Soul Pancake: Question to Ponder

I haven't forgotten about you, dear little blog. Work has been hectic and hopefully after December 3, I will be able to breathe again and give you a little more attention. In the meantime...

So, my husband recently introduced me to Soul Pancake. What is Soul Pancake, you may ask? It's a quirky little Website, co-created by actor Rainn Wilson of "The Office" fame (US version) and it attempts to tackle "life's big questions." Or at least, totally random questions that you might discuss with your friends after several rounds of drinks. Either way, it's a lot of fun.

So...do you want to try it "Soul Pancake" style? Let's see how we do.

One of my favorite questions (so far) that I've seen on S.P. is "What do you wish you'd accepted about yourself sooner?"

For me, there is a lot, but I'll spare you the therapy session and say that I wish I had accepted my height earlier. I was always the tallest kid in my class and still am one of the tallest of my friends. I always wanted to be shorter, petite, cute, but instead felt like a hulking beast next to my girlfriends. It even got to the point where I would purposely slouch to look shorter...and in effect, looked even geekier than I already did. But now that I'm older, I certainly appreciate being tall. Somewhere along the way, I also accepted that I am, by nature, a quiet person - and that there is nothing wrong with that.

Now, it's your turn. What do you wish you'd accepted about yourself sooner?

Rock the Vote

REMINDER: Tomorrow is election day in the United States.

I can think of very few excuses that would prevent anyone from voting...and since so many of you managed to get out to vote two years ago for the presidential election, there's no reason why you shouldn't continue to exercise your right as a citizen to make your voice and opinions heard through the vote.

This seems like a strange political year. Mid-term elections usually do not raise eyebrows...not like this year. The mud slinging has morphed into an all-out ugly brawl with metaphorical fisticuffs, low blows, name calling, chair throwing, hair pulling...I'm just waiting for the choke slam. "In this corner, we have the disenchanted left. In the other corner, we have the radical right." And the rest of us seem to fall in between as helpless spectators. But we cannot afford to be spectators. We count, too. This is our country, our state, our town. We need someone who will represent us. Not happy with the way things have been going and want someone new? Tell them so. Think your representatives are just fine. Vote to keep them around. Election Day is our day to speak up.

So - whether you are red, blue, checkered, whatever - now is your time to stand up and take action. You think your vote doesn't matter? Think again. Every vote counts.

See you at the polls.

Prayer of Healing

I'm not a religious person, but I do believe in God. Recently, a tragedy occurred that involved one of my closest friends. I won't go into details, because those who need to know already know, but I don't believe I have ever prayed so hard in my life...joining so many other prayers. And I think those prayers are starting to help. I have to believe they are.

So, this song is dedicated to my friend who needs our healing thoughts and prayers right now.

It's a Jersey Thing

This week, the folks at "South Park" aired the highly-anticipated, highly-controversial (would it be "South Park" otherwise?), and absolutely hilarious episode about New Jersey.

You could look at the episode two ways:
1) The creators of the show truly hate all things New Jersey, and like most people who have never been here, think we're all a bunch of idiots just like those seen on TV and in the movies, and this was a statement on how our state sucks - OR -
2) Like any intelligent person, they were mocking the idiots on TV and in the movies who "represent" New Jersey because the whole thing is so absurd. Either way, the creators of "South Park" show no mercy to anyone or anything, and NJ was just ripe for the plucking. Although the bit about a certain terrorist group helping out was just unnecessary.

I want to call attention to two sites:
Jersey Doesn't Stink - because, well, it doesn't. It rocks.
New Jersey Hall of Fame - because you would be surprised who calls/called NJ "home."

The "South Park" episode inserts the phrase "It's a Jersey thing. You wouldn't understand." throughout the show to insinuate that raucous fights, orange skin, slicked hair, gold chains and rings, and an overall obnoxious attitude is...well, a Jersey thing. It's not. Maybe certain pockets of people...who are also mocked by the rest of New Jersey.

You know what's a Jersey thing?
- The Jersey Shore, the Pine Barrens, the Highlands
- The Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival
- Jersey Fresh produce and wine
- Dinosaurs (ok, not exclusively a Jersey thing, but still cool)
- Weird NJ
- Pride in our state
- Talent (see NJ Hall of Fame or this list for a taste)
- Music, music, and music:



And so, so much more.

My dad used to say "If you can do it, it aint' bragging." New Jersey can definitely bring it, so there should be no wonder why we carry such pride for our little state.

Or maybe it's just a Jersey thing. You wouldn't understand.