words, words, words

So the Christmas season is upon us and with that, endless commercials capitalizing on America's consumerist greed, cheesy, heartwarming movies galore on TV (Anne - stop watching those goofy lifetime movies..please?!) and gaudy decorations everywhere you turn.Now, don't get me wrong, I like Christmas, I really do but it frustrates me. I don't like anything that is shoved down my throat and the Christmas season does that in spades. I have long given up the gift giving tradition - choosing jobs that pay next to nothing my whole life kind of forced me into being stingy but I don't regret that. There are so many people in the world that don't have basic essentials that I find it really hard to stomach giving unnecessary gifts to the people I love. In years past, I have definitely been a scrooge - electing to ignore the season altogether. This year, I am trying to get into the spirit a bit more. Even though my three cats will make having a live tree a challenge to say the...

Ah, Thanksgiving...what a great holiday! Football, endless amounts of food, wine and family. I love Thanksgiving - no gift giving, no church, no pressure; just relaxation and gorging. What could be better? oh and of course being grateful for everything you have in your life. So I'm going to take a moment to remind myself of the things I am grateful for this year and despite it having been one of the toughest,(or perhaps because of it) there are many. Top 20 things I am thankful for this year: 1.My parents who make being married for 50+ years look easy 2. My in laws for embracing me as their own 3. A good cup of coffee first thing in the morning 4. Watching "Dexter" on Sunday nights even tho it scares the ever loving shit out of me 5. embracing the lessons of failure 6. Being able to do something I have pursued for years 7. The amazing sunsets we get every night over our building 8. my obnoxious but lovable cats 9. yoga for teaching me to be still and flexible ...

On the weekend that the latest installment of the "Twilight" series sets to come out in theaters, I thought it would be appropriate to comment on books being made into movies. First off, let me make it very, very clear that I despise the "Twilight" series for too many reasons to count but mainly because the writing is shitty, the characters are pathetic and it sets women's rights back about 100 years. But since the trailer is basically being shoved down our throats it got me thinking about how every popular book in the last I don't know how many years has been made into a movie. According to some research I did on the topic roughly 40% of movies currently out this year were based on books. That is a lot if you think about how many movies are released into theaters each year. Apparently, Hollywood has no more original ideas. I'm torn on the topic to be quite honest. I won't lie and say that I don't get really excited when I see that one of my fav...

Lately I've been thinking about the stereotypes surrounding great writers (or all creative types). Ya know, that they are all crazy in one way or another? They have been cast throughout time as rebels, loners, recluses and abusers of illegal (or legal yet dangerous) substances. Not to mention that they are all depressed, broke, bitter and lonely. Accurate depiction or exaggerated? Not really sure but what I do know is that for many, many years writers have been known as being "different" from the average person; rejected from the mainstream whether by choice or by force. Everyone knows the stories of Hemingway drinking his life away on a beach in Key West or J.D. Salinger famously hiding for years in New Hampshire or Henry David Thoreau rejecting civilized society to look to the woods for meaning. Why has this been on my mind lately? Glad you asked, well because I feel as if I can relate to feeling different and rejecting mainstream society. I attended a wedding rece...

I am off to the Dominican Republic on Monday...it may seem crazy that I am taking a vacation after only a month of work but I consider it proper payment for 2 years of unemployment hell where my full time job was trying to find a job. If you have never done this before, take my word for it that it is infinitely more exhausting than having a real job. I believe I have earned this vacation and will undoubtedly enjoy every single second of it. Now, here is the question....what books do I take with me for a week sitting by a pool and a beach sipping delicious frozen cocktails? I feel like Jane Austen is out of the question (but then again, she is always out of the question), how about Thomas Hardy or Sylvia Plath? Nah....I honestly can't see myself sitting on the beach reading anything that I have to think about. I guess that's where the phrase, "Beach reads" came from. People do not want to think when they are trying to relax. We do so much of that in our daily lives tha...