January 2012
1 post
Identity
Title, salary, address, popularity are some of the few ways that narrowly define a life. The problem though, is that it’s easy to believe that these are the only stats that matter. The world has a way of zeroing in on these details and magnifying their importance, which makes it easy to forget how big and full life is and can be, if you widen the lens around you.
Recently, I’m guilty...
November 2011
1 post
October 2011
6 posts
A Splendid Desert
New York is one of my favorite places in the world. It should be, as I just celebrated my nine year anniversary here, which is longer than I have lived anywhere but home.
Though every part of my life has been blessed with the most supportive and loving family in the world, and I have more friends than I deserve, I’m always struck by how life in New York can make you feel alone, even as you...
All the Single Ladies
This week, in The Atlantic, there’s a fascinating (yet long) look at the single life. Completely worth the read, “All the Single Ladies”:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/11/all-the-single-ladies/8654/1/
I excerpted the below graphs from the article because they really hit home for me:
Bella DePaulo, a Harvard-trained social psychologist who is now a visiting...
16 tags
Men, Dating, UGH.
Lately, men and dating have been dominating the conversations of myself and my friends. It seems that right now, all my married friends and serious-boyfriend-friends are having issues with their significant others, and hearing it all is making me very happy that I’m not in a relationship.
However, that doesn’t stop me from wondering why I’m not, and I fluctuate between being...
August 2011
2 posts
Jas at 32
Jason —
Today you would have been 32. i miss you so much. there really isn’t a day that goes by that i don’t want to call you; wonder what your reaction would be to XYZ situation in my life.
i’ve changed a lot since we last talked. Progressed on topics that you thought i was rock-solid on. time and experience changes a lot. even though i said i would be the same...
Thank You
Tonight, while out with an awesome friend … during the course of conversation she said, “when i read … in Heartprints..” I said, “what book? I need to read it.” …
She was talking about my blog.
awesome.
Thank you, readers!
Honestly, I feel SO incredibly blessed to have the friends and family that surround me, who give me inspiration and motivation...
July 2011
4 posts
Reality
“If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.”
-Matthew 10:24-42 as translated in “The Message”
I need these words tattoo’d on my forehead. I can...
39
Today I am beginning a project called “39 letters in 39 days.” Not sure why the number 39, but I read an article about a year ago called “39 gifts in 39 days,” in which the author gave random, small, thoughtful gifts to 39 people over 39 days. She talked about how it changed her mental attitude and outlook on life to think about someone besides herself each day in a real...
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we...”
– John Lennon (via mybluecanoe)
May 2011
1 post
TATE 2011
The Airborne Toxic Event 2011 went to the gym, grew up and stuck to the music.
Tonight’s concert was a stark contrast to what I saw last year at Webster Hall where they sprayed Corona and sweat out alcohol. Tonight they were noticeably svelt and dedicated to the pure performance. The small crowd at Mercury Lounge was tiny even by their standards as Mikel Jollett pointed out from stage,...
April 2011
1 post
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us...”
– Ira Glass (via nefffy)
January 2011
1 post
December 2010
6 posts
Just a free write ...
I’m not fearless, I just have Faith.
I do random things; I live random places; I take random jobs; I believe it will all work out for the best … I believe. Believe.
I’m not special. I’m not your answer, I just live by Faith. I wish you would too; you might then understand.
Have patience with yourself and forgive. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Life is much more fun...
Simple Acts of Kindness Decrease Suffering
I came across this paragraph in an article I was reading today, and it really hit home. It again reinforces the idea that the simplest things in life truly do enhance your quality of life and the lives of others. I was especially struck by the fact that when someone in a concentration camp was given something as simple and small as an extra blanket, suffering disappeared and joy suddenly existed.
...
October 2010
2 posts
“I think every person should have the opportunity once to be Sorkinized. What...”
– Scott Rudin, a producer of “The Social Network,” in Rolling Stone (via thedeadline)
September 2010
22 posts
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”
– Vince Lombardi
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
– Dale Carnegie
Relationships
The best part of the (500) Days of Summer is the following exchange:
Tom: You don’t want to be named as anybody’s girlfriend and now you’re someone’s wife?
Summer: I woke up one morning and I just knew.
Tom: Knew what?
Summer: What I was never sure of with you.
Summer: You weren’t wrong, Tom. You were just wrong about me.
(500) Days of Summer
(500) Days of Summer is one of my favorite movies and is filled with insightful words about relationships. Here are some of my favorite lines:
Tom: Look, we don’t have to put a label on it. That’s fine. I get it. But, you know, I just … I need some consistency.
Summer: I know.
Tom: I need to know that you’re not going to wake up in the morning and feel differently.
...
Get out there and see what's going on!
Another day and another person inquiring about volunteer opportunities! It’s so wonderful that so many people are developing an interest in giving back!
Here’s another reason why it’s so important to travel the world and understand the problems facing other cultures simply due to a lack of nourishment and the devastation of disease (article I wrote below). In Namibia, I had the...
Reminscing About Africa
Recently and randomly, a lot of people have asked me about my time in Africa last summer, which has got me thinking a lot about it. I miss Africa, I miss the simplicity of the life and I miss how you could change a kid’s whole world by just smiling at him, or showing kindness of any kind.
In our busy, over-scheduled lives it’s easy to make things overly complicated, and thinking...
Chi Omegas in the Work World
An article my Churchill colleague, Casey, and I submitted to the national Chi Omega magazine, The Eleusis
For four years, the Chi Omega house on Monroe Street of the Oklahoma State University campus was where I called home. It was a home in every sense of the word – warm, inviting, full of loving friends, supportive people and warm meals. It was where I met some of my best friends, learned to...
“Whatever you are, be a good one” — Abraham Lincoln
At a trendy Manhattan restaurant named Tao, I had one of my first business lunches in my new career as a publicist and marketer at NBC Sports & Olympics. It was here that I first met Wayne and Max, who brought tears to my eyes within that first meeting and many times since.
After jobs in news and entertainment, I decided to pursue a...
August 2010
27 posts
Worry Isn't Work
The below article perfectly describes how my brain functions. I should read this article every day to remind myself to re-think:
“What does re-thinking mean in this case? Start thinking of being hard on yourself as being irresponsible. Start thinking of wasting half of your brain power on fantasies about your own destruction as self-indulgent. Conflate self-negativity with laziness. Start...
Drinkers Outlive Abstainers
http://www.newser.com/story/99296/heavy-drinkers-outlive-abstainers.html
This article backs up my theory that socializing makes you happy. I’ve always said that when you’re busy at work, never pass up an opportunity to go out with your friends because if you only go to work and go home, you’re always - constantly - going to work. Meeting up with friends even for an hour breaks...
"Danny & Annie" a love story from StoryCorps →
I am obsessed with this love story, told 27 years later about their first date. The idea of giving your wife a love note every morning is the most romantic and sincere gesture ever. I also agree with Danny when he says that saying things like, “please drink more water, put your hands on my shoulders so I can help you up” are not romantic, but they are because they are caring and done...