Champagne

Champagne is my favorite drink. Cuvee, noirs, blanc de blancs, rose, lavender...dry, aromatic, brut, sweet...champagne is a celebration for the senses. It's an experience - everything from the packaging of the shapely bottle wrapped in ornamental foil, untwisting the muselet (wire collar,) the sound of the cork popping, to the pouring of the sparkling bubbles into the champagne flutes. Effervescence has been a word associated with the initial burst of champagne when it comes in contact with the dry glass. Sumptuous, exquisite, decadent. Champagne is not meant to be stored away for just the right occasion, only savored on New Year's Eve, or for a wedding toast. Every day is a special occasion. Champagne should be enjoyed on a whim, just because or when you're simply in the mood. Cheers!

Late Bloomer

It's been said that Ricky Gervais (creator of The Office - BBC) is an inspiration to late-bloomers everywhere - beginning his comedy career at 40. Good, I didn't want to be the only one. I've been on the scenic route for quite some time and haven't lost sight of wanting to write for the TV & Film industry. I just got side-tracked along the way, argued the timing wasn't right, and convinced myself that a career in advertising would be a safer route. And as fate would have it, I remembered those words my Dad conveyed to me around age 12: you're a late bloomer. Now, the context of our conversation was about a boy and my painful attempt at trying to get this boy's attention. Long story short, the philosophy holds true to many parts of my life. I blossomed later in life, hence dating later in life, and ultimately falling in love later in life. I have also done many jobs in which I have excelled, however, the passion for the work was never there. I enjoyed parts of it but it never gave me the high that writing does. What the jobs did give me, is writing material, stories and characters. I'm starting over in a way, at 41. I've moved to LA to pursue my dream to write (my) show for the industry. I applaud Ricky Gervais. He blossomed at the right time in his career. So, timing may be everything. It's never too late. The best is yet to come.

Words To Live By

If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done!

-Kimnesha Benns

Powerful Question

If we have the power to go the moon and have the power to create the Internet. Don't we have the power to find a solution for Global Warming?

Today

Live each day as you want to!

A short-short Story

A woman is running from tigers. She runs and she runs, and the tigers are getting closer and closer. She comes to the edge of the cliff. She sees a vine there, so she climbs down and holds on to it. Then she looks down and sees that there are tigers below her as well. At the same time, she notices a little mouse gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries emerging from a nearby clump of grass. She looks up, she looks down, and she looks at the mouse. Then she picks a strawberry, pops it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly.

~From Pema Chodron's - Comfortable with Uncertainty

Navigating Life With A Cold

I don't consider myself narcissistic. But when faced with the cold/sinus/allergy season, there is no fashionable way to navigate life. It would be ideal to hunker down and remain in bed until all the symptoms subside. But like the majority of working class America, I must got to work on a daily basis strung out on cold medicine or not. Accompanied by all the traits that come with a cold: nose running like a faucet, sore throat, head that feels like a ton of bricks, watery eyes, hot & cold chills, aches and coughing. However, I will say that living alone has its advantage when dealing with a cold. It's fine when I wake myself up snoring in the middle of the night or that there are used Kleenex and empty packets of Vitamin C in the bed. Or the time I was trying to wash dishes and every time I leaned my head down, my nose dripped. It was frustrating - stopping every minute to blow my nose. Finally, I stuffed Kleenex up my nose to get through the pile of dishes that had collected over my sickest days. This wouldn't have been a pretty sight for anyone else, but thankfully enough, it was just me and my cold. I stood at the sink in my mismatched flannel pajamas and wool fleece, unbrushed hair and warm fuzzy Santa Claus socks, and did not care how I looked. Going to work creates a whole other situation. Most importantly, I don't believe anyone should come to work sick while spreading germs. Most work environments are close cubicle-erected mazes - close quarters - that make it easy to catch someones cold. I'm constantly sneezing into my tissue, holding my hand over the phone receiver as I cough my head off, and either sweating or shivering, depending on the temperature in the building. I try not to make direct eye contact with fellow employees, because the state of what's going on from the neck up, is sometimes circumstances beyond my control. It's hard to be taken seriously when you're wiping your nose in front of people or excusing yourself to honk away. I've seen others with snot crusted up around their nose, it's not a good look. You would hope out of sympathy someone would tell you that you have some action going on in the nose area. Also, my focus is off. I find it hard to function up to par when the non-drowsy multi-symptom cold medicine has made me drowsy. I drift between reading an email for the fifth time and hallucinations of being on my couch with a mug of warm tea. Even responding to an email on cold medicine should be against company policy. Colds linger. In the middle of it all, I sometimes wonder if it will ever go away. Food is bland. Friendships suffer. Bad hair days are good days. Work feels like the seventh level of Hell. Ultimately, it's just a season, so it passes. Slowly, I can breathe out of my nose. The ringing in the ears go away. And the empty Kleenex box goes in the trash.