Another year.
One of my favorite things about this time of year is the reflection. When thinking about all that has happened in 2008, it's hard to believe it all fit into 365 days.
There are many things that happened this year that have changed my life in some way, things I will never forget...
the birth of my niece Lilly Anna
the passing of my beloved dog Orville
attending the SCBWI National writing conference
starting this blog
applying for grad school
running a half marathon
the election of Barack Obama...
My old friends at The Today Show put together several "year in review" pieces. Check out The Year in Video, and all you pop culture junkies like me will enjoy this one as well. Of course there are dozens, so check them out and reminisce about 2008.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Happy New Year
I love the holidays as much as the next guy. Possibly more. I start up the Christmas music and drag out the decorations the day after Thanksgiving. I take great joy in wrapping presents, making my Christmas cards, and delivering poinsettias. It makes me feel all warm and nostalgic.
But come December 26, I'm officially over it.
Perhaps it's because I get so involved and carried away that post-Santa I can't stand the sight of another tube of wrapping paper. I get so buried in bows and presents and ornaments that the rest of my life withers away from neglect (notice the mass amount of blogging I did this month).
So, on this December 28th, I start the new year a little early. It's a new bright and shiny day. Time to remember the rest of my life, pick up where I left off and start anew.
And today I turn my focus to a new task. I am applying to the Vermont College of Fine Arts, in hopes of earning an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Let me tell you how much trust I have in you, because that's really hard for me to put out there. Now it's real.
But I'm taking a leap of faith. Faith in myself. Faith in what will be, will be.
Wish me luck.
But come December 26, I'm officially over it.
Perhaps it's because I get so involved and carried away that post-Santa I can't stand the sight of another tube of wrapping paper. I get so buried in bows and presents and ornaments that the rest of my life withers away from neglect (notice the mass amount of blogging I did this month).
So, on this December 28th, I start the new year a little early. It's a new bright and shiny day. Time to remember the rest of my life, pick up where I left off and start anew.
And today I turn my focus to a new task. I am applying to the Vermont College of Fine Arts, in hopes of earning an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Let me tell you how much trust I have in you, because that's really hard for me to put out there. Now it's real.
But I'm taking a leap of faith. Faith in myself. Faith in what will be, will be.
Wish me luck.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Merry Xmas from Louie
Hi readers. Christina is in full holiday mode, and so I'm guest blogging for her this week. I'm Louie.How's everyone doing? Personally, I'm exhausted! Between the parties, and shopping, and traveling the holidays can be rough, huh? Christmas came just in time because I was down to the bottom of the drawer on the holiday outfits! Whew! But this outfit is very fetching, don't you think? I like it. Except for the jingle bells. They can be a bit annoying. Jingle. JinGle. JiNGlE. Ugh! Sometimes I can't take it. Don't mind the few chewed, I mean non-jingly ones. They had it coming.
Anyway, my job was to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. We hope it was a time of family, sugar, excess, and all the best stuff. Oh and joy, love, and peace, yeah, that's good too. But no jingle bells.
Happy, happy Xmas to all!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Where was I going with this...? Oh right, it's my birthday!
Side note: First, can I just say, Woo hoo! Mr. Cox and his disgusting turkey and cranberry sandwiches go DOWN! Thanks for your support everyone. A new thought provoking poll will be up soon. Anyway, moving on...
So, in two days I will be turning 29. It's pretty cool, I guess. I'm not upset about being closer to 30. I'm kind of excited about it. It's an accomplished age. A full blown adult. Still, it is weird cruising on down the road of life and not feeling different than you did when you were 17. (See my Generation Gap posting for more about that idea.) My mom has always told me that who she sees in the mirror is not really who she sees herself as. Her image of herself is about 28, and she's surprised almost every time she sees a 53 year old looking back at her. I could see that happening to me.
To jump to a different, yet relevant point, I'm thinking of climbing on the iPhone bandwagon and getting one when my Sprint contract is up in January. The iPhone. Now, while it's not completely mind-boggling on the surface, because we are totally desensitized at this point, think about the iPhone for just a minute. Think about all that it can do. Think about the technology that we currently have. It becomes mind-boggling when you think back to high school and how you waited around at home until your friends called you on the house phone-the phone you shared with your whole family. If you left before talking with that friend, you simply didn't see them that night. You got directions to where you were going or-dare I say it- you used a MAP. You planned parties and sent out actual paper invitations. Your answering machine recorded onto a tape. You watched commercials, or went to the bathroom in the interim and then literally ran back to the TV when your show came back on. You used a phone book. You'd never even heard of email, much less understood why a person needed it. You had photo albums with many unfortunate-eyes-closed-pictures on the pages. A mouse was a rodent. Blockbuster was king. And a busy signal was common.
So, while I don't feel like much time has passed, look how much has. I think that my generation will be one that sees some of the biggest changes in technology and lifestyle. It will be truly amazing to see my life through 50 year old eyes, or even 80. My children will grow up completely unable to imagine what life was like when I was little. Given the previous list, it will sound like we didn't even have running water. 1979 will sound archaic- all the way back in the 1900's! If I live to see 2079 and tell stories to my great-grandchildren at my 100th birthday, I'll tell them about the year I turned 29, and my very first iPhone. Lord knows Apple will have taken over the planet by then. My first iPhone will be like my grandpa's model A Ford...
Wait, how'd this post wander so far away...? I'm turning 29. Happy Birthday to me!
So, in two days I will be turning 29. It's pretty cool, I guess. I'm not upset about being closer to 30. I'm kind of excited about it. It's an accomplished age. A full blown adult. Still, it is weird cruising on down the road of life and not feeling different than you did when you were 17. (See my Generation Gap posting for more about that idea.) My mom has always told me that who she sees in the mirror is not really who she sees herself as. Her image of herself is about 28, and she's surprised almost every time she sees a 53 year old looking back at her. I could see that happening to me.
To jump to a different, yet relevant point, I'm thinking of climbing on the iPhone bandwagon and getting one when my Sprint contract is up in January. The iPhone. Now, while it's not completely mind-boggling on the surface, because we are totally desensitized at this point, think about the iPhone for just a minute. Think about all that it can do. Think about the technology that we currently have. It becomes mind-boggling when you think back to high school and how you waited around at home until your friends called you on the house phone-the phone you shared with your whole family. If you left before talking with that friend, you simply didn't see them that night. You got directions to where you were going or-dare I say it- you used a MAP. You planned parties and sent out actual paper invitations. Your answering machine recorded onto a tape. You watched commercials, or went to the bathroom in the interim and then literally ran back to the TV when your show came back on. You used a phone book. You'd never even heard of email, much less understood why a person needed it. You had photo albums with many unfortunate-eyes-closed-pictures on the pages. A mouse was a rodent. Blockbuster was king. And a busy signal was common.
So, while I don't feel like much time has passed, look how much has. I think that my generation will be one that sees some of the biggest changes in technology and lifestyle. It will be truly amazing to see my life through 50 year old eyes, or even 80. My children will grow up completely unable to imagine what life was like when I was little. Given the previous list, it will sound like we didn't even have running water. 1979 will sound archaic- all the way back in the 1900's! If I live to see 2079 and tell stories to my great-grandchildren at my 100th birthday, I'll tell them about the year I turned 29, and my very first iPhone. Lord knows Apple will have taken over the planet by then. My first iPhone will be like my grandpa's model A Ford...
Wait, how'd this post wander so far away...? I'm turning 29. Happy Birthday to me!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Just breathe
I've read that the simpler your life is, the more peace and happiness you find.
Also, I've been having this thing lately where I feel like I can't take a full breath. Kinda freaks me out. Hmmm...wonder if these two things are related.
My aunt left yesterday for three months in India. She and my uncle go every winter and meditate for 30 days. On Christmas day she will be meditating. When I was younger I thought my aunt was effing crazy. Weird. Bizarre. Who. Does. That? But having completed my own 10 day meditation courses, I'm wondering if she has the right idea.
When you're at a meditation course, you basically step off the planet for a bit. Being still and quiet is your only obligation. The day before she left, my aunt emailed me and said she was "ready to go...life is complex here."
Do you ever wonder what people did before modern civilizations? Forget cell phones and computers and lightning fast communication. Think small villages or farming communities. What did they do? They talked, and sang songs, made things with their own hands, and sat on their porches looking at the view in front of them and thought. Simple. Peaceful.
I sometimes feel like we humans have progressed and evolved so much, we've left ourselves behind. I wonder if we are really equipped to live in a system like we've created. It's fast. It's obligatory. It's constant over-stimulation. When do we breathe?
Notice that in my top 10-can't-live-withouts I have my phone, my computer, the Internet, my blow dryer! Those things aren't going away anytime soon. I love my technology, she says as she blogs away. But really, this breathing thing is bothering me...
Well, anyhoo, as I was sleeping walking my way through feeding the dogs this morning at 5 am, this commercial broke through the fog. I laughed out loud. A lot. And I appreciated it so much, I thought I would share. In the crazy, fast, over-stimulated, holiday decorated day that it is, take a second to laugh...and breathe. I know I enjoyed it.
Also, I've been having this thing lately where I feel like I can't take a full breath. Kinda freaks me out. Hmmm...wonder if these two things are related.
My aunt left yesterday for three months in India. She and my uncle go every winter and meditate for 30 days. On Christmas day she will be meditating. When I was younger I thought my aunt was effing crazy. Weird. Bizarre. Who. Does. That? But having completed my own 10 day meditation courses, I'm wondering if she has the right idea.
When you're at a meditation course, you basically step off the planet for a bit. Being still and quiet is your only obligation. The day before she left, my aunt emailed me and said she was "ready to go...life is complex here."
Do you ever wonder what people did before modern civilizations? Forget cell phones and computers and lightning fast communication. Think small villages or farming communities. What did they do? They talked, and sang songs, made things with their own hands, and sat on their porches looking at the view in front of them and thought. Simple. Peaceful.
I sometimes feel like we humans have progressed and evolved so much, we've left ourselves behind. I wonder if we are really equipped to live in a system like we've created. It's fast. It's obligatory. It's constant over-stimulation. When do we breathe?
Notice that in my top 10-can't-live-withouts I have my phone, my computer, the Internet, my blow dryer! Those things aren't going away anytime soon. I love my technology, she says as she blogs away. But really, this breathing thing is bothering me...
Well, anyhoo, as I was sleeping walking my way through feeding the dogs this morning at 5 am, this commercial broke through the fog. I laughed out loud. A lot. And I appreciated it so much, I thought I would share. In the crazy, fast, over-stimulated, holiday decorated day that it is, take a second to laugh...and breathe. I know I enjoyed it.
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