Units of Ina

I am going to try my best at writing a response worthy of Erin’s post regarding "Unit of Erin" — how many things can you measure in units of Erin? Anything that weighs 106 pounds or a multiple of it, or the number of smiles Erin manages to put on people’s faces throughout the day.

I have to say that I do have units of ina that I think about often, and that is anything that measures 5 feet. Granted, I’m actually 5’1", but it’s easier to round down and measure things in terms of ina. When I am trying to eyeball how far away something is from something else, I picture myself lying on the ground and I count how many of me’s it would take to connect the two somethings together. This is true.

Now, for the more philosophical unit of ina, I wish I could say it was equivalent to the number of smiles I purposely try to get on people’s faces, like Erin does, but that would not be a fair account. Actually, you could count the number of people I piss off throughout the day instead quite easily! But that’s a bit negative, isn’t it?

On a more positive note, a unit of ina also measures bold ideas (also known as stupid, over-the-top, crazy, idealistic, irrational, unrealistic, you pick your favorite adjective). Since I haven’t quite figured out what I want to do for the rest of my life, I tend to use up 80% of my brain power every day exploring new ways to spark excitement and look forward to something new to do. These ideas can come in all shapes and sizes, and most times they are simply enjoyed while they last. One bold idea = One unit of ina.

These ideas have materialized in several ways:

Idea: Wanting to become a doctor
Roots: I watched a lot of ER in 2004
Actions:

• I volunteered at 3 hospitals in 3 states, while I was examining the idea of going to med school
• I bought the MCAT study book (err… never opened it)
• I read the books "Complications" and "How to Get into Med School"
• I requested applications from the University of Washington regarding their Pharmacology program
• I bought "Organic Chemistry" tapes, and studied basic chemistry on my free time

Idea: Wanting to open my own Coffee Shop
Roots: I had just moved to Boston in 2006 and spent time at Cafes hanging out with friends, and thought that there was no other place I’d rather spend a full day in
Actions:

• Read the "How to Open a Coffee Shop" guide
• Spent countless hours at a local coffee shop looking through business plans online and figuring out my own strategy to get funding
• Cut out small business news articles and posted them in my cubicle at work
• Applied to business school… and got in! (will graduate with an MBA in August 2010)

Idea: Wanting to move to Barcelona for a year (2007)
Roots: I’ve dreamed of living in France. Barcelona is close to it, and Brian could learn Spanish
Actions:

• Started figuring out a way to save up for Brian’s Spanish program
• Got quotes from moving companies (I’m still getting spam from them!)
• Started looking for jobs
• Went on forums and asked locals what life was like

Idea: Wanting to become a Teacher (2009)
Roots: Sick of Corporate America after spending 6.5 years in it, looked for a change. Took a look around and I am surrounded by teachers: sister, sister-in-law, next door neighbor, mother-in-law. I like public speaking and I hear that the money sucks, but it’s a very satisfying career.
Actions:

• Started subbing at schools in Greater Boston
• Started a blog to chronicle the career change journey: Teaching Inanutshelll
• Took the first teaching test and plan on taking the second one in May
• I browse teaching job sites to see what I’m missing

There you have it. That is how you measure in terms of inas: distances and bold (or over-the-top) ideas.

What’s yours?

ina