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NASA/JPL-Caltech
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on Mars the sunsets are blue. spacey!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
FB comes through
ah facebook. you lovely, awful part of today's existence.
yesterday, feeling antsy, i decided i'd set out and watch a little hockey at a bar. Rangers were playing Ottawa in Game Seven to decide who would win the first round of NHL playoffs. (i hope this isn't making it sound like i'm talking about the Stanley Cup Finals, 'cause i'm not. but if you follow hockey you know what i'm talking about and if you don't, well, you don't care anyway, so moving right along).
did i want to go to a bar to watch hockey? no. but when you don't have cable, sometimes you have to pay for that indulgence (yes, i think it's an indulgence not having cable) by drinking a beer you don't want in a public setting you aren't in the mood for or as in my case last night, dressed for.
five day dirty hair (yep. that's right. i said it. five days.) was perfectly complemented by sweats and slipper socks. stalling before i put on real clothes, i first checked facebook. my landlord/neighbor had posted "GO RANGERS" as her status.
a phone call later, i was on her couch. and solely thanks to facebook, i had great companionship, a doggie on my lap, hockey, and beer all whilst sweats and slipper socks remained intact. granted, i still had on a hat to cover up my nasty hair, but come on, that's just politeness.
it was a marvelous evening.
today, FB led me to a little Friday inspiration when it told me that a friend of a friend read an article on the UK's Guardian website that listed the five most common regrets of the dying as observed and written down by a palliative care nurse. who knew that friend of a friend was up to such a thing? well me, and now you. so thanks FB.
happy friday all, now go have a little fun...before it's too late. whoops, sorry. that's grim. but seriously, have fun this weekend, while you still can.
(for the whole article follow the hyper-link, otherwise, and i'm sure i'm infringing on copyrights somewhere, the good stuff is pasted below.)
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
"Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."
yesterday, feeling antsy, i decided i'd set out and watch a little hockey at a bar. Rangers were playing Ottawa in Game Seven to decide who would win the first round of NHL playoffs. (i hope this isn't making it sound like i'm talking about the Stanley Cup Finals, 'cause i'm not. but if you follow hockey you know what i'm talking about and if you don't, well, you don't care anyway, so moving right along).
did i want to go to a bar to watch hockey? no. but when you don't have cable, sometimes you have to pay for that indulgence (yes, i think it's an indulgence not having cable) by drinking a beer you don't want in a public setting you aren't in the mood for or as in my case last night, dressed for.
five day dirty hair (yep. that's right. i said it. five days.) was perfectly complemented by sweats and slipper socks. stalling before i put on real clothes, i first checked facebook. my landlord/neighbor had posted "GO RANGERS" as her status.
a phone call later, i was on her couch. and solely thanks to facebook, i had great companionship, a doggie on my lap, hockey, and beer all whilst sweats and slipper socks remained intact. granted, i still had on a hat to cover up my nasty hair, but come on, that's just politeness.
it was a marvelous evening.
today, FB led me to a little Friday inspiration when it told me that a friend of a friend read an article on the UK's Guardian website that listed the five most common regrets of the dying as observed and written down by a palliative care nurse. who knew that friend of a friend was up to such a thing? well me, and now you. so thanks FB.
happy friday all, now go have a little fun...before it's too late. whoops, sorry. that's grim. but seriously, have fun this weekend, while you still can.
(for the whole article follow the hyper-link, otherwise, and i'm sure i'm infringing on copyrights somewhere, the good stuff is pasted below.)
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
"Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."
Monday, April 23, 2012
carrying the weight of the World
it's World Book Night!
for a quick recap: World Book Night began in Ireland and England where free books are given away to non-readers to encourage reading. this is it's inaugural year in the States. as you might remember, i'm giving away The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak:
as you can tell, the books are specially printed by World Book Night. they have no upc's and publishers and authors waive their royalty fees. it's a pretty incredible event.
i picked my box of books up from The Community Bookstore in Park Slope. they were (in the top ten or) the tenth biggest pick-up site in the country. for a WBN kick-off, author Nicole Krauss read from History of Love, one of the 30 books being given away today. see that tiny head below? Nicole Krauss.
for a quick recap: World Book Night began in Ireland and England where free books are given away to non-readers to encourage reading. this is it's inaugural year in the States. as you might remember, i'm giving away The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak:
as you can tell, the books are specially printed by World Book Night. they have no upc's and publishers and authors waive their royalty fees. it's a pretty incredible event.
i picked my box of books up from The Community Bookstore in Park Slope. they were (in the top ten or) the tenth biggest pick-up site in the country. for a WBN kick-off, author Nicole Krauss read from History of Love, one of the 30 books being given away today. see that tiny head below? Nicole Krauss.
all pretty amazing, no? yes.
except the part where you have to carry around all these books. now, me being me, i thought The (fabulous) Community Bookstore was in a different spot. (big supporter, eh? well i know where all my libraries are). the spot i imagined it lived was 12 streets closer to my house. which meant, the day i picked up my books and saw Nicole Krauss read (fyi her head is not tiny, it's lovely, i was simply far away and am a bad photographer) i slogged through Brooklyn much further than i would have ever wanted with forty pounds of books. (yes, yes i could have called a car service, but i was going to dance class first which is partway between home and the bookstore...too much whiny information, i know).
anyway, onward. i've decided to give half the books to Apple Arts which is an amazing organization that provides after-school arts programming to children living in homeless shelters.
Apple Arts is going to do a book club with their books. (they're also in the midst of a big fundraising campaign so they can keep the program going over the summer. they're looking for people to contribute as little as $2.)
disclosure: i know the director of Apple Arts. and we agreed that my restaurant would be a great place to hand-off the books. which meant, another 20 blocks hauling, this time, 20 pounds of books.
why didn't i take the train? my back is still asking me the same thing.
today will be the end of it. slogging only 15 blocks this time, i will deliver a surprise to 826NYC's after-school program, a place i used to volunteer and a huge supporter of reading and getting other people to read.
this was a great event. World Book Night is a writer and reader's dream, actually. our Earth Day, Mother's Day and Cinco De Mayo rolled into one. i'm totally doing it again next year.
i'll just pick a lighter book.
Friday, April 20, 2012
go ahead, reap the rewards
did you know it's National Volunteer Week?
t'is true.
which is funny, because i didn't know, but i just so happened to volunteer yesterday.
the past week or two i could feel myself getting a little stuck in my head. there's been some waiting going on in my life. and that mixed with a very wide open couple of days off? i needed to get out and quick. i chose a transitional family shelter in the Bronx, or more accurately, a dance class for kids at a transitional family shelter in the Bronx.
yes!
the class only lasted an hour. we played dance Simon Says, that game where you dance dance dance then someone shuts the music off and everyone freezes, and we learned a short routine. i'm telling you, volunteering? best mood enhancer ever. the kids were freakin' adorable, everyone had fun, and an hour later, i was back on the train - smiling.
in my experience (and i'm sure this ain't no original statement), the funny thing about volunteering is that you're supposedly helping others, but it feels like you're the one who benefits the greatest.
i felt the effects all night. back home, i happily hunkered down to work. for whatever reason, i began reading one of my new work-in-progresses aloud...in an english accent... and i totally fell in love with the piece. this forty pages with no foreseeable plot will be the best book ever!
when i hit the showers a while later, instead of squealing and squashing it, i instead gently trapped this spider with the huge egg sack attached to it's back, and released it outside.
t'is true.
which is funny, because i didn't know, but i just so happened to volunteer yesterday.
the past week or two i could feel myself getting a little stuck in my head. there's been some waiting going on in my life. and that mixed with a very wide open couple of days off? i needed to get out and quick. i chose a transitional family shelter in the Bronx, or more accurately, a dance class for kids at a transitional family shelter in the Bronx.
yes!
the class only lasted an hour. we played dance Simon Says, that game where you dance dance dance then someone shuts the music off and everyone freezes, and we learned a short routine. i'm telling you, volunteering? best mood enhancer ever. the kids were freakin' adorable, everyone had fun, and an hour later, i was back on the train - smiling.
in my experience (and i'm sure this ain't no original statement), the funny thing about volunteering is that you're supposedly helping others, but it feels like you're the one who benefits the greatest.
i felt the effects all night. back home, i happily hunkered down to work. for whatever reason, i began reading one of my new work-in-progresses aloud...in an english accent... and i totally fell in love with the piece. this forty pages with no foreseeable plot will be the best book ever!
when i hit the showers a while later, instead of squealing and squashing it, i instead gently trapped this spider with the huge egg sack attached to it's back, and released it outside.
 |
| see the round ball thing? egg sack. i know! it's not like i enjoyed taking this picture. |
last week, i yet again saw Kanye West at ABC Kitchen. this time he wasn't with Jay Z. he was with Kim Kardashian. (i'm so clueless i had no idea it was her, just that she was a pretty lady who put a TON of effort into going to lunch. i could see her makeup from across the room. and how did she get her hair like that?). anyway, seeing Kanye brought on similar invincible emotions that volunteering did. i left ABC Kitchen feeling like one day, Kanye and i would do an anti-bullying campaign together. who knows.
why not think that my current work in progress will be the best book in the world? why not think i might one day work with Kanye West? kids at a family homeless shelter dance and laugh and go on (i'm sure) to do great things. it's all possible.
erm, i got off track. did you know it's National Volunteer Week. so at least, like, hold a door for someone. i promise, you'll feel the effects.
this one's for that little boy who willingly did the robot with me yesterday. oh, and you too Kanye. my people will be in touch with your people (in a couple of years or so).
happy friday, ya'll!
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