Flash Mobs

In a world too busy to even stop and smell the roses, never mind have a pee or coffee break or phone a friend just to say "Hey! How's it going?", we seem to find solace and joy in the simplistic things. A great and unexpected gut-wrenching laugh, a hand written letter in the mail and a quiet night at home with no plans can warm your soul and let you know that there is still room for joy in your life, even amongst your hectic workday of emails, conference calls, and the adornment of many hats.

May I present to you, a flash mob.

A what, you ask me?

A flash mob I repeat. The participants are given a date, a time and a place to show up and the details are to be kept a secret until performance time. The general purpose is to mystify the non-participants for a brief couple of minutes, and then move on as if nothing has happened, leaving the bystanders completely perplexed.

The recent flash mobs that get me grooving in my chair can be seen here in these links: The

T-Mobile commercial and the most amazingly sync'd choreography I've ever seen, and even left Ms. Winfrey screaming and dancing in shock.

Watch and enjoy. Trust me, you can't miss this! Take the five minutes you didn't take to smell the roses and sit back for some pure entertainment. I should really think about leading my co-workers into a choreographed version of "Thriller" on our lunch break :)

Pay attention to the ones who don't know what's going on but join in anyways. Love it!!

The T-Mobile Dance

Black Eyed Peas and 50,000 participants surprise Oprah

Maroon 5 - Misery

From the edgy pop-rock of "Harder to breathe" to the sappiness of "She will be loved" to a catchy song I had on repeat a few years back during a break-up which boasts the lyrics: "And it really makes me wonder if I ever gave a F*** about you", Maroon 5 has been a band which stands the test of time for even my very short attention span. I never tire of their albums.

Once, I met the band's lead singer Adam Levine at a College Street lounge during the film festival in Toronto and it's incredible how these stars with big voices and larger than life images can be so tiny in real life.

He was friendly, goofy and a regular down-to-earth guy and much smaller in person than most would expect.

I am in love with their new song "Misery" and its' feel good summer vibe. Turn up the sound and dance along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g6g2mvItp4

Studio 67 Magic

When Michael and I were planning our wedding, we wanted no added expense or fuss to our day. What started out as an idea of a simple Mexican wedding turned into a year of full blown events.

We stumbled upon Studio 67, a local husband and wife photography and videography team who were just starting out their business. A year later, they are considered cinematographers and have won awards for the magic they capture on film.

They flew down to Mexico with us and were able to produce this lifelong memory for us. My favourite part is the ending, where we are all busting a move on the dance floor, and it includes an aunt break dancing, a cousin doing the robot and the bride with her pathetic attempt at "the worm".

To come along with us on our journey, Vimeo requires a password. That password is: mexico

Enjoy.

http://www.vimeo.com/12551712

Hot Child In The City

Ahhh. The lazy, hazy days of summer. Time for backyard gatherings, patios, cottage retreats and easy/breezy, low maintenance fashion. Time to slow down, take it down a notch and soak in the weather. Below, conjure up some visuals of the seemingly unanimous favourite season.

Release Your Brilliance - By Simon T. Bailey

A friend of mine lent me the above mentioned book, which on the back cover states:

This book is for anyone who wants to live life by design rather than by accident. If you:


* have hit the wall--personally, professionally, physically, or emotionally
* feel unfulfilled in your career, working only for the paycheck and benefits
* want to stretch and grow as a person
* long for authentic relationships
* miss the fun and excitement of life
* sense that you have the potential to do something great with your life, but don't have a clue what that might be


Upon finishing this book, I realized the author was using diamonds, which are beautiful, valuable and precious as a metaphor for living life and regarding oneself as such. It was a simple read, and nothing extraordinarily new in terms of content, however it was still a beneficial read. Here is one of my favourite passages:


I remember a business lunch I had once with a sixty-nine-year-old gentleman in Southern California. I asked him what life lessons he had to share with me. He said, "Release the need to be absorbed in self. Understand who you are and refrain from always believing you have to impress people." Genuine people don't feel the need to impress others because they recognize their own value and brilliance.


Cubic Zirconia (CZ) people, however, compare themselves to others, work hard to impress them, and try to make people think they're something they're not. Instead of speaking from the heart and really connecting with others, CZ people are usually busy posturing and being politically correct, especially in business. They will say what is popular and what others want to hear, rather than speaking the truth and dealing with it accordingly.


CZ thinking is the cancer of brilliance. It spreads and affects every aspect of life. CZ people tend to be preoccupied with themselves. For example, they value perfection, so they often have their external "facets" reshaped and polished with cosmetic surgery. Ironically, they strive for perfection through imitation. Interestingly, most people think genuine diamonds are perfect, when in fact they rarely are. Almost all authentic diamonds have inclusions, and yet they shine brilliantly in spite of their flaws. There is perfection in the imperfection. In other words, you don't have to be perfect to be brilliant.


CZ thinkers follow the crowd instead of their hearts. In fact, they need that crowd to reinforce their beliefs. Authentic people know that when you stand for something, you sometimes stand by yourself. CZ people are uncomfortable standing alone and often don't stand for anything at all. They don't want to be the odd person out, on an island by themselves.


Genuine diamond people are willing to stand alone if that's what it takes to release their brilliance. When you decide to step out of the pack and be your authentic self, your friends and co-workers may look at you differently. But genuine people are comfortable saying "I'm okay with me even if you're not okay with me." They act on their convictions without fearing what other people might say or do.


Today, I invite you to look in the mirror, take off the mask, and strip away all that's preventing the real you from shining through. Recognize who you genuinely are, and choose to live an authentic life in which you brilliantly shine from the inside out. Realize that authentic living is a process and that it takes time. An imitation, a manufactured person will never have the same depth, strength, or resilience as a genuine person who has been refined by the fire.

Shy, like me.

In life and in general, they say that strength is in numbers. Growing up with no siblings, I could understand that. It was hard enough to go through life's inevitable changes such as moving, new schools and adolescence but I think when you journey through with a sibling, you bounce back a little easier.

Think of the animal kingdom who travel in packs. It's not natural to be by oneself although later in life, it's amazing how much we relish our alone time. Me personally, I rejuvenate from a long and stressful day by myself or with my husband at home relaxing. There are two types of people: those that revive their energy being surrounded and those that revive their energy with their own company. Some people are a fine balance of both.

There are many advantages to being an only child. I'm not complaining or blaming. I like to analyze why people are the way they are and figure out where they came from. Your past always shapes who you are in some form or another.

Those I am closest to know that I am somewhat of a shy person and those that don't know me think I'm an outgoing and confident person. I suppose I'm somewhat of a mix however when I read articles like the ones I am about to describe, I'm more inclined to tick off the "introvert" box in the survey. Alternatively, I am the craziest and zaniest personality when I'm comfortable and unguarded. Those that know me will relive and retell hilarious stories and those that don't, wonder what I'm really all about.

I bought Oprah's Big Book of Happiness on sale at Home Sense for $9.99 (what a deal). I don't subscribe to her magazine and I rarely watch her show, or the affiliated Dr. shows. I do however love my latest purchase which discusses topics such as mind, body, dating, relating, confidence, finances and health. It exposes such personal topics as depression, divorce, debt, rape, pregnancy, adoption, alcoholism, bad bosses and celebrity confessions.

What really spoke to me, in an age of ballsy, corporate driven women, was an entire chapter devoted to the one thing you assume everyone has: confidence. One article, which spoke specifically about shyness, really had me at the opening paragraph. Below are some excerpts from the article I found interesting.

p.s. Did you know that social anxiety and fear of being judged is the #1 phobia in all of North America, even ranked ahead of dying? That's right and that's crazy. People would rather die than say the wrong thing. Okay, that's a little extreme but you get the point.

We should really lighten up on each other, because we're all more alike than we realize. We all try our best, we all want to be accepted and we all just really want to matter.

We're not alone, and what a relief.

Relax...You are getting bolder, by Beverly Donofrio

* "A few years ago when I complained to my latest, greatest, and now past therapist that I didn't want to go to some party I was invited to, I'd be bored, have nothing to say to people-whom I wouldn't like and who wouldn't like me-she pinned me with her penetrating gaze and said, 'You're a shy person.' "

* "I didn't believe my therapist. Shy adults can't make eye contact; they dress plainly and turn red if you compliment them. I am not like that at all. I can be a flamboyant dresser, I meet your eye, and positively glow from attention and praise. I can even, if in the mood, be gregarious."

* "At the bar, I struck up a conversation with the couple sitting beside me. They were tourists in my town, and when they told me they were thinking of returning for a month in the summer, I suggested that they might like to rent my house because I'd be away then. We made a date for them to come by on Sunday at 2 in the afternoon. The next morning, no longer under the influence of the beta-blocker, I had a mini breakdown."

* "That night I couldn't sleep for recalling all the times shyness had tripped me up. I'd gone to Guatemala to study Spanish for three weeks and never once struck up a conversation with anyone the entire time-in Spanish or in English. I'd noticed the starving street dogs and how they slunk around anticipating a kick, and on a particularly low day I decided I was like them."

* "A few weeks after Amy told me about being hypnotized, I sat next to a Lacanian analyst at a dinner party who said, 'Psychoanalysis doesn't work; hypnotism does.' "

* "You're going to change in ways you can't even imagine. This will affect your entire life. Even as I realized that Debbie had just planted a suggestion, the possibility of being comfortable in my own skin sent a tingly sensation right through me."

* "I decided to smile at everyone I passed. I was now middle-aged and my smiles were not likely to be misconstrued as come-ons. People smiled back. It felt pretty good. I spread a little joy. It hadn't been my intention, but it was the effect. And that's when I discovered something profound about shyness. It's a little self-involved. How can you ever think about the other person if you're so busy worrying about yourself?"

* "A few days after I came back home, I went to a dance and made a date to meet a man at a chocolate factory. The chocolate was deep, dark, and delicious. The man turned out to have a Mexican girlfriend. Even conquering shyness didn't make life perfect, but it has made it more interesting, and now when I feel like being a wet blanket, I know it's my choice."

The cure for self-consciousness, by Martha Beck

* "Most of us occasionally dream about being embarrassed in social settings. But even in waking life, many of us operate as if Simon Cowell is doing a play-by-play of our work, wardrobe, and snack choices. One team of researches has dubbed this phenomenon the "spotlight effect." In the beam of imaginary spotlights, may of us suffer untold shame and create smaller, weaker, less zestful lives than we deserve."

* "In one experiment, they had college students enter a room with other students while wearing an "embarassing" T-shirt. When the mortified students were asked to guess how many people in the room would remember the face on their T-shirt, they gave a number about twice as high as the number of students who actually remembered the shirt."

* "In the long run, people most often regret the things they failed to try, rather than the things they bombed at."

* "Once, I had an intense, emotional cell phone discussion with a friend while riding in a taxi. At a certain point I fell into a strangled silence. 'What's wrong with you?' my friend asked. 'Why aren't you talking?' Covering my mouth with one hand, I whispered, 'The driver can hear me.' At this point my friend said something so lucid, so mind expanding, so simultaneously socratic and Zenlike, that I memorized it on the spot My friend said--and I quote: 'So?'

This brilliant interrogatory challenged me to consider the long term consequences of being embarrassed (really, who cares?)"

"If I say what I really think, people might disagree with me. So? If I leave my drunken abusive husband, his crazy family will call me a bitch. So? If I go windsurfing, I'll look like a klutz. Plus, people will see my cellulite."

So? So what. Who the hell cares.