work with on a daily basis. It seems like everyone has some sort of anti-you agenda, and this planet is every man for his/herself.
That is why when I boarded my plane last night from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas I had every intention of sitting down, writing a superb LA article I had promised to Dan (hadn’t a clue what to write) and not talking to any strangers. Enter: adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman. She started talking to me about how she was a little nervous about flying. It seemed harmless enough, so I chatted to her about pretty surface level topics (weather, flying, why we were both in town, etc). After all, I couldn’t start my article during taxiing anyways, right?
By Trina, July 29th, 2009 |
Most people imagine the life of a travelling associate is a glamorous one. Although there are perks, it is pretty far from attractive a lot of the time. Dragging a controversially large carry-on suitcase around an airport at 5:30 on Monday mornings, sitting in an oddly-smelling rental car in Humidville, FL, eating overly-priced, mediocre room service by yourself, working long hours and spending several hours of your week sitting next to strangers on an MD-80 airplane is reality.
I recently started on a project in South Florida, and it had been awhile since I’d been a road warrior. I had forgotten some of my strategies for staying organized and keeping my blood pressure down. I’m sharing some of my tips and tricks to keeping it all together when living on the road, and I’d love for others to share theirs. This article is all about organized packing.
By Trina, July 29th, 2009 |
There are certain situations and events that have a significant amount of permanence attached to them. Since leaving the comforts of Iowa and emancipating from my parents, I’ve come across said situations/events and found myself getting a serious case of cold feet. The very thought of passing these milestones terrifies me in a peculiar way. Maybe I have some crazy ideas that they will tie me down a bit more than I want to be, or they will attach me to one particular place (I haven’t a clue yet where I want to put down roots). Whatever the cause of my phobia, I’m going to divulge my ridiculous commitment issues, and I ask you to comment if you share any of these feelings (help me feel less nuts).
By Trina, July 29th, 2009 |
This Saturday will mark my 25th year of life on Earth. Unlike many other birthdays, this one is a major milestone year for me. My life isn’t exactly planned out, but there are things I would like to do by the time I reach 25, 30, 40, 50, 65, etc. This year the annual event has caused me to do a deeper than normal self reflection, and I’ve been brutally hard on myself.
By Trina, July 29th, 2009 |
Recently, a few posts on Brazen Careerist about work-life balance have caught my attention. Many people have strong opinions on the matter. Jake on Jobs is of the “work now, play later” mindset. He says, “…Work/Life balance is not something 20-somethings should be worried about. Instead, my suggestion is to work your butt off until you find a job that doesn’t feel like work.” Whereas Jenny Blake talks about looking at your overall quality of life, “…part of the reason I was feeling so tired was that I let work completely take over my life…the more I let things that energize me fall out of my routine, the more tired I become, and the less able I am to perform high-quality work.” My stance: I don’t think you can get to a place where it doesn’t feel like work unless you have a good quality of life. In other words, good personal life is complementary to good work life.
Many of us millennials are focusing our twenties on our careers, and I am definitely one of them. I push myself at work and am looking to grow myself in my free time. I have designed my lifestyle to be conducive to work my buns off (I wish that were literal…): I live alone, I am far away from my family, I’m educated, I’m single, I have an open schedule and I dress for success every single day (I truly love the way I look in a suit). However, I’ve realized that focusing my twenties only on work is no way to live.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are all mine.
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