Thought for Today

"The force of mind is only as great as its expression; its depth only as deep as its power to expand and lose itself."

G. W. F. Hegel

like it, love it, hate it

It's fun to make lists

Like It
Netflix. my new cell phone. my apartment. rainstorms. snow-shoeing. putting a little Irish in hot beverages. my hair after I straight iron it. dancing. the food network. debating. checking things off my list. mango mojitos. minigolf. plush grass. chocolate chip muffins. waking up just before my alarm goes off. the smell of tar and petroleum. pinot. toasts. dinner parties. gchat. ping pong.


Love It
swimming in the ocean. reading in the pool. iced hazelnut coffee. farmers markets. cheese. goat cheese. melted cheese. Bruce Springsteen. making out with paul. Fenway. palm trees. sailing. hiking. tennis. long walks. arugula. browsing through tiffanys. traditions. All Clad Cookware. picnics. ballatore. basil. fresh flowers. suprises. canoes. exploring new cities. hi-rise bakery chocolate chunk cookies.


Hate It
car shopping. downloading. fat days. mushrooms. Religious fanatics. credit cards. carrying heavy things. paperwork. roadkill. not being able to concentrate. dropped cell phone calls. removing staples. biting into sand in greens that haven't been washed thoroughly. being chased by bees. diet soda. waiting in line. emergency broadcast system tests. parking tickets.

Opportunity knocks

I was recently contacted with a couple of great business opportunities. Both ask little of me but promise many happy returns. Too good to be true? You be the judge.

The first opportunity came from a toothless woman who promised me $1000.00 the next morning if I gave her $6 for a commuter rail ticket right then. The skeptic in me said no, but the hijinks loving side of me gave it a thought. What if she actually did meet me the next morning? Surely there'd be no cash, but what a story I might possibly hear. I vaguely entertained the idea until she started doing the smack twitch thing and I almost got run over by a car while slowing backing away from her, trying to reclaim some personal space.

The second business opportunity has come to me from a reputable and wealthy woman trying to flee Russia. It came to my work email because I am known internationally to be quite a businesswoman, apparently. I thought I'd share it with you:

Dear Friend,

My name is Mrs. Larisa Nitskaya, personal secretary to Mr. Boris Mikhail
Khodorkovsky, the arrested Chairman/CEO of
Yukos Oil and Bank Menatep SPB in Russia. I have the documents of a large
amount of funds which he handed over to me
before he was detained and now been tried in Russia for financing political
parties (the union of right forces, led by
Boris Nemtsov and yabloko, a liberal/social democratic party led by gregor
yavlinsky) opposed to the government of Mr. Vladmir
Putin, the president thereby leading to the freezing of his finances and
assets.
After searching through the books of your country's chambers of commerce
and industries here in Russia I am contacting you
to assist me to re-profile the funds and equally invest same on his behalf.
The total amount of funds to be re-profiled is
forty six million dollars (usd$46,000,000.00) and you will be paid 10% for
your management services. As soon as I receive
your acceptance, I will send you the necessary details and my
identification.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. Larisa Nitskaya.

So, clearly, I can't turn down this great opportunity- $4.6 million just to help re-profile this lady's money. I don't see what could possibly go wrong.....

Where to go to find where to go...

I'm presently in the process of planning a vacation. Well, a long weekend. The Who, What, Why, and When are all taken care of: my boyfriend and I, a few days away somewhere, to relax, preferably over Memorial Day weekend so that I can leverage my time off. The problem I am encountering, however, is the Where.

Where to go? The parameters are dictated by practical concerns: lack of a passport, cost, the desire to maximize time spent relaxing and minimize time spent traveling. Further, I am interested in going somewhere nice, warm, and preferably beachy. Thus, the usual suspect emerges: Florida. True, I have been to Florida twice in the past five months, but it's a big state. There's a lot to see other than Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

A few web searches for fares have proved to be less than satisfactory. The problem is that you have to search for fares and availability based on where you want to go with particularity. I don't particularly want to go to any one place. I just want to go SOMEWHERE that fits within our parameters. The zip code is not so much an issue as is the fact that there is a pool on site, and maybe a tiki bar? Swim up pina coladas? That sounds good! I don't care if I fly into West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Tampa, or Miami International, I just want to fly somewhere. And I don't want to have to shell out a lot to do so. I don't see why this is so hard.

The thing is, I would imagine that many vacationers have this problem. Most the people I know don't set out on vacation with a particular destination in mind, rather they have an idea of what they are looking to do on vacation. So why don't travel websites address this better? Why can't I just pick through a list of options: price, amenities, nearby attractions, distance to the airport? It shouldn't be this challenging to find a place to go for a short vacation and relax.

You Know You Are Italian When....

I didn't come up with this, Blogthings did (link below) but I thought it was approp enough to post. Slightly demeaning, but I still think it is funny. I'm not offended by it, so why would you be?


You Know You're Italian When....You have a nonna.
You eat Sunday dinner at 2:00
You know what a rice ball really tastes like.
Your car has a green red and a white bow with a horn attached on the mirror!
You know the words to Dominick the Donkey!
On Christmas Eve you eat only fish
Your favorite slow song: Ti Amo
"Fuhggettaboutit"
The Godfather is your role model
You love Nutella...anytime...
Your nonna's meat balls are the best
You always dress to impress
You always gotta have a clean pair of Fila's
You love Versace, Gucci, Prada, Armani, just cause there Italian.
Favorite movies: Godfather, Good Fellas, Bronx Tale, The Last Don... and you live by them.
Guys gotta respect their women...or else...
You've been hit with a wooden spoon or had a shoe thrown at you by either your mother or your nonna.
Pasta, pasta, pasta everyday.
Your father owns 5 houses, has $300,000 in the bank, but still drives a 76 Monte Carlo.
You share a bathroom with your 5 brothers, have no money, but drive a $45,000 Camaro or Firebird.
Your mechanic, plumber, electrician, accountant and travel agent are all blood relatives.
You consider dunking a cannoli in an espresso a nutritious breakfast.
Your 2 best friends are your cousin and your brother-in-law's brother-in-law.
You are a card-carrying V.I.P at more than 3 strip clubs.
At least 5 of your cousins live on your street.
All 5 of those cousins are named after your grandfather.
A high school diploma and 1 year of Nassau Community College has earned you the title of "professor" among your aunts.
You are on a first name basis with at least 8 banquet hall owners.
If someone in your family grows beyond 5'11", it is presumed his mother had an affair.
There were more than 28 people in your bridal party.
You netted more than $50,000 on your first communion.
At some point in your life, you were a D.J
30 years after immigrating, your parents still say "Pronto" when answering the phone.
You have ever been in a fight defending Sly Stallone's thespian greatness.
Somewhere on your parents' property, there is a bathtub Madonna.
You build your house with 3 materials.... brick, brick and wrought iron.
You have at least one sister that went to Beauty School.
Clothes from the Chess King will actually fit you.
It is impossible for you to talk with your hands in your pockets.
Have been to a funeral where talk of the deceased is, "He shoulda kept his big yap shut."
You have many relatives named either Joe or Mary...
You grew up in a small house, but you still had two kitchens. (One was in the basement)
Your grandfather had a fig tree
You've always wanted a red Ferrari
Connie Francis songs makes you cry
At least one person in your family does a great impression of Don Corleone
You feel strangely comfortable when you sit on plastic-covered furniture
You know all the words to "That's Amore"
You are offended when the wedding you attend serves less than 9 courses despite the fact that you don't eat half of it.
You ask "How much for cash?" when buying but will accept 'gifts' in exchange for cash when selling.
You are not materialistic but insist a $500 wedding present is nothing.
You think have a concrete backyard is nice.
You think having swans in a big fountain in the front yard next to the veggie patch is tasteful.
You actually believe everyone eats those sugared almonds in the bonboniere at your wedding.
You always have a friend who 'owes you a favor'.


You're proud to be Italian - and you pass these jokes on to all your Italian friends!
http://www.blogthings.com/wherefrom.html

my heart's delight

I'm taking this writing class which is coming to a close this week, and one of my last assignments is to write about my "heart's delight". The thing that makes you feel better on a difficult day, the default place, memory, or person you go to for a smile or comfort. I have spent the last six days thinking about this, and now I'm finding that this assignment is a little depressing.

Right off the bat, what we are talking about here is a very "heartwarming" assignment, and heartwarming doesn't really come natural for me. I think it is really difficult to balance the interests of creating an authentic "feel good" story with something that is entertaining and also avoiding writing something trite or cliche.

Then, of course, is the problem of the subject matter. What to pick? What is my "heart's delight"? For the smattering of parents in my class, the answer is easy- their children. Of course they have this stock answer to give: "I give little Charlotte a hug, and smell the baby powder on her, and she's my hearts delight". Or: "Whenever I'm blue, I think of Jimmie going to his first day of kindergarten". This is an easy assignment for them. Or married people: "My first dance with my new husband."

For a 27 year old unmarried divorce lawyer living in an apartment, the answer does not come as easy. I love my friends, and they make me feel better when I'm looking for comfort, to laugh, or for support, but are my friends my "hearts delight"? I mean, assumedly the parents and married people have friends too, but to them their friends aren't as high on the list. So am I settling for choosing a lesser-tier "hearts delight"? On the other side of the coin, maybe I just have better friends than they do.

My next choice is the various places I've been to, or plan to go to. I like going places, is that my "hearts delight"? But I fall into the same problem as before- assumedly, the parents in my class go to places as well. So I just settle for liking to travel, whereas the parents may like to travel but they have a better "hearts delight" to highlight?

I can't really pinpoint any one certain thing that is my "hearts delight", the one thing that brings me joy above all else. I challenge you to try to tell me yours. It's not that easy. It depends, mostly. Sometimes the thing that brings me joy more than anything else is hearing my phone erupt with the ringtone designated for my best friend. Sometimes a memory of floating in the ocean or a picnic can bring me a smile for hours. Sometimes I like to think back when I was a kid and would climb a tree on a hidden section outlaying my grandparent's yard, sitting there for hours, drawing and living in my imagination. Sometimes it is waking up in a cuddle. Sometimes it is driving through countryside listening to some good music. None of these things seem very significant, though. None of these seem like they would win the prize for the most important "hearts delight".

This is why writing classes are difficult for me. I'm just too judgmental. I overanalyze. Does anyone else spend this much time worrying how their "hearts delight" will stack up in comparison to the rest? Probably not. Does anyone else have a hard time even writing the phrase "hearts delight" without using quotation marks? Probably not. I can't even take it seriously enough to bring it out from under its protective quotation marks.