don’t need it, not sure how I’ll use it, considering erasing all my posts from my “having fun in my 20s”, but it’s mine
2025: got my domain
April 2019 Recap
April 1: Official first day in my new role at IBM (not kidding!). This was a wildly positive step forward in my career/life for many reasons, especially:
- Remote Work. My day-to-day work life is now completely remote.
- 40% Raise. Perks of working for a big company that wants to keep young talent!
- Client Travel. If a client wants to meet with me, I am encouraged to get on a plane and go. aka Points, side trips, and being valued by company.
Day 2 of WFH Life: Joined the Dallas entrepreneur community to hear Mark Cuban speak. El Cubano is loved by many, but no one loves him the way Dallas does.
Cuban’s message is consistent: Grind. I cringed at his “don’t take vacation” advice, but I love how honest he is with the audience and himself. Plus I am competitive to a fault, so his “business is the most competitive sport” spiel always gets me amped.
After Day 4 of my new glorious WFH Life, I got on a plane to my second home:
Las Vegas
For the grand opening weekend of KAOS, the new dayclub/nightclub at the Palms. One of my best friends (hi Brent!) played a big part in the behind the scenes work leading up to the weekend, so I showed up excited to witness the madness and support my friend.
After checking in with 4 of my best friends at the Cosmo, we headed to Kaos (feeling super VIP thanks to Brent – you da real MVP) for an insane performance by Skrillex and Travis Scott.
KAOS is flat-out amazing and over the top (aka Vegas):
65-foot bronze Damien Hirst sculpture (statue with penis)
Tesla coils that work with cyro units and aqua fog systems to recreate weather
Bottle service upgrades up to $100,000 that allow you to do anything – from zip-lining across the club to activating the Tesla coil
Another wild Vegas weekend:
- KAOS DayClub for Marshmello + running into TCU friends
- Generous Catch dinner (I dream about the cauliflower)
- Nghtmre at Omnia Nightclub
- Gorgon City on the beautiful Apex rooftop club
- Kaskade at KAOS
Sunday Scaries: After a couple shots and attempts to change my flight, I reluctantly boarded a quick flight to LA. My friends in Singapore snagged a free pass for me to attend the Security Token Summit at the Ritz.
Los Angeles
I woke up bright and early, ready to be a professional. At the conference, I quickly saw many familiar faces from my weekend at SXSW last month. Particularly Blake, a COO of a VC firm, that saved my life in Austin by graciously getting myself and my boss into several invite-only events during SXSW.
Another favorite part about my new role: The opportunity/incentive to work with and befriend people in the digital asset market. As my network grows, so does my passion for the space.
After a long day of collecting business cards and spreading the word about IBM’s involvement in the crypto space, I headed to an overly indulgent dinner at Broken Spanish that involved gold flaked desserts. Over mezcal, we talked the day’s panel discussions, travel plans, and how much we love not paying state income tax in Texas.
After dinner, I went straight to bed because the next day I was headed to my 3rd home:
New York City
Land in NYC and head straight to Midtown to check in to my boutique hotel called the Arlo NoMad. It’s an Insta worthy hotel thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows in each room.
Weakness: Hipster hotel bars. I pulled up for “just one drink” and ended up making friends with a fellow business traveler who persuaded me to check out a pub around the corner. The pub underwhelming, but the Thai food delivery waiting for me when I got back was not.
After waking up to a bed view of the Empire State Building, I went to the IBM Astor Place office for the day.
Out of all of IBM’s NYC offices – This is the nicest. It’s especially evident upon arrival when you notice the the giant Jeff Koons sculpture in the lobby that set an auction record for a living artist at a cool $58.4 million.
My day was spent doing something I love: talking to people much smarter than me. I met with two blockchain architects that were assisting me with a client meeting the following day.
Fun fact: IBM employs more academia than any company excluding educational institutions.
My evening was spent in the hotel’s ornate study area where I found my beloved Dustin Yellin’s art book and a glass of Cab.
I mean really, how can I complain?
Home Stretch: Client meeting in Midtown. Despite my general confidence, I felt nervous as I entered my first big NYC meeting in my new role. Fortunately, my nerves helped me step up to the challenge and woo the client and everyone else in the room. Plus I got to sit in on a guest speaker – Did you know you can invest in classic cars for as little as $50/share? Check out Rally Road.
Vegas club grand opening? Check. Security token conference in Los Angeles? Check. Slay my first big client meeting? Check. Time to head back to:
Dallas
Back home. Time to relax and recharge? Think again.
In my short 5 day stint at home I:
- Headed to my coworker’s wedding in north Dallas where I spilled red wine on my dress and witnessed the power that is Old Town Road
- Checked out my friend Francois’ new cafe in Lower Greenville – La La Land
- Raged in yoga pants to Goshfather‘s set at Circo Loco’s pool club
And packed my bags because my next stop was:
London
Less than a week after my Vegas/LA/NYC stint, I took off on an overnight flight to London. Thankfully, I slept through the flight because the moment I landed in the UK I:
- Took a train to London’s city center
- Remembered how much I didn’t care about Buckingham Palace
- Got a cab to my friend’s flat
- Freshened up then used my friend’s Oyster cards to public transit my way to Canary Wharf
- Started drinking at 3pm with her coworkers and other finance Londoners
Almost immediately I was handed a stranger’s Barclays card and given hefty pours of rose. After a little drunk shopping, we headed to rooftop bar Bokan where the drinks were as beautiful as the views.
Despite all of the cocktails, we managed to make it to the airport the next morning so we could head to:
Istanbul
Where we were meeting my work wife turned best friend at The Ritz Carlton.
Being the amazing human she is, she had called ahead to let the hotel know that we were celebrating my work promotion. Upon arrival, the room was doused with rose petals, balloons, + free champagne and cake.
Night #1: Dinner at Park Fora, a beautiful seafood restaurant on the Bosphorus, and shisha-ing at hookah lounge, Huqqa.
Day #1: Culinary Pathways food tour recommended by Conde Nasté. Halfway through, we ferried to the Asia side and got to know the couples on our trip from South Africa and Manila.
Night #2: After a day of eating, we wanted to go out and experience Istanbul nightlife. We decided to contact our Airbnb Experience host ahead of time to see if he was open to taking us out on the town. Our host, Onur, ended up being the man.
Our host, Onur, ended up being the man. We went to a lounge on the Bosphorus, an disco bar, and finally Klein, a nightclub. Party is my love language so finding a deep house late night club was a dream come true. We didn’t get back to our room until 6 AM which meant that Day #2 was a struggle.
Running on a few hours of sleep and no food, we headed towards the famous Hagia Sophia where we met back up with Onur to do a day of photos around the city.
He took us to some less known spots with views that I am still taken aback by when I look at photos.
After an exhaustingly worthwhile day trekking through Istanbul, we went to eat dinner with Onur and his friends. Like him, they were warm, friendly, and interesting to talk to. They all worked for companies we had heard of – Vodafone, Google, and Expedia. We all hit it off and dinner turned into another 6 am cab ride home.
After another day in Istanbul, I headed back to London to “work from home” for a couple of days before returning to the States. I was able to check out a WeWork that overlooks Tower Bridge, eat fish and chips, enjoy an amazing dinner and rooftop view at The Ned’s Club with two girlfriends we met in Vegas, and run into the producer of the UK version of The Office, Ash Atalla.
I booked my return flight two days before I took off back to the States thanks to a Thomas Cook voucher I had from a gnarly flight delay the year before. While it was nice getting a free flight – I highly recommend never flying this airline on an international flight longer than a couple hours (you’re welcome).
RECAP:
- April 1-4: Dallas
- April 5-7: Las Vegas
- April 8-9: Los Angeles
- April 10-11: New York City
- Apri l2-16: Dallas
- April 17-19: London
- April 20-23: Istanbul
- April 24-26: London
That’s 15 flights, 18,393 miles, 4 states, and 3 countries. Not a bad month!
Need Professional Inspiration?
Social media is both a blessing and a curse – A statement that is easy to agree with. As a millennial, I often find myself aimlessly scrolling through one of social media feeds. Starting with MySpace in middle school, I saw social media have a negative impact on my mood and perception of others. It seems silly, but just seeing a photo and reading a caption can bring about many negative emotions – Feeling left out, jealousy, alone.
In college I made a concerted effort to clean up my social media feed for my own well-being. At the time, this meant unfollowing several people that I considered my friends, but often made me feel excluded, dissatisfied with my lifestyle, envious of their relationships, or unhappy with my appearance.
Millennial women be warned: Many Instagram users utilize a third-party app that notifies them when they are unfollowed. I caused some temporary rifts with several girls that I considered my friends solely based on the fact that I unfollowed their social media account. This seems ridiculous, but I had to explain to them why I made this decision.
I’m a big advocate of curating your own content to the best of your ability. For the most part, you pick and choose your physical surroundings. For your “digital surroundings” you have even more freedom to hand select what you want to see and what you don’t want to see.
Some of my favorite Instagram accounts that inspire me professionally are:
- Alyssa Julya Smith – One of my favorite Cheddar anchors. Her Instagram story updates motivate me to hustle – This woman is always on the go. During the week her content shares with her audience different stories she is covering – Anywhere from a studio interview with a CEO, a tour of a cannabis facility, or sampling Taco Bell’s secret menu items.
- Bozoma Saint John – Uber’s Chief Brand Officer whose Instagram handle couldn’t be more fitting (@badassboz). I was led to her profile while watching live feeds of this year’s SXSW festival in Austin. Her bio made me fall in love immediately:
There’s nothing more badass than being who you are… I am a force of nature in fierce stilettos
Ladies, if this doesn’t get you hyped up I don’t know what will. Her posts reflect her bio – Bold outfits, #MondayMotivation, career updates.
- Sara Blakely – THE inventor of our beloved Spanx. This woman hustles – Not only does she run her business, she raises her 4 children. Her content is always very honest – She’ll show her “before makeup” face to anyone who asks and shamelessly shows her followers all of her guilty pleasures and flaws (i.e. airplane junk food necessities, overdue hair roots, etc.)
Be Prepared to be Amazed
While traveling for work – Whether that be by plane or car – I like to indulge on TED Talk podcasts. When I listened to this one, I nearly pulled over to start writing out this post.
Celeste Headlee’s “10 ways to have a better conversation” outlines the ingredients to nurturing more effective and genuine conversations in your day-to-day life. This portion of her presentation was extremely useful – But what spoke to me the most was the message she closed with.
Go out, talk to people, listen to people, and most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.
This resonates with me deeply. Whether it is over the phone or in person, I am continually reminded of how incredible it is to listen to someone’s story or idea. Every single person I meet has their own path, passions, and struggles. It is so important to step outside of your own to recognize and openly appreciate the things others share with you. It helps me be more human than I ever could when I’m focusing on myself and what I want.
I have bad days. BUT I can say that I wake up most days EXCITED. Even on a normal day, I know that the world is at my fingertips. I often tell people that I don’t drink coffee because I literally get adrenaline the moment I open my eyes and realize it’s a new day. The phrase “Prepare to be amazed” describes this feeling so well – So thank you Celeste for spreading a message I try to live by.
My Daily Inspo
When I reflect and thank God for the great opportunities that have been given, I am always especially thankful for my dad. Growing up, I watched my dad work incredibly hard to build his practice. He never let it interfere with being the greatest dad to ever exist.
I have held on to this newspaper clipping for over 5 years now and always tack it somewhere that I can see it wherever I am living. He is the most passionate, intelligent, and kindhearted person I know (sorry, future husband). From an early age, he encouraged me to never follow the status quo (I mean, look at that beard).
He also taught me be to be fearless by trusting God to get me through all seasons of life. This also applied to the countless camping trips I went on for many years that required me to learn how to adapt to any environment – for example, sleeping comfortably by myself in a tent on a cliff on a desolated island in Canada at age 11.
My dad inspires me to embrace life and do the things that I love and to try anything that interests me. He loves to read and is constantly teaching himself more about something. One of the things I look forward to the most when I come home for Christmas is posting up by the fireplace with a good book and the company of my dad – Who always pauses to share anything interesting or inspiring that he comes across in whatever he is reading.
He embraces technology – I had never even heard of a Kindle when he brought one home and he is always asking me questions and for my opinion on new technology that he is considering purchasing.
He’s a talented woodworker and built me a livable clubhouse when I was 6.
He’s an experienced sailor and charters his own sailboats – I got to tag along to Alaska and the Caribbean.
He’s a skilled musician and I often woke up on the weekends to him playing one of his saxophones or clarinets.
He’s an incredible cook and always helped me impress people with dishes I made with his help.
He’s a big biker and used to tell me exciting bedtime stories of the times when he was younger where he would take apart his bike, ship it overseas, and fly over to Europe to bike down the beautiful coastlines you’ll find there.
His most recent passion – Gardening. When I come home he gives me a tour of his massive garden, having me sample different vegetables, and showing me the real farm to table method. He even hosts heavily attended plant nutrition cooking classes for his patients and community. No joke, my dad can turn any bland or mushy vegetable into something as tasty as a potato chip.
Bottom line: My dad is freaking amazing. He has always pushed me to figure things out on my own while giving me wise guidance along the way. It has helped shape so many of the parts of me that allow me to succeed and continue moving forward in this life.
St. Patrick’s Day
Currently flying out of Chicago on my way to Las Vegas for IBM’s THINK conference after a long Saturday of St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Even though I’m from Chicago, yesterday was my first time watching the river get dyed green and crawling through bars of my favorite city.
Chicago had a lot of hype to live up to – And it did. My bar was set pretty high when I spent the holiday in Dublin, but it was great to have a reason to wear my Ireland rugby jersey again and see all of my best friends.
Many people ask me what Dublin was like on the day where America celebrates all things Irish. I usually can’t find words that do how Dublin celebrates the holiday justice. Pure Irish insanity. Lots of men dressed up in green suits. Bagpipes. Green. Worth the trip if going to Ireland in mid-March sounds lucrative to you.
As expected, Chicago was freezing. I had a few friends from work that are from Texas ask me what they should expect the weather to be. My answer was that it could either be snowing or 70 and sunny. Thankfully, it did not snow but I really could have used my Ireland scarf. I lent it to a friend who made the trip last year and it didn’t make it back – Probably at Temple Bar where it belongs.
Paradise Valley is Paradise (Valley)
Forget the Grand Canyon – Paradise Valley is the place to be in Arizona. I say this with a major bias based on my recent annual visit to my best friend’s family home that looks out at Camelback Mountain. Oftentimes you can go on vacation and feel like you never truly “got away.” For me, weekends here are definitely a retreat. There is something about a beautiful view, dear friends, and days without a schedule that put my mind in a state I don’t reach in most places.
While in town, we lounged by the pool as much as possible, ate and drank our way through Old Town Scottsdale, ordered a cinnamon roll bigger than my face, and hiked up Camelback mountain.
I also returned as a repeat customer to the Camelback Inn’s indulgent Sunday brunch. Mimosas flow while you pile your plate with everything from Alaskan crab legs to French macarons. There is no excuse to not gorge yourself. I recommend setting aside the rest of your day to digest.
Apartment hunting
This past weekend I moved out of my first post-grad apartment and into a studio in a cozy yet lively neighborhood near downtown Dallas. This is significant for me because up until this point, I took a passive stance on where I lived and left it up to whoever I was living with. I’m remarkably indecisive when it comes to things like the number of shoes I pack, the burger toppings I order, or where I sleep at night.
I tend to do things like this very last minute. For example: At the beginning of my final summer internship with IBM, I drove down to Austin, TX from Fort Worth with a car full of everything I would need for the summer, but no place to live upon arrival. A friend from TCU texted me an hour out connecting me with a friend of his that desperately needed to sublease her apartment on UT campus. I drove straight there, made her day, and checked out my new place. It ended up being one of the nicest apartments I’ve lived in and at a “I-desperately-need-a-subleaser” price. Sometimes things just work out. But I certainly don’t place my bet on it.
This time around, I played it a bit safer. With my current lease ending March 13th, I t started researching apartments on sites like Zillow and Apartment Finder. Being new to the apartment hunting, I was surprised when I was contacted by various locators after indicating my interest in certain listings.. Many of them reached out to me via text offering their assistance. At one point, I had four reaching out to me while I was at work asking if I’d received the list they’d emailed to me over to me. For me – This was overwhelming. I ended up becoming loyal to my locator Daniel. He bravely fought through my unrealistic expectations of prices, specials, and location. He even went to units and took iPhone videos of the apartments while I was confined to my office.
Setting up utilities is no exciting task – But setting up my electric turned out to be interesting. A leasing agent recommended I look at Green Mountain Energy. After mentioning that she gets free electricity at night, I was sold. Once at their website, I was amazed that this kind green energy provider existed.
Next, I started thinking realistically about furniture. Here’s the thing: I don’t own any. Well, that’s a lie. Up until 10 months ago when I graduated from college, I owned 0 pieces of furniture. My dad insisted that buying me furniture wasn’t a good investment so I rented from any unit that didn’t supply it. When I realized that where I was moving didn’t supply or offer rentals, I scored a free mattress from a friend and haggled for a used IKEA dresser. Now that I no longer have a roommate to supply things like couches, coffee tables, and floor lamps – I’m hunting for deals. Growing up, it was common for my dad to pull over and exclaim “We found you a new ____!” and heave something into the back of his truck. My dad never lacked the means to head to the nearest furniture store and purchase whatever he wanted, yet this was something he loved doing and it taught me the true meaning that “Another man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Some of my most prized possessions were picked up from a roommate’s donation pile or found on Craiglist. Stay tuned!
I ended up choosing a studio apartment that met most of my criteria – Plus I don’t have to pay rent until May 1st! I mention empowerment because there is something uniquely stressful and self-affirming about being able to find a place of your own. Even though I had to miss hearing from Elon Musk at SXSW and my apartment is an absolute mess – I am feeling more adult than ever.
Basic Human Instinct
Amid so much tragedy and conflict – I find this excerpt from the last page of Andy Weir’s popular novel The Martian especially uplifting.
It’s hard sometimes to remember all of the people willing to line up to help when communities keep getting destroyed by natural disasters, lives continue to be lost at the hand of senseless violence, and political arguments divide nations across the globe. I often talk about how blown away I am by humankind’s capacity for kindness and generosity. When you see someone fall, you feel compelled to help them back up. I never forget the small gestures from strangers. From being prayed over late at night in the lobby of a hospital to an elderly woman paying for my bus fare while I frantically dug through my purse for change – These are things that you often don’t forget, that move your heart in the right direction.
As a highly emotional and empathetic person, I am often overwhelmed by these things. I gasp when a friend offers to help me move and rarely read a letter from my grandma without crying (Don’t think for a second that I’m not tough as nails – I’ve got thick skin but a big heart). The way Andy Weir puts it is very easy for me to consume – He has us look at the bigger picture and reminds us that human beings have a “basic instinct to help each other out.”
Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do.
Ladies – Let’s Invest
Never have I felt more obligated to start getting in the investment game than after reading this article from Money magazine.
Sallie Krawcheck is working to close the investment gap with Ellevest – A digital investment platform designed specifically for women.
Although I wasn’t entirely surprised, the implications of the investment gap shocked me. Women don’t invest as much or as early as men do – This can have a real cost of as much as $1 million over a 35-year career. This is huge! And an advantageous trend for men considering studies reporting that women typically outperform men when they invest – an assertion confirmed by Fidelity Investments.
Don’t believe me? Click the link. The study reflects many trends observed from Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In and The Confidence Code. Women underestimate themselves. Women don’t give themselves enough credit. This study found that only 9% of women think they make better investors than men – While the evidence begs to differ.
In an analysis of 8 million Fidelity clients, women outperformed men when it came to generating returns on their investments. If this is true – Why do so many women bet against the facts? Why so many women doubt their ability to invest effectively when the studies find that:
- Women earn higher returns.
- Women save more.
Sallie’s advice? Just do it. Find a financial adviser who feels right for you – and don’t settle. Her advice is to the point.
Money is power. Money is freedom. Money is “take this job and shove it.”
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