A Spin on Bad News

I know that keeping up with the news is necessary in order to be an informed and functioning member of society, but it's just not something that I ever really enjoyed. I just never understood why the first thing that my dad wanted to do in the morning was hear about death, natural disasters, murders, and all the other negative things that are happening in our world.

On a similar note - I have very limited patience for people who are negative, spiteful, and full of self pity. No person alive is perfectly happy and everyone is allowed to be in a funk every once in a while, but having an overall hopeless attitude in life will not make things any easier for you or anyone around you for that matter.

Very naïvely I tried to live in a little bubble of positivity - ducking at any negativity that came my way.

I found this to be completely and utterly impossible no matter how hard I tried. The reason I called it a little bubble is because there is far more negative than positive in the world - granted the positive is always far more powerful. This realization really bothered me because I am a firm believer that your life is under your control and no one else's. I believe that "all that we are is the result of what we have thought" (Buddha) and that "your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions" (Einstein). If this was true - how could it be that I couldn't control everything that came my way?

Here's how I see it today:

 I may not intentionally focus my attention to negative people or events, but sometimes its inevitable and often even necessary to make you really appreciate the positive people and events you already have the pleasure to enjoy. When you are genuinely grateful for something you respectively get more of it because that's just how positive energy works.

Think about a time in your past that you really appreciated something. It can be as simple as appreciating a conversation with someone, and then later that day having another really great conversation. Maybe you were really grateful for a deal you got on something you've wanted for a while and then stumbled upon another steal. Or perhaps you even appreciated yourself for doing well on a task at work or an exam, and continued to perform up to your fullest potential. It can be theoretical or it could be materialistic. The more you are grateful for something, the more you receive of it.

Today I confront and accept the fact that we don't live in a world comprised of rainbows and unicorns. It's healthy for there to be conflicts and unfortunate events will occur in the world. Whenever I am faced with a negative situation I take it with a grain of salt and try to direct my thoughts to something or somebody who makes me happy. In doing so you literally transform something negative into even more of something positive and are able to exponentially enjoy all the beautiful things in life.

Tuesday Tracks

A couple of gems.

This duo is just raw talent. Is it me or does her rap style resemble B.O.B a little bit?

In my opinion this video is a bit too transparently Lady Gaga, but a good jam nonetheless - particularly at 00:35.

Enjoy.

Worrying & Bubblegum

I'm generally positive, but before I received my student visa I was more worried than I had been in a while. I had already picked out all of my classes at the business school I'll be attending and paid for my entire four month trip in advance - plane ticket included. The only factor that was potentially stopping me from fulfilling this trip was not receiving this one little document. As I turned in my bed over and over the night before my appointment with the consulate I thought about everything that could go wrong. Not having the right documents, not having the approval I need from other organizations, etc. Then I remembered something:

"Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum" 

It's really easy to get caught up in a web of worries and most of us do. Most things we worry about aren't even under our control. What is under our control is the choice to stop worrying. Consciously working towards this peaceful state of mind is all a part of acheiving a balance that can seriously improve the quality of our lives. Life is going to happen. It's happening right this very moment. The way you react to it is going to determine your mood. And if you're in a good mood life is great. Who's going to tell you otherwise?

A friend showed me a video months ago that I still think about daily & share with others whenever I can. It's an assortment of pictures that are set to a speech by Baz Luhrmann, a director from Australia. It's really difficult to pick my favorite line from this speech. I can honestly disect it and would be able to live by each and every single phrase. Whenever I am having a rough day or become carried away in a spiral of negativity - this inevitably puts me back on track. If you've seen it before, I know you won't mind watching it again. If you have never seen it before - you're in for a treat.



Tuesday Tracks

Music is an enormous part of my life. So big that I found uploading one track a day to my music tab was getting extremely tedious. Ergo I have thought of a new plan - one that might add some structure to my little place on the net as well.

I'll be dedicating my Tuesdays to sharing some tunes. You can still find them in the music tab as before, just in a slightly different format.

Today I have two video highlights.

The first video I discovered courtesy of my high school French teacher, the beautiful Mrs. Pia Gomez who is always up on the latest trends.

I suppose we can dedicate this to my upcoming trip. I found it highly amusing. The making of Alors on Danse.

The next video is bringing it back to Mother Russia. I feel as though pop bands don't really thrive in the US as much as they do in Europe - especially ones with both men & women.

These guys call themselves In-ya [Инь-Ян]. They are unbelievably talented (& not to mention good looking). The style and sound of this video is extremely European, so if you can't appreciate it then at the very least you get some eye candy.

Southeastern Adventures.

Last week was spent in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was imperative that this week would be spent doing all things fun and relaxing being as it is my only week off from the summer internship which started in Mid-May. 

And relaxing it was. It began with a 12 hour road trip with my parents and little sister. Can't say this was the most relaxing part of my trip, but we brought snacks. Everything is better with snacks.

Fine dining was a highlight of the week. Restaurants visited include:

Rioz

Mykonos

Kono

Yamato

Approximately 2 miles away from our hotel there was a place called Boardwalk on the Beach with a lot of really unique attractions. An upside down building called Wonderworks, for example.

There were Ripley's attractions scattered all over. Including a Mirror Maze and a Haunted House.

Just when you think I've stopped talking about food... I must mention the fantastic Willy Wonka inspired candy store we visited (on multiple occasions).

Never got around to riding the Ferris Wheel, but it was absolutely a site to see. Definitely on the list of things to do for next time. (The cabins have AC)

An attraction I was super stoked about getting to see was Le Grande Cirque. The show itself was a little under 2 hours long. I could have watched for double the time.

& of course - Myrtle Beach's oldest and biggest attraction of all time is its beautiful shore and water.

On my first day back up in the Northeast, I visited the French Consulate in NYC. I am pleased to announce that I have completed the last step of planning my Parisian adventure & received my student visa.

More great times ahead - & I'm grateful for every minute of it.

Tom & Jerry vs. Nu Pagodi!

Every once in a while you just need to appreciate old school cartoons.

In this post I'll give you a little blast from the past and possibly culture shock. Below are two cartoons that are very similar in their plot and concept of survival of the fittest so to speak. One may be more familiar to the majority of readers, the other to some more than others. I've provided a little background before each clip (thanks wiki).

Note the slight, yet ever present differences in the American vs. Russian cartoon.

Enjoy.

Tom and Jerry is an American series of theatrical animated cartoon films created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, centering on a never-ending rivalry between a cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry shorts at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 1940 and 1957.

Nu, pogodi! [Ну, погоди!] which translates to "Well, Just You Wait!" is a Soviet/Russian animated series produced by Soyuzmultfilm. The series was created in 1969 and became a popular cartoon of the Soviet Union. The series follows the comical adventures of a mischievous yet artistic wolf trying to catch (and presumably eat) a hare.

Namaste

Yoga and I had a very bland start to our relationship.

We began in the Summer of '10 when I decided I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about and take a class.

To be honest I wasn't really impressed. Yeah we were doing all those poses that I have heard so much about, but I didn't feel particularly rejuvinated. I was kind of bored actually. I noticed my body getting toned in all the right places, but I just was not crazy about it like I noticed some others in my class were.

I returned to college for my Junior year and then the summer time came about once again. So once again, I felt that I needed some sort of structured class to keep myself busy. I work full time so I was on a search for something relaxing yet physically stimulating.

I'm not sure what happened between last summer and this summer - but I experienced a total 180°

Now I look forward to the class that I once attended very nonchalantly. I have progressed immensely in the same amount of time that I showed very little improvement last summer. I've tried positions I thought only Yogis practicing for years could get into. So if you're starting out and are losing motivation - there's hope for you still.

Every week my instructor brings a new Vinyasa into class while simultaneously working on positions from previous classes. I'll be featuring some of my favorites on here. Starting today.

Half Shoulder Stand - Ardha Sarvangasana

Namaste

Wishlist

Working in the most unique shopping area of the world is not easy (however much appreciated).

As my trip to Paris draws near I am making every effort to save up so that I can indulge in shopping, museums, fine French cuisine, trips to nearby countries, and all the other fabulous expenses that await for me in Europe.

On the other hand - as I anxiously await I am currently in another fashion capital of the world and feel as though it would be irresponsible not to take full advantage. Rather than going on extensive shopping sprees, I prefer to take frequent trips to my favorite surrounding stores and make purchases in smaller volumes.

To help achieve this methodology I like to enter stores with something in mind. Often times I will be swept off my feet by an outfit that I didn't plan for - but it definitely helps to have some idea of what to look for.

My office is located directly across the street from SoHo's largest H&M. Being a minimalist when it comes to the way I dress - it only makes sense that H&M is my favorite store.

We may be in the heart of the summer - but it's time to start thinking Fall.

Here are a few items on my wishlist:

 

You can really never go wrong with throwing on a cardigan. Perfect in the Fall when the weather starts to drop. Excellent addition whether you're wearing jeans, a skirt, or even leggings with a loosely fitted shirt.

 

Sometimes you don't feel like putting together several pieces of an outfit. That's the type of day you throw on a dress. Long sleeves suited for the fall with a nice pair of tights. Comfortable - which often translates to chic.



A blazer automatically creates a really put together look while keeping it casual. 

Summer Adventures

As much as I love admiring other people's photography, I enjoy creating my own. I finally got the chance to sit down and pick some favorites from the pictures I've taken recently. These were taken in Millburn, NJ.

(click picture to see in full size)

I'll take an old school movie theater over an IMAX big screen any day.

Conveniently located next door to the theater, Lily's Kandy.

Every kid's dream salad.

View from one of the few bridges in town.

Just about sums up the gorgeous day.

Another view from one of the many parks in town.

Spare Change

 There have been many times in my life when someone has asked me for money.

I'm sure that most of you can relate to this. Our society revolves around it.

People make it, borrow it, give it back, steal it, donate it, save it, spend it, etc.

This summer I have frequented NYC approximately one day a week for work. I am an intern at Scholastic Inc. and their headquarters are located in SoHo - my favorite district in the city.

One day in June I was purchasing a bus ticket at Penn Station. An elderly man purchasing his ticket next to me seemed to be having some sort of trouble, but I paid no mind. He turned to me and asked if I had a dollar to spare. I looked into my wallet and happened to have a single. I could have lied and told him no, but he seemed in genuine distress and it was just a dollar. I handed it to him and if you saw the look of gratitude on his face you would think I handed him a hundred dollar bill.

This seems to be a reoccuring theme these days.

Earlier this week I went to the mall to have dinner with my little. As I was searching for a parking spot I noticed a woman wandering around. Initially annoyed because she was in the center of my lane, I drove around her and found a spot. I was walking over to the mall when that same woman stopped me. She was your average white, middle-aged woman, but she looked absolutely miserable. It was a hot and humid Jersey day which was certainly clear by the beads of sweat above her lip and her frizzy hair. She looked as though she had been traveling around a desert for a few hours. She asked if I had 15 cents to spare because she was 15 cents short of taking the bus home.

As I was handing her a quarter, a car with two teenage boys sped by and tossed some change out of the window. Tears filled the woman's eyes and she explained that just before she asked me for change she had asked them and they said they didn't have any.

I'm not sure what her story was. Maybe she lost her wallet that day. Can't be sure why the elderly man didn't have that one extra dollar he needed. Neither of those people looked homeless or particularly poor by any means. Whatever - life happens.

I am not saying that I'm your next Mother Theresa. All I'm saying is that in the big scheme of things, I have a dollar and 15 cents to spare for someone clearly in need of it.

We are all equally human trying to get by in one world that all of us share.
Why not help each other out? It's not like the woman asked me to pay her mortgage or put her child through college. The elderly man didn't ask for me to pay for a trip around the world for his leisure.

Call me naïve, but I like to believe that good people exist. So if you're thinking of doing something nice for someone, do it.

As my boy Ghandi once said, "be the change you wish to see in the world."

Dinner With Albert

Have you ever been asked:

If you were to have dinner with anyone - dead or alive - who would it be?

I've given this question some thought on several occasions and it ultimately always comes down to Albert Einstein. I know what you're thinking. I chose him because of his dashing good looks. This is not the case. This man has contributed so much to the society we live in today. Aside from his contributions to Science and Mathematics, he was a brilliant philosopher. 

credit

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

It's really easy to be influenced by those around you as to what you should be. At the end of the day it comes down to what you want to do and what you are good at.

Everyone has something to contribute to this world. It's your prerogative to find what that may be for you. Maybe you've found it already. Maybe you found it and you don't even realize it yet. Keep trying different things and make mistakes until it feels right. For every mistake you make you'll look back and realize why it happened. It's never too late to figure it out. Begin by making steps towards something you enjoy doing. It might not be handed to you, but challenging is not necessarily a bad thing because overcoming a challenge comes with gratitude and appreciation for the obtained goal. We all have a set of skills that are unique to us.

We can all be really great at something if we apply ourselves the right way. 

Einstein genuinely believed in the timeless concept of individuality & he was named TIME magazine's person of the century in 1999. Imagine the success you can reach by believing in the same thing.

Who would you have dinner with?

Music [музыка]

Check out the new Music tab here on Mere [Мир]

& while you're here check out this collection of the internet's most viewed & admired photos

theBerry

Something I stumbled upon. Via theBerry.

Have a safe and exciting July 4th.