If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

I was on a flight recently (shocker, I know) and as I tucked my Kindle away in its bright orange neoprene sleeve while we prepared to land, the guy sitting next to me asked, “So, how do you like your Kindle?” (Another side benefit of the device – it’s an instant conversation starter.) Normally, I immediately say “I love it!” without hesitation, but for some reason, I turned to this poor, unsuspecting soul and said “Here’s the thing about the Kindle: it creates a sort of existential crisis for me every time I finish a book.”

I’m sure that he immediately wished he could roll back the clock about 35 seconds and seriously reconsider the decision that prompted him to engage me in conversation. Who is this wacky chick who doesn’t even get the basics of a classic “small talk” conversation??

I could have stuck with the pat answer I’ve given numerous times before (and it would be no less true – I really DO love it), but unlucky for this guy, I’d actually been giving this a little bit of thought lately.

As I’ve previously noted, I love books. LOVE books. And while I love books because of what’s in them (natch), I also really love the books themselves. I like the look of a full bookshelf and I get a warm feeling of satisfaction when I add a recently completed volume to that collection. It’s information, it’s entertainment, it’s décor, and it’s a little peak into the reader’s mind and soul. Talk about conversation starters.

So, I admit that in spite of (re)kindling my love for the printed word in yet another format, I’m still a sucker for the traditional page-turning variety. (As an aside, will particularly engaging books now be described as “it’s a real thumb-clicker”? Yikes.)

I’ve noticed that when I finish a book on the Kindle, I have a moment of uncertainty that I’d even read the book at all. That perhaps I’d just quickly skimmed a random, disposable magazine article or that I had a dream that is now only coming back to me in fuzzy, disconnected bits and pieces… It’s a bit disconcerting to say the least. What I’ve taken for granted in the past is that I do create a set of associations of sorts with the book itself. I see the cover, and it immediately evokes memories of not only the content within, but also of the circumstances under which I consumed that particular book. Now, when I’ve completed something on the Kindle, I get the distinct sense that it’s not really real. That I didn’t really just read it. That the book doesn’t even really exist because it’s not on my shelf with everything else I’ve recently read.

Hence, my existential struggle with my new found love… If a book is finished on a Kindle, but no one is around to see it, does it make an impression?

Wii Are Fit! (Well, Wii Hope To Be Soon!)

I would love to love to work out. Really, I would. It’s not that I don’t like it, but I just don’t love it. I kind of get bored at the gym, I don’t really like to run (I have bad knees and a worse attitude), and in the past couple of years, I haven’t been stationary long enough to commit to taking any sort of regular class. (Side note: The last class I did take was kickboxing and I highly recommend it, both for the exercise and the exorcise after a particularly bad day!)

Special K is super athletic, having played pretty much every sport in the book and he is endlessly patient with me as we drag our big white pail of tennis balls to the court and I exclaim “home run!” as I belt yet another ball clear over the fence and into the street.

In an extremely inspired move (and probably somewhat motivated by the ballooning tennis ball budget), Special K slid a Wii console and Wii Fit under our Christmas tree this year and I am pretty excited about the possibilities! This seems an appropriate way to tackle fitness challenges in the 21st century!

I have wanted to do yoga for a while now both for the physical AND mental health (sensing a theme here?) benefits, but I am about as flexible as 2x4 and I was never quite sure where to start. The Wii has solved my dilemma, providing me with a very nice and supportive virtual trainer who walks me through the poses and with the help of the Wii balance board, I am gaining a pretty decent sense about the right way to execute said poses.

As supportive as the Wii aims to be, it still has the somewhat eerily human quality of not being able to resist a jab every now and then. When I missed one day of “working out”, the Wii snidely remarked “couldn’t find time to work out yesterday, huh?” As I’m settling my feet on the board, looking for the right position, the Wii sighs (I swear it does!!) and says “Are you fidgeting?”

So far, with my limited experience, I’m pretty impressed. I definitely felt the results of my “work out” in my muscles the next day and I feel like I’m already improving my balance and posture. Although, I’ve been back in NoCal all week and I can only imagine what the Wii will have to say to me when I finally return to it.

But I have set myself a mini-goal to track against (the Wii measures your weight and BMI as well), so wish Mii luck!

Words to Live By for a New Decade

2009 was a good year. A great year, actually. I married the man of my dreams, made new friends and deepened existing relationships, explored and enjoyed yet another new home (this time in Northern California), and had a major impact on the development and success of a still young internet company. But in spite of all this, I still let many things slide, especially during the second half of the year (as you can tell from the fact that my last blog post was from way back in August). By the time fall rolled around, I’d lost much of the balance in my life, not doing much more than working, eating (too much) and sleeping (not enough).

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions per se because I've always believed that you can make a positive change in your life at any time, on any day of the year. But since 2009 ended on a rather unbalanced note for me and since an entirely new decade has just kicked off, I figured it couldn't hurt to remind myself of a few key philosophies that are good words to live by. Maybe you'll find something helpful in here, too:

• Be here now.

• Let go and move on.

• If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

• Do what you love, love what you do.

• Life is too short to see bad movies. (Full disclosure: I adopted this one from Special K.)

• We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. (Credit for this one goes to Sir Winston Churchill.)

• It's never too late to be the person you might have been. (George Eliot)

• To thine own self be true. (Thank you, Polonius.)
  

And finally, one key question to keep in mind:

• What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Happy 2010! Here's to a year (and an entire decade) of happiness, health, adventure, surprises, love and laughter.

Please Don't Go

A magazine (that shall remain nameless, but note that it is not one of the titles published by the media company for whom I work) keeps sending me emails saying "Shari, we want you back!"

On its own, it's quite a flattering statement (especially with the emphatic exclamation point adding just that extra bit of well, emphasis about how much they want me back) and when I opened up the email, the line that immediately jumped out at me (because it was bolded) was "we want another chance".

What woman doesn't have at least one young man in her past whom she wished would have sent an email, text message, card, or letter by carrier pigeon with those words emotionally scrawled across the page (or screen)? And I think that's exactly the sentiment that our little periodical friends are trying to tap into. What better feeling than having the upper hand, even if just for a few moments, to fold your arms across your chest, scrunitize the suitor and make him sweat while you contemplate (for real or just for show) his worthiness.

The only flaw in their logic is the one teeny, tiny detail that they never had me in the first place. That's right, I've never even had a subscription to this particular publication. So how can they "want me back"? How can I give them another chance when I'd never even given them a first one?

And why would I want to be with somebody who clearly has me confused with someone else?

An Evening with the Masters

This past Saturday night, Special K and went to see the renowned Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach (thanks, LLW, for the tickets!!). The Pageant bills itself as a place "where art comes to life" and this couldn't be further from the truth.

The show is a series of "tableaux vivants" (or living pictures) each representing a distinct piece of art such as a well-known painting or sculpture. This summer, the theme was "The Muse", a tribute to those forces, places and individuals who inspire an artist to create his best, most moving work.

If you have never seen the Pageant, I highly recommend it -- it really is unlike anything you've ever experienced. Actual cast members recreate each and every work of art -- the paintings and sculptures in the show all feature real people, in makeup and costume, holding stock still for up to a couple of minutes at a time while the narrator weaves an interesting and engaging story about what you're currently seeing on stage.

It's so hard to explain, but you will be absolutely awed. At one point about 20 minutes into the show, they bring up the house lights and actually deconstruct how the tableaux are put together. Even when you see this, you still cannot fathom how realistic each piece looks when presented to the audience -- a real testament to the power of lighting.

Add The Pageant of the Masters to your "must-see" list the next time a summer trip brings you to Orange County. And don't forget to take in any (or all) of the three art festivals happening at the same time!

The Future of Comfort Food

A few months ago, I wrote a post describing how books are my mashed potatoes, my mac & cheese, my triple chocolate layered upside down cake (wha?)... in short, they are my comfort food. I have loved to read since I, well, learned to read. I belonged to my first book club before I even started elementary school. One constant in my life is that I can always lose myself in a bookstore and it's hard for me to visit one (or Target or Costco) and not leave with arms full of books and a big smile on my face. The launch of Amazon.com was a nearly orgasmic experience. ("You mean I can have books delivered directly to me with one-click??")

Well, comfort food has just been taken to the next level!

My wonderful husband surprised me with the new Amazon Kindle for my birthday and while I was initially skeptical about the whole electronic reader thing, I am happy to report that I am now completely sold. The device is gorgeous - so sleek, slim and lightweight. The reading experience is much better than I would have expected and I LOVE the built-in dictionary feature where you can hover over a word and immediately see its definition at the bottom of the "page".

I downloaded two full novels in about one minute and I devoured both of those books within about one week. The Kindle is perfect for a travel-heavy schedule because it's so easy to pack and it can literally be dozens of books in one. (Knowing my addiction to the printed word, you will understand how happy this makes me!)

The only slight downside is that the e-books are still rather spendy, with many coming in around the $10 mark. Hmmmm... a little hard to stomach when there isn't a physical item that will find its way to my already-full bookshelf for the rest of its foreseeable existence.

And now, when I read in bed at night before lights out, Special K giggles every time I "click" to turn a page... which is about every 30 seconds. Hey, he enabled my addiction in the first place. And I love him for it!

Stark Raving Mad!

I posted this on my Kaboodle blog as well (and on Facebook), so apologies if you've seen this already!

Per my earlier admission of my obsession with Mad Men (just scroll down the page if you haven't read that entry already), I have now entered AMC's Mad Men Casting Call contest for a chance to win a walk-on role on the show (and the $1000 gift card for Banana Republic wouldn't be so bad either!)

The semi-finalists are chosen by how many votes they get, so go ahead and click through and give me a bit of love -- the contest (and voting) ends on August 11.

And I promise I will stop talking SOOOOO much about the endlessly interesting folks at Sterling Cooper.

(Don't forget -- new season starts on August 16!)