The Unlucky Year

Happy New Year everyone! May 2013 treat you well. Or maybe I should say, may you treat 2013 well.

My uncle Rich posted this on his Facebook last night:

I don't like 'happy' anything. It's related to the word 'happen' and 'happenstance.' It has to do with what happens to you... something you cannot control. I like 'joyous' a lot better. Joy can happen in the midst of heartbreak for people who choose to set their own course, make things happen, and remain unswerving in hope while the world appears to assail them. Joy is fixed on the timeless, whereas happiness is fixed on the moment. You can either happen to life, or it can happen to you. Joyous new year.

I am beginning to understand this more. The past month has felt like the most unlucky period of my life and I have wanted to give up multiple times. Yet in the midst of the horridness of it all, I have found myself to grow in peace and understanding. Like my uncle said, happiness is fixed on the moment - it cannot keep growing and building. Although I am not particularly thankful for this past month, I do see the good in it. Relationships have grown where I didn't expect them to and I have found a strength in me and especially in those around me.

The number 13 seems to be culturally unlucky. Friday the 13th was the biggest omen in the world when I was in elementary school. 13 is a terrible number to work with in math and buildings sometimes won't even have a 13th floor. I am expecting people to be fearful of 2013. Heck, Friday September 13th may well be the worst day ever. I have always believed what you think determines your reality. I believe if I go into a situation with positive thoughts, the outcome will be better. I can handle negative results better and I can keep on going. Positive thoughts bring about positive feelings.

As I continue into this new year, I'm going to treat 2013 well. My uncle said it well when he wrote about how joy comes out of those situations in which we make things happen. Work with time, don't try to go against it. 2013 isn't trying to go against us all; time is never against us - only if we see it that way. Make things happen and create joy.

May you treat 2013 well.

Peace!

-Nicole

Happy New Day!

1. Sifting through old pictures is a great way to spend an evening.
2. Spending time with old friends is a hoot.
3. Being in your element is a great confidence booster.
4. Every day is new.

Happy New Day! Here's to a new day and I have a few resolutions for this New Day. I will be happier, eat as I please, and try new things. It will be better than the one before.

I've never been a fan of New Year's. I don't know why, but it just seems like a lot of hype for nothing but the change of a time. On New Year's Day, I was on Facebook and it was full of New Year's resolutions, such as eating better, moving on from past relationships, becoming more emotionally stable, and living for themselves.

While I agree with some of the resolutions and raise my eyebrows at others, I think it is simply odd we make all of these resolutions on a day that is like every other. Every day has a new date - why should we make the first of the new year any different?

I do think we should celebrate the fact we made it another trip around the sun, but sometimes, it get's a bit ridiculous. Each day we are given a chance to do things differently, to make a bigger and greater impact on the world around us. Every day is like the first of the year. Heck, every moment is like the first of the year. In Buddhist thought, we are never the same person moment to moment. Each new moment, a few cells in our body have died, a new thought is in our mind, different words are being spoken, we are breathing different air - everything about us is different. The only thing we share in common with our 2-minutes-ago-self is our past, but other than that, we are totally different.

Each new year, day, moment brings a new opportunity to change things - about ourselves and the world. So instead of making New Year's Resolutions, why don't we make New Day Resolutions? Why don't we toast each new day with a cup of orange juice at breakfast? Why don't we count down to midnight each night?

We have a brand-new day ahead of us. My resolution is to be happier, eat as much ice cream and cookies as I want, and do crazy, wonderful things. This day will be even better than the last.

Peace!

-Nicole

Habits and Patterns

The GOP race is heating up. If you haven't seen Nicole's commentary on politics, go here: http://dormroom718.blogspot.com/2011/12/whats-going-on.html

1. I am a creature of habit and pattern.
2. You don't have to drive down memory lane alone.
3. Find a new perspective.
4. Things are hot when you microwave them too.

Megan here, Happy New Year! and happy Wednesday!

Nicole left this morning and arrived safely home after a very laid back, but very fun five days here in St. Cloud. It was a blast in general, and I hope I gave her a decent taste of my world.

If there's one thing I've learned over the last few days it's that I am definitely a creature ruled by habits and patterns. It's just a lot of little things, like what roads I take, how I eat a Kit Kat bar, and apparently how I make popovers and chop potatoes... Like I said, it's a bunch of little things. However, maybe it's also a bunch of big things, like how I appraise situations, how I perceive threats, and how I respond to people.

Sometimes we stick to what we know: what's familiar and comfortable. The problem with this is that it can be easy to lapse into auto-pilot and become desensitized to everything we encounter on a regular basis. We forget to put ourselves in new situations and see things in a new light which is how we learn and well, how we live a fuller, more engaged life. So, in an effort to change this, I did what anyone would do. I did something differently. I made myself a cup of black coffee and put on some classical music--something I don't normally do. After that, I figured I had changed things up enough and made myself my usual cup of tea and turned on a Skillet playlist :P I'm taking baby steps! For the record, sometimes it's nice to drink something strong and bitter.

I think it's easy to let ourselves fall into ruts with various aspects of life, whether that's creatively, with relationships, with jobs... I mean, what is a rut? It's a path that has been traveled so much and so often that it forms a groove that can be kind of hard to get out of. In other words, when you find yourself in a rut, it's time to do something differently because the usual method won't work. Go find a new perspective, try something new, challenge yourself!

I'm not a fan of New Years' Resolutions, but I am a fan of trying out new things. And I suppose it's a good time to start since we're only four days into 2012. It's a fresh start whether or not we A. like it and B. choose to see it that way. Little things make a difference, and consciously throwing a little variety into each day might help ease that rutty feeling. It's quite easy to just sit around in such a rut, especially during winter when going into hibernation mode is quite appealing. (I have spent way too much time in bed lately.) I'm hoping I can apply this to my creativity... hope it works! Anyways, switch things up sometimes. It might lead to positive outcomes.

I leave you with this link to a song by Skillet... 'cause I like it, and I hope it motivates you to seize the moment. May your new year have more hugs than last year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kQ6prkSRFs

-Megan

Lessons Learned In St. Cloud

1. It's ok to stay in your pjs until 6:30pm, especially if it is New Year's Day.
2. Don't drink bleach.
3. Make parodies of songs.
4. Find long-lost family members at parties.
5. Maryland is a female name.
6. In Tangled, Rapunzel hides the crown in a tree stump.
7. Bambi really isn't that great of a movie.
8. Grammar hard at 3am.
9. Things get warm when you boil them.
10. Drive slow on ice.
11. Brush your teeth before biting someone (it's the courteous things to do).
12. Be careful when going down stairs.
13. Stomachs don't have ears.
14. St. Cloud, FL isn't the same as St. Cloud, MN.
15. The sun is bright.
16. It's possible to have a laughing hangover (those are the best kind).
17. Seeing people smack their heads is funny.
18. Denmark is the first country people think of.
19. Kitty!
20. Driving to St. Cloud is boring.
21. Bring sweatpants on trips.
22. It will be purple eventually.
23. Be aware of hatchet murderers.
24. Hound dogs running are hilarious.
25. 6 blankets > a fireplace.
26. Formality? Haha, no.
27. If a vampire bites a zombie, will the zombie turn into a vampire? Or will the vampire turn into a zombie? Or both? ZOMBIE VAMPIRES!
28. Being a surrogate mother is scary (especially in dreams).
29. Don't sleep in contacts.
30. Everyone loves carrots.
31. Watching the ball fall in Nashville is a lot less exciting than watching it fall in New York.
32. Beware the monologue.
33. Ojo bonojo is the best card game ever invented.
34. Learn to play 500.
35. Ancient Aliens is a ridiculous tv show.
36. Laugh and learn.

Sorry for such a long list of lessons (if you can even call them that). I am currently sitting in Megan's kitchen, watching her cut up potatoes for dinner tonight. I've been here since Friday afternoon and as you can tell from the long list of jokes and lessons, it has been a blast being here. New Years Eve, Megan took me to a party with her friends. I met her friends from high school (who I've heard so much about) and I taught them the best card game ever, ojo bonojo (if you want to learn how to play, just ask me). The night turned out to be a success. I ended up talking more with Megan and Melissa's friends than I did with Megan or Melissa themselves. Megan and I stayed in our pjs all of yesterday and today we are preparing for dinner with Megan's aunt Lori. Then on Wednesday, I head back home.

My time in St. Cloud has been an adventure to say the least. The timing of this trip has been perfect: I missed seeing Megan and Melissa and being home for a long period of time is weird and slightly annoying. If I could take one thing away from my time here is that friends make all the difference. Before I came here, both Megan and I were feeling down and bit off. Although being with my mom and family has been a blessing, my friends have become such an intricate part of my life and not having them around has been weird. Sometimes all we need is time with friend to laugh and learn ridiculous things.

Peace!

-Nicole