For Christmas, my boss gave me the perfect gift/push in the right direction: “A Year of Writing Dangerously: 365 Days of Inspiration & Encouragement” by Barbara Abercrombie. While I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions—isn’t each day its own new beginning?—I’ve been looking for that nudge to get me moving in my not-so-active creative writing efforts. Filled with inspirational quotes and stories, along with one writing prompt per week for the entire year, this book now stares at me each day, reminding me to get going!
On day four, the story focused on Isabel Allende. For each book she writes, she begins on January 8. (That’s today! Wondering what she’s writing now…). So, in her honor, I’ve chosen to commit to jumpstarting my personal writing goals. Of course, I feel blessed to have earned my staff writer position, as I know many former English majors who had no choice but to take on jobs outside their desired field thanks to our persistently poor job market. But now that I have gained footing in the journalistic world, I want to continue to expand my horizons and hone my creative abilities as well.
What will come of this? Who knows! But stick around, tune in, and find out.
Though we spend most of the holiday season running around in preparation for Santa’s arrival, we each need to take a moment to relax and reflect as the rush dies down. There are so many interesting things right under our noses, if only we’d take the time to notice…
1. Marshmallow World might just be THE song of the 2012 holiday season. This year, the stores started playing Christmas music well before Thanksgiving, so I decided to count how many times I heard some particularly popular tunes. (I’ve heard Mariah Carey’s All I want for Christmas is You 23 times this season, in case you were wondering.) But boy, am I upset that I didn’t add Marshmallow World to my roster! Though I’ve heard numerous renditions, the song itself has been everywhere. Snow, on the other hand, has been M.I.A. thus far.
2. Hallmark has found a new use for Silly Bandz. My mom bought two giant rolls of wrapping paper from Hallmark this year—buy one, get one for a dollar. They didn’t have any of their long, made-for-wrapping-paper bags left, so the cashier used a rubber band to keep the rolls together. It wasn’t until we got home that my mom realized her rubber band was shaped like a giraffe! Nice to know that Silly Bandz live on (even if their current form is also their original purpose).
3. The little girl from the Miracle on 34th Street remake and the little boy from The Santa Clause are both now in the mid-20s. Mara Wilson (also known for her roles in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire) is now 25-years-old, and Eric Lloyd (aka Charlie Calvin) is 26-years-old. Doesn’t that make you feel old? Luckily for them, in one way, they’ll be young forever.
4. The little girl in The Santa Clause got her two front teeth for Christmas… twice. Pay attention to Sara, one of Scott Calvin’s first stops after putting on Santa’s suit. She may think it’s odd that Scott/Santa is neither bearded nor chubby, but when he returns the following year looking the part, the only person’s appearance left in question is Sara’s. She’s been missing her two front teeth for two straight years!
5. Santa (aka Scott Calvin) kidnapped his son for nearly one month. Remember how Bernard told Scott Calvin he’d be due back at the North Pole by Thanksgiving? Do you also remember how Scott Calvin snuck Charlie up to the North Pole after being denied visitation rights? That means Laura, Neal, and the police department were searching for Charlie for nearly one month! Movie magic sort of distorts the average viewers sense of time, I suppose…
6. Oh, and elves are everywhere (throughout the first Santa Clause, at least). Though I’d have to watch the entire movie again if I want to pinpoint each instance, simply watch the scene where Scott goes to Charlie’s soccer game and you’ll see what I mean. Scan the line of children that gather in front of his bench. Look closely and you’ll see there’s an elf girl standing on the opposite side of the bench! Don’t believe me? Well, at first glance, you might not. But wait until Scott stands to greet Laura and Neal. Watch the elf girl walk by. You can’t deny those ears!
7. The Christmas Shoes is the worst Christmas song ever and you cannot disagree. Honestly, you cannot fight me on this one. Unless you like bawling your eyes out, of course. But no one does. In fact, I’m not even going to provide the link. YouTube at your own risk.
8. If there’s really something up the chimney, it would’ve decayed long before next Christmas.This little tune is rather catchy, but I must point out the young girl’s inaccuracies. If Santa were really in that chimney, and the house started smelling (such a big disgrace!), that’s a clear indication that Santa’s body has begun to rot. That means he’d eventually fall into the fireplace and scar the family for life.
9. Santa knows if you’ve been bad or good, but he also hates you if you’re different. I can’t remember a year without Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but this year, something stood out more than ever before. (Every status on my Facebook newsfeed that night supports my theory.) Though Rudolph’s flying skills are impressive, Santa immediately shames the young reindeer and his father because of his nose. Our dear, sweet Santa discriminates Rudolph based on his appearance! But I guess we shouldn’t expect too much from an old man who judges young children while he watches them sleep…
10. Taylor Swift probably doesn’t even remember who she gave her heart to Last Christmas. Or how many guys she’s given her heart to since then, quite frankly. But that won’t stop her from singing her own rendition of Wham!’s Last Christmas.
11. Taylor Swift also cannot recall the boys she hasn’t kissed because she has, in fact, kissed them all. If you’re going to undertake Santa Baby, you might want to make sure there aren’t any “open mouth, insert foot” lines, as is the case for Ms. Swift. “Think of all the boys that I haven’t kissed,” she sings. Pardon me while I simultaneously laugh at the irony and draw a blank.
12. It’s A Wonderful Life pays homage to Clarence right within the movie itself. Henry Travers played Clarence, George Bailey’s guardian angel in It’s A Wonderful Life. But, just one year before he became immortalized as an AS2 (angel second-class), he played Horace P. Bogardus, the curmudgeonly old man in The Bells of St. Mary’s, with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. When George Bailey runs through Bedford Falls, invigorated and happy to be alive, he wishes the movie house a merry Christmas. That movie house happens to be playing The Bells of St. Mary’s. Both films went on to become Christmas classics.
My fingers keep moving, and letters appear, but none of the words make sense. Nothing makes sense.
The very monster children fear—the stranger we always warn them about—forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, stealing the lives of some, and the innocence of all. He robbed the Newtown community of its sons and daughters. Their young flames, once burning bright, have been replaced by candles, thus remembered through vigils across the nation.
News outlets will continue to repeat every single detail they have in an attempt to derive meaning from this senseless act. Police officials and investigators will continue to piece together the shooter’s motives in order to develop some understanding. We will continue to hear speculative chatter and concrete evidence as the days, weeks, and months progress. But eventually, for those not directly involved, the story will fade, becoming just another atrocity for the record books. Most will go back to living life as usual in an attempt to forget that something so horrific could happen right in their own backyard.
Surely, we will hear about the shooter’s tortured mind ad nauseum, but nothing these officials discover will bring back the 20 children and six adults who lost their lives. We can condemn the killer and debate our nation’s gun laws, but their parents will still have to face an empty bed each night.
The news coverage has been non-stop since the reports started pouring in Friday morning. On TV, on the radio, on Facebook and Twitter, no one can escape the sadness, least of all the families of the deceased. We’ve heard stories about heroes, and memories of the slain, but when the tears become too much, we can simply turn it off. I’ve found myself on the verge of uncontrollable sobbing numerous times over the last two days and I begin to feel guilty each time my heart starts to ache. I am not a parent, and I am not related to any of the deceased, but I am overcome with grief for the young lives lost. I cannot even begin to fathom how these families can even continue to breathe. I find myself staring into the void, only to come back to reality when I think of how my friend’s cousin must be crumbling to pieces as they prepare to say goodbye to their pride and joy.
Nothing we say to anyone impacted can ever ease the pain or rectify the injustice brought upon their family. We need to realize that the only thing we can do right now is let them know they are not alone no matter how bleak the future may seem. We don’t need to rehash the events or dig into the shooter’s past. We need to send our love and support so they know their loved ones did not die in vain. We need to remember the names of the victims, not the man responsible for these frightening deaths.
While many stories about what happened inside those classrooms are still untold, Kaitlin Roig’s story exemplifies the strength of these caring, dedicated teachers and their willingness to protect their students no matter the cost. Roig, who hid her students in the class bathroom, saved the lives of each child in her care. But, with the possibility of death looming ever so close, she made sure that every child knew she loved them very much. She wanted to be sure the last thing they heard was something comforting despite the horror right outside their room. Though this day will haunt all those involved for years to come, these children will also grow up knowing that goodness and love do exist. It’s these traits that will build a brighter future for our nation and the world.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Here’s an excerpt from an entry I wrote for “Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog” just yesterday:
To those companies that will not open their doors Thanksgiving night, I applaud you. To those who refuse to put up decorations until after Thanksgiving, I commend your decision. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, and perhaps retailers across the nation will think I’ve lost my marbles, but the holiday season should be about coming together, not tearing each other apart. (People have died at Black Friday events, so don’t tell me competition is an exciting part of the challenge.)
To read the entire post, click here. Happy Holidays!
Supermarkets seem to be obsessed with technology. Sometimes they provide you with gun-like scanner things to make your trip more efficient, or smartphone applications that break the law, but nothing comes close to the joyful convenience of self-checkouts. They eliminate the awkward small talk with the cashier and you can pack your own items, preventing the whole “bread at the bottom of the bag” ordeal. But for many, these technological advances only further encourage society’s ever-increasing impatience.
My mother, my sister, and I were at Stop & Shop recently, occupying one of the self-checkout lanes as usual. To save time, we’ve devised a system—my sister and I unload the cart and scan, while our mother packs everything in bags. Though our methods are much more efficient than those flying solo, we still hear the occasional sigh coming from behind.
One evening, we encountered a pregnant Snooki lookalike. Same hair, same complexion, same attitude. She stood behind us (much closer than acceptable, in fact) and peered around us as we scanned our items. She gazed down the lane and said, “Is she bagging everything before she’s finished?” Instead of giving her the generic “don’t mess with me” glare, I responded by telling her that our system was more practical than she believed. I pointed out that we were saving time by killing two birds with one stone, no matter how slow she thought we were—that even if we waited to bag our items until after we paid, she’d still have to wait her turn.
Disgruntled, and obviously too impatient to deal with my logic, she moved to the next lane even though she had to wait behind someone there, too. A man then took her place behind us in line. As predicted, we finished our transaction and were headed out the door before she even scanned her first item. She was desperate to speed through the checkout, yet only cost herself more time.
Nearly everyone goes through their life trying to cut corners and increase their productivity, but they do so with only themselves in mind. My mother, my sister, and I are a team. We work together. But as our dear Snooki lookalike illustrated, thinking you know it all can be your greatest weakness. People need to slow down and think before they make the wrong move.
Take this blog for instance. It has been five months since I last posted (to the very day), but in the interim, I’ve been slowly building my professional résumé and finding solid work—success three years in the making. That slow road may have required much crawling to get to my destination, but I’m now standing solid on my own two feet. Had I let my impatience and frustration take over, I’d still be running toward a door that keeps getting further and further away. Everyone wants to save time, especially considering how little we have. But, by living in such a fast-paced society, we’re only making things zip by quicker.
You wouldn’t drive 100mph when trying to enjoy the scenic route. Perhaps you should ease up on the accelerator as you breeze through each day, as well.
Though our nation’s political upheaval has caused many a rift between citizens from all walks of life, there will always be one thing that binds us together: we all have to go to the bathroom. No matter how frequent, we all have to visit the restroom throughout the day.
Surprisingly enough, this very topic also seems to draw much attention each time I highlight just how horrid and illogical the average ladies’ room can be.
Because I write for a publication that focuses on the latest trends and best practices within the customer relationship management realm, I took to Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog to address just what kind of impact a poorly maintained restroom can have on the customers’ perception of the establishment as a whole. Below is an excerpt from the entry, as well as a link to the full blog post:
Restroom Repairs and Maintenance Benefit the ‘Bottom’ Line
Thanks to modern technology (and the plumbing gods), we’ve become spoiled by the luxury of flush toilets and running water. But to maintain our sanitary tendencies, we’ve also become accustomed to toilet paper, soap, and paper towels–one of those being a tad more vital, of course. Yet, in many instances, the only bits of toilet paper to be found are the torn shreds scattered across the restroom’s floor. (Click here to read more.)
Of course, we all know I’ve criticized many a ladies’ room in the past. Check out the links below to refresh your memory.
But each time I embark on another rant about the less than ideal conditions we ladies often face, I cannot help but wonder what issues plague the mens’ restroom. (This issue surely isn’t one-sided, but I can’t complain about the other gender’s dilemmas firsthand.) So, gentlemen, leave your complaints in the comments. We may not always agree on the politics surrounding bodily decisions, but we can all relate when it comes to bodily functions.
Chick flicks are cursed. One cannot openly admit they enjoy these two-hour tidbits of romance for fear of endless ridicule by the opposite gender. As Mindy Kaling writes in her recent book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), “…the genre has been so degraded in the past twenty years that saying you like romantic comedies is essentially an admission of mild stupidity.” Yet bad-mouthing one of the supposed “classics” feels like betrayal of some unspoken female code.
However, Sleepless in Seattle, one of the genre’s stereotypical staples, provides the naysayers with enough fuel for their disdainful fire in a way that, well, makes women seem rather…naïve.
Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks make the ideal romantic comedy couple. I love You’ve Got Mail,in all its “well ain’t that a coinkydink!” glory, to the point where I can sing along with the soundtrack and recite their lines before they do. But Sleepless in Seattle robs the genre of its romance, replaces love with obsessive stalking, and makes men into the sentimental fools we know they aren’t. Hundreds of women from all over the country write letters to the radio station in hopes that Sam (Hanks) will find them alluring enough to drag him out of his dead wife depression, and no one finds this even slightly demeaning to women? Not exactly the kind of movie you want to get behind, ladies, but I digress…
Annie (Meg Ryan) tosses her current life aside for some man she hears on the radio. THE RADIO! Sure, her fiancé, Walter (Bill Pullman), is no prize, but her drastic actions are illogical. Most women in her situation, who find themselves unhappy with their current relationship, would take some time to explore this fear of commitment, yet she escapes by pursuing the dream man she’s never even met—the one who lives on the opposite side of the country. A man who, by the way, is still in love with his dead wife.
For some reason, hundreds of (sad, pathetic, lonely) women find this grieving widower appealing simply by the love story he tells. The memories he shares cause woman after woman to fall at his feet, begging to play second fiddle to a woman they can never, ever be. Somehow, they believe they can fix his broken heart, as the majority of women are mysteriously attracted to the type of man that needs to be repaired or changed. He will never love anyone with his whole heart quite that way again, but they are so desperate that they are willing to settle for someone who once felt strongly for a woman he cannot replace.
I would almost consider him ruined for all future relationships if his love for his deceased wife were realistic in the first place. Real-life men are much more resilient. They do not seem capable of loving this strongly or deeply. I have yet to encounter a man that would fall to pieces if he were to lose his love. Women imagine that their significant other would mourn their loss, that their life would be turned upside down—a ridiculous expectation. Our boyfriends/lovers/husbands may miss us when we’re gone, but not to the point where they feel deprived of air, or like they cannot continue on with life. Movies such as Sleepless in Seattle make women believe this heart wrenching, earth-shattering kind of love truly exists.
Instead, I imagine their meeting at the top of the Empire State Building to be a beautiful, foreshadowing metaphor: Everything begins at the top. The whimsical view makes them feel as if anything is possible. Then they enter the elevator, and in moments, everything goes south. They realize the ground under their feet is not steady, that they are trying to build upon something that neither can pinpoint, and once they reach the bottom, there’s nothing left to do but walk away. Or, in our case, hope something better comes on next.
For Christmas, my boss gave me the perfect gift/push in the right direction: “A Year of Writing Dangerously: 365 Days of Inspiration & Encouragement” by Barbara Abercrombie. While I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions—isn’t each day its own new beginning?—I’ve been looking for that nudge to get me moving in my not-so-active creative writing efforts. Filled with inspirational quotes and stories, along with one writing prompt per week for the entire year, this book now stares at me each day, reminding me to get going!
