Life as Continuous Feast

Mmmm... Pumpkin Cheescake.  Yum-O.

It's a shame my family observes vegetarianism on Thanksgiving, but one thing I am grateful for is that we don't ignore bread, cakes or other concoctions that have egg in it (yes, we consider fish and eggs as meat) on the days that we choose to vegetarian.  Although we haven't really had a Thanksgiving feast in a couple of years, you can be sure that the next time we do have one, pumpkin cheesecake will be on the menu, for sure.  I think pumpkin adds moisture to the cheesecake base - that, and the addition of cinnamon or nutmeg makes the concoction very warm in taste but very light and creamy in texture.

Last Sunday, I went to the Cheesecake Factory in Cambridge, MA while visiting my cousin at MIT.  My family and I ordered a smorgasbord of appetizers and two scrumptious pieces of cheesecake (pumpkin and pina colada) to finish off the meal.  (Just to let you know where this is all coming from, it's past midnight right now, I'm a bit tired and I'm remembering the taste of that delicious cake.  Hence, I gave it a tribute with today's opening paragraph.)

Speaking of food, I just read Food Network Star Aarti Sequiera's blog and she spoke of a friend for whom life is a continuous feast.  With that in mind, and the fact that we literally are in between Thanksgiving and Christmas (aka food and feast season), I was inspired to name today's post what it is.

What has been up with me lately?  B-school applications.  What has it made me do? Reflect on my life, the highlights and lowlights.  The outcome?  I may not have invented the toaster or single handedly organized 4,000 people to come together for a great cause, but I have put myself in challenging positions (i.e. raising $3100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and I know I have the ability to overcome any obstacle the comes my way.

What I definitely know and believe is that if you know why you want to make a certain move and it makes perfect sense to you, others will be convinced, too.  It's crucial for a person to be united within him or herself. The rest is cake :)

P.S-  Isn't this picture of pumpkin cheesecake just divine???  Check out the earth tones that are visible on that  slice...

Inspiration Session

Yesterday was November 30th; it was a Tuesday and it was my birthday (yay!).  In previous years, I remember scrambling to get things done before my birthday or a new year began because I wanted to feel relaxed or even accomplished on some levels.  This year, I was able to achieve it without really trying. I was able to organize myself in terms of e-mails, readings, miscellaneous things that I just hadn't gotten to before, so when I stepped into the 26th year of my life, I felt lighter and it felt great.

I was also inspired yesterday by a speech I heard that reminded me of why I went into media in the first place. The world is constantly changing and I love knowing what's going on in it.  Media is the portal that allows people to know the past in order to understand the present and forecast the future.  Media allows you to connect the dots.

Speaking of connecting the dots, yesterday's speech also reminded me of something else that I find inspirational:
Steve Job's Commencement Speech in 2005 at Stanford University.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, just remember the key points below that come from the three stories from Jobs' speech: "Connect the dots", "Love and Loss", & "Death"

1.  (04:55) "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect the dots looking backward, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future..."
Translation:  Follow your heart/gut and believe that it will all work out in the end

2. (08:06) "You've got to find  what you love - and that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers... if you haven't found it yet, keep looking and don't settle"

3. (09:45) "Remembering that you are going to die is the best trap I know to avoid thinking you have something to lose."
    (12:17)"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."
    (12:30)"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition; they somehow already know what you
               truly want to become- everything else is secondary."
    (14:10) "Stay hungry. Stay Foolish" - final words on the last issue of The Whole Earth Catalog

A boost of inspiration is like a dose of adrenaline shot right into your veins; it pumps you up and makes you feel refreshed and revitalized.  Hope the message above stays with you as it has with me!

A Surprise to My Ears and Eyes: Cynthia Nixon

Tenacity.  In Cynthia Nixon's entire speech at the Women's Event 13, this was the part that stood out the most.  According to her partner, Christine, when Cynthia was calling legislators to schedule meetings with them, she would politely call the offices herself and ask to schedule a meeting.  When the offer was declined, she would politely say thank you and hang up.  And call the next day.  And the next day.  And the next day.  She would call each day, ask the same question and respond the same way until each legislator agreed to meet with her.  Her partner also mentioned that Cynthia uses this approach in her every day life as well -  and manages to get exactly what she wants. 

I was very impressed.  I had signed up for the Women's Event 13 as a corporate volunteer, bribed by the fact that Cynthia Nixon, one of the lovely actresses from Sex and the City, was being honored for her contributions to the LGBT community.  I didn't know anything about her, except that she was a great actress, but I quickly became impressed by her intelligence and her poignancy.  To give you a brief example, she stated the following about her fellow LGBT community members "... it doesn't matter if we flew here or swam here, the fact of the matter is that we ARE here."  Sigh. I don't think I do her justice, but she really had such great delivery.  She was also very sweet.  I was able to meet her personally and she graciously thanked me for the compliments I gave her, then kindly agreed  to take a picture with me and the Director of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus, Charles Beale (below).  She also made a follower out of me with her tenacious approach.  My soulmate (whoever he is) should start preparing :)

P.S.  below the picture with Cynthia Nixon, you will find a picture of the dessert table at the event, which took place at Pier 61 in Chelsea Piers.  The picture does not do the buffet justice, but I assure you, it was delicous and very elegantly set up. 

On a seperate note, whoot whoot to Media Studies... so glad I fell into this world :)

Cynthia Nixon, myself and my partner in landing a picture with her,
the Director of the New York City Gay Men's Chorus, Charles Beale

Fondue and brownies and tarts, oh my!

Life as a Soundtrack

Green Day is an amazing band but my respect for the trio multiplied when I listened to American Idiot.  Not only is it a great album, but each song is a chapter of a story that sounds as though it was written in one key. The band brings the expression, "Life has a soundtrack" to life.

I love it when I walk down the street, and the perfect song is on to match my mood or my pace. However, I do believe that every day is a new song, a new chapter, even if I can't always here it. Although I can't predict what will happen next, or how fast or slow a song will be, you will always find me moving to the music.

For the past three years, a recurring pattern of notes in my soundtrack belongs to MTV Networks.  I never thought that the age of 25, I would be working in the media industry or at MTVN, of all places. When I was 13, my parents blocked my MTV because they felt that the content was inappropriate for me. I always thought I would end up in medicine.  Fast forward 12 year later, and they cannot help but proudly mention to their friends that I work at MTVN, home of the #1 media brand in the world-MTV. In the words of Alanis Morissette, "Well, isn't that ironic?"

My time at MTVN has been a bit of a whirlwind.  I started off as a temp a month after finishing college and was hired permanently three months later.  In the past 3 years I have been priveleged to work with incredibly talented people across multiple departments of the company.  The people here are willing to share information, tell you how they came to where they are and help you any way they can.  By meeting with people in programming, human resources, strategy, etc., I was able to learn what I was most passionate about at this point of my career- marketing and professional development.

MTV offers affinity groups that help you meet other people within the organization. One such group is Thursday Think which fosters professional growth.  I currently lead the professional development committee which allows me to encourage diversity and promote professional development within the organization.  

Thursday Think really makes me feel that I am making an impact on the company.  This past June, some of the TT leaders and I were able to bring in Kelly Cutrone, aka Mama Wolf, author of If You Have to Cry, Go Outside.  Below you can see a picture of her with some of the board members.  Unfortunately, I was not there for this specific picture because I ran to catch my flight to San Diego for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Kelly's book was an inspiration to me.  She never thought she would work in PR much less run her own PR firm or have her own TV show.  However, she still takes care of her family, takes pleasure in what she does and lives her life honestly.  Kelly is willing to take each day as it comes and live it the best way she can. She is inspring as a businessperson and as a woman. When she came to speak to us at MTVN she was as honest and straightforward with us as she is on TV and in her book.

It took me some time to realize what I enjoy doing and that is okay.  Kelly made me feel that it is okay to not know what you want to do with the rest of the your life but that you must always be honest and true to yourself.  In other words, you must always move to the music.


Today's Chapter includes music by the following artist:  Natasha Bedingfield- "Pocketful of Sunshine"