Marc and Angel: 20 Things to Start Doing in Your Relationships …because relationships matter.
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Success is not an entitlement. You have to earn it, every day. Case and point: Cooking with a pressure cooker. You don’t know how to cook with a pressure cooker unless you first learn how to use one. I was intimidated/mystified by mine for over a year. Finally, I took the plunge and did it: I [...]
20+ months of PC/Morocco later… I :heart: COS emails! COS email #4: Dear Volunteers, Hope this email finds you all well! I am emailing to remind you please that, when you come for the COS conference, you need to return the mosquito net, if not or barely used, the smoke detector, and all the meds. [...]
Entrepreneurs should be serial monogamists; do one thing at a time until you make sufficient progress and then move on. – Bing Gordon Lesson of the moment: Learning when to say when. Or perhaps it’s knowing when to say when.
TC: Do Great Things If nothing else, this article was a reminder to myself.
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. - Mark Twain I originally titled this post “Quit yo’ complainin’.” Then I thought, “Well, that’s hypocritical – me complaining about people complaining.” So I ate my own words and renamed it to what it is [...]
Everyday, I’m reminded how much I don’t know and how much I’ve still got to learn and relearn. This afternoon, my landlord sent one of his sisters to my house to retrieve a desk that has been here since I moved in. In fact, I’ve been using it to organize my clothes. At first, this [...]
Everything is practice. - Pele NYT: Advice From Life’s Graying Edge on Finishing With No Regrets Mashable is clearly thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day, as it’s been posting articles related to dating and relationships lately. Two in particular caught my eye: First, for those in the dating scene, I recommend reading 10 Tips for Dating [...]
I had an unexpectedly wonderful evening. I love it when this happens. Little Fatima invited me over to dinner with her family to celebrate the Amazigh New Year. Yup, you read it right: Amazigh. Not Moroccan, not Islam but Amazigh. That’s my Berber pride for ya, woot woot! I showed up late (oops!) but still [...]
Daily Mail: Asian-American soldier was forced by comrades to crawl 100m on gravel while being pelted with rocks hours before he killed himself As an Asian-American serving in the Middle East, I was saddened to learn about how Private Danny Chen was mistreated by his fellow Americans. Awful beyond awful beyond awful. Reading about what [...]
Whether you give or share, are kind or not, never let your grace fall. - Yogi tea bag label Yahoo Finance: Tapping the Power of Your Morning Routine …learning to be more graceful.
My inshallahs for running water in my house are getting misdirected, not being heard, or not being granted. I hope it’s not the latter.
NYT: A Place to Lay My Heart peregrinate: (v.) To travel from place to place.
Let’s see… My host mother is pregnant. This will be her fourth child. She and I are the same age. There’s a construction project going on next door. Workers are building a house, which means there’s lots of noise being transmitted to my side of the wall. …and that’s about it. Wow, that was quick [...]
One of the skills that I’ve honed during PC is listening. People love to talk, especially when they have someone to talk to, so I take the liberty to sit back and listen. The more I listen, the more I hear. I listen to the words people use as well as the way people use [...]
In this first week of 2012, I’ve noticed articles and blogs take divergent paths regarding how to approach the new year. Some writers are saying, “Have No Goals” (e.g., zenhabits: How to Have the Best Year of Your Life (without Setting a Single Goal) while others are saying, “Here are the Goals You Need to Have” (HBS: Five [...]
It’s only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it. - Pico Iyer NYT: The Joy of Quiet
I received my first Close of Service (COS) email from Peace Corps today. *insert big sigh of…relief? Accomplishment? Exhaustion?* Finally.
Forbes: M.I.T Game-Changer: Free Online Education For All education…so sexy and always in style.
TechCrunch: DIY Health Reform: Employers Solving Healthcare Crisis One Onsite Clinic At A Time TechCrunch: The Most Important Organization In Silicon Valley That No One Has Heard About
Harvard Business Review: Why the C-Suite Needs Women of Color
Marc and Angel: 30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself
It is probably not love that makes the world go around, but rather those mutually supportive alliances through which partners recognize their dependence on each other for the achievement of shared and private goals. - Fred A. Allen Friends, especially good ones, are such an incredible part of life. There’s no knowing when a stranger [...]
New Spanish phrase of the day: Hasta ahora! Literal translation: See you now. Contextual meaning: “See you soon!” My Spanish vacation is winding down. I met up with a few old friends and made a few new friends. In no specific order, there was lots of eating, laughing, walking and sightseeing. I’ve collected the following observations [...]
Marc and Angel Hack Life: 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself I couldn’t agree more. Toledo’s a beautiful little community. 45 minutes via bus from Madrid. Totally worth a visit.
The urgent finds you; you have to find the important. Importance is not fast. It is slow. It is not superficial. It is deep. And as a result, it’s extremely powerful. When important matters go wrong, they undermine everything. When they go right, they sustain everything. - Stewart Brand Right. On. Point. Last night, I [...]
You handle yourself with such grace and maturity in the face of challenges, yet still know how to have a funtime. - Molly Jean, about me I can already feel it. Excited for the next chapter.
“I’m one who returns kindness with kindness.” - John, a random American I helped in Madrid Today was full of pleasant surprises. Food: PB&J Americano cookies Croissant mixte (ham and cheese) Bocadillo de jamon Hot chocolate (x 2) Green fruit…that I grew up eating but don’t know the name of. Places: Museo Arte Publico Plaza [...]
Where do I even begin? Morning spent on the sunny deck with church bells ringing in the background Madrid’s Tourist Information Center is amazing Bocadillo de calamares Yves Saint Laurent at Fundacion Mapfre. YSL, you are incredible. CASAmerica guard telling me that my Spanish is very good Hot chocolate and porra Bocadillo de jamon and [...]
I rode the metro, walked and arrived with 5 minutes left to spare at the Apple store in Parque Sur before my Genius Bar appointment. I – or rather, my Macbook – spent most of the day at the Apple store. The friendly Italian Apple Genius (the title on his business card) assisted my slow [...]
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen. [...]
Spain is everything Morocco is not! - Me! Estoy en Madrid por dos semanas… …because life should always be this good.
Essa crew and ALCS Essaouira teamed up (yet again, woot woot!) to execute a SIDA awareness and free anonymous testing event. What a meaningful way to kick off the week.
…just another mindless ramble… When I think about “how far I’ve come” and “how much I have left to go,” I’m kind of left speechless and at a stand still. True, there are the (minor) physical challenges – inconsistent water supply, close to no internet, and a freezing house in the winter – but life [...]
Who would’ve thought that text messaging would still be so popular among my stage even after the rollout of the Peace Corps phone plan? Certainly not I. Then again, I couldn’t have foreseen the ridiculous conversations that could ensue from a three-way text messages. For example: E: Spice Rack Girls? That’s retarded. MJ: E is [...]
Happy birthday to my momma! Also, happy World AIDS Day! One of the great things about the Peace Corps phone plan is that I can call people randomly, people who I don’t talk to or cross paths with often, and pick up where I left off with them. Case and point: My phone call with [...]
What a – good! – morning. It’s not even noon yet and I’ve already had so many laughs. Rachid L, the former Health Program Assistant/current Regional Manager of Tata/Tiznit/Agadir (any others?), totally punk’d me this morning. Here’s how my conversation went with him, in brief: Rachid: Hey Diana, it’s Rachid. I don’t hear from you [...]
The genderame chief in Smimou is one of the local officials who I notify when I travel and encounter problems (thankfully, not much of the latter). He’s the one who came to check on me last year before and after the anniversary of 9/11. In the beginning, he’s the one who would constantly remind me [...]
In Peace Corps, I’ve experienced HIGHEST of highs (in the most natural/no external substance) and the toughest of lows. The HIGHEST of highs are an addicting, particularly when they occur when you least expect them to. (Disclaimer: I can’t compare this feeling to the highs that are induced from external substances.) The toughest of lows [...]
To acquire knowledge one must study. To acquire wisdom one must observe. – Marilyn Vos Savant Spooky yet true. Who knew that 2 days of travel + 2 days of eating + 2 days of traveling could be so exhausting? Then again, I’m pretty sure I exerted more energy than I consumed during my 2 [...]
Super happy I went out east. Morocco is a beautiful country. There was rain. There was sun. There was mud. There were early morning wake up calls and early morning walks. There were also late morning/early afternoon walks. Oh, there was a slip on a rock and a splash in the river too. There was [...]
This afternoon, I had English tea with a Welshman. As I was coming up the walkway, Elwig invited me into his beautifully decorated home. It was simply decorated – a few Moroccan pieces of furniture, a few Indian textiles. Over tea, Elwig and I chatted about life in Morocco. He’s been in Essa for four [...]
A few weeks ago, I was approached with a project idea: install electricity at a rural sbitar. This evening, I went on a site visit to D’Har, an outer douar. I expected a tour of the sbitar and maybe tea. What did I receive? A formal reception and presentation from the D’Har commune (community association). [...]
On the second night of 3id, people eat sheep (and goat) head for dinner. They dip the meat, fat, and brains into salt and cumin. Personally, if I were to do partake in the dinner again, I’d bring soy sauce to dip the goods in before plopping them in my mouth.
October 24-November 2: My mommy and brother came to visit me in Morocco! Itinerary in brief: Casablanca (1 night) à Marrakech (1) à Ouarzazate (2) à Essaouira (2) à Imi nTlit (1) à Marrakech (2) à Casablanca Highlights (in no particular order, except for the last point): Walking to the arrival gate just as my [...]
Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. - Og Mandino NYT: When [...]
I finally went to Upstairs, the Irish(?) pub in Rabat. Fish and chips? Yes. Bacon? Sometimes. Ambience takes me out of Morocco (sans some of the clientele) and reminds me of America? Done. Also, it’s nice to know people outside of the usual circle, particularly when traveling. They offer a welcome escape from the day-to-day [...]
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