The world needs more love letters!

So those of you that follow me on Twitter or read my blog may know that I'm on the love letter writing team for the World Needs More Love Letters.

This is an amazing project that started out so simply, but has grown into something huge. Hannah was leaving love letters she wrote to strangers across New York City. She truly believed in the strength of reaching out, even to a stranger, to say "Someone cares about you, you're enough, you're loved, people are thinking about you." Through the connectedness of social media, soon Hannah was receiving requests for her love letters from people all over that needed some support or knew someone that was having a rough go. And so, in September 2011, The World Needs More Love Letters was born.

This is a project that is really close to my heart. And I think that's a pretty big deal coming from me. I'm kinda known for my cynicism and jaded-ness. My cynicism was born from the fact that we humans seem to forget that we've all got stories, we've all come from somewhere and we're all in this together. I believe in More Love Letters, because it reminds people that we're all in this together and if we were all able to show a little more love, the world could truly be a better place.

Love Letters is looking for some support right now and with Valentine's Day coming up, I was thinking what better way to show your loved ones you care about them than by sharing the love and supporting Love Letters. We could really use some help paying for all those stamps. Please visit the IndieGoGo campaign for More Love Letters or think about adopting a Love Letters Bundle or writing some love letters of your own to leave behind in your neighbourhood.

Geeks like sports, too.

I admit freely that I'm a geek. I love books, I love school (generally), I have an irrational love for office supplies and stationary. I believe in life long learning. I'm into geeky things like fair trade and social innovation. I like indy music and movies. I like graphic design, typography, mucking about in CSS. In high school, I took every music course offered, loved drama and I was in the high school production of Hair and Les Mis. I love the Thundercats, TMNT, X-Men, Transformers. I blog. I play WoW.

So, yes. I think I've established my geekiness sufficiently. Would you like me to get to my point?

Okay, here it is; I'm an NBA fan.

And I find it a little surprising that some people still don't understand how I could possibly love all things geeky...and the NBA, too.

Sports, especially basketball, have always had a sentimental and nostalgic value for me. My grandfather loved sports, he was a major Celtics fan. I spent many, many Saturday afternoons watching my brothers play for the local rec team. After my dad's accident, I have memories of shooting hoops in the driveway with him and my brothers and feeling like my dad was his old self again. Before my brothers and I all moved out and went to school, we would go to games together. Sometimes it would just be us. Sometimes we'd bring partners or friends. When I chose radio broadcasting in college? It was because one of my dream jobs was to be a sportscaster. It was always fun and always exciting. I like the fact that the league sets out rules about how players should treat each other, their coaches, officials and fans. And I LOVE that they don't condone fighting, like certain other pro leagues (Hockey, I'm looking at you).

I've surprised men I've dated by actually backing up my 'I like sports' claim by being able to talk NBA with them and never complain about having to catch the game. I went through NBA withdrawal when I lived in a country where the NBA wasn't relevant.

I have teams that I follow (Raptors! Celtics! And more recently... Clippers), I can talk about the sport. I know players' names, I know the rules. I do shout at my TV like a crazy person and curse the officials when they make a (in my opinion) bad call.

And tonight? I'll be doing lots of that cuz it's GAME DAY.

So don't tell me that I can't be both a geek and an NBA fan. Because I think my love for the sport hits geekdom levels.

What's something about you that people find surprising or doesn't fit with their idea of who you are and what you're about?

Ten on Tuesday: The One Where We're Punks

Time for another Ten on Tuesday from the lovely Chelsea. Even if she did call us all punks. If you have ten questions for a Ten on Tuesday, please submit them to her!

1. How do you feel about Groundhog’s Day?

I don't really have any particular feelings about GHD...

2. What color are your fingernails right now? (Bonus points if you include a picture.)

Red! The official title of it is Right Said Red. I'd post a picture, but it's chipping a bit.

Orrr, fine. I caved to peer pressure.

3. Do you like riddles?

No....Yes. Wait, is this a trick question?

4. When you were 10, how old did you think “old” was? At your current age, how old do you think “old” is?

When I was younger, I thought that 30 was really old. At my current age, I still think 30 is old. Which is why I'm going to be very, very sad in about a year and three months.

5. Do you wish on stars?

haha, aww. I don't. I don't subscribe to that sort of thing. I'd a tad cynical.

6. Do you recycle?

Yup, I recycle and do the green bin thing too.

7. On a scale from 1-10, how good of a cook are you?

I think I'm a passable cook, so maybe 6? Now if you asked if I like to cook.... that's a whole other story.

8. Do you color your hair? Professionally or at home?

When I could afford to, I would have my hair coloured professionally. But lately it costs something like $200 to have my hair done... And that's nearly a mortage payment. So I'm happy to do it myself again. Also? The DIY hair colouring stuff is much nicer than I remember from when I used to colour by hair when I was a sneaky brat at 16. Less scalp burning. Less messy.

9. One a scale from 1-10, how do you rate your manners?

It depends on the situation. Haha. Probably between a 7 or an 8. I reckon.

10. Who are the last 5 people you have texted?

1. Mike

2. Kevin

3. Barb

4. Trevor

5. Tom

Threat Level: Crazy

Ever walk into work, or a party or a family function and get that 'Ruh roh, there be some crazy vibes up in here' feeling?

Sometimes, it's a bit easier to spot. Your friend has the crazy eyes going on. Or your brother greets you at the door of a family function with a glass of wine in one hand for you, the whole bottle in his other hand -- for him.

Those clear, visual warning signs that there is some crazy going on. Or that the potential for crazy is high.

But sometimes, you're left to fend for yourself. Sometimes, the crazy sneaks up without warning.

Wouldn't a warning sign be nice?

So, I was thinking about the threat level scale and how useful and helpful it would be to have a crazy threat level scale, ranging from sane and rational to batshizz crazy. I figure it could be helpful for many occasions; judging the crazy threat level for everything from the workplace environment, to social gatherings, to family functions, to blind dates.

So here you go, internetters. The GFM approved, crazy threat level scale:

Indigo: Normal. All situations calm, peaceful, rational. This is ideally the default level. Hopefully.

Green: Twilight Zone. All situations odd, strange, a little bizzare. But for the most part, harmless.

Orange: WTAF (What the Actual F**k). All situations feeling some crazy. To the point where you're looking around for the hidden camera, or pinching yourself to make sure you're not having that crazy dream again.

Red: Batshizz. All situations are BSC. Everything and everyone is so crazy that you're starting to question that maybe you're the one that's nuts. Time to strap yourself in, cuz you're in for one craaaaazy ride. If batshizz level were a hashtag it would be #whatisthisidonteven.

So, there you do, internets. You're welcome.

...Wanna take a stab at where my day is falling on the crazy threat level scale?

Ten on Tuesday: It's baaaaack.

Ten on Tuesday is back! Hosted by the wonderful Chelsea (send this girl some love, please). This week's questions come from Kara's Chatter.

1. What’s your variety of apple?

I love galas and red delicious apples...especially straight from the tree. I love autumn and wandering in orchards and going to the pick your own places.

2. Do you prefer Long-English or Field cucumbers?

I like the English cucumbers.

3. Tomatoes – Delicious or disgusting?

I love tomatoes. I love hot house ones and grape tomatoes, especially.

4. What’s one fruit or vegetable that you can’t stand and why is that?

Hmmm. This is a tough one. Fennel, maybe? I'm not too keen on something that has heaps of fennel in it.

5. What’s your favourite way to prepare veggies? (Grilled, boiled, roasted, sautéed, etc.)

Grilled or raw.

6. Sweet potato pie: Love it or hate it?

Eww, gross. Hate.

7. What’s your favourite “style” of French fry? Wedges, shoelace, curly, crinkle-cut or other?

Wedges, the closer to the actual potato they came from, the better.

8. What’s your favourite fruit-pie filling?

Apple!

9. When you were a kid did your parents make you sit at the table until all your veggies were eaten off your plate?

No, my parents didn't ever really force anything on me or my sibs. Plus, I was vegetarian-leaning from a very young age, so there was no fighting to get me to eat veggies.

10. Do you drink veggie & fruit juice blends (such as V8, etc.) or make them yourself?

I don't really drink them, I'd much rather have the whole fruit or veggie than drink it in a juice form. Some of them are thick and that's gross or they're over-processed and sugary. Also gross.

GFM tries to get more sleep

Guys, can you believe it's the last day of January already?

What the.

So I may have mentioned that I'm taking part in Katherine and Stephany's brilliant project, 12 Changes in 2012. It's not too late to join, so really, give it a go.

My change for January was all about sleep. I've never been a great sleeper.

My mother loves to tell the story about how she went to work one day and was talking in her staff room about how excited she was that her daughter (me!) finally slept through the night. A co-worker asked her how old I was. My mother said "9." The co-worker was impressed. "Wow, sleeping through the night by 9 months, that's great." Then my mum had to tell her that I was 9 years old, not months.

Typically, during the week, I'm in bed by about midnight and asleep by 1am. I get up around 6am. So if I was lucky, I would get five hours of sleep. So not working for me.

For my January change, I wanted to be sure to be in bed between 11pm and 11:30pm, so I was asleep before midnight. Baby steps, right?

The getting more sleep thing was awesome for the first few days. Then it seemed like no matter how much I slept, I could never get enough sleep. They're not kidding when they say you have to pay back your sleep debt hour for hour.

I'm still going to have to keep at this better sleep thing, but it's a worthwhile change.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do these in order, because up next on my list is the drink more water thing, but I also start back to school in February, too (Change #10).

1. Go to bed before midnight during the week

2. Drink more water

3. Be more purposeful about working out

4. Eat breakfast and lunch daily

5. Always take makeup off before going to sleep

6. Purge and keep closet better organized

7. Be consistent with the dog (aka keep her training up)

8. Do laundry once a week and put it away (NO waiting until there are no clean clothes left)

9. Keep business receipts organized to make taxes easier
10. Get back into PD

11.

12.

Not so fast.

I'm not a fan of winter. I'm very clear about that.

And I find this time of the year, the end of January through to the end of February to be extra difficult. My mid-winter funk seems extra stubborn this year.

That being said, I decided that I would take a different approach to winter funk yesterday. I was totally ready to say 'Eff you, winter! I don't care that the lack of sunshine and crappy weather is getting to me, I'm going to have a great day.'

I may have even thrown in a 'So there!' for good measure.

And so, I was off to start what was going to be a epic day, because I decided to get my attitude and energy in line with it. They say it's 90% attitude after all, right? Isn't someone making a lot of money selling a book and DVDs about this concept? So, well-prepared with my 'Let's get it!' attitude, I was ready to start my day. And it was going to be fantastic.

But then winter said 'Not so fast, GFM. '

I got to work and discovered 157 new emails and at least 4 fires to put out. Then I got a sad call about a client of mine. Then a text from my Dad with more sad news. I spilt coffee all over my desk and myself, I had to take a meeting to cover for a sick co-worker that left me looking unprepared and ridiculous and then at the very end of the day, I had two very dodgy blokes come into the office, who got up in everyone's grill and refused to leave, and made me late to meet my brother.

It was a bad, bad day.

Despite the fact that I had told myself it wasn't going to be.

So, besides proving books like the Secret are bogus, what else did I learn from my failed attempt at taking the positive attitude approach to influence the way my day was going to go?

I learned that bad days happen. It's a reality. Does that mean that I should abandon the idea of trying to start my days off on a positive note? No, cuz sometimes bad days can be avoided.

But it's also good to know they're not always avoidable. And that's okay, too.

So maybe my mid-winter funk is hanging around, maybe things aren't all sunshine and unicorns and sparkles right now. Maybe I'm having some bad days while I figure it all out. But as Katie explained in this wonderful post, that's okay.

And it gives me an excuse to listen to amazing acoustic covers in the meantime.

Own your own

Remember when I said I was rubbish at blogging?

It was totally not a lie.

But beyond that, I've found it nearly impossible to blog as of late. I've been all 'I should blog.' But then I don't. And there is a very specific reason for that.

I've actually wanted to post things, but I was recently reminded that people can be jerks and can be too full of themselves. So I've been censoring myself a little lately, in the aim of 'not offending anyone'. But to be honest, it's nearly impossible to make everyone happy. And the funny thing about happiness? You kinda have to own your own happiness. You can't expect to get it from other people, it's something that you have to make happen for you. So whereas I do not purposely intend to offend or make someone else unhappy, pissed off, miserable...if I do, it's nothing personal. And it's not up to me to make everyone happy. Own your own happiness, we're all adults here, right?

Right?

And if I do something that really offends you? Talk to me about it. It's not like I'm hard to reach.

And now, a song for this dreary Thursday.

"I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

You know the one that takes you to the places

where all the veins meet, yeah..."