Saturday, April 05, 2008

Your Life in Six Words...

Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure - I heard about this book earlier this week on a local radio station I listen to in the morning. One of the editors was interviewed and read some of the memoirs. I was intrigued. As you will see from the review below, the entire book captures more than 800 six word memoirs from both the famous and obscure. I also checked out the magazine that put the book together. It is a great web site for the weekend writer and the personal non-fiction enthusiast in all of us. Check it out.

Review from Amazon.com -

"Can you describe your life in six words? That's what the editors of storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers in 2006; the results, though decidedly uneven, make for compulsive reading and prove arguably as insightful as any 300+ page biography. Taken as a whole, this cascade of quotes from contributors famous and unknown creates a dizzying snowball effect of perspectives and feelings. Highlights from professional writers and artists include journalist Chuck Klosterman wondering, "Nobody cared, then they did. Why?"; pop singer-songwriter Adam Schlesinger lamenting, "We still don't hear a single"; and comic strip artist Keith Knight illustrating "I was a Michael Jackson impersonator." At their best, these nano-memoirs evoke the same kind of rich emotional responses as a good story: 9 year old Hannah Davies considers herself "Cursed with cancer. Blessed by friends"; Zak Nelson says "I still make coffee for two"; Scott Birch claims "Most successful accomplishments based on spite." Some entries read like bumper stickers (Rip Riley: "No wife. No kids. No problems"), and others are just plain weird (Amy Sedaris: "Mushrooms. Clowns. Wands. Five. Wig. Thatched"), but this compelling little book will have readers and their friends hunting for favorites and inventing six-word self-definitions of their own. This review in six words? Read. Enjoy. Pass it on. Repeat."

I thought this would be a fun thing to try and do. Here is my attempts:

"Found life in most unexpected places"

"Thankfully, it didn't go as planned"

"Giving in was never an option"


Your turn.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Back on Track

My diet is back on track. I fell of the band wagon slighting in March. Starting a new job really threw me for a loop. I was so used to eating lunch with the entire department at LifeBridge Health that it was hard to get into the rhythm of eating at my desk again. For the first couple of weeks at the new job, I would go out to get something to eat just to simple step away from the office for a few minutes. Of course, getting something to eat mostly meant a tasty sandwich from Subway or Quinzos (once I got a burrito from the Nino Taco - not sure I'll ever to that again).


And on top of the new job, Easter came early this year. I know that sounds weird coming from a good Jewish girl, but I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to Easter candy. I know that sounds even weirder, but it is true. I LOVE Cadbury Mini Eggs, Cadbury Creme Eggs and jelly beans. The love is so great that I can hear them calling me from the shelves of any store I walk into. (Much like the Reese Peanut Butter Cups call Mum.) I can't seem to resist these little packets of Easter chocolate goodness. They somehow find their way in my cart and I end up eating them. It is a sickness I tell you.

Most years I can avoid this sugar rush because Easter and Passover typically are overlap and I keep Kosher for Passover (which means I don't eat anything with corn syrup in it, thus elimating all chocolate). With the early Easter holiday, my willpower faltered and I ate way to much.

But I'm back on track now. Last weekend I stocked up on fruits and veggies and brought my lunch to work everyday this week. In addition to overhauling my diet, I've made the commitment to work out at least five days a week. I've even started working out with a trainer twice a week - which is hard but rewarding. Hopefully by the time real bathing suit weather comes around, my arms, tush and mid-section will be looking smok'in (okay at least a little less flabby)!