multi-purpose sleeves
About 10 days ago, when I found myself pushing my Trader Joe’s shopping cart with one finger, it occurred to me that I fear germs a bit more than the average person.
If I’m being honest, this thought also occurred to me when, on our flight back from London last month, I utilized the plastic bag my earphones came in to fasten my seatbelt.
We’ve been eating out a lot lately so I’m not sure where we took this picture. But I think it was a good day since we’re both smiling.
I think the turning point, however, was when I considered using hand sanitizer to clean my mechanical pencil. It was then that I realized I needed to learn to be one with germs.
So I tried to stop using my sleeve to open doors (Success rate = 72%), picked up Maya’s backpack without fear (I’m lying), and even ate at restaurants without first reviewing their restaurant grade (Truth: I spotted one “B” grade at Kati Roll Co. and went to Le Pain Quotidien instead).
Maya opening Eid gifts.
And so it should come as no surprise that 48 hours into my decision to embrace bacteria, I got food poisoning from what I previously considered one of the best pieces of snapper I’d ever consumed.
The snapper knocked me out for approximately 72 hours straight. I lost about 10 pounds and gained several more gray hairs.
I recovered, however, and told myself it was an isolated event.
At the Laduree: Me being sick = me craving sugar.
And 36 hours after that I came down with a fever, cough, and sore throat.
I recovered and told myself it was NOT an isolated event. And then I went back to using my sleeves, my hand sanitizer, and I will obviously never, ever again order seafood on a Monday.
The experiment is over.
keeping it classy
Approximately 2 years ago I purchased two new lamps for our master bedroom.
I made this purchase in an effort to make our hideously old-fashioned master look marginally better to potential renters.
(In case you weren’t aware, home décor is NOT my strong point).
Lunch at our favorite Tommy Bahama where you can buy a pair of chinos AND enjoy a filet of salmon, all at once.
The lamps (Ralph Lauren by way of HomeGoods) looked pretty good, but every time I passed by them I thought, “I really need to remove the price tag.”
I thought about this:
- As a potential renter came back to our place for a second look.
- As that particular renter came back to sign a lease.
- As we (or rather, I) packed up the lamps for the move from LA to NYC.
- As we (or rather, I) unpacked the lamps in our NYC apartment.
- As we (I’ll spare you) packed the lamps again for a move across the city to our new apartment.
- As we unpacked the lamps in our current NYC apartment.
- As we filed a claim with the movers for breaking one lamp.
- As we placed the newly mismatched lamp on Ali’s side of the bed, and threw what was deemed my broken lamp into the trash.
- As I walk by the lone remaining lamp in our new NYC apartment.
- As I wrote this really meaningless post.
I can’t seem to take a picture with my mouth open…Maya can’t seem to take one with her mouth closed.
Now that there’s only one lamp I’m hoping I can find the energy to cut off one HomeGoods tag, as opposed to the two that somehow seemed like an insurmountable task.
In the meantime we’re just keeping things classy.
last few days in London
While in London, I made an effort to detox my NYC exhaust-ridden lungs by taking daily walks in the crisp English air.
And while repairing my lungs, I also tried to become a better person by listening to podcasts about everything from “How to Raise a Successful Child” to “The 8-Hour Diet.”
(Yes, 8 hours. We’ll revisit that on another day.)
Celebrating my MIL’s birthday at Asia de Cuba in London.
One fine multitasking day, I listened to a TED talk delineating the reasons it’s important NOT to multitask.
Highlights:
- People are 1,000% happier when they are focusing on ONE specific task (Sorry I don’t recall the exact percentage as I was multitasking).
- People are far more successful when they focus on ONE specific task (These people must have an army of nannies).
- People are for more irritated when they focus on multiple tasks (True. But if I wasn’t doing multiple tasks I’d be thinking of how I was capable of doing multiple tasks, and I’d be irritated I wasn’t utilizing my time wisely).
My MIL’s birthday cake.
I decided to put the podcast into practice:
I stopped in Hyde Park, took out my earphones, and decided to focus on the lake and ONLY the lake for an entire 5 minutes.
Final bird visit in Hyde Park.
My thought process:
- Wow, the swans are so quietly synchronized. Pretty.
- Must be nice to be a swan – I bet they aren’t trying to unlock the keys to success.
- And exercise isn’t something they have to attempt to work in to their day! No 8-hour-diet for them.
- But seriously, how much can one swim around all day without getting bored?
- I wonder if it’s been 5 minutes yet?
A happy moment on the flight home. British Airways – you’ve come a long way since I last flew on your planes. Literally.
So in case you are still reading this nonsense, here is my takeaway:
A focused life would be great.
But until someone figures out how to import the European workweek and gets Maya to stop asking me super important questions like “Should I have frozen yogurt from 16 Handles or Tasti-D-Lite today?” I’m thinking that the multitasking is here to stay.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 