The February 109 in 2009 review

February is nearly over but the 109 in 2009 is going strong! Only 93 more to go! Yay :) Here are the five I accomplished this month:

#17 See a live event. Cirque du Soleil comes here once a year for a few months with sold out performances. We found some good discounted tickets and went to see the show [Kooza this year]. If you've never been to Cirque, its a very cool acrobatic circus of sorts. There is a combination of story, contortionists, live music, acrobats, jugglers, and clowns. It was truly awesome.

#39 Wake up earlier for work and lounge. I made this a goal because most mornings I find myself hitting snooze too much and then making a mad dash to get ready and rush out the door often missing breakfast entirely. This past week I've been waking up nearly an hour before I need to leave and its been great to eat a bowl of cereal, drink some tea, watch the morning staple of Saved By the Bell and check e-mail and slowly get ready for work. I don't know if I'll keep it up, but it really is a nice savory feeling.

#50 Buy Boots. Boots make me feel chic and trendy, they warm my legs on cold winter mornings. I bought mine from the Kenneth Cole outlets and the price was a bargain. I heard that most outlets are selling at basement bargain prices so if you're in the market for boots, check out the outlets.

#65 Try a new restaurant. I went to lunch with two dear friends at Nickiemoto's a Japanese sushi, etc. restaurant in midtown. Its ranked top ten best sushi spot here, but I'd say that the little hole in the wall near my house is far superior and 1/3 the price.

#82 Try Pilates. I got a workout DVD from the library to try it out and I was sore for three days afterwards. I really enjoyed it but I can't do half the positions! I admire those that can do this regularly.

Thoughts on living wakefully

I just finished reading Diaz's book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and one sentence hit me with the force of a hard packed snowball: Nothing more exhilarating (he wrote) than saving yourself by the simple act of waking- Junot Diaz

Which reminded me of a song I once listened to on repeat replete with existential angst: If I die before I learn to speak Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?

Which prompted me to click on a link I bookmarked months ago about pursuing our dreams: ...we put our heads down and race from spot A to spot B. As a consequence, we give ourselves little or no time to think about whether we are doing the kind of work we should be doing... we guide our career based on an assumption rather than on a conscious decision. And, with at least one study finding that over half of all Americans now daydream at work about doing something else, it's clear that those assumptions are often horribly wrong.

Someone dear to me said not too long ago, I am a robot. To which I laughed. To which they responded, a grim expression, No really, I am a robot. I go to work. I go to school. I come home, I eat. I work out, I sleep. I am a robot on auto-pilot. He wasnt complaining. Just making a statement of fact.

Poor kid, I thought, except when I considered it: between the two of us, who is more aware? Sure his self-awareness is a sad one, but isn't it better to be aware of the truth, even if harsh, rather than living with false rosy fantasies?

I've been considering the trajectory of my life but in considering where I want to be I must understand where I am. Essentially, understanding who I am. Unfortunately I'm not of age to backpack the fields of Europe as I find myself. But perhaps, through blogging some light, however dim or bright, will be shed.

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.” - Khalil Gibran

109 in 2009- Update!

It's been over a month since I began my 109 in 2009 and so far I've accomplished 13 goals, only 96 more to go! My favorite "to do" on this list is reading 100 books in 2009. So far I've read 16 books and trying to continue going strong. My three favorites of the books I've read thus far are: Persepolis, The Geography of Bliss, and Straight Man. If you know of a book you think I'll like, please share!

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. -Michelangelo

Baby times Eight

Unless you've been living under a rock with your iPod blaring full blast you've heard of the single unemployed woman who recently had octuplets [adding to her previous brood of six children, all young]. At first I was angry at a doctor who would implant so many embryos but now after seeing the woman defend her choices, I feel ill. What frustrates me is the fawning by the media on this woman, the offers in the millions so she can be rewarded for her behavior. I guess there's a reason the "bearded woman" and the "100 pound baby" were staples at circuses for generations. I just wish we wouldn't. I wish we could take these children away from her, and get her some help that she so clearly needs.

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Unemployment: Ripples in the Pond

Last week I bought Banana Republic sweaters for $9. Kate Spade had a rack of bags for $90. I got Oneida cutlery from a Going out of Business sale for 80% off. The mall, on Saturday, stood empty. Sales clerks doted on me. Today K called a few stores for estimates on replacing his tires. They begged him for his business and called every ten minutes slashing their price $20 each time until they reduced it by $100 of the sale price. Good price, K said but I won't be there by your closing time, maybe I'll come by next week. The response: When can you come? We'll wait.

Great bargains on houses, cars, cruises, and clothes. Would be great if I could push out of my mind why. The jobless rate is sky high, and all of us, even those of us fortunate to still be employed are affected. I just finished reading an amazing book, The Geography of Bliss, where Eric Weiner searches for the happiest places on earth. In Iceland he notes:

Unemployment is selective pain. A relatively few people suffer greatly, yet most of us don't suffer at all. Or do we? High unemployment, research has found, reduces overall happiness much more than high inflation. The specter of losing one's job spreads through a nation like a ripple like a pond.

We're having more tidal waves than ripples lately, and the future looms scary ahead in a country that has no universal health care and a very small net to catch those who suddenly cannot afford rent or groceries. I'm trying to buy more "Made in USA" products, and making an effort to support local businesses that are getting hit even harder than the hard hit big mega-stores. Beyond that I am at a loss, except to pray for those struggling today.