"Make is-ness your business"

Happy Hump day (to myself and my mom, who I believe are the only people looking at this page). Anyways, I picked up a book from a friend's coffee table this weekend and started reading it by the pool. Mostly to read aloud the parts I found funny or stupid, as it is not a book I would ever buy myself, nor read in public. But, alas, I found myself taking it home and now reading the entire book, if for nothing else than just a new perspective.

Are you ready for the title? "Make Every Man Want You (or Make Yours Want You More)". Yeah, I know. I plan on discussing this book after I finish it, which will probably be tomorrow, but today I only want to talk about one point. "Make is-ness your business". The author describes this as "the practice of acknowledging reality", "to unconditionally allow things to be the way they are". So this advice is more of the 'life' kind, rather than the 'making men want you' kind, but is it helful either way? She gives an example of being in traffic. You can complain and bitch and moan, OR you can sing along to your favorite music, make phone calls that need to be made, (but doesn't that distract you more, thus causing more traffic in the long run?) or just plain relax in your seat. Now maybe I'm being bitter, unhappy, etc.... but relaxing in the seat of your car while stuck in traffic? Have you ever driven I-35 during rush hour....or any hour for that matter? Don't get me wrong, I am always singing in my car (and at home, and in bars, and movies, and....) but that doesn't seem to make traffic any less painful. If there is a wreck or closed lane or something it's easier for me to digest, but just everyday normal traffic just doesn't make sense to me! Some car, somewhere ahead of me is just not driving correctly! I HATE traffic!! I do realize that this was just one of her examples, and it is besides the point.

The author is very clear that this life changing behavior cannot simply be acheived by practicing is-ness as a manipulation to make a situation improve or get better. You have to genuinely "give it a go". Well that seems difficult. I would think that by manipulating the situation to seem better, you would actually make it better. And after a while of doing this, it would not be manipulated, but the situation would literally not be as bad as you once thought it was. Whatever the route I take in getting there, I plan on trying this method. And what better place to start then traffic? So, if I can learn to "make is-ness my business" and accept that traffic happens, is this going to help me get a man? If I make a concious effort to enjoy my ride home from work today will I start leading a happier life in general? Only time will tell.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy, I just feel that I COULD be a great deal happier. I COULD be happier at my job for sure, and I continue to seek the perfect occupation. I SHOULD be doing something I love, right? The author, however, says to make is-ness your business regardless of your opinions on how things COULD be or SHOULD be. So if I am accepting my unconditional reality, then that may lead me to the full potential of my is-ness. Right? Am I taking this advice the right way? Who knows. I guess I'll start with the traffic, and if/when I accomplish that this is-ness will seep into other aspects of my life. You never know unless you try....

xoxo

I have a confession to make....I like Terrell Owens. Yep, T.O.. Not like celebrity crush, I just think he would be fun to hang out with and I don't think he's a bad guy. It started last summer when I started watching "Hardknocks" on HBO. Its a show (that I believe is about to start up again) about the Dallas Cowboys training camp. I did watch this with a guy friend, but if I had HBO at the time, (thanks goodness I do now, I love so many of their shows) I would have watched it on my own. I do not like much NFL, I only follow a few teams who have former Longhorns playing for them. I get this from my mother, she's obsessed with UT sports. However, I do like the Dallas Cowboys. This also stems from a deep rooted family tradition. My Great Grandmother, who was a proper Highland Park Lady (she was even the social director for the Highland Park Methodist Church-which means a lot to people in Dallas). She LOVED the Dallas Cowboys. She watched them every season until she died at age 100. (Rest in peace Grape-Mother) So naturally, our whole family is supposed to love the Cowboys. This was very easy back in the day, when I was 10 and they were winning Superbowls. Lately, not so easy.

Anyways, last year (and the year before right?) was supposed to be our season. To ensure that, we had T.O., which didn't excite me at first. Frankly, I was upset that Dallas had picked up another NFL problem child. Was this really going to help them win? But then I started watching Hardknocks. It reminded me of a show from way back called "Inside the Helmet" I think, where all the helmets were miked and you could hear what they were saying during practice and the games. That was pre-reality TV though, so Hardknocks was even more sophisticated. We sat down to watch the first episode and I was ready to diss T.O. and watch him be an a$$hole. To my surprise, he was funny! Don't get me wrong, he had a HUGE ego, but he played around with JJ's grandkids and joked with the coaches and players. Every week I liked him a little more.

Which brings us to his new show, "The T.O. Show" on VH1. It begins on the day that he was released from the Dallas Cowboys. He talks about how JJ did it, and his friends remark that Terrell looks as if he has been crying for an entire day. The show follows his personal and professional life during the off season. I enjoyed every minute of it. He has two really good girlfriends, who are also his publicists, and they make a great point: there is a Terrell and a T.O., and they are two separate men. This is so evident in the show. I also think that the Dallas Cowboy's releasing him must have been extremely humbling for T.O. He thought he was going to retire in Dallas. He pictured himself playing his last football game in that navy and white uniform, and then they basically shoved him out the door. After Jerry Jones all but signed in blood that T.O. was there for good. The fans loved him, JJ loved him, what happened? I'm a little upset now and would find it hard to choose my favorite out of Dallas and Buffalo should they be matched up against one another.

Point being, I am now a fan of Terrell Owens and think that everyone should try and catch the new show. Sorry for rambling on about this random topic, but I felt strongly about it last night and figured I'd share it here.

xoxo

A Tall Tale?

So our neighbor was having a BBQ in the common area of our condos this past weekend, and she printed out her evite for us. I think she mostly just wanted to inform us that it would be happening, but we stopped by to say hello. The group was probably, on average, about 6 years older than my roommate and I, but we brought some beer over and started chatting with some of her guests. A group of women stopped me and asked how tall I was. (btw, this question can be its own topic on another day) I told them 6'3, and they started talking about how annoying it is when short girls date really tall guys. (this can also be its own topic, as I feel very strongly about this issue) Well the woman that brought that up was all of 5'8, maybe. All the sudden she interrupts me and says. "are you sure you are 6'3? Because I have friends that are only 6 foot, and you don't look as tall as them." I said thanks for not thinking I look like a giant, and then we continued the previous conversation. After about 5 minutes the same woman interrupted me again to ask AGAIN if I was really 6'3. She asked a total of 3 times before I finally had to walk away.

Was she serious with that really?! I mean I've been this tall since the 10th grade, and I hit the 6 foot mark in 7th. It has taken me a looooong time to accept this height and wear heels and be confident, and for this woman to accuse me of lying about my height really pissed me off! I don't know if she usually hangs around midgets and was upset that she wasn't the tallest in the group or what, but why would I lie about my height. When you're a woman and you reach 6 feet, past that is a little excessive and I doubt anyone would be trying to add extra inches to an already "jolly green" stature. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but it did. And if I see her around again I may pull out a measuring tape just to piss her off....

Hola Mi Amores!!

Ok, so this is my first ever blog post! Congrats to whomever is reading it, you are now invited into the inner-workings of my scattered, but lively personality. Personally, I think everyone would be better served if a camera just followed me around 85% of the time, but alas, I do not want to end up as one of those crazy-turned washed up reality tv stars. I do, however, often have a funny story, about myself of course, to share. So I thought, why not share it with anyone who is interested....

A little about myself: First off, my stilettos probably are too big for you. I wear a size 13. Yes, its tragic I know, I do loooovvvee beautiful shoes. God must have foreseen this and decided to curb my would be addiction naturally. Second, I do not look like a clown, my feet are that big for balance reasons....I'm 6'3. And before you ask, yes, I played basketball. I also played volleyball, but no one ever seems to ask that. Apparently the only thing you are good at when you are this tall is basketball, save for this little old woman who asked me if I was a model. (She totally made my year by the way.) I am from Austin, Tx, and I love this city like Carrie loved New York. I am a graduate of The University of Texas, and a die-hard, orange-bleeding, lover of all things Longhorn. I LOVE college football. I also love my friends and family. More importantly to this blog, as it will probably add to my amusing stories, I'm a huge klutz. I don't know if you can look and act graceful without having any grace, but I sure do try.

So anyways, I'm sure if you care to check back in every once in a while you can learn as much or as little about me as you choose. If I can entertain you then yay!

xoxo

p.s. I have signed my letters, emails, texts, etc. with "xoxo" since I was about 10, and that was waaaaayyyyy before Gossip Girl, (which, don't get me wrong I'm a huge fan of) so just don't acuse me of nabbing that from the show :)