Family: Like No Other Group of Weirdos

Let David Sedaris' stories of strange relatives make you feel better about your own. Happy Holidays from the Happy Healthy Well Adjusted and Popular!

An American Classic, Read & Reviewed

Visit this link to the blog One Hundred Books to find out why you should read books you don't like.

The Word on the Street

I finally finished Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling memoir Eat Pray Love for my Year of 100 Books. I had hardly expected it to be life changing, and while the jury is still out on that - a constant stream of conversation centered around the book has been gurgling around my head and within my interactions for the last few days.

Its hard to pick a favorite lesson from the text but one thing really struck a cord with me.

The Year of 100 Books

It started with The Year of 1000 Miles.

At the beginning of 2009, a friend of mine from Kansas City decided to run a marathon. So he did a big one in Pittsburgh. But that wasn't enough, so he did a canoe race, and an ultra-marathon, and another canoe race (this one was four days long and required a pit crew!). Ultimately, between training and competition, he ran, paddled and sweated for over 1500 miles by November, thus out-doing his goal of 1000 miles of physical activity in 2009 by 500 miles and two months. Unbelievably Awesome.

Warning: This Post Might Make You Do Something

Does this blog make me look desperate? I've been reading The Four Hour Work Week and pondering the "New Rich" - a subset of the world who not only get by on passive income, but actually live the proverbial good life, traveling the world, leasing fabulous cars, and participating in x-treme sports, all with their Blackberries/Web Cams/iPhone Apps so that for the brief amounts of time they are actually needed, they can easily assume the roll of mobile mogul. A warning on the back cover reads: "Do Not Read This Book Unless You Want to Quit Your Job."

Like any piece of opinion writing, there is both good and ridiculous, so I say read it and take from it what you will.

What I've taken from it is the understanding that multiple streams of passive income require quite a bit of initial investment - of motivated motion. With a nod to my personality flaws, I think I can safely say that I am a woman of action. Whether it is deciding where to go for brunch (The fabulous but now closed Palatte), what to drink (A Dirty Sexy Starbucks Soy Chai with a shot of raspberry and espresso), what to read (MINE magazine, the future of publications?), or what to listen to (Blitzen Trapper - Furr), I can definitely make a decision and act on it quickly.

Unfortunately, not all quick thinking has resulted in tranquil bliss, as exemplified by the following: #1: Left my only sweatshirt and umbrella in a London hostel on the first leg of a EuroVacation that included five days in the "driving rain" on the plains of Spain. #2: The Great Sandwich Incident of 2007 in which a harmless prank on a roommate's lunch left me almost homeless and utterly friendless in a house of four - #3 Could be any one of the tall, dark, handsome and horrible hunks I've dated, and of course #4, and #5 you already know. Yes, my friends and family would agree, I've made lots of bad decisions quickly. I ought to make bumper stickers. HA! Forget Honors Students - "I make bad decisions faster than you do!" Watch for them on Cafe' Press. Passive income, you know.

Which brings me to the point: In this era of entry level jobs being fought over by former CEOs, MBA holders, and rosy-cheeked undergrads, the window of opportunity in Corporate America for those of us in our mid-twenties, not quite generations X or Y, with some but not tons of experience, and having both an iPod and a modest closet of nice suits and sensible heels is shrinking daily. So what is an educated, enthusiastic worker with a mortgage, a credit card payment and an extensive list of Must-See friends' weddings, new babies, and Grad-School graduations to do? The answer, or at least AN ANSWER is: Open an Etsy Store!

For the uninitiated, Etsy.com is an online marketplace for all things handmade, re-made, and crafted. It is a worldwide boutique of one of a kind gifts, vintage finds and true artistic talent. It is also a tech-geek's playground, a designer's resource, and a Locavore's cheat sheet. Cheaper and with less headache than Ebay, the fuzzy, feel-good, we-all-share-one-goal atmosphere of Etsy may be just what I need to meet my Target Monthly Income.

This idea popped into my head just a few days ago, and today, it launches! I could spend the next four weeks researching all the options, stocking my craft cabinet, reading books on pricing homemade goods, naming and re-naming the store - but for what? Potentially the same outcome? Not today friends. Today, I am putting my hands to work, getting off the couch and taking a few real steps toward real money in the global marketplace. Today I act.  Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh By the Way, I am taking suggestions on the store name - Un-Glued? TMI? Happy Healthy Well Adjusted Stuff? Let the creativity flow!

Will Date for Food

A few months ago a story broke from my home state of Washington about a man who took his nine year old with him to a mini mart where he proceeded to rob it at gunpoint - claiming he had lost his job and needed financial help to raise the daughter, Meadow.

I've been thinking about that story quite a bit recently, and wondering how many of the unemployed people in this economy find themselves desperately considering less-than-legal-or-ethical means of making the almighty dollar. 

The question is no longer "How Low Can You Go?" but rather, "How Low WILL You Go?"

I wonder when I myself will consider sex, drugs and rock 'n roll as legitimate forms of income. Don't misunderstand me - it's not as if I'm getting offers to star in porn or swallow bags of heroin and run across the border on a daily basis. And even if I did find myself in possession of one or two extra bottles of Vicodin or Percoset - I don't have the foggiest idea of how to move it - What do you do? Sell that stuff on Craigslist? Good Grief.

Clearly, hard core criminality is not for me. So what else is there? Stripping? I'm sure The Dream Palace is always hiring, and even if I don't make much money, writing about the shady world of strip clubs worked like a charm for Diablo Cody with Candy Girl - and look where the writer of Juno is now! Somehow though, I don't think the book buying public needs TWO memoirs of a middle class stripper.

As freshmen at Arizona State University, my college roommate and I used to play a game called "Who can see the most movies for free?" Although the game was mostly a joke, it's true that shortly after orientation we had been introduced to the value (financial or otherwise) of casual dating - and an addiction was born.  With both of us having been firmly attached to specific sweethearts throughout high school, college offered us the opportunity to get to know some wonderful and some not-so-wonderful men, and revel in the movies, dinners, drinks and weekend trips that every savvy girl experiences on the dating scene.  Ah the good ole days when I was just expected to show up, look cute, make good conversation and say thank you.  

Wait just a minute! I'm still perfectly capable of those things! In fact, now that I've perfected fashionably late - casual dating should be even better!  So long feminist ideals and Hello Sugar Daddies! Anyone up for the job? I promise to be charming and fabulous so long as you give me enough time for me to volunteer, and have no problem investing in the multiple business start ups I am currently working on.

While I wait for Mr. Eligible Wealthy Bachelor to come along, I must do something, for a girl cannot live on blogging alone.  What will it be - Burger King? Nah, too greasy. Landscaping? No way - too sweaty and upper body strength is not exactly my calling card. Professional poker playing takes up too many nights, and gas station attendant puts me too close for comfort with potential gun-wielding Fathers Of The Year. Alright, so slinging coffee at Starbucks it is.  Who knows? Maybe I'll meet my future employer in the drive thru? One can only hope.