Lazy Sunday: Simple Relaxation

Photo via Random Wisdom

As I type I’m flying somewhere over the Mid-West, on my way back to Denver after a great weekend in Pittsburgh. Yesterday we went to The Warhol Museum and I was really excited to see some of my favorite Warhol prints and drawings alongside cases of Andy’s personal effects – including his gray and black wig! Ok, sort of weird for me to be so excited about a dead guy’s old fake hair, but I was. They even had original sketches of the elaborate shows he produced for the Velvet Underground and original costume drawings from his many movies and theater productions. If you’re ever in PA and share a love of things Warhol I would definitely go. If you don’t care for pop art or know about The Factory, it probably isn’t worth the $15 adult admission price ($8 for students). 

Andy Warhol at The Factory via Magnifique

With midterm exams tomorrow, I am quite ready for this plane to land so I can get back to studying – unfortunately the tiny tray table makes my normally petite laptop seem massive and especially clumsy to maneuver, so breaking out my 10 pound accounting book is a definite no-go.

Were I not on a plane for the next few hours, I think this Lazy Sunday would best be spent doing some yoga, creating a highly nutritious and simple meal, and enjoying some meditation. I’m craving simplicity and clarity lately, and these activities seem the perfect way to start. Yoga is a great way to center your mind and body, build strength, and release tension and toxins from your muscles. Simple, fresh, plant-based meals are very easy for your body to digest and feed your cells with tons of nutrients and anti-oxidants to reverse the damage that stress and external contaminants (think air pollution, too much sun, chemical absorption) can cause. Finally, meditation helps slow our breathing and heart rate, decreases stress levels, and helps us to relax in order to attain deep, restorative levels of sleep. Never tried meditation before? Don’t fret; there are endless ways to get started. In fact, stay tuned, because today kicks off a whole week of simplicity-inspired blogging! First on deck? Meditation techniques for the meditative newbie. See you then!

 

CEO or Yu-Gi-Oh?

Photo via Readers Digest

The importance of networking is never underestimated in business school. Every professor will tell you that without networking you will not get anywhere in business - and thus around every corner you begin to anticipate meeting your future employer, discovering a new client, or forging the next great partnership. And so, with every flight I take, I board the plane rehearsing my elevator pitch in expectation of the friendly CEO I will be seated next to. They will promptly discover how charming and astute I am. Our witty banter and discussion of the corporate social responsibility climate will most certainly turn into a job offer on the spot (yes, I am just as surprised as you that this scenario has yet to play out).

So as I found my seat on a small United jet I was somewhat surprised to find my young seat-mate was not a high power CEO, but a pale, somewhat pimply twenty-something. "No worries", I comforted myself, "He's probably the next Bill Gates or Marc Zuckerberg. All the young tech geniuses today are a little awkward...and kind of smelly". However, before I had the chance to introduce myself and begin dazzling my audience with a carefully crafted personal bio and mission statement, "young Bill" was asleep and snoring rather loudly. 

Photo via PlayingZone

Well, needless to say my job offer did not come on the plane today. I discovered my seat-mate was flying from California to the Yu-Gi-Oh convention in Pittsburgh. I had no idea what that meant either, but it turns out that this weekend is not just your average convention but an invitation-only national tournament from which 4 finalists will be selected to compete in the World Championship in Tokyo come August. By the time I made it to the hotel lobby to pick up my room key at 11 this evening, a whole slew of young Yu-Gi-Oh champs had filled every spare table. Powered by massive cans of Arizona Iced Tea and bags of Chili Cheese Fritos, kids and adults alike composed their deck themes, searched for crush cards, and practiced their throw downs* for tomorrow's matches.

So I have to admit, it turns out my seat-mate was a big deal after all. This has got to be the biggest event ever for a lot of the people here, and it's kind of fun to see so many card-crazed duelists in one place. I have my fingers crossed that my seat-mate will hit it big and make it to Tokyo. After all, I still have the flight back to secure employment ;)

*I picked up a little Yu-Gi-Oh lingo in my travels. Apologies to any players out there if I butchered the use of these terms.

So Grateful For

Photo from The Eclectic Garden

Since it's Thursday (the day Gala over at iCiNG posts Things I Love Thursday) and I'm bursting with good vibes it seems only appropriate to share a few things I'm so grateful for. And when I say bursting, I mean the kind of gratitude that you feel pounding in your chest that makes you want to hug people you'd typically rather slap and jump into a lake to feel completely enveloped by the world. At one point today, without any intention of doing so, I heard a song on Pandora that caused a major dance session in my apartment; air guitar was involved and I will not apologize to any bystanders who may have caught sight of this horribly embarrassing scene through my open windows. 

• Surprise Mail - Nothing beats finding real mail hiding beneath a pile of grocery store fliers and Comcast ads. I think I smiled for an hour straight after reading my surprise delivery.  Thank you, Gram :)

• Random Coffee Dates - I met with a prospective student IMBA program this week and had no expectations, but it turned out we had a ton in common. I love meeting people who totally amaze you and remind you who you are. Seeing pieces of yourself in someone else is such a little lightening bolt of enlightenment. 

• Midterms - Grateful for the tests themselves? Hardly. Grateful that they signify a mere 5 weeks of classes to go? That I am. 

• Acceptance - Even when they don't last, moments of acceptance - of everything that isn't just right or the way I thought - are so liberating. I know things are going to be just the way they need to be when they need to be.

• Weekend Adventures - I am so ready for a good dose of unfamiliar territory and a few uninterrupted hours of airplane introspection, and both will be involved when I head out of town tomorrow. I am so grateful for my boyfriend. He's perfect. Photos and more to come!

Was that an especially heavy list? I am in a major period of transition right now - forget a new chapter, I'm ready to start a whole new book. It's bringing on some definite highs and lows, and lots of anticipation. What are you grateful for today? What's making you burst with bravado and has you air guitaring on the floor? 

Project Natal

We just watched a video in my Information Technology class I wanted to share with you because, well, it totally weirded me out. Essentially, Project Natal is an Xbox developed technology that incorporates video, voice and facial recognition, and depth sensors to create a more interactive video gaming experience. Essentially, with Natal, you become the controller - no attachments necessary. 

Is it cool? Yes. It is really incredible what we're able to do with technology today. However, as one student in class regarded, we're getting closer and closer to never having to leave our houses again. In fact, there's a social term for this - cocooning - and there's no doubt that businesses are capitalizing on our decreased desire to move. With Project Natal, it seems we will no longer have to make real friends either. Have I peaked your interest? Check out the video below and see what you think.

Dwelling

I'm walking to my apartment, headache knocking at my temples, stomach clenched in discontent, the usually soothing breeze pushing oppressively on my body. Returning to my apartment means the start of many hours of work. I replay my mental to do list as if this will somehow make me feel better, or give me some sense of control, or perhaps just to dwell. As I approach my apartment and reach for my keys I see a group of three young girls in the parking lot across from my building. They are spinning in circles, twirling like whirligigs in the warm evening wind, completely consumed in their moment together. Given my brooding state, it seems so surreal - a happiness oasis forever just beyond my next step. Fortunately it's not an oasis at all, and the message is not lost on me. 

Almost an hour later, my dancing muses still grace the pavement below my window with primitive pirouettes. Dwelling in their movement, their laughter, their friendship, and their floating skirts. Was there ever a more worthy thing to dwell upon?

Bike Lane Love

Photo via treehugger

I discovered a new website today, GOOD, which is the online component of a magazine by the same name. GOOD compiles lots of interesting blogs, articles, and videos and is self-described as "an ongoing exploration of what GOOD is and what it can be". While I was checking out the site I came upon this post, content originally from TreeHugger, that made me giddy. The author explains that in Spain these ZEBRA bicycle lane dividers are used to keep cyclists safe by preventing drivers from ignoring bicycle lane dividing lines. The dividers, sort of an oval-shaped mini speed bump, are also made from 100% recycled plastic. Protecting cyclists who are practicing clean transportation through a recycled mechanism? What could be better! 

I have high hopes that these little ZEBRAs will be implemented here in the US, and soon. Biking to work or down the street to run errands is one of the quickest ways to ease gas guzzling automobile traffic and improve air quality in our immediate environment. Unfortunately, cyclists are often put in unsafe situations due to distracted, or simply bad, drivers. Utilizing a product such as ZEBRA dividers is a sustainable way to keep cyclists safe while making bicycle commuting more attractive to new riders who may be weary of cycling safety.

Lazy Sunday: Reading Up

It's another Sunday night of homework, laundry, and putting away groceries for me, but if I were to have a lazy Sunday this week it would look something like this. It must be the recent holiday that has me yearning to learn more about the issues we're facing domestically and educate myself about the current affairs and cultures of others residing on this fine planet of ours. Of course, educating oneself is best done from a stylish chair in a contemporarily well-lit room while donning a pair of old-school specs. Sipping a cocktail may dim your wits, so I'd opt for some fresh squeezed grapefruit juice to keep your mind, and palate, sharp. Naturally, when the time comes to join some equally enlightened companions for a deep discussion about the most fascinating tidbits you learned, you'll reach for your minimalist wooden briefcase to tote those dog-eared issues of the Economist and the New Yorker for quick reference. 

Yes, you can really buy this unique beauty of a briefcase designed by Japanese industrialist Takumi Shimamura. Check out the details at this roughly translated webpage. 

What will you educate yourself about this week?