8 alternatives

As I wind down my DID days and by that I mean my last days in corporateville, not my last days of blogging. I feel pensive and excited. I'm walking on a cloud of freedom and opportunity (or maybe it's idealism). It feels very similar to those last days before or after college.

Speaking of college, James Altucher wrote a very interesting post  a while back discouraging kids from going to college (gasp!). His suggested alternatives could come in handy for a recovering DID too. He suggests kids consider the following alternatives:


1. Start a business
2. Travel the world
3. Create art
4. Make people laugh
5. Write a book
6. Work in a charity
7. Master a game
8. Master a sport

Click here for the full article, which disputes the criticisms that will arise from non-conventional/risky paths.

Totally unrelated, but I dedicate this song to my friend Soo. Please hang in there Soo. Good things are coming your way soon.

(photo by funkytown of ruins in Guatemala)

In life there are things you do and things you don't do

Today I suggest you listen to this song and enjoy. Do it.

Dear Oliver Martinez, thank you for aging so well

Dear Mr. DID,  Please take note.

Crime scene

There is evidence of my overindulgence all over my apartment!

Tell me - when did wine, Proust, and chocolate become a part of my everyday life. Something has got to give! I'm in sensory overload. 

Did I mention that I further indulge in fresh cut white roses!? Did I also mention last night's indulgence included lobster! Who do I think I am Edina from Ab Fab? Nah I'm more of a Patsy girl. 

I give you exhibit A - E:

p.s. I watched Ab Fab as a teenager on Canadian television. Holla if you grew up so far up north that you received Canadian TV. Ok...HOLLA. 

FASHION GIRLS FOR JAPAN

Sample sale to benefit Japan relief effort.

100% of the proceed go to Red Cross, The Mayor's Fund, And Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

Click here to buy a ticket or donate.

"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love."

--Goethe

A flowchart to help you determine if you are having a rational discussion

If only, this were an automated system. Where discussions are instantly terminated and the individual speaking would become tongue-tied. What would become of people like Michele Bachman?

(via Simoleon Sense)

Blast from the past

I've been told by my sister that an indicator of whether or not I like a gift is if I immediately try it on. Well, once I met my husband - I "put him on" and haven't taken him off since. I'm reminiscing this morning, because in a few days I take off for 2-weeks without him. Have I failed to mention that I'm Asia bound come April? Have I also failed to mention that I've taken a time-out from my career. Oh well, more on that later. For now, I'd like you to stay with me as I recall that fateful day I met my special someone.

Here we are in all our 20-something glory a short while after we met. Please note the quintessential red plastic cup (shout out to the jersey shore players) and the surprisingly not so bad highlights I was rocking (I'm proud of me).

p.s.  He still has that shirt.
p.p.s. I no longer have that adorable little bag.

Toro Y Moi

Totally chill

and adorable.

http://toroymoi.blogspot.com/

Holi - The Fesitival of Colors, India

Last week, around the world, Hindus celebrated Holi or The Fesitival of Colors. In celebration of springtime and in commemorating Krishna's pranks. Hindus celebrate by throwing vibrant powders at each other. How beautiful.

Click here to see more.

(via theAtlantic)

ADR does it again

And by does it again, I mean amuses me to no end.

My favorite darling, Anna Dello Russo, has posted the top ten rules for cleaning out your closet on her blog. Here is my number one favorite:


9. Don't SQUEEZE the clothes on each other.like flowers in the garden need their space!

It is ok to...

or...

1. Play dress up at home in front of your mirror before going to work.
2. Devour a made-for-teens book series.
3. Set your desktop background to black so that you can use it as a mirror.
4. Enjoy the company of that sassy 50-year-old Mom who sits next to you at work. She probably has great stories to share.
5. Admire Bethenny Frankel.
6. Press refresh (constantly) on your email waiting for an email from your cariño.
7. Tear up during movies that aren't meant to be tear jerkers. Say for example the Kings Speech ( I cried...was I supposed to?)
8. Laugh.
9. Take a bath in the morning before going to the office.
10. Spend more than the average woman on a pair of shoes, but not on your moisturizer (vaseline? anyone?).
11. Quote movies that show your age, like Karate Kid.
12. Correct your date's pronunciation.
13. Send secret admirer gifts.
14. Press refresh on a package tracker over and over again, hoping the status will change.
15. Be jealous of your friend's sexy job.
16. Feign modesty.
17. Feign vanity.
18. Say no to free stuff you don't need - hard one, I know.
19. Top chef style dine with friends: taste, taste, and pass your plate.
20. Cut the length off a gown or maxi that you've already worn plenty.
21. Love having your picture taken.
22. Say, "NO or SORRY."
23. Pretend you have plans and stay in.
24. Tell the truth about your age.
25. Blog shamelessly about your life.

"Genius: one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."

--Thomas Edison

View from the villa

GeoTagged, [N18.29854, E67.23152]

Cerveza de Puerto Rico

Current view

GeoTagged, [N18.29832, E67.23034]

La isla bonita

Hello from la isla encanta

Book review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a beautiful memoir about a very confusing time in her life. Faced with an upbringing soiled with racisim and indifference, a young Angelou finds solace in books, her undying love for her brother, and her advanced understanding that there is more awaiting her in this world.

Like Ms. Angelou I grew up in a confusing household filled with love and a lot of inconsistency. The bonds I had with my books and my sister are what kept me afloat during an otherwise confusing time. I too know why the caged bird sings - it sings to find its own voice.

Ms. Angelou characterizes women whose strength is demonstrated in very different ways. Whether it is withstanding rejection due to racisim or using beauty as a life currency. It is clear that Maya learned to hold her head up high and move forward full speed ahead from these women. Her inspiring story is one I strongly recommend to anyone who had the pleasure of being brought up by strong women. 

It's very hard to believe that the narrator of this story is the profound artist Maya Angelou. At times she seems bound for a doomed life. I believe it was her courage and intellect that made her the woman she is today.

How I feel today

Dream dress

By Aminaka Wilmont and completely suits my personality - soft and sweet with a few rough edges. Maki/Marcus do you guys need an NYC spokeswoman? A new muse? Call me! I'll do it!

Debunking conventional wisdom on longevity

Wonder Woman lived forever - no?

Veronique Greenwood interviews Howard S. Friedman, co-author of The Longevity Project:

One of our longevity myths is "Get married, and you will live longer." The data tells a different story. Marriage was health-promoting primarily for men who were well-suited to marriage and had a good marriage. For the rest, there were all kinds of complications.

For example, women who got divorced often thrived. Even women who were widowed often did exceptionally well. It often seemed as if women who got rid of their troublesome husbands stayed healthy—most women, it seemed, can rely on their friends and other social ties. Men who got and stayed divorced, on the other hand, were at really high risk for premature mortality. It would have been better had they not married at all. 

(source: the Atlantic, Veronique Greenwood)

Soulful, Playful, Sensual

No I'm not describing myself!

Adele's new album, 21, makes me want to sashay (in place) in a sweaty Tennessee bar with an (ever so slightly) inappropriately-lengthed skirt on. All the onlookers would think, "I want whatever she's having!" Trust me on this. Take your hair down, press play on this video (the first track from 21), turn up the volume, close your eyes and start dreaming.

DO IT.

Socratic Provocateur

PLEASE READ this inspiring retirement letter that I've decided to call, "follow your bliss."

Dear Sir,
In your letter of 11/16/08, you asked me why I have taught all these years, and, indeed, if the “sacrifice” was worth it. On 6/03/09 in a private, celebratory moment, Brother James and the English Department awarded me a plaque on which was engraved, among other titles, “Socratic Provocateur”. In the tough, Sicilian neighborhood in Brooklyn where I was raised, such an uninvited branding would have resulted in flying fists and threats of life-long vendettas, except that no one would have understood what it meant, and later everyone would have apologized and gone for pizza.

Perhaps it would be better for me to reference that famous moment between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell, who, after many months of extensive interviewing was asked, as the penultimate question, what he had truly learned from a long, scholarly life in pursuit of the meaning of myth. Campbell smiled into the camera and said simply, “Follow your bliss.”

Express yourself!

Come on girls! Do you believe in love?

I DO believe in spooks, I do, I do, I do

I loved the Wizard of Oz as a kid because it was one of the only times we (me and my sister) got to stay up past our bedtime. We just had to see if Dorothy ever made it to OZ and home to Auntie Em. Plus my Daddy-o loved music, so regularly scheduled programs would be interrupted for musicals. He loved music so much that back in the 80's before itunes and the availability of instant music gratification, we would watch movies (videos) just for the soundtrack. Movies like Grease and Beverly Hills Cop were our favorites for jamming (by jamming I mean dancing and playing air instruments).

My husband wonders why most evenings end in a mini dance party - well my dear - it's just the way I grew up.

Smiling faces

Donate to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami relief

Through charity navigator.

"You need your own car!" Psh!

Burton Writes of Taylor, Vogue, March 1, 1965

The Welsh actor and Elizabeth Taylor had been married a year when he wrote this description of his first look at her.

"...a girl sitting on the other side of the pool lowered her book, took off her sunglasses and looked at me. She was so extraordinarily beautiful that I nearly laughed out loud...I smiled at her and, after a long moment, just as I felt my own smile turning into a cross-eyed grimace, she started slightly and smiled back. There was little friendliness in the smile...She sipped some beer and went back to her book...She spoke to no one...Was she merely sullen, I wondered? I thought not. There was no trace of sulkiness in the divine face. She was a Mona Lisa type, I thought...ans she is famine, fire, destruction, and plague, she is the dark Lady of the Sonnets, the only true begetter...Her breasts were apocalyptic, they would topple empires down before they withered. Indeed, her body was a miracle of construction and the work of an engineer of genius. I needed nothing except itself. It was true art."

What is it that Rachel Zoe says? "I die." Well puppets, I die reading things like the above. Something about it is so appealing to me. The raw sensuality in being someone's famine, destruction, and plague puts me in a bit of a tizzy. Elizabeth Taylor was a modern day Livia Drusilla. Perhaps it is my love affair with words or  my love affair with dark divas that makes me swoon. Women who demand your attention and are hopelessly unfaltering. Who knows what it is, all I know, is that - I die.

Dance, dance

"You look so handsome"

True that!

Positive reinforcement works!

Mr. DID: Thanks for making the bed every day, dear.
Mrs. DID: Of course!

Mrs. DID (this morning as she is running out the door): Damn! I need to go back in and make the bed (drops everything and goes back in). Damn him for appreciating me! Damn you Skinner!

Sympathy

-- Paul Laurence Dunbar

I KNOW what the caged bird feels, alas! 

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; 

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, 

And the river flows like a stream of glass; 

When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, 

And the faint perfume from its chalice steals — 

I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing 

Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; 

For he must fly back to his perch and cling 

When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; 

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars 

And they pulse again with a keener sting — 

I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, 

When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— 

When he beats his bars and he would be free; 

It is not a carol of joy or glee, 

But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, 

But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings — 

I know why the caged bird sings!

Oh, no, she, DIDN'T!

Kate Moss lights up during a Louis Vuitton show. Gasp!
This diva makes me sweat and cower in fear. Somehow I admire her ability to be insanely badass.

(image via AP)

iTunes Receipt

Item Number                    Description                                    Unit Price
                                                                                                                                    
1                                          Say My Name                                  $0.99

2                                          Bills, Bills, Bills                                 $0.99


And, I would have paid more!

Reminiscing over my teenage years

But wait... I was a teenager and had a positive body image. In fact, I think I had the opposite of body dysmorphia. I thought I looked good in my polyester tops and flannel shirts. So how was Fiona on my list of "girlfriends"? Along with Tori and Sarah M.

It wasn't until my grown up years that I felt the need to shed every extra lb. Thanks New York!

Anyway the song remains sexy and definitely reminds me of my pouty misunderstood teenage years.

Oh - here is a question for you, puppets, was Fiona the first hipster? Doesn't this look right out of Williamsburg?

Chanel 2011 RTW

Shorty swing my way...

Song monster

If the music one enjoys is a window to their soul (stay with me here)...I'm soulless.

It's been non-stop Lady Gaga since Sunday (yup gaga is finally on my ipod). Why wouldn't I jam to Gaga's greatness? Her music is power b*tch music and she is totally fearless! The opening stanza of Alejandro gives me the urge to strut down a crowded NYC street (coyly making eye contact with NO ONE).

(She's got both hands in her pocket - and she won't look at you - won't look at you).

For the record, the first time I heard Alejandro I thought it was absurd and poking fun at cruise ship love (admit it we've all been there!!). This song is about so much more!! It's about a woman's right to choose and it gets me all riled up!

Please comment if you would like me to dissect your favorite pop song. I'll do it. I'm sure I can even find hidden meaning in the song On the Floor by J-lo. Give me a little time here folks.

For now, just smoke one cigarette and hush!

Cutest 80's childhood photo

Note the tossed sippy cup action. Jen had clearly-defined preferences from very early on.

Can you compete with Jen's cuteness? If so, send me an email with your 80's-esque photo (i.e. bring it!)

Click here to see one of me.

Lies my husband told me

Click here for some mood music (Adele - Lovesong cover).

1. I love having my picture taken.
2. No, you aren't moody dear.
3. Designer handbags are a great investment!
4. What other girlfriends? I was in a monastery before meeting you.
5. What cellulite?
6. No, you don't look tired.
7. It's cute when you wear my sweater to cook dinner. 
8. I especially love you in that harem-style jumpsuit - so stylish.
9. Talking about having a baby doesn't make me nervous, don't be silly!
10. No, I'm not sleeping, let's talk.

Dreaming of Puerto Rico

Yo soy boricua, mi amor es Puerto Rico.

13 days until I leave for Rincon!

Me and Xtina with Tia Ana

"We may be carrying backpacks, but we both have Amex cards, you know?"

--Anonymous (just  said that to me!!)

ADR does it again!

Lady GaGa has nothing on my dear, sweet, Anna Dello Russo. Anna started it.

Visit net-a-porter's magazine for more of outrageous Anna.  

Vivienne Westwood says she'll design for Kate Middleton "when she catches up a bit with style."

Ha-ha!

When I hooked my star up to his my life exploded!

Spanish fashion brand Masscob

These looks couldn't be any better, unless I had designed them myself!  

Click here for more information.