like taking a break!

I have been really busy lately adjusting to a new job and figuring out what to do about the old one and it has really added some stress. Thankfully in the past few weeks I have also discovered two amazing websites! I first heard about this site when I was sent HERE! The article is about slowing down your life and how sometimes doing less will help you do more and do it better. LOVE IT!

Shortly after discovering this site they added a sister site, Zen Family Habits. That link will take you to today's article about how to live hassle free. It's really similar to the slow secret, I just love it. I think everyone needs to keep an eye on these two sites and really take what they have to say to heart. We are all so busy and cluttered that we think that's how it has to be! We need to just slow down, enjoy life, and do what we do well.

like writing haikus!

Image by ionushi via Flickr

I'm sure everyone (that's like 6 of you now!) has realized that writing is really important to me. I think that it's crucial for surviving in the professional world, but I also think it's a lot of fun. My favorite thing to write is a haiku.

I think a very important moment for me in my writing of haikus is when I was in school at the University of the Virgin Islands I did a project for one of my creative writing classes and I realized that I could write haikus about anything. I know this sounds silly but in school you learn that haikus are generally nature related so all of my haikus up to that point were about nature. In that class my final project was a collection of unconventional haikus and I've never looked back.My twitter updates, facebook statuses, and most cards I write are all haikus.

So yesterday I was at home doing random housekeeping stuff and throughout the day I think I wrote about 5 haikus about what I was doing and it got me thinking, "Hey, I should actually keep track of all these haikus I write and compile them into a book." So I started writing them down with the title "Haikus for Every Day" in my miniature composition book, I love that thing! I might make it one of those daily calendars or maybe just a 365 page book with a haiku for every day of the year. I feel like I could fill that up pretty easily, I write a lot of haikus.

start writing poems
with a pencil or sharpie
it doesn't matter

like giving props

I would like to commend Smashing Magazine for their article today on improving your writing skills. As I'm sure anyone who has ready any of my blog entries knows, I take writing and grammar very seriously so to see an article like this posted on a very popular blog makes me incredibly happy.

The article has some fantastic resources that I really wish I had known about when I was in school getting my English Degree (not that surprising, eh?). There are sections on grammar, common mistakes, general writing skills, a section on copywriting, tools, and much more!

I encourage all of you (all three of you?) to go and check out some of the resources in this article and see where it can take you!


Happy writing!

online creeping... cha or nah?

So obviously the world is changing. Besides the obvious passing of time and all natural wonders that come with it we are now experiencing the explosion of social networking. Between Facebook, Myspace (if you're 13), LinkedIn, Twitter, and other such networks you can know almost everything about somebody without ever having an actual conversation! So the question this brings to my mind is... online creeping... cha or nah? How much creeping before you become a creep? Where is the line and how many times are we going to cross it?

I think that it is not the "creeper" at fault if they obtain too much information. In all seriousness, people need to think about what they're putting out there for the world to see and realize that no matter the privacy preferences it's still pretty easy to access. So I say creep on creepers! If you don't want somebody to know something, don't put it online! From there it's a free-for-all, take what you will and give what you want.

nobody is very smart.

So new goal, FIND THE SMART PEOPLE!

I've noticed that there is a serious lack of brain power in the world. Growing up I never thought that I was all that smart. Not embarrassing, just average. I guess I can attribute that to having a smart family and smart friends. A fool among fools feels no foolery. I just made that saying up, btw, and I like it. And yes I just said btw. Anyway, so surrounded by all these smart people I felt rather average, then I started to notice the world around me. If I'm not very smart, and I'm smarter than all of these people, then the world is doomed! I know I touched on this in my grammar post, but are you serious? College graduates, "ivy leaguers", and other such personalities missing basic concepts, sounding generally idiotic! Like I said before, I don't consider myself to be all that smart, but I'm going to start asking for IQ scores and administer basic comprehension tests before having a conversation with anyone. If this is how the entire world is then it's no wonder we're destroying the habitats of everything (including ourselves) and wreaking general havoc on the planet.

I don't want everyone to be like the smart people who are so smart that they're terrified to be dumb, because that's no fun. They just end up acting condescending to make sure you know that they're smarter, and if you actually outsmart them they may just start cheating at life (or scrabble) to prove their dominance over your brain.

So, new plan. I'm finding all the smart people.

Enkai was amazing.

I didn't expect it to go any differently than it did, but I still want to tell everyone that my first time eating at Enkai (used to manage Shinshen) was fabulous. I've never written a restaurant review, so I'll just tell it like it was.

The menu was pretty much the same as when they had Shinshen. As far as I'm concerned that's a good thing. First thing's first, the location. I have to admit I was worried when I found out where they were going. That location hasn't had the best of luck with bars or restaurants, and it's not exactly a well traveled road. That being said, I love it! They did a great job decorating with local artwork without being over the top. My only complaint with the setup is I feel like we were sitting in a very dark spot and it was hard to read the menu. Everyone else seemed to have enough light, it was just that one table. Now onto the food. I had the sunomono (I think that's how you spell it) for an appetizer which is a cucumber salad with ginger, seaweed, crab, and a butterflied shrimp. This was one of my favorite items before and it is still fantastic. I am more than happy not to share. Also at the table was a miso soup (it disappeared too quickly for me to try some so I'll take it as a good sign) and edamame. I used to think that you couldn't mess up edamame until I had it at another restaurant where it was soaked in butter, but Enkai seasoned it perfectly. The rolls were delicious. Pictured above from right to left (approximately) is the Bourbon roll, crunchy spicy tuna, kyoto (another tuna roll), they dynamite, and the sunshine roll. The Bourbon was one of my favorites at Shinshen and it has not lost its quality. It has the perfect amount of crunch, sweetness, and just plain goodness. You can never go wrong with the tuna rolls, and the dynamite was dynamic as always. I'm pretty sure the sunshine is a new roll, I liked it. Unfortunately I do not have the memory to recall the contents. If anyone knows please comment, I'm sure everyone (including me) would love to know what goes in that or any of these rolls. 

I hope this was informative and interesting for all, and I hope it encourages you to visit Enkai for an evening that is sure to impress. Just be sure to call to make reservations, it's no secret how good they are.

completely exhausted

I am feeling completely exhausted today. My feet hurt from running around decorating for the birthday party at Coral World today. It's really cute, I did a pretty good job. Every time I have a party I buy a stuffed animal from the gift shop because they make great decorations, and I have some stiff paper fish that can be taped up around the Blue Water Terrace. I wish I had more decorations than this, but I really don't have enough parties here to have enough of a budget to buy anything else. This morning I went to KMart and spent $40 on candy, small toys, and clown fish that are meant to go in your bathtub to reduce slipping but work great for the food table decorations. I then decorated the area from 9AM to 10:45, right before the party arrived. For pretty much the duration of the 3 hour party I was running back and forth between my office and the party making sure everyone was happy. Finally at 2:15 (15 minutes after the party was over) I went down to clean up. I was overjoyed to see that they had cleaned the area, but unfortunately my decorations also got cleaned out. I feel awful and I definitely wouldn't try to charge them for it, but now I have to restock my decoration supply, with very little money available in the birthday area, and I have to explain why I didn't stop them from taking it. Ugh, it's just exhausting. I wonder how bigger aquariums handle decorations. Do they have enough money not to worry about "stolen" decorations? The answer may be unreachable to me, but still I wonder...

So, that's why I'm completely exhausted. But luckily I have a delicious Premium French Soda, Pomegranate, Organic, in a beautiful glass that Jason got me at lunch. Yay.

Everyone needs grammar lessons.

I think that everyone should be required to consistently pass grammar and composition "tests" in order to continue functioning in society. I have noticed that as social media and email correspondence is increasing in social and professional settings, our attention to how we talk has gone completely down the drain. Right now, as I am checking Facebook updates, I am appalled at what people choose to share with the world. For the most part these are people who went to a college prep high school with me and moved on to Ivy League schools and other top notch colleges around the US. One girl read a book in which a few parts "in lightend" her. Now I could go on and on with things that annoy me that I see posted on Facebook and other social networking sites, but eventually someone is going to recognize something they said and that might end badly but what I really want to say is that we need to realize that it is important how you present yourself whether it's talking to you boss, your neighbor, or in 140 characters or less on Twitter. People are looking to find business relationships in ways that previous generations never would have imagined and if we are to have a fighting chance of avoiding Idiocracy. I can tell you that if I am ever in a managerial position where I am looking for new employees I will not be hiring the girl (or boy) who can't spell, can't write, and decides to post it all over the world.

I am not going to suggest putting a spell checker on every Facebook, Myspace or Twitter update, just think before you write.

sometimes i feel... like i am drunk behind the wheel.

I would like to dedicate this blog to a song. Sometimes I feel like I'm drunk behind the wheel, sometimes I feel like throwing the wheel out the window and screaming at the top of my lungs, and sometimes I feel like grabbing the wheel and going with the flow.


"Sometimes I feel
Like I am drunk behind the wheel
The wheel of possibility
However it may roll
Give it a spin
See if you can somehow factor in
You know there's always more than one way
To say exactly what you mean to say" - Fastball, Out of My Head