March + April 2025- Life Update
work successes, quality time with friends, and a new hobby unlocked!
Currently, sitting at my office desk as I type this with Bryce Vine bumping in the background and an opened can of beer next to me. That’s right, I said “office”. End of quarter is such a weird time haha. It’s not Wolf of Wall Street exactly…a lot more low-key but still very different than most people’s 9-5.
(I remember coming from my program management job where it was all slide decks and professional conversations, I could never imagine my Senior Director passing out drinks in the office.)
Anyway, I’m feeling especially celebratory today, because I just closed the largest deal of my career after a nail-biting, 3 month long process. It did occur to me while I was driving into the office this morning that huge wins like that are what give you this incredible, Olympian-athlete level of high in sales.
It’s funny. Although it’s by no means an accurate metric of how good at life I am, it is still a metric of a specific type of success. (And I think “maturity” occurs when you’re able to differentiate between the two.)
So yeah…I’m feeling pretty good about my hard work and effort right about now. But I think we’re all doing well, no?
This is why I appreciate the later twenties — we can now reap some of the reward of stumbling around in our early twenties. Our networks have grown, our relationships have deepened, we’ve become more resilent to the chaos, and we just know ourselves better. (Plus having a bit of $$ doesn’t hurt either lol)
ANYWAY, I know I’m a bit overdue for a catchup. In summary, my life has been incredibly stable and wholesome. Without further ado, here’s what I’ve been up to:
My work sent me to Dallas again. For those of you that follow me on Linkedin (first of all, why?), you would’ve learned we hosted two successful events with my customers and partners which was super fun. I really feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world when it comes to my role, everyone is so nice and genuinely fun to hang out with, so it doesn’t feel like “work” when we go on trips. I also got to add on a little dinner hang with Mohammad and Alexis which is always a treat :)
Baby Tony has all his uncles and aunts wrapped around his little finger. My boyfriend’s oldest brother, Jason, (yes - the same one that got married last year) just became a father and we’ve been regularly visiting this chubby, little pumpkin. It really is other-worldy having a newborn in your life cause the concept is pure magic. I’m so excited to watch him grow up and build his personality around rockets and engineering principles!
It’s volleyball season! Now that the season is warming up and people have more free time, we’ve been regularly going to Palo Alto to play volleyball with our friends. It’s my favorite activity because we’ve all gotten decently good (and we always get tacos right after!). I was telling my sister how “diet culture” is really not a thing here because most people’s lives naturally revolve around doing active things together.
My friend moved actually moved back from NY to SF! I know, crazy right? From my experience, it’s always the opposite — that’s right. I’m looking at you, Sam and Claire. But one of my good friends for early Cisco days who’s been bopping all over recently moved to Redwood City from NY with her bf. It was kinda wild because I was at my workout class and as I was leaving someone was like, “Katie?” and it was my friend Radhika! And we were both like totally shocked cause I never run into anyone at my gym. Anyway, Thomas and I had dinner at her place last weekend and it was so fun!
Speaking of dinner with friends... That’s exactly what most of my social life is now. Going over to people’s houses for various forms of home-cooked meals. I’m grateful our friends are SO hospitable and talented chefs. Can’t wait for us to be able to return the favor ;)
I’ve unlocked a new hobby on my rotating list of new hobbies. The other day, I was feeling a little restless and so I went to Michael’s and picked up a paint-by-numbers to work on. It’s been the perfect quiet hobby cause I’ve been trying to 1. Incorporate more art in my life and 2. Reduce mindless scrolling on my phone. This has helped accomplish both. (Also, I’ve been using the app Opal to limit screentime which I highly recommend.)
*Exhales* Okay I think that’s most of it. I know this one was a bit long but I’m not gonna apologize for all the things I have going on lol. One thing I’m looking forward to next month is taking a little weekend trip with Thomas to the Gaige House in Sonoma which just looks like an exhale in a photograph.
Feel free to reply and share a couple of things going on in your life. I love hearing from you!
As always, thanks for reading,
Katie