All in.

It's been a while since I last posted, but do not fear: my life has not and does not suck, as Nicole so eloquently described.  It's been full, but good… things like moving to live with friends instead of by myself, with mice :-)

Another example, a few weeks ago, I presented a poster at the SLAC LCLS/SSRL Users Meeting (that's a ton of acronyms/words just to say a gathering of people who use powerful x-rays for science). During the main talks of the meeting, the organizers scheduled a window of time where poster presenters could briefly advertise their poster in hopes of attracting more visitors later during the poster session.  I opted to participate and sent in a basic slide with my name and the title of my poster.  So far, this story is rather straightforward and somewhat mundane.  But here's where it gets better…

They encouraged us to be creative in our 45-second spiel. This instantly grabbed my attention due my family's favorite saying:

Creativity is ALWAYS an option.

But it would require work. If you're going to do something truly unexpected, you have to do it well. 

I went for it.

At the poster blitz, I was in the middle of the 20 presenters.  That doesn't sound like a lot until you realize that you're hearing about 20 completely different areas of study.  After around 2, it's hard to focus.  So we get to 10, and here's what I said:

No one knew what to expect after that intro, but by the time I got to the "top of a substrate," the audience was laughing. It was marvelous. They ate it up, and broke the rule of "save the applause for the end," instead loudly applauding me after!  I didn't get many extra visitors, but people did tell me that they really enjoyed my song!

I'm trying to live life like that.
No, not necessarily the singing, though I do enjoy it. 
I'm trying to live all in.  Going for it.  Really digging in to the opportunities I have.

This morning I got the opportunity to do the announcements at my church here.  It was a roller coaster!  I put lots of preparation and practice in, and I still felt nervous up there!  But it was also fun to ham it up a bit and make people laugh. It was quite a rush...

I'm really thankful for the church home I've found here. It took me almost a year in Santa Cruz to actually settle in to a church!  But now I'm connected with a lot of people and involved.  And it feels great.  I know that I do benefit from knowing that I'll be in this area for a while, which makes it easier to put roots down.

But even without that assurance, or others like it, life is more satisfying when you are more present and willing to engage.

Photo Cred Printable Decor

It might not always turn out well (just ask about my brilliant idea to learn to ride my bike with no training wheels!).  But as Don Miller would say, regardless of the outcome, it sure makes for better stories!

And sometimes, you hit it out of the park.