clearly, it's this one.
happy monday!
Monday, January 30, 2012
a monday bundle of joy
what the perfect picture to post on one's blog when they've had (yet a freakin' 'nother) rough night of sleep?
clearly, it's this one.
clearly, it's this one.
Friday, January 27, 2012
a massive attack friday
it's been a head exploding week.
oh, but don't worry. it's a good thing.
over the thanksgiving break, my regular dance teacher had one of my classmates sub for the hip hop class. everyone was gone for the holiday though, and none of us made the class. last week, we asked the girl to show us the dance.
jaws dropped.
i haven't felt like i needed something, like i needed to dance that choreography, since...um...geez, that's a hard metaphor to make. i'm not big on needing things, since i needed to watch the last Harry Potter movie? lame. since i needed to own all the Carebear figurines when i was younger. pfft. lamer.
anyway... we begged her to teach it to us after our next wednesday night class. all week long, my thought process went like this:
hmmm, my W2 came in. wow, i made waaaayyyy less than i did last year. double dance class on wednesday. this train is freakin' taking forever. it's 1 a.m. i just want to be home. double dance class on wednesday. that drink was way pricey and it tasted like smoke. double dance class on wednesday.
and then? wednesday night. it was sometime right between this:
and this:
that from all the endorphins and happiness of getting twice the length of my favorite part of the week, i feared for head explosion. even when the double part of class was over i didn't want to leave. i went home, bought the nicki minaj song, and that's where the real head exploding problem began.
i haven't stopped listening to that song. no, seriously.
on the subway yesterday, i kept it on repeat for the whole 45 minute ride into the city. i listened to it as i walked to meet up with my friend. i played it for her back at her house. then, subway ride home? on repeat. once in the door. on repeat. every third time i hear the song, i bust out the dance.
i have no great love of nicki minaj. i skip half her songs on pandora. her style is just so...grating. but this song? be warned before you give it a full listen. it will massively attack and conquer your weekend soundtrack.
mwahahah. see ya'll on monday.
oh, but don't worry. it's a good thing.
over the thanksgiving break, my regular dance teacher had one of my classmates sub for the hip hop class. everyone was gone for the holiday though, and none of us made the class. last week, we asked the girl to show us the dance.
jaws dropped.
i haven't felt like i needed something, like i needed to dance that choreography, since...um...geez, that's a hard metaphor to make. i'm not big on needing things, since i needed to watch the last Harry Potter movie? lame. since i needed to own all the Carebear figurines when i was younger. pfft. lamer.
anyway... we begged her to teach it to us after our next wednesday night class. all week long, my thought process went like this:
hmmm, my W2 came in. wow, i made waaaayyyy less than i did last year. double dance class on wednesday. this train is freakin' taking forever. it's 1 a.m. i just want to be home. double dance class on wednesday. that drink was way pricey and it tasted like smoke. double dance class on wednesday.
and then? wednesday night. it was sometime right between this:
and this:
that from all the endorphins and happiness of getting twice the length of my favorite part of the week, i feared for head explosion. even when the double part of class was over i didn't want to leave. i went home, bought the nicki minaj song, and that's where the real head exploding problem began.
i haven't stopped listening to that song. no, seriously.
on the subway yesterday, i kept it on repeat for the whole 45 minute ride into the city. i listened to it as i walked to meet up with my friend. i played it for her back at her house. then, subway ride home? on repeat. once in the door. on repeat. every third time i hear the song, i bust out the dance.
i have no great love of nicki minaj. i skip half her songs on pandora. her style is just so...grating. but this song? be warned before you give it a full listen. it will massively attack and conquer your weekend soundtrack.
mwahahah. see ya'll on monday.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
gut trust
is it a bird? a plane? what the hell is corrie taking a picture of?
geese migrating!...in january. the sight stopped me on the street. oh right, i thought, birds do that. it feels like years since i've seen a line of birds in flight. maybe it has been.
speaking of things happening a little later than they were intended...
my red-haired sis and i did our new years resolutions yesterday. at the top of my list (thought still beneath publish book and either increase my spanish vocabulary or nail down verb tenses) was the the resolution to trust my instincts more.
case in point. what does this look like:
two overpriced brooklyn cocktails? you might say. and while, yes, that is a correct answer, for me, the drink on the left represents what happens when i don't trust my instincts.
instead of ordering what had sounded good, i went with what the bartender's suggestion believing that his experience behind that bar overruled my experience of a lifetime owning my taste buds. i know what sounds good to me. and a mouthful of smoke (no seriously, that's what the drink tasted like) ain't it.
now this is a SUPER silly example. but i've been mistrusting my instincts lately on other bigger issues. i don't know why this is. i have perfectly acceptable instincts. some might say they are as steely as a blade and sharp as a dart. erm. okay, no one would ever say that. but they've gotten me this far. they said: move to new york! take that job in the literary agency! quit that job in the literary agency! definitely buy those jeans! (yes my instincts are peppy and only speak in exclamations) all of which worked out pretty well for me.
so when that little sense that just knows nah, you're not into that, why am i letting my brain bust in and go, but what if you are?! what if that's not the right decision?! give it another chance?!
gosh, it's exhausting.
so this new year, i am going to trust that inner twinkling (a little) more and then move on my merry way. no more second guessing, no more nitpicking the finality of my choices when i know that they feel right, no more doing what someone else thinks is right for me when it goes against what i know is right for me.
because otherwise, i end up with a mouthful of smoke knowing that the blood orange liqueur would have tasted far superior.
Monday, January 23, 2012
hear us roar
it's the new year. the Chinese new year. and it's a special one. we've entered the year of the Dragon.
the news said that births in China will be up 10% this year as dragon babies are the most respected. while some signs, like the rat and the snake, get snickered at by Chinese friends and family members - i have a chinese friend, who planned the birth of her child to not fall into those astrological signs - a dragon baby is roundly met with "oohs!" dragons are leaders. dragons are lucky.
so quick everyone, reproduce!
ironically, the consequence of a ten percent birth rate increase, is that medical institutions, and eventually educational institutions are all completely unprepared and overwhelmed. the dragon baby thus gets less attention and care than the undesirable astrological signed children that come in years before and after it.
so, wait, everyone, maybe don't reproduce!
or forget about reproducing and just have a fiery, lucky, magical new year.
the news said that births in China will be up 10% this year as dragon babies are the most respected. while some signs, like the rat and the snake, get snickered at by Chinese friends and family members - i have a chinese friend, who planned the birth of her child to not fall into those astrological signs - a dragon baby is roundly met with "oohs!" dragons are leaders. dragons are lucky.
so quick everyone, reproduce!
ironically, the consequence of a ten percent birth rate increase, is that medical institutions, and eventually educational institutions are all completely unprepared and overwhelmed. the dragon baby thus gets less attention and care than the undesirable astrological signed children that come in years before and after it.
so, wait, everyone, maybe don't reproduce!
or forget about reproducing and just have a fiery, lucky, magical new year.
Friday, January 20, 2012
friday flicks
lots of videos floating around this week.
on monday, i had a conversation with someone about how living in NYC changes you. and there's no doubt that it does change you. part of you can't help becoming immune to the world. there's so much stimuli here all the time, if you don't learn to look at some of it with a dull eye, your brain would explode. no really, it's a fact.
on the other hand. as much as you learn to ignore it, you begin to crave and expect that stimuli. so if 19 new experiences aren't crammed into every single day, you feel a little put out. if you spend an evening quietly at home, you have to (repeatedly) tell yourself: it's okay to have a quiet evening at home.
world weary/activity-addicted. sounds like a great place to live, no? which is maybe why so many of us dream of moving somewhere else almost constantly, even as we wonder if that's even possible anymore.
but if i moved to NC where would i get a great slice at 1 a.m.?
i'm not anywhere near being the NYer depicted in this video. but i've seen plenty of them and have said more than a few of these things more than once.
shortly after the above video cropped up on facebook, a friend sent me a text with other, very different videos attached. they feel like directly opposite NYC correlations.
the back to back receipt of these videos made it all click.
no wonder i've taken to dancing so much while i've been here. and no wonder i've taken to dancing in grimy, latin clubs. there's not a drop of that other kind of New York (or New Yorker) in them. it's the best kind of escape -- unpretentious fun that gets your heart racing without all that NYC pomp. (now if only i can get my feet moving as fast as the girl in the above clip. these were supposed to be practice videos. yeah right.)
wherever you live, there must be elements in your life that offset other facets to keep you real. (what are yours?) for me, this week, it was just funny to see them presented in such blatant video format.
on monday, i had a conversation with someone about how living in NYC changes you. and there's no doubt that it does change you. part of you can't help becoming immune to the world. there's so much stimuli here all the time, if you don't learn to look at some of it with a dull eye, your brain would explode. no really, it's a fact.
on the other hand. as much as you learn to ignore it, you begin to crave and expect that stimuli. so if 19 new experiences aren't crammed into every single day, you feel a little put out. if you spend an evening quietly at home, you have to (repeatedly) tell yourself: it's okay to have a quiet evening at home.
world weary/activity-addicted. sounds like a great place to live, no? which is maybe why so many of us dream of moving somewhere else almost constantly, even as we wonder if that's even possible anymore.
but if i moved to NC where would i get a great slice at 1 a.m.?
i'm not anywhere near being the NYer depicted in this video. but i've seen plenty of them and have said more than a few of these things more than once.
shortly after the above video cropped up on facebook, a friend sent me a text with other, very different videos attached. they feel like directly opposite NYC correlations.
the back to back receipt of these videos made it all click.
no wonder i've taken to dancing so much while i've been here. and no wonder i've taken to dancing in grimy, latin clubs. there's not a drop of that other kind of New York (or New Yorker) in them. it's the best kind of escape -- unpretentious fun that gets your heart racing without all that NYC pomp. (now if only i can get my feet moving as fast as the girl in the above clip. these were supposed to be practice videos. yeah right.)
wherever you live, there must be elements in your life that offset other facets to keep you real. (what are yours?) for me, this week, it was just funny to see them presented in such blatant video format.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
var = "Coding Rules"
i have a new of-the-moment, probably won't last past February, interest. ready for it?
CODING!
on the subway i read this article in New York Magazine. it talked about this website called Codecademy that is doing yearlong tutorials in coding... for free!
i spend a lot of time on the computer writing. in down moments, when my brain needs to power up for the next go at a plot point or i'm stuck on a particular sentence's wording, when other writers are checking up on other writer's blogs or doing other...interesting things, i'm usually at a loss. i click on facebook, stare at the screen. honestly, i don't even have that many FB friends, so from twenty minutes to twenty minutes nothing really changes.
suffice it to say, the internet is pretty much wasted on me.
thus my decision to start taking these coding tutorials. maybe it'll help me fix some of the things i hate about blogger. maybe it will give me greater confidence to finally attach my blog to my website name, because while i do own www.corriewachob.com, i can't frickin' figure out how to mesh the two things.
while the tutorials are fun and easy, so far, there's not a whole lot of context around them. ex: great, if i type .length after my "var" it will tell me how many letters are in such and such word. but why do i care? maybe the website is assuming a little bit of prior web savy-ness.
and then there's me. who isn't sure she spell sauvy correctly. (no seriously, how? spell check you are not helping!)
do i know what the term coding even means? no! do i remember what i learn in one tutorial after i've moved onto the next one? hell no! but am i having fun forgetting lots of coding information? yes!
and that's all that matters, right?
CODING!
on the subway i read this article in New York Magazine. it talked about this website called Codecademy that is doing yearlong tutorials in coding... for free!
i spend a lot of time on the computer writing. in down moments, when my brain needs to power up for the next go at a plot point or i'm stuck on a particular sentence's wording, when other writers are checking up on other writer's blogs or doing other...interesting things, i'm usually at a loss. i click on facebook, stare at the screen. honestly, i don't even have that many FB friends, so from twenty minutes to twenty minutes nothing really changes.
suffice it to say, the internet is pretty much wasted on me.
thus my decision to start taking these coding tutorials. maybe it'll help me fix some of the things i hate about blogger. maybe it will give me greater confidence to finally attach my blog to my website name, because while i do own www.corriewachob.com, i can't frickin' figure out how to mesh the two things.
while the tutorials are fun and easy, so far, there's not a whole lot of context around them. ex: great, if i type .length after my "var" it will tell me how many letters are in such and such word. but why do i care? maybe the website is assuming a little bit of prior web savy-ness.
and then there's me. who isn't sure she spell sauvy correctly. (no seriously, how? spell check you are not helping!)
do i know what the term coding even means? no! do i remember what i learn in one tutorial after i've moved onto the next one? hell no! but am i having fun forgetting lots of coding information? yes!
and that's all that matters, right?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
a shred of inspiration
why internet? why?!
all i wanted to do was write a mini blog post on this totally cute vlogger i saw on youtube. i was going to applaud the internet for it's amazing ability to connect us. except now internet is thumbing it's nose at me.
let me back up.
wednesday night. two hours until dance class. i decided to cut the neck off one of my tees. a few youtube seconds later, i'm watching this adorable girl, Cara, demonstrating the best how-to t-shirt reconstruction ever. she looked about twelve years old (though i think she's closer to 21) and there was something about her ease, confidence and quirky spirit that was super inspiring.
it was one of those: why are we worried about the youth of today? we're/they're/everyone is amazing. watching her video made me think about all the times i felt shy or unsure or didn't do something because i was afraid/nervous/whatever. meanwhile, there were people out there like this girl, with her cute tips - money saving and fashion - who was embracing her world while bettering ours.
sure, sure, corrie. blah blah blah. (but seriously, all these thoughts really did go through my head).
fast forward to today. i was going to post the video. show a pic of myself in my newly deconstructed t-shirt. then a video of me dancing in my new t-shirt. and get the heck on with my afternoon. and now? blogger won't let me find her video.
WTF!
the bonus of this is that in my frustration, as i kept going back to her youtube page. i started clicking on other videos that Cara made. remember my recent post about normal/inspiring people achieving success? Cara joins the ranks. spend some time scrolling around cutewitch772 and you can watch Cara talk about converting to paganism. watch Cara attend the Gay Pride parade in NYC. watch Cara support a national suicide awareness cause by writing love on her arm.
girlfriend is awesome!
so i never could get that first video to upload (though I did hyperlink it up above), but you can see what i mean by watching number four in her series on t-shirt reconstruction basics.
all i wanted to do was write a mini blog post on this totally cute vlogger i saw on youtube. i was going to applaud the internet for it's amazing ability to connect us. except now internet is thumbing it's nose at me.
let me back up.
wednesday night. two hours until dance class. i decided to cut the neck off one of my tees. a few youtube seconds later, i'm watching this adorable girl, Cara, demonstrating the best how-to t-shirt reconstruction ever. she looked about twelve years old (though i think she's closer to 21) and there was something about her ease, confidence and quirky spirit that was super inspiring.
it was one of those: why are we worried about the youth of today? we're/they're/everyone is amazing. watching her video made me think about all the times i felt shy or unsure or didn't do something because i was afraid/nervous/whatever. meanwhile, there were people out there like this girl, with her cute tips - money saving and fashion - who was embracing her world while bettering ours.
sure, sure, corrie. blah blah blah. (but seriously, all these thoughts really did go through my head).
fast forward to today. i was going to post the video. show a pic of myself in my newly deconstructed t-shirt. then a video of me dancing in my new t-shirt. and get the heck on with my afternoon. and now? blogger won't let me find her video.
WTF!
the bonus of this is that in my frustration, as i kept going back to her youtube page. i started clicking on other videos that Cara made. remember my recent post about normal/inspiring people achieving success? Cara joins the ranks. spend some time scrolling around cutewitch772 and you can watch Cara talk about converting to paganism. watch Cara attend the Gay Pride parade in NYC. watch Cara support a national suicide awareness cause by writing love on her arm.
girlfriend is awesome!
so i never could get that first video to upload (though I did hyperlink it up above), but you can see what i mean by watching number four in her series on t-shirt reconstruction basics.
the video is besides the point now. so is my picture of me in my t-shirt, though you know, i did take the picture so i might as well post it...
but more than anything, i gotta say for my Friday long weekend message: Do it, people! Attack this life! put yourself out there. even if you're not making the world a better place for all of us (and our t-shirts, thanks Cara!) you're at the very very least, making it a hell of a lot more interesting.
naturally, blogger also won't let me find the dance video where i'm wearing my new t-shirt. but here's the dance from the week before.
now i need to go break something.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
here and back again
the cool thing about my dad is that he's up for anything.
on monday night when i said i wanted to go to a freestyle rap 10th anniversary open mic thing after work, he didn't bat an eye and just said, maybe i'll take a nap while you're gone. instead he walked me to work. fresh out the door, he leaped over a pile of pizza boxes. i mean, it was a big leap. it didn't surprise me. my dad just does stuff like this so i'm used to it. still, in the way of bratty kids around the world everywhere, i said, dad. that's the kind of thing you can't do tonight. you need to be cool.
self-loathing set in seconds later. my dad took my comment in stride.
so we went to the rap thing.
dad didn't leap. or dance. or pretend to rap. we bought each other beers. we hung out. we had fun.
at one point a guy came up to me and said: you look like you know where the party's at. i shouted: excuse me? he shouted: I SAID: you look like you know where the party's at! and i shouted back: I'm here with my dad, so i very much doubt that!
in truth, i do know where the party's at (what does that even mean?!). it's anywhere that new experiences take place. it's with anyone who's willing to embark on those experiences with you.
last night for dinner, my red-haired sis, dad and i went to Queens. ever since i moved to nyc i've been hearing that Sripraphai has the best Thai food around. thai food has great vegan options and i imagined a feast of deliciousness that my dad could partake in.
but then sis and i got swayed by the non-vegan fair on the menu -- hello whole fried red snapper, and spicy crunchy pork belly -- but we still all shared dessert. which was this thing:
dad ordered it. my sis and i took one bite, made comments about nutty mucus, giggled our heads off and let dad have all the rest. he ate them. all six. happily.
while he was here, my dad installed a huge flat screen in my house. fixed the light above my sink. put a new water filter on my tap. i watched him take a joke. make good small talk with my friend. walk for miles. i watched him not only eat at a thai food restaurant, but order the strangest thing on the menu and enjoy it.
i want to amend my opening statements. one of the cool things about my dad is that he's up for anything. in my eyes, you don't get much cooler than that.
on monday night when i said i wanted to go to a freestyle rap 10th anniversary open mic thing after work, he didn't bat an eye and just said, maybe i'll take a nap while you're gone. instead he walked me to work. fresh out the door, he leaped over a pile of pizza boxes. i mean, it was a big leap. it didn't surprise me. my dad just does stuff like this so i'm used to it. still, in the way of bratty kids around the world everywhere, i said, dad. that's the kind of thing you can't do tonight. you need to be cool.
self-loathing set in seconds later. my dad took my comment in stride.
so we went to the rap thing.
dad didn't leap. or dance. or pretend to rap. we bought each other beers. we hung out. we had fun.
at one point a guy came up to me and said: you look like you know where the party's at. i shouted: excuse me? he shouted: I SAID: you look like you know where the party's at! and i shouted back: I'm here with my dad, so i very much doubt that!
in truth, i do know where the party's at (what does that even mean?!). it's anywhere that new experiences take place. it's with anyone who's willing to embark on those experiences with you.
last night for dinner, my red-haired sis, dad and i went to Queens. ever since i moved to nyc i've been hearing that Sripraphai has the best Thai food around. thai food has great vegan options and i imagined a feast of deliciousness that my dad could partake in.
but then sis and i got swayed by the non-vegan fair on the menu -- hello whole fried red snapper, and spicy crunchy pork belly -- but we still all shared dessert. which was this thing:
dad ordered it. my sis and i took one bite, made comments about nutty mucus, giggled our heads off and let dad have all the rest. he ate them. all six. happily.
while he was here, my dad installed a huge flat screen in my house. fixed the light above my sink. put a new water filter on my tap. i watched him take a joke. make good small talk with my friend. walk for miles. i watched him not only eat at a thai food restaurant, but order the strangest thing on the menu and enjoy it.
i want to amend my opening statements. one of the cool things about my dad is that he's up for anything. in my eyes, you don't get much cooler than that.
Monday, January 9, 2012
papa is'a rollin' in
my dad is coming to visit today!
i'm a little behind on the getting ready for visitor set-up. this resulted in some massive cleaning at 6 a.m. but with just a few hours until arrival (and me in pjs -- because yes, i am apparently the only adult in the world who wears pajamas) i still have a few more chores. hellooo clean sheets, clean shower, food in the fridge. can you just make yourselves happen please?
it'll be good to have a visitor again. my brain needs to be occupied with something other than daily life concerns right now. plus, i suddenly have all these things in my apartment that are in need of dad attention. hello light above the sink not working. hello silverware basket that's a mess (i know, that one's ridiculous, but he organized it like nobody's bizness last time). hello used giant flat screen HD tv that my work manager gave me for being a good employee that needs to be mounted to my bedroom wall.
whereas i asked my mom to bring things like bread and corn chips. i asked my dad to bring a cordless drill. on a train. employee of the month? fo' sure. daughter of the month? eh.
somewhere in between putting my dad to work the entire time he's here, i'm really looking forward to this visit.
when my my mom and stepdad came we had ourselves some hijinx. i should mention that we all hate having our photos taken....
fun times, no?
my dad is pretty fun too...
so, i can't wait to see what my sis and i (miss you other sis) get up to with him. good conversation abounds when he's here, and it's always fun to wrestle up some yummy vegan food (yes, grocery store, i hear you calling).
so i'd better be off. i've got about forty things to do in the next half hour. maybe just one more sip of coffee first....
i'm a little behind on the getting ready for visitor set-up. this resulted in some massive cleaning at 6 a.m. but with just a few hours until arrival (and me in pjs -- because yes, i am apparently the only adult in the world who wears pajamas) i still have a few more chores. hellooo clean sheets, clean shower, food in the fridge. can you just make yourselves happen please?
it'll be good to have a visitor again. my brain needs to be occupied with something other than daily life concerns right now. plus, i suddenly have all these things in my apartment that are in need of dad attention. hello light above the sink not working. hello silverware basket that's a mess (i know, that one's ridiculous, but he organized it like nobody's bizness last time). hello used giant flat screen HD tv that my work manager gave me for being a good employee that needs to be mounted to my bedroom wall.
whereas i asked my mom to bring things like bread and corn chips. i asked my dad to bring a cordless drill. on a train. employee of the month? fo' sure. daughter of the month? eh.
somewhere in between putting my dad to work the entire time he's here, i'm really looking forward to this visit.
when my my mom and stepdad came we had ourselves some hijinx. i should mention that we all hate having our photos taken....
 |
| the "after" picture when we all went for massages |
 |
| right before we went down the slide at that New Museum exhibit |
 |
| photo-ed from afar at the same new museum exhibit. |
fun times, no?
my dad is pretty fun too...
so, i can't wait to see what my sis and i (miss you other sis) get up to with him. good conversation abounds when he's here, and it's always fun to wrestle up some yummy vegan food (yes, grocery store, i hear you calling).
so i'd better be off. i've got about forty things to do in the next half hour. maybe just one more sip of coffee first....
Friday, January 6, 2012
successes
today, trolling Facebook while i had my first sips of coffee (Facebook is the only thing my brain can handle when i wake up) i saw that something good happened to my friend Carla's friend, Colin Hagendorf.
sorry, this link is the best i could do to getting the video on my blog:
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/good_day_ny/slice-harvester-20120105#.TwXAZyPrOQc.facebook
it's easier if you just watch the clip (Colin, you should post it on youtube so it can start accumulating views. and other people can more easily link to it. i'm just saying) - and the boy's cute, so it's not like it's painful - but basically Colin ate at every pizza joint in Manhattan, blogged about it since 2009, and is now getting a little (or a lot of) press coverage for it. i love watching the newscast. Colin handles himself so well, while also seeming completely shocked to be there.
in other (Facebook) news, i've been having a great time watching Ms. Lauren Morrill go through the stages of getting her first novel published. one week it's whoo-hoo, i just saw the cover art! next week, it's hey friends, help me chose an author photo... because yes people, let me repeat myself, she's a YA author who's actually getting published.
and the awesomest thing about Lauren's story? she hit it out of the park on the first go! but i'll let her tell you about it....
in other publishing news, my dear friend and former community activist collaborator Amy Cappelli is racking up a list of accomplishments ranging from articles in the Buffalo News to published short stories. she's doing this all whilst raising four children and regularly posting an illustrated blog.
accomplishment. pay-off. success.
a few weeks back a young woman and her friend were celebrating at the wine bar i work at. after ordering a second bottle of prosecco, my interest was peeked enough to ask, what's the deal? both women were infectiously giddy with happiness. they were people you'd easily become friends with at the gym or waiting in line at the grocery store.
"You're looking at," the one woman said, gesturing to her friend, "the new Editor-and-Chief of Vogue Latina."
it felt like a success for all of us because the woman was so...normal. wasn't success something that happened to other people? people i knew didn't appear in Broadway productions i wished i had a ticket for. they didn't write the books i read. or edit the magazines i saw in the stores.
or so i thought.
happily, i'm starting to get proven wrong. years of hard work, great ideas, and first attempts get rewarded in this real life. success happens. it does. so work hard, be patient, and celebrate other people's achievements when you see them because great things can and will happen to you, too.
sorry, this link is the best i could do to getting the video on my blog:
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/good_day_ny/slice-harvester-20120105#.TwXAZyPrOQc.facebook
it's easier if you just watch the clip (Colin, you should post it on youtube so it can start accumulating views. and other people can more easily link to it. i'm just saying) - and the boy's cute, so it's not like it's painful - but basically Colin ate at every pizza joint in Manhattan, blogged about it since 2009, and is now getting a little (or a lot of) press coverage for it. i love watching the newscast. Colin handles himself so well, while also seeming completely shocked to be there.
in other (Facebook) news, i've been having a great time watching Ms. Lauren Morrill go through the stages of getting her first novel published. one week it's whoo-hoo, i just saw the cover art! next week, it's hey friends, help me chose an author photo... because yes people, let me repeat myself, she's a YA author who's actually getting published.
and the awesomest thing about Lauren's story? she hit it out of the park on the first go! but i'll let her tell you about it....
in other publishing news, my dear friend and former community activist collaborator Amy Cappelli is racking up a list of accomplishments ranging from articles in the Buffalo News to published short stories. she's doing this all whilst raising four children and regularly posting an illustrated blog.
accomplishment. pay-off. success.
a few weeks back a young woman and her friend were celebrating at the wine bar i work at. after ordering a second bottle of prosecco, my interest was peeked enough to ask, what's the deal? both women were infectiously giddy with happiness. they were people you'd easily become friends with at the gym or waiting in line at the grocery store.
"You're looking at," the one woman said, gesturing to her friend, "the new Editor-and-Chief of Vogue Latina."
it felt like a success for all of us because the woman was so...normal. wasn't success something that happened to other people? people i knew didn't appear in Broadway productions i wished i had a ticket for. they didn't write the books i read. or edit the magazines i saw in the stores.
or so i thought.
happily, i'm starting to get proven wrong. years of hard work, great ideas, and first attempts get rewarded in this real life. success happens. it does. so work hard, be patient, and celebrate other people's achievements when you see them because great things can and will happen to you, too.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
post-holiday crashing
i took my christmas tree down today. it took thirty seconds, spraying thirty thousand needles in the process.
okay, okay, so maybe this wasn't my tree. but all the same, that makes it pretty official over here. the holidays are over. (yes, my dad is still coming to visit and yes, i still have presents from my lil sis on the way, but just to make a more final sounding blog statement...)
the holidays are over.
and what's left in its place is a giant space where my tree and my pre-holiday life used to be. what did i do with all my time before i was shopping and planning and getting groceries and cleaning? if you know, please remind me, because at the moment it feels like a whole lot of nothing.
i'm pretty sure i can't be the only one feeling this way. so i've come up with a small list of ways to integrate more cheer into your non-holiday, post-holiday life.
1. find creative uses for the gifts you can't use, don't want, didn't ask for
pre-holiday's i decided to paint my living room. when the initial yellow wasn't the color i expected it to be, i returned to the local paint store and asked the uber-friendly and helpful *she says with dripping sarcasm* salesman if he could make my color a little closer to the next one up on the paint chip.
apparently, to his eye, this meant dark grey.
now i have exactly the color i want in my living room - thank you Lowes - and a beautiful grey wall in my bedroom. perhaps this doesn't seem totally related to my topic heading, but hey, i had a picture.
2. have an adventure in dining
when red-haired sis and i asked for an order of what the staff were eating at a chinese food restaurant recently, our waiter said "just a minute," ran over to the staff meal table and scooped a portion of greens from their dish onto a plate for us. it was the sweetest, luke-warm gesture ever. we giggled while we ate it.
3. travel somewhere unusual and bring back a memento
i'd been ottoman browsing on craigslist for a few weeks when i came upon this cute grey/green/blue guy (which matches nothing in my house). he was being sold out of a rehabbed furniture store on the fifth floor of a high rise in nyc. when i wasn't sure if this ottoman was the right color (it isn't), the man who owned the store asked if i'd like to see his other rooms. apparently, he kept expanding his business until it took up every other available office on the fifth floor. every door he opened was like looking into a secret bedroom. in one of them, a couple was practicing their wedding dance. strange. fun. and only $42.
toting my new purchase home on the subway was a little less thrilling.
4. rely on your friends
best thing to remember about the post-holiday blues? you can still see all the same family, friends and loved ones, it just doesn't have to be such a production. post-holiday recaps over tea and a gummy japanese pastry are the best thing ever for lifting the spirits.
and if none of that works?
5. leave out one holiday decoration and pretend it's art
remember, life pre-holidays was filled with cheer, too. only, it didn't come with gift anxieties and you had to be a little more creative making it.
okay, okay, so maybe this wasn't my tree. but all the same, that makes it pretty official over here. the holidays are over. (yes, my dad is still coming to visit and yes, i still have presents from my lil sis on the way, but just to make a more final sounding blog statement...)
the holidays are over.
and what's left in its place is a giant space where my tree and my pre-holiday life used to be. what did i do with all my time before i was shopping and planning and getting groceries and cleaning? if you know, please remind me, because at the moment it feels like a whole lot of nothing.
i'm pretty sure i can't be the only one feeling this way. so i've come up with a small list of ways to integrate more cheer into your non-holiday, post-holiday life.
1. find creative uses for the gifts you can't use, don't want, didn't ask for
pre-holiday's i decided to paint my living room. when the initial yellow wasn't the color i expected it to be, i returned to the local paint store and asked the uber-friendly and helpful *she says with dripping sarcasm* salesman if he could make my color a little closer to the next one up on the paint chip.
apparently, to his eye, this meant dark grey.
now i have exactly the color i want in my living room - thank you Lowes - and a beautiful grey wall in my bedroom. perhaps this doesn't seem totally related to my topic heading, but hey, i had a picture.
2. have an adventure in dining
when red-haired sis and i asked for an order of what the staff were eating at a chinese food restaurant recently, our waiter said "just a minute," ran over to the staff meal table and scooped a portion of greens from their dish onto a plate for us. it was the sweetest, luke-warm gesture ever. we giggled while we ate it.
3. travel somewhere unusual and bring back a memento
i'd been ottoman browsing on craigslist for a few weeks when i came upon this cute grey/green/blue guy (which matches nothing in my house). he was being sold out of a rehabbed furniture store on the fifth floor of a high rise in nyc. when i wasn't sure if this ottoman was the right color (it isn't), the man who owned the store asked if i'd like to see his other rooms. apparently, he kept expanding his business until it took up every other available office on the fifth floor. every door he opened was like looking into a secret bedroom. in one of them, a couple was practicing their wedding dance. strange. fun. and only $42.
toting my new purchase home on the subway was a little less thrilling.
4. rely on your friends
best thing to remember about the post-holiday blues? you can still see all the same family, friends and loved ones, it just doesn't have to be such a production. post-holiday recaps over tea and a gummy japanese pastry are the best thing ever for lifting the spirits.
and if none of that works?
5. leave out one holiday decoration and pretend it's art
remember, life pre-holidays was filled with cheer, too. only, it didn't come with gift anxieties and you had to be a little more creative making it.
Monday, January 2, 2012
a brand new 2012
a new years message from my mama. it was meant for me and my sister originally, but i thought it was a good benediction for all of us.
"Not just happy new year, but wishes for happiness all the time. I read your blog, Corrie, and the start of a year is a time for reflection, but why just one time of the year? Shouldn't we strive every day to live our best? So let's resolve to appreciate every day--its colors, its sounds, the kindnesses, the humor. Let's forget about fear. Let's treat ourselves to small pleasures. Let's try to relish every moment, and appreciate how very lucky we are to find ourselves in the places we are right now.
I wish the both of you great joy, contentment in your daily life, and the confidence to know that no matter what happens, you are deeply loved and supported. May the new year bring you all that your heart desires, with some added bonuses and surprises along the way. Oh, and wishes for good health, too.
2012 will be a great year for all of us cause we have the power within us to make it happen!"
"Not just happy new year, but wishes for happiness all the time. I read your blog, Corrie, and the start of a year is a time for reflection, but why just one time of the year? Shouldn't we strive every day to live our best? So let's resolve to appreciate every day--its colors, its sounds, the kindnesses, the humor. Let's forget about fear. Let's treat ourselves to small pleasures. Let's try to relish every moment, and appreciate how very lucky we are to find ourselves in the places we are right now.
I wish the both of you great joy, contentment in your daily life, and the confidence to know that no matter what happens, you are deeply loved and supported. May the new year bring you all that your heart desires, with some added bonuses and surprises along the way. Oh, and wishes for good health, too.
2012 will be a great year for all of us cause we have the power within us to make it happen!"
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