This is what happens when you volunteer in your free time! But I’ll talk about volunteering another time.

So all week, I’ve been in conflict with whether or not to keep or freeze or cancel my YogaWorks Membership and all of them seemed to be very pricey consequences.

• If I keep it, then I’ll just pay my monthly membership.
• If I freeze it and pursue a cheaper temporary membership, I’ll be paying the 15 dollar a month at YogaWorks plus I’ll be paying initiation fee and monthly fees at the new membership.
• If I canceled my YogaWorks membership and go somewhere else, still have to pay the initiation fee and the monthly fees and that’s not in my budget.

So I decided to bite the bullet and stick with my YogaWorks Membership. I know the place I volunteer at in Burbank, they have a gym where it’s 10 dollar initiation fee and 10 a month membership and it’s really close to the building I volunteer at.   But I don’t work at Burbank everyday and I’m not driving that far to just work out. Also I spend more time at the other communities we serve which is outside of Burbank.

Anyways why am I discussing exercise? Well exercise can help your job search! It produces endorphins and I feel it’s what keeps me sane otherwise I’d lock myself in the apartment job hunting all day when really I should be out in the world and networking.

Also since they’re group classes, it’ll keep me disciplined so I have to attend the class. And also they’re saying that exercise improves on overall appearance and confidence. I guess I can think of my membership as an investment to a better opportunity.

I try to go to the classes in the morning so I feel like I accomplish something and I’m ready to start the rest of my unstructured day.

Yesterday has been a very rough day or so I thought because I got laid off from my corporate job.

I was a contract-to-hire working at a corporate job for almost 7 months. It was funny because the day before I saw an opening for my position, I applied and the the following day I get the news from my contract representative that my corporate job decided to let me go.

Me: Did they give you feedback?

Contract rep: It’s unusual, they didn’t. They called me to come over to give you the news. They just said you were nice girl but it wasn’t going to work out.

Me: That’s not really much feedback.

Contract rep: I really wanted to get feedback if you did anything wrong but HR decided to let you go. (Big corporate fatty name AKA BCF) is really opaque about these things. You’re not the first person who’ve gone through it. They’ve all told me the same thing — they’ve followed all the rules and they’re a great fit with their department. It throws them off the loop.

Me: I see. I applied to become a permanent employer, I guess HR told you to let me go.

Contract rep: Look, I also cover the LA area. I’ll contact you if another opportunity comes up.

That was pretty much the summary of what happened to me.

How did I cope?

1. Talk to people about what happened — ASAP! 

The first thing I did was call my boyfriend to tell him the news and my friends and network and my old coworkers a final good-bye. My coworkers had no idea what was coming. In fact, neither my supervisor until I walked out of the building. It was just the natural.

I also believe if you have the right people who cheer you on and support you, they’ll help you pave the way. I felt it created a ripple effect. That was something I haven’t felt in a long time. I guess that’s what happens when you ditch bad friends for good ones. When I told my boyfriend, he told his work’s HR, and his HR talked to me. She actually asked for my resume. And also she gave me steps to apply for unemployment insurance right away and try filing a claim.

I talked to friends and my network and they did think what they did was horrible. They asked me for my resume too. They also told asked me for my hobbies and interests and try to get freelance work for money in the mean time.

I even said “goodbye” to my old coworkers. They told me since I applied externally, they’ll try to get me back in. I said “sorry, what’s done has been done. I applied the day before and if they really wanted me to stay, they’d let me.” I told them I think I can find opportunities elsewhere.

2. Breathe back life in the things you love

I do pro bono side projects in my spare time. Neuron Highway is probably my biggest project and I can spend more time on it instead of focusing on it 2 days of the week. I felt very split between working for BCF and meeting up at school — they’re 40 miles apart! Some days after work I would debate whether or not to go to a networking event to promote Neuron Highway but I would be overwhelmed with the distance.

I feel this project can help raise my personal brand profile and introduce me to more doors. My partner from Neuron Highway told me that there are people that want to meet us but she always had to put it on hold because I always working and could never attend. I feel maybe this will open doors for exponentially.

I also noticed I haven’t blogged as much as I wanted to. But I can use this blog as my journey of getting back on my feet again.

3. Focusing on your personal brand

Maybe being in BCF it was hard to create a personal brand or maybe they recognized my personal brand and thought it wasn’t a good fit. The word “fit” is such a vague word. I thought being a great worker, showing initiative, getting along with your department and superiors, and being recognized by them is enough to stay. I don’t understand. I thought that’s what “fit” meant.

4. I can finally enjoy Saturday and other holidays

Self-explanatory. And not to mention drive 50 miles per day. I’m looking for my next job to be within LA where transit is more accessible.

5. My opportunity of getting out of the box

Since the start of post-college career, I’ve been in cell culture manufacturing. I graduated in 2009 with a Neuroscience degree in a TERRIBLE economy. But also at the time I did not have industry related experience. I got my break 6 weeks after I finished my last class at UCLA and was working in cell culture manufacturing. I’m not a biology person, I actually saw myself more of a biochemistry or a chemistry person when I was in college. I thought if I gave myself a couple years I would get out of cell culture and move into something else. Well that “couple of years” became 4 years in cell culture. I felt when I was looking to get out of cell culture, I got more calls for interviews for only cell culture positions. When I was head-hunted to work as a contractor for BCF, I thought this was my step to work for a BCF and maybe be able to move around within a BCF. The perception of working in something bigger is that you’re moving on up. It didn’t matter how many supervisors and colleagues in other departments liked me and wanted me to work for them, I felt BCF-HR stuck me in a box.

But since yesterday I felt I finally got out of that box and now I can move on.

Happy Memorial Day! What a busy fun weekend. Went to a few barbeques and went to another 5k at the VA in Brentwood. A lot of fun and for a great cause! The VA in Brentwood is such a gorgeous campus!

Another situation that happened multiple times was how my former cubicle mate would always give me her snacks and I use to take her snacks but then I would get sick afterwards so I decided to no longer share her snacks. She assumed I was on a diet or that I needed to eat more. I told her “I already ate.”

But she still would try to give me her snacks. I’ve said quite a few things to turn her down like “I don’t eat anything with trans fats” or “high fructose corn syrup” or “aspartame”. It did annoy her and she kept asking me “if I was on a diet” and I said “no, I’ve avoided all those things since I was in high school.”

But then in the end she decided to avoid trans fats, HFSC, and aspartame all-together. In fact, she became very preachy and I did find it annoying like “ooh this yogurt is good (looks at the ingredients in the back)…eww! yuck there’s aspartame! bleh, I’m gonna throw up! (No you’re not…)” If you were a real health-freak, you should have looked at the ingredients first before you buy it because I’m not buying your whole “I’m a health goddess” act. As aggravating as she came out, I didn’t ask her “why are you avoiding aspartame?” I just kept all comments to myself.

I love reading posts and articles about people’s bad fallout from dieting and weight loss because it makes me realize that I’m not alone. You’d think people would be more supportive of reaching their goals. I wouldn’t think that people would try to  sabotage people’s weight loss/healthy eating effort. 

Why am I writing about weight loss and dieting? Well it’s been 6 months since I left San Diego to Los Angeles and I have noticed a weight loss except the thing is I haven’t done anything crazy. My lifestyle is about the same:

• I drink a protein shake when I wake up in the morning to cut my breakfast preparation. It makes a huge difference since most of my mornings I rush for the door. I use to cook oatmeal every morning but I hated waiting for the oatmeal to get ready. Plus you can’t really drink your oatmeal when you’re on the road.
• Eat whatever I like throughout the day it could be pasta, salad, sandwiches, etc. Snack on almonds, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit, bread, chocolate, ice cream, and cheeses. Nothing restrictive.
• Going to YogaWorks about 3-4 times per week. Been doing Yoga and other mat exercises for the past two years. I don’t really call it “exercising”, more like a “hobby”.
• I work out more for recreation like running with friends or going out to the pool at my apartment because its hot or kayaking at the beach. I simply like doing active things.
• Still eat out with friends. Actually Friday we went to Lazy Dog Cafe ordered a beer sampler and an ahi tuna burger and it was yum! Plus I finished the whole plate.
• Yes, in the end, despite me eating — I still do exercise.

I think I exercised a lot more though back in San Diego and I felt like I had to work out a lot harder to maintain my weight. My lifestyle now is still the same …or actually I exercised a little less. I don’t run 3-5 times per week (plus do youtube workout videos) anymore to burn off Saturday night’s potluck. But lately, I’ve noticed my clothes have felt more comfortable.

My boyfriend thinks the reason why I’m losing weight is because I’m less stressed. True, I’m less stressed but at the same time, I’m more busy. Busy in a good way. I’m more active in the community and pursuing more hobbies. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just less stress because I care less what people think what I’m eating. I guess that’s what a 100 mile buffer between you and San Diego does to you. I don’t have to hear “that’s it? That’s all your eating?”

Anyways the point is that summer is coming up and there are wedding parties and birthday parties to attend in SD. It’s been a while since I’ve seen people in San Diego– the same people who have guilt-ed me for eating salad and doing outdoor sports and yoga. Not sure what they would think with my unintended weight loss and what I’ve been doing lately. It’s misleading that I share pictures of Aebleskivers pancakes, scones, chocolate tarts, sushi burritos, and bratwursts. The best part of it all is that I am not judged here.

Got to unwire myself sometimes.

How often and how long do you unwire from your phones and your laptops? Is it 1 hour per day or per week? Is it 1 day out of the week? Or one week out of the month? 

What else has been going on?

A couple weekends ago, we went to Brewery Art walk. Arrived at noon and was there until the the event closed at 6 pm and we still haven’t seen everything. Also it was my friend’s blind date. I was responsible for setting her up and it went really well. She thought the Brewery Art walk was his idea and imagine the guy as a hipster but he was far from a hipster. The guy imagined the girl to be a hipster and she’s far from being a hipster too. I planned the Brewery Art Walk because I thought it was the most casual event to take someone — which it was. I thought it took a lot of pressure off for the guy to take a girl on a first date to a fancy restaurant.

The Brewery Art Walk was like walking into someone’s home — which it was. The artists live in the loft but this event did make me think it was like a big house party.

Bonus: Saw Grant from Mythbusters!

Check below the cut:

An old car converted into an electric car — how cool is that?

That’s right, I’m back at school — well Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) that is. It’s been a week since I enrolled in a class and I really like it! On Monday it was Healthcare Innovation class. Last Friday, I started my second class which is Computational Neuroscience. Now I’m trying to download Octave for the class.

Signing up for classes can get addicting!

My new favorite place! Wish it was sunnier though!

Check out the rest on my photobucket!

Oh yeah I got a new laptop! Finally!

Made tamales and leche flan and took them home to steam (the tamales) and bake (the leche flan) of course!

The end results were amazing!

With the leche flan, at home we used a muffin pan since we did not have a ramekin. When they were done, I thought it looked like dollar sign pancakes. At first I was not sure if I liked it but later on I thought it would be a great idea to bring it to a big party or a big potluck since they’re so small.

This was our first cooking class at Sur La Table — I definitely look forward to signing up for another cooking class with them again. I think the 69 dollar price tag is reasonable plus the the instructors are really nice!

And in other news, I bought myself a laptop so no more borrowing from my boyfriend!

I’ve been to the Getty museum for the years and I never get tired walking around the garden!

Glad to take my boyfriend out!