More hours in a day? Possibly....

As I'm sure you all are aware, this past weekend was father's day. If you were unaware of this fact then I suggest you quickly make your father a card and send it his way! Anyways...I have a very tight family and we all live in a very close radius to each other (this is important to know). Well, this weekend my grandparents were out of town and we were unable to celebrate father's day with my grandfather. So, tonight we were dropping by my grandparents to give Papa (my grandfather) his cards when we pull up to see the car of a man my dad did not particularly want to talk to at the time (now my father has nothing against this man, he is actually very nice and wants to buy my parent's investment property from them...however, dad did not want to discuss business with him tonight therefore was trying to avoid him). So, instead of doing the normal thing of going inside and casually avoiding the topic, dad decides to call my grandfather repeatedly while driving around the block to figure out how we can sneak into the back living room of my grandparents house and celebrate with him without my grandmother and this man hearing (who were sitting in the front living room). This process took around ten minutes (ten minutes we could have been spending with Papa), and while yes I was absolutely rolling over laughing in the back seat while it was happening (these are the kind of moments with my family that I wouldn't trade anything for), it made me start to think. There are so many things in my life I spend tons of time trying to figure out how to make perfect or avoid or put off till a later time when in reality the situation would have been over in the time it took me to figure out how to avoid/get out of it (and ultimately be put though exactly what I was trying to avoid in the first place). What if instead of trying to figure out how to get out of the all the things I felt were bothersome, I simply held my head high and got them over with? Think of all the time I would have to do the things I actually wanted to do. I could stop complaining that there are not enough hours in a day to get everything done (although this probably will not happen because from August to April there truly are not enough hours in the day) because I could probably save myself at least an hour (if not more) a day in which I could spend in a much more productive way. Just think, if everybody did this what we could accomplish as a society!

Oh Dating....

The other day I was talking to a friend about the recent spike in her love life. We were discussing how she has been going on numerous dates with this one guy and how it seems that everyone I know, except me of course, has had this sudden turn for the better in their love lives. This prompts me to tell her that "there must be something in the air and I am just not catching it." Being the witty person she is, she quickly responds with "well maybe you should stand outside." Now at first I just laughed at that statement, thinking to myself how funny that statement sounds, especially when talking about dating. However, the more I began to think about this, I realized she had a point. What if I stood outside? What if I took the time to put myself out there instead of expecting dates to magically appear at my door? I think that one of the problems with dating today is that nobody is willing to put themselves out there, be bold enough to say "I like you" or "I want to take you out". I myself have fallen victim to this fallacy many many times as I'm sure many other people have. So I wonder, what would happen if we all got off our asses and simply stood outside, let ourselves be open to others and finding love? Maybe we all would be happier. Maybe the world would be a little bit better place if we all found someone. So my challenge to you this week, if you are single of course, is to stand outside, to tell that person how you feel. And if you don't have a specific person in mind, open yourself up to meeting new people. Who knows, maybe the next one will be worth keeping around longer than a casual conversation over a mediocre meal!

Adventures in the Bookstore...

So...today I ventured down to my local Books-A-Million in search of a summer read. While there I purchase what I'm sure will be one of my new favorite books, sTORI Telling. In addition, I bought Italian: A Self-Teaching Guide for my trip in September. On my way to the register I walk through the U.S. History section, or history in the making section, or whatever the section where they have all the books about current politics and hot topics is called. In this section I see no less than 50-100 different books all about Obama and his life and family. Amidst these books I find approximately 10-15 different books about how the GOP can once again rise to the top, how the south will rise again, how Reagan was one of the smartest men to ever be leader of our country. Basically all books contradicting everything the current administration stands for. Then, I look right in the middle of the books about Obama and find "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam" as well as a few other books all about Islam. Once seeing this I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of these books placed on the same shelf. It also makes me wonder what message my local Books-A-Million is trying to send. Hmmm.....