October 6, 2010 - So bullying and cyber bullying has been front and center in the news lately due to a spate of suicides and number of new campaigns to draw awareness to this issue. The comments to the articles I've read seem to come down to three basic camps: the "parents should step in and solve the problem" camp, the "kids should grow a pair and learn to solve their own problems" camp, and the "kids should give it a try, but definitely reach out for help if the situation is not improving" camp
I think fall somewhere in the last camp, myself. However in all of the articles I've read, something disturbing seems to be missing. The experts say that technology makes it easy to disassociate the effects of our actions from the action itself (the example used was "I kill people in video games and nothing bad happens in real life") and the focus has been on trying to draw a correlation between the action and the effect in the real world. The question I feel like is being ignored is this:
Why aren't people teaching their children to have respect for themselves and others at all times and not just when they are face to face? I understand that children have brains that aren't fully developed and that the connection to cause and effect isn't always there, but what happened to "treat people how you want them to treat you"? Maybe if this was the lesson we were teaching school children, instead of trying to reason with them about how their actions have effects on others that they might not understand (or indeed have any way to control), we should be teaching them how to comport themselves with more dignity and respect in all aspects of their daily lives.
Just something I've been thinking about this week. Have a good one!
Bullying In The News
Update Central!
March 23, 2010 – Update central!
· Justin
Things are going very well! So well in fact that we moved in together at the beginning of March. We’re still working on getting the two apartments crammed into one apartment that we can actually live in, but so far the process has been successful and the end is finally in sight. I don’t think Justin shares my goal of having a working guest bedroom in time for the next houseguest we have, but I think we will probably be able to work something out.
· Avon Walk
My mother is walking with me this year! I’m very excited about that and I’m looking forward to getting to spend the time with her. She’s started a blog to keep updates on her training walks: www.nancysnewyorkwalk.blogspot.com We’ve got to raise $3,600.00 between us, so place feel free to click the link at the top of the page and donate. We appreciate any help you can give and there might be prizes…
· Theatre
Intimate Apparel was fun and a great experience. We go to meet the playwright, Lynn Nottage, when she came to see our show. That was very exciting. More importantly, my dad and Richard got to see it, my mom got to see it and Andy got to see it. I don’t think that many important people (to me anyway) have made it to see one of my shows in….well…ever. The downside is that I don’t think I will be doing much if any theatre any more. Stuff happens here in the fall and winter and that is when things at work are super busy and I need to focus on the stuff that actually pays me because…well, I like buying shoes and I need money to continue doing that.
· Work
Has been absolutely crazy. I worked 11 hours days a couple of times a week for a while there and that was rough. I did finally get an office and that has helped with actually pushing through projects and getting them done during normal business hours instead of having to stay late to avoid getting interrupted. We are opening our third office in San Francisco next Thursday. The anniversary of the company and my anniversary with the company is next Friday. After three years we have three offices in 3 cities, we went from 3 people to 15 people (tripling our staff) and our revenue is on track to triple as well. That’s a pretty major accomplishment for us and we are completely awesome!
· Vacation
I have no idea what this is although the concept sounds good.
· Birthday
Coming up soon – faster than I expected. Dallas will be in visiting from her world travels and that will be nice to catch up with her – hopefully we’ll have a bed for her to sleep in. Donations to the AVON walk on behalf of my birthday will be met with cookies, contact me for details!
Still here and busy as ever!
October 27, 2009 - I'm still here and busy as ever. I realize I haven't updated since August and for good reason, I swear.
- His name is Justin and he's awesome!
So, I met a new guy and he's wonderful. Very different from my normal type in that he's actually available (emotionally and literally), wants to spend time with me and thinks I'm the best thing since sliced bread. It's fantastic. He is also letting me help him redecorate his apartment, which is great because I'm out of projects in my own apartment and I was looking for some new stuff. He's hating the whole "theatre" thing because he doesn't understand it, but he's trying to be supportive and I give him big points for that.
- I went to ATL to visit my dad.
It was fun, I'm going back for the holidays, he's coming here to see my play in two weeks.
- I was asked to be in a play.
I didn't have to audition or anything. They heard I could speak the good English and that I looked good in a corset. It is called Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage and it is at The Heights Players. It opens November 6. I haven't been in a (non-musical) play in 10 or 12 years, so this has certainly been an interesting experience.
- Avon Breast Cancer Walk 2009
I came, I walked, I raised $2000 with the help of some wonderful friends, family and donors. Thank you to everyone who supported me and to Martha for walking with me! 39.3 miles which is over 40 by the time you factor in all the walking at the Wellness Village and the two blocks you have to walk to get your bag when the thing is over. When I finished, I went home, showered and put on boots with three inch heels to go out to dinner, so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself this year. No butt scoots up the stairs for me this year!
- Work has exploded all over every thing.
I swear I've worked through lunch and late almost every day for the last 5 weeks. Our CA office just opened, we're in the middle of doing 2010 forecasting and deciding where our next office will be. At least the NY office is not moving again until at least 2011 - 3 moves in one year was enough for me!
- I went to Maine for a long weekend.
Acadia National Park. We hiked/climbed precipice peak. We rock . It was freezing and Justin kept insisting we get up to watch the sunrise. I got to see some lovely fall color, though and there is a fantastic picture of the back of my head (my pic tails were darn near perfect that day), which I will post if he ever sends them to me. I did twist my ankle coming down the easy trail, though and that's been acting up but all in all, I'm still impressed with me.
My show opens next Friday, my dad is in town the following weekend, my mother is in town the weekend after that for Thanksgiving week, a week or so after that my friend Dallas comes back from her European travels and four days after that I'm in Atlanta for the holidays. Where is all this time going?!?
Can't Believe I forgot...
Don't know that anyone else really cares, but when I mentioned my weight loss a couple of weeks ago, I forgot to mention that I also cut about 13" of hair off. My hair went from being middle of my back, almost to my waist long to being about an inch below my ears long.
It was somewhat drastic, a little impulsive and traumatic. I donated my ponytail to Locks of Love. I'm having dinner with Bruce tonight and he has no idea that I cut my hair (even thought I did it two months ago and he's scheduled dinner and cancelled it like six times since then). That should be fun and interesting!
Day 3 - 7 and then some
August 19, 2009 - The rest of my eating at home experiment didn't turn out the way I thought it would and I'm confused as to whether it was a success or a failure, so I'm going to call it a draw. On Wednesday I had a date and on Saturday I had a date (both with a new gentleman that we are calling Other Justin so as to avoid confusion between him and our friend Justin), so I ate out, but I didn't pay for it, so does that count or not count? Other than that, I bought lunch one day and everything else I ate at home, which is why I am declaring it a draw. If anyone wants to argue with me, please leave your argument in the comments section.
Tomorrow we have the company boat party which will entail me spending 8 hours on a boat with the guys from our offices (both NY & CA) drinking beer before taking a car to the airport and getting on an airplane to go visit my dad for a couple of days. Anyone in the ATL area, we are having a pool party on Saturday! A super huge shout out to my friend Liz who is staying at my apartment and watching my cat for me while I am away. I really, really appreciate it.
In other news I am still trying to fund raise for my Avon Breast cancer walk. I need to raise a bit over $1200 in less than 60 days, so if anyone wants to contribute, there is a link on the left hand side of the screen. Every little bit helps! If everyone who reads this blog donated $5 - well, I'd probably have $5, but it would still help!
Other than that, I am ready for my nap now and I cannot wait to go home and pack for my trip. See you next week!
Day 2: Iffy but okay...
August 12, 2009 - So yesterday I ended up running out and grabbing something to bring back to my desk but other than that everything else was eaten at home. The grilled shrimp I made on Monday night was even better as chilled leftovers than it was originally (note to self - grill and chill that stuff in the summer time, it makes the warm apartment seem cooler for a moment). I was reading an article yesterday about how keeping your apartment a little warmer in the summer and a little cooler in the winter (besides being good for the environment and your energy bills) could also help you lose weight because the slight discomfort of temperature makes you not want to eat. I don't know if that is really true and I can't remember where I saw that article, but I would be curious to know if other people find this to be the case. Happy Wednesday!
Day 1: Eating at home.
August 10, 2009 - Day 1 of eating at home is going very well. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner all at home. For breakfast I had a cinnamon raisin mini-bagel with butter, for lunch I had tomato basil tuna on whole wheat crackers and for dinner I had shrimp kabobs marinated in lemon and thyme with panini bread and olives and for desert I am having champagne sorbet with raspberries. I went to Whole Foods after work and stocked up on enough food to feed a small country. I could probably keep all of Brooklyn in fruit for a week. No reason not to eat at home now, though. Woo-hoo!
Eating At Home vs. Eating Out (which is EVIL)
August 6, 2009 – Since my birthday I’ve been making a concerted effort to get my financial house (so to speak) in order. I’ve started putting money into saving every month and watching my spending. By and large, I’ve been pretty successful. The one place where I have consistently and predictably fallen short is eating out. In New York it is easier to eat out than it is to buy groceries and eat at home. Here are my theories on why this is:
- No car: You have to carry everything and/or take an unwieldy and completely ugly cart.
- Time: It is hard to find everything at one grocery store (we don’t have a whole bunch of large grocery stores here unless you are lucky enough to live near one of the Whole Foods or Traders Joes, which I don’t), so you end up having a lot of specialty shops. I have a little grocery store near my house that is okay for basics, but you don’t really want to buy meat of any kind there and you have to check the dates on everything or there is a good chance you’ll go home with milk that is so old it’s practically cottage cheese.
- Time Part II: Once you get home, the last thing you want to do is prep and cook a meal, and here since they deliver EVERYTHING it’s even easier to justify ordering in.
- Climate Control: There are certain things you just can’t make in NYC in the summer time if you live in an apartment without central AC. This includes many baked goods, breads and pastas, and more.
However, I eat more healthy foods when I eat at home and I really actually enjoy cooking, so this needs to change. This weekend, I am going to sit down and plan out meals for the next couple of weeks and try and eat at home AND take my lunch to work at least 5 out of 7 days per week. I will chronicle that here so that someone (anyone?) can see how I’m doing with this. I will attempt to update this on Sunday, August 8, 2009 with my menu for next week. I will be taking a brief hiatus from this experiment on August 21 – 25, 2009 when I go visit my dad (also, if anyone knows someone who wants to feed my cat while I’m gone, that would be great!).
I'm not dead!
July 14, 2009 - I'm not actually dead, although I know lack of any communication with the outside world may lead you to believe that I was. In actuality, it's been a crazy and ultimately good couple of months. I lost 17+ pounds, finished working on the show, Bruce and I decided to part ways, mom came to visit, Dallas and Randy stopped back in the states for a bit, and I dog sat for my boss' dog.
I will attempt to fill in the glaring holes in time, but I can't necessarily do that now, I just wanted to say that at the moment, things are pretty good. Have a great day!
I Love My Local Bar
So, one of the best things about living where I live is the local bar.
Everyone that goes there is local and most of them have been around
for decades. Everyone knows everythig about everyone and you can order
Chinese food directly into the bar and eat it with your beer (in fact
it was one of the bar tenders that turned me on to the best Chinese
food place in my neighborhood). It is very Cheers-like on that
everyone knows your name (and everything else about you).
Sent from my mobile command center.
Please let me know what you think...
April 29, 2009 - So I've been having the thought lately that I "need" a logo - a personal brand - so that when I make home/hand made gifts and things like that I can include a tag or a card that has personal meaning to me. However I'm having a lot of trouble thinking of what that logo should be. So I'm taking suggestions. Please leave your comments (if you want or e-mail me directly) - what would your personal brand or logo be and if you were to recommend one for me, what would it be?
