There's hope for me!

"She has learned that if she makes herself stay for a fixed period, she often gets over her social awkwardness and ends up having fun."

—Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer on wanting to leave any party within the first fifteen minutes and disciplining herself to deal with shyness; Vogue September 2013

“You can’t please everyone—but you can be democratic by being kind to everyone.” 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 25

"Be kind to your body… Do what you want to do, not what you think you should do." 

—heard in yoga class earlier; sound advice also applicable to life! :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 19

Meta Kindness

At my previous job, I had the following inspirational quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer running along the bottom of my daily task sheet, which I blogged about back in September:

SUCCESS IS AN INSIDE JOB. 

Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral, loose, and free-floating—these are the keys to successful performance in almost everything you do.

At my current job, I have the words META KINDNESS on my Copy Project List on Excel.

According to Wikipedia, “Mettā” translates to “loving kindness,” which means, I have to edit my note to correct the spelling :)

Kidding aside, this is a wonderful type of meditation wherein you start by radiating ‘metta’ toward yourself, and then passing it on (in thought) to someone close to you, and then to a person you know, and then a stranger, or even someone you’re at odds with—expanding the ‘circle of kindness’ outward. [“The cultivation of loving-kindness (mettā bhāvanā) is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism.”]

First, you say the following phrases to yourself. Or, if I understood this correctly, any positive, loving and kind thought would also suffice:

“May I be filled with loving kindness. May I be well. May I feel peaceful and at ease. May I be happy.”

Then, think of someone you love.

“May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well. May you feel peaceful and at ease. May you be happy.”

And then keep going as you ‘radiate’ out, wishing people kindness and wellness along the way.

Try it! See if you like it :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 15

"In life and in yoga, we can choose to adopt an accepting, in-the-moment outlook that lets us flow through any challenge or discomfort with grace; breathing smoothly and staying rooted in our peace, knowing that everything happens for a reason."

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 13

Minutes with Lola

I just got off the phone with my grandma, who, at 89, is still wit, wisdom, tenacity andpositivity, personified.

A mere five minutes of talking to her yielded these lovely snippets:

1) On her upcoming birthday: “My birthday wish? Reaching this age, what more can I ask for?”

2) On going to the movies: “Yes, you should enjoy, while you don’t have kids.” (Note: She said this in genuine reference to the going-out-together part and not the childbearing part.)

3) On health and rest: “Eat well, so you’ll grow old healthy… You guys should already eat so you can rest and sleep.”

4) On lunch: “I want to eat fried chicken. I hope my caregiver can get even just one piece.” :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 8

How to worry less about offending people:

"All you can do is keep your motives pure. If you do offend, you’ve likely hit on something they need to look at—in which case you’ve done a good deed."

—Joy Behar, host of Current TV’s Joy Behar: Say Anything

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7

(Source: oprah.com)

From Lululemon:

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7

How to let go of anger

I’ve been reading O Magazine’s “101 Best Pieces of Advice” and #65 is a mighty long quote, but makes great sense:

“Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath. Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body. Then look at, or think of, the person triggering this emotion: With mindfulness, you can see that she is unhappy, that she is suffering. You can see her wrong perceptions. You can see that she is not beautiful when she says things that are unkind. You can also see that you don’t want to be like her. You’ll feel motivated by a desire to say or do something nice—to help the other person suffer less. This means compassionate energy has been born in your heart. And when compassion appears, anger is deleted.” 

—Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and author of Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 7

Food for Thought

"Apologize when you are wrong; stand up for what is right. And (this one is from inspirational author and speaker, Dr. Wayne Dyer) when you have a choice between being right or being kind, choose kind."

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 5

"You are what you think. Think positive, do not feed yourself with rumors, and things will work out."

Heard in our company meeting earlier :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 4

Shopping, Streamlined

See those purple pumps from Zara on my Instagram feed? They’re among the last few ‘recreational’ purchases I’ve made before embarking on this 30-day spending halt of sorts. Adding to that is an iPhone case I ordered that’s on its way, along with an iPad Mini case from Etsy.

Why am I doing this?

Out of sheer curiosity—really, that’s it. Well, and I thought it would be a nice addition to my 30-day personal sadhana for my yoga 200-hour RYT certification.

I’d like to see if I can resist online shopping (and anything-shopping) for the next 30 days, or possibly, more. Honestly, I’m not too worried. I truly feel and believe that I have everything that I need :)

That said, here are some other items on my ‘want’ list that would have to wait:

1) Doc Martens

Because I was cash-strapped in my early teens—when grunge and DMs paired with floral baby doll dresses became all the rage—I never got to own them. Now that they seem to be back in fashion and I live in commuter-friendly NYC, I’m curious how they’d fare as winter boots and everyday city footwear. I want these very tall boots (model 1B60), but isn’t the above style cute too?

2) A Roomba?

But then we already own a fabulous Dyson DC35 Digital Slim cordless vac that perfectly picks up pet hair and whatnot. So if we do eventually get a Roomba, that would be a serious (home) treat. 

So wow, that’s all I can think about for now! As long as I don’t go on Zara’s website or step into a Lululemon store, I think I’ll be fine! :)

Here’s a mantra I’d like to share. It’s actually a note I wrote to myself/typed into my phone a long time ago. I’m not sure if it’s verbatim or if it’s actually a quote from someone else (although I am pretty convinced I came up with it). Anyhow, it works:

"I have everything that I need. And if I need more, it will become available to me."

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 3

Inspiration Snippet

At my previous job, I kept a daily "progress list" document—a simple Wordpad file listing received artwork waiting to be proofed, ongoing items, approved, and so forth. At the bottom I kept a quote written by inspirational author and speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer. It read:

SUCCESS IS AN INSIDE JOB. 
Being relaxed, at peace with yourself, confident, emotionally neutral, loose, and free-floating—these are the keys to successful performance in almost everything you do.

This is something nice to keep in mind, especially now that I've moved on to the next phase of my career here in New York—that stage where everything is new once again and there is much to be learned.

Thinking of printing it or putting it on a Post-it as a daily reminder!

On Lazy Days

For as long as I can remember, people in my stream of consciousness have held several occupations at once. When my dad was a bookstore owner, he also dabbled in writing and editing for the local paper (eventually becoming a journalist full-time, and now he's back to being an entrepreneur). During my early years working in the magazine business, all the editors I knew had other things going on besides turning over the monthly issue. Whether it was in the form of writing for sister publications, fashion styling, or makeup artistry, it was the side jobs that paid for cars, trips to Europe, and so forth.

I've pretty much kept the same outlook when it comes to my own work and career: have as much on my plate as possible.

So, suffice it to say, whenever I feel lethargic and all I want to do is stay in bed and watch cooking shows—eating and snacking along the way—I tend to feel guilty. Whenever I skip my to-do list for the evening, it becomes some sort of existential inner debate.

Last night was one of those moments: I had a ton of laundry to do, invoices to work on (for my other job), taxes to file, blogs to write…but all I did was remain in bed, watch TV shows on the desktop, and flip through an unfinished magazine. I simply felt tired—I didn't even feel like making dinner (although I did prep the pastry cream that will go into cream puffs that I have yet to make).

This morning, on the train to work, I read the following in this month's O, The Oprah Magazine:

"Georgia was a proto slacker," writes Karbo. "There were days and weeks when she would read, spend hours tramping around outside, write letters, sew, and play dominoes…. But when Georgia worked, she worked her ass off."

[Sidebar on the book, How Georgia Became O'Keeffe where writer Karen Karbo spotlights the life and times of "a Midwester farm girl as she becomes a self-assured art world phenomenon."]

I immediately felt a sense of relief after reading that paragraph. And, as the day went by, I realized that all these years and even leading up to today, I have benefitted from pockets of listless time. Whether it was a 30 minute afternoon milk-tea break, wasting the living daylights out of one weekend, or even a full-year sabbatical (which I did back in 2009 resulting in a page in a cookbook, among other fun stuff!), so-called lazy days have surprisingly yielded productive results.

A couple of months ago, on a bus ride out of town, I sat next to a writer and editor named Sara Marcus, author of the book, Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution. We were talking about writing books and self-imposed deadlines, and I told her about this long overdue novel in the works. She asked, "What's stopping you?" But during the course of our conversation (it was a long bus ride), she turned to me and said—and, I paraphrase—"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. In the last four years, you immigrated to a new country, worked on becoming a citizen, got married…that's a lot."

These days, it's good to be reminded to never underestimate slower-than-usual moments, or even one's self—knowing and having faith that a productivity boost is just right around the corner. In the meantime, enjoy the slabs of dark chocolate.

Long-distance Lovin'

Our feature is out now in the February/March 2012 issue of Maven Magazine!

That's actress Kim Chiu on the cover, oh, and I just noticed, the blurb on the righthand side for the article, "Real Long Distance Relationships That Work," yay!

Grab your copies now! :)

Lead photo: Pat Dy. Dress and suit: Kate Torralba. Makeup: Peddy Acebo. Hair: Bong Vicentico.
For wedding supplier info, read this post.

Moving!

I can't wait to get one of these! The Mamma Ro Garlic Keeper.
(Image courtesy of Inventorspot.com)

About to start packing for our big move ahead—hopefully in the most logical, non-overwhelming way as possible—and thought I'd squeeze in a blog post before I get carried away with everything that needs to be done. By Saturday.

Fortunately, I have a tiny room with not that much stuff (methinks).

What I'm most excited about is having my own kitchen again. Right now, I have roommates. Don't get me wrong, I have good roommates: One of them speaks the same disinfectant language that I do, and the others, happily share their garlic/milk/eggs/lemon juice/olive oil when I'm running low. (And, yes—I happily share my household loot too).

So going back to the subject, you see, the amount of cooking that I do is directly proportionate to the amount of writing and blogging I get done. Words seem to come up while I'm tinkering about in the kitchen, washing dishes, maybe even chopping garlic... A writer whose name I don't remember called this the "Kitchen Sink" method—doing something totally unrelated to writing to inspire the writing, and I absolutely believe her.

If you look at the gaps in my blogging (especially for All My Sugar), I can tell by the dates that in those weeks/months, I barely cooked or baked. Somehow while the food is being made, words percolate as well.

An Inspired Sunday

Outside The Morgan Library & Museum.

Lately I've been feeling uninspired to blog…not an unusual occurrence especially when my day job calls for hours of proofreading and writing, with a to-do list that at the moment overwhelms me. So, by the time I get home, I tend to want to pass out and not be in front of the computer (unless I am catching up on episodes of Suits, White Collar, or Burn Notice).

Still, how ever tired, swamped, or under-the-weather one may feel, New York is the kind of place that provides a dose of inspiration right around the corner. Many times, you can't escape it, despite fatigue or, in my case, extended jetlag.

Today, I had brunch for the first time at the Scandinavia House's restaurant called Smorgas Chef on Park Avenue, through the invitation of a nice lady I'd befriended a few months ago while in line at the post office. (That story alone merits a future blog post.) Browsing the shops at the lobby, right next to the resto that served an appealing brunch menu, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I really must have been European in a past life. I always say British, but I could have very well also been Danish or Swedish. That, or the affinity and familiarity stems from growing up in an Ikea-themed home in the 80s up to the early 90s.

Next to the Scandinavian club is the Kitano Hotel, where, as it turns out, there's a doggie version of the robust/rotund popular male and female bronze statues at the Time Warner, by the artist, Fernando Botero.

Bow wow.

And, speaking of art, I found myself—also for the first time—at The Morgan Library & Museum on 36th St. and Madison Avenue, where the "Charles Dickens at 200" exhibit is running until February 2012. Now, I never understood "Dickensian" literary references, but the following words inscribed on the wall called out to me:

"Dickens was a careful, methodical, and painstaking author. Using a goose quill pen, he generally wrote from nine o'clock each morning until two in the afternoon. In his early career, he would complete at least six to twelve pages—or "slips," as he called them—each day."

A print I'd like to buy if available. Adolf Konrad's illustrated packing list.
(Image courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum website.)

Are we there yet?

DAY 27

of the 30-Day Blog Challenge, 2011

I'm four posts away from finishing this year's 30-Day Blog Challenge, and it has been a real challenge so far coming up with a single post everyday, what with work, errands, yoga classes, and other things that occupy my time. But, I know completing it is a reward in itself.

I got to thinking about patience, persistence, and waiting:

1) Persistence pays off.

At mass today, the priest said, "God answers the prayers of the persistent." And, he also said this prayer of thanksgiving, "We thank You for all that we already have, and we only ask for more because of our reliance in You." I like the above quotes because, while I know that God already knows exactly what I need and want (chocolate), he also is a great listener. I akin it to a parent lovingly listening to a child narrating a Christmas wish list; a child fixating on a particular toy which, one morning, magically sits under the tree, topped with a gorgeous bow. It's a delightful moment for both giver and receiver. So, when you want something, ask, ask, ask! And then be grateful.


2) Patience is a virtue.

I think about my husband when discussing patience and (high) EQ—qualities that come naturally to him. You'll never see him harrowed by long airport lines or waiting in general (except probably at restaurants). He has the tenacity that comes from diligence, that's why he gets the promotion and lands the best deal when shopping. As for me, I'm pretty good at waiting and long lines too—having been an only child for the most part, boredom has rarely ever been an issue. Compared to my husband though, I am the impatient one. So it's good that we're together.

That said, I also believe that a little impatience thrown into the mix from time to time can be helpful, especially if it helps propel you forward. A nudge here and there, and you can go back to planting seeds and being patient.

3) Good things come to those who wait.

I subscribe to this quote as well but I can't help but think about Ann Boleyn, eep! Fine, not everybody suffers the fate of the beheaded queen—she did get the king after seven years of waiting before he decided to do away with her. Still, going back to #1, it's good to be persistent…and to try to find meaning in waiting.

Moving to New York?

Postcard-perfect opportunities like these are actually free!

DAY 24

of the 30-Day Blog Challenge, 2011

I've always given the same advice to friends and aquaintances who approach me for advice on moving to NYC. And, everytime, I say the exact same thing:
Go for it.

Your experience will be different from mine. The setbacks I've encountered in the process of moving and settling in do not necessarily apply to your situation. As for the recession and the economy, these factors shouldn't deter you from moving anyway. Whether or not you pack up and leave, there's nothing you can do to single-handedly improve or worsen the economy, so might as well give it a shot. Plus, you never know when you're exactly at the right place, at the right time, in the right moment, and you're exactly what a company is looking for.

As for money...that is probably the trickiest variable and it's what paralyzes many when it comes to making a big decision like moving overseas. I touched on this in my "Take the Plunge" post. Again, money will always be an issue…only if you make it so. I've recounted this time and again—when I first moved to New York, I didn't have that much money. Heck, I barely had enough cash to buy a single mattress.

While it's ideal to wait and save up until you have a lumpsum before comitting to a major move, you're bound to come up with excuses one after the other and truthfully, it's never going to be enough (unless you're dipping into a trust fund). You might as well just take the plunge, settle right in, and make a living. That's how it works.

So come on down!

First lunch is on me :)

On Being Grateful

DAY 23

of the 30-Day Blog Challenge, 2011

Finding gratitude in a situation that turns out less stellar than expected is akin to trying to see the good in a nasty person. It's a challenge, but it's something that has to be done. I say it in the imperative, because to do otherwise is contradictory to embracing positivity—a path that I've chosen to take as best as I could in every situation.

Yet, I do have my moments of distress over both mundane and serious issues. This is when being prayerful makes perfect sense, and having access to a great yoga studio pays off. During quiet minutes of breath and reflection, one can find peace and clarity.

I can't publicly say what exactly is troubling me right now, but I know that an attitude of gratitude beats any amount of complaining, any day. Plus, if I give it time, I know it'll all be good.