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Saturday, December 18, 2010

Happy Holidays to you and yours! With the accessibilty of Facebook I barely post here on blogger'land anymore. Denver is an amazing city, been here for three months and I am constantly amazed by the dynamic of hospitality in this state. I have made new friends in a short amount of time and I continue to be faithful and trusting the future holds great things. I miss New York at times but I feel I made the right choice. Here's me in front of the beautiful City and County building of Denver.

Merry Hannukah Kwanza Christmas Holidays to you and yours!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Facebook-a Caselook.

I’m becoming an old fuddy duddy. Or should I say, a faceb’uddy duddy.

Lets all talk about Facebook shall we? I’ve been hearing more and more a frightening concept; That Facebook is a legitimate form of friendship.

What what?

I was anti-facebook for years. Nooo I am not joining that book du face I would snipe. I had already caved with Friendster (remember him?) and Myspace and I refused to have another profile floating out in cyber land. Now like everyone else, I’m hooked. I love seeing new photos, statuses, events and I relish thinking in third person status updates daily. It’s an undiagnosed sickness I tell you. I know a few people out there who have never even jumped on the facebook bandwagon, and they may be the smartest ones out there. Of course they are urban legends aren’t they, sort of like the Lochness monster and Bigfoot. You hear about them but you’re not 100% sure they exist.

I read this quote in an MSN article recently by a young girl about to graduate college. This age seems to be the largest component of the FB idealism and movement.

"In college, there's a total dependence on texting and Facebook to flirt and communicate. And then we graduate and don't know how to be real people."

Again I say….what what? We definitely have a problem here Houston.

Listen, Facebook is great it’s a fun keep in touch forum, it’s entertaining and a good time passer. But with all its good points, it seems to have begun to change the course of human connection a bit for the worse. I remember a time I didn’t text I didn’t facebook. And in many ways I was more present. Life was real time. There were of course, telephone chats with the telephone attached to the wall with a cord mind you. Now that’s modern connection my friends!

There are two schools of thought here; Facebook is for keeping in touch with friends. Facebook is a networking site. Which one are you? Do you have 300 friends or 1600? Do you really keep up with all 1600 of those people? Do you absolutely need that many folk knowing what you had for lunch or if you got divorced? Maybe you’re a bit of both. There’s even proof that FB can hurt your finances, say if your employer catches you bad mouthing the boss and cans you or debt collectors use it to track you down. Oh Facebook you naughty meddler.

Some people use statuses to vent their frustrations, announce their husband was cheating on them, when they went to bathroom, addresses of where they’re at. Does no one believe in privacy and discretion anymore? And then of course there’s the facebook ‘friend delete’. I personally believe in the delete. Some people feel it’s the equivalent of a guillotine or drive by shooting like you actually ended a 'friendship'. If we passed each other in the hall in high school 23 years ago, you say mean comments or we met once with never another hello I sense a buh-bye in the future. I don’t want everybody knowin my biz’ness necessarily anyway there’s something to be said about privacy.

Now I know there’s some facebook youngin’s out there who may disagree with this analysis completely and defend their stalwart hero Facebook. Facebook….you da’ bomb! I think the most important factor to always keep in mind here is; are you out there living your life as well? There are a lot of lonely people sitting behind their screens and I know at times it can heighten my own sense of isolation say if, on a Friday or Saturday night, I find myself at home perusing facebook pages feeling like everybody else out there is having a great weekend and I just sat on my couch eating potato chips. And then some friendships the pattern has started to be that you only communicate through facebook .Say no people! Nothing can take away from face to face time. That is real friendship. Let’s enjoy facebook for what it is but also take a stand to prevent it from destroying the earth in one cataclysmic farmland application. Trust me when I say your life will be better if you put down the Facebook and texting and get out of your apartment. I’m going to take my own advice here too. Maybe Oprah will jump on this! Oprah!

So listen up people born anytime after 1990: Facebook is not friendship. It is merely a network tool, a mass email website, formatted fun words on a computer screen. Log off and live.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go update my status…

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I’m on a spiritual awakening toward food bliss enlightenment.

Well…to put it another way I’z like healthy food. I want food to be my source of life and not depletion of it-in terms of making me sick, stomach aches, food allergies, feeling blue. We really are what we eat and in my case if I don’t try to eat good I pay for it in a number of ways. Doesn’t mean I don’t want the ole junk food all the time. I’m a Midwestern raised kid afterall. And I may or may not have had a corn dog on Sunday.

But I digress.

The reasoning behind this is two fold; My father died of congestive heart failure 10 years ago so I’m hoping to avoid this same fate being of his off’springage. I don’t hold any promises that I for sure can control that it’s all in the cards I’ve been dealt. but I’m sure gonna try. My pop was a meat and potatoes guy while I enjoy edamame, smoothies and brown rice dishes he probably would have stared blankly at. And the 2) reason is in my late 30’s I notice what I eat adversely or positively affects how I feel, physically and mentally. It’s really a no brainer (or should I say ‘whole grainer’ *nyuk nyuk nyuk ) And I find the whole thing very worthwhile like investing in my self. Like I’m my own Buick and I’m getting regular oil changes and taking care of the engine. A Thaddrolet, if you will.

I went to see a nutritionist in the fall, Dr Anthony. Great guy. I didn’t continue with the 4 months he originally proposed because my insurance didn’t cover holistic nutrition. But I wholeheartedly put to task everything he suggested. Seeing him, gaining his advice, reading the literature he offered has definitely lead me toward a more healthy feeling Thadd at least 88% of the time. And I look pretty good too if I do say so.That being said I’d like to offer some of my own personal pointers that I feel have made a huge difference in my ‘feeling good’ eating and living life. I don’t propose to be a doctor, nutritionist, expert, Dr. Oz, Oprah- so please no letters to the station chiding my uninformed ways. Each person is different and I think you have to find what works for you but I think nature and God has provided us with everything we need healthy eating wise without all the processed poop that is shoved down our throats literally and figuratively. So that being said, here are my top 10!

1) I drink rice milk or almond milk. Easier to digest and deeelicious. I use it on cereal, smoothies, oatmeal, pancake mix. Lessoning dairy has definitely decreased stomach problems I had without a shred of a doubt. And you don’t notice the difference really. Unless you’re making a tub of grandma’s thick and rich macaroni and cheese. Then maybe, not so much go for the real deal.

2) I’ve added more grains to my diet. I mean like A LOT more if left to my own devices. Brown rice, fibery cereal like kashi oat crunch, quinoa, barely, beans. Downstairs at my office deli they have the most unique and fiber rich salads like quinoa, lentil, cous cous mixes; Yummo. I try to sample them all and its just become part of my eating habits. And another pro' is….keeps ya’ regular. ;)

3) I don’t drink soda. Ok that’s not completely true I do once in a while. I drink flavored seltzer mostly. Trust me I loved soda growing up, happiness was Dr Pepper even in my 20's. Now when I do drink soda it’s like half a glass and that cuts the craving usually. I want the quenching’ness of water or seltzer overall now. Soda is just too sweet and syrupy. And lawd’ the chemicals they put in soda you might as well put brake fluid down your gullet. The body is a clear messenger of what it wants and what it doesn’t, I always notice my throat sort of closing up when I drink soda like its saying ‘NOOOOO Thadd ’. One exception I looooove is Maine Root flavored blueberry soda with pure cane juice. No high fructose corn syrup there and oh my gaaaaaaa it's so tasty *slurp.

4) Water water water. I drink it all day long. I try to drink it at room temperature too (research shows it’s better on the digestive tract) . And get this, the nutritionist also said don’t drink it WITH your meals it interferes with your digestive juices. Drink your liquids before and after meals. Isn’t that crazy? But it works! I’ve made the change and I notice a difference.

5) Exercise. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. And when I didn’t have a membership I ran outside. You do what ya’ gotta do to get those endorphins flowing.

6) Avoid dairy. As a generality not something any of us can do all the time. I love cheese (Mmmm pizza) But are we really meant to be consuming things from animals teets? I dunnoooo. I notice when my dairy intake is low I feel easy digestion’. That is, I don’t feel anything. I’m pretty sure I’m lactose intolerant too so this is a good rule for me to strive for.

7) When I get salads, I make it healthier by having olive oil and lemon juice as my dressing. With a dash of salt and pepper too. Sometimes pesto deeeelicious.Regular dressings will seem too heavy once you have it this way. And I load up on the veggies and heart healthy dark greens & olives.

8) Read up a bit on Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old system of natural healing that has its origins in the Vedic culture of India and Traditional Chinese Medicine. It provides guidelines on ideal daily and seasonal routines for your diet, behavior and the proper use of food, meditation, etc for your body composition. You take this test that shows what your body type is, called your ‘dosha’ and you make certain adjustments in your life from eating less spicey foods to oils and breathing. Life changing I tell you, google it right now.

9) Fruits and veggies. And fruits by themselves usually within an hour after or before eating. And almonds I try to have a handful of almonds or walnuts every day.

10) Eat slow and enjoy your food! This is your time to nourish and thank your body.

Thanks for reading this. I think writing this was very good for me. It reminds me I have made much progress in eating better (Even when I eat that cheese dog, and for the record that is my biggest weakness; salty meats like Hot dogs, salami, pastrami, ham. Ok now I’m craving it. And potatoe chips) And I fall off the wagon all the time. Sometimes I can trick my body and give it a soy cheese dog or tofu bologna with all the fixin’s. And my Thadd body will say ‘Thanks bud’. Then at times it catches on and says ‘ F’ UUUUUUUUUUU BITCH I WANT THAT HOT DOG NOWooooo !!!” Then I give in. I know I will never be able to eat healthy all the time but striving to is something that feels good…for my tummy and my soul.

Will my Thaddrolet engine keep churnin’? Stay tuned food mongers…

Thursday, April 15, 2010



Paris France! Amazing time. Details to come.....

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Often we hear the phrase ‘people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.’ I always loved that phrase but I think somewhere in my Pollyanna youthful naivety I believed anyone who came into my circle would remain there- even for a lifetime. Relationships have not panned out that way and nor should they have. But oh how I have misguided myself somewhere along the path.

The reality is: people come in and out of our lives and some people you may never see or talk to again. I have met and worked with many it’s just not feasible to have every relationship pan out long term even with the surface connection of Facebook. And as I get older I accept this rite of passage. Well, maybe not accept completely but attempt to understand and embrace. Trying to view relationships as valuable for whatever their time table is more miracle minded . It’s particularly cyclical in New York where by definition careers are nurtured, not relationships.I was recently watching a very poetic and interesting documentary on New York from it’s inception in the 1600’s. It stated how New York was the stopping ground from the beginning which would dictate the societal and political climate of America as we know it. How millions came here en masse to pursue this dream of financial wealth and prosperity. And even today New York holds this mystical allure, this place where ‘anything is possible’. NYC- the agenda oriented city. But with that anything is possible comes ruthless ambition and emotional disregard. It’s a double edged sword really. You crave connection but you’ve chosen to live in that agenda and then real connection can be, well…fleeting.

There have been seasonal relationships for me over the years. Big one was with a friend and roommate I loved in Chicago. We had one disagreement and she ended our friendship with no discussion. I learned a lot about myself from that. Most recently I had a friend I met at an audition a couple of years ago whom to me at least, felt like a solid genuine connection. We talked, we texted. I visited him at his job and we laughed and talked about everything. But slowly I came to realize he was the illusive 'New York actor people collector’- looking for fans in their entourage rather than living, breathing friendship. All of the effort was coming on my part. I stepped back for my own dignity to see what happened. And guess what? I never heard from him again. I realize I am accountable because I choose to believe these brief liaisons are more lasting than they were originally intended. And then my frustration and expectation sabotages the deal when I actually express that to them and they run for the door. I guess if you feel a looming disconnect it’s best to just cut your losses and move on. Dating here is the worst regarding this. There’s just a lot of narcissism in New York you absolutely need to keep your blinders up, feet planted firmly on the ground and accept the reality. And try to remain open too as much as you can. It’s a dance it’s a balance- holding on and letting go.

The spiritual study The Course in Miracles says there are ‘three levels of teaching’ in a relationship. First being a ‘casual encounter’, second being a ‘more sustained relationship’ where two people enter into an intense teaching/learning experience then appear to separate, and the third level being a relationship once formed last all our lives. Author Marianne Williamson says the second and third levels are where intense healing happen showing us the barriers to love we put up and how these relationships illuminate that. I can really relate and feel like if you have that information you are prepared for relationship endings. Not try to control it, but trust those meant to be near to me will be.

Makes the people who have been there for you year after year that much more treasured doesn’t it? Letting you be who you are with flaws, good days, bad days- Makes you so grateful for their consistent presence. Tell them today how grateful you are. And embrace the flux of the reason, season or lifetime relationship…out with the Pollyanna and in with the reality.