New Year's Day, as I mentioned in my last post, was a balmy 60 degrees. Eleven days later we have an entirely different story. Boston has been hit with its second blizzard (or almost blizzard) of the winter season. We currently have approximately 8" of snow and even experienced that odd phenomenon of thunder snow early this morning. I woke up at four to lightning illuminating my room followed closely by a summer-sounding clap. Needless to say, due to harsh driving conditions, I have an impromptu snow day which I plan to fill with loads of laundry, movies, and cocoa. If I am feeling adventurous, I will brave the conditions to make the next Frosty in Brighton. I hope everyone enjoys the winter wonderland out there!
Pictures to come soon
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
1-1-11
Happy New Year to all! 2011 is finally here and with it comes change. We make resolutions that we hope to keep. We hang new calendars - or in my case, we start new daily calendars (Dilbert will be joining me at the office first thing Monday... how appropriate). Even the weather has changed drastically. Today, January 1st, it is 60 degrees in Massachusetts. I repeat, it is 60 degrees. January 1st. I will let that sink in.
This year, I have a few resolutions from the past and some new tricks up my sleeve. The old standbys made the list again. Get and stay healthy. Run another half-marathon. Read all the books I've ever purchased (last year's failure). In terms of new resolutions, I will cut back on the embarrassment. Let me explain. I may embarrass myself; however, I don't let it bother me as much as others would be bothered. I tend to laugh it off, share it with friends, and laugh again as I recap. I like that I do this, but it doesn't negate the fact that I should try to eliminate the situations that initially cause the embarrassment. For example, I will keep both feet on the treadmill this year. Period. Next, I will perform a good deed everyday. So far, I've attempted to help strangers in two circumstances. A man in a Jeep was attempting to parallel park. Snow and a small space impeded his parking abilities. I offered my directing help (my hand signals are top-notch, not to brag or anything). He thanked me but declined, then proceeded to hit the car behind him. Oh well, I tried. The next group of people I passed looked lost and confused. When I offered to guide them in the right direction, they said they just couldn't remember where they parked. Well, that one was all them. It was the thought that counted here... at least that's what I told myself. My last resolution is serious and perhaps the most important: simply move forward. This is a tough thing for anyone to do. Nevertheless I will try my best to let the past be just that, the past. Learn from it. Move on.
I wish everyone a happy, safe, and eventful 2011 and always lots of love to my family and friends! (Oh, and good luck with those pesky resolutions. We can do it!)
This year, I have a few resolutions from the past and some new tricks up my sleeve. The old standbys made the list again. Get and stay healthy. Run another half-marathon. Read all the books I've ever purchased (last year's failure). In terms of new resolutions, I will cut back on the embarrassment. Let me explain. I may embarrass myself; however, I don't let it bother me as much as others would be bothered. I tend to laugh it off, share it with friends, and laugh again as I recap. I like that I do this, but it doesn't negate the fact that I should try to eliminate the situations that initially cause the embarrassment. For example, I will keep both feet on the treadmill this year. Period. Next, I will perform a good deed everyday. So far, I've attempted to help strangers in two circumstances. A man in a Jeep was attempting to parallel park. Snow and a small space impeded his parking abilities. I offered my directing help (my hand signals are top-notch, not to brag or anything). He thanked me but declined, then proceeded to hit the car behind him. Oh well, I tried. The next group of people I passed looked lost and confused. When I offered to guide them in the right direction, they said they just couldn't remember where they parked. Well, that one was all them. It was the thought that counted here... at least that's what I told myself. My last resolution is serious and perhaps the most important: simply move forward. This is a tough thing for anyone to do. Nevertheless I will try my best to let the past be just that, the past. Learn from it. Move on.
I wish everyone a happy, safe, and eventful 2011 and always lots of love to my family and friends! (Oh, and good luck with those pesky resolutions. We can do it!)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Home for the Holidays
Merry Christmas to all! Now that the holiday is coming to a close, I can safely say that I managed to make it a memorable one. Have no fear, I survived (otherwise, this makes for quite an ethereal post).
During my last post, I was in Boston visiting the doctor late Friday afternoon. Apparently, he and I should have spent more time together because I wound up in the ER the morning of Christmas Eve unable to walk thanks to a staph abscess. Merry Christmas. Let's just say, I did not ask Santa for this nor would I wish it on the worst of the naughty list!
A few hours later, full of antibiotics and almost pain-free, my mom and I happily left the hospital ready to take on the swarm of late holiday shoppers in Wareharm Crossing (obviously, myself included in the swarm... don't say anything, I already admitted to my procrastinary ways... and now I'll admit my ability to make up words: procrastinary, that's one for the books!). Within seconds, I found the perfect Lego set for my brother, the last one on my list. The heavens illuminated it and choirs began to sing, like when the Griswolds found their Christmas tree- minus the hypothermia and sap. The shopping was finally complete, presents were wrapped and I was able to spend Christmas Eve with my family, almost a normally functioning person again- at least walking was back in my repertoire!
In the end, we had a wonderful holiday; we shared plenty of laughs, added a page to my medical history and ultimately learned far too much about me. Santa treated us very well and I know that all seven of my brothers Lego sets are completed, taken apart and put back together in as many new ways as possible by now. Anyway, I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas too and is hunkering down for the blizzard of 2010 to come!
During my last post, I was in Boston visiting the doctor late Friday afternoon. Apparently, he and I should have spent more time together because I wound up in the ER the morning of Christmas Eve unable to walk thanks to a staph abscess. Merry Christmas. Let's just say, I did not ask Santa for this nor would I wish it on the worst of the naughty list!
A few hours later, full of antibiotics and almost pain-free, my mom and I happily left the hospital ready to take on the swarm of late holiday shoppers in Wareharm Crossing (obviously, myself included in the swarm... don't say anything, I already admitted to my procrastinary ways... and now I'll admit my ability to make up words: procrastinary, that's one for the books!). Within seconds, I found the perfect Lego set for my brother, the last one on my list. The heavens illuminated it and choirs began to sing, like when the Griswolds found their Christmas tree- minus the hypothermia and sap. The shopping was finally complete, presents were wrapped and I was able to spend Christmas Eve with my family, almost a normally functioning person again- at least walking was back in my repertoire!
In the end, we had a wonderful holiday; we shared plenty of laughs, added a page to my medical history and ultimately learned far too much about me. Santa treated us very well and I know that all seven of my brothers Lego sets are completed, taken apart and put back together in as many new ways as possible by now. Anyway, I hope that everyone had a very merry Christmas too and is hunkering down for the blizzard of 2010 to come!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Have to Pay It Forward
Sometimes the world can be a cruel place. We've all experienced it in varying levels. But there are moments of pure kindness that erase any and all thought of pain, like Life's little Etch-a-Sketch. Today, I was fortunate enough to experience one.
After our department's holiday potluck lunch and Yankee swap, I raced out of the office to make a late-afternoon, impromptu doctor's appointment. Obviously I was immediately impeded by traffic, as anyone is who's in a hurry. I was officially running late. Fortunately, I knew my way to the hospital and, more importantly, the parking garage. The entrance to the garage became an "exit only" after 3pm. Fantastic. Thanks to one-way streets, I was up a creek with no paddle. Looked like I was parking on the street. By some miracle of miracles I found a metered spot on Tremont (and if you've driven Downtown, you know how rare that was!). There was just one problem: I had one quarter and approximately an hour-long venture ahead. You do the math. With a dollar bill in hand, I rushed to the nearest store front with hopes of change. The words "No Change" stared me in the face. I was getting more and more discouraged. Ok, plan B. A car pulled up and a woman stepped out as her husband scrounged for coins.
"I'm sorry, but do you by any chance have change for a dollar? I'm running late for a doctor's appointment and only have one quarter." I prayed that my puppy eyes were working. She immediately and sincerely offered to change my dollar, even though her husband told her they may need the coins for their meter.
"Oh, I'll go make change if I have to... she's running late!" she responded to him. I am not sure that I have ever wanted to hug a stranger more in my life. It truly was her sincerity that made my grinchy heart grow three sizes today. Plus, she gave me fifty cents, refused my dollar, and told me not to worry about it. I thanked her profusely and wished them happy holidays, tossed the coins into my meter and sprinted up the street as fast as my high heels would take me.
Because of this simple act of kindness, I want and need to pay it forward. Let's just say that I will be carrying around a lot of quarters in case that couple ever needs their fifty cents back. Whoever you were, thank you and I hope you enjoyed your leisurely hour on Tremont! Christmas really is all around :)
After our department's holiday potluck lunch and Yankee swap, I raced out of the office to make a late-afternoon, impromptu doctor's appointment. Obviously I was immediately impeded by traffic, as anyone is who's in a hurry. I was officially running late. Fortunately, I knew my way to the hospital and, more importantly, the parking garage. The entrance to the garage became an "exit only" after 3pm. Fantastic. Thanks to one-way streets, I was up a creek with no paddle. Looked like I was parking on the street. By some miracle of miracles I found a metered spot on Tremont (and if you've driven Downtown, you know how rare that was!). There was just one problem: I had one quarter and approximately an hour-long venture ahead. You do the math. With a dollar bill in hand, I rushed to the nearest store front with hopes of change. The words "No Change" stared me in the face. I was getting more and more discouraged. Ok, plan B. A car pulled up and a woman stepped out as her husband scrounged for coins.
"I'm sorry, but do you by any chance have change for a dollar? I'm running late for a doctor's appointment and only have one quarter." I prayed that my puppy eyes were working. She immediately and sincerely offered to change my dollar, even though her husband told her they may need the coins for their meter.
"Oh, I'll go make change if I have to... she's running late!" she responded to him. I am not sure that I have ever wanted to hug a stranger more in my life. It truly was her sincerity that made my grinchy heart grow three sizes today. Plus, she gave me fifty cents, refused my dollar, and told me not to worry about it. I thanked her profusely and wished them happy holidays, tossed the coins into my meter and sprinted up the street as fast as my high heels would take me.
Because of this simple act of kindness, I want and need to pay it forward. Let's just say that I will be carrying around a lot of quarters in case that couple ever needs their fifty cents back. Whoever you were, thank you and I hope you enjoyed your leisurely hour on Tremont! Christmas really is all around :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Work Thoughts
My mind wanders during slow days at work. When my mouse isn't furiously clicking between InDesign, Photoshop and the multitude of networks, I imagine an endless stream of creative projects to do. I dream of the family cookbook I will design, the kitchen cabinets I will resurface, the wall I will decorate, the pillows I will sew, the canvases I will oil, the scenes I will photograph, the mittens I will knit, the scrapbook I will update, the frames I will hang. My mind runs like a sugar-high child on the playground. Then I remember: this is why I work. I work to live. I work to one day support a life full of awesome hobbies. For now, most of these creative projects dance within my head, but soon (boy, I hope soon...), I will live the life where I can put these ideas to work.
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