Saying Cheese with the Big Cheese

                 Waiting in the 30-minute line with about 100 other people seems like an eternity. It’s not the exhaustion from a long day of walking or the intense Florida humidity pouring in through the room’s open door that makes the wait seem excruciatingly long, but rather the building excitement of the moment. I turn my attention to the nostalgic Disney cartoons playing in the queue area to help pass the time. As I laugh at the clips of Mickey and his pals, my younger siblings roll their eyes at me and tell me to grow up. There’s nothing like a visit to the happiest place on earth to remind me what it’s like to be a kid again. Even as a 20-year-old who has experienced this at least 26 times before, I can barely keep myself from jumping up and down. This is the moment I look forward to every year.  I’m about to have my date with Mickey Mouse.

                This love affair with the Mouse started in my Disney-themed nursery when I was a few days old. I grew up watching the magical Disney princess fairytales and the cartoon adventures of Mickey and his pals on repeat. My dad likes to show the home videos of his own little Disney princess. In one vacation clip from my second visit to Walt Disney World at the age of 19 months, I ran up to Mickey and excitedly kissed him on the nose. To my toddler self, he was a familiar character in my life, like a family member. When my turn ended, I burst into tears, and Mickey chased me down the hallway to wipe my tears and give me one more hug. I was in love.

                People of all generations easily fall in love with Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney brought him to life in 1928, and since then Mickey has become an icon for innocent goodness, happiness and fun. He is eternally youthful and reminds everyone of carefree times. Watching a Disney cartoon or visiting the theme parks featuring Mickey Mouse as the star allows fans and guests to escape from the real world for a moment and enjoy life. In fact, more than 47 million people visited Disney World last year, taking part in the Mouse’s legacy. Some adults even come without children to relive their own childhood. Walt Disney’s company plan was to offer something for everybody, and the attractive, versatile Mickey Mouse proves to be a great vehicle for the task.  Even Robert Langdon, a fictional Harvard symbologist in Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol, embraces this Disney ideology and wears a Mickey Mouse wristwatch to remind himself not to take life too seriously. Mickey Mouse welcomes everyone of every age with open arms and regards each person as his pal.

                Because we live far from our pal, my family and I have made our Chicago home a shrine to all things Disney. Our basement walls are lined with family photographs from our vacations to the theme parks. A Mickey Mouse tea kettle is a permanent fixture on our kitchen stove, and Disney magnets cover our refrigerator on the first floor. A three-foot plush Mickey Mouse and a Cinderella Castle tapestry welcome guests to our second floor. My own room is no exception to the Disney décor trend. Disney snow globes, Precious Moments, miniature posters and Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed animals I’ve had since my toddler years bring the magic home. Even when I leave my house, I always wear my Mickey Mouse wristwatch and carry the personalized Mickey Mouse keychain my dad made for me, taking the magic wherever I go. Even when I’m not with the Mouse, I carry him in my heart and eagerly anticipate my return to him.

                I can’t wait for a hug from my pal. A smiling cast member ushers my family and me into the meet-and-greet area where Mickey and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse await.  I eye the couple excitedly as I wait for the families in front of me to finish their turn. When my turn finally comes, I hand my mom my camera and rush into Mickey’s arms. A wave of joy washes over me, and I can’t keep the smile off my face. I reunite with my best friend.  

Thank you

According to the cool stats on blogger, this blog hit 50 pages views last month.
This includes viewers from the US, Russia, Denmark, Australia, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania and Singapore.

I'm so overwhelmed by this reach of readership, and I'd like to thank every single one of you for taking the time to take a look at my page. I'm incredibly flattered.

Please feel free to comment on my blog, whether you're make a comment related to a post or just saying hi.

On a separate note, you may have noticed a change in the blog. I added a new background and color scheme today and changed the title of my blog. I chose the name "These Dreams" after the awesome song by Heart because I feel that it reflects more of me. Although this blog started as a business venture to give myself some writing experience, it has grown near and dear to my heart, and I want to make it a reflection of what I have to offer the world.

Thank you for your readership.

Playlists- 20 Empowering Songs to Brighten Your Day

Photo source: stock.xchng user fangol.

Music is a powerful mood changer. The right song can turn a whole day around.

When I'm feeling down, nervous, lacking confidence, or just in need of a pep talk, I turn to these songs for comfort.

1. Party in the USA- Miley Cyrus
   This inspires me to be bold and confident wherever I'm at.
2. Just Dance-Lady Gaga
     No matter how bad the situation is, "Just dance, [it's] gonna be ok."
3. She Wolf- Shakira
    You have to let out your inner wolf and flaunt what you've got.
4. No Floods- Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga)
     "No 'mount of lightning or thunder, buckets of rain water, you can't flood this town. In a world unknown, you've gotta hold your own. And you can't stop me, you're never ever ever gonna stop me now."
5. Never Give Up on the Good Times- Spice Girls
     This one's a throwback, for sure. It's one of those songs that makes you wanna get up and dance, no matter what mood you were in previously. "Livin' it up is a state of mind."
6. Stand Out from A Goofy Movie
    It inspires you to stand out and be yourself.
7. Fearless- Taylor Swift
    The title itself gives it away. Don't be afraid to take chances.
8. Miss Independent- Ne-Yo
    Feeling like you can't do something? This song gives you the encouragement to do anything. Bonus, Ne-Yo thinks its a turn-on when girls do it for themselves.
9. Who Said- Hannah Montana
     I know, I know, Hannah Montana may not appeal to many people above the age of fifteen, but this song has an important message. No matter what anyone says, you have so much potential to achieve great things.
10. Go the Distance from Hercules
       Another wholesome message from Disney. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the movie, Hercules begins as a social outcast with a scrawny physique (but hidden strength) who finds out who he really is and works to become a hero. He could go the distance to find his hero's welcome, and so can you.
11. Beautiful - Akon
      This song is just full of compliments. When I listen to it, I pretend Akon's singing to me. It makes my whole day.
12. Better This Way - 7th Heaven
      This song gives me the strength to accept the situations life throws at me and just roll with it.
13. Starstrukk- 3OH!3
      Girl, you so hot you make the boys whistle.
14. Hold On- Wilson Phillips
       Another one of those songs that encourages you to hold on, because the bad times will always pass.
15. Tied Together with a Smile- Taylor Swift
      Even if the lyrics are a bit melancholy, but it reminds me of the inner strength we all have, such that we can smile even when the weight of the world is crushing us.
16. Just Keep Swimming from Finding Nemo the Musical
      On a totally optimistic note, Dory of Finding Nemo reminds us to "Just keep swimming...life isn't all that grim."
17. Firework- Katy Perry
      "Baby, you're a firework. Come on let your colors burst."
18. Rockstar 101- Rhianna
       This one came under my radar when it started appearing on the commercials for Nikita, a new show about a woman trained as an assassin. This girl looks like she can kick some serious butt. Rhianna's song reminds me of Nikita and inspires me to be a tough gal too.
19. Respect- Aretha Franklin
      Aretha has been described as a music queen. In general, she projects an image that is strong, confident, bold, and comfortable in her own skin. This particular song  by this strong diva encourages you to put your foot down and demand respect.
20. I Gotta Feeling- Black Eyed Peas
      It's a sign of good things to come. :-)

Hope these brightened your day.

What songs inspire you to do great things?

Music Monday!

 Coffee and Music by Cracking Jokes of Flickr

Happy Monday, Readers!

Because many of you went back to school today, I'd like to treat your efforts to a music break.

Music is a big part of my life. Lyrics and rhythms can take you away from the not-so-great things in life, give you the freedom to dance, and even give you the words to say what you feel.

For your musical enjoyment, I present to you five cool music tidbits (new and old) that made me smile today.

1. Glee Radio- I don't know about you, but I'm a Gleek. It's basically the glorified story of my life (because I was a band geek). Great storyline aside, the show features many talented young adults singing covers to classic songs that are sometimes even better than the originals. Glee Radio, an internet radio station, streams music performed by the Glee Cast as well as songs by the original artists covered in the show. There's nothing like these bubbly young voices to perk up your day. Listen here.

2. Pianotte- Tickling the ivories can be a very relaxing way to blow off some steam and channel your creative energy into a beautiful work of audio art. This website hosts pages and pages of free pdfs of piano music from songs you actually know. It took me a lot of shifting through free piano music sites filled only with classical music with titles I can't even pronounce to find this. Check out this treasure.

3. Mine by Taylor Swift- This sweet song that leaked August 4th quickly became one of my favorites. It's a sweet story about love and supportive relationships that I find to be very heartwarming, similar to the way Love Gives Me Hope makes me melt. This country princess released her music video "Mine" on Friday.
I love how her music videos actually visually tell the story of her songs, unlike those of other artists that have seemingly unrelated themes. This video has another cute love story featuring sweet moments of romance and a growing relationship over the course of a lifetime.

4. The Cure to Songs That Get Stuck in Your Head - as much as I love my music, hearing the same lyric in my head repeatedly for a period of hours or even days can get just a tad annoying. My cure is to listen to the entire song and get my fill. This article from KROQ radio suggests another way to clear your mind.

5.Audacity- This free download software is a relatively easy-to-use audio editing tool. I've been using it mostly to create custom ringtones. You can open an MP3 in the program and cut out sound clips until you have a text tone or ring tone that you can't stop playing. It's also good for changing sound quality on mp3s, putting together medleys, or creating a soundtrack for a video or slide show. The software is completely free (and virus free) to download, leaving no guilt for downloading it just for fun. You can get your free copy of Audacity on its official website.

With a smile and a song, may your day be bright!

What did you think of these links?

What are your favorite music treasures that you have found buried in the world wide web?

Apples in Stereo

Another article I wrote for my school paper. Apparently they only wanted to publish one of my articles this week instead of both.

Apples in Stereo is back again with another album, “Travellers [sic] in Space and Time.” The alternative pop group delivers a time-machine experience. Some songs, like “Strange Solar System,” offer glimpses of the future with out-of-this world topics and tons of synthesizer and voice modulations. Others, like “Hey Elevator,” are a blast from the past, featuring upbeat disco rhythms and groovy moods. Although the cosmic sounds and lyrics in some of the songs can be just a bit too quirky, others are more down-to-earth with a style similar to a song from “The Brady Bunch” and “The Partridge Family” era. Each song incorporates a variety of interesting sounds, giving your ear an acoustic buffet. “Travellers in Space and Time” has the potential to soar to new heights in popularity and revive the musical styles of eras past while bringing to the stage some futuristic flair.

Raymond v. Raymond

So I wrote this article for my school's paper. However, since I was quoted as a source in another article, the paper ethically could not print my article.
So, why let a good thing go to waste? Here's my review of Usher's new album Raymond v. Raymond.

Usher’s latest album, “Raymond v Raymond,” features songs suitable for everything from dancing to kissing your honey to “Making Love (Into the Night).” The artist’s smooth voice does not disappoint as he croons his ballads about love or the loss of it. His songs feature strong R&B beats that vary in tempo as Usher shows yet again that he can speed it up and slow it down. “Raymond v Raymond” also shares the mic with other notable voices, such as Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, will.i.am, P. Diddy and T.I., all of whom seem to have lower voices than the album’s main man. Don’t let the weak first track, “Monstar”’s, out-of-place techno background tracking turn you off. The rest of the album does not fail to bring to your ears the easy to listen to, fun to groove to music of Usher that we all know and love.

RIP Chet

Crime never seemed real to me until it hit so close to home. I'd seen it in the movies, heard about it in the news and was even paranoid that it would happen to me, but it never seemed real, not really. My neighborhood is what I have in the past described as a "sleepy little town." Though on the outskirts of the third biggest city in the country, my neighborhood is usually quiet, and nothing that interesting ever happens. In recent years, we've had some suicides and a gang-related shooting, but major crimes are usually few and far between.

On March 29, 2010, crime became more real to me. The man who lives across the street from me was found stabbed to death. His body was found on a residential street about a mile from my home. He was stabbed to death and found near (or in?) his running car. The police have not released much more information, and I dare not post my speculations like others are doing on the comment section of news websites. My neighbor was so young and will be missed.

In today's post, I'd like to take a few moments to remember my neighbor.

I've known this man for more than five years. My parents guesstimate that he and his wife moved in when I was in seventh grade. Over the years, he became my sister and I's favorite neighbor.

My earliest memory of him was in my freshman or sophomore year of high school. As my mom was leaving to take me to school one morning, we found that my neighbor's car had gotten stuck in the snow outside our house. Although we had barely had any contact with him before, we thought we'd go play superwomen and give him a push. My neighbor, who was a man, felt bad having two women push, so he had my mom "drive" his car while he and I pushed. While my mom was freaking out about his fancy car sliding around in the snow with her in the driver's seat, I slipped in the snow and landed on my hands and knees while trying to push the car. My neighbor freaked out and was like, OMG ARE YOU OK? Haha, of course I was. My mom changed spots with my neighbor, and we got him out of the snow.

So, after that, I started seeing my neighbor more often. He'd always say hi to me and ask me about my life. Usually he'd make a joking comment, like asking me if I was on my way to a party at nine in the morning.

My sister and I found it absolutely hilarious that this neighbor was totally unhandy. As a young man, he should have been capable of mowing his own lawn and shoveling his own snow. Instead, my sister and I found it absolutely hilarious to find landscapers mowing his lawn, his father-in-law watering his lawn, and his wife shoveling his snow. Such incidents earned him the title of lazy in our house (jokingly, of course). It got to the point that my sister and I would give him standing ovations and cheer when he took in his own mail.

Recently, my mom, sister and I watched my neighbor do some gutter work. With the help of his father-in-law, he leaned a ladder against his house and started climbing toward the gutter. Having seen my dad do this hundreds of times, my mom exclaimed that the ladder was not tilted at the proper angle, and that he and the ladder would end up falling backwards. As we three onlookers were torn between recording an "America's Funniest Home Videos" moment or yelling out the window to him, his father-in-law told him to get down, flipped the ladder completely over (apparently it had been upside-down), and began to climb the ladder himself. This, of course, brought on the LOLs as we were amused by my neighbors lack of handyman skills.

The weird part is that I had just seen my neighbor a couple days before he died. We had waved to each other while he was leaving for work and me for school, which happened most mornings anyway. His death hasn't really hit me yet. I found out about the funeral hours after it had ended, so I didn't get my chance to say good-bye. Some days, I still expect to see him around. I just can't believe he's gone.

I hope the police crack the case and catch the person responsible. The sick people in this world hurt so many lives by ending the life of one.

RIP Chet, you will be missed.

Eternal rest grant unto him, o Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.

May saints and angels lead you on, escorting you where Chirst has gone.
Amen.

(Photo courtesy of legacy.com)

Just in case I wasn't enough of a freak already, let's add a tiara.

I fell in love with the Princess Diaries back in 2001.
The movie gave me lots of hope, as the clumsy, geeky girl with atypical beauty and nerdy interests becomes a beautiful, graceful (at times) princess.
Later, I fell in love with the book series, clinging to every word in Mia's diary as she went through high school, became a big sister, had her first kiss, FINALLY dated Michael Moscovitz, and had an epic dinner/movie date with him while watching Star Wars.

I saw a lot of me in Mia. Her life wasn't overly dramatic, but it was eventful.
Even as an extremely public figure (past the age of 15), she knew what it was like to feel invisible.

At the same time, she taught me to stand my own ground and be proud of who I am. I can be an individual. I have to like myself, and nobody else's opinion really matters.

Maybe what I really liked about the Princess Diaries was that it brought the childhood dreams of being a princess into the teen years. A more mature fairytale, if you will.

Little did I know, Mia and I have more in common that I could imagine.
I have not been handed the throne to a fictitous country (yet), but I do have some royal blood in me.

According to my mother, her family is descended from King Brian Boru of Ireland.

King Brian is known for ending the High Kingship of Ireland, a government system in which one king ruled over all of Ireland and was aided by lesser kings. He ruled southern Ireland but was also acknowledged as a high king of northern Ireland for a while. King Brian was involved in bloody battles with other kings who disputed his kingship and control of parts of Ireland. He was killed in the Battle of Clontarf on Good Friday, 1014, at the age of 88, according to Wikipedia.

Despite my royal roots, I won't be receiving my tiara.
Brian Boru is said to be one of the most prolific kings in Irish history. So, I share my royalty with countless others.Not to mention that the republic doesn't recognize a king anymore.

Either way, it's still cool to have royalty in the family.

If You Like It, Then You Shoulda Put a Ring on It

"My heartbeat's a jig/and me blood it flows green" -Kiss Me I'm Irish, Gaelic Storm

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I don't care what nationality you are; everyone is Irish today.
So, wear the green, drink up, dance and celebrate this lovely day.

I'm only half Irish, but my mother taught me to be very proud of those roots.
I took Irish dance for three years, and I still fit in my fancy dress, curly wig, and gillies (dance shoes). And, there's something about Irish music that makes me feel good.

I don't speak Gaelic (pog ma thoin), and I've never been to Eire, but I'm still plenty proud of my roots.

The one way I rep it, is with my claddagh ring.
(As do many other people, Irish or not. But hey, everyone's Irish today).

The claddagh ring has been noted as one of the most culturally rich pieces of jewelry ever crafted. According to Kai Silver, the claddagh has a rich history, dating back more than 300 years. The best guess is that the rings came from the small Irish fishing village Claddagh. It bears the symbol of two hands holding a crowned heart. The hands holding the heart represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty. Kai Silver sums up the claddagh's message as, "Let Love and Friendship Reign Forever."

The way the ring is worn says something about the wearer.
Married or engaged persons wear the ring on their left hand with the bottom of the heart pointing towards them (because their heart is taken). Those who are in a relationship wear the ring on their right hand in the same fashion.

Those who are single and seeking love wear it on their right hand with the bottom of the heart facing outward (because their heart is open).

My claddagh ring has special significance to me. My grandfather brought it for my mother from Ireland. When she outgrew it, she gave it to me. The ring is so small that it only fits on my pinky fingers, and it's missing the garnet it once bore, but I love it nonetheless. Even though I'm not married, I wear it on my left hand, because I already have my high school class ring on my right hand ring finger, and the two would just clash.

Slainte!

Free Hugs!

A while back, I stumbled upon a Facebook event for a Free Hugs Day. My immediate response was to click "attending" and take full advantage of hugging my friends that day.

For my group of friends, however, hugging is nothing new. The group of people I hung out with in high school used hugs as greetings, to say good-bye, and pretty much whenever we felt it was needed.

This past week, while discussing social norms in my marketing class (of course, this concept doesn't click until the fifth time I studied norms), I realized that my friends and I break a social norm with our friendship ritual. Members of our group come up against this norm all the time. If one group member brings a new person to the group, when it's time to say our good-byes, the ingroup members stand about awkwardly, wondering if they should hug the new person or not. After all, we don't want to scare anyone away.

In fact, one night last summer, I went for a walk with a friend from my high school group and another friend I had known since first grade. At the end of the walk, I said good-bye to the grade school friend and hugged the high school friend and left it at that. I thought about hugging the grade school friend too, but I figured I didnt have that type of relationship with that friend at the time. Months later, the grade school friend recounted the story of that night to me, telling me he or she had wanted a hug too (but was too shy to ask for one).

Out of fear of breaking a social norm, I left out a friend.

Juan Mann of Sydney, Australia is on a mission to make sure nobody is left out.
Mann started a free hugs campaign in 2004 to help others to feel loved and supported. The campaign has a random acts of kindness philosophy and offers hugs to total strangers on public streets.

Although Juan Mann has come up against some legal and social obstacles, the campaign lives on and has since spread around the globe thanks to the following youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Don't let your friends feel left out.
Hug a pal today!

You can learn more about the Free Hugs Campaign here: www.freehugscampaign.org

It's Centrifugal Motion, It's Perpetual Bliss XOXO

Did you ever wonder why it is that people kiss? Who was the first person to look at another person and think "I wanna swap saliva with him/her"?

According to Sharon K. West's article in Historical Mysteries, most people believe that kissing originated as a primitive eating ritual. Mothers would prechew the food and then spit it into the mouths of their children. Being that this was done from mother to child, this 'kiss' became associated with signs of affection as well as meeting basic human needs.

By 2000 B.C., people believed that kissing joined two souls together (How sweet! But that's some pretty deep commitment). The Ancient Egyptians associated kisses with giving life (ahem, or one thing led to another and....).

According to
anthropologist Vaughn Bryant Jr., the first erotic kiss was exchanged in India around 1500 BC. (Score two for the Indians. They started indoor plumbing, too!)

Over time, kisses became used in many different instances, such as greetings, sealing deals and even betrayal (Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.).

Russians were the first to incorporate kisses in their marriage ceremonies (changes your view of the Russians, right?).
The French were the first to consider kssing as an acceptable form of courtship (surprise, surprise). The French are also given credit for the French Kiss or "Maraichinage," a long kiss that developed into the erotic, tongue twisting kiss we know and love today.

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some kissing tips adapted from Seventeen Magazine (December 2009 issue):

1. Make sure your lips are moist. Put on chapstick in advance, so your lips aren't sticky but still moist. Make sure it tastes good too!

2. Start your make-out session with small close-lipped kisses until you can match each other's pace.

3. It's not just in the lips. Use the tongue in creative ways too. You can practice by trying different types of tonguing on your own skin and see what feels good.

4. Add a few more actors to the show. Use your hands to carress your partner's face or hair or even add some sensation by stroking their arms or shoulders.

5. Don't think. Just go with the flow.

6. End the kiss by rubbing your nose against your partner's. It's a sweet way to end the kiss (and I think it's totally adorable!)

And if you feel about guilty about indulging yourself in the kisses (I mean, hey, sometimes you wonder if too much kissing makes the relationship too physical), calm your worries with these great insights into the benefits of kissing from West's article:

1. Kissing sends signals to our brain, which produces oxytocin, a hormone that creates an overall good feeling.

2. According to psychologists, people who kiss their spouse before they go to work miss less work because of illness. Also, people who kiss make 20-30 percent more in wages per month, get in fewer auto accidents and live up to 5 years longer!
(Easier than eating an apple every day, right?)

So, treat your honey good on Valetine's Day.
Impress him or her with your knew knowledge on the history of kissing, please him or her with the simple tips to improve your kissing and enjoy being with each other.

All the best in life and love!

Oh, and don't forget to check out West's article:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/history_bizarre_mysterious/110045

xoxo

Spread the Love and Tell Her About It

To my dearest boys,
We girls cannot live without you. However, we do want to make it pleasurable to live with you.
Communication between the genders is often difficult. While guys are more visual and express their love through actions, girls are better at understanding the verbal. Girls need to be told how you feel, and told repeatedly.
As hard as we try, we can't get inside your heads. We won't know what's going on if you don't tell us. And, if you neglect to tell us sweet things for a long period of time, we worry that you've changed your minds.
So the best advice I can give to you comes from Billy Joel:

Listen boy
Don't want to see you let a good thing
Slip away

You know I don't like watching
Anybody make the same mistakes
I made

She's a real nice girl
And she's always there for you
But a nice girl wouldn't tell you what you should do

Listen boy
I'm sure that you think you got it all
Under control

You don't want somebody telling you
The way to stay in someone's soul

You're a big boy now
You'll never let her go
But that's just the kind of thing
She ought to know

Tell her about it
Tell her everything you feel
Give her every reason to accept
That you're for real

Tell her about it
Tell her all your crazy dreams
Let her know you need her
Let her know how much she means

Listen boy
It's not automatically a certain guarantee
To insure yourself
You've got to provide communication constantly

When you love someone
You're always insecure
And there's only one good way
To reassure

Tell her about it
Let her know how much you care
When she can't be with you
Tell her you wish you were there

Tell her about it
Every day before you leave
Pay her some attention
Give her something to believe

Cause now and then
She'll get to worrying
Just because you haven't spoken
For so long
Though you may not have done anything
Will that be a consolation when she's gone

Listen boy
It's good information from a man
Who's made mistakes

Just a word or two that she gets from you
Could be the difference that it makes

She's a trusting soul
She's put her trust in you
But a girl like that won't tell you
What you should do

Tell her about it
Tell her everything you feel
Give her every reason
To accept that you're for real

Tell her about it
Tell her all your crazy dreams
Let her know you need her
Let her know how much she means

Tell her about it
Tell her how you feel right now
Tell her about it
The girl don't want to wait too long
You got to tell her about it
Tell her now and you won't go wrong
You got to tell her about it
Before it gets too late
You got to tell her about it
You know the girl don't want
To wait--you got to
Tell her about it

Don't worry though, boys. We love you too, and we can't live without you either.

Don't forget, 13 days til Valentine's Day. Make it special for her, and remind her how you feel.

Love Always,
~Passion4Words

I hate Mondays...

And I never even realized it until college. Not that there was anything newly bad with Mondays once i started college. I just found myself saying that more often at that juncture in my life.

Every time I said it, my mom would tell me this story of how, when she had her first job out of college, she carried a tote bag with Garfield the cat on it that read, "I hate Mondays."

Mondays are the rude awakening to the beautiful dream that is my weekend.
Monday means back to the grindstone of classes and work. I wake up every Monday morning saying, "Wait, wasn't it just Friday?"

So, I'm not usually the happiest camper on Mondays.
This past Monday, the first day of my Winter Quarter for the school year, I happened to pick up a free copy of the Chicago Tribune (thank you, College Readership Program). Much to my delight, columnist Barbara Brotman offered me the following ways to fight the Monday/winter blues:

-"Get out of yourself. Get out of your head. Do not ever use the term 'personal happiness' unless you're using it ironically. Happiness is not personal; it's relational. Think of your happiness in terms of relationships with other people -- family, friends, co-workers, strangers or, if you want to be metaphysical, your relationship with the universe."
On that note, I'd like to throw in my own suggestion: share a smile. Smiling releases endorphins and really does make you feel better. Plus, they're contagious.

-"Squelch envy. Envy is the only one of the seven deadly sins that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. And it is toxic when it comes to happiness."

-"Do not win the lottery. It will not make you happy. Or rather, it will make you happy for a short period, but then you will return to your set point of happiness."

-"Express gratitude on a regular basis. People who express gratitude are happy."
I particularly like this piece of advice. I say thank you a lot to people. I've even thanked people after I help THEM. Crazy right? My friends have told me I say thank you too much. Here's why!

-"You can buy lots of stuff, but don't be materialistic. It's the attitude of being materialistic that makes people less happy."

-"Have sex. People with active sex lives are happier than people without."
Lol, thank you, Barbara!

-"Eat chocolate. It contains chemicals that trigger the release of serotonin in the brain."

-"Combine the last two activities in some way. Messy, but effective."

-"Shorten your commute. People with long commutes are not happy, not only because of the frustrations of commuting but in terms of opportunity costs. Time spent commuting is time spent away from things like forming relationships with people that would make you happy."

-"And don't think about happiness too much. Happiness is a byproduct of life lived well. It is when we try to tackle it head-on that it slips out of our grasp. Don't buy books on happiness. Except for one. And give that to your friends."


You can check out the full article here : http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-brotman-get-happyjan04,0,979874.column

May you find happiness this week :-D!