Congratulations Wolverines!

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-Can't Hold Us

Yay to the Wolverines for making it to the final four! GO BLUE!

Those who stay will be champions.

Etiquette Wednesday: Supermarket Etiquette

Today's post will be on supermarket etiquette. A lot of this is based on my grocery experiences in Boston than other places mainly because the area of most stores are much much smaller but the population is much much larger than the Midwest.
 
First off, if you insist on having a phone conversation please courteously choose a spot that is not in the center of a main walkway where walking traffic must navigate around you. We have no interest in listening to you gab on the phone, please take that elsewhere or go outside. Secondly, when in line, it is not, I repeat not necessary for you to stand uncomfortably close to the person ahead of you. This goes for food lines and check out lines. There's something about a supermarket line (and the TSA security lines at the airport) where people are always physically tailgating with their carts (or luggage) and I just do not understand it. If you are insistent on texting and walking same goes for talking on the phone, please stay out of main walkways. Nothing is more annoying when you're in a rush and there's a slow-poke attempting to text and walk and you're unable to pass them because the walking path is so small and people are walking in the opposite direction too. Lastly, if you are coughing and sick and such please be courteous and civil enough to not cough around the open prepared food. Not only is it rude, it's also a public health concern too. Please be kind and Mindful!

This Week's Lessons Learned

(1) Be careful of what you say, what you talk about, how you say things, and who you say things to (i.e. choosing your words carefully is an art.)
(2) "There's always someone watching."
(3) I discovered I have a soft-spot for animals that I never realized I had. (Exhibited by seeing some monkeys this week.) http://m.humanesociety.org/issues/biomedical_research/the-faces-of-animal-research/profiles/lilly_rhesus_macaque.html
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/opinion/sunday/slaughter-of-the-african-elephants.html
 *I guess I don't want to be an elephant after all. Human seems like the best species 
(4) Watching Planet Earth before bedtime is not relaxing; it's quite stressful for me to watch a baby wild calf being chased by a wolf or a baby elephant getting separated from its mum and walking the opposite direction of the migration.
(5) Writing letters to yourself might just be the best idea I've heard of all week. Thank you MB. "It's time to GO!"
(6) Creatively approaching life problems is extremely beneficial.
(7) Mrs. Mouse has appeared and I am NOT happy
(8) Fencing, here I come (along with polo, croquet, snorkeling, rock climbing, and of course the long-awaited sailing)
(9) Punxsutawney Phil, you've let me down!
(10) Ask questions.
(11) "Our physical lifespan is but a short speck of our existence in the universe"
(12) Accepting criticism with grace is a virtue.

Medical Musings

*No spring today :-/

(1) whew. Heavy narrative on cancer

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/living-with-cancer-waking-in-the-dark/

(2) I really ought to include more ortho stuff on here. Interesting semi-novel approach to hip surgery: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/faster-recovery-from-hip-surgery/

(3) On Alzheimers drugs: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/health/fda-to-ease-alzheimers-drug-approval-rules.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130314
Not sure if I agree with this though. Isn't it more important to illustrate evidence of improvement before approving a drug's use? 

(4) Saw this awesome (and eye-opening) documentary reg. Healthcare in America.  http://www.escapefiremovie.com/
*Please please please watch the doc if you can. Interesting factoid: the United States spend among the highest on healthcare yet the US is not even in the top 25 of healthy countries (in fact it is the lowest of all western nations.)
 
(5) My campaign against smoking starts now. This Op-Ed piece from NYTimes conveys my sentiments on this issue perfectly: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/opinion/two-paths-to-the-gradual-abolition-of-smoking.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130304&_r=0
First order of business: letter to Mayor Menino. 

(6) Bah humbug on not passing the soda size ban
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/a-bumpy-road-to-a-soda-ban/?ref=healthupdate&nl=health&emc=edit_hh_20130319

Etiquette Wednesday

Always at least 'Thank You' when receiving a service from someone (cashier, bus driver, cab driver, waiter, etc...)

While I would hope this goes without saying, I've noticed far too many times that people are just always in a rush to be courteous to others. I always try to at least consider the person who's offering the service: I'm sure they are happy to do the job without any thanks, but I consider them doing the same thing every day and just watching people float by without being mindful. So actually this is a plea to be more mindful to all those whom we encounter on a daily basis.

Musings from this week

Ingrid Michaelson-Sort Of

(1) Let's see how far we've come...
(2) I loathe unreliability. Unfortunately my life is filled with people I cannot depend on.
(3) Professor Snout will be a Sheepadoodle
(4) Seriously? Incarcerated men are 95% more likely to be married? (no. 9 on this list)
(5) My allergies are totally out of control :o(
(6) Comeback part deux: Ahh try try again?
(7) Just for fun: We're proud of the little things in Detroit

(8) I somehow have the ability to placate the implacable.

Etiquette Wednesday: Texting

Texting while someone else is talking is extremely rude.

We all have a million plus one activities to do, but it is rude to text while trying to have an in-person conversation with someone else. This actually doesn't happen to me (I'm just lucky I'm surrounded by mindful people.) It is a sign of disrespect and disengagement. It indicates an inability for one to be in the present moment with a live human being as opposed to the text message box of a person that isn't in front of them (practice mindfulness!)

Our generation is deeply embedded in sustaining relationships/friendships through all the great ways of social media (facebook, twitter, etc...) but sometimes we forget the importance of human interaction and what it really means to have a real relationship/friendship with someone. By dwindling our relationships to profile pages and chat boxes we sell ourselves short of having a genuine relationship where we feel empathy and excitement with one another. It's hard to really do so when you can't see another human being's facial expression or hear the inflections in their voice over the internet or SMS. As much as social media and the internet may connect us, it also makes us more disposable to each other. In essence, we lose civility towards one another. Anyway, just remember to please be kind.

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all.

-Hamlet

Hope ya'll remember to spring forward.
Yay spring is on the horizon.

This Week's Lessons Learned

L. Gaga-The Edge of Glory (acoustic)

1. KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON--I simply cannot emphasize this enough in my daily life.
2. Habits can be made, you just need to try (try every single day)
-98 days
-38 days
-18 days
-11 days
-1 day
(Try Habit List App)
3. Keep your parents close---no matter where they are.
4. Isolate the problem. Attack it strategically. Annihilate it.
5. NEVER BE DEFEATED

Etiquette Wednesdays

Greetings Bostonians and those reading from abroad (my Russian fans etc...)

After some consideration about #7 from last week's musings (see here) it has become glaringly apparent that the art of social/civic etiquette seems to be lost on my generation. What happened to the days of gentlemen opening doors and allowing women to board trains/elevators/buildings first? I sense that Emily Post is turning in her grave each time an old lady with a cane is forced to stand on the T because some able-bodied 20-something schmuck is sitting in the designated Priority Seat. Thus, I have decided to start a segment called Etiquette Wednesdays where I'll throw some nice tips up for those who read to consider employing in their daily life (if they do not do so already.) There is also a great podcast from the Modern Manners Guy that I used to listen to--check it out!

Tip #1 (from last week): It is in extremely poor taste to ever as a lady her age. (The only circumstance I can think of where one might not be offensive is if the man is elderly 80+ and the lady is much much younger. In that case it goes without saying why an age clarification is necessary.)

NB: I must clarify that not everyone in my age group is poorly mannered. Most of the kids I grew up with were extremely well-mannered back in the day (I can't speak for their behaviour now though...)