On 2013 Resolutions

Now What?

For the last five years, my resolution has been the same - to floss.  And although each year has mimicked the previous one(s) with a mediocre and (eventual) failed attempt at incorporating this habit into my daily life, I was finally able to conquer my severely wavering commitment earlier this year when I came up with a solution to my resolution (-to write it down).  So now, with monthly calendars marked with bright-red X's acknowledging my flossing progress and success, I am faced with a clean slate for next year's half-ambitious and tenuous goal - to exercise.  Here's to another five years.  Enjoy and happy holidays1

(This blog will resume on Monday, January 7th, after a holiday trip to NYC and conference in Austin, TX.  See you in 2013.)  

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On @&*(&@*)

Can't Hardly Curse.

In the presence of cursing, I find myself in two camps: I disagreeably wince at the folks who drop f-bombs with uncanny ease (That's so unattractive!) and pleasantly gasp at others whose first time might be right in that moment (Do it again!).  As for myself, I waffle between the two, depending on the environment, the audience, the need to set some inappropriate words free, and whether my filter is functioning or not.  And every once in awhile, I glance around to see who's listening, or reacting, or a combination of the two, and most often my own curses slip (unnoticed) into thin air.  Enjoy!  

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On Facial Appeal

Creative Craft.

We're all attracted to different faces - moustaches versus beards, brown eyes versus blue, thin lips versus thick - and find ourselves glancing twice at the qualities we've come to seek out.  Yet when it finally comes down to it, our facial appeal preferences are only part of the puzzle.  Senses of humor, worth ethics, passion for travel, family, and independence supplant stylistic upper-lip-fashion for the qualities that take us into old age and beyond.  Enjoy!

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On Inevitable Fate

Criminal Defense.

Although I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and spent the majority of the 90's (and beyond) riding the subway on a regular basis, I've been fortunate enough to never have been mugged.  Yet, friends and family have been less lucky, with frightening incidents of familiar misfortunes, often including knives, guns, wallets, and unrequited threats.  In spite of these Tales from the Darkside, I also have yet to enroll (and actually follow through) in a self-defense class (though I frequently consider it) and have, instead, resigned myself to inevitable helplessness should luck ever abandon me, with the unlikely hope that I'd rise to the (Jackie Chan) occasion.  Enjoy!  
 
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On Catching Glimpses

Other People's Stories.

Passing time scrolling through quotes from my favorite literary fiction last week (i.e. Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living. ― JSF Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), I was reminded of how immersed I can become in the lives of a novel's characters.  With the temptation to tweet, chat, and text, it's easy to ignore the stories that involve creativity and imagination yet are equally - if not more! - appealing than the daily updates we so willingly fill our time with.  On this note, I'll end here and spend the second half of my lunch hour reading Middlemarch, on loan from a co-worker.  Enjoy!

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On Being Honest

 
Defying Morals.

Cheating used to be for villains in rom com’s and seemingly innocent high school teens unable to resist romantic temptation.  Yet now with the majority of our matrimonial commitments on the horizon (be it past, present, or future), defying someone’s trust and straying from the promises and morals that brought us here in the first place risk more than just an anxious, broken heart.  Families are destroyed, lives shattered, and faith in humanity questioned indefinitely. Enjoy! 

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On Hanukah Rivalry

(Photo Credit: Denver, CO 12/12/12.)

While lighting my very own menorah for the first time this week, I offered my non-Jewish roommate a hanukah candle.  Taking pride in his newest responsibility, he commented on the hanukah battleground this ritual must provide for small siblings.  Flashes of childhood negotiations passed before my anticipatory eyes, with a decade of savvy parental differentiations made between lighting the match versus the multicolored candle(s) followed by weekday designations based on age, weight, and height. (Just kidding about the latter.) Enjoy!

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On Hosting Visitors

Aiming to Please.

Living halfway across the country from the majority of family and friends, hosting visitors - while always a welcomed event - also brings along a pressure to please.  With time, money, and alternative plans sacrificed (most frequently in NYC), my eternal hope is that their visit won't be the last (family not included) and, as such, approach their investment with equal attention to detail and need. Preplanned grocery trips include favorite midnight snacks with daytime excursions around hobbies and habits.  Until the inevitable airport goodbye rolls around and I have a good sense of who will be back versus who will remain an east coast companion.  Enjoy!   

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On the Brevity of Romance

Fifty-Minus-One?

Once again, hiding behind the mask of People Magazine on the airplane from PR this past weekend in order to indulge my commitment to reading my first full trilogy ever (Fifty Shades, of course), I reflected on the significant evolution undergone by the  two main characters (from BDSM to marriage) over the span of less than a thousand pages.  During the final third of this fairly heated saga the characters have traded in handcuffs for happily-ever-after, as marriage has seemingly transformed this fantasy into a semi-twisted fairy-tale, which - for those of us indulging in our first trilogies ever - proves equally as satisfying.  Enjoy!

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On (Long) Distance Relatives

Aunt-hood from Afar.

Being an aunt (or uncle) from a distance forces you to rely on modern technology and snail mail to stay abreast of milestones and shower adoration. And while in-person contact certainly cannot be replaced, taking pride in first steps, first words, and first holidays isn't any less powerful.  Bonds form through HD computer screens and i-phone facetime sessions until eventual reunions bring together long-distant relatives never soon enough.  Enjoy!

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