May 31, 2011

Gotcha Gadget to Goodbye Gadget

I love me some gadgets, I really do, but I have always been a bit behind the times when it came to cell phones.  Feeling a little out of touch, I decided to upgrade my basic flip phone to a smart phone with a data package.  (Yeah, yeah, I know. That is so 2009.) 
I admit that I couldn’t wait for the phone to arrive. To my dismay, though, when it finally did, and I got the thing up and running with all the snazzy apps shining bright from the phone’s display, I realized I wasn’t really into it, that having a fancy new phone with all that the Internet could offer on a pint-sized screen really wasn’t that exciting.  It wasn’t!  Not to mention that typing on a touch screen is the pits.  Why I didn't anticipate that this would be an annoyance is beyond me.




































So I did what any normal person could do.  I cleared everything off of it – all the photos I had taken from it (I will miss that feature, I admit), unloaded Facebook, my email, all my contacts, and pulled out the SIM card only to slip it back into my sad, little, cracked BlackBerry Pearl flip phone.  I will say that to my surprise when I tucked the new phone into the box and shipped it off to my cell-phone carrier I had not a single feeling of regretful loss.  I may no longer have a hip new phone and constant contact with the digital universe, and you know what?  I’m okay with that, at least for now . . .  And for the moment, I won’t be pining for the $70 phone/text/data bundle bill, either.
Sometimes life is better on the slow track.  Sometimes.

May 30, 2011

Wanna be creative? Just pencil it in.

I think creativity is important.  Actually, I think creativity is vital.  But sometimes it is hard to find the time and the energy to be creative.  It is easier just to go through the motions of work and routine and to just let our creative dreams go by the wayside.  Tomorrow, I often say.  Next week.  When I have the energy, when I'm on vacation, when I win the lottery.  But the reality is that if we constantly have these excuses we will never pursue our creativity, and the dreams that we say are what's most important to us -- playing the piano, drawing, sculpting, writing, what have you, will go by the wayside.  Life is too short to not be doing the things that make us the most happy, don't you agree?



While I was on the treadmill this morning (I would've preferred to have walked outside but it's an unbelievably hot one today in Maine), I came upon a great little blurb on creativity in Whole Living magazine.  In it, Eric Maisel, Ph.D., provides three steps to creativity, which he says to achieve by doing the following:
  1. Start be making a separate piece space where you can get your creative work done. 
  2. Make sure you schedule the time so it becomes a real item on your schedule -- show up and be consistent.  Finally, enjoy the progression. 
  3. Take mistakes and messes in stride -- the ups and downs are part of the process. 
I was so taken by this that I cut it out and posted on my fridge as a daily reminder to pencil in my creative time.  Many times I think of being creative as a luxury, as an indulgence that can only be partaken in once all my work and chores are complete.  To be honest -- I'm freaking sick of that attitude.  Maisel's advice is helpful because the only way to make sure it actually happens is to simply schedule it in and to just take it in stride, knowing that being creative is all about experimentation and exploration.  Now that's some advice I can get on board with.

May 29, 2011

So . . .

Let's just say that I am a big fan of blogs, especially those of the personal variety.  Some of my favorites are Pink of Perfection, Orangette, Delicious Musings, Fit Foodie Findsin addition to a whole slew of others.  I've sporadically maintained the blog Pop Culture and Life for the past couple years, and while it’s been fun I think it’s time for it to go on sabbatical, at least for now -- although I'm sure if the mood strikes I will still post on occasion.  It was a nice escape while in grad school when most of my time was spent reading and writing about Shakespeare and Susan Sontag, but now that I’m back into the 9-5 grind I’m finding myself limited by a blog solely dedicated to pop culture, which I still love -- don't get me wrong . . .


but I’m at a point now that I want to be writing about anything and everything I wish, that is not limited by subject or genre or time.  So, I thought it was time to up and start a new one, which I’ve decided to call The Meaning of Lunch. I envision this blog to be about anything and everything I want it to be, with the overarching theme of “life beyond the box” – the box being the somewhat ho-hum routine that many of us have to subscribe to, with life being everything beyond that, you know, the real good stuff (i.e. the meat and cheese) -- which will include topics of interest at the given moment, and may include any of the following: current inspirations, interests, hobbies, experiences, and everything and anything else that's striking my fancy.  (Good Lord, that was a long-ass sentence.) So, thanks for visiting, and welcome to The Meaning of Lunch!