This really has been an amazing decade, hasn't it? There's been a lot of change: technological, political, and personal.
This time ten years ago I was 11, in 6th grade. Over the decade I've graduated middle school and high school, gone to college, held a job, had my first drink.
My great-grandparents died, several cousins were born, and we added two dogs to the family.
I saw The Lord of the Rings for the first time, watched House on TV, and read some of my favorite books like The Count of Monte Cristo and Jane Eyre.
I and my family have been a bit battered, some more than others, but we've all come through as stronger people with more understanding and compassion.
So what will this decade bring? I'll be graduating college, and then...who knows? Bring it on, 2010.
The honey and I splurged on a Wii this weekend. It's SO fun! It was a couple hundred bucks for the Wii, with one game and one controller included. The honey wanted to get three additional remotes so we could play 4-player games with friends -- and another game, and a high-resolution cable. Which doubled the cost. D'oh.
Oh well, it's too fun to care. Now my right forearm and shoulder is really sore. How sad that my muscle soreness is coming from a video game these days....
Long ago, when I lived in Boston, my roommates and I had a problem with mice. Now, we were clean people, so it frustrated us that half a dozen mice had taken up residence in our house.
We set out traps and one morning my roommate Julia and I found a poor little mouse stuck to an icky sticky trap. Neither of us had the stomach to deal with it right after waking up, so we walked to Dunkin Donuts and had breakfast.
While we were gone, Kate and Hillary cleaned up the mouse.
Now, living back in California, I have no roommates. So if I go out for donuts, no one will be around to catch and clean up the mouse that is living somewhere downstairs.
I have GOT to get a roommate.
And I need a donut.
I'm still working on some of the old resolutions (like improving my posture -- this one's a toughie), but I've got two more this year. I'm keeping it pretty simple:
- Meditate
- Try archery
Why meditate? Well, when I do yoga, it really clears my mind and re-centers me. Meditation does the same. It's easy to start practicing, because I can just do it at home. Surprisingly the difficult part is putting 15 minutes aside to do it. But we should all have at least that much time every day to ourselves. I'm getting a couple meditation CDs on Amazon to help me start. Oh, and there are also a ton of health benefits to meditation.
Archery... well, I've just been wanting to try it and haven't gotten around to it yet. I enjoy the focus and concentration of target shooting, and archery also seems sort of meditative in its own way. I found an outdoor shooting range in El Cajon, for both archery and firearms, so I'm going to drag the honey and maybe some friends out with me.
Merry Christmas, and happy holidays everyone! Share the love year 'round!
Ok, this sounds dumb, but I find this tip very useful. I can't believe I've been so inefficient with bananas all my life.
This is one of my favorite Christmas memories. The time is December 1996 -- it was my freshman year in a mostly Jewish college, 3,000 miles from home. I lived in a tiny 2-bed dorm room with my roommate Coreen, from Alaska. We were probably both a little homesick, culture-shocked (more about the east coast-ness and the college life than being the minority non-Jews).
We were both of the mind to get a little Christmas tree for our room. Neither of us had cars, so we took the campus "Bran Van" to Home Depot, which was a few blocks from the van stop. Home Depot only had full-size trees. What the hell, we thought. So we lugged the tree a few blocks back to the stop, called the van, and squeezed the tree inside, with the other passengers eyeballing us like we were insane (that's not to say they weren't at least partially correct).
With a trail of pine needles behind us, we brought it up to the third floor and started decorating. We didn't have money for much besides ramen and microwave popcorn those days, so we made some popcorn strands and fashioned ornaments from construction paper -- snowflakes, paper chains, spiraly things. All the while drinking hot chocolate with candy canes and laughing about something. It was fun, and a little wacky. Our ginormous tree in the window really lit up that side of campus. People visited us just to check out the Christmas tree. And we'd go to our friends' places to watch them light another candle on the menorah.
I don't have as much time to make all my ornaments now, but every time I get a tree I think back to the first one in DeRoy hall at Brandeis. We named it Ralphie.
Last year, before making my 2009 New Year's resolution, I decided to take a look at my 2008 resolution and evaluate my performance.
So often we get into the habit -- or at least I do -- of making a resolution, thinking about it for maybe a few months, and then it kind of just disappears. I've found it helpful to take a look back and see what went right and what could use improvement.
Last year, I narrowed down my 2009 resolution to one goal: Achieve a better work-life balance.
I had been in a miserable job that was sucking the life out of me. I took on every responsibility I could, with the hopes of getting my "big career break". Later, I realized that it was never really attainable at the organization, mainly for political reasons and just by the nature of that company.
In terms of career and how it relates to my personal life, I've learned a boatload this year, so I feel successful with this resolution. Several times in my life, I've robbed one area (life) in order to focus on another area (work), thinking that I'd get back to life once I'd won my successes in work. I'm not quite sure how to articulate this, but I don't believe this works. At least, not for me. I realize now that I need to live as a whole person. There will undoubtedly be times when I shift focus to particular areas of my life, but in general the "robbing Peter to pay Paul" principle never paid off. At work I probably would have been more successful if I actually worked less -- and was able to somehow adjust their expectations of the job, and also their level of respect for marketing and for me.
I've also learned that transformations in my life rarely happen as a result of a particular incident. It's more of a gradual process usually. I realized that I'm not a very patient person. I need to have more faith that things will just work out. That if I continue to strive for excellence in my job (and life), that the right opportunities will come along.
So, last year I left my insane job and started a new (saner) job. The funny thing is, at my current job, I didn't have to fight for the respect and the position I felt I deserved. I'm working normal hours. I'm definitely feeling more balanced.
Next post.... 2010 resolutions...
Get ready for the year-end lists! I'll start with my favorite books from this year (not published this year - books that I read this year).
Best Cookbook
Actually, this deserves the distinction of being the best cookbook I've ever read. Simple Cooking, by John Thorne.
Best Cookbook Runner-Up
I thoroughly enjoy The Flavor Bible, by Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg.
Best Novel
I really enjoyed Brooklyn: A Novel, by Colm Toibin.
Best Guilty Pleasure
Well, it's not really guilty per se, but it's a quick, fun read, and it sucks you in. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, by Susan Jane Gilman.
Best Non-Fiction
A Voyage Long and Strange, by Tony HOrwitz.
Best Makeup Guide
Ok, ok, I've only ever read this one makeup guide. But I found it quite useful. If you've never learned how to really apply makeup, this is a go-to manual. Easy, lots of pictures, and comes with techniques and product recommendations. It's not just a commercial for Bobbi Brown products.
Best Business Book
The Product Manager's Desk Reference, by Steven Haines.
Best Travel Guides
For an authentic experience, try the Slow Food association's travel guides. They are only available for some countries. I used this guide for Italy and it led me to some of the most memorable experiences of my life. Truly.
Happy reading!
Read because: I'm listening to all the HP books on CD
Borrowed from: the Sacramento Library
Rating: 8 out of 10
Synopsis: Harry is back and in fine form in the third installment of his adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His summer with the hideous Dursley family is cut short when, during a fit of quite understandable rage, he turns his Aunt Marge into an enormous balloon and then runs away. Soon, it becomes quite apparent that someone is trying to kill him; even after Harry is ensconed in the safety of fall term at Hogwarts, the attacks continue. Myriad subplots involving a new teacher with a secret, Hermione's strangely heavy class schedule, and enmity between Ron's old rat, Scabbers, and Hermione's new cat, Crookshanks, all mesh to create a stunning climax. The pace is nonstop, with thrilling games of Quidditch, terrifying Omens of Death, some skillful time travel, and lots of slimy Slytherins sneaking about causing trouble.
My review: I really like book 3 of the series. Things get really dark, with omens of death for Harry, a mass murderer on the loose, and some really close calls for the three wizards. I also love the introduction of Sirius Black (played by Gary Oldman in my head), who is one of my favorite characters in the entire series. He's extra crazy in this book, and it's really fun to watch Rowling develop his character, not to mention the characters of other adults in the book -- Snape, James Potter, Pettigrew, and Lupin. I also really like Lupin in this book, and how he gives support to Harry when most others write him off. And once again, Jim Dale is the best audio book reader out there. (Finished 11/23/09)
Recommended by: a bunch of people. Plus I'd read other books by Bell.
Purchased from: A Borders going-out-of-business sale, at 80% off. Woot.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Synopsis: "Is sex a picture of heaven?" Bell wonders. It's all about God and sex and heaven, he says: "...they're connected. And they can't be separated. Where the one is you will always find the other." It's the story of God becoming human, of humans mirroring God and love made manifest in the chaos of our humanity. Sex God is about relationships revealed in a way that elevates the human condition and offers hope to those whose relationships are wounded. In Bell's spare, somewhat oblique style, he addresses lust, respect, denial, risk, acceptance and more. He does a fine job using the Bible and real life to show that our physical relationships are really about spiritual relationships. This book joyfully ties, and then tightens, the knot between God and humankind.
My Review: I feel like I should have read this a long time ago. I've had it for a while and I read it in less than twenty-four hours. It was a wonderful picture of what God has set out marriage and sex to be. Bell really delves into how the spiritual and the physical come together and how our relationships here are a picture of God's relationship with us. It's fascinating, really. Bell's style takes a little getting used to -- it's sparse and really uses the white space on a page. This book, though, was probably the least-difficult to handle visually (compared to his other books). I wish I had it with me so I could quote from it a bit. Anyway, I highly recommend this book, especially to high schoolers and people who work with them. I could have used some of this information back in my youth-leading days.
