Adventures in London: New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!

Well unlike last year I did not end the year with a strong kick and solid run. Although we focus on the finish line, it is not just about the end all the end - it can be about the journey that was endured to get there. 2009 for me was that type of year. I wished more of it, but things don't always go as planned.

I made a number of resolutions last year. Let's recap:

1. Log no less than 25 running equivalent miles a week/ going to the gym at least 3x a week: Nope. I started doing this, but this did not happen post May
2. Complete reading 12 new books: More or less accomplished
3. See my family at least once a week: On average yes
4. Learn to cook 3-4 new dishes: Definitely accomplished this
5. Add 2 new country stamps to my VALID passport: Accomplished
6. Take a photography class: Nope
7. Read a book in french: Not finished, started reading Diary of Anne Frank, but did not get far
8. Run a sub-2hr half marathon: Nope
9. Run the NYC marathon: Nope - Definite No
10. Bonus resolution: Sure why not (PS: cannot remember what this one was - haha)

For 2010, I have decided that I am not going to make any resolutions. 2009 was supposed to be about "Slowing me down before my life passed me by". Somewhere in the middle of it, I forgot that anthem, but I was reminded it of it during the second half of the year. "Only Time" will tell what 2010 has in store. All I ask of it, is may things work out the way they are supposed to and if I can ask for more, give me the strength to accept whatever happens.

Below is a recap of what 2009 taught me. I hope you enjoy the song and the video. The quality is not the best, and I hope you are a fast reader :-)

Happy New Year! May you smile like it is your 4th birthday, laugh so the world can hear you, eat whatever your heart desires and run like there is no limit.

xx

T

Slow me down photos & quotes

“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”

"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone"
- Anthony Burgess

"Impossible is nothing"

– John Maxwell

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

– Nelson Mandela

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

"The two most power filled words—'I Can!'"

"You know nothing for sure...except the fact that you know nothing for sure." – JFK

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” - Reinhold Niebuhr

“That is what Americans do. We face a challenge -- no matter how great -- because we know that on the other side there is always hope.”

– John Kerry

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”

– Buddha

"Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.”

– Horace

“Life is either a great adventure or nothing.”

– Helen Keller

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky”

– Buddha

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

– Dr Seuss

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

– Aaron Siskind

“You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel.”

“It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.”

– Mother Teresa

“Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”

– Ernest Hemingway

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life."

- Isadora James

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

– T.S. Eliot

“Focus on your potential instead of your limitations”

– Alan Loy McGinnis

“Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.”

– Jack Nicklaus

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

– Walt Disney

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”

– Anthony Brandt

"I started cooking when I was 32; up until then I just ate."

- Julia Child

“Friends are like bras: close to your heart and there for support.”

“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream while it's on your plate”

– Thornton Wilder

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

– James Dean

“The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remain over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves”

– Kahlil Gibran

"I cannot imagine living and not running."

- Paula Radcliffe

"When the rain is pouring down and my heart is hurting, you will always be around. This I know for certain"

– Alicia Keyes; No One

"Best wishes on this adventure upon which you are embarking. This is the start of many. Allow yourself to enjoy and grow from all that you see and do. Don’t forget to come home"

– Bhai "Rick" Sevak

“Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip.”

– Gary allan

“It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.”

– Dale Carnegie

“There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever”

– Mahatma Gandhi

Adventures in London: Issue 75

Like all roller-coasters, this week had its highs and its lows. The low of the week was definitely being sick. It looks like I am going to end the year nursing an infection that has found a cozy home in my system. Like Monica from Friends, I guess I am just the hostess with the mostess - haha. Well I think this scuggy buggy has over stayed its visit and it is time to throw in the heavy artillery since subtle suggestions are not working :-) It is not the ideal way to end the year or to spend the winter break from work, but it was to be expected. This year I have been on the go; racing from one thing to another. As such, it is needless to say that I was looking forward to the break and having the time to relax and chill out. I guess my body decided that it would let its guards down and welcome in this dear cold/flu.

That said, it was actually good to be sick. I was forced to actually take a break from things. I had a grande agenda for the break of places I wanted to go, things I wanted to see, but at the end of the day, what I really needed was to relax. I took full advantage of being a prisoner in my flat by catching up on flat-projects that I had been putting off all year. Finally I had the time (granted I did not have the energy, but I found some) to re-color coordinate my cabinet, go through my paperwork, hoover the baseboards, go through the spice & sweet cabinets. Basically, this break allowed me to indulge in all my OCD habits - this is exactly why I should not be left unsupervised ;-) Cleaning aside, thanks to brilliant end of the year programming, I was able to catch up on series box sets including Flash Forward (it is currently on series break in both the UK & US, but will be returning soon). The show, based on the book, is about the entire world loosing consciousness for 137 seconds. During this time, everyone has a "flashforward" of their lives 6 months in the future. It is an interesting show as people stop living for today and start living for what will happen 6 months from today. It makes you think; if you knew what your life would look like 6 months for now, how would that change the way you lived today. Would it change you? Or would you try to change the vision that you saw? Can you change your future or is it already written for you? Anyway, it is a good show and if you need a reason to watch it ladies it stars Joseph Fiennes (from Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love).

This week was not all about obsessive cleaning and watching box sets of TV shows. It was after all the week of Christmas and celebrations. This is the first time that I celebrated Christmas away from the family. I have to admit, it was lonely without them. I looked up last minute flights to go home, but with the way I was feeling I was in no shape to make the 8 hour journey across the pond. Staying here made me realise how lucky I have been. In the past 18 months, I have made 5 trips home. I have friends here who get to go home once in 2-3 years. I cannot imagine that and I reckon my family would not accept that frequency of home visits. That said, knowing friends here that have made London their home allowed for a very new Christmas experience.

On Christmas Eve, I was treated to a traditional Brasilian dinner at a friend of a friend's place. This is the first year that I was exposed to different cultures and how each country celebrates Christmas. In Brasil, they start the festive celebrations on Christmas Eve (since Boxing Day is not a national holiday there). It was a nice quiet night of amasing food, delightful games and plenty of laughter. Most of the people at the party have lived here for 6+ years and this is something that they do every year. It made me wonder about the "Americans in London", will we have that same sort of tradition? Well I guess we already sorta do, but who knows if we will all be here 4 years from today. Who knows where I will be then :-)

After Christmas, it was time to celebrate Christmas day (funny how that works huh). It was not quite the same as being in Nisky, waking up in the morning, going for D&D coffee and munchkins, opening presents by the tree and then going to the kitchen for pancakes. It was however a relaxing day by the fire, drinking tea, skyping with the family, making blueberry pancakes and there was even opening Christmas presents and enjoying an very English Christmas dinner. It was not quite the Christmas roast that I was expecting to eat with Yorkshire pudding, turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. Instead we had a extremely moist and flavourful ham with boiled broccoli, brussel sprouts and carrots.

Expectations are a funny thing. This year has been a series of expectations and then a realisation things don't always work out the way we expected them to. The key I believe is learning to adapt and bend when things change. Growing up my mom used to always tell me, "In a storm you can either be a weeping willow or an oak tree. When the storm comes to shake things up you can be ridged and allow the storm to break you from the roots or you zigzag and mold allowing the storm to pass through you." No one said 2009 was going to be an easy year, in fact they probably said the opposite. If I have learned anything this year it is that plans and expectations change. What you envisioned would happened may not always be, but if you can learn to sag a little you can some times achieve much more. I am blabbling... another side effect of spending too much time on own.

It has been an interesting break so far. I am so very pleased that I have another week off of work!

Happy Christmas! Hope you all are well and spent a lovely couple of days with your friends and family.

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 74

This week has been all about wrapping up the year, Christmas lunches, parties and reflecting on the year that is coming to a close. This will be the last full week of work. Whoa...and may I also add a YIPPEE!

On Tuesday, we had the "Business Planning & Friends" Christmas luncheon. The day is not just about getting out of the office, eating pizza, playing pub games, and enjoy some drinks... okay well maybe it is, BUT the day is also about realising why it is that we work for such a company and especially why we make such a good team. It is hard to believe that a year has already gone by. It was about this time last year that I picked Mom up from the airport and welcomed her to London. 2009 was said to be a long year, but it has gone by like a blink (okay a rather long blink). There may have been plenty of late nights, some grey hairs added on the head, and even some tears along the way, but Tuesday was all about laughing and enjoying the time with friends and co-workers.

Last year, Mindshare Worldwide travelled to Hollywood. Jumping on the success of Slum Dog Millionaire, the theme of the Christmas party was Bollywood. Since I was unable to go to India over the holiday break, I was happy to be able to spend the afternoon in India. It was just like any Indian wedding; delicious food, amasing music, great friends, and brilliant dancing. It was a top night and thankfully unlike most Indian weddings I did not have to worry about plots to get me to take seven circles around a candle ;-)

I have to say, it was a delight to see the office all dressed up. It was rather impressed to see some of the outfits that people wore to the party. After seeing how elaborate some people went, I feel like I should have bought an outfit especially for the occasion or at least worn a sari. Actually, no I completely take that back. I am rather happy that I did not. The party gave me a chance to wear an outfit that I never wore before and with the "pant suit" I was able to dance my heart out - and trust me that is what I did. I cannot remember the last time that I just let loose like that. I have been too serious lately with work, health stuff, yadda yadda that I forgot there was a life worth living.

I may have come down with a dreadful cold, but I did not let that stop me from enjoying the evening. A note to self (and word of caution to you all), it is finally winter so drying of one's hair is definitely required before leaving the house. This cold is not going to be a happy cold I can tell already. My hint was at our pre-Christmas party secret santa gathering, when I was unable to finish a glass of champagne to celebrate the months of hard work on a new client of ours. I was not too bummed about it to be honest. It has only been a month since I "gave" up drinking, but I feel more refreshed and clear. I use the quotes since I do allow myself the occasional celebratory drink from time to time - tis the season after all.

While I am on this topic, this vacation from drinking has been nice. It is not the first time I gave up drinking; I first gave up drinking when I was training for the Baltimore Half Marathon. This time I have a different reason, but to be frank I do not miss it. When I was home my friends reminded me of the person I once was - that person who never need anything wrong, did not party, did not drink, etc. When I moved to NYC, all that changed. I stopped taking things so seriously and let go a little. I started going out more, I let loose and I went "crazy" for once. Now that "rebellion" is out of my system, I can hopefully go back to a more balance lifestyle between serious and non-controlling. How on earth did I get onto this topic?

It has definitely been quite the year. Fitting that this week the thought of the day at the tube station read, "Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets." That made me think about numerous things. One in particular was a book I read a while back called the Alchemist. For those who have not read. The Alchemist is a book by Brasilian author Paulo Coelho about fulfilling one's dreams. Below is a quote that captures the essence of the book, and can be used to summarise the year that has passed and especially the last five months:

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer", the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffer is worse that the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

On that note, I am going to bid you adieu. I hope you all are well.

Miss you all dearly and love you

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 73

This week has been lovely. The Christmas spirit is truly starting to fill the air here in London. The office decorations continue to grow and the rest of the office is starting to getting into the decoration spirit. This year has been filled with ups and downs for everyone - whether you are in NY, London, Toronto, CA, India, Germany, Scotland the economic roller-coaster has impacted all of our lives in one way or another. That said, seeing the office decorated, the lights on the streets and listening to the carols, you cannot help but realise how blessed you are.

On Wednesday, I had the sincere pleasure of going to St. Paul's Cathedral for the Breast Cancer Care Carol Service. Unfortunately my work husband's girlfriend was unable to attend, so I was the lucky one who was able to experience breathtaking night of magic, sparkle and festive songs. Over 2,100 people attended the extremely moving event to hear the Boy's Choir of Westminster Under School, readings from celebrity guest Jeremy Irons, Timothy West, Prunella Scales, Sohpie Okoonedo, and John Hurt. Breast cancer survivor and chair of the Breast Cancer Trustee, Jane Hinnrichs gave a moving speech. I wish I had the ability to tape the entire speech cause it was definitely one to remember. Her last sentence has struck a chord and made me think. She finished her reflection on having and surviving breast cancer by saying, "I don't want to leave this earth with the knowledge that I was just a visitor". When our time comes, what will we be remember by? Will it be our bank accounts, the HDTV with surround sound, the clothing in our closets, the number of hours your logged at work, the projects you finished? Or will you be remembered in the hearts of the people you've met, the family and friends that you left behind, and the lives that you have touched? If you are silly enough to think the first, we should not be friends :-)

Over the weekend, a bunch of us went to watch Where the Wild Things Are at the Clapham Picturehouse (absolutely adore this place). I should mention, that the four of us were probably the only adults sans children in the entire theatre. I will also mention that yes I was that person; I wore (under my jumper) my Where the Wild Things Are tee-shirt. Gerhart and I were extremely excited for the movie and had high expectation as both of us remembered the book as children. There is not much to share about the plot, and after watching the movie I question why I enjoyed the book so much... In a nutshell the book is about Max, a young kid who is misbehaving in the house. After being scolded by his mom, he is sent to bed without any food. When he goes into the room, a magical forrest appears and he is carried to the island where the wild things are. There he is made king and stays with the wild things dancing around, etc, but then the loneliness settles in and he becomes homesick. He then decides to leave the monsters and returns home to a warm plate of food in his room. I could go into a hidden meaning, etc for the movie on how it is an analogy of unconditional love and yadda yadda, but come on... it is a children's book! If they made a film out of Dr Seuss's Oh the places you'll go, that would be another story :-)

After the movie, we spent some time walking around the Venn St Market. Clapham does a a good job with hosting various "travelling" markets from the London area. I was happy to discover that this particular market is going to make a monthly appearance in 2010! The market is a mini-borough; filled with cheese, sausage, pies, sweets, veggies, and flower stands. There is even a chocolate and churros mini-truck :-) Clapham is small and quaint little nook of London. I have to say, I am rather pleased to live here. The neighborhood has such a spirit to it and the more I explore the hood the more I am thankful that I decided to live here. I may have decided to move here for the running club, the commons and the fact that it is on the same line as work, but I am now staying for the people, the restaurants, the shops and the experiences that I have had while living here (still want to move closer to the commons, but that will happen in time).

Later that evening, Powers came over for the X-Factor finale slumber party. We started watching the live shows together, so it was only fitting that we watched its conclusion. This show has proven that mass TV is not dead. With the right content TV is still a success and effective vehicle. 20 million viewer tuned in this week to see Joe McElderry be crowded X-Factor winner. The show is a bit different than American Idol and I think I like this format much more. On finale weekend, the winner is determined from the final 3 in a two-day nail biting event. Saturday night the final three sang 3 songs: their audition song, a pairing with a celebrity singer and then a "hit" song from the season. After that, based on the live voting, the final two is then determined. It was definitely a sit on the edge of the sofa, nail biting, heart racing weekend, but in the end it was Joe McElderry that won with 65% of the votes (I am sure you all care. Well think of it this way, you no longer have to hear me go on and on about X-Factor - until next year that is).

Well I think that is all for me. Hope you all are well.

Miss you and love you