This holiday season let's begin celebrating each other's holidays.  Why do we have to choose just one?  As a child of Lebanse origin, I cherished every holiday, those of my friends and my own, and felt lucky that I had the opportunity to experience and celebrate all of them.  I hope to one day let my children understand the beauty and meaning of all the holidays of the world, and give them a taste of each by bringing it into my home. 

Happy Chriskwanzukkaheid everyone!

The problem with binge drinking in college isn't the fact that it's a forbidden fruit and so teens engage in the behavior out of rebellion.  It's the fact that it has become so part and parcel of youth culture that to refuse it is to in a sense deny your youth.  Resisting the urge to engage in heavy drinking and partying is impossible if we don't change our conception of alcohol.  It is cool to drink, just as it was cool to smoke pre-1970's.  Although both are bad for our health, alcohol seems to fly under our health radar.  We must change as a society the way we view alcohol.  We must change our perception of it as a cool, fun, and attractive substance that is connected to confidence, popularity, and self-esteem.  This is one of the most significant elements of the problem with binge drinking on college campuses.  It is the fundamental definition of what it means to drink that needs to be changed so that teens perception of the substance when entering college will guide them towards logic and moderation, rather than excess and recklessness.  

Sounds silly, I know.  But it's actually a phrase that is often searched for on the internet. Why? Because everyone's obsessed with the quickest way to lose weight.  I still can't believe it when I hear 12 and 13 year olds worry about their size and if they look skinny in those jeans.  Wow. I didn't even know what that meant at that age. Have we changed so much in less than a decade? What is up with all the obsession over size and weight and age? Are we that uncomfortable with ourselves that we waste our precious brain power on superficial problems? Yes. And I've fallen victim for it too. Who hasn't strolled down the promenade just to catch your reflection in the store window and then take a minute to figure out if you look okay without attracting any attention? And I bet you guys are victim to this thinking as well, but maybe in a different way.  Are we all wired to obsess over our attractiveness? Is evolution trumping our better judgement? Or is this the mentality that seems to plague the buzz of modern city life? Food for thought. Calorie-laden, fatty food.

Oh, and btw, there are 3500 calories in one pound. :)

A list of 2008's best triumphs and worst fails.... (FYI - the links with the icons preceding them can just be scrolled over to see what's underneath)

2008 TRIUMPHS

• African Americans - Barack Obama's win helps to immediately better the perceptions of African Americans in people's minds, especially because the image of the president is usually a strong and positive leadership position.
  

•  Organic anything - the green movement doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

•  The Twitter Community  - although not quite as pervasive as Facebook, I'm impressed with the speed and influence of the Twitter community. Kudos!

• Top Ten Lists of everything and anything you can think of. Seriously, we love top ten lists.

• Writers - technically the writer's strike was deemed successful until another lawsuit was filed in November. Maybe this is a toss-up then.

• Racism - I think most would agree that the election of the first black president helps us to begin pushing racial stereotypes over the cliff.

• Britney - All I have to say is, wow, I would have never seen a return like this a year ago.   She's like a one-woman Roman empire.  Disregard that ending though, or maybe............

• Dubai - As Busta Rhymes claims in his new, albeit, controversial song, "We getting Ay-rab money!"  This place is the new Las Vegas.
  

• Swimming  -  Everyone wants to be an Olympian now.

• Tina Fey - She is on fire!  You gotta love her regardless of your political views.  She represents that quirky, slighty nerdy, girl next door in all of us.  And yes she has transformed into a glorious swan from her former awkward and heavier 80's hair days, but that's the beauty of it.  It gives everyone who doesn't look like Angelina Jolie hope. 

• SNL - After Will Ferrell  and Cheri Oteri left, I pretty much forgot what late Saturday nights were for. Then Tina Fey shows up and now my dvr is set to record every episode.  Should this praise really be directed at Miss Wasilla?
  

• This phrase - Come on. We've heard it so many times that we can't say the phrase anymore without an attempt at a Fred Armisen impersonation of Barack Obama.

• This word - Oh yeah. Say it with me:

  via the NYTimes.

• This video - Please take to time to watch this lecture.  It's beautiful, poignant, and one of the most spot-on narratives of the human conditions I've heard.
  

• Shoes - I love shoes. Obviously more than this guy cuz you could never get my pair flying across the room.

2008 FAILS

• Racism - You didn't think I was actually saying that racism is dead, did you? Oh no, we have a looooong way to go.  Don't you just love us humans?

• The Economy - no comment.

• Private Jets - Like I said, old white men can't fly.

• The Earth - Poor earth. It keeps turning for us and we try to do everything to push it off it's balance.

• The Republicans - Sorry guys. It wasn't your year.

• Pigs, Moose and Turkeys - They always seem to be at the short-end of the stick, but this year they got the royal treatment.
  

• Holiday shopping - Maybe it's good that we've reigned in our spending and given the big, bad corporations a break.

• Plumbers - Say it ain't so Joe.

• Selling poltical offices to the highest bidder - This just doesn't seem to work like in the olden days.

• Televised  interviews - I can't decide if I enjoyed the real or fake interview better.
  

•  Pastors - Not since the Salem Witch Trials have our religious leaders held such sway over the population.

• Nutcrackers - I don't mean the ballet.  I'm talking about the one that got away from the presidency.

• Old White Men - God bless em, but they sure do screw up a lot.

• This phrase - For some reason, U. S. of A-ers seem to be getting a bad rap when it comes to geography.
  

• This word - for all of you playing a drinking game:

  via NYTimes.

• This video - I mean watching the video now I think wow, we gave her a lot of hell.  But I guess it was kinda cheesy. Especially when that little girl in the video came out for Obama.
  

Here are some interesting links that have kept me amused.....

- - The cutest synchronized puppies.  I thought only my dogs did this but it looks like the raised inflection in our voices creates the same effect in all dogs.  Observe the cuteness.

- - Ever wanted to learn a language wthout leaving the house or emptying your wallet.  I found this site very helpful with step-by-step audio and text for almost any language. Vayámonos!

- - Please don't let me ever fall into this marketing hole.

- - How many countries can you name in 5 minutes?  I got 65/195.  Harder than you would think when the pressure is on.

- - Finally my life-time wish for temperature-controlled sand at the beach has come true!  Via Dubai of course.  Excessiveness is a way of life.  What can't they do there? 

-- When you think of Cleopatra, what image comes to mind?  Elizabeth Taylor?  Me too, although maybe a little more ethnic.  Well, now a certified Egyptologist (yes, they do exist) has recreated Cleopatra's face from images of ancient artefacts using computer regeneration technology.  I can't figure out who the likeness reminds me of but I do see a slight if any resemblance to the Obamas, no?

- - Ever had the desire to stay in a large, floating orange pod on your holiday vacation?  Or how about that lovely recycled concrete sewage pipe with lovely interior?  Well, stress no more, because those are just two of the ten weirdest hotels you can stay in to seperate yourself from the confines of the consumerist, tourist bunch.  


- - And a new favorite pastime of mine?  Watching other people fail at the FAIL Blog.  Tragic and magical at the same time.  Isn't it sad when a website is dedicated to other people's failures and immensely popular?  Maybe it helps to validate our existence and acknowledge our own countless failures.  Nah!  We just like to see trucks stupidly smash into poles.  That's funny!

Last week I read about the interesting study that found that unhappy people spend most of their time watching TV.  Happier people still watch TV, but don't turn to it as their single activity.   Most of their time tends to cover socializing and reading.  

So in what category do pokers and Tweeters fall into?  I'm referring to all us social media obsessed folk who turn to Hulu to watch TV, Facebook to socialize, Twitter to congregate, and Wikipedia to study.   I don't plop in front of the television quite as often as I used to when I was in college studying, but I do go online to catch the latest episode of the Office.  I may not head down to the local Starbucks to meet up with friends as often, but I do comment on photos they added of their late-night antics.  And although I'm still new to the Twitter phenomenon, I do see the great benefit in perusing the latest trends of the social media experts.  

I feel pretty happy,  though I undoubtedly have my ice-cream guzzling, SNL reruns, couch-hugging moments.   So how would the sociologists categorize the Facebook generation I'm proudly a part of? 

I already know wer're narcissistic, superficial, and lacking in genuine connections, but are we happy?  I'll Tweet about it and get back to you. 

A year older, a brain-wrinkle wiser.  

As much as I try to look at the positives of watching my years scuttle by, I can’t help but fall into the age-old trap (ha!) of fears and frets.  And I’m not just talking about wrinkles (though I’m still too young to worry about those, then again sooner or later we’ll start seeing newborns selling under-eye night cream.) 

I’m talking about the corner that every girl in her twenties gets pushed into.  That feeling you get when everyone starts to notice you’re not 21 anymore, thereby warranting the removal of fun in order to replace it with a ticking time bomb.

“Past 25?  Oh……………Really?   I…I thought you were…………I mean you really look much younger….but….have you……so haven’t you thought about…….”  And you know they’re automatically thinking brides, babies, or Botox.

And don’t worry if your friends and family are too kind to point that out!  Just flip on the old TV and be happily bombarded with pre-pubescent sex-symbols, aging creams, and the imminent disaster that awaits you at 30. 

Is this fanatical obsession with age a purely American creation?   Because I’ve heard of cultures that revere the beauty and wisdom that comes with age, while envying those that have accrued more years then them.  Or did I imagine that just to rock myself to sleep?  

I then think to myself, if tomorrow the social security administration (or whoever handles birth receipts) sent me a new birth certificate saying “sorry we made a mistake, you’re actually 10 years younger,”  how would that change my perception?

Would I feel legitimately young and therefore look young to myself?  Or would I look old, although I’m actually younger but I had spent too much time worrying about why everyone cares so much about age?   Or would I then realize that age is just a fleeting thought and if it wasn’t for the negative connotations that got served with my birthday cake each year, I would be focusing on what really mattered in life?  How can I be truly happy, advance myself, push it to the edge without going overboard, check off my bucket list including going to the Olympics even if it’s in the “how many shoe boxes can you balance” event,  AND all this while also being a bride, mother, and career woman.

Whew!  This age thing is tiring…………………………. I think I am getting old.