Positive thinking

I had an unplanned haircut yesterday at a local salon on Larchmont Street. If you knew me at all, you would know that it isn’t like me to, spur of the moment, get my hair cut, especially at an unknown salon with a hairdresser who had too many body piercings for me to count. But since I had over an hour to kill, waiting for Jojo, I thought, “why not”. Luckily this did not turn out to be one of those “Oh-god-what-was-I-thinking” moments. I guess it’s hard to go wrong when you’ve had pretty much the same hair style since college (in my defense, the length of my hair does vary and I did go thru the highlights/colored hair phase!).

In other news, my job searching is going ok. I’ve completed a 4th interview with company A and am looking forward to a 4th interview with company B this Friday. Amazing how much time has passed since I first submitted my resume to both these companies and how much time they have taken to get me this far! I’m still keeping my options open and am still looking at other opportunities – but I’m getting a bit anxious too.

On a personal level, I am choosing to practice more positive thinking. Not that this is such a profound statement nor is it an innovative concept. But it is nonetheless a huge step for a pragmatic realist such as myself. (Notice how I used the politically-correct phrase “pragmatic realist” – other more apt terms to describe me have included “negative thinker”, “active worrier”, and “anxious pessimist”).

Here’s my rationale. Optimistic thinking will allow me to radiate a more positive aura (and of course good vibes beget good tides!). Plus, positive thinking is good for me mentally, emotionally and physically – this will certainly relieve the stress I’ve been placing on myself and inevitably on my hubby too. And since my negative thinking has not really done me any good, maybe I should try the flip side. Also my mom keeps telling me that “worrying is an insult to God” and I wouldn’t want to do that!

So, instead of focusing on the glass being half empty, I’m going to TRY and see every situation as glasses being half full (operative word is “TRY” – since you can’t change behaviors overnight!).

Here’s my first shot at being more positive. Yesterday, as a favor to our Office Manager, I had agreed that on my way to work this morning I would drive over to our printing vendor to pick up our company letterheads and stationery. No big deal. But this morning, my hubby and I were running very late, traffic was exceptionally horrible, and the printer’s was 3-4 miles out of the way. Not to mention the fact that I had to park almost three blocks away AND had no coins for the parking meter. I debated making a run for the printers, picking up the stuff and dashing back to my car. But having had a recent run-in with parking attendants and tow trucks, I decided that it was not worth it. This was the perfect time and opportunity for a “pragmatic realist” such as myself to think negatively, right?

As I was telling myself to think positively, I see another parking spot across a coffeeshop. I pull into that one, duck into the shop, order a cup of coffee and get change for the meter. Killing two birds with one stone. But what’s even better was I stumbled into a really wonderful coffeeshop that served REAL coffee. It’s a running joke with my friends and I that there is nowhere in California where one can get REAL coffee. You know the strong, full-flavored kind? Starbucks, CoffeeBean, and the refills you get at Denny’s and IHOP really don’t come close. Back when I was in Berkeley, my roommate brewed strong Turkish coffee every morning (from a local store) and it was awesome. Peet’s Coffee, for me, probably is the next best thing. But you can never find a Peet’s when you need one.

Anyway, back to my story, I got a cup of Organic Panama coffee from this small obscure coffeeshop (called Groundwork) and it was really, really good (strong, full-flavored). Now that's what I call serendipity! So instead of focusing on how I was late for work, had to drive 4 miles out of my way, had to park three blocks away from the printer, and had no coins for the meter – I am calling my morning “the one where I had really good coffee”.