Any Takers?

I am very much a jogger .... not so much a competitive runner ..... but for all of my marathoner friends out there, maybe you should try this race in Edinburgh next. You've still got 108 days to train. 

"If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed." - Mark Twain

Congratulations Hilary!

Congratulations Hilary!  I am so proud of you for landing your first theater gig in NYC!  You rock and deserve all the best life has to offer!!! I am so thrilled for you!

Did You Know?

Did you know that at the peak of Enron's deception, they were following the regulations codified in Sarbanes-Oxley? 

Unbelievable .... but actually true.  

Lesson = Regulations Don't Necessarily Work

One super smart guy affirms the above lesson. His name is Professor Roubini, and he predicted this recession. Read more about his thoughts here. 

PS - If any of my friends out there are ever contestants on The Bachelor, please do not cry to the eligible fellow, nor cry on camera. Please.

Life Together

"The sin of respectable people reveals itself in flight from responsibility." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Living in Crazyville

This week I have been living in Crazyville! I have packed and labeled all childhood mementos, high school photographs, and wedding gifts. Piles of donations have been shipped off to my favorite charities. I directed the movers like an air traffic-controller on a snow day. Did I mention that it was a high of 19 on moving day? And the movers had both of the front doors wide open!!!

Then, in the midst of it all, I attended a Continuing Legal Education six-hour course on Corporate Governance of Non-Profits. It was so fascinating! Although, I was a bit out of my league as the other attenders were in-house counsel for nationally known tire companies, hospitals, and record companies. Do you need to know about joint ventures of non-profits and for-profits? Or about applying Sarbanes-Oxley to the non-profit sector? Or about how to file a 990? Then ask me. I'm ready. Bring. It. On. 

Plus ..........

The British Consulate is hanging on to my visa/passport. Lovely eh? No leaving the country till the passport with newly issued visa is returned. So ....... I wish I was returning to my husband and home. But alas -- the British Consulate and I are not getting along well. Thus, I'm trapped living in Crazyville. 

Notes and Observations from this Mover

So, I'm in the process of helping my parents move ... which is as much my move as it is theirs. As I'm sorting through all my childhood belongings, high school photos, college mementos, wedding gifts, etc. etc. etc. (too much etcetera!), I thought I ought to share some observations:

1. Throw away notes you took in class after the semester ends. No one wants to read those, and you will likely never re-read them. However, you should hold on to meaningful note and cards you receive. Re-reading a thoughtful, encouraging note -- especially ones that mark an occasion --mean the world. 

2. I won the Science Fair in 8th Grade. What, pray you, was my project? Well, glad you asked. G418 vs. Ovarian Cancer. My brainy partner and I killed cancer cells at a research lab at Vanderbilt. To this day, I have no idea why Vandy research docs helped us with our science fair project. Other kids were killing mold with Tide, and we were killing cancer cells in petri dishes with G418. Observation: Some things in life make no sense. 

3. I found my "Wild Ideas List" from 1998 (similar to a list of goals -- what an adjective I chose!). A few things on my list included:

- Being able to paint

- Fluently speaking Spanish

- Traveling abroad

- Becoming a doctor 

- Owning a business

- Building by own home (or just buying)

- Have little body fat (what was I thinking back then???)

- Receiving a scholarship to college

- Volunteering

- Becoming more cultured. 

This list makes me laugh. It obviously was before I shadowed a nephrologist at Vandy and nearly passed out. Furthermore, what was a 14 year old doing thinking of buying/owning a house??? Over a decade later, I still do not own my own house. But, I would hope I'm becoming "more cultured" as I live abroad. Haha.....

4. Observation: purging stuff is good. 

5. Sean Paul's Get Busy is great packing music. 

6. I took a bunch of motivational quotes on 3 x 5 cards to Junior Miss Tennessee (such inspiration!). Some of my favorites:

"Life is like the movies. We produce our own show!" - Mike Todd (who is that??)

"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door, and the whole world will be clean." - Goethe (If only I could recall why I thought that was motivational for a pageant!)

Observation: what you think is motivational at age 17 will likely change. 

7. Life Lesson: When moving, buy more moving boxes than you think you need. You will use them all and probably have to go back to Home Depot to buy at least 27 more. Also, give yourself much more time than you expect to pack. It's scary how little headway you can make -- even when working all day. Can anyone out there relate???