Pensive Insomnia

1: Why do some men find it necessary to:
a- grunt while exercising
b- where spandex unnecessarily- actually spandex isn't that bad when comparing it to knit stretchy shorts- knit ones show the sweat! at least avoid light colors...

2: You know you're about to witness a townie bar brawl when:
the guy next to you hands you his tattered baseball cap for safekeeping.
other additions?

"You look like you just rolled out of bed"

-response by my colleague to my new haircut.

Love it.

10" stilettos... anyone?

Factoid of the Week

Whew! It's been a rough week.

On my emergency plane ride home again last Tuesday, I was thinking about memories, and life, all kinds of deep, sappy stuff. If those don't interest you- stop here. ; ) Luckily, I had a pen and paper with me- writing is so helpful to exploring your thoughts.

***

"If you keep your face toward the sunlight, you can't see the shadows"

I love this quote by Helen Keller, its one of my favorites. Optimism in the light of adversity- maintaining a positive outlook amidst despair- focusing on the good things in life- very difficult- but important, and can make all the difference.

But I think I have been misinterpreting it's meaning. Lately I've been realizing that optimism runs deeper than just ignoring the bad things. That's not optimistic- that's naïve. The nobler challenge, which will result in more happiness, is not ignoring the 'shadows' at all- but facing them head-on, dealing with them and moving on, back to the sunshine, knowing that it was always there.

Naïvity is a blessing of youth. But letting it go shouldn't mean your life outlook should tarnish. Confront your demons- face your fears- do whatever it takes- but don't cower- and whine- and live your life with fear and regret- because that's not living at all. Conquer the shadows- and face the sun again!

***

Slightly cheesy, I know- but that's me. It's helpful for me to think like this in those rough patches, because like many of us, I always find it easier to simply ignore stuff and hope it will all go away. It never does though. So my new plan- deal with in and get it over with- so I can focus more time on the sweeter parts of life, rather than worrying about the icky ones. And there's sure a lot of sweet stuff. : )

Thanks!

So- my birthday was amazing. Utterly fantastic. I left work an hour early that afternoon and Shady took me to a spa. My first spa experience- and it was phenomenal! I got a hot stone massage... I would like to do one every day from now until eternity. Then we went out to dinner at this place- Eau Zone- lovely.

And afterwards, met friends for drinks. As you can see- this is the start of a long night... and next day.

These two tortured me. They would not stop with the shots.

As we were leaving- a shot with the Burj behind. Lovely

And yes, that is Steven Tyler. I was in total shock- he wished me happy birthday! My response- I'll see you Thursday! I was hoping for backstage passes as a gift- but no such luck

And yesterday was the Aerosmith concert- which I still consider a part of my birthday- because it was my present!

And with my concert buddy- Ahmed.

All in all- a pretty fantabulous birthday. Thanks to all of those who sent me greetings and well wishes- it was really sweet!

Well- I guess if birthdays are indicative of the year to come, 24 will be pretty great after all. : )