Happy International Podcast Day!

Remember when Serial came out? I remember thinking at the time that sure, podcasts have been around for a minute, but I just hadn't gotten into them much, so maybe they weren't for me. Serial was fascinating, but after Season 1, almost a year passed before I found another podcast I wanted to listen to regularly*.

But now, two years later, and about a year since I last discussed podcasts on Mindfully Modern, I am a devout podcast listener. They're great to listen to during my commute, walking to/from the grocery store, or while I'm doing house chores. I don't even mind the commercials, that's how much I like 'em.

Now I wanted to share what I'm listening to these days. And I swear, I started typing this on Friday afternoon and thought, it would be interesting to see what the history of podcasting looks like, and then Google told me that Saturday is International Podcast Day! I know every day is some hashtag holiday so hey, I'm down to celebrate this one as well.

Fun facts from InternationalPodcastDay.com:

• The podcast was invented in 2004, with credit to 2 dudes (including an MTV VJ), although Wikipedia says "audio blogging" goes back to the '80s... and let's all remember Felicity's tapes of the late 90's / early aughts
• "podcast" = "iPod" + "broadcast"
• iTunes started supporting podcasts in 2005 (I use iPhone's Podcast app but link to other sources here as well)
• George W. Bush was the first POTUS to release his weekly address as a podcast, 2005
• Marc Maron launches WTF, 2009
• Apple reaches 1 billion podcast subscribers, 2013

And here are the podcasts I have listened to, fairly regularly, over the past year:

Recommended Readings

above Muir Beach

I have a long commute and one benefit from that is the time to read. Most of the time I read something on my phone, pieces I find by scrolling my Twitter feed or through a few choice websites, or from one of the newsletters I subscribe to. This year I've been trying to be more diligent about reading actual books as well, and tapping into the wonderful SF Public Library. Here's a sampling of what I've enjoyed, in print and digital, in no particular order:

from goodreads

Half of a Yellow Sun (novel): At the start of the year, my former roommate sent an email to her friends around the country and suggested we do a virtual book club, focused on writings from women of color. It was our own way of showing hashtag resistance, by educating ourselves, learning from other perspectives and voicing our own. The first book was Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose work I'd been wanting to read since I heard her featured by Beyonce (clearly, I had not yet found Adichie's amazing TED talk). This was the most well-written, captivating novel I'd read in the past year, hands down. It opened my eyes to a war in modern history that I'd never known about (even though, I learned later, another friend's family in Nigeria had lived through it). It also made me care for an ensemble cast of characters in whom I saw my own friends and family, from charismatic intellectuals to ambitious hard workers to reserved enigmas. I'll be picking up her other books soon enough.

from goodreads

Crazy Rich Asians (novel): I kept reading about the casting for the movie version of Crazy Rich Asians, and I remembered hearing about this when it came out and being excited because it was supposed to be like Gossip Girl, of which I was a fan, but about Asians & Asian-Americans, a group of which I am a part of. I never got around to reading it, though, but then this spring, a hairstylist told me how good it was, and with the movie coming out I decided to get to it. It was thoroughly entertaining; I had to google some of the brands and locations they name-dropped, I laughed at all the satire around stereotypes, and I realized I am a sucker for a romantic plot. I've since completed the trilogy, and look forward to watching the movie when it comes out.

Millennial Women and Money (Refinery29): On a more realistic/relatable scale of personal wealth, Ashley C. Ford delved into how being a young, female breadwinner impacts a relationship, especially in a time when many of us haven't seen that much (mainstream) precedence that we can use as a blueprint. The economy continues to change and the workforce along with it; good journalism like this reflects those changes and opens a dialogue to help people navigate through it all.

Age & Wisdom in the Tech Industry (HBR): "Wisdom is about pattern recognition," shares writer Chip Conley, a seasoned hospitality exec who joined Airbnb and now works with folks decades younger than him. Also: "I realized that we expect young digital-era leaders to miraculously embody relationship wisdoms, with very little training, that we elders had twice as long to learn." It was an eye-opening, and heartwarming, essay to read about the industry I work in, but it's also applicable to navigating the workplace in general. 

Doing Well by Doing Good (HuffPo): This wide-ranging interview with the CFO of Square was really inspiring. One of my motivations for being in the business world is to be able to make a social impact, and it's awesome to read about someone who's leading the way. Also, I had to click once I saw the series title was very similar to one of my Twitter lists!

Reese "Elle Tracy Woods Flick" Witherspoon (Glamour): Reese is the patron saint of women being underestimated. Her stories and advice here are priceless. The lesson she learned from Mindy Kaling was like a dagger through the heart. Witherspoon-Kaling 2020.

Microadventures

While I've been able to travel abroad a couple times in the last few years, I've had many more local adventures checking out what the Bay Area has to offer. There are still times I feel like I'm on vacation, even though I've lived here almost five years. I suppose it's a combination of being in a lively city, and having the surroundings that just beg for a hike, or a trip to wine country, or whatever. I would still like to keep traveling the globe, but the world close to home isn't bad to check out, either.

I came across the term "microadventures" in a recent article on simplicity and instantly loved it. That outing last weekend (finally) to the museum across town that I'd been meaning to go to? A microadventure, just a couple hours' worth of appreciating art I could never create myself. (Bonus part was meeting up with friends there.) Bringing my brother to the pop-up dinner that a friend had introduced me to a few weeks earlier? A delicious microadventure. A quiet walk through a different neighborhood with coffee on a sunny morning? An eye-opening microadventure. Not all adventures are farflung or require time off work; they can be had in discrete amounts of time and location. 

Self-Care: It's a Marathon, not a Sprint

If you were to ask me last month, "How are you?" My response would have been: exhausted, anxious, determined, angry, sad, optimistic, inspired. All of these emotions are related to the current political climate in the U.S., but they're compounded by the energy I get from folks who are speaking up about politics and current events, and figuring out what they can do, and doing it. The election and the start of the new administration have been devastating in some ways, but I don't know any so-called snowflakes who have just collapsed and stopped working or functioning in society. Instead, so many people have realized they have the capacity to make a phone call, sign a petition, and/or show up for a protest or rally. As one of my former classmates was quoted in the NY news:

I am deeply upset at what's happening in my country. I just feel like, with these executive orders, really helpless as a citizen. So it's the least I can do, to show up. Just show up.

In the midst of chaos the new POTUS was creating, this reaction was heartening. My hope for everyone, in participating in and uphold democracy for loved ones and strangers  (while simultaneously working on their careers and relationships and hobbies... you know, living their lives) also remembers their responsibility to take care of themselves.

Self-care is something I have never been an expert on, so sometimes I even have to stop and think: Just take care of yourself. Every couple years or so, I can stop and go on a long, adventurous vacation, but most of the time I have to find everyday practices that help me be mindful in the midst of everything going on. I find that approaching self-care from three sides really helps: physical, mental, and spiritual (which for me is community-focused).

One night I cooked dinner and the warmth and scent in the kitchen relaxed me even before I even ate. I'd realized I'd been getting away from healthy cooking and have been trying to do more meal planning and weekend meal prep. Exercise has been in short spurts the last couple of weeks (the rain also didn't help), but I signed up for some new weekend classes (once with a friend for a bootcamp class they really liked), and it's felt good to sweat some stress out and strengthen my body, bit by bit. And it's felt good to go for a run now that the rain has stopped. Also, it had been months since I got a salon pedicure (hey, winter!), so it felt amazing to sit down in the chair this weekend and have my feet taken care of while I started a new book.

At work, I also got to attend a two-day Search Inside Yourself workshop sponsored by my company, and I felt invigorated and optimistic by the end of it. There were maybe ~60 other folks there from functions all over the company, learning about self-awareness, mindfulness and emotional intelligence. They had a great segment on self-compassion and kindness and how they go a long way to promoting peace, in terms of helping you cultivate your own leadership skills. At another point they brought up Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning (which I had loved reading in college) and discussed how we can stop and process things before we react to something triggering. I found the workshop powerful and something I will have to incorporate into my life long-term, so I may have more to write about it later on.

Elizabeth Spencer winery tasting room

Finally, spending time around loved ones is a big way for me to nurture my spirits. After a couple weeks of rainy weather here in NorCal, a friend texted suggesting we all head up to Napa that weekend, which had a forecast of sun. So on Sunday, over wine, then a picnic, then some beer flights (& a green smoothie for myself), we all caught up and only barely discussed politics. I was also delighted to get a pop-up dinner invite from another friend - showing someone you're thinking of them and want to spend time with them seems like a small gesture but it goes a long way.

picnic grounds @ V Sattui

So that's my self-care approach distilled to three aspects of life. It can't all be done at once, but when I can sprinkle these things into my daily routines, I definitely feel like I'm better off. I'll wrap this up with a quote from a powerful article (an oldie but a goodie): 

"we can improve our lives and the lives of those around us. We can even construct a system that fulfills our founders’ promises and empowers all Americans to pursue happiness." A Formula for Happiness

Resolution

SF MoMA

In a lot of ways 2016 was personally great (loved ones got married, engaged and brought babies into this world; my husband and I both transitioned to new aspects of our jobs; I got involved with a wonderful organization, and I generally got to enjoy another year of good health and fun adventures in California) but I was still happy to see it go. My friend had the brilliant idea of going out with a bang, in the form of a wonderful feast with friends. So on NYE we had a private dining room at a San Francisco restaurant, filled with 9 fantastic people, amazing food and delicious wine. I will always remember that meal and am grateful my friend thought of putting it together.

And now, we're fully in 2017, not just feet wet but hair dunked, body temperature acclimated. There aren't any totally new habits I want to do this year that I didn't start on already- eating healthy, exercising more. All the usual self-care, wellness and fitness habits I know to do but need to actually do. The hosts and guest on my favorite podcast Another Round were discussing the difference between telling people you'll do something (like going to the gym) and actually doing it. Anyway, as I get older, self-care moves to front of mind so that I can be in good shape to take care of other things.

And those other things? Well the 2016 election taught me I can't take democracy for granted. So in 2017 I have to keep learning what's going on, finding ways to make my voice heard and find a way to make an impact where I am. Last summer thanks to a friend's suggestion, I started working with a children's organization in San Francisco; this was meant to help underprivileged kids right in my city, but it has already impacted me immensely. 

I also want to remember to speak up more, in different channels. For a long time I did not put political views on social media; in fact I have had a tenuous relationship with social media and like to think I should just be living IRL. But I'd like to learn how to use tech to advance democracy. This is one article in WSJ that I found suggesting some nonpartisan tools to track government. I also downloaded Countable, an app for tracking government, and am finding it easy to use. I joined the Women's March in San Francisco this weekend - again, thanks to brilliant friends - and resolve to keep the inspiration and energy from the event in my heart going forward, and to continue to turn it into action.

photo from Buzzfeed

And finally on the fun side, I want to do more West Coast exploring this year and am starting to make those plans. I also have loved ones getting married this year so I'll be traveling to celebrate with them (I've got one bridesmaid dress ready and am about to order another one). So among other things, there will be a lot of fun in 2017.