Published August 3rd, 2007
in news.
It was with great horror that I learned of the bridge collapse in Minnesota. A rush of thoughts steamrolled through my mind. What a devastating loss! For as long as I can remember, anytime I’d cross a bridge a fleeting fear of just this sort of incident would register in the back of my mind. Why did the structure fail? Were appropriate preventive maintenance measures performed? How many people were hurt…or worse?
That last thought made me pause and come back to the first thought. It then occurred to me. The time to reflect can come later.
Real people, for doing nothing more than getting from one place to another, lost their lives. Countless others who did survive will undoubtedly have this event imprinted in their minds for the rest of their lives.
Before the finger pointing starts, before the lessons are learned, before the political grandstanding gets nauseating, let us take a moment to remember the victims.
My heart goes out to those who were on the bridge at that fateful moment. My thoughts are with their families. The City of Minnesota is in my prayers.
Popularity: 53% [?]
Published July 3rd, 2007
in personal.
Things do certainly change but it is amazing how much actually stays the same. I spent the weekend going through some old letters, cards, and personal journals. Among the journals found was the first one I wrote in regularly at the age of 12. Entries proclaimed groundbreaking revelations like discovering that I was no longer the only girl in class who had begun menstruating. Posts on boys at the time seemed to center around disgust at the sheer number of times they passed gas. Most of the letters I read were also from when I was aged 12 until about 14. Even those from when I was a few years older were with the same people I had met during those formative years. Sheer nostalgia at revisiting those times soon gave way to another revelation. Insights into personal life experiences may differ quite a bit now and I may respond to situations differently, but the essence of who I am has never changed.
“Don’t think so hard,” was a recurring mantra to me by various friends. Yes, I will readily admit that I am a thinker. I pride myself on continually learning whenever possible. A struggle growing up was sometimes overanalyzing a problem or idea to the point that action was hindered. Although I can’t say I’ve done a complete turnaround, over time I’ve learned to rely on the constant research and trust my gut to instantly make a choice when the time came.
Just the other day I took a quick survey and found that I am the Enneagram Institute Investigative Type.
Several other Enneagram Types also ranked highly for me. All of us can at times display qualities of any one of those types. But yearning to learn more, perceiving minute details, envisioning a world of possibilities - those are all things I do now and have always done.
How about you? Think back to your adolescent days. What qualities about you have changed since then? What continues to be the same? Are you surprised?
Popularity: 60% [?]
Published June 15th, 2007
in meta.
Numerous blog advice articles and posts recommend establishing a blog with a very narrow focus or niche. If you’ve read some of my posts you already have noticed that I can write about a variety of different topics. Quite frankly, what I’ve written is still much more narrow in scope than the number of topics I’ve thought about writing on. The result is that my updates have been more on the sporadic side and even though I started posting at the beginning of this year I feel I have yet to hit my blogging stride. My “voice” isn’t entirely captured in the writing and I haven’t even yet linked to this blog when commenting on other blogs or participating in forums, feeling instead that this blog isn’t ready to be introduced to the public.
I’ve held back because it has been difficult to focus on one niche. Would such a focus mean that I’d have to miss out on all those other topics I am still interested in learning about? The Internet is a wealth of information and one can easily get lost in the mountain of reference materials. I’ve found myself reading, reading, and reading rather than writing.
But this is my personal blog. Those who know me nod vigorously when it is suggested that I am eclectic. I enjoy learning about a multitude of different things. It is who I am. Rather than almost censoring myself to avoid writing a potentially unfocused blog about random ideas, I think now it is better to simply write. If there is a certain topic I do write at great length about that topic could break off into its own dedicated blog.
Until I let those internal shackles go and write, I won’t discover that focus. Besides, writing about different topics doesn’t necessarily mean that overall the blog would become something too random or scattered. It reflects who I am. I can be considered eclectic but I haven’t been described as unfocused. If a topic emerges as one I can write at great length about, it could perhaps break off onto its own dedicated blog. But those ideas can only be discovered if I do take the time to explore them and write about them.
A funnel of ideas. Writing unrestrained by topic. For the time being this is the direction the blog will take. Don’t worry, I’ll refrain from sharing play-by-play accounts of doing the laundry.
What about you? Do you find yourself worrying so much finding the perfect subject matter you end up muting your online voice? Do you feel confident that you have found that niche? How did you choose this niche?
Popularity: 31% [?]
Published May 30th, 2007
in productivity.
The other night some friends and I were discussing the draining power of negative people. Energy vampires are everywhere. They readily discover all flaws with the status quo in the office then resist any efforts to implement change. They seem to continually be cursed with romantic woes, none of which are ever their fault. Sometimes we all can get into a rut. Sometimes even the most optimistic person can notice only the negative side of things. I’m not talking about anyone undergoing an occasional spurt of negativity. But some out there are just plain negative. They seem to get very chatty when sharing problems but grow silent when discovering solutions or quickly discover why every offered solution won’t work. They are incapable of “seeing the light at the end of the tunnel” or finding the “silver lining”. If you give in to their negativity, they can quickly sap your thirst for life away.
So how should you deal with negative people?
Catherine Pratt over at Life With Confidence discusses 10 strategies on how to deal with negative people. Here’s one I plan to use the very next time I’m stuck talking to an energy vampire:
3. Say, “Now tell me something positive.”
Right after they’ve finished telling you some tragic story, say to them, “now tell me a positive story”. Some people have no idea how negative they’ve become. That’s what they’re surrounded by day in and day out so it’s just become a way of life for them. By being given the reminder, they may actually realize that being negative isn’t the kind of person they want to be and may start to work on becoming more positive. Or, they may decide it’s not worth telling you their horror stories because you’ll ask them to think of something positive. Sob sisters (always whining, feel the world is against them, feel they’re victims) will probably not find you very attractive anymore.
I’d like to add another bonus strategy.
11. Read the The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
This book focuses more on dealing with your own limiting self beliefs and achieving personal happiness. In doing so, you would be able to remain blissful even if surrounded by scores of negative folks. Simple yet profound, The Four Agreements is a book I constantly recommend.
How to Deal With Negative People [via Life with Confidence]
Popularity: 45% [?]
Published February 27th, 2007
in personal.
Martin Espaillat has been missing since Valentine’s Day, the day of the snowstorm in the New Jersey area. No leads have surfaced as of this writing.
A petition to be delivered to the Clifton Police Department aims to persuade the police to expand their search to include an area in Clifton known as “The Gates of Hell.” This area is a series of underground tunnels and hidden compartments. The petition itself reads as follows:
We, the undersigned, demand a full scale police led or warranted search of the no trespassing area known as “The Gates of Hell” and any surrounding areas in Clifton, NJ in search of Martin Espaillat.
Sign the petition
Popularity: 35% [?]
Published February 24th, 2007
in personal.
Martin Espaillat was last seen on the morning of February 14th, 2007 on his way to the train station in Clifton, New Jersey. He would have been heading to work in Jersey City, New Jersey. Martin was wearing a black Northface coat with a hoodie. If you have seen him, or have any information please contact Mildred Espaillat at mildred@happyviper.com. You may also contact the Clifton or Jersey City Police Department at 973-470-5262.
*****************************************
Edgar, Martin’s cousin, has built a comprehensive website that lists Martin’s stats, has tons of more recent pictures, and even video and a description of what he was wearing the morning he disppeared.
Here is the website: http://happyviper.com/martin/
Thanks again, and please share this with everyone.
Here are some photos of Martin. Some of them are rather old and his style has changed through the years, but his face never changes.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Published February 7th, 2007
in money.
Selena Maranjian of The Motley Fool advises readers not to drink bottled water. She mentions that many bottled water products consist simply of tap water modified to taste better. Since The Motley Fool is a personal finance site she concentrates more on the aspect of savings than on health aspects.
I never did follow the trend of buying bottled water and prefer to drink from a water fountain. The thought of paying for water never made sense to me. At home I prefer to filter water straight from the faucet. To avoid the hassle of water pitchers I use a Brita On Tap System
, since it can be attached right onto the faucet.
Don’t Drink the Water in … America? [The Motley Fool]
Popularity: 30% [?]
Published January 11th, 2007
in productivity.
Here I am, just a week after posting New Year’s Resolutions in which one resolution was to write in my blog at least once a week, and already I’ve almost let a week pass without writing a post. Any website, particularly weblogs, can be considered dead sites if not updated regularly.
Just why is it that so soon after making a written public commitment to something I have almost failed to follow through on that commitment? Quite simply, I have tended to be a perfectionist. In striving to find a perfect topic to post about or create something absolutely awe-inspiring, the inevitable result is that this search for perfection caused a hindrance of action.
You don’t have to be a perfectionist to empathize with my tendencies. Why do so many people fail to keep their yearly resolutions? That one cigarette leads to a return to the habit. One skipped workout leads to an unused gym membership. The frustration at perfectly following the resolution paralyzes progress in fulfilling the overall goal.
Many of my proudest accomplishments came about when I dropped the need to be perfect, stopped fearing failure, and moved forward. I’m no Edgar Allan Poe. Every word in my blog post need not be as significant as each word in one of Poe’s works of art. So, forgive yourself if you slip in that one smoke or sneak in an extra slice of cake. Accept that mistakes do happen and then move on. Don’t abandon your goals if you encounter a setback. Just remember to get back on track once you forgive yourself.
Popularity: 32% [?]
Published January 3rd, 2007
in personal.
Another year has come and gone. One more new year. One more set of resolutions. For some time, I had been pretty good about both creating and keeping my list of goals for the year. But I can’t even remember if I made resolutions last year. Perhaps that’s why I’m not sad to see 2006 pass on by. At times it felt like I was lost in the jungle without a map. Well, the beginning of another year offers a perfect time to create that map (not to mention a perfect time to write a first post).
So many advice articles and goal-setting tips recommend to create measurable and realistic goals which can be accomplished in one year. I will go into detail about each goal in future posts and revisit these resolutions throughout the year to track my progress. Yes, the measurable aspect of each goal may not exactly be too lofty, but that only means that I have no excuse not to carry these out.
Here are my 2007 New Year’s Resolutions:
- First and foremost, I will keep family and friends as my number one priority.
- I will finish reorganizing my finances.
- I will exercise at least twice a week.
- I will write in my blog at least once a week.
- I will finish the initial development of my personal site.
- A secondary source of income with positive cash flow will be established.
Popularity: 36% [?]