Friday, January 18, 2008

Perfect Sunday

My mind keeps going back to that perfect Sunday setup. The other day, I was thinking how my vision of it will change as I get older. Sometime in the next few years, when I walk to the corner store to get a paper, I will take a dog with me. He/she will keep me company as I read the paper and eat breakfast. Some time after that, there will be a husband who will wake up as I come back with the paper and the dog. Eventually, there may even be children, if I can be talked into that. Key word there is "eventually." I guess this is how I express what I want for my future. Just thinking about it in general, it is hard for me to specifically say what I do or do not want. In this day and age, the attitude seems to be that you can have it all.

The only problem is... I want so much.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Recapturing the glow.

I do not get much sleep. Maybe it is the air mattress... maybe it is all the crazy people or the violent crime... maybe it is the online sudoku... we may never know. Anyway, I have kind of gotten used to having that tired look. I recently started eating much more healthfully and had not noticed the absence of that tired look that I have had almost continuously for the last few years (I guess? I am not really sure when it started. I just know people were always telling me I looked tired for a long time). I knew that my face had changed in some way, but it was not significant enough for me to take the time to figure it out, and it was a positive change, so I assumed I was doing something right and should just keep doing whatever I was doing.

Anyway... I was working a shift at Starbucks one day after not getting much sleep. A woman came up to my register, and as usual, I started a conversation with her. At some point during this conversation, she paused and looked at me a little harder. Convinced I had broccoli in my teeth or a huge zit I hadn't noticed, I grinned a close-mouthed smile and nodded as if I were acknowledging her last comment. She then said, "You look really well-rested."

I do not think I have heard that... ever. At the first chance I got, I went to the bathroom and took a good, hard look at my face. Sure enough, there were no dark circles under my eyes, fewer lines on my face, and my skin had a good color to it - not too pale, but obviously not catching too much sun. I also just generally looked more alert. I am not getting more sleep, but I look seriously healthier. This new diet was intended to help me change my eating habits and be healthier, but I did not think there would be visible changes like these in my face. It never really occurred to me. My hair also looks and feels healthier and softer.

Then, Sunday, when I arrived for my shift at Starbucks, one of my coworkers remarked that I had a certain light in my face, that I looked really happy. I guess I have picked up a glow somewhere along the line. She asked what I had done that made me so happy, and I retraced my steps for the day... sleeping in... rising, pulling on a pair of jeans, and walking to the corner store to buy a Sunday Times... reading the paper while eating a healthy breakfast and sitting in front of a window looking out into a sunny day... very simple, but this was perfect for me. Sunday is my favorite day of the week in general, but I always end up working mornings, and this prevents me from doing that lazy Sunday morning stuff I love to do. Even just thinking about it now is setting my heart at ease.

Health and happiness are not just about diet and exercise, but figuring out what things you can do on a regular basis that make you happy. For me, it's the Sunday Times with a healthy breakfast, or reading a good book while listening to certain bands or artists... among many other things.

What makes you tick?

Friday, January 11, 2008

Fearless leaders don't cry at the prospect of losing a primary.

Now, two blogs in one day, crazy. Me revisiting my time in politics and commenting publicly on the primaries, crazier. Me doing this because I would legitimately consider voting for a candidate not in the Republican party this time around, craziest. In case you've been hiding in a nuclear shelter underground (understandable, given the obvious insanity of Kim Jong-Il; better safe than sorry), Republicans are not really Republicans anymore, Democrats are not really Democrats anymore, and the party lines have become quite hazy in the mass effort to win over the moderate voter.

Hillary Clinton (oh, excuse me, Hillary Rodham Clinton, she is her own woman, right?) cried during a conversation with a voter. The New York Times reports:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/us/politics/10clinton.html
Somehow, this is getting her voters. Women say that they are glad to see that she really is human. She feels, she has emotions, wonderful. Somehow, this is causing people to change their votes at the last second and vote for her. Absurd. Let us take a look at the Democratic primary situation.
1. Barack Obama is the junior senator from Illinois. He has not made much noise during his first term as a US Senator. He has received such valuable endorsements as Scarlett Johansson and Oprah. He won the Iowa Democratic primary.
2. Hillary Clinton is a two-term first lady in her second term as a US Senator for New York, where she is also the junior senator. She won the New Hampshire primary.
3. Hillary ran for the US Senate in a state where she had never lived and had absolutely no experience. Barack was elected to be an Illinois senator after he served for eight years as a state senator.
4. Both have law degrees from prestigious universities.
5. Hillary has the "first woman president" factor. Barack has the "first black president" factor. Can't we just have Oprah run and call it a day?
6. Hillary suffered public humiliation on the national stage when it was revealed that her husband (oh, you know, the president) was cheating on her with an intern. This was but one of many affairs. She did not divorce him.
7. Barack's wife talks about his smelly feet to the media.
8. In 1992, Hillary was campaigning with Bill and celebrating his first presidential win. In 1992, Barack was getting married.
9. Polls show that people view Hillary more favorably when she is referred to as Hillary Rodham Clinton, as opposed to Hillary Clinton. Polls also show that young people are fond of the phrase, "Barack the Vote!" And who said puns were going out of style?

Hillary has much more national face-time than Barack does. Like, 12 years more - first as a first lady, then as a senator. She has four published books. Her husband is only one of the greatest politicians of all time (he was able to come back from a "You stuck cigars WHERE?" scandal involving an overweight intern to be one of the most favorably viewed past-presidents ever). How is she not sending Barack home crying to his mother? Shouldn't this tell voters something? She cannot be trusted - she USED New York and the coattails of her husband to jumpstart her own political career. Sure, she cries, she has feelings, but she cried at the prospect of losing. She failed to put her cheating husband in his place. Barack has less political experience, but this man has to be some sort of political genius when you see how far he's come in such a short amount of time with no coattails for riding.

If I want a candidate to seem more human, Barack's campaign has done a much better job of satisfying that voter desire. The warm pictures of him with his loving family do the trick and do not detract from his apparent strength and resolve. Hillary continues to embrace a man who seems to be addicted to cheating on her and has her awkward adult daughter and mother campaign with her, only to have her daughter refuse an interview from a grade school reporter. Coming from someone who represented a state she had had residence in only to run for the US Senate, these tears mean nothing to me. She will always be less than genuine in my eyes. How long did she rehearse crying?

P.S. Just one quick note about the Republican primaries: Mike Huckabee won Iowa... after getting Chuck Norris's endorsement. To be honest, I had thought to myself some time ago that any smart candidate would get Chuck Norris on his side, but I figured Chuck was above that. I guess not, but it turns out I was right - he is a great ally to have in your corner.

Big changes and lessons learned.

It is only January 11th, and I am already tired of the phrase, "New Year, New You." Honestly, I am a bit of a different person every single day. Hopefully, I am going in the direction I intend with these changes. Working for Starbucks has helped me learn to adapt to change much more smoothly than before. Change is inevitable, but only you can choose how you will react to it.

Moving on.

Lessons learned:
If it makes you smile, it's nearly as healthy as a vegetable. Unless it's a cigarette... then it's just a cancer stick. Strive to genuinely smile as often as possible.
I love to make people laugh. I should never turn my back on my sense of humor, for any reason. It has the ability to pull me through tough situations.
Be more vocal when you see something going wrong. Be more vocal when you see something going right. Realize that we are all in this together.
The difficulty of being 20-something years old is very much understated by the general population. 20-somethings are all at once being expected to make huge decisions, while ultimately finding a mate, setting the course for life, and establishing themselves in society... all while we are young and have less experience from which we can draw wisdom than those older than us.
Alcohol can be extremely destructive, and consumption of it is something one should limit.
Some have it harder than others... but everyone will have a difficult time at some point. What doesn't kill you should make you stronger. Learn from your experiences.
It is so important to be supportive of the people around you.
There is not nearly enough reading going on.

I am not yet ready to discuss the biggest change of the next few months of my life, so I won't... but there are plenty of other changes occurring.

I have worked hard to incorporate healthier eating habits into my life... eating high-fiber cereal, reading nutrition labels more for the nutritional value and not for the calories, eating lots and lots of fruits and vegetables fresh and raw, limiting myself to drinking water, coffee, or things with nutritional value (tea, milk, orange juice), eating smaller portions but eating every few hours... Really, it's hard work, especially with as much as I'm out of the house.

I am going full steam ahead with my position at Starbucks. I am trying to leave a mark on the store where I work now by being a positive and proactive partner. I will soon be completing extra learning sessions so that I will be able to take more leadership on the floor as a knowledgeable partner. I am also working hard to recognize the strengths of other stores where I have worked and to cultivate those same qualities in this store.

I am working on setting boundaries with people and standing up for standards and values I hold to myself.

Life is too short to have any idle moments. So... I carry a book with me all the time, and when I'm not doing something of value (ie, just idly riding the subway), I read. I'm trying to read a new book each week. I am happier when I have been reading. So far...
Week 1: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Week 2: LOTR: The Two Towers
Week 3: LOTR: The Return of the King
How dorky! But now I wish I had the extended editions of the movies. Seriously, though, if you enjoyed the movies, you should read the books.

I think that's enough for now. I hope all of your New Year's resolutions are going well.

PS - to make you laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hMnT44Etk
I'M OLD GREG!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2008! The coming year promises to be a big one, with the presidential election occurring in November. It should also be a big year for me personally.

What would a New Year's post be without resolutions? So, without further ado...

1. Maintain a more normal sleep schedule (check out the time stamp on this post).
2. Exercise 3-4 times a week. 2a) Figure out a plan for going to the gym. 2b) Choose a gym.
3. Work to eat a healthier diet.
4. Aim for a better job so I can work fewer hours.
5. Stick money into my savings account from EVERY paycheck.
6. Have a book completed and ready for submission to publishers.
7. Read a book every week.
8. Work on learning Arabic.

I've already made a significant amount of progress on most of these (all but the first one and the fourth one), so it's good to have the ball rolling. Hopefully, having a head start will help me keep them.