Just over a year ago one of my high school classmates took his own life. Max was an amazing young man and all of us were very surprised when we found out what had happened. No one knows where he got a gun or why he drove to our high school parking lot to commit the act. He was a peaceful person who was very involved in the Adi Da "cult." I put cult in quotes because I don't want to anger a bunch of people. I'm putting a video in here that is a tribute to Max. I don't know who made it, but I love it. I hung out with him the week after the SAB video with him in the red cap came out. He was so excited about it; I really think his favorite word was "ridiculous." :)
So a lot of us still think about him and reminisce about him every now and again. I remember when I started yoga it was about a year after I last saw him and I was trying to get that calmness he talked about. He was a good guy; it's great to see him in this video again. :)
I got a message from a friend yesterday that let me know that Max's mother took her own life last week. She never recovered from Max's death. I barely knew her; as much as anyone knows the mom of a high school friend, really. But this made it really hit home that suicide is not just about the person who commits suicide. It affects everyone, some to the point where they never recover; and then the cycle continues.
Suicide is something that is never the answer to any problem, no matter how big it is. Please talk to the people you know. If there is something weird going on, talk to them. Find out what they're thinking. If they need help, please get them help.
This is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline link. The phone number is 1-800-273-TALK. If anyone you know needs this number, please share it with them.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
This is one of my favorite and most hated weeks of the year! I love it because all my favorite shows and a few new ones start on TV. I hate it because I watch more TV and I'm not as productive as I'd like to be. Here are the shows that I'm looking forward to this season: ABC
Castle: Season 5. Monday 10pm (60min). Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) is a super-hot, super-brilliant NYPD detective who works with a mystery writer, Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), to solve murder cases in the city. It's a fun show that is always entertaining and keeps you on your toes!
Modern Family: Season 4. Wednesday 9pm (30min). This is an absolutely hysterical show! It's about a family (well, three subfamilies!) and all the crazy stuff they do together. It's so funny! It's not by any means an intellectual show, but it's great entertainment.
CBS
Sheldon (Jim Parsons)
Partners: Pilot. Monday 8:30pm (30min). This is a new show that looks really funny!
The Big Bang Theory: Season 6. Thursday 8pm (30min). Sheldon (Jim Parsons) is my favorite character! I love him! Leonard (Johnny Galecki) is also really great. Penny (Kaley Cuoco) needs to be a better actress, though. Season 5 ended really poorly, in my opinion, so I'm hoping this opener is really good!
Elementary: Pilot. Thursday 10pm (60min). A modern day Sherlock Holmes series with Lucy Liu as Watson! I can't wait!
Other Shows to Watch
Project Runway: Season 10. Lifetime Thursdays 9pm (90min). We're in the middle of a very high design competition! It's cutthroat and some really great designers have already gone home--down to the Final 6!
The New Normal: Season 1. NBC Thursdays 9:30pm (30min). Episode 4 is this week. It's a very funny show about family life in modern day America. Still not completely sold on it, but willing to continue to give it a shot for the next couple episodes.
Football! ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS, FOX, ABC, NFL Network, NBC, any other channel that has it!
So, the moral of this list is if you don't have a DVR, you need to get one! :)
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
Kris Doubledee, Bus Driver Photo: Winnipeg Free Press
This is a cool story that caught my eye! A bus driver in Winnipeg, Canada pulled over while he was on his route and gave his shoes to a homeless man. This is making headlines all over North America!
Why?
I mean, yes, it's great that he did this, but at the same time, why aren't actions like this one commonplace? Why don't more people help out other people who are obviously in need? I'm not trying to make it sound like I do, and all of you reading this are scum of the earth or something for not helping people. I'm just saying, let's take a look at what we currently do for other people and then let's take a look at what we are capable of doing for other people. Then let's see how close we can come to our potential. We can make the world a better place together!
15 Ways to Help People You Don't Know (From Least Amount of Work to Most)
Smile at someone in the store or on the sidewalk.
Say "good morning" to someone you pass.
Donate quality clothes to a charity. Just because people are poor doesn't mean they enjoy wearing crappy clothes that are stained or torn.
Give a stranger you see a compliment.
Pick a person at random out of the phone book and write them a card that tells them you hope they have a great day. Send them the card and don't expect anything back.
When you go grocery shopping, buy extra healthy food and donate it to the food bank.
Ask someone on the bus who looks sad or frustrated how their day is going. Then listen to their answer and care about it.
Volunteer to help serve one meal at a soup kitchen.
Next time you bake, make an extra (cake, loaf of bread, cookies, etc), and take it to your neighbor even if you don't know them.
Volunteer in the urban schools to read to kids once a week.
Find Habitat for Humanity in your community. Build a house in a weekend for a family in need.
Work with the Boys and Girls Club. Learn about the kids you meet and how you can help them.
Find the nearest international community center to you and see if they need an after school English teacher. Do not expect to get paid.
Work for a nonprofit organization.
Start your own nonprofit organization!
I know these aren't all the ways you can help people, but it's a start. You can make a world of difference to someone, and if you make positive change in one person's life, you've made the world a better place.
Let's make change in the world; let's make headlines like the one about the bus driver in Winnipeg more common!
Have a great weekend!
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
This morning I woke up to see 1520 views of ChickOpinion! Wow! I never thought I would get this many views in only three weeks! Thank you for making this fantastic opportunity a success! :)
I am going to take a day off of talking about the news today. I feel like it gets too negative and I don't want to start my weekend (or yours!) off like that!
The beautiful, cold autumn sky outside.
It's another gorgeous sunrise this morning! I am going to take today for myself (well, part of it!). I've gotten a little bit off track in terms of keeping tabs on my health over the last couple weeks because I've gotten busier. A lot of people have the misconception that taking time for yourself means blowing off responsibilities in other parts of your life. I think that only happens rarely--like if you don't routinely take time for yourself and then decide to take a whole day or a whole week for yourself. That can be damaging to your own psyche, your family, and your job because shirking your duties will really just end up making you feel guilty. You will end up making the false association between taking time for yourself and feeling guilty for taking time for yourself.
Here are five things I love doing to take time for myself that don't have to take a lot of time (but can take a lot of time if you want them to!):
Yoga. I know some guys might think this a "girl thing" because girls are usually more flexible than guys. Well, I'm going to say it's for everyone. Breathing and focusing inward during yoga is so powerful and I definitely think men can benefit from it, too.
Reading. Now I am well aware that not everyone loves reading. But I do! :) Sue Grafton is a huge favorite of mine for books (just finished B is for Burglar!) and for short stories I adore Guy de Maupassant.
Cooking. This one is kind of funny, because it can be for someone else, but it relaxes me because it's just me in the kitchen and I get to do whatever I want. :) I don't know yet what I'll cook tonight, but I'm excited to have that time for myself.
Pampering! This is not just for girls!!! If you look good, you have the potential to feel a lot better about yourself! So yesterday I decided to get my eyebrows waxed for the first time. For those of you who haven't seen me, I have brows reminiscent of those of Brooke Shields. :-/ So. I finally went for it! I love the result, but here's a tip: if you are allergic to aloe, tell them ahead of time. Ow! My eyebrow area was all puffy for a couple of hours after the wax because of the "soothing" stuff they put on afterward. Hopefully next time I decide to try the pampering thing it will go a little better! :)
Create Something. This is something I really love doing. I know that it might sound all artsy-craftsy, but you know, everyone has different ways of creating! This blog, for example, is huge for me. I love it, because every day I get to create this thing that is part of me! I am definitely into the arts and crafts thing, too, tho--I'm making kitty toys this weekend for our little guys and starting on my wedding dress, so there are tons of different things to do! Try to find something that you like doing that is all you and create!
I know everyone has crazy schedules and I'm not trying to be "holier-than-thou" about all this. It's extremely important to take even 10 minutes for you every day. So today, take some time for yourself! Rebuild who you want to be, who you know you are, and get back on track!
Have a great weekend! I'm going to start posting on weekends just to see how it goes, so please keep up with the blog during your football-filled first weekend of Fall!
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending Obama for America's Ohio Women Vote 2012 Summit! It was such a fantastic experience. It was at Union Terminal in Cincinnati. I had never been there, and just fell in love with the architecture! There were about 200 women there--and maybe 10 guys! :) We stood in line for about 30 minutes before we went in to the auditorium and it was so cool to talk with the other women in line. I was next to a woman who drove here all the way from Springfield, Ohio because it was so important to her to be here for this event. She was fantastic! She did her Master's thesis on the abuse of slave women and we got to talking about that for a while...it was really interesting. Another woman I met was a high school senior from Cincinnati who is a super-feminist! She was hilarious and I absolutely loved her knowledge of the feminist movement starting all the way back in the 1700s! She was so passionate and I can't wait to see what she ends up doing with her life. Another woman who was sitting behind me goes to school online and the thing that excites her most about Obama is his commitment to student loans and keeping up Pell grants so she might be able to go to the University of Cincinnati after she gets her Associate's degree. The energy was amazing--everyone was hyped up!
Kate Chapek
Kate Chapek is the Obama Campaign National Women's Vote Director. She was the best MC of this event! She had so much energy and she was fun! My favorite thing she said when talking about what this election means for our country is, "It's not about making history, it's about protecting history." Love it! She also mentioned that statistics show that women trust other women when it comes to deciding who to vote for. When women talk to other women, they don't even realize that the other woman on the other end of the phone is going to be taking in your opinions and will be using that to help shape their own opinion.
The former First Lady of Ohio, Frances Strickland, also spoke. I can honestly say I barely remember what she said. She was kind of monotonous and my mind wandered.
Mary Shelton
This woman, Mary Shelton, is one of the most inspiring women I've ever had the pleasure of hearing speak. She is a campaign volunteer for Obama for America - Ohio and has a developmentally disabled daughter, now 48, who still lives with her. She opened her own small business (this is her website) to help other developmentally disabled people get the care they need, because she realized there are not a lot of people helping that demographic. It's taken off! Her agency is helping people in the Greater Cincinnati Area and they take care of these people who cannot take care of themselves. She said, "The day the Supreme Court deemed the Affordable Care Act constitutional is the day I signed up to volunteer for Obama's campaign." I think the reason she was so amazing to me is that she is a real person with a real story about how Obama has helped her.
Alicia Reece
Alicia Reece (D) is an Ohio representative. She was such a great speaker! Her story is about how her mom and dad started a small business to have their own part of the 'American Dream' and were very successful--until her mom woke up blind in one eye one Christmas morning. They went to the hospital, but the doctors didn't want to diagnose her because her insurance would drop her if she ended up having anything serious. So, she kept trying to live without knowing what was going on with her body. She ended up in a wheelchair and finally got diagnosed with MS. The day she got diagnosed is the day her insurance company said she was no longer covered. Unfortunately, Alicia's mother died in December 2008. Had she still been alive today, the Affordable Care Act would have given her insurance again. Alicia is fighting for Obama because people like her mom can't. We all need to fight for Obama so our loved ones can live to fight another day. Alicia was an absolutely phenomenal speaker and I was so "Fired Up" after her speech! People like her are the reason people like me get up and volunteer!
Natalie Portman
So, of course, the headline speaker of this Summit was Natalie Portman! She was good! I was talking with Lara, a volunteer friend of mine, after the summit and we love the way celebrities use their status and influence to campaign for people. It's amazing, because you know, even if some people don't pay attention to politics but Natalie Portman is their favorite actress, once they get to the polls they might think, "Oh I don't know who to vote for, but I know Natalie is voting for Obama, so I will, too." It was great! She talked about education and about being a woman, and how we've been having some crazy things being said about our bodies by Republicans lately; and how Obama doesn't agree with that at all. I got parts of her speech on video and it was just so great to see one of my favorite actresses ("Black Swan" is one of my favorite movies!) saying things that are so in line with what I believe! It was a very exciting experience. I wish we had gotten some time after her speech to take photos and get autographs with her, but, you know, I still got to hear her speak while I was sitting in the fourth row, and that's pretty cool. :)
These are a couple of sound-bytes of Natalie's speech. Unfortunately, my phone ran out of space at the end of the second video (still had Obama's speech on it!) so I didn't catch the end of her speech, but I thought you all might like these.
I love this photo of her. She is happy about Obama! :) How cool!
So, women: this election is about us. We are the majority in this country; we are going to decide this election. So let's make it about us! Let's put the work in: phone bank, canvass, talk to people, share your opinion! Remember: women trust other women. If you influence three women and then they each influence three women, how far can we go?
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
Oh, Mitt. This video may be another thread pulled in your undoing. Why, in this age of technology and social media, would you say something controversial to the 1% that you assume is going to stay in that room? Nothing that happens in ________ stays in ________ anymore, no matter where that place is.
I enjoyed Obama's response on the Letterman Show last night. It is the president's responsibility to be the president of the country, not just the 47% who vote for him. In my opinion, it's almost more important to work with the citizens who do not agree with him, than the ones who do. I mean, although I am reveling in the fact that Romney keeps metaphorically shooting himself in the foot, he almost has a case in saying that there are people who are going to vote for Obama just because he's Obama and their minds will not be changed by anything he says. But, that doesn't mean he shouldn't reach out to them. Working with the opposing side is almost always more important than catering to the people you already know are on your side. You need to keep your allies happy, don't misunderstand, but they will stay by your side while you work on bringing people on the other side around.
I hope everyone has a fantastic day! I will--I'm headed off to see Natalie Portman speak at the Obama for America's Ohio Women Vote 2012 Summit (that name is too long)! I'll update throughout the day on twitter and facebook, so if you want to follow the Summit, that's great. If not, I'll let you know how it went tomorrow... :)
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
Hi, everyone!
I know it's a little uncharacteristic of me to be posting at this time of day, but I just found out: Natalie Portman is coming to the Ohio Women Vote 2012 Summit to promote President Obama tomorrow in Cincinnati! The event is at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Doors open at 10am and Natalie speaks at 11am!
This is the link about her visit! Please come! It's free to the public and I think this is huge that Natalie Portman is getting involved!
