Without statistics to back me up, I’d hazard a guess that millions of Americans with full-time jobs fantasize about becoming self employed. Maybe the dream looks like being a wildly successful author, maybe it’s opening a restaurant or starting an independent legal practice. Whatever that daydream is, many people never pursue it because it can feel like a giant leap…
Nobody has to convince me of the power of relationships in our lives. For example, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a job by applying for a help wanted ad — it’s always been through a personal connection. And when I reflect back on my mom’s death, some of the strongest emotional memories come from the many ways our friends…
John and I went to see Toy Story 3 this weekend, which has prompted several long conversations about the transition from childhood to adulthood. The premise of the movie is that Andy is heading off to college and has gotten too old for his toys. It tells the story from the toys’ perspective, of course, but it’s hard not to…
I don’t know if I agree that it’s rare for New Yorkers to share special experiences, but I am totally on board with the idea that the shared oppression of triple-digit heat is bonding. It’s like we’re all in the foxhole together. A hot, sweaty, sticky foxhole. If you’re sweating like crazy, what’s something good to come from it? Is…
Say what you will about pop phenom Lady Gaga, the woman can write a catchy tune. More than a week ago, I heard one of her songs at a neighborhood sushi restaurant and I’m still finding myself singing Bad Romance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I] An excellent (if very long) article in the Washington Post recently was headlined: The Marriage Myth: Why do so…
A former colleague of mine at University of Michigan, Tony Collings, brought an amazing reporting resume to Ann Arbor– he was a CNN correspondent for 16 years, following time as a Wall Street Journal reporter in New York, an AP reporter in Moscow, London and Bonn, and the Newsweek bureau chief in Bonn and London. I learned how to do…
I should be practicing piano a lot this weekend, since I didn’t put in as much time last week as I would have liked. But it’s so nice outside! It’s hard to stay inside plunking away when it’s in the 80s and sunny. Fortunately, not everyone needs to make this choice between enjoying a lovely summer day and playing piano,…
There’s a remake out of the 1980s iconic movie Karate Kid. It’s hard to imagine anyone my age who doesn’t have a mental picture of Ralph Macchio doing karate moves he learned from Pat Morita in the original. As any Gen Xer can tell you, Mr. Miyagi’s teaching style is a little sneaky. Daniel wants to learn karate but instead…
Or: Lessons learned the hard way from ideas that sounded good at the time When I use hair driers in hotels, I’m frequently hypnotized by the giant warning tag they all have. You know the one — it warns you in bold red letters not to immerse your blow drier in a tub of water. For years, I’ve stared at…
A friend recently lost his wife. She was just 47 when she was hit by a car and died.
After getting a divorce a few years back, my friend had remarried and was as giddy as a high school girl talking about his new wife. His eyes twinkled when he talked about her influence on his health, his home and his outlook on life.
I never met his new wife, but my heart gets hot and my eyes tear up when I think about these two people just having found each other, then having it suddenly, unexpectedly, end.
When I talk to people about social media — one of my geeky interests — the two objections I frequently get are: How am I supposed to find time for that? I’m already too busy. What would I say? Who cares if I had a ham sandwich for lunch? This post nicely addresses both, and breaks down a regular commitment…
My coworker, Ted, recently posted a link on Facebook. It was a New York Times article about social interactions in real life and online. That Ted and I work in the same building but converse more electronically than face to face is probably relevant here somehow. Charles Blow wrote in his op-ed for the Times: A report issued Wednesday by…
Certain phrases are like music to my ears. “I love you” is probably at the top of the list, provided it’s from someone I want to have loving me. Others that closely follow include: The next round is on me. You look great. Take the rest of the day off. Recently I added a new phrase to that list: “Your…
Since my recent post on calling a truce with cilantro is becoming one of the most popular on my blog, I thought you might also be interested in this funny story from an Indian cook — she’s preparing a meal for about 50 guests at the request of an important client and shortly before dinner time, she hears the client…
The Village Voice this week has a wonderful, sprawling piece on Woody Allen and his love of traditional jazz. Yes, the same Woody Allen, he of the artsy movies that define the neurotic New York archetype, also happens to have a standing weekly gig at the Carlyle. If you’re wondering if they’re any good, it might be worth noting that…
My piano lesson this week was pretty frustrating. I felt overwhelmed as I tried to manage doing one thing with my left hand and another with my right, all while staying on the beat. My patient piano teacher reminded me that being overwhelmed is all in your head, and that it’s natural to have some confusion when you’re learning something…
John went to visit an old friend for part of the Memorial Day weekend, so I’ve spent some of my solo time combating my clutter. I tend to be something of a pack rat, but ironically, I also really enjoy having a clean, uncluttered home, so I’m always a little at war with myself. I have some of my dad’s…
Some people idealize high school and college as the happiest times of their lives. I am not one of those people. You couldn’t pay me to be a teenager again, and my 20s weren’t much better. Naturally I found this recent HealthDay story interesting, reporting on a new Stony Brook University study that shows people over 50 are generally happier:…
It’s not like being a TV star is new for Betty White — by the time she won a role on the Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s, she’d already been on television for decades. But I don’t recall hearing much from Betty after the Golden Girls ended. Until a few months ago. Then it seemed pop culture couldn’t…
