On the Hangover Pants

Pajama-rama!

This past Hanukah, I gave my not-so-little brother a pair of fleece sweatpants officially entitled "Hangover Pants." My goal was to find him the softest pants possible since he shares my love for all-things-inconceivably-comfortable. And who can argue with these reviews? It's like draping yourself in velvet (in a socially acceptable way); Every time I take them off I feel a little regret. I don't care what other people think, I want to wear them to work, and out to dinner, and to the movies, and when I go to the grocery store (insert footnote: amazon.com). Perfect, I thought, and quickly clicked and purchased. And then, that very night, he wore them (to sleep), and when we woke the next day, I eagerly awaited his own raving reviews. Were they the best pants you've ever worn?! He told me that, well - yes - in a way they were extremely comfortable but, actually, he felt like he'd just woken from a coma and wondered if it's possible that these pants were too comfortable, but he'll promise to try them again (soon-ish). And then I went back to Brooklyn this past weekend (2 months later, and the sweatpants had yet to be worn again) and decided to try them out for myself. Imagining his experience to be a fluke, I, too, wore them to sleep. And when I woke the next day, I was sluggish, couldn't think clearly, and could barely sit up to drink my morning coffee. And when asked what was wrong, all I could think was, I'm so comfortable that I'm un-comfortable, and concluded that, perhaps, even in-conceivable comfort has its limitations. Enjoy!

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On My Top Ten TV Shows

Of All Time.

1. Deadwood
2. The Wire
3. Six Feet Under
4. Dawson's Creek
5. Friday Night Lights
6. My So-Called Life
7. Dead Like Me
8. Freaks and Geeks
9. Tell Me You Love Me
10. Huff

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On True Colors

Like a Rainbow.

It's easy to hide our true colors behind the curtains of our daily responsibilities and, instead, deflect onto those around us. Yet it is when we let our guards down and courageously share the layers beneath that we find commonalities and compassion in the people beside us, even those we least expect. And then the weight becomes lighter, and the rainbows a little brighter, as we lean onto -- and help carry -- those who subsequently share in return. Enjoy!

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On Ten Years From Now

When I Grow Up.

(In) ten years from now, I'm a consultant (and, thus, my own boss) who spends lunch times picking fresh bouquets of purple flowers with her husband and three children (named Francesca, Amelia, and Tony), during work-weeks that rarely exceed fourteen hours and incorporate daily visits to Grandmother's House (down the yellow brick road) from the Spanish colonial cottage we reside in (heated by solar panels, of course). Evening swims in the lukewarm pool are interrupted by reruns of Dawson's Creek (my fantasy, not yours!), and my endless pair of red high-heeled shoes never seize to impress. Enjoy!

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On Mourning-side Heights

Different Strokes.

A book club delinquent by nature (less than two meetings in the last four months), I'm the proud nominator of the February novel: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, a story I'm already halfway through (anyway) and confident other members will be curious about. Didion's memoir spans the year after her husband unexpectedly dies and, while a topic (at times) too uncomfortable for (most) folks to talk about in real life, the reader quickly learns (through the lens of someone else's grief) that the coping mechanisms for mourning encompass different strokes for different folks, and it is these very mechanisms (even in the form of magical thinking) that get us through the worst (year) of our life. Enjoy!

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On Dollar Store Diaries

99 Cents + Tax.

My memories of what we bought from the small-town dollar store located ten minutes from our family cabin in the heart of The Catskill Mountains are less clear than the excitement felt towards an impending group trip. The guarantee of an unknown purchase -- never denied on account of its unchallenged affordability -- were matched by my vivid imagination of an afternoon filled with one-dollar entertainment, even if that day's purchase merited less than an hour's worth of actual activity. Enjoy!

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On Silent Goodbyes

No Exit.

Everyone handles break-ups in their own unique ways, from back-to-back screaming fits (filled with tears, remorse, and regret) to walking away silently without a second (last) glance over one's shoulder. But whether the final goodbyes are fraught with emotion or stagnation, the ripple effects of that person, place, or thing [insert: definition of a noun] on the next chapter (plus) of our lives will inevitably appear in (eventually) meaningful ways, and possibly even be embraced. Enjoy!

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On the Hostess...

...with the Mostess.

Once upon a time in the 80's and early 90's, Devil Dogs were my go-to snack of choice, over twenty-five cent bags of barbecue potato chips and vanilla wafers with milk. And each play date with a different friend meant a new snack particular to that person. Beth S.'s house entailed walks (with her mom) to the corner store for ice pops, as long as we cleaned our dinner plates first. Lizzie S.'s babysitter, Margie, always shared her Violet, lavender-flavored sucking candies with us which, in retrospect, were probably accepted based solely on color. And Leah W. preferred the fifty-cent New York Deli Potato Chips with a side pickles (preferably whole and exclusively dill), whereas at my house you almost always got Devil Dogs. Enjoy!

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On (Perilous) Independence

Sustaining Solitude.

After a recent visit with a Denver friend at her one-bedroom, roommate-less apartment, I marveled at the affordable independence offered by urban developments outside of New York City. As a schedule that doesn't include splitting meals, bills, and hairs flashed before my independent-less eyes, memories of domestic partnerships (romantic and otherwise) comforted by (temporary) itch for sustaining (inexpensive) solitude. Enjoy!

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On Modern Love

Meets Modern Family.

Sometime between our adventures in babysitting and backpacking through Europe, the craving to find homeostatic consistency in our lives - often in the form of Sunday morning bagels and the New York Times - creeps up on us when we least expect. All of as sudden game-night supplants girls-night, new years are spent indoors, and Modern Family isn't just a sitcom on a Wednesday night. Enjoy!

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On Being an Aunt

Long Distance Style.

It's true what they say about instantly loving the newest family member without exchanging actual words - since babies can't talk - or (in my case) since we haven't even met (in person) yet. Living multiple states away during one of the more joyous, monumental family milestones (aka first offspring of the next generation) comes with its pluses (although I can't currently think of any) and minuses, and counting down until (the bris in two weeks where) I can actually touch/smell/hold/kiss the infant-in-the-photos is (what I consider) a major downside. And yet the joy felt by his first-time mother (my sister) and grandparents (my parents) is evident in (brief) phone conversations and i-phone-captured (10-second) videos, making me all the more excited to count down to my own (first) reunion with baby (Derek) in less than fourteen days. And, in some ways, I'll get to be an aunt-for-the-first-time twice: long-distance style and up close & personal. Enjoy!


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On 3-Day Weekends

Happy Birthday, MLK! This blog will resume tomorrow, January 17, 2012.

On Parents Who Tweet

(And Play Scrabble.)

It took twice as long for our parents' generation to master the touch screen on their first i-phones and accompanying gadgets (often in the form of a birthday or holiday gifts, with small to mild resistance) but - once accomplished - half the time to school us in Words-with-Friends. Almost a year's worth of scrabble game under our belts and my English-lit-major/avid-reader/published-writer mother has yet to lose more than one game. With each semi-gracious loss, I send congratulatory (text) messages, wondering if and when they'll be discovered by the scrabble champion herself, who may or may not have mastered the text feature, too. Enjoy!

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On What's on the Inside

Not Out.

For the first time in several years, I've revamped my approach to new year's resolutions to celebrate my (small) victories instead of attempting the impossible. And, so far so good! Without pressure to floss seven days/wk (my sole resolution for the last indefinite number of years), I've found myself willing to not only switch from (aqua green floss) picks to normal (wrap around your fingers until they bleed) floss without public proclamation, but I do it more often than I would have otherwise (more than once/week). Now if only I can casually will myself to the yoga studio for which I brought a groupon over four months ago... Enjoy!

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On Wearing Your Emoticons

On Your Screen.

As in actual life, our "electronic personalities" are susceptible to judgments and misconceptions with every word we choose - or don't choose - to type. We whisper behind backs of overly-exclaiming email writers, poke fun at TMI facebook uploaders, and swear off the emoticon-indulgent text and tweeters...(often) while "off the record" on g-chat. Enjoy!

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On Face-to-Face Time

Dis(sed) Connection.

It's a rare moment when actual face-to-face time with family, friends, neighbors and otherwise doesn't entail wandering thoughts, eyes, and fingers to the goings-on of other people's company. Facebook pages are reloaded on the hour, impending texts immediately responded to, and twitter feeds fed, as real-life conversations are comprehended at half the pace they are tweeted. Enjoy!

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On Keeping the Faith

Eat, Pray, Love.

Whether we eat, pray, or love our way through difficult times, finding ways to maintain faith in ourselves -- and the world around us -- can come in many different shapes and sizes. Dreams foreshadow, promises uphold, and meaning is found in extra-ordinary routines. Enjoy!

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On Identities & Traditions

Happy Holidays to All...

While I've never sat fully attentively through an entire Passover Seder or been able to recite holiday prayers without memorizing them in advance (really just Hanukah), I've attended enough bar and bat mitzvah's (my own not included) to insist on beginning my own tradition (this year) of lighting menorah candles without the assistance of my Hebrew-schooled siblings. Until I realized I didn't have the necessary tools, and so I called upon my overjoyed mother to lend a helping hand, and vowed to begin in December 2012. Enjoy!

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On Favorite Pastimes

The Good Ol' Days.

I speak for the majority of my generation when I admit to forgetting the details of how we once communicated before the technological boom --on rotary phones after school, for hours and hours and hours. Or how plans were made and kept --play dates arranged by parents in the after school playground with pick-up times agreed upon in advance. Or how scrabble games were (fairly) won --by picking the z's and q's out of gray, shiny bags with only a slight possibility of (real-life) cheating. Or how flirting was initiated --via hand-written notes between science and math classes. Now we reminisce our favorite pastimes on facebook walls and twitter posts while simultaneously blogging about the good ol' days... Enjoy!

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On Long Term Investments

Diagnostic Cures.

I recently came across a research study that suggested married couples report increased rates of happiness if they have high levels of affection and admiration in their relationships. And while it was nearly impossible to skip to the next article without taking the diagnostic quiz on the right-hand side (even though I'm not married, of course), the increase in admiration (towards anyone who crosses my path, really) since that mundane Sunday afternoon has skyrocketed. My logic follows that since money (supposedly) can't buy happiness, why not test drive unsolicited pats-on-the-shoulder and surprise compliments to friends and strangers (and future baby daddies & mommies) alike. Enjoy!

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On Skyping from Afar

Satisfying the Senses.

A few weeks ago, after winning a web-cam from a work raffle (woohoo!), I immediately offered it to my PC-preferential parents. Now we would have twice as many reasons to 'dial in' on a regular basis (--collectively, they own an i-phone and an ipad). While long distance relationships for lovers and friends are far from shatter-proof, maintaining regular familial contact is a prerequisite for living more than one neighborhood away. And while it's not a substitute for the real deal, it makes the months between visits easier to (micro-) manage. Enjoy!

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