thump, thump, thump...

that's me falling off the wagon...and now i'm trying to catch up. eek.

anyway, today i read a pretty interesting article. i'm not sure if it's handy for me professionally anymore but i think it applies to everyone. meaning don't become so entrenched in your little life that you are completely isolated from the rest of the world.

others and their crazy lives are very fascinaing and i'm sure we have a lot to learn from them. plus being up-to-date and aware of cultural ongoings makes you a much more interesting person.

How To Surf A Trend - Forbes.com
Atoosa Rubenstein 08.28.07, 6:00 PM ET

One of my former competitors once cornered me at a party a couple of months after she'd been relieved of her duties. "How did you always know who to put on the cover?" She was referring to the fact that while I was editor of Seventeen and CosmoGIRL!, we'd often take chances putting rising stars on the covers--and hit home runs. Truth be told, I've always enjoyed surfing trends--I love the poetry of the process. So Forbes asked for a little surfing lesson. Here's what works for me.

Surround yourself in culture. There can't be any differentiation between your personal life and your work in this regard. You can't only tune into ball games the second you leave the office. You must submerge in The Ocean (pop culture) full-time, because it changes every second and to understand it, you need to live with it. Eat what your audience eats. Sleep when they sleep. That way, when they are about to crave something, so are you. But you (smartie!) will always crave it first--because you're aware of it and always checking for those cravings.

Loosen up. I've met people who are so uptight about hitting trends for their job that they're a total wreck. You can't approach the study of culture that way, because your entry point is all wrong. People who create trends are doing so because they're enjoying themselves. If you're so tense about getting it right, you'll probably over-think little details and get behind the wrong wave. Wipe out!

Go outside your comfort zone. You can't be a creature of habit. Even if you think you're surrounding yourself in culture, be careful not to fall into a rut. In other words, don't only tune into VH1 because it happens to be hot right now and think you're doing your homework. You need to always be scanning. And the best way is to ...

Make friends with people that are cooler than you. Or, OK, you may have to hire them. Oh, and if you're hiring them? Listen to them, please. Almost a year ago, I was having lunch with Bec Stupak, an edgy video artist I was collaborating with on a project. Side note: She has dreadlocks and wears super-wild clothing. She mentioned I should definitely download this movie called The Secret from the Internet. I was like "OK, sweetie." And let's just say, I didn't make it to that Web site until Oprah told me to go. Too late, dumb Atoosa.

See, I didn't know that Bec was one of those types of colleagues. I underestimated her. Now, she's one part of my secret sauce. At the magazines, I had my entertainment editor, Carissa Rosenberg. Have at least three very cool people in your life. They will know about trends before the mainstream is craving them. And listen to them--no matter what their hair looks like. If anything, their non-conformism is what gives them the bravery to surf waters you don't even know exist.

Don't be chicken. The best, most exciting new trends are the ones that the research department (sorry, researchers of America) doesn't pick up. They're happy accidents. And sometimes, they may seem highly unlikely. That's when you have to trust your gut. If you've been doing all of the above and something--just something--tells you that those "Gear" clutch handbags with the bubbles from the '80s are going to be hot, then listen to that something.

While I was editor in chief of Seventeen, I saw most of my competitors get canned or go out of business. In my opinion, their biggest mistake was trusting research departments more than their gut. Going back to the cover analogy: I always found that the celebrities who rated highest in research never sold best. Readers would check off the celebrities that they were currently being saturated with while they were filling out the surveys. Consumers have no way of knowing they want the thing they don't know about yet. We were Gwen Stefani's first major magazine cover (our head of circulation thought I was insane for putting a weird pink-haired girl on the cover). The same for the Olsen Twins (again--lots of raised eyebrows). The same for Paris Hilton (um, yeah ... sorry about that!). But most important--they sold very well for us.

But forget about me, let's go back to you. Your homework for tonight: Go watch the documentary The Endless Summer and study those surfers. Do what they do. The good news is, you won't have to wear a swimsuit in front of your colleagues to be a surf champ.

(Atoosa Rubenstein left the job of editor in chief of Seventeen magazine to start her own digital business, and blogs to the delight of her legion of fans at www.myspace.com/atoosaspage. She has also started a consultancy advising companies how to speak to the teen market.)

what i heart today...

six feet under

granola from big sky bread company...so good yet so bad

the new rilo kiley album

cynthia's nyc pics and stories

button cash

good phlebotomists

e coming home to stay for awhile

my new low flow showerhead...that was free and ROCKS

charbroiled chicken sandwich at chick-fil-a

i got nothin...

other than i was down 1.6lbs today and promptly ate something bad. not as bad as i wanted to be...and i guess that's a good thing.

i'm tired today and very sneezy. and i also found out that we will likely need to replace our a/c sooner than later. which in turn led me to eat bad and completely avoid exercise.

i'm going to try and exercise in the a.m. wish me luck.

well the good news is...

summer is almost over.

but the bad news is my a/c is broken again and it is currently 86 degrees in my house.

but i have more good news. i've recently taken a liking to vanilla vodka and coke, and currently have some in my tummy so i don't mind the 86 degrees so much.

i swear i'm an inch of stress away from being an obese alcoholic.

tomorrow is weigh in and i've only exceeded my weekly point limit by 8 points (for the second straight week). i'll update you with my sad status.

it was a good weekend. but i don't feel very rested. but that waffle last night (to blame for the before mentioned 8 points) was quite tasty.

i've mentioned that i am participating in race for the cure and well i'm joining a team if anyone wants to join the fun.

what's up buttercup?

sigh. today was a long day. i like my new job. i really do but today was annoying. and i could go into how and why but i won't.

i do miss familiar people. i miss the veginini and the opportunitiy to go to thai kitchen and cheevers. i miss my morning walk to get coffee and oatmeal.

but i do love my jeans, my short commute. and how my bosses buy us dessert at lunch and bring healthy snacks to the office.

so all is well.

e has been home this week and once again i had to adjust my routine to his routine. and my cleaning habits.

i'm busy this weekend helpin e get ready for a band outing and again i have a bunch of buttons to make.

on monday i weighed in at ww. i lost .4lbs...most people loose a couple of lbs. but as someone pointed out to me .4lbs lost is better than .4lb gained...and well that's true.

i must admit though i'm struggling. i do really well until about half-way through the week and then it becomes a huge monkey on my back but without that monkey - i just turn into a piggly wiggly. so i just continue to the "food does not rule you" speech and look forward to spending my extra points, which i've spent most of this week...only two days left until i get to start all over.

and just a follow-up to an earlier post. the pita chips are yummy but the package is very small and is high in points. 3 to be exact. and beware of bean burritos...sadly much higher than i would have expected.

this week wasn't my best exercising week but i did do C25K twice this week and plan to run again tomorrow.

i must go drink some water now.

did i mention...

that i re-joined weight watchers this week. i don't need to lose a lot of weight. but i do need to get control over my eating habits. so i have another meeting on monday which is what has kept me from completely eating everything in my sight the last couple of days.

unfortunately i only have 2.5 points left for today, 6 for the week and i'm heading to the office picnic tonight. bbq and ww points are not friends. and everyone knows i HATE the bbq. i know...it's un-american.

but i've kept myself fairly in check and have counted all my points and exercised 4 days this week and plan to this weekend. so i'm only going to beat myself up a little.

i'm tired tonight. i haven't been sleeping well this week...a little spooked for some reason. but i'm happy to report that e is heading home on sunday.

have i mentioned that i've been watching weeds on dvd. that show is insane. it's funny and quirky and you can call me lame or old for this but i am amazed at some of the content and that they can actually document it and put it out there for everyone to see. i feel a little guilty or dirty or something but then i just watch it and laugh.

tomorrow i'm heading to the farmers market and the y. and then there are more buttons to make and floors to vacuum.

i just want to know...

why can't i be one of those girls...you know...the girls that don't daydream and get excited about cheesburgers, peanut m&m's and salty heavenly things. when i saw the below the snack package in a bag of 6...i'm pretty sure i squeeled.



the best pita chips in town.

i'm good. the job is good. i'm pretty busy and have already acquired a lengthy list which is good but a little different for me. tomorrow evening is a company picnic...word is there are going to be turtle races, sack races and bbq. ehhh...i'll let you know how it goes. e won't be home so i'll be heading there as the semi-single girl.

i have a new pet...a fish named tony. he's going to the office.

i have about a billion and twelve buttons to make so i better go get busy. austin city limits festival is coming so i gotta go earn some button cash.

hey...tomorrow is friday. hot diggity.

lunchtime...

Drove home.

Took Blu for a small walk.

Checked the mailbox.

Made a turkey wrap.

Ate my turkey wrap.

Visited a couple of Web sites.

Washed a few dishes.

Put clothes in the washing machine.

Took Blu outside for a final potty.

Drove back to work.

Priceless…except for the covered parking spot.

i'd just like to mention...

that when it rained for weeks straight earlier this summer...did i complain. no. did i compare us to seattle...i don't think so. honestly i liked it. it was summer and rainy but the temperature was lovely. and now not so lovely...it's freakity frakin hot. and one of the things that i gave up when i retrieved my soul from the state of oklahoma was covered parking. oh how i do miss the covered parking...i do like having my soul back but my hot steering wheel sucks.

please come back rain.

since i've started the new gig i've been reading more "greenish" stuff and i thought i would share a few highlights.

• did you know that meat is treated with carbon monoxide...neither did i.
• the state of California has taken the lead in the world of school gardening by allocating $15 million to help foster more gardens in the state’s 6,000 schools where kids can learn more about protecting the environment and eating healthier as well...that's great they will now know how to grow carrots but won't have recess or PE.
• it's true...anyone can make a difference.

and lastly, two movies that i'm excited about. cheesy...probably but i can't help it.

oh bollocks...

so i picked up a book at the thrift store a few weeks back. it's by nick hornby and is called "long way down." anyway, i bought it because hornby also wrote "about a boy' and 'high fidelity," which i've seen the movies and liked. so i've been reading this book and decided to watch "about a boy" again because i remember liking it a lot. to make my long story short, hornby is english and so i've been in a constant state of bollocks, bugger, cheeky and all sorts of british words. and they are just fun.

but really i do feel like saying oh bollocks because i've been talking recently about running in race for the cure in october with anne. well anne and i have not discussed lately but i did mention it to my sister a couple of weeks ago. well yesterday, i see my lovely sister and oh bollocks! she is actually planning on running it with me and has been training. me...not so much. i suppose i should get serious.

i'm tired and think i'm done here.

have i ever mentioned...

that i love frosted animal crackers. crackers my foot...they are clearly cookies.











i know. i know it's surprising another food item that i love to shove in my mouth. with the spiral i'm in...i might as well get me some captain crunch too.

other than my insistance on eating everything...i'm good. this weekend has been good. a couple of movies, a little family time tomorrow and some busy work.

work is still good. i finally marked some things off my list on friday and that was a good feeling. and thursday i was sent to an all day seminar...granted my boss didn't tell me until around 11am. i think he's fairly spastic.

and the countdown has begun. e should be home in about a week.

sigh.

2lbs a day...

when i was younger i remember my dad joking on holidays that it didn't matter how much he ate because you could only gain 2lbs a day...and he wasn't really bothered by the possibility of gaining 2lbs...as if losing 2lbs is easy breezy.

anyway, yesterday and today i've tried to test this theory. i'm half-way blaming it on pms and the other half on the red bucket at my new office. this red bucket always has candy in it...the nice I.T. man likes to fill it with goodies. he especially likes the dove with caramel - have you had those. delightful.

but i did exercise this morning. good for me. and i'm very tired. i was planning on tomorrow morning as well but then i realized tomorrow is a blood day. exercise=dehydration=stingy veins. so no exercise tomorrow...well darn it.

feeling a little...

frustrated |ˈfrəsˌtrātid| adjective feeling or expressing distress and annoyance, esp. because of inability to change or achieve something : young people get frustrated with the system. • [ attrib. ] (of a person) unable to follow or be successful in a particular career : a frustrated actor. • [ attrib. ] prevented from progressing, succeeding, or being fulfilled : our parents may want us to fulfill their own frustrated dreams.

(interestingly enough, there is a whole definition of frustrated that deals with s-e-x and when i say frustrated i don't mean that...at least not today.)

lazy |ˈlāzē| adjective ( lazier , laziest ) 1 unwilling to work or use energy : I'm very lazy by nature | he was too lazy to cook. • characterized by lack of effort or activity : lazy summer days. • showing a lack of effort or care : lazy writing. • (of a river) slow-moving.

today is my first day at work that i feel the least bit unhappy and i realize it's because i'm frustrated. i can't do anything without asking questions and i've yet to mark anything off my list. everything is just complicated right now...i know it's normal but that doesn't keep from being annoying.

and i feel lazy because i've been trying to get out of bed early for the past four work days and i've yet to do it...lazy, lazy...that's what you can call me.

the new employee...

today there was a new employee lunch for me and another new lady. i was discussing this outing with a friend and how awkward it was - the question was raised, are all new employee lunches just weird and awkward. and i think they are...you go out with a group of people who know each other (and sometimes don't like each other) and you know no one. and well sometimes no one really talks to you...which is odd to me because it's a lunch in your honor. you would think people would talk to you, learn about you, ultimately seem interested in you...but this is not the case.

my last job, you know the state one...it was by the far the weirdest new employee luncheon i've ever had...there were 5 people who barely talked and showed absolutely no interest in any meaningful "get to know each other" conversation. i remember thinking this lunch is going nowhere and i must lead the conversation so i made them talk about themselves. later i realized this group was also by far the most dysfunctional group of co-workers i ever had so in the end it all made sense.

but really the lunch today was nice and i think they were trying to be welcoming. and the owner did buy and purchased both an appetizer and dessert. as opposed to my cheap ass state boss who made my co-workers split up the meal. that part still makes me laugh.

job is good. i still haven't been exercising. i'm thinking about it and i'm feeling guilty. my week is pretty busy, thanks to some planning on my part. tomorrow i think i'm going to wear shorts.

in honor of christopher walken in hairspray, which i caught tonight, i spread some crazy walken around. this makes me smile every time.

i finally did it...

i jumped on the simpson's bandwagon.

it's another crazy friday night...

alone.

i'm not nearly as depressed as that sounded but i am a bit on the low end of the happy scale. i realized this evening that e will be gone for another 2-1/2 weeks...geez. but i decided this is the way it is, so i can mope, eat too much and refuse to exercise or i can do just the opposite. and i figure i'll go with the opposite because the moping, eating and lazy approach get me no where.

i make no promises but i'm going to try.

so tonight i went to target. bought some groceries and perused the clothing. i must admit that after shopping for dressy work clothes for the past 12 years of my life, shopping and forcing myself to not look at dressy stuff is weird. very weird. it's good but weird. if only i could get away with some flip-flops.

speaking of shoes...tonight i also stopped by the new DSW and i have never seen so many flats in my life. seriously, rows and rows of flats. i can't wear flip-flops but thank goodness flats are all the rage. i've said it before and i'll say it again...flats are going to define us...we will be the flat generation that refuses to go back to heals. in 10 years we will be lame because we're still in the ballet flats.

so there you go. tomorrow i'm going for a walk with a. and i'm going to try and make it to the farmer's market. i might sew a bag too.

today i saw this preview and thought it looked interesting. my favorite line is the one about following your dreams...so true.



happy weekending.

gotta make this quick...

because i'm starting fresh tomorrow...fresh meaning i'm getting back on the wagon. keeping up with points and exercising. and my goal is to get up in the morning...i figure if i get up early that will be a good time to exercise and i will be tired a night so i will be able to sleep now that e is gone. we will see if my plan works.

i think i'm going to try and blog about this and this can be my accountability...(laughter) as if i haven't tried this approach before. anyway, i figure most of you are in the same diet boat with me so i'm not even going to worry about my history of diet/blog failures. take that negative nagging brain...that's my brain i'm talking to.

so i will weigh tomorrow and post some number...maybe my loss goal...not the goal weight...that sounds not so intimidating.

plus, i'm doing race for the cure in october and i have to start running soon.

and you're probably wondering about the job...and thanks to everyone for keeping nice tabs on me and sending me your covetous thoughts. today was good. i spent the morning with the graphic designer i've replaced. keep in mind that they decided to focus more on marketing with hiring me with the idea they could outsource design work. anyway, things are a bit clearer today. and i think tomorrow i will dive into some things.

speaking of diving...today after being "trained" i dove into the biggest pile of crap i've ever seen piled in a small office/cubicle/jimmy-rigged space. for some reason my predecessor (probably because he's a "designer" or a simply a he) didn't clean out anything. he just kept everything and moved around it. so i cleaned today. a lot. and some of you know...my kitchen may not be clean but my desk at work is always clean. it's true...as odd as that sounds.

so i still feel good about things. there are things that seem a bit odd. the owner and his wife (aka the vp and my real boss) are very different and have an odd relationship in the office and i'm trying to figure them out. i'm also trying to wrap my mind around my role (ie. change in position)...i suppose that will come with time.

in the meantime, i'm good.

one other thing before i head that way, i watched shut up and sing tonight. the documentary about the dixie chicks. it was pretty good and pretty shocking.

americans are crazy...especially those red necked ones.