250 Hours

I am thankful for many things in my life, my family's health, my friends, that I have a job and a roof over my head. Everyone talks about how thankful they are during November but we really need to be thankful throughout the year. More people volunteer their time this time of year but don't forget people and animals need our help throughout the year.

Disney is jumping on the volunteering bandwagon next year with their Give a Day Get a Day promotion which is very good but it shouldn't just be one day. My goal next year is to volunteer at least 250 hours of service. I have volunteered a lot in the past 9 years but I want to do more. I hope some of my friends and family will join me on this mission.

I will compile the rest of my resolutions for my next blog post.

Brain Haze

I was sitting watching TV today and thinking that I haven't written a blog entry in a while. I started going through the thoughts that have been plaguing me lately, but I couldn't come up with an actual full blog entry about any of them. I was going to complain about product placement in TV which has become way to blatant, for example all of the obvious plugs for Windex on "Monk," but I didn't know where to go with that. Then there was the tirade I wanted to go on about why don't people use their directionals anymore, but that is just a lost cause. I was going to write about the pros and cons of being short, but I couldn't think of more than 2 pros. Oh yeah I was going to try and figure out what the pluses were to having breasts that are too big they give you back pain.

All of these ideas were not strong enough and it was all complaining which I really didn't want to do in this blog. With the end of the year coming quick I realize this has been a very sad year. I know I suffer from minor depression and severe anxiety but this year just seems to not have too many positives. I know this is the wrong way to look at things that's why I spend money every week to discuss my negativity with a professional. I know this is also why I have not been very motivated lately to do anything but watch TV.

Let's all hope for a better 2010. I will try to be more positive in the future. :)

This is actually just a repost from my other blog from a couple of years ago. My mind has just been elsewhere lately with nothing but bad news everywhere that I haven't had any new blog ideas lately. I really could just use some good news.


Vision Quest

Soul searching in a new world
Strange sights, strange sounds
New faces, new places
Same old me

Beyond my protective barrier
Dreams just past my fingertips
Voices churning in my head

Break my shell
Learning who I am
The spark keeps growing

Stoke the flames of adventure
Don't fall into the same routine

Destiny will guide my way

Smoking Vs Chocolate

So the other day while at the zoo I saw a group of parents who had to have their smokes and it just killed me that their children had to wait around in a cloud of smoke while their parents finished ruining their lungs. I understand that smoking is an addiction and that for some people it's really hard to quit but why must I suffer through your bad decision. I have to admit I have an addiction also, it's called chocolate, but I don't make other people suffer through my problem with it. I'll show you what I mean.

When smokers stand right in front of a doorway I have to walk through a nasty smelling cloud of smoke. When I am eating chocolate in front of a doorway I don't shove my candy bar into another person's face.

When smokers are finished with their cigarettes while driving they just decide to throw them out the car window thus littering the world. When I finish my chocolate I don't toss the wrappers out the window I throw them out the next time I get gas.

When some smokers decide to have children they make the children suffer by not either quitting or taking it outside. I keep my chocolate away from children (it's all mine) and there is no such thing as second hand chocolate. (By the way I believe if a smoker decides to have children by law they must quit smoking but that's just me.)

When smoking in the woods some careless smokers start fires by not extinguishing their cigarettes before discarding them. When I bring chocolate on a hike I properly dispose of my wrapper in a receptacle and thus also avoiding littering again.

So you see I admit I have an addiction but I don't make the world suffer with me. So chocolate wins.

Writer's Block

Not that anyone probably noticed but I didn't post anything last week. Unfortunately I had a little case of writer's block. There were a couple of topics I would love to write about but unfortunately that would probably get me into a little trouble at the present time. This week I hope to have a post ready about my newest crazy idea. I love my crazy ideas. I will write a weekend recap tonight.

Sorry no change

Let me preface this blog with the message that I am very generous when it comes to charity. I volunteered over 150 hours last year to various charities and gave as much as I could afford.

So this week was the Knights of Columbus days where they solicit donations for the MD charity. As I was driving up to the red light at the intersection I could see the infamous yellow vests so I did what I normally do in this situation and I dug around my car to see if I had any loose change. Unfortunately I did not have any cash this time but luckily the gentleman had already passed my car by the time I popped my head back up. This got me to thinking. Here a couple of pointers if you are ever in this situation or just don't feel like giving to charity.

Main point is never look the person in the eye.

If they spot you you can pretend to be answering the phone or my favorite is dive down towards the floor as if you must find something immediately.

But the true way to avoid this (for the people that are just not strong enough to just completely ignore the solicitors) is keep a container on the seat next to you. Inside it you can hide some of the commonly used items that these organizations give out. For example in my case I would whip out my tootsie roll and throw it up on the dashboard. Or if those Kiwanis people are stalking you bring out your bag of peanuts and put them in clear view of everyone. And make sure you have a red poppy in your box for those men in black and green. There are more items but these are the only ones I could come up with right now.

Bored in the Store

As you all may know (all meaning my mom) my current full-time, bill paying job is in retail and with the current economy and everyone back in school sometimes there is a little down time. After you have straighted every rack for the third time you start to get a little bored. Since I don't have a computer to pretend I am doing work on I have to entertain myself. Normally I either write poetry or work on my next blog but every once in awhile I get writer's block and have to do something else. Here are a few of the things I like to do (hopefully my managers are not reading this):

• Dance with the mannequins to the lovely muzak.
• Count ceiling tiles.
• Obviously try on clothes. It's probably why retail employees go into debt, they're always shopping.
• Make sure I keep my flexibility by doing splits and cartwheels down the aisles. I also do my ballet stretches by pretending the counter is a ballet barre.
• People watching, but this always leads me to singing Paul Simon songs.
• I practice tap dancing to because the clacking on the tile sounds so cool.
• I also contemplate the deep life altering questions like:
• Why can a show with a group of really bad actors succeed and no one notices they're bad until after the show is done and they try individual projects?
• Why aren't my store interactions as funny as "Are You Being Served?"
• Haven't people learned to bring their own bags yet?
• What do you think was on the very first to do list (honey do list)? Kill dinner, sweep cave, invent fire and the wheel?
• Why is it when I am the only person in the ladies' room does the next person always have to take the stall next to me?
• When all else fails I find a fitting room that isn't being used and I take a nap.

Oh well back to work.

Just a quick note

I just got home from watching "Julie and Julia." It inspired me a little and helped me remember that life does not end when you turn 30 (or 33). I still would love to work on my talk show idea that slightly concerns this concept, but I do not want to give out details right now in case someone actually reads this blog and decides to steal my crazy ideas.

My mom and I were joking the other day about what my schtick would be if I ever decided to actually become a stand-up comic. Being Jewish (or half Jewish) has been done to death. The differences between men and women is played out. I could joke about being short but don't know where to go with that and then it hit us. I should do bits about what it was like dating a man who was a foot and a half taller than me. I think I could make some funny observational jokes about that.

Oh well, I will leave this entry with Julia's famous words, Bon Apetit.

How NOT to Succeed in LA

Here are the first few tips I can give on how to fail at getting into the entertainment industry in Los Angeles.

• Be under 5' 7" and overweight.
• Don't go to the clubs and parties.
• Get a full-time job to pay the bills that has an inflexible schedule.
• Skip every chance you get to audition or work on a project.
• Don't network, always keep to yourself.

I will impart more of my wisdom at a later date. These are some pointers that I know for a fact will help keep you from getting your dream job.

Week in Recap

Just want to share some of things I learned this week.

• If you barbeque at night always bring a flashlight.
• Chipmunks are stupid animals, no offense Alvin.
• Don't breathe in the same time you are taking a drink of soda.
• I am not completely crazy. It's nice to have someone impartial to talk to even if it costs $100 an hour. And no it's nothing like "Good Will Hunting."
  

Lastly my shout-out of the week goes to single parents. After getting adjusted to living with 2 little boys I just want to show my respect to single parents who have to work full-time and raise children on their own. You have my strong admiration.

Going green in the suburbs

So with this new blog I have thought about how I can change my attitude by changing my life. The best way to start is by changing some of my bad habits, at least the ones that effect the environment. This is going to be a big challenge for me.

First: I hate cooking. So this leads to me eating a lot of fast food which is bad for 3 reasons: 1a: Gets really expensive, 1b: Is usually very unhealthy, and 1c: Produces and uses a lot of trash (i.e. plastic utensils and the containers that the food comes in). To alter this habit I really have to get over my hatred of cooking. I really don't know where it came from because my mother is a great cook and she enjoys cooking (at least I think she enjoys it). I already ask for no bags when I do fast food and I have tried to start carrying around a fork that I clean and reuse (yes I know it's strange to carry forks around in your purse).

Second: This is going to be tough too. I need to start using public transportation. The problem in the suburbs is that there isn't a lot of options out here. There is the train but you still have to drive to get to it. There are a couple of buses but again not many. There is bicycling but what happens when the weather is bad. I know these are all excuses (you will learn that I am very good at making up excuses). I would really like to get a hybrid or a scooter to use to run errands that way I can at least begin to cut back on driving a gas guzzling machine. I just don't have the money right now to purchase a different mode of transportation. This is also a good place to plug a movie called "Fuel" which teaches people about alternatives to gas power. It will be in theaters nation wide this fall.

Third: We live in a very disposable culture which produces a lot of waste. This issue I have already started dealing with a little bit but I will explain this in a later blog. I do bring my own bags everywhere, not just for groceries, and I try to encourage everyone to do this also.

I think this will be a good start since I am starting with 2 of the hardest first. I will keep everyone updated on my progress and please share your ideas and tips on how to become "greener."

New Blog

Since I've given up my crazy dream of becoming the female Dave Barry and I don't follow current events enough to do stand-up I've decided to join the world of blogging, AGAIN.

I've tried this once before during my adventure in California but since LA didn't turn out as I had hoped I've decided to start over.

I've realized I really enjoy making people laugh, the few times it has happened, so this blog will be a little of me venting, some comedy (I'll try my best) and hopefully some good thoughts. There is enough inhumanity out there so I want to see if there are still good people and feelings in the world.

I know there are a million bloggers out there so even if a couple of people read this once in awhile I'll be happy.