let's see . . . . my last post was October 13th? So I guess you guys are due a Happy\Merry Halloween, Veteran's Day, Election Day, Ramadan, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Channukah, Boxing Day, New Year's and the ever important 3King's Day (or Day of the Epiphany) . . . .whew!
Now that I have gotten the formalities out of the way. What's good? Yeah I know I have been slacking, '06 was a busy year for your boy and I am hoping to make '07 just as busy or more.
So if you have been a member of this exclusive, sensible group of extraordinary people in the know about this blog - from the pre-blog, fill your inbox up with email, days - then you may remember that almost a year ago, to the day, I recommended drafting a to-do list. The list should be of attainable goals. Setting your goal to be "Win a date with Arden", while flattering and charming, would be an example of an unattainable goal, as I have a girlfriend. However setting your goal to be "Tell Arden he has amazing facial bone structure and an Adonnus-like form", is completey attainable, and in fact encouraged :-)
No, but seriously, they could be part of a bigger goal (i.e. payoff my debts by the end of the year so i can start saving for a house next year.) , or they could be a goal in and of itself (do volunteer project abroad before the year is up). I figured I would revisit that in the spirit of resolution making (or lack thereof) being done with this new year. Here's the flashback (cue: soap opera lighting, aka vaseline on the camera lens and chords being played on a harp) -
So how was everyone's '05? Big things? Small things? Any thing? Hopefully something. It would be a shame for a year to go by and the only thing you have to show for it is a desire for '06 - that would suck. Not to bring you down or anything if this is you, but that sucks. Life's too short man. Like OutKast said (actually I think they got it from someone else's song too) - "You need to get up get out and do something . . ." If this is you, make a list. It's nothing new - people have been doing it for ages, but making a to-do list has worked for me for the past year and a half or so, so I am sharing it with you. Make a list of things you've always wanted to do that you've never seriously considered or dared to try. As you go through the list you'll find that things you wanted to do 3 years ago seem much more attainable now and you still have a desire to do them. So I guess that will be one of the first things you can do in '06 to cure your boredom . . .
MAKE A LIST - make a list of things you would like to complete that you think you can complete with in the year. You may not finish them all, but you may finish more than if you were to make list containing items like "make my first million" or some lofty crap like that. Be more realistic and more short-term. For instance - "learn digital photography and have a photo exhibit by year's end"- this is COMPLETELY attainable and gauranteed you will be busy and if this is a goal of your's, you'll be enriched along the way.
Okay, now fast forward back to '07. New year, great weather, what else could you ask for? More to keep you busy you ask? Well, as luck would have it, I have some items of interest, that (gasp), you just might be interested in!
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Lately I have been getting a lot of inquiries about recreational cooking classes. Well here are some links to get you started
Institute of Culinary Education - http://iceculinary.com/recreational/index.shtml
French Culinary - http://www.frenchculinary.com/jump_amateur.htm.
Also here are some classes at The New School of Tim Gunn fame (yes I watch Project Runway - all three seasons . . . and?)http://www.generalstudies.newschool.edu/culinary/01a_currcal.htm#January
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PESTO CHANGE-O (whatever, it's clever!) -
Dying to find out more about that delicious pesto sauce you have been chowing down on in your favorite Italian Restaurant? Want to know how to make it? Check out this article my friend Alissa D. wrote on the delicious topic -
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/pastas/best-pesto-sauces.asp. It's a great read.
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1\1 - 1\7 Now that's some Fine Art -
It's the 11th Annual Black Fine Art Show -
www.blackfineartshow.com
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Winter got you down? Don't be SAD (you see that's play on words referencing the actual, or not-so actual, disorder Seasonal Affective Disorder . . . tell how funny it is later). At any rate New York Magazine has compiled a list of great things to do for the months of January and February (and although my BIRTHDAY, is not in the list of things to do in February, I'm sure they had every intention of putting it in there . . . must have been the printer.)
http://nymag.com/arts/all/features/26011/
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So after you've cooked that special meal (that you learned at one of those cooking classes) for that special someone you may want to take him\her out to see one of these upcoming shows. Check them out - they look pretty interesting.
1\24 - 1\28 - Miguel Angel Zotto's Tango x2
http://www.nycitycenter.org/events/event_detail.cfm?event_code=TAN07
2\10 - 3\4 - The Jaded Assasin
http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/128896
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OK I'm going to make it short since my intro was so longwinded. But everyone enjoy the long weekend, remember Dr. Martin Luther King and why we have the day off (well some of us anyway) and keep coming back.
PEACE.
