Everyone should have a bucket list

It's been almost a month since I last posted. The month of May sort of got away from me. I had final assignments in my last grad school class, coupled with the culminating 40 page paper to complete all my masters work, the end of my internship and a very long/very hot ride back north from Florida back to New Jersey. Then I had my best friend's bachelorette party in NYC, and now things are finally beginning to slow down so I can focus on continuing to apply for jobs (if anyone knows of any athletic academic advising jobs at the collegiate level, let me know).

The one vice I maintained to try to keep my sanity amongst it all was watching some movies. I finally got around to watching The Bucket List. As I'm sure many before me did, I was inspired to create my own bucket list, which is something I was meaning to do for a long time. I also feel that sharing it with people will hold me to some of them. So here it goes. Here is my bucket list.

• Travel Europe - Visit each country I have family ties to (England - done, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden - done, Latvia, Spain, Italy, and Germany)
• Travel the US - Visit every state in the country on more than just a drive through)
• Audition for and make it on Jeopardy
• Visit every continent
• Read the Bible cover to cover
• Attend a World Series game, a Super Bowl, a Stanley Cup game, an NBA Play-off game, an MLS play-off game
• Visit every major league ball park
• See an NCAA Final Four game live
• Ride a motorcycle
• Have at least one job in my lifetime that I truly enjoy
• Write a book
• Read the Classics
• Learn a 3rd and 4th language (working on #3 right now)
• Record something in a recording studio
• Attend a Time Square New Year's Eve
• Learn to drive stick
• See the Northern Lights
• Gain a working knowledge of mythology and world religions
• Attend at least one Summer and one Winter Olympic Games
• Sing karaoke un-self-consciously
  
• Learn to play golf, and play in a pro-am
• Learn archery
• Learn to play guitar
• Fall in love
  

So what's on your bucket list?

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.

I only root for 2 teams...

Since I've told you that I more or less breathe sports, I thought it might be time I actually shared with you who I root for when the seasons change.

To start you'll have to know that I grew up in New Jersey. If you're not from NJ you'd probably assume I root for NY teams. If you're from NJ you'd probably want to know North or South before determining whether I should be a NY or a Philly follower. And if you're from NJ you will most likely forget that there is more than just North or South unless, like me, you grew up in Central NJ. Being from Central NJ provided me with more opportunities to find geographically legitimate sports-fandom than any sports junkie could ever dream of.

Where I grew up, I was 54.51 miles from NYC and 50.99 miles from Philadelphia, virtually equidistant from two professional sports meccas. My high school was relatively equally split between NY and Philly fans in all sports (and yes that includes both NY teams). For me though, "The City" had always been New York, and so I gravitated towards their teams (that and the fact that my family were all NY fans).

I was raised on the Yankees. I'm a fan not because of their 27 World Series rings (though that doesn't hurt), but because my Dad is a Yankees fan, and so is my Grandpa, my Mom, my aunts and my uncles. I didn't stand a chance, I was raised in Pinstripes. And the tradition behind the club, the great players, the stories, and the stadium all stir something in me. (Oddly enough, growing up I also wanted to be the first woman to play baseball in the MLB, but I wanted to play for that other NY team. Must have been the Mets' World Series win in 1986 that still had some buzz in my early years.)

When it comes to football, if you're from NJ again you might guess that since I'm a Yankees fan, I'm also a Giants fan as typically the NY sports pairings are Yankees/Giants and Mets/Jets. If I were anyone else in my family, you'd be right. I am one of a rare breed of NY sports fan who is a Yankees/Jets combination. I grew up with the Giants, but I started experimenting with my loyalties in about the 7th grade when in 1997, after only their 2nd year in the league, the Carolina Panthers made it to the NFC Championship game. After that I was a Panthers fan for a few years, and then the Jets added Chad Pennington to their roster in 2000, and I decided to swing back to the hometown team.

At that age, there were probably a few reasons I chose to return home to the Jets and not the Giants - all very valid I assure you. 1) I had a huge crush on Chad Pennington (I still do for that matter, and when he showed up on the campus I'm working at back in January, I about had a heart attack and squealed like a giddy school girl for a hot second before getting a grip on myself). 2) Green was, and still is, my favorite color. 3) I wanted to rebel a little from the family, and since the Yankees blow the other local teams out of the water, while the Giants, Jets and Eagles are all pretty equal, I chose to switch it up a little on the grid-iron. And so Gang-Green earned themselves a new follower.

As for the rest of professional sports, I don't really follow all that actively. We used to be Rangers fans when we watched hockey, but the lockout in 94-95 that caused a reduced season, also lost us as fans. We found other things to watch, and while I've tried to get back into it, it's only half heartedly, though that may change when I finally get my own apartment and a decent sports package on cable. I suppose if I had to choose a team I'd still be a Rangers fan for old times sake, but I wouldn't count the Devils out either.

I'm not really a fan of the NBA either. I personally don't feel like it's really about the game anymore. Professional basketball is where my loyalties have wandered the most. Back in elementary school I remember floating between the Charlotte Hornets (Yes, I'm old enough to remember when the Hornets were in Charlotte and the Bobcats didn't even exist) because of their colors and the Orlando Magic when Penny Hardaway and Shaq played there. I drifted to the Houston Rockets for a while, while Hakeem Olajuwon was playing and I can't even remember what my reasons for following him as a player were. Of course I ended up back with my hometown NJ Nets in the days of Jason Kidd and Keith VanHorn, and I guess if I had to choose, that's who I'd root for these days (can't call me a front runner on this one). I will say though that I did enjoy watching Denver play when my boy Carmelo was out there, and that leads me to college sports.

My heart for college sports belongs to the Syracuse Orange. While I grew up liking Michigan and Notre Dame (I think it was because they were good back then, but I don't remember), my loyalties now and forever lie with my alma mater. I bleed orange, and I will defend them with every bone in my body. I will soon be an alum of the University of Washington too, and as a result, I'll root for the Huskies as well, but if/when the Orange meet the Huskies (like they did this year on the grid-iron), I will always be rooting for the Orange.

And so, that is the storied history of how I came to cheer for each of my teams. Every season, I root for 2 teams. The Yankees/Jets/Orange, and whoever is beating the Red Sox/Patriots/Georgetown&UConn.

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.

Desiderata

Desiderata... translated from its original Latin means "desired things."

It is also the title of what has become my favorite poem. Written by Max Ehrmann in 1927, it is something I have found brings peace to my world whenever things seem a bit topsy-turvy. I was first introduced to it, when small parts showed up in ceremonies I had taken part in in college. A friend soon found the full text and gave me a copy, which I stuck to the wall next to my bed.

I currently have another print out of the poem taped to the wall of my temporary room here in FL, and the plan when I finally get settled into my own apartment is to create a wall who's sole purpose will be to display the poem large enough to read from across the room. It will become the artwork in the room.

The words of this poem, to me, lay out a road map to living a simple yet fulfilling life. I've even contemplated having portions of the 7th stanza designed into what would be my 3rd tattoo (hasn't happened yet, but the thought's there). The ideas shared in this simple piece of prose are reminders to be open to change, to be kind to others, and most importantly to be kind to yourself. It is when I hit a rough patch in life, that I often find myself turning to this poem for inspiration and a bit of peace.

But each person sees things differently, and so I invite you to read it for yourself, draw your own conclusions and form your own opinions.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

~Max Ehrmann

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.

Sverige kommer alltid att ha en bit av mitt hjärta

Moving on to the "and..." portion of this blog, I'm going to start off with my affinity for a certain country. One that I have family ties to, family history in and fell in love with.

For those of you who don't speak the language, the title of this one is "Sweden will always have a piece of my heart". (At least that's what I hope it says. Since my Swedish isn't quite up to par, Google Translate had to help me on this one).

5 years ago I fell in love with this Scandinavian gem. I'd always known I had some Swedish in my blood - my Nana's father (my dad's mother's father) was more or less straight off the boat (may have been 1st generation American born). It's in part where I get my fair skin and awesomely blue eyes from. But 5 years ago, I was able to join my mother's side of the family on a trip I will never forget to find out a bit more about their "ties" to Sweden.

It turns out that my Grandpa's dad (my mom's dad's dad), was a merchant sailor back in the early 1900's. He was traveling on the merchant ship the Macona off the coast of Sweden back in January of 1920, when a severe storm came through and caught the ship on a reef not far off the coast. Ironically enough this date was January 17th, what would become my birthday 64 years later. As you can imagine, winter weather off the coast of Sweden is not all that pleasant, even when there is no storm. When the ship got stuck on the reef Nidingarna, because he was already wet, my great-grandfather opted to take a second watch on deck for the night. This decision ultimately saved his life. On January 18th the ship sunk from the wrath laid upon it by the incoming storm because it could not get off the reef. My great-grandfather was found the following day lashed to the mast post barely staying above the frigid waters. He was the only survivor.

The story of the Macona sinking is very common knowledge in this area of Sweden, especially in the little fishing village mere miles from the wreck site, the same village that sent out rescue crews in 1920 to try to help the sailors of the Macona. 5 years ago, a Swedish journalist named Krister Svahn decided to do a story on this historic event (he lived in that same little fishing village, and his grandfather had been a part of the rescue crew sent out to the site). Krister began doing research, and came across my grandfather's name, which was the same as my great-grandfather's. A few phone calls here a few there, and half the family is on a plane across the Atlantic to trace our history in this Swedish city.

Once in Sweden, Krister interviewed my grandfather and then proceeded to show us all the sites in the area that were tied to this wreck. The hotel we stayed in in Göteborg was where my GGP stayed while acting on behalf of the shipping company after the wreck. We visited the various churches and cemeteries where the sailors had been buried, we visited the home of a crazy old man who had refinished the ship's name plate after it washed up on the shoreline of his property, and Krister arranged for the Sea Rescue crew to take us out to the spot of the wreck.It was amazing. The article featured, for the first time, the American side of the story from the mouth of the survivor's family, as well as a bit about how the entire family came over to learn about what had happened.

After this trip, I was hooked on Sweden. The country was beautiful. The people were amazingly friendly and helpful (and not to mention easy on the eyes - I've never seen so many beautiful people in one place! Case and point the Swedish National Soccer Team - note the successful tie in of boys and sports). Immediately after returning Stateside, when I wasn't rooting for the US in the World Cup, I was rooting for Sweden. When I got to Seattle last summer, I was ecstatic to find that Freddie Ljungberg (captain of the '06 Swedish National Team ... and former Calvin Klein underwear model - Google him ladies, it'll be worth it) was playing for the Sounders. I went to a game and bought his jersey in mid-July - of course that means he was traded to following week to Chicago, and then jumped back to Europe to play in the Scottish Premier League in December. I tried to find anything that could bring me back to Sweden. I even thought about quitting my job and becoming a Contiki Tour Guide. (Don't ask, it was a weird phase in my life.)

I also decided after that trip I would somehow learn Swedish (their English was soooooo good!). And I am making good on that promise. My Rosetta Stone for Swedish came in the mail a week and a half ago, and I'm plugging away on my 3rd lesson in Level 1. It's a little trickier than when I learned Spanish, but I'll get there. Don't ask me what practical use this will have other than making me happy for the time being, or being able to watch the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" movies without having to utilize the English sub-titles, because I don't know yet but I don't care either. I'm doing something I enjoy - learning - and immersing myself in a culture I've fallen in love with.

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.

I couldn't resist posting a picture of Freddie... he's just too yummy not to include. Enjoy.

Boys, Sometimes A Girl Just Needs One

Yup I titled this after Britney Spears lyrics. Deal with it.

The last of the 3 entries that explain this blog's title. Boys.

In pre-school, I was determined to marry one of my classmates. In kindergarten, the boy around the corner, who I suppose you could call my "boyfriend", and I shared my first kiss when he rescued me from the evil fortress and whisked me away to safety (evil fortress = backyard swing set, safety = the other corner of the yard, you couldn't see from any window in the house so no one could put their noses in our business). Every year since then, all the way through school, I managed to find myself lost in a crush on some guy or another.

They say it's called "falling" in love because it hurts. Especially when it's over. Well, I've never been in love. But, I can assure you I understand this idea, because I "fall in like", which is almost worse than falling in love. Why, you ask? Because at least when you fall in love, it's typically reciprocated for at least a short amount of time, and for that time someone loves you as much as you love them. For me it tends to be one-sided. I like them, they manage to get me to help them with anything they need from projects to gift ideas for the girls they actually like. It's devastating. Yet, without fail, every year or so, I find a new guy to break my heart.

But I can't place all the blame on the males of this species because part of this is my fault. I got rejected enough when I was younger to form a bit of a complex. So that when someone does actually show any interest, I freak out and wonder what their ulterior motive is, because no one could actually like me. I'm pretty sure this mindset has actually cost me a few potential relationships because I didn't know how to respond to someone actually paying attention to me and not the attractive blond at the end of the bar or one of my gorgeous sorority sisters. I struggled in college because I wouldn't put out. I struggled after college because I never felt like I had truly settled in anywhere, and I didn't want to have to leave someone behind if a better job came up and I had to move. I was afraid of leaving something that never even had a chance to exist.

But I've come to realize that until I am happy with myself and where I am and what I'm doing, I won't be happy with anyone I meet. And so, I've stopped looking. Soon enough, my ride on this crazy roller coaster called my 20's, is going to slow down, and I will find myself somewhere I love, finally doing something I love, and I will be happy and with that happiness will come the man of my dreams. That doesn't mean I've sworn off all guys until that time comes - I still watch sports (partly because I love them, partly because athletes are great eye candy), I still people watch and scope out guys every chance I get, and if I'm out and you want to buy me a drink I won't turn it down. But, I've decided to stop worrying about when I'll meet someone, and worry more about enjoying the ride.
And when it comes to awkward first dates, I am the queen, so be ready for future entries on the awkwardness that is my dating life. They're tragic, they're hilarious, and more frequently than not, they're tragically hilarious.

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.

My love affair with books

This is a picture of the books I've read since New Years Day. That's 9 books in 3 months, and that's because I've also got grad school and a job competing for my waking hours. If I had more time, it could be more than this.

Everyone's got a vice. Some people drink, some people smoke, some people have a penchant for one-night-stands. Me, I buy books. Pretty tame I know. I can't stop by a book store and not leave with at least one book, and unfortunately for my wallet it's usually more than one.

Back home in my rented storage unit, where most of my stuff is taking up residence until I can finally settle down somewhere for a while with a job after grad school, I have 10+ file boxes of books. Because not only do I read books, I keep them. I have a dream of a house that has one room that's walls are lined with bookshelves... a lovely little home within a home for my books.

I've been hooked since before my very first Babysitter's Club books. In elementary school Pizza Hut teamed up with schools for kids to set goals on how many books they would read each month. If you met your goal, you got a free personal pan pizza! My teachers would laugh when I said I'd read 8+ books a month, but never once did I not meet it (over-achiever characteristics presenting themselves at an early age). COME ON! FREE PIZZA!? FOR READING?! Sign me up!!!

When I was younger, and my family would go on summer vacations, we used to go places we could drive to from NJ. This meant somewhere around 9 hours in a car each way plus about a week of downtime. As my parents packed up our Ford Aerostar van (typical "Mom-van" of the '90's and early '00's), my brother and I were each allowed a small box of things to keep us entertained on the trip that would sit between us on the bench seat in the back. My box was filled with my Walkman and eventually my Discman (I'm old, I know), a few coloring books and crayons, colored string to make friendship bracelets, and 9-10 books. Yes, 9-10 books for a week long trip. I probably read my way through most of the young-adult books at the Hunterdon County Library during my childhood. If I was lucky and didn't get car sick during the drive up, I could usually finish a book before we even reached our destination.

For me reading is about losing yourself in another world. It doesn't even have to be a world so different from ours, just that it's not my world - the world I live in every day. I "bond" with the characters, and as I reach the final pages of a book, I'm sad to see them go. The worst is when I finish a series where I've spent months with these characters going through their adventures book after book. When I finish the last book it's like I'm breaking up with them, and it's hard to start a new book for a few days because I'm not quite over the experience I had with my last ones. I've laughed out loud with some books, and in some you'll find tear stains on the pages as I've cried along with the characters. I get caught up in my books, it's my escape.

I'm also a little quirky about my books. If they're part of a series, they all have to be the same: all hardcover or all paperback, if they're paperback, they all have to be the same size. I try to do the same thing by author even if they're not in a series. Sometimes I wait months for the next book in a series until it's available in the format I've got the rest of the series in. It's probably because when they sit on my bookshelves, I organize them alphabetically by author (nerd-alert), and I want them all to look the same. If a book's been made into a movie, I try to find the books with the original cover art and not the ones with the movie poster cover (I also try to read the books before seeing the movie because they're always so much better, and you get more of the back story doing that). And, I will probably never switch to an e-reader of any kind because I like the weight of a book in my hand, I like turning the pages, and I like the way books smell.

Now, I rarely leave home without a book. You never know when you're going to have a few free minutes to get in a few pages here and there. I read in the parking lot if I get somewhere early, I read in the movie theater while I wait for the coming attractions to start. I read on my lunch break, I read before I go to bed.

So in a world of vices, I could do much worse than my obsession with books. Hopefully, when I eventually have kids, I can share this passion with them, and they can be voracious readers as well.

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.

Hi, my name is Mindy and I'm a sports-a-holic...

I was going to spend my first 3 real posts letting you in on how the components of this blog's title play dominant roles in my life and make me happy. I was going to do this in order - books first, followed by boys, and lastly sports - but right now the Championship game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is on, and while my mind is also on boys (I have a soft spot for jocks - go figure), it's pretty all consumed with sports, and so you shall get sports.

I've been a sports junkie for literally as far back as I can remember. I remember growing up with a little game my dad and I used to play where he would name a team, and I would tell him what city they played in including recent re-locations. I was 6 or 7. I played softball (rec, All-star, middle/high school), I played soccer, I played basketball (rec, AAU, middle/high school), and I even picked up a completely new sport in college just because - crew. I love sports. If my parents would have let me, I would have tried out for my high school football team, but apparently that's "not a sport for girls" and I "wouldn't be able to handle the pain" that comes with playing. I just wanted to play. I even love watching bull-riding (I'm a Yankee with another soft spot for cowboys).

Without sports, I'm not sure if I would be the person I am today. And not in that cheesy, sentimental, sports-changed-my-life sort of way (though that's entirely true). I mean it in the way that I eat, sleep and breathe sports. I still watch every Syracuse game I can find either on TV or online, and if we're not doing well, I'm swearing like a sailor at the screen (one of my flaws - I have a potty-mouth when I watch sports... it could be worse). I still hold old rivalries in my heart (like how tonight I still haven't decided who I'm rooting for because while I want to root for the Big East Conference because I competed in the Big East and it's home, as a Syracuse fan, I simply can't bring myself around to actually cheering for UCONN. Ever.)

During football season, I plan my errands and chores around Jets and Syracuse games (and now that I'll have a 2nd alma mater in June, scheduling just got that much tougher as I add Husky games to the list - the Washington kind not the UCONN kind obviously). I plan my errands during basketball season around when my Orange play. Hell, sometimes I even plan dinners out at the sports bar when there's a big game on so that I can watch, have some beers, and meet guys (Who's a multi-tasker? This girl. I'm not getting any younger and there's still no ring on this finger.)

And now, to top off this crazy obsession with sports, last May I quit my NYC advertising job (where I was actually working with sports, as one of my clients was a sports nutrition supplement) to go back to grad school so I could work in college sports. I plan on combining books(!) with sports and starting a career as an athletics academic advisor. I've come full circle.

And so my friends, this is my life of sports. Hi, my name is Mindy, and I'm a sports-a-holic. With that I will leave you with one of my favorite sports images of all time.

Until next time, I'll be enjoying my life of books, boys, sports and..., and I hope you'll be enjoying whatever it is that makes your life happy.