Cure for the Blues

If you're ever feeling sad or having a bad day, I highly recommend watching this video of a baby giraffe chasing a butterfly. It doesn't get much cuter than this!

Happy Earth Day!

I have to admit it, I'm a little bit of a tree hugger. I recycle, drive a low emission vehicle, and am kind of crazy when it comes to trying to conserve energy in my apartment. However, I recently watched a documentary that left me feeling like I should and could be doing more to reduce my impact on the environment. The documentary was, No Impact Man. It was based on the idea that Colin Beaven wanted to try with his family, which was living for a year with making absolutely no impact on the environment. He also wrote a book about this idea as well. In order to not impact the environment, Colin and his family went without electricity, rode bicycles rather than driving, and purchased no new items with the exception of food. They also purchased all of their food from farmer's markets and lived a vegetarian lifestyle. This could sound like it may be a preachy story, but I didn't take it as such. They showed that living this way wasn't easy. They were frustrated to live without a refrigerator, especially with a young daughter. There were moments when they cheated, such as when Colin's wife struggled to go without coffee. (I honestly don't know how she did it!) The documentary did show that these changes helped bring their family closer, by not watching TV and biking places together. It also showed how it affected their physical health. Before this experiment, Colin's wife was pre-diabetic, which resolved with her healthy new lifestyle. While this documentary was extremely interesting, it really made me think about the changes I could make in my life to help reduce my carbon footprint. I don't always need to take the elevator, especially with my office being on the second floor. I could conserve energy with a walk up the stairs, which would also be better for my waistline. I also could make a better effort to remember bringing my reusable grocery bags to the store, which always lay forgotten next to my refrigerator. I would also like to volunteer with beach clean ups to help preserve Lake Michigan, which I love so much! If you're a fan of documentaries, I definitely recommend, No Impact Man. Hopefully you can find as much inspiration from it as I did. You can also learn more about Colin from his blog:http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/what-its-all-about.html

Fun Ways To Procrastinate...

Watching high production cat videos!

I heart Ira

I just read this quote today by Ira Glass and it really spoke to me...no pun intended. I'm currently working on starting my novel. I haven't told this to a lot of people, basically because I'm scared people will laugh at me. I've been thinking about this novel for a lonnnng time, but I think my fear of failing has kept me from getting started, until now.
Anyway, I think this quote can apply to anyone who is a beginner at something. Enjoy!

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass

Blah

This past Sunday I had one of those days where you feel like absolutely nothing can go your way. I felt as if the universe was almost toying with me, just to see how far it could push me before I broke. (I tend to get a little dramatic.)

It started off with me waking up 10 minutes past the time I was supposed to be at work. Isn't that always a lovely feeling? As if working on a Sunday isn't bad enough. I'm forced to rush out of bed, grab something somewhat presentable from my closet to wear, brush my teeth, and run out the door. As I'm pulling out of the garage to leave, I look down to change the channel on the radio and I suddenly hear a crunch. I scraped into the side of the garage ramp. I immediately pretend that it didn't actually happen and pray that there's no sign of damage. No such luck. I park my car at work and notice a huge scrape AND a dent on the front of the car. My work day drags by and I can't shake the tiredness to the point that I practically feel hungover, despite the fact that I didn't drink a drop of alcohol the night before.

After finally making it through the day at work I decide to go home and go for a run, hoping that will help me end the day on a good note. I change into my running clothes, fill my water bottle, and then discover that my precious iPod is no where to be found! I seriously wanted to punch someone. (I'm not really a violent person)

Today is Wednesday and I have yet to recover from this horrible Sunday. I've felt tired all week and bummed out. My mom and I decided to term this feeling, "sad pudding." For some reason it just seemed to fit.

Anyway, I'm writing this post as a plea to the universe. Please don't deal me a day this bad for at least 5-10 years, if at all. In fact, Universe, how about you allow me to cash in my good karma for a winning lottery ticket this week!

Loving the Run

I recently had someone ask me how I was able to switch my mentality from, "I only run if I'm being chased," to actually enjoying it as a regular workout. Since I'm deep into my current training program and just officially registered for my first 8K, I figured this would be a fun topic to write about today!

So, I admit it. I used to despise going to the gym. I also used to sneer at the people I would see as I drove past them running at 7:00 am or running on a cold, snowy day. I didn't get it. After work I was so exhausted, all I wanted to do was crash on the couch, watch some bad reality TV, and enjoy a bowl (or pint) of ice cream. I was a bona fide couch potato. I would occasionally get inspired for a week or two and start a new diet or work out regimen. Sadly, these bouts of motivation never really lasted too long.

About a year ago, my attitude finally shifted. Maybe it was the realization that I'm no longer in my 20's, but I started to really think about my health. I was sick of feeling tired and worn down and basically feeling older than my age. I was also sick of packing on the pounds and started to fear that I might be doing permanent damage to my body. So, I started changing the way I ate. I'm a vegetarian, so luckily I already really enjoy fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, cookies and ice cream are also vegetarian. So, I started trying to limit the junk I was eating.

This past fall, a coworker and good friend of mine was actually able to talk me into running a 5K with her. She gave me a training program that she had printed out and I nervously agreed. The training program was intense and I felt like I was always sore. After a week or two, I noticed a change. I had more energy. I was sleeping better. I was feeling less anxious and happier! Once I realized the changes running was having on me, it made me more motivated to keep it up. I was also terrified of not being able to make it halfway through the 5K. Fear can be a great motivator as well.

In December, I finished my first 5K. I'm not the fastest runner, but I was amazed at how many people I was able to pass along the race. When I crossed the finish line, I was fighting back tears of happiness. I know it seems corny. It's not like I ran a marathon. But, it was huge accomplishment for me. I wanted that feeling of accomplishment again. I wanted to cross more finish lines. I wanted to feel like I was part of a healthy community. I wanted to keep running.

Oh, Whitney.

I'm sure by now a lot of people are sick of hearing about Whitney. But, seeing as she was my first favorite artist I feel I have to dedicate a blog entry to her. So, move on if you're one of those Whitney haters who's already making crackhead jokes about her.

My very first album, which was one of those ancient cassette tapes, was Whitney's self-titled album. My mom gave me this album when I was about five or six years old and I played that thing non stop, memorizing every single lyric. I would swing on the tree swing in our back yard with my cassette player going as I belted out the lyrics. I would glue myself to the TV waiting to see a Whitney Houston video. I dreamed of being as beautiful and talented as Whitney. My favorite Whitney song was, "Greatest Love of All." I was thrilled when they chose the song for our class to sing in our third grade Christmas concert. I bragged to my teacher, Ms. Clark, that I didn't even need to practice because I already knew all the words.

In high school, I was thrilled when "Waiting to Exhale" came to theaters. My mom and I went to see it in the theater. During the movie a giant rat ran across the bottom of the screen. No joke. People screamed, horrified they left the theater. My mom and I looked at each other and propped our feet up on top of the seats in front of us. There was no way I was leaving without seeing this movie, especially after seeing Angela Bassett set fire to her cheating husband's belongings on the front lawn. (Note: this theater has since been shut down) I was then obsessed with the "Waiting to Exhale" soundtrack.

In college, I was hooked on Whitney's "My Love is Your Love" album. I would blast the song, "It's Not Right, but It's Okay," in my freshman dorm room and loudly sing along every time my roommate would leave for class in the morning. I'm sure I got a few knocks on the door from our RA, reminding me that I was living on the "quiet floor" in our dorm. (It seems a bit cruel to place a college freshman on the dorm's quiet floor.

Sadly, Whitney abandoned her golden talent and began to go down a darker path. While others laugh about her drug abuse or bitch that New Jersey is running their flags at half mast, I'm going to continue to remember her through her music. Her voice was one of the most beautiful voices out there and still gives me goosebumps. I'm sad that I can no longer wait for her glorious comeback. She truly was a legend.

Saturday Morning

And I Ran...

So, I'm currently training to run the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle, which is an 8K race held in downtown Chicago. This has been my third week of training and I'm amazed how quickly I can get back into running. Don't get me wrong, for the first five minutes that I'm running I want to shoot myself in the face. But, after that first five minutes it feels like my legs are finally awake and I am in the zone.
I'm very new to this running thing. I just started to run this past fall, when I was training for my first 5K race. It took me a while to finally enjoy the act of running, but I began to find that I felt extremely relaxed afterwards. I'm talking that, "I just got a massage and I'm not going to let anything bother me" type of relaxed. Unfortunately, my running got put on the back burner during the busy holiday madness. However, I'm now back on track (no pun intended) and starting to get super excited to run my first 8K race! My goal is try to sign up for as many races I can this spring and summer, so I can keep up this new running lifestyle!

Random Hardcore Beowulf Fan?

Someone in New Mexico really likes Beowulf.

Snow Day!

It's a beautiful day! The snow is falling hard and turning the ugly, bare winter trees into fluffy white, enchanted things of beauty! I love the snow. When I hear news of a snow storm, it brings my inner child out who longed for snow days filled with building snowmen and making snow angels. It makes me sad when I hear practically everyone I know complain about the snow. First of all, it's January in Chicago people! Of course it's going to snow! What's with all the fuss and the doomsday weather reports? Plus, what good is it being so cold out if there's no pretty snow to look at? Sure, it can make traffic horrible. But traffic in Chicago is never desirable. Turn up the music in your car, drive slowly and calmly, and enjoy the fluffy white stuff!

Is it Friday yet?

I am having one of those weeks where I start off positive and hopeful for what the day will bring me, but once I get to work I end up letting others drag me down. I hate when that happens.
I work in the social service field at an agency which supports people with developmental disabilities with different, wonderful programs. An outsider might assume that everyone who works here must be a really caring and loving person. While that's certainly true about the majority of people who work here, there are unfortunately a few who do not fit that criteria. I know this, but every time I run into these people I'm surprised by their rudeness. Lately I've been running into people who are one of my least favorite personalities. The type of person who acts super friendly to your face and leads you to believe that they've got your back, 100%. Yet, once you turn your back they are gossiping about you and trying to tear you down. Ugggh!
I realize that I've basically turned this post into a rant, but I think I just needed to take a break from banging my head against the wall. Tomorrow, I will resume my hopeful attitude and attempt to kill these people with kindness!

New Year's Resolutions

The last blog post I wrote for random cotton candy is so hilariously sad. Yet again, I am reconfirming my commitment to this blog. I really mean it this time! I swear!

Obviously, one of my New Year's resolutions is to write more. Sadly, I did very little writing in 2011 and I have missed it...a lot. I would like for 2012 to be the year of the pen (or keyboard) for me.

This blog is just a little slice of the writing I will be doing this year. I'm warning in advance that I plan using this blog as almost a stream of consciousness, in order for me to get my creative wheels working again. So, I am not promising to make sense at all times or to even use proper grammar. This blog is my self-indulgent writing activity.

Now aren't you excited to start reading again!