Where did the year go?

Posted in Bucket List, Travel by Tinamarie Vella

I don’t know if it’s the whole getting older thing — but I feel like I blinked and 2014 is coming to an end in a few hours.

I started doing a yearly bucket list in 2013, and I must admit I didn’t do as well in 2014. I feel like I did better than what I expected, lots of firsts and travel.

1. Complete my 10K run in an hour.

Well, my 10K was cancelled, But, that didn’t stop me — I participated in Neon Run 5K and my first Mudderella run — definitely wasnt prepared for it. I am looking forward to doing it again next year!

2. Go to a cigar bar.

For some reason this never happened. I did go to a Pisco Bar. Yum, pisco.

3. Visit the Empire State Building.

Yup, it did not happen. I need to be a tourist in my own hometown. I went to see my first soccer (oops, I mean futbol) game (Brasil vs Ecuador) at MetLife Stadium, and I may or may not have bought a team t-shirt. bonus: my World Cup Eye Candy post here

4. Ride a bike over the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC

I did go to Charleston (loved it!), but I didn’t ride my bike over the bridge. I did take a selfie in a cotton field though.

5. See the Grand Canyon.

Didn’t see the Grand Canyon. But, I did see the Hoover Dam, and survived Vegas in June.

6. Submit a research grant proposal.

Grant in progress. I am half way done. That counts right? bonus photo, because it’s funny — my sister and I went on this rollercoaster in Hershey Park. Her face is priceless!

7. Complete a class on Coursera.

I started one, and never finished it. I guess I was too preoccupied. I enrolled in Espanol classes finally. I’m once step closer to reading Marquez in Spanish.

8. Have afternoon tea.

Yes! I went for my birthday this year @ Alice’s Tea Cup. Great fun with my nearest and dearest 🙂

9. Read the Bible. The whole thing, not just certain sections.

Another failed attempt. A lot harder to get through than I expected. I did deepen my relationship with God in other ways. I also purified my sins at the Totumo Mud Volcano in Colombia

10. Use my passport.

Finally! Colombia — my first time in South America, and certainly not my last. And I will add stamps every year, that’s my plan.

Cheers to 2015!! Stay tuned 🙂

19Feb2014

Second Annual Bucket List :)

Posted in Bucket List, Updates by Tinamarie Vella

Last year, I decided to post a bucket list of sorts… (not my bucket list for life, but for the year)

I had fun putting it together. So, I figured I’d do it again for 2014.

I’m not going to recycle any items (I’ll eventually go on a picnic!) , I’m just going to start fresh… so here it is:

1. Complete my 10K run in an hour.

2. Go to a cigar bar.

3. Visit the Empire State Building.

4. Ride a bike over the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC

5. See the Grand Canyon.

6. Submit a research grant proposal.

7. Complete a class on Coursera.

8. Have afternoon tea.

9. Read the Bible. The whole thing, not just certain sections.

10. Use my passport.

I’ll naturally keep you all posted 🙂

31Dec2013

So long, 2013!

Posted in Bucket List, Updates by Tinamarie Vella

Well, this year flew by…. seriously.

I haven’t posted since June. eek! (btw, the screenplay is still in the works!)

I looked back at my bucket list post — and I did a pretty good job of keeping up with my promises 🙂

Definitely doing this again for 2014!

Let’s recap:

1. Lose at least 25 lbs. The more the better.

Lost about 10 lbs, not great. But, I’m making moves for 2014…

2. Visit a different museum every month, and then post pics on my blog.

Totally failed on this one… oops. But, I made some of my own art , or at least I tried… 🙂

And while it’s not a museum, I can scratch AT&T Park off my list of baseball stadiums to visit:

3. Go to Canada. Montreal to be exact.

I went to Canada. But not Montreal. Here’s my lovely pic of me and the Falls :

4. Ride a mechanical bull.

This happened. Evidence:

https://tinamarievella.com/2013/05/30/foolish-attempt-mechanical-bull-riding/

5. Try at least three different whiskeys that I’ve never had before.

Ha! This was accomplished within the first few months., and this whiskey flight is the reason:

6. Buy flowers for myself more often.

Sorta did this.. here are some of the lovely begonias I bought myself

7. Learn how to say “I Love You” in 20 languages (I’m a dork, I know!)

This sounded easier than I thought. But, I did learn more Tagalog by writing this lovely ode to Balut:

http://opencitymag.com/uncracking-balut/

8. Discover new music.

Yes. Country music! Yep… click the pic… it’s my favorite Jake Owen song 🙂

9. Have a picnic in the park.

Nope. I don’t know why. I’ll just post my last minute Halloween costume to feel accomplished 🙂

10. Eat a burger from the following places: Minetta Tavern and White Manna

Yes and Yes. Drool-worthy pics below:

bonus: take my learner’s permit test again…(it expired when I was 23) — baby steps to getting a license.

Still working on this… of course.

Stay tuned for my 2014 bucket list 🙂

Have a wonderful New Year!

11Jul2011

Obligatory ALA Annual Post

Posted in Education, Libraries, Travel by Tinamarie Vella

What a totally different experience from my first conference in Chicago in 2009 — if you are curious to see that, check it out here.

Last year, when I went to ALA Annual in DC — I was only there overnight, and I felt guilty about not doing the programs, and just networking and researching. Once again, if interested, check out that post here.

But this year I realized it is the most important aspect of going to ALA — networking and finding people who have that same passion that you do. This has been said numerous times in numerous blogs, but I will say it again!

I was an ALA Emerging Leader this year. I must say that I was fortunate to have a worthwhile project to work on, and a great group of people to work with!

: Team (N)asty

I ended up joining LLAMA and NMRT, and I have volunteered to work with both for next year’s conference and meetings. Yes, I am getting involved and stepping up, which is definitely because I was involved in Emerging Leaders. But the most important takeaway from the Emerging Leaders program, I now have a core group of friends within my profession, and that is more important than any program/session/workshop I attended. One of my team members, Lessa Pelaya Lozada summed up the Emerging Leaders experience pretty well — so I’ll link to her blog post here.

And, I attended quite a few programs, and yes, they were inspiring, especially ACRL’s President’s Program. The speaker, Jason Young, said one of the cheesiest phrases, but it fired me up, and I thought I want to BE that person. Ready for the quote, don’t say I didn’t warn you:

When you inspire someone, you literally breathe life into them

But, as fired up as I was about that session. I got more out of just chatting and sharing ideas over a really powerful daiquiri —

: taken by @shinyinfo

Or mingling with one of my favorite vendors, Mango Languages (in the exhibit hall):

: pimpin’ out mango mobile

Or even better over an infamous hurricane —

: first hurricane of the night — in my hand

And, this leads me to my favorite lesson from housekeeping lady at my hotel:

girl, don’t you know if you have more than one hurricane, it’s gonna be trouble!

I don’t think I really need to add anything after that gem.. maybe a pic of my book swag. 🙂

: ala book swag 🙂

3Dec2009

Let’s play Mad Libs

Posted in Geekiness, Pop Culture by Tinamarie Vella

That’s what Louie said to me, while we were watching How I Met Your Mother. (btw, up to the last episode of season two, disc one — Atlantic City episode to be exact)

AHHH Mad Libs, it brings back memories of youth.

I was trying to embed the Mad Libs widget in this blog post, but I’m failing miserably. I’ll just post the Mad Libs Online website:

http://www.madlibs.com/

Have fun!

Tinamarie Vella

wordy glimpses into my thoughts

Tag Archives: fun

Where did the year go?

Second Annual Bucket List :)

So long, 2013!

Obligatory ALA Annual Post

Let’s play Mad Libs