New Year's Resolutions

 Photo by SpaPax

I know it is only the sixth of December, but I want to ring a bell for New Year's Resolutions RIGHT NOW! This is something that needs careful attention, planning, and self-examination, and I am certainly not going to wait until December 31st confronts me with its sparkling lights and champagne glasses to reflect on the direction I want to set for myself!*

I have a firm and long-held belief that New Year's Resolutions should NOT be boring, draining, or even necessary pledges. The reason most people don't hold fast to their self-imposed vows is because they pick something they think they should resolve to do, be, or accomplish, and not a change or habit that they want or even crave in their new lives in the next year. Eventually, most people start a petulant, teenage resentment circle in their heads and either get annoyed with their own imperatives (I'll go to the gym more or learn to pick up my dirty socks when I FEEL like it, okay MOM?) or just give up (It's too big of a goal to accomplish, anyway, so I'm not even going to keep working on this stupid book!). When New Year's Resolutions are formed as leashes used to hold yourself to a goal or idea that really isn't coming from your heart, they can't and won't be sustained throughout the year or result in any measurable life improvements.

Photo by koinus

This is why I must take this opportunity to heartily encourage all of you to pick something FUN, UNUSUAL or BRAVE for your NYR this year, and humbly request suggestions for my own resolution. I usually pick pretty unusual goals for myself, and I'm having trouble pinpointing what I want to do in 2011 to help define myself, for myself. Because really, we all need to focus on our own journeys and help to satisfy our own self-image first, before we focus on how we present ourselves to others. Amen!

Here are some past examples of my own old resolutions to help inspire you:

 2006: Read 100+ Books

 Photo by FilmDave

In retrospect, I consider this to be 'starting small' regarding interesting resolutions. It's not that far off from a normal vow, despite being very ambitious. However, I read extremely fast and easily outpaced this goal. It was the beginning of a good habit for me, though, wherein I now keep a list of all the books I read each year. Reviewing it is helpful to my poor memory, especially since I give away, donate or sell almost all of the books I read in order to maintain walking space in my house. Also, I can now vaguely track my spare time (how OCD of me) by checking the total number of books against other things, like the volume of my writing projects and the amount of crochet I've completed. Okay, this sounds totally psycho, but sometimes it is good to know exactly how you spend your life!

If you read a lot, I highly recommend keeping a list for yourself. It sounds simple, but it is a powerful organizational and memory tool.

 2007: Throw A Drink in Someone's Face

Photo by Not Jane Doe

Here's where it started to get interesting. This sounds totally rude AND IT IS, which is why I wanted to do it. Everyone has had those moments when other people have said or done things that were completely out of line, and very often we are too timid and proper to give someone a well-deserved smack. I had a lot of those moments in 2005 and 2006, and I just took what those assholes were dishing out without really responding in a way that let them know they were acting or speaking unacceptably.

I decided that I needed to learn to stand up for myself in both business and social situations and not allow others to have the power to talk down to me or to purposely take advantage of me. This resolution was about empowerment, finding my own voice, and clearly defining myself as someone who would rather make waves than sit back and let myself be treated poorly. I realized that I would stand up for other people more often than I stood up for myself. I'd fight like a tiger for friends and family who had been wronged, but just give up on issues that had to do with my own life. With this resolution, I gave myself permission to do something that might get me in 'trouble,' and having that wildcard in my back pocket helped me be more assertive and self-possessed for the entire year.

 2008: Teach Myself to Raise One Eyebrow at a Time

Photo of Mark

One of my high school friends has incredible eyebrow powers, and he would sort of taunt me with his prowess because I did not have the capability to do the wry 'immobile face/singular eyebrow raise' thing. It was quite annoying to have to, you know, use words to express my emotions when he could counter with a much more expressive look.

When I found out that he had actually taught himself to do this from scratch, I was amazed. Quizzing him obsessively about his technique and time line helped me to figure out that he developed this mastery by combining sheer force of will with a simple understanding of how the muscles in the face work.  After a few minutes of  instruction, I had a new goal in life. 

Why would I want to focus on something this inane for an entire year? Because I knew it was possible! I'm never going to resolve to go to the gym and get really muscled, because that just doesn't fit with my personality. But focusing on developing my one wry eyebrow to help my face become more expressive - now that, I can get behind!

2009: Green Eyes, All the time 

Photo by Ruth Flickr

This builds from the previous year, in which I had moderate (some might say, amazing) success at retraining my body to do what I wanted, despite the dubiousness of my friends and family that my goal was even possible. I have hazel eyes, and for my next trick I wanted to see if by learning to focus I could enhance the green. (No, colored contacts were too easy to employ.)

Here are some questions to consider: What do you want to do with your body? Do you want to leave it alone, natural, in the original packaging, like a collector's toy that sits on a shelf? Do you want to rip it apart and put it back together in a new way by changing your hair color, your eye color, your muscle structure? Do you want to totally renovate your physicality by adding tattoos, piercings, permanent makeup? Do you want to invest in plastic surgery? Do you even care how you present yourself to the outside world?

In 2008 I started to think about these things for the first time in my life. Up until then, I just accepted what was given to me. If I gained weight, then I gained weight. If my freckles bothered me, I just didn't look in the mirror (a fact that is very evident when looking at many disastrous photos from over the years). Honestly, I would wash my face, brush my teeth and hair, and call it a day. No makeup, no hair products, no extended efforts. And that's fine, because it never occurred to me to want to do anything else. But as I noticed myself aging in small ways for the first time, I started to understand that I could be a more active participant in the continuous development of my outer self. I can devote time and energy to changing my body.

That sounds so elementary, but I've always been much more focused on my mind so it was a new idea to me. I'd rather spend time reading a book than painting my fingernails. But then the knowledge is invisible in my head and my fingernails are odd lengths. This resolution continued my development of what I thought was important to change about my outer self to improve my self image. It sounds weird because controlling your eye color internally isn't something that most people focus on, but it kept me on a self-awareness track that I needed to strengthen from the previous year.

2010: Drink More

Photo by  nImAdestiny

 What an awesome goal! I might be the one person on the planet who vowed to drink more, not less, in the coming year. Again, this has ties to the direction I wanted to set for my life for this year, namely to go out more and to be more social instead of getting bogged down with work and life. I drink when I'm with my friends, when I'm at parties, when I'm traveling, when I go out and enjoy myself instead of staying home to read (see how the pendulum has swung?). This resolution made me get off my butt and call people I don't see all the time instead of just thinking about how nice it would be if we got together. And that is exactly what I needed this year!

So, now that you think I'm completely insane...any suggestions for my 2011 whimsical life goal? Are you thinking about yours yet? Let me know!

Photo by Leo Reynolds

*Please do not laugh at this sentence after you read my past resolutions! They might be funny and off the wall, but I do take them seriously and attempt to find things that not only highlight a sense of whimsy but also connect to bigger issues of self-image and life-adjustment.

How to Get Someone to Respect Your Resume

 

I saw this blurb on GMA this morning and it reminded me that I had written the following set of basic tips for improving your chances in the job hunt...and never posted it. So here you go!

In today's economy, millions of people are still looking for jobs. They comb the Internet, the read the paper, they ask friends, and they say novenas. I should know, I did all of those things myself. But now that I am employed and working in Human Resources, I have accrued some tips for people taking the middle step to finding a job - actually applying for one. You would not believe the things that come across my desk and filter through my inbox. Here are a few red flags to avoid if you're on the job hunt. I hope that by reviewing your resume, cover letter and application habits, you might find the thing that has been preventing you from being chosen and break through your job slump!

Photo by SOCIALisBETTER

1. If you don't write a cover letter (which you should, see below), please at least INCLUDE your actual name in the application
If I can't open your electronic resume, HOTBOD3769, and I don't know your birth name, I will most likely just delete your email rather than wasting time tracking you down.

If I get a fax that is blurry, missing some pages, or doesn't specify which position you're applying for and the only contact info I have for you is whatever fax number you sent your inadequate resume from, I will not risk having someone else (say, your current boss who didn't know you used company property in your effort to escape him) receive a return fax with my requests for clarification.

When faxing, I would advise clearly writing your name and phone number on the top of each page.When emailing, please use a non-profane email address and type your real name in the body of the email.

2. Don't lose the job before I even read your resume
Some problems leave a bad first impression that might never be surmounted. They include, but are not limited to:
-Not including your real name
-Forgetting to attach your resume and not catching your own mistake (If you catch it and resend, it can be forgiven. I get distracted too.)
-Attaching your resume in an obscure or unreadable format
-Not specifying the job you are applying for. It might seem obvious to you, but many HR Specialists are responsible for the hiring needs of an entire company and they aren't always well-informed enough about the differences in the requirements to tease your interest out of your application, especially if the available jobs are similar. 
-Writing your resume in paragraph form and explaining every life choice you've ever made - that kind of nonsense is for the interview, if you make it that far
-NOT USING SPELL CHECK

Photo by SOCIALisBETTER

3. Don't pad your resume
I'd be more impressed with someone who lacks my precise requirements but wrote a great cover letter detailing their life experiences related to a job that someone who 'enhances' their resume with nonsense or inflated job duties. We do check references, people. I've actually read a resume which listed writing on a personal Facebook as her job for the past two years. Say what? Not even a personal blog, just a Facebook account. Personally, I was unemployed for a long time before I got this job, but I just admitted it openly in my interview and explained the (good) reasons for it honestly. I could have made something up to fill the slot on my resume, but then I wouldn't be considered an honest applicant. It's better to admit a bad truth than to make up a good lie when job hunting.

4. Cover letters - do one! (And make sure it is relevant and specific.)
The cover letter is a delicate monster. You don't want to get too involved (the fact that your 'baby' is in high school and your 'princess' is engaged has no bearing on your fit for this position), but you don't want to come across as vague, demanding or standoffish either. Here are some real-life examples that made me know  that the applicant was not what we were looking for immediately.

PS Before you say I'm older than you may want, please know that I have raised five daughters and am still paying college loans for the next bazillion years (lucky me) So I will be working forever. 

This post script came at the end of a very well written cover letter, from a candidate with a lot of experience in the field. He looked good on paper, but his p.s. ruined that image. I think I know what he was trying to do here; he wanted to humanize his application and give me something to remember him by that might elicit a laugh. But instead, it just highlighted what he thought of as a personal failing (his age) and ended his list of accomplishments on a sad sour note. In my head, I read that as '::sigh:: I will be working FOR-EVER ::groan::'

If he had waited to slip that comment in at the end of his face-to-face interview, I probably would have laughed and remembered him in a favorable light. Because I had the time to sit here and think about it, the implications that came up in my mind were not of a loving, funny, beleaguered father, but of someone who was not eager to join my company as a vibrant new member of the team. My final impression, right or wrong, was of someone who is just looking for a paycheck and doesn't quite care where he has to work to get it.

I possess solid interpersonal, communication and teamwork ability, and can effectively supervise all aspects of a daily operation in government or the private sector. The non-profit boards that I currently sit on and have been affiliated with have always made fund raising a top priority. As A Substitute teacher over the years, my students have  taught me my single most important lesson, BE A GOOD LISTENER.

This letter was obviously not tailored to my organization, which was seeking a case manager for a medical office. My first impression from his government comment - and his long list of impressive local politicians as references - was that he would not well suited to dealing with sick people and their problems. Maybe that's unfair, but I'm trying to give you a truthful look at the way these things can be interpreted.

Another reason that I would not be interested in this candidate is his fund raising comment. So what? We don't need fund raising, and it was not in the job description in the ad he was responding to with this letter. Know your audience. It's great that this man knows a lot of high profile people, but it doesn't matter to us. I'm glad he knows how to fund raise - but it doesn't fit with my needs. I would have preferred a concrete example of his 'teamwork ability.'

Finally, the last sentence was a mess and totally unrelated to the rest of his rambling, disjointed paragraph. Most people today consider all caps to be 'shouting' and it is not a good way to emphasize your point. Also, the fact that this was a generic letter shows that he was, in fact, not a good listener to the qualifications and other details in our advertisement. 

I'm looking for a good job, I can keep a long time. 

Oh, the spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors I have seen. My first thought when I read that sentence was 'So can a freezer waffle.' If you want someone to take you seriously, and I cannot stress this enough, reread before you send! Spell check is our friend, people. I type quickly and often interpose letters, but no one would know that because I always check my work both as I go and before publishing it. It is the professional thing to do, and can catch so many embarrassing mistakes that present you in a bad light without really having anything to do with whether or not you could do a good job. To err is human, to present yourself properly is professional. One or two mistakes can be forgiven, but a messy application is not a good way to introduce yourself. You wouldn't go to an interview wearing stained and wrinkled clothes, would you?

to whm it may concern; contact me imediattly so i know you receved My Resume

Same problem, different configuration. You're applying for a job, not texting someone. I don't care if you have sent me your application on your phone, you should still use capitals and for the love of job hunting, be polite about it! Misspellings, random capitalization, and lack of a proper cover letter are all bad enough, but when you appear demanding right off the bat, your resume automatically goes to the bottom of the pile. How much more effort would it take to type 'please'?

Also, the above was the entire email. No name attached, with a resume entitled 'Resume' that would not open properly. Red flags, red flags, red flags! This person is not ready for the responsibility the job requires, and if I'm good at my job then I know that already and won't have to pay them unemployment when I fire them in three weeks.

If you are looking for an exact career/field match; my query for you, "How can I be given a fair chance when I am not an exact match 1 on 1? This should not be held against me not knowing my personality or abilities! I can tell you, I would and will be an excellent choice for this position

Why should I believe this? I'm all for reaching for a job that is a little above your experience, but you just told me you are not a match! YOU told me!

My salary expectations are negotiable and I would be willing to work at any salary that you are willing to offer me.

Don't do this. It's a rabbit hole that your entire job application will fall down and it will only end up one of two ways. Either the hiring manager will think 'Oh, good, a deal!' and think of you as discount merchandise (a first impression that might affect not only your salary, but how you're treated on the job), or they will not even consider someone whose first tactic is to proclaim themselves as cheap instead of highlighting their accomplishments.


This goes back to the first example, and reiterates the point that there are some things you can say, phrased well, during an interview, that should not under any circumstances be involved with the first impression that is your resume. When you write your cover letter, either have someone else read it and interpret it or try to step out of your own intentions and see if something you wanted to be a plus could be seen as a minus in another light. See if you wrote something jokingly that might come across as serious, desperate, or weird. When a stranger looks at a piece of paper or an email and superimposes their own agenda, personality and checklist over it, you don't want them to write you off for something that needs to be explained or could be misinterpreted.

I would like to be come radiology technology. I think that being radiology is the most important job in the medical filed, x-ray can find any kind of problem that patient might have it will find it.

We were not advertising for a radiologist.

Photo by Keith Williamson

5. Don't ask for more information without sending your resume - in fact, don't ask at all.
I have things to do. I'm not going to sum up the entire position for everyone who asks through emails. That's what the help wanted ad, and later the interview, are designed to do.

If you think you might be interested in a job, send in an application. If they contact you, ask more about the position. You don't have to take a job if you're not really interested, but if you make a good impression you have a new contact to add to your list. 

6. Be technologically polite
When sending your resume, attach it as a word file, but also copy/paste the entire text (including your cover letter) into the email in case the file won't open. Some people are nervous about opening files from strangers, and some people don't have the capability to open your old Wordpad file on their new computers. Also, if you're faxing your application, use a cover page and specify which job you are applying for on top. If you know the name of the HR professional or hiring manager, write it in large letters. If not, write Human Resources or Hiring Manager across the top.

Bottom line: Unfortunately, HR people see hundreds of resumes that could all be a good fit. Things get weeded out for reasons that some HR professionals won't admit; aggressiveness, sloppiness, weird fonts, personal details, corrupt attachments. Try to be clear, concise, professional, and brief in your application. Don't edit your entire personality out of your cover letter, but remember that the phrase is 'getting your foot in the door', not 'getting your entire torso, including your bad hip and unusually hairy legs, in the door.' Highlight your accomplishments, but leave some professional details to brag about in the interview. Good luck!

Airing Out Some Found Links

 Photo by bearbooandyumyum

Have you ever noticed the link-saving phenomenon? I don't know what else to call it - Bookmark and Forget, perhaps. Maybe I'm the only one who does this, but if I see something particularly interesting online, I bookmark it...and then never look at it again. Sometimes I bookmark things that seem interesting, or that someone told me that they find interesting, so I have things saved that I've never even looked at once. This leads to me to wonder, months later, exactly WHY I saved something that is just a thinly veiled advertisement for a lame wonder-gadget or how a link to a page entirely in Russian ended up on my list.

Computers are so convenient, aren't they? Almost too convenient, in that they enable even the neatest among us to become crazy hoarders. Not physical stuff, not 'my house is too messy to walk through, please call for help' hoarders, but information hoarders. Why not? If I have access to cool, unusual, and interesting information, why shouldn't I save a link to it for future use? Well, of course you should, just don't end up like me with hundreds of unsorted, unlabeled links-to-awesome that you don't look at again until the link has expired and you've lost the information forever. Also, if you are filing everything away in an online lockbox instead of sharing that information - well, clearly, you're kind of missing the whole point of the Internet.

So here are a few totally random (and awesome) links I've already shared in one way or another and have recently rediscovered on my computer. And yes, one of them is completely in Russian, but it's very entertaining to try to piece the story together!

Sloth Orhpanage 

Video of baby sloths. Enough said. 

Sand Mandala 

Buddhist monks expend an enormous amount of time creating sand  mandalas (sacred circles of art with intricate meanings) and then just blow them away into the ether.

Bee Wallpaper

Nature is gorgeous and fascinating. 

BP Reacts to a Coffee Spill

Finding some humor in tragedy.

Shit My Kids Ruined

Some of my friends recently started having children. I recently started sending them this link. ;)

Readers by Author

I don't kow if I agree with all of these assessments, but I do know they're funny. What do you think?

Jersey Shore: A Contextual Analysis

The evolution of stereotypes, and what happens when people own (and give in to, and exaggerate) stereotypes instead of avoiding them.

Red Pandas: Ancient and Adorable

If I could have one of these as a pet, my life would be complete.

Metro Dogs
These dogs live in the Russian subway. And accept donations. 

Newsies + Lady Gaga

There is an entire generation of women who will never love any movie more than Newsies, ever. And almost no one else has ever seen the film.

Super Mario's Perspective

There is another subset of the population who remember original Nintendo and the few, mindblowing-at-the-time games that it brought into our lives.

BP - Creating an Entirely New Environmental Disaster No One Is Paying Attention To...Yet

View of the oil spill from space on May 24, 2010

NASA file photo

Yesterday, after an unimaginable three-month period, the gushing ecological disaster known as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, or more commonly as the British Petroleum Oil Spill, was finally capped successfully. My fingers are crossed that this containment cap will hold, and the focus can shift from emergency measures to a sustained recovery.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer about the capping of the well - it's FANTASTIC that it has stopped gushing, but this is only the beginning of a more focused effort to actually effect a real, comprehensive clean-up instead of the current method of placing a band-aid over a bullet wound. This is a world event that will have far-reaching impacts on the environment, wildlife, the seafood industry, tourism, health care and the economy for years to come.

 I really feel as if the media has fallen down on the job for much of this event. Every major media outlet is focusing on this tragedy now, but details were few and far between at the start and many reporters failed to dig deeper into what was really going on at first. A LARGE part of that can be attributed to the inappropriate control BP had over the area in the beginning and their direct use of the Coast Guard to restrict and deny access to the worst areas. Another problem, of course, was the fact that BP repeatedly lied - or 'misinterpreted' - the amount of oil that was actually gushing from the well, which caused people to unintentionally downplay the reality of the disaster. Of course, that convenient misinterpretation also slowed the response effort. When I saw twenty people in bio-hazard suits wander sluggishly down miles of beach on the news, I realized that the clean-up effort started as more of a farce than a true emergency response. Yes, there are miles of  shoreline to tend to, but perhaps some of the millions BP is funneling into marketing and ad campaigns could better serve as additional funds for the EMERGENCY it is directly responsible for.

Okay, I am ranting and I haven't even gotten close to my point! It is hard not to get upset about this, but I'll try to move along...

I read in the newspaper last weekend that all the oil they're cleaning up from the beaches in bio-hazard suits has NOT been classified as a bio-hazard in terms of disposal. Say WHAT?! Yeah, that doesn't even come close to making sense to me, either. But apparently, the Department of Environmental Quality recently ran toxicity tests on the collected oil and declared it non-hazardous. Since then, Waste Management has been dumping the oil and all of the associated oil-coated trash into places like this small Mississippi landfill!

Apparently unsafe dumping has been an ongoing problem. It has even further-reaching consequences than simply being about irresponsible disposal and is contaminating areas all over Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Louisiana. There have been reports of  leaking trucks trailing oily streams behind them daily, providing ample opportunity for ground contamination and potentially causing problems for inland water supplies. This is a really good article detailing the problems of safely hauling away and disposing of the 4000 tons of solid waste (and the seemingly non-existent oversight of the workers and companies involved).

If this asphalt-like poisonous goo is allowed to be thrown away like nothing more dangerous than household trash, it will certainly leach into water tables, poison non-aquatic wildlife, impact the surrounding flora, and compound this disaster in many horrible and as-yet-unknowable ways. Why isn't this waste being sealed properly? Why isn't this issue being focused on by the mainstream media? 

I had to rephrase my Google search three times to get information on where the collected oil is actually going. That is ridiculous - Google is usually a magical genie that knows what I'm looking for before I even finish typing the words. Why is information on where the oil is being sent after is it 'cleaned up' so difficult to come by? Shouldn't people be wondering where the clumpy chunks of oily sand that are being trucked away will end up? Shouldn't the government realize that allowing Waste Management, a supposedly 'green' company, to dump this stuff into landfills is a BAD, IRRESPONSIBLE  IDEA? Anyone who can grasp the concept of landfills (which includes all of the thinking world except for the brains at BP and WM) should realize that they are not impenetrable lock boxes that can magically store away the evils of the world forever.

There have been almost 150 reported cases of oil-exposure related illness reported so far, with symptoms including dizziness, nausea, chest pain, headaches and vomiting, and that is simply from exposure to the oil on the beaches. What will happen when this thick crude ends up in the water, the food, and the bodies of the local people?







Don't even get me started on the rumors that they are actually dumping sand on top of the oil to hide it instead of cleaning it up - BP has proven to be so morally bankrupt that I believed that rumor immediately. Sure, the layers shown in this video could have occurred naturally, and there is no real proof that it didn't - except for the past actions of British Petroleum, a company that wants its collective lives back so badly that it doesn't really care if other people's lives are ruined in the process.

Two Variations on the Same Dip

Dips can be the perfect snack for vegetarians or the health conscious, especially in the summertime. Admittedly, the two recipes below use a base of cream cheese so they are not actually the healthiest options, but they're still made with veggies and can be eaten on veggies!

I went to a party last weekend and fell in love with a dip that my friend made. This is her recipe:

Brighid's Cool Cucumber Dip
One package cream cheese, either the kind in the tub or softened in the microwave for 20 seconds
One cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
Garlic salt to taste

All you have to do is mix and serve - can't get much easier than that! I loved this dip because it was so lightweight and cooling on a hot night. The cucumbers gave it a nice crunch and the hint of garlic kept things interesting. Yum!


When I looked in my fridge to make Brighid's dip at home, I didn't have any cucumbers so I improvised wildly and came up with a totally new concoction:

Creamy, Crunchy Pepper Dip
One package cream cheese, either the kind in the tub or softened in the microwave for 20 seconds
Either: One medium sized green pepper (capsicum), uncooked
OR:   1/3 medium green pepper
          1/3 medium red pepper
          1/3 medium yellow pepper
Small amount of onion (less than peppers)
1/4 can black beans, drained
Garlic salt to taste

Chop the peppers and onion into small pieces. Go light on the onions or that flavor will overpower the rest of the dip. (I used three different kinds of peppers because I had them on hand, but it isn't really necessary unless you want it to be really colorful.) Add in the black beans and garlic salt and stir thoroughly. If the cream cheese is a little thick, add some of the water from the can of beans to thin it out and stir it again to make it more creamy.
I only invented this last night, so I'm thinking of trying it with a hummus base to make it more healthy and up the protein factor. I'll let you know how that turns out!

A Renewed Quest for Personal Energy

I am always tired, and it's not fun. My lethargy has caused me to reject social invitations, ignore important obligations, and curse my alarm clock daily with more vigor than would be accepted in polite company. I long ago realized that much of this extreme sleepiness is connected to some health problems. At this point in my life, I've learned to ignore the people who call me lazy and accept the fact that as long as I am on certain medications, I will sometimes have the initiative of a baby sloth no matter what I do. The good news is that I have been feeling better lately, and I'm learning to control and compensate for my need for sleep.

One of the best ways I've found to feel more energetic is to control my diet. Garbage in, garbage out doesn't just apply to computers, folks! For no clearly defined reason, I got in in my head to embrace the Raw Food Diet two years ago. I was feeling especially sluggish and looking for new ways to dominate my natural inclination to hibernate. I can't say I was up at dawn whistling with the birds, but I did notice a marked increase in energy after a few weeks with pretty easy dietary changes on my part. That said, I already eat a pretty healthy diet, so making the switch wasn't as big of a stretch for me as it might be for some people.

I'm not interested in that lifestyle for weight-loss reasons, and I won't speak to that issue at all. But for the four months that I stuck to it pretty closely, I felt much better than I have in years. No preservatives, no trans fat, very little meat (okay, sometimes I cheated. I love bacon.) = a healthier, happier me. My hair was shinier, my skin was clear, and my napping habits decreased by half.

I'm sure I'll write more about this topic in the future, but I'm mentioning it now because my local Farmer's Market just opened and I'm going to make an effort to return to vegetarianism in the hope of regaining some of that all-natural energy boost. For now, I don't think I'll go all-out raw again, but I may transition into that some time in the future. The main reason that I'm not going straight back into raw is because I find it difficult to live with an avowed meat-eater and restrict myself so much. I can certainly resist a burger or a piece of chicken, but when I am doing so it is harder to deny myself feta in my salad or a homemade veggie omelet. Like I said, I'm not doing this diet for ethical or weight loss reasons, and I believe that everyone should feel free to set their own boundaries instead of having to stick to a strictly imposed outside rules. So if I do get a hankering for bacon...well, I'm not going to beat myself up over it!

So, I am going to start adding some simple and healthy recipes to this site. I don't know if anyone would be interested and I'm certainly not a master chef, but I think everyone looks forward to trying something new in the summer when they see the fruits and veggies piling up in their gardens or local stores. I know a lot of EASY recipes that are very tasty and I'll be posting them here intermittently for your gustatory pleasure!

The Gidget of Heart Surgery

Oh, Barbara Walters. You make it look so easy, vanishing into the magical closet of television for your open heart surgery and returning triumphantly via Skype (Seriously, Barbara? You couldn't get a film crew out to your apartment to clearly capture the sheen of exertion on your upper lip and the slight wrinkle of secret agony upon your brow? I am on to you and your intentional Internet-based obfuscation.). You're an 80 year old fighter, Barbara, we all know that, but please don't glamour America into thinking that heart surgery is no big deal and you're better than new. You can't push off the downsides as 'myths' and expect people to believe that your TEN DAY hospital stay was all sunshine and buttered muffins.

When you raised your arm in triumph over this pesky inconvenience, I felt the pull of your internal stitches despite your apparent ease of motion. I heard that tiny, impossible grating sound as the gritty edges of your sliced sternum ground against each other in an infinitesimal internal earthquake of your own making. Thankfully, you didn't try to show up with a pullover sweater, or I might never have been able to forgive you that deceit. It's true that everyone heals at their own pace, but this 'total miracle cure' stuff that you're shoveling just doesn't ring true for me.Saying that you're 'a little sore' but that you don't remember the first few days after surgery (or your blood transfusion!) is misleading and downplays reality in a big way.

It's barely been two short months, Ms. Walters. Here's what I know you're really feeling - fragile, shaky, and weak. Your sternum was hacked open with a chainsaw, my friend, and that is no small event for anyone, let alone an 80 year old. They hooked you up to a contraption which drained all of the blood from your body and kept your lungs working for you, and some surgeon stuck his plastic-wrapped fingers into your most sacred orifice - your chest cavity. It might not seem like such an amazing feat to you because all the while you slumbered in a drug induced haze, probably even then dreaming of your triumphant return to the small screen.

But, Barbara, do not diminish the accomplishments of your doctors and your own body with your eagerness  to show your superhuman face to the loyal viewers. They took the motor of your body, tinkered with it in impossible ways, and restored your ability to live! Please, take a quiet moment to lie on your bed peacefully, staring at the ceiling, and appreciate the fact that you are recovering from a major life event.

No one will judge you harshly if you admit how tough it has been. In fact, people will probably appreciate you more if you describe some of the gory details and the problems you endured. (You know well how voyeuristic our culture has become!) The drainage tubes are surely a graphic and poignant illustration of how your body reacted to this surgical invasion. The brief and demoralizing inability to get into the shower, the difficulty of washing your hair, the pain of even raising your arms a few inches at first. The sneezing - oh God, the horror of the sneezing! Surely people will want to know how the brunt force of every evil sneeze slammed through your body like a sledgehammer, pulling internal stitches and causing bruised and stretched muscles to contract in agony. You'll never look at a sneeze the same way again, will you Barbara? With a little bit of your journalistic skill, neither will anyone else in America that owns a television.

Let me tell you this, rapt audience of The View, frankly and without exaggeration: open-heart surgery is a big deal. In fact, it is a big fucking deal, and there are no softer words to describe it. It is a procedure that, despite many miraculous medical breakthroughs over the years, still brings you very close to death before (hopefully) bringing you back to a better quality of life. I can only hope that this fact will be explored in detail when Ms. Walters returns to her show in September. It's all well and good to put a brave face on a horrible experience, but eventually, the painful human side of this life event should really be explored in depth so that it doesn't continue to come across as no worse than a hangnail or stubbed toe.

I would like to commend her for the brief medical descriptions of the surgery and her encouragement to women to get regular echo cardiograms with their yearly physical. That's exactly the kind of reminder that women need to take care of themselves, so that more of them will actually make it to eighty!




Here are a few links in case you're interested in learning more about this subject:

 Definition and variations of 'open heart surgery'

What Barbara Walters Had Done Specifically

American Heart Association

AHA Heart Healthy Recipes

The Dream Life of the Office People

           "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined."


-Henry David Thoreau
Ah, to follow your dream. What a wonderful and commendable process. But what if you don't have a very specific dream, a concrete hope to pin your someday upon? What if your dreams are broad, no more tangible than to get out of where you are right now, or even that elusive, straw-grasping common goal of being 'successful'? What if your dreams crave some sort of success that is based more on luck magically combining with hard work and talent?

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." -Ben Stein

How, oh how do you actually decide something as crazy as 'what you want'? Specifically, and with a defined plan for success? It's all well and good for the people who decided in third grade that they wanted to be teachers or lawyers, and then actually ended up being teachers or lawyers, but what about those of us with more adaptable (some might say vague) goals? I can't tell you how to define your own bliss, but I can try to help you steer yourself in that general direction.

 

First of all, the most important thing is to be open to embracing change. Sitting home alone is not going to get you anywhere, especially if you're looking for your one in a million chance at something. Move out of your hometown, write a fan letter to your idol, call that boy you've had a crush on for two years!

You never, ever know when being open to something, no matter how small, will affect your entire life. I think this is especially important for things that make you slightly uncomfortable or nervous. That's when the opportunity for change is the most abundant! Here is a good example: Six months ago, I agreed to do a photo shoot for a cause I believe in, even though I absolutely HATE having my picture taken. I threw myself into the idea, thought about the good that my contribution could do, and ignored the scared voice in the back of my head telling me that I wasn't up to such a nerve wracking experience. A few weeks later, I got a lot of positive feedback about it from friends and family, and was also recommended for the job I have now by the photographer! If I hadn't embraced that change in attitude, he never would have spent time with me and realized that I would be a good fit for the position. So, go on, embrace this poem and forge ahead!

Secondly, you absolutely must work as hard as you can, for as long as it takes. This is especially true if you are unsure or uncertain about your ultimate goals. You must force yourself to focus, minutely, on your talents and desires, and find your own perfect formula to meld the two. For some reason (probably because of the rare, highly publicized cases of singers being discovered on YouTube or something), people think that they DESERVE a lucky break in their areas of interest. They think that if they are good at something, people will see that and chase after them with buckets of cash. NOT TRUE! Sometimes, you have to give your dream everything you've got, and then give even more. You've got to sound out the corners of your desires and be really certain of yourself before anyone else will follow suit. This is not what people want to hear, though, let alone what they actually want to do. But do you think that J. K. Rowling was sitting in a mansion, eating chocolate and dreaming up the adventures of Harry and Co? Nope, she was huddled in a coffee shop writing on scraps of paper and living on welfare before she hit it rich.

Now that I think about it, this example leads to another form of modern disillusionment, the rags-to-riches dream. If you work your ass off until you achieve mild success, and then just sit back and expect your fortunes to multiply on their own, you are going to lose everything you've already worked towards. That is the secret to the as long as it takes portion of success - usually, it takes forever. Even after you achieve your goals, you'll develop new ones and build on the old ones. Don't plan on getting lazy, or you're planning to straight out fail.

Another good way to sort out your real goals from your idle fantasies is to talk to people who do what you think you want to do. They can share the details of what it is like to actually be in the trenches of your aspirations and help guide you in the right direction if you don't know how to start. Not only can you figure out if your aspirations are really a good fit for you (because nothing is worse or more frightening than searching your soul, deciding on a goal, and hating the results once you go all in), but you can also make contacts in your chosen industry that could be useful later on in your career. This can be a two-way street; if you are smart and motivated, they will remember you in the future as well. If you're worried about calling someone out of the blue, then email or friend them on LinkedIn first. Trust me, no one will ever refuse if you offer to treat them to a meal and sit there listening attentively to their stories!

No matter what, try to maintain realistic expectations. No, writing one short story is not going to make your fortune. Stitching together one dress and selling it to your friend will not allow you to quit your day job. Finally deciding that your ultimate goal is to be an opera singer, not a hip-hop artist, is not enough to land you on a stage wearing a horned helmet and braids.If your dreams take time to develop, you have to be patient and realize they will also take time to achieve.

Finally, you have to realize that close can be good enough.This is another thing that nobody wants to hear - after all of that hard work specifically defining your goals and dreams, how could I tell you to give up before you have your fingers on the brass ring? Well, it's all about maximizing your real happiness versus your projected happiness. If you've decided that your ultimate goal is to be the CEO of the company that you already work for, and you've put in the long hours and hard work to make it to CFO, perhaps you shouldn't give yourself an ulcer focusing on that last step up. Some goals are not possible, as hard as that is to accept. If the CEO started the company and his son is interested in the job, there is just no way that you'll ever edge him out. Enjoy your actual achievements instead of bemoaning any imagined loss. After all, at this point, you've already decided what you want and had the strength to go after it. That is an accomplishment in and of itself! Celebrate by letting go and living well!

"Cherish your visions and you dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements." -Napoleon Hill

Quality Life Lessons from the Internet

I just read a really entertaining article entitled "The Ten Most Important Things They Didn't Teach You In School".  Highlights include:

Practical Self-Defense

Some of you guys who grew up on The Matrix still fantasize about beating the shit out of a street full of thugs in a fight that looks like a choreographed dance. This class will not teach you how to do that. No class will teach you how to do that.

Emergency Repairs

Chapters Include:

I. How to Patch and Paint a Wall So You Can Get Your Deposit Back From Your Landlord;
II. Identifying Which Wires in Your House Will Kill You if You Touch Them;
III. What to do When You Wake Up to Find Your Toilet/Refrigerator/Hot Water Heater/Air Conditioner/Sink is Puking Water Onto Your Floor;
IV. When to Call the Repair Guy;
V. How to Figure Out if the Repair Guy is Screwing You;
VI. Foreign Objects You're Going to Try to Put in the Microwave at Some Point so Let's Just Get it Out of Your System Now.

Success = Meeting the Right People

 

All of those successful people you see around town, with their convertibles and huge televisions? Approximately 100 percent of them got where they are because they had three things. All three are absolutely essential, but one of them is almost never mentioned. They are:

* Talent
* Hard Work
* Randomly Meeting the Right People and Not Pissing Them Off

-link via Gala Darling

The "Crossbody" Bag - new to me!

You know how sometimes you'll hear a new word or idea, and then out of nowhere it'll suddenly be everywhere? That happened to me this week with the notion of "crossbody" purses. As far as I can tell, this is just a new word for an old idea - a messenger bag - that has gotten a fashion face-lift into the next big thing. Yes, I know, messenger bags are old skool, but the twist here is that crossbody bags can be more than just a utilitarian canvas Salvation Army find. Apparently, this new configuration takes function AND fashion into account, providing long straps for such diverse purse styles as the hobo, the satchel, and even small totes. No longer are girls who want to be hands-free expected to conform to the large, rectangular standard!

This trend is interesting to me because I have an incredibly hard time finding a useful, lightweight purse that works for me when I am traveling. I'm not overly obsessed with fashion, but that doesn't mean I want to lug around an awkward book bag or ruin an outfit with an out-sized, boy-style messenger. I have two messenger bags, both of which I roundly rejected last time I needed a purse for a weekend away. One is black on the outside and orange on the inside (why?), and it is very sporty looking. I sat it on the bed next to the clothes I would be wearing and realized that they were all lightweight, simple and slightly feminine. The black bag looked like a towering raven perched next to a sparrow, and I realized that it would overshadow every outfit if I chose to use it. My other option was a big green army-imitation deal, and it was actually bigger than the backpack I would be using as luggage. Not cool!

Just in case you're dying of curiosity, I went with a small, black crocheted bag that is the only other purse I own with that newly coveted crossbody strap. It worked out fine, but it is much smaller than my regular bags and although I appreciated the lightweight feel, I was constantly rooting around in its tiny, jam packed darkness trying to access the things I needed. Also, it is old and starting to fray, so I definitely need to find a replacement asap!

Here are some options I'm considering based on practicality, style and price (of course!) for my next travel adventure:

Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.

There are many guises for intelligence.
One part of you is gliding in a high windstream,
while your more ordinary notions
take little steps and peck at the ground….

…We must become ignorant of what we have been taught
and be instead bewildered.

Run from what is profitable and comfortable.
Distrust anyone who praises you.
give your investment money, and the interest
on the capital, to those who are actually destitute.

Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.
Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
I have tried prudent planning long enough.
From now on, I’ll be mad.

 -Rumi

Sarah Wilson brought this gem to my attention today, and I don't have much to add other than the fact that I would like to embrace this wholeheartedly in the near, near future. I think my entire life needs a thorough, shocking shakeup, and when it happens, I'll be sure to document it here...fingers crossed, people. Life is out there waiting for me!

Body Science

I just think that this is really interesting. It's a brief set of fun facts about the body, some of which are obvious and some of which are unusual.

I especially like this detail:

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories.

Next time I'm extra hungry, I'm just going to tell myself that another helping will simply be food for thought. ;)

Review: The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

After thinking about books so much this weekend, I've decided to do a short review of the one I've just finished, The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. I'm a fan of his previous work, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and, coincidentally, I've recently been reading a lot of fiction set in the beautiful city of Venice. When I saw this creative non-fiction offering, I was excited to read this author's take on the town and its obscure local customs and inhabitants.

Having been to Venice briefly myself, I already had a handle on the main attractions and locations, but I still learned a lot from Berendt's detailed descriptions and his insider insights. He depicts the everyday lives of the locals in great detail, describing the less traveled canals and tourist-free, working class neighborhoods as well as the tony palazzos inhabited by rich foreigners and the crumbling remnants of the Italian nobility.

The people in this book are indeed larger than life characters, but none of them are fictional. Berendt gives the reader a peek into the lives of the obscenely wealthy upper class while simultaneously delving into the lives of the day laborers working on and affected by the destruction and reconstruction of the city's grand opera house, the Fenice. The hunt for the cause of the fire is a major linchpin in the story, tying the characters together and allowing the author to rotate in and out of varied vignettes by providing a solid anchor for the storyline arch. Details and facts are concisely spelled out, but the reality of the events is apparent in the loose ends that remain stubbornly, mysteriously untidy to the end.

One detail that the author failed to mention in this meticulous, fact-driven tome is the English translation of the name of the opera house. "Fenice' means 'phoenix', and, as previously mentioned,  the book details the rise of the Fenice from the ashes of the suspicious fire that felled it shortly before Berendt's arrival in Venice. I can't believe he would ignore such an obvious (maybe too obvious?) translation, especially when he does mention the first fire that felled the original theater in the late 18th century, causing the Venetians to rename what had been the San Benedetto Theater. Perhaps this is an innocent oversight; something that would be so obvious to a person fluent in Italian that it might not be deemed worth spelling out in English print.

My favorite part of this book is the lengthy detour into the life and death of the Ezra Pound. Berendt goes on at length about the poet and his mistress, spinning the stranger-than-fiction tale in such an interesting manner that the reader forgets he did not know the man personally. Did you know that for a time during World War II, Pound lived in a remote mountain cabin with both his estranged wife and his longtime mistress? Imagine the dinner table conversations in that tense environment! I never knew how captivating Pound's personal life was, and although the long description in the middle of the book necessitates an abrupt stoppage of the rest of the tale, once the main chunk of Pound's life in Venice is described, the threads of the story of his heirs and affairs is skillfully woven into the rest of the more modern story.

In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading travel stories, histories, creative non-fiction, or even historical fiction. The characters are all well-rounded to the point that it is often difficult to distinguish the people that the author encountered in real life from the ones he has only heard about from second-hand reports. The story does lag at times, but never for long. Like all good travel writing, it sparked my interest in the places described within, and it certainly made me want to revisit Venice as soon as possible!

Book Sale, Part Two

This afternoon I joined throngs of like-minded bibliophiles in the basement of the Children's Library and let me tell you, I came away with some priceless finds.While I'm tempted to list the titles of each of the 39 books I lugged home, I think that would be more than a little over the top. Also, I don't know if my second-hand picks are actually worth recommending yet, so I'll save the reviews until later and just mention two of my best finds.
  
~I got a mint 1939 one-volume encyclopedia entitled 'FACTS!' It's bound with gorgeous burgundy faux-leather, and although the binding is quite frail and starting to crumble, the pages are in great shape. I love the way that words and phrases fall in and out of use over the years and how the meanings of common words constantly evolve through use and cultural application. (I know...I'm a nerd!)
The introduction to FACTS! described different uses for the definitions it contains; it declared that doctors would be interested only  in certain words related to their field, that historians would be inclined to refer to the brief summaries of battles and world events, and that scientists could spend hours studying the proper taxonomies of the modern world. Then, in my favorite part, FACTS!  proposed that the 'regular man on the street would be interested in knowing such things as...what a mugwump is...' etc etc How cute!

~My second prize is part of the series The Story of Civilization by Will Durant: When I walked into the book sale, something immediately called to me amid the tangle of sweaty legs and jumbled boxes filled with old, marked, unloved library cast-offs. Beneath a crowded and sagging folding table, a simple and unassuming surprise somehow caught my attention. It was a small, neat box containing the first four books in what I later found out is an eleven book series (!!). I was initially attracted to the clean, crisp burgundy bindings (that conveniently match the cover of FACTS!), but as I started to page through Volume One Our Oriental Heritage, I was delighted to discover the elegant writing style and the wealth of information it contained. I also grabbed The Life of Greece (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 2), Caesar and Christ (The Story of Civilization Vol. 3), and  The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization Vol. 4).These books are all huge, in depth colorful histories, and if I had known then that I was missing out on seven more jam-packed classics, I probably would have searched petulantly for the rest of the set instead of thanking my lucky nerd stars that I could get my paws on as many volumes as I did. Here's an excerpt from The Renaissance in which the author discusses Botticelli:

"Doubtless like all of us he was many men, turned on one or another of his selves as occasion required, and kept his real self a frightened secret from the world."

Ahh! Can you stand it?! Who expects that kind of introspective poetry in an historical compendium? How about this discussion of trade and religion, also from The Renaissance:

"Venetian merchants invaded every market from Jerusalem to Antwerp; they traded impartially with Christians and Mohammedans, and papal excommunications fell upon them with all the force of dew upon the earth."

Wow. And those quotes are only two random selections from my very quick perusal of a single volume. What an admirable talent, and quite a prolific one as well!

I did some brief research on the author, and found that Will Durant and his wife Ariel were profoundly connected, working together on most of The Story of Civilization as well as sharing a great romance. Apparently, in 1981 Will became sick at age ninety-six. When he was hospitalized (and thus separated from his wife), she stopped eating and died shortly afterward. Although their family tried to conceal this fact from Will because of his poor health, he heard about it on television (how horrible!) and died two weeks later. Truth is stranger than fiction, as usual!

 I am so glad I found these books and I can't wait to delve into them more. Once again, my local library has set me up with countless hours of enjoyment, and I highly encourage you to make time to visit your closest public library, ASAP!

Book Sale!

I am an avowed, card-carrying Book Nerd from waaaay back. I love to read, and my imagination can light up at the turn of a phrase in ways that I remember for years to come. When I was a little kid, my favorite author was Dianna Wynne Jones and I was obsessed with the super-awesome ideas and images in her book A Tale of Time City. The juxtaposition of a sad-faced lonely child from rough and tumble war-torn 1930s into the futuristic, crumbling academia of Time City was (and still is) so entertaining and engaging me. I can still picture most of the scenes in vivid detail - the weightless, endless trudge up the lopsided staircase to Vivian and Jonathan's classroom, the silver-body-stockings of the Mind Wars, and the tricks involved while trying to avoid Elio (a particularly astute android).

I would rotate all of the available Diana Wynne Jones novels in and out of the library every week so the librarian wouldn't fine me for keeping one checked out too long. I must have read each of her novels hundreds of times and when they came out with handy multi-volume sets like The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant and The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 2: The Magicians of Caprona / Witch Week, I was in heaven. I read and reread these gems, along with my other favorites, in an effort to keep myself entertained through longs summers just like this one. Why do I mention this now? Because my local library, site of my first meeting with the minds of most of my favorite authors, is having a Book Sale this weekend and I'll be looking for some good deals tomorrow afternoon.

-Depressing Reflective Break-

I must admit, I am conflicted about the whole process of Used Book Sales. As a writer, I find it very strange that society sees nothing wrong with reselling works of literature over and over without compensating the author, but considers it a true crime to copy a song or album without paying for it again. Why is the music industry so entitled, while authors have no recourse against the resale and re-consumption of their works? Honestly, I think a part of it is because most authors are readers - they love to read and understand the value of a good, dog-eared secondhand book that can peek out of a jumbled box and capture someone's imagination all over again. Perhaps writers know that it takes a real investment of time to enjoy their work, whereas most songs only last three minutes and will therefore be 're-used' by the same user more often than a novel will. Still, this phenomenon has always perplexed me and, although I don't advocate authors becoming more litigious over this issue, I'd like to see literature valued more in our society. Thoughts?

- We Now Return to the Joy of Reading -

Anyway, I am excited to descend into the basement of the library and paw through hundreds of discarded gems. I can't wait to see what I'll come away with this time - my tastes are extremely varied and I grab anything that strikes my fancy, which leads to very interesting 'To-Read' piles. The best thing about the book sale is that it is totally random, unlike going into a big bookstore and specifically searching for authors or genres that interest you. Books are piled on tables, under tables, in boxes, against the walls, outside the door, and along the hallway. It's a fantastic, random free-for-all of knowledge and entertainment!

Past finds include a copy of the sci-fi classic Contact by Carl Sagan, the engaging and thought-provoking Bel Canto by Ann Prachett, and, of course, the beach read beauty of Nicole Richie's tome, The Truth About Diamonds: A Novel. Well, what's life without variety? :)

Finding Your Own Style

Working out your own writing style isn't easy and it isn't always natural. You might sit down to write a mad riff on some fierce break-dancing you saw over the weekend, and instead the wording comes out all wrong and makes your piece seem more fitting for a Jane Austen novel. Or, you're so angry about a particular issue (e.g. the oil spill in the Gulf, GRR) that you can't seem to get anything coherent down on paper without reverting to colorful curse words and creative ideas for vengeance. Converting ideas onto paper is one of the fundamental hardships of actually being a writer, and almost everyone struggles with both finding their own voice and using their creativity to properly express it to everyone else.

So, how do you regulate your awesome thoughts into a well-delivered piece of writing? Since I always struggle with this issue myself, I thought I'd try to pin down a few tips and starting points for other people who might be having trouble.


1. Just write
Get your thoughts and ideas down on paper or on the computer, no matter what. If it doesn't make sense yet, that's okay. There is this wonderful thing called editing that helps you to go back and revise a draft again and again until everything fits to your satisfaction. Have you ever heard that old annoying phrase 'Rome wasn't built in a day'? Well, Rome wouldn't have been built at all if people didn't get right down to it and start laying bricks on the ground.

This is the simplest tip and yet the hardest one for me to take. I'm constantly writing bits and pieces in my head without following through and committing them to paper. I'm trying to train myself out of that habit by always having a pen and paper in my purse and by telling myself that creative thinking does not a writer make. It doesn't matter how many great ideas you have if you never communicate them to other people in a concrete way.


2. Experiment
Just because you like to read historical fiction, that doesn't mean you'll like to write historical fiction. Or, in fact, be good at writing in that style. On the flip side, you don't have to love cooking in order to write about recipes or food. Interests don't always converge with strengths, so play around a little and see what you are actually good at versus what you'd like to be good at.

Stretch outside your comfort zone and see what happens. Maybe you'll discover you have a knack for something you've never tried before. Try researching techniques, styles, voices, even specific authors. Pick up a book that didn't catch your eye at first glance and read it cover to cover before starting a piece inspired by it. Start a fashion lookbook for your next novel and paste in pictures of clothes, houses and locations that fit in with the ideas in your head. It might take you in an entirely new direction, but that is not a bad thing!


3. Don't write
It might seem like I'm contradicting myself already, but bear with me. Combine tips 1 and 2 and see what you come up with. Perhaps your short story isn't working out because it would make a better graphic novel. Maybe your film script is too wordy because it was meant to be a book. Who knows where this can lead - maybe your idea for a marketing campaign will somehow turn into the next hot television show. Playing around with a lookbook could help you develop a more visual style and start your future career as a designer!

The key is to keep producing and creating, using your ideas to develop tangible results from your creative impulses. Personally, I always fall into the trap of letting go of my creativity instead of figuring out where I can make the most of it. It is extremely easy to let an idea flow through your brain without putting it into action - and incredibly freeing to allow yourself to embrace an idea and let it play out naturally, even if that means it doesn't fit within the bounds of your project and how you wanted it to go.


4. Practice
Someday, with practice, what you're actually good at and what you want to be good at can meet in the magical future built by hard work and dedication. And blah blah blah, and magic and unicorns and hope for the future. But really - it's the only way to improve and hone your talent.

"Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired." -Martha Graham

5. Edit and revise
Most things that fall out (or are forcibly pulled out, kicking and screaming) of your brain are not going to sound wonderful right away or even clearly express the ideas and stories that you are trying to convey.

For example, the previous sentence is a mess. If I didn't decide upon rereading that it would be a great example of exactly what I'm talking about here, I would have revised the hell out of it. I could have cleared up the meaning of the sentence by taking out the parenthesis, although that would lose the imagery. Perhaps I would have sat here for ten minutes trying to come up with a more concise, yet still descriptive, turn of phrase. At the very least, I could have split it into two sentences to make it easier to read.

A lot goes on 'behind the scenes' of any creative project, and learning how to critique your own work (and take critical reviews from others) can have an immediate and noticeable impact. With the advent of self-publishing social media such as Twitter and Facebook (and, uh, Blogspot), people have lost their critical eye because of the availability of instant circulation. Does it really matter anymore if you can spell, finish a thought, or argue a point intelligently in a world where the only thing standing between you and the world is a tiny 'Publish' button? Why yes, yes it does. Which brings me to my next point....

6. Stand out from the crowd, in your own way
If you are the seven hundredth person to come up with the same idea, does that make your idea less valid? No, but perhaps it is less interesting. In an era of (social and general) media overload, you're going to have to develop your own style and find a hook that will keep readers coming back to your website, your newspaper column, your TV show. Use these tips to help you figure out what works for you before you throw yourself into a project. It will save you a lot of time, energy and stress if you pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses as a part of finding your own style, instead of later on when you might have problems that could have been prevented.

7. Research
You can't write about something if you don't know about it. All considerations of creativity and imagination aside, you can't give details and properly incorporate important facts if you don't know them. For example, you can't describe the life of a pilot without having a vague outline of what a real pilot might actually do in a normal day. Whether or not that same pilot grows his own wings and learns to communicate with birds is a matter for your imagination, but you have to understand the basics first.
Here is the guilt factor! People do not really consider research to be 'real writing'. Seriously - taking a belly dancing class or spending the weekend in Vegas might be vitally important to the success of your current project, but what working stiff looking down the barrel of another 9-to-5 is going to believe that? It might sound like you are goofing off or wasting time, but you have to take yourself seriously and not feel pressured (by friends, family, OR yourself) to ignore or minimize this important step to success.

8. READ
I can't stress this enough. If you want to be a writer, you have to be a reader. If you don't regularly immerse yourself in the works of others, you will start to lose perspective and focus too intently on yourself.

Take notes on the books you read; what do you like? what do you hate? is there a particularly interesting turn-of-phrase that captures your attention and sparks an idea? Don't just let these thoughts go - use color-coded sticky notes to mark especially noteworthy passages, or come up with related topics to start your own inspiration projects. Make a Quotes notebook to help you remember authors and phrases that command your attention and flip through it when you're blocked.

Read, read, read! Devour the thoughts of others in order to better understand and communicate your own. And then quiet your brain, sit at your desk (or local cafe shop table), and pour out your own inspired prose!