“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” –Aesop
I attended a fundraiser last night for an amazing school in Crown Heights. Brooklyn Jesuit Prep has fought to keep its doors open for the past 10 years, based solely on the fundraising efforts of Principal, Brian Chap, and the President Patricia Guavey, who happens to be a close family friend. She is tirelessly devoted to this amazing school and her hard work and dedication are really inspiring. Please consider making a donation, and spreading the word! No donation is too small, even $1.00 makes a difference, and can help to keep the doors open.
Check out my handmade pillows on Etsy. When life is a little boring, or off track, or whatever the case may be, I’ve always found the best course of action is to keep you hands busy. So busted out my sewing machine that I’ve had since 6th grade (I’m 24 now), and start making things. It’s very rewarding to to create something from scratch.
So if you’re in the market for some, fun, whimsical, colorful, and fun pillows check out my shop, and pass it along!
When I meet people who do not love music it blows my mind, every time. We’ve all met those people who say they just “aren’t that into music,” or that they will “listen to anything.” This is insane to me. People that do not have some sort of deep connection or opinion about music are like aliens to me.
Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve devoted pretty much my entire life to the arts, in one form or another. And after much careful consideration (which perhaps is a bit odd), I’ve come to the conclusion that if I had to choose between the visual arts and music I know what my choice would be. By this I mean, if I had to decide which one to live without for the rest of my life. I would have to choose music. I actually can’t remember a day when I didn’t listen to music at some point. The thought is insane to me.
Music is what has gotten me though some of the hardest times in my life, and also the thing I turn to when I’m happy or excited to help me celebrate. Not in a conscious manner of course, but you know when you get excited or sad you fall into certain routines. Well for me, the routine always involves a ‘playist switch-up.’ It wasn’t until recent years that I discovered that not everyone does this. I honestly thought this was the norm, that there wasn’t a single person on the planet that wasn’t really passionate about some kind of music. I mean one of our most basic human instincts is to make music; it’s one of the first things we created after all.
Concerts are also one of my favorite things, although I don’t frequent them enough. What’s better than being in a place with a bunch of people that love a band just as much as you do? The energy is amazing. There’s also something really raw and incredible about someone getting up on stage with nothing but their instrument and voice and making something beautiful happen. I got to see The Damnwells for the first time this past winter and is was so awesome. Can’t wait to see them again, and a long list of others. I’m missing the Kevin Devine show this weekend, which I’m really sad about, but he is certainly on my list as well. If these names are foreign to you, it’s time to get on that, seriously.
So my point here, and I do have one, is that I can’t live without music, not even for one day, and people that can make me very confused and kind of sad. To each his own I suppose, but I’ll pass on your company.
I’d also like to add that I played an instrument for 9 years, so this is a deep and profound love for something, not just a passing fancy or declarative statement with no bones to back it up.
So it seems that tonight is chick flick night on TV. I’m not a tremendous fan of most chick flicks, in fact I haven’t seen most of the classics of the genre, but I do appreciate a few. Anyhow, The Notebook was on tonight, and while it is rather far-fetched in many respects ( I mean come on it is adapted from a Nicholas Sparks book) it does have some sort of touching lines. I like this one, from the beginning of the movie, in particular:
Noah: I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.
It’s just sweet. And also kind of amazing, if nothing else would be needed to satisfy someone for a lifetime. That’s all.
So in the midst of this ‘humidity wave’ I find that I am getting really irritated with condensation. Now I realize this is irrational, because it’s basic elementary school science and cannot be helped. However, that does not mean it’s not bothersome. Let’s be honest, how annoying is it to pick up your nice cold glass of water (or whatever), take a refreshing gulp, and then find that the front of your shirt is all wet from the pool of water that was sitting under your glass. Ugh.
Not to mention that it makes the glass stick to coasters. I can’t count the times that I’ve picked up a glass, started walking away, then clonk–coasters all over the place. I once made it from my basement to my bedroom with a coaster in tow. A small annoyance, but obnoxious nonetheless. Not to mention that it also ruins coasters. I have these adorable coasters that I brought back from Paris and this damned condensation is making them peel, womp womp. Oh well, c’est la vie! Anyway it will be winter soon and this problem will dissipate, for a few months anyhow.
One of my very favorite things about the summer is crisp summer nights outside (with the proper bug spray application of course). Sometimes the days are so sweltering and hot and there is nothing nicer than going outside after dinner when the sun has set and the heat is fading. My favorite season is Fall, and my favorite thing is that first day when you can feel the weather change, and on those sumer nights it’s like a preview of the relief to come. I wish it could be Fall all year. One of my favorite things is going out in the summer, than walking home lat at night when its so quiet and beautiful out. It’s pretty amazing. I came across this exact sentiment on a blog I frequent: http://1000awesomethings.com/2011/09/01/166-midnight-summer-walks/
It’s now officially Fall and I can feel the summer weather starting to wind down, and I’m certainly looking forward to apple picking, and pumpkin flavored things, and wearing all my fun Fall clothes, but I’m sad the summer is over. Things will be so different now, maybe everything. When summer ends there is a palpable shift in the air, you can feel it in people’s attitudes, more so that with an other season. It changes people. Perhaps we feel there is more possibility in that fleeting season, where the days seem to last forever, and the nights seem to hold endless possibilities. I’m not sure why this is, but people always expect summer to be so amazing. I guess it’s because that’s what summer was when we were children. Three months of no school and no homework, just waking up whenever we wanted, playing games all day, chasing down the ice cream truck, swimming, going to the beach, and so much more. It seemed like everyday was fun. I guess we never really let go trying to recreate that feeling, perhaps long into adulthood. I used to love playing basketball once the sun went down because we could play for hours in the night air. And now that I’m no longer a child I guess I replaced late night basketball with late night walks outside, and conversations over beers or ice cream (depending on the night).
Well, the summer’s over now, so I guess it’s time to let go and enjoy what comes next. But, there’s always next summer.
Anything in life that goes unexplained is extremely frustrating. Okay maybe this isn’t a universal sentiment, but it’s how I feel. When something happens and I can’t figure out a rational, reasonable, or plausible explanation why, it drives me insane. And I’m not just talking about, serious, important things in my life. This applies to just about anything. One of the less important things that makes me nuts is what I call “the unexplained traffic jam.” Traffic sucks. Well okay, sometimes I must admit I don’t mind it that much. I turn up the music and sing along, as if I can actually sing–can be good times. However, most often traffic is maddening to all of us. Everyone has always got someplace to be, and it seems they need to get there as quickly as possible. In the Shawshank Redemption, the character of Brooks Hatlen said: “The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.” Well, he was quite right. We are always rushing around these days, but I won’t get sidetracked with that problem (maybe in another post).
So, my point is that traffic seems like a real burden. And even if we don’t have anywhere to be in particular, being stuck in a car not living life, sort of being stuck in between is annoying, and a waste. Now a lot of times you sit in traffic, and eventually you come up to an accident or a disabled vehicle, and you look out and see open road stretched out before you. Such a great feeling to make that final manuever and press the accelerator. However, a lot of times there is no explanation. You crawl and crawl through traffic for miles, and then all of a sudden, for no apparent or obvious reason, the traffic dissipates. It’s as if the road got bigger to accommodate more cars, or some cars magically disappeared. Clearly, this is not the case. The most plausible explanation is that there is an excess of cars on the road, and one or more of those cars, in the front of the pack, are merely going too slow. And by doing so they create a horrific domino effect on the traffic pattern. Perhaps this isn’t true at all; it may be a ridiculously simplified explanation, but if anyone has a better one I’d like to hear it.
The second most annoying cause of traffic is rubbernecking. Why, why do people do this? For anyone that doesn’t know, rubbernecking is when you slow down your car as you pass an accident so that you can be nosy and see the wreckage. Now generally this effects the other side of the highway, because if its on your side you probably have to slow down to merge and get around it. However people slow down a bit too much in my opinion. Why are we so interested in other people’s misfortunes? Very strange. It’s irritating, but I still maintain that the “unexplained traffic jam” is more frustrating, because rubbernecking is caused by humans beings natural curiosity ( and the stupid tendency to need to know everything about everyone all the time, see facebook). It bother’s me less, even though nosiness is annoying, because there’s a clear cut cause and effect scenario with it, whereas the other remains a mystery. Whoever said what you don’t know can’t hurt you was a complete idiot.
“Did you say it? ‘I love you. I don’t ever want to live without you. You changed my life.’ Did you say it? Make a plan. Set a goal. Work toward it, but every now and then, look around; Drink it in ’cause this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow.”
Life moves so fast, and things can change in an instant. So maybe it’s not even advisable to be a ‘planner.’ I’ve always liked to know things ahead of time, get things done early, and know where I’m going to be and what I’m going to be doing in advance. My former stepdad used to call me Dinkins after the former mayor of New York City, because he said I always had to know everything and was always asking a million questions. I guess most politicians are like that. Anyway, I’m starting to think that perhaps living in the moment, for the most part anyway, is the better route. When you make plans and things don’t work out its generally very disappointing. Now this can be anything; it can be a small thing like a dinner with friends or something big like an engagement/wedding (I mean obviously planning has to go into this but you get my point)
The thing is people are strange creatures. We can never really predict what someone else is going to do, or what they may be thinking. And sadly most people are liars, so believing people’s word can be risky at best. I think it was Bob Dylan who said: “Most people don’t do the right thing. They do what’s convenient, then repent.” Something like that anyway.
My point is perhaps the best any of us can do is enjoy each moment of our lives as it comes. And not try to plan for future happiness or contentment, because I’ve come to realize that it’s when I start making plans that I usually find myself the most hurt or disappointed in the end. One way or another. Perhaps the best thing we can do is enjoy the happy moments as they come, and then when they pass (as they inevitably do) look forward to the next one. But who knows maybe people can’t change, maybe we’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes our whole lives. Maybe I will always be a ‘planner.’
Let’s talk about the ‘check-out’ experience, i.e. paying for products and or services at a register at the end of a transaction of sorts. These days I often pay for things with my debit/credit card so this isn’t a problem most of the time. However, when I do pay for things with cash I get annoyed every single time. Why is it that the person giving you your change always hands you your recipe then tries to put the change in your hand on top of the receipt? This often results in the change falling out of your hand onto the counter or floor. Idiotic.
This is not rocket science (whatever that is supposed to entail); logic would dictate that you put the change–separate objects–into the palm of the hand THEN place the receipt–a solid object–on top of the change. But that never happens, ever. This also applies to handing you change on top of your bills, just as stupid.
Clearly this is not an earth shattering problem, but it is one of those little annoyances in life that just irritates me because it is so illogical.
I spent around three months of my life reading these books, luckily it was not a waste. I passed my MA Exams, at the loss of my eye sight and sanity, but hey I guess it could have been worse. One more paper to go and I’ll be done with school for good, which is very surreal.
Now if my body could stop fighting the insane amount of pollen, i.e. if my eyes would stop itching and I could stop sneezing every 2 minutes, then maybe I could get this done and start tending to all the neglected aspects of my life. 8 days to go…
Posted by Catherine 
Get Rid of the Garnish, Please. 