Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Best of 2010

So for the entire month of December I have been struggling with finding the best way to make a "Christmas card" that sums up the year of 2010. I considered: writing something in MS Word and mailing it out to everyone, shutterfly photo slide-show, FB status- year in review... and finally decided blogger is the best place.

As the year draws to a close, it's hard to believe how much has happened in a such a short time. Here is a little summary of some of my favorite and life changing memories of 2010...



Christmas and New Years with Zach



-My first house with great roommates! Molly (roomie for 4 years), Christie (newly found friend from CO), Erika (childhood friend), and Sarah (friend since freshman year).



Orlando, FL- Spring Break with the roomies and Dad+Diane




I turned 21 (the same weekend as Sarah)




Got dumped for the first time... Some loves, even great ones, don't last.




Jenna Graduated!




Said good-bye to a friend...




...Said goodbye to my Grandfather. I miss you.




...Said good-bye to a place we love (Cabin in Escanaba, MI)




Celebrated Molly's 21st birthday on a party bus!



Got a new roommate named Eloise (meow)



Joined 10,000 people dressed as Zombies for a pub-crawl



Got a tattoo to commemorate family.


Got a job for after graduation.



That's my 2010 in a nutshell... I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring!


6 Billion Others


I first heard about this initiative this summer... and I think it's fantastic! It focuses on exploring the differences and similarities of people around the world. The similarities link us together in ways we never thought possible and makes the world seem all that much smaller. The differences, aren't that many, and make it obvious that someone across the world isn't really all that different from yourself... they have the same hopes and dreams, worries and sorrows, and its these things that we share unite us.

6 Billion Others is not a geopolitical study, nor is it a work of sociology. It is a perspective on humanity, a collection of human stories. Stories of fears, joys, and dreams, which make up our common Story. Bearing witness to the diversity of mankind, we wish to show that difference does not exclude understanding: on the contrary, it is necessary for the survival of the world as we know it. To understand each other so we can work together to preserve and make our world a better place.

Innocence and Imagination


One of the full-time workers had brought her daughter to work with her today (a half-day), and while I was sitting at the desk, I got to witness the magical and engaging spirit of innocence and imagination that only children can have. They sat in the coffee shop for 15 minutes as this little girl invented and acted out a story of her own making. She started to draw a crowd, as women gathered round to watch this child's imagination become a reality.

As her story ended and the crowd dispersed her mom said, "Time to go."

The little girl replied with a question, "Where? Where are we going?"

To that her mother replied, "To the magical forest in the parking garage. Do you want to go on an adventure?"

And the little girl excitedly replies, "Yes! Yes! I want to go! Follow ME!" as she marched towards the door.

And the mother said, "Wait for me. Do you want to take the magic staircase or the magic elevator?"

Decidedly, she answers, "The magic staircase!" And they walk away...

This made my day, and reminded me of a simpler time when everything in life was an adventure, and even the simplest things were magical and came to life. I hope one day I will get to experience this again through the eyes of a child.

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Power of Three



The power of three. Three is a mystical number that shows up repeatedly in mythology: three fates, three muses, three graces. Three is a prime component of fairy tales: three wishes, three little pigs, three bears. Three creates a series, a pattern of cause and effect. Three is a basic structure of life: carbohydrates, protein, fat; electron, proton, neutron; past, present, future. And it is a basic structure of stories: beginning, middle, end. Schoolhouse rock even claims that "3 is a magic number"

In my life, 3 definitely is a magic number. I have two siblings, and together we make three. We have always been very different, but have remained close. After the divorce it became even more important that we become that glue that holds the family together. No one could change that, not divorce, not distance, not time. We we would always be family, three as one.

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet. ~Vietnamese Proverb

With an emphasis on the feet. So for 4 years now I have been searching for a way to express this, something permanent, that would forever remind me of the roots, love and support I have from them. My first idea was of getting the Gaelic word for family "taeglach"... but I decided that I didn't want something that I couldn't even pronounce. My next idea, was an ambigram (a word or name written so it reads in more than one way), but in order for it to be legible, it would need to be quite large... and I wasn't sure how big I wanted it. So finally, I found something that not only could symbolize my Irish heritage, but also my relationship with my siblings, and the importance of family: the Triquetra (a.k.a Trinity knot)

A widely recognized knot for the past two centuries, the Triquetra has been used as a sign of special things and people that are threefold, such as Mother, Daughter, Grandmother- the Trinity of soul, physical, mental and spiritual- and especially the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is uncertain what the symbol truly meant to the ancient Celts, but I know what it means to me. I wanted to get in on my foot to remind myself of my roots, to stay grounded, and true to myself and where I come from.



"Sibling relationships outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust."
~Erica E. Goode, "The Secret World of Siblings," U.S. News & World Report, 10 January 1994



Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard

Friday, December 10, 2010

Just Haven't met you yet...


I'm not surprised, not everything lasts
I've broken my heart so many times, I stopped keeping track
Talk myself in, I talk myself out
I get all worked up, then I let myself down

I tried so very hard not to lose it
I came up with a million excuses
I thought, I thought of every possibility

And I know someday that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

I might have to wait, I'll never give up
I guess it's half timing, and the other half's luck
Wherever you are, whenever it's right
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life

And I know that we can be so amazing
And, baby, your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every possibility

And somehow I know that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

They say all's fair
In love and war
But I won't need to fight it
We'll get it right and we'll be united

And I know that we can be so amazing
And being in your life is gonna change me
And now I can see every single possibility

And someday I know it'll all turn out
And I'll work to work it out
Promise you, kid, I'll give more than I get
Than I get, than I get, than I get

Oh, you know it'll all turn out
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you kid to give so much more than I get
Yeah, I just haven't met you yet

I just haven't met you yet
Oh, promise you, kid
To give so much more than I get

I said love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love
(I just haven't met you yet)
Love, love, love, love
Love, love
I just haven't met you yet

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

TOMS


I wanted to dedicate this post to a company that started with one man, an inspiration to help children in need, and it's amazing journey since then...

TOMS shoes and the One for One Movement:
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.

Check out the video to get the whole story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKhV9kpGM-k&feature=player_embedded


TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we're all about. The TOMS mission transforms our customers into benefactors, which allows us to grow a truly sustainable business rather than depending on fundraising for support.

Want to get involved? You can look for TOMS shoes online at www.toms.com or head to your local Nordstroms. If you still want to get involved, consider participating in One Day Without Shoes. This event is meant to help raise awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life by going without shoes on April 5, 2011. Over 250,000 people went without shoes in 2010 and over 1,600 events took place around the globe! It was incredible... Now's your chance to make an impact.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Case of the Mondays... In a daze


Have you ever had one of those Mondays where you just go through the motions? You're not paying attention to what you're doing, but somehow everything gets done? This was the case for me today... especially at work.

My job at the library is repetitive. I sit at the desk for the first 3 hours (usually working on homework). The next hour and a half I am in the stacks looking for books that staff or students have requested. While searching on the 4th floor, I decided to stop and use the restroom. Normally this wouldn't be news worthy... but today it definitely is.

In my daze of going through the motions, I head in the second door on the left. As I walked in I thought to myself, "Oh this is a small bathroom, there are only two stalls" but didn't think anything further as I head to the open stall. It wasn't until I exit the stall to wash my hands that I see it... the urinal. I frantically wash my hands as I hear the other "person" (what I had thought must be a woman... I was starting to think otherwise) was exiting their stall. I turned my back just in time so he wouldn't see my face... As I exited the bathroom, the sign on the door confirmed what I had feared. In my dazed state I had opted to use the Men's restroom.

Needless to say, that guy was either thinking "That's a weird looking fellow wearing tight jeans and a pony tail" or "What the hell is she doing in here"?! Looks like today was a bad case of the Mondays. Needless to say, next time I will be more careful!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Done looking into the past

I am done looking into the past, a past that brings too much pain. The only way to move forward is to not look back, not to wonder, and not to care. Look to the future. It's not about where you've been, its about where you're going. Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.