Your Personal Legend

The Alchemist is a book about a young boy who embarks on a journey in order to obtain his Personal Legend. A Personal Legend is the very meaning of one's existence. Once you have found your Personal Legend, you have found your true self and reached your highest potential. Now this is ironic because the boy clearly thinks that he will FIND his Personal Legend on his journey looking for it. But what he is missing is the fact that it is not finding your Personal Legend that allows us to find our true selves, its simply the act of looking for it. The stumbles, road blocks, people, questions, and fortune that we run into all adds up to our Personal Legend in the end.

The irony in this book is literally making me LOL when try and relate to it. It's ironic because I am inspired by a trip JJ and I are planning to Paganello. The last blog I wrote about almost exactly one year ago was about crossing Paganello off our bucket list. And here we are. Planning our European adventure gets me more and more excited each day. The trip is going to change both of us as individuals. It is going to strip us of our normal activities, work, and comfort of our own home, and allow us to let our true personality shine.

That is what I am looking forward to most. Finding out more about myself. And about JJ. This trip will help define us.

Bucket List - PAGANELLO 2015

Bucket lists are something that are made as a child. They are built as you go along. They are made because of what we experience through life and what we learn on a day to day basis. Bucket lists are a way of explaining the inner depths of your soul to the outside world without necessarily using any descriptive words. They are also a way for another person to understand a friends soul even more. It's showing the world your inner lion, and what you have come here to live for.

My bucket list is not complete, and I will probably keep adding to the list until I die, but so far I have a couple big ones on my list that I can probably begin to cross off any day now.

When I was abroad in Italy, I visited a friend in Munich, Germany. She showed me around town, and even took me to Fussen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. (The castle Disney mocked the Disney World castle by) This castle is particularly placed up in the Alps. From the top, it was a view of the Alps I will never forget. It is stamped in my brain. As an avid skier, my urge to jump off the edge and ski to the bottom was real. If I had a pair of skis, I really think I would have done it. Powder and sunshine all the way to the bottom. From that point on, skiing in the Alps was added to my bucket list. I was so close to my goal when I was with my friend in the Alps on this gorgeous castle touring trip, but I was so far away. Once frickin pair of skies away.

The bucket list comes and goes in no particular order. The point is to do them, all of them, whether it be sooner or later.

Another thing on my bucket list is to attend Paganello, the biggest beach ultimate tournament in the world. In Italy when I was playing for the Rome Ultimate Frisbee team (BID), we traveled quite a bit to attend different tournaments around the country. The one tournament that I didn't go to with my team was Paganello, not understanding he significance of the event. I couldn't go because I was very low on funds at the time. And now I simply regret not going. Hentz the bucket list addition.

JJ and I have been given an opportunity to finally attend Paganello in 2015. We have started a donation site for our family and friends to help us raise money to attend this beach tournament, which is both one of our lifetime goals. Please, anyone who has some extra change, help us acheive this goal and attend Paga in 2015. Follow this link to donate: http://www.gofundme.com/KKJJpaganello2015. We appreciate any and all the help we can get. Help us bring home a world cup for USA once again!!!

The Juit Subculture Thrives at PERQ

Jeans are a staple clothing option for anyone who is alive in the great U S OF A. The commonality of the jean pant makes it causal, but is what also makes them special and unique. Jean pants are closet essential that is deeply imbedded in American culture and has caused phenomenon in our country. 

One hot summer day, a brilliant individual decided to cut his fabulous pair of levi jean pants into shorts. It was a completely new and inspirational sub-culture that was formed after the jean pant went Pop; jorts. Now you have the jean shirt (jirt), the jean button up (jutton jup), and jean shoes (joes). Each sub-culture to his own.

I wasn’t sure there was any other possible jean sub-culture that could be formed in this world, until I went to the grand opening of @PERQmarketing. PERQ enlightened me with the new sub-culture of the jean pant suit jacket. The juit.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am familiar with the juit casual laid back but also business attire get-up, but I have not witnessed it to this extent. I wondered if PERQ’s culture and/or workspace were inspired by the juit, or vice-versa. Blurred lines.

Because it was hard for me to decipher exactly where the line was drawn between PERQ, and the juit sub-culture, I will from now on consider PERQ’s culture to be one with the sub-culture of juit-wearers. Those who are casual. Those who are business-oriented. Those who are partiers. Those who are hard-workers. The juit sub-culture thrives at PERQ.

Crossroads of America

The first day I came to realize I had to change my Michigan ID to an Indiana ID, I cried. I blubbered uncontrollably and had a feeling of sadness I couldn't put an end to. My neighbors in cubicle world at HCCMIS were very curious about my constant sniffles and heavy breathing. They couldn't see me, but they could definitely hear me.

For a day, I struggled to find the happiness in becoming an Indiana resident. The crying was the peak of my struggles, but I was sincerely sad for a couple of weeks. My Michigan ID was one of the only ways I could tell people who I was and where I came from. It made people think "she is a master in snow and doesn't flinch at the cold... she's tough". At least in my egotistical imagination that's what I wish people were saying. That's what I wished people thought about my Michigan lifestyle my whole life. Rustic, camping, non-materialistic, and wholesome. But I have learned a lot since my tears fell. There is much more to Indiana than I imagined.

This past weekend I had some of my best friends from my childhood, as well as college friends, come to visit me in Indianapolis. All of my friends are finding jobs across the country, moving around, and finding where their heart belongs and what they enjoy doing. Being located in Indianapolis, IN allowed each and every one of my friends to be able to meet at my apartment in a decent amount of time. It really wasn't a horrible drive for any of them. If we all had decided to visit Cara in Wisconsin, Kyle would have had a 10 hour drive. If we decided to visit Kyle in Pittsburgh, Kelly would have had a 12 hour drive. It would have not allowed us to gather.

But here I am in Indianapolis, and no matter where my friends and family end up in this country, it will always be a location that is close enough to drive to meet up with friends and family. Indiana is truly shining bright in my heart now that it has the ability to bring us all together again. Michigan may hold my past, but Indiana definitely has the key to my future. And I am grateful.

Handlebar Indy

What to Pack for an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament

My boyfriend made a check list for me to look over every tournament we go to. I am the WORST at packing and always forget something I need. Here's to all of those lady ultimate players who struggle with packing for tournaments!


NECESSARY:

• ibprofin
• ice pack
• sleeping bag
• pillow
• allergy meds
• vicoden
• cleats
• black shorts
• white shorts
• jerseys
• tights
• socks
• skirts
• hairties
• wallet
• water bottle
• face wash
• lotion
• sunscreen
• tampons
• birth control

 OPTIONAL

• long sleeves
• sweatshirt
• hat
• chia seeds
• headphones
• earplugs
• toothbrush toothpaste
• brush
• jeans
• pajamas
• change of clothes
• vitamins
• any other meds.
• leg roller

After everything is in order - make sure to research the tournament a tad. If the tournament has a dance party or Halloween theme or Hawaiian theme, make sure to bring an accessory or two to help you get in character. Good luck and hopefully I will see you all out there! iBang 4 lyfe.

Daydreams Are Sometimes All You Need - 100th Blog Celebration

In honor of my 100th blog post, as well as over 6,000 blog views, I have decided to talk about a very special topic. Daydreaming. 

I just spent an incredible weekend in Chicago with a couple of my best friends, and several new faces that I have never met before. Sandblast 2013 was what brought us all together for this heck of a weekend. This ultimate frisbee tournament in all of its glamor is a 5 v. 5 tourney on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. I honestly felt like I was on the west coast. There were even surf boards everywhere (for stand-up paddle boarding of course). The tournament was incredibly well run and the weather was ideal. Sandblast 2013 is probably what my heaven would look like.

Finding myself stuck in a room with 12 people for a weekend is usually a common thing considering I travel a lot for ultimate. We are always trying to save money by bunking up together. This weekend we all bunked with Emily Eddy who lives smack dab downtown Chicago. What a sweet heart! The apartment was totally funked out with her gear-like things because she didn't have a garage. Bike in the corner, golf clubs in another, cat and dog supplies wedged under the winding staircase. The staircase let to her lofted bedroom, which then protruded out to a deck on the roof. It was totally majestic. Even though it was a loft, it fit 12 of us comfortably.

We partied till the sun went down and then partied some more. Making memories and laughing at and with each other about nonsense. Making new friendships and building old ones. And of course lots of sunshine. It almost feels like it was a dream. Today it is a dream anyway.

Daydreaming is a kind of mind travel that isn't taken lightly in my book. A daydream can make my entire day. In this case, daydreaming about Sandblast 2013 is getting me through work on this Monday. It's allowing me to forget how sore I am, how burnt I am, and reminding me that life is so much more than this desk and computer in front of me. This daydream is motivation to keep going and reminds me that times to travel and explore will always come along to pick you up out of your seat and back into the world of excitement, glamor, and glory.

Coconutty

Nostalgia - A Place

Everyone knows the feeling. A place you've been every summer. I place that brings back the best memories and thoughts and emotions. A place where you feel loved, wanted, and feel free to love to the fullest. For me that place is the beaches of the town of Charlevoix in Northern Michigan.

The best part about this place is that it is family oriented and comes with a tad of history. My mother's dad was a Volks Wagon dealership owner, the first in Michigan actually, so you could imagine his success. He bought a lake-house right on Round Lake, a boat, and a limo to get his 6 kids 3 hours north up to the lake-house, which inevitably turned into "The Cottage". The limo had nothing to do with the money, and everything to do with a clever way to get all his children from one place to the other with as little complaining and trouble as possible. Seems like a pretty cool idea - good thinkin gramps, right up my alley.

Now these are all stories and tails that are heckled over during holidays when my aunts and uncles gather, so I don't actually know if the limo really was a good idea. But all I know is my whole life, and still now, it sounds like a majestic life they had growing up. These stories add to the love and the emotion that is involved when I visit The Cottage. As a kid, it was just a place for me to have fun. Now it's a place where I find peace, serenity, and love.

You don't take any boyfriend to the places that causes nostalgia, you take "the one" to it. Once you enter into the amazing world that is your nostalgic place, the gates of your heart open up for everyone to see who you really are, and how you came to be. It is the ultimate vulnerability. And I am so grateful to be able to have the opportunity to be at my place once again.