Redefining Failure
My high school physics teacher was hot. He was young, handsome, brilliant and charming. The girls swooned, the guys admired. I’m not sure he could have gotten away with failing us all otherwise. We were the academic elite. The brainiacs, who were on our way to Ivy Leagues, and distinguished careers in…
Shocks and Resets
Just a few days ago, I went from the surprising heat wave in the Pacific Northwest to the surprising raininess of central New Jersey. It effectively shocked me into summer. I’ve been able to slow down, relish the extra time with my loved ones, and be nourished by all the goodies this season brings. I…
Love and Anger
I had a really bad experience recently. During a series of money hiccups, I called my bank’s customer service several times over the course of a week to straighten things out. An agent said to me, “Since Pascale is obviously a man’s name, I know you are committing fraud.” They put my accounts on a…
Silly Bird
For the past several days a bird has been flying into the windows of my house. It happens more than ten times a day, and startles me every time. It’s confusing. Hasn’t that bird figured it out by now? Doesn’t the sting of crashing into the window create enough negative reinforcement to prevent it from…
An Ode to June
June is my birthday month, and it’s right around the corner. It also includes my father’s birthday, my honey’s birthday and my best friend’s anniversary. It’s the summer solstice, the end of the school year, and month number 6 (my very favorite number). That might seem like more than enough for one 30-day stretch, but…
The Pursuit of Unhappiness*
*No, that’s not a typo. Who would ever pursue UNhappiness?? You would. I would. Everyone we’ve ever known would. Perhaps that doesn’t make a stitch of sense. You’re right. Happiness has a whole lot of caché. It’s the hot thing, the hip thing, the new black. Even His Holiness The Dalai Lama says happiness…
Coffee and Course Correcting
I just recently started drinking coffee. You might find that unremarkable. Coffee is the most widely enjoyed beverage/drug/hobby in the world. What’s remarkable, or maybe just interesting, is that my behavior change comes after a lifetime of finding the smell, taste and effects of coffee completely unappealing. I grew up in a coffee household, a…
Art (And Life) At Arm’s Length
I’m currently reading (or listening to, more precisely) The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. I began the book while on a plane (of course), completely exhausted (uh-huh), so I kept nodding off. Falling into neck bending, drool-producing slumber. Not that I don’t adore Twyla Tharp. I do. She’s been my favorite choreographer since I…
Love, Death and Hot Vampires
I’ve had nothing but disdain for the whole vampire craze. I just didn’t get it. What was all the fuss about?? I just found out. Thanks to a brief viewing of my daughter’s newest obsession: a TV show called The Vampire Diaries. What initially caught my attention was the cast. They’ve successfully assembled the…
Titrate, Calibrate and Iterate – The Science of Happiness
Disclaimer: Yes, I used to be an engineer, but don’t be frightened. I will keep the geekery to a minimum. We talk about happiness as if it is a Universal quality. In some ways, it is. But mostly, it’s completely individual. What happiness feels like in my body is probably quite different than what happiness…