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WhyDid Wisdom: Sloth Prevention 101

By Kirsten|January 11th, 2011|WhyDid Wisdom|

When you work in a creative field, at times you can feel completely sucked dry without an ounce of creativity to spare. It isn’t a job where you see immediate results like sales figures or dolla dolla bills ya’ll, so it is easy to get discouraged. Creativity comes from a personal place and demands you to constantly put a piece of yourself out there. At times, it can be completely and utterly exhausting. When I get to that point, it is very very easy for me to want to “sloth.” However, we all know that slothing is not a healthy place to be.

So, this is as much for me as it is for you:

Get Up! There is nothing I love more than lounging in bed all day with my computer. I mean, who doesn’t want to be able to “work” from bed? Well, beds = slothing. Plus, it’s pretty easy to get caught in a Millionaire Matchmaker marathon (not that I would know or anything). By getting up and making some coffee or tea and opening the blinds for some natural light, you will already be gearing up for a great day.
Get Out! Being out in the world will often times trigger something in that pretty little head of yours. Inspiration often strikes you when you least expect it. Be sure to bring a note pad or better yet, send yourself a text!
Read something. (and I do not mean The Superficial or Perez). Read a book. By reading someone else’s great work, you will most certainly feel inspired to create your own masterpiece. BTW, totes nothing wrong with reading gossip blogs… guilty pleasure and great source of fugly celeb outfits.
Disconnect. By being constantly inundated with texts, BBM’s, IM’s,Facebook, Twitter, and on and on…. it’s really easy to get distracted. As Rachel Zoe might say, “Shut. It. Down.”
Gimme a break. I know that many of us have “deadlines” but when you try and force a square peg into a round hole… well, you know the outcome. Take a little break and work on something else. When you come back to your project, you’ll have a fresh perspective.

With that said, I’m closing my Mac and going to sip on some coffee before taking a run. When I return, expect something rivaling that of the Sistine Chapel… or at least another post.

xx,

WhyDid

WhyDid Wisdom: WhyDid Unplugged

By Kirsten|July 29th, 2010|WhyDid Wisdom|

Once while home visiting my mom in West Virginia, she nearly threw my Blackberry at my head a la Naomi Campbell because I just would not/could not put it down. She was frustrated that I was constantly tapping away on it and not listening to her (little does she know that I am capable of two things at once!). I do, however understand her concern. I was being a bit obnoxious about it.

So when my phone conveniently fell into the toilet the last time I was home, my mom was secretly elated. (I wouldn’t be surprised if she paid off that toilet to trip me so I’d drop my phone). After that whole “rice” suggestion not really panning out, I was sitting around without a phone until my replacement was shipped. As mentioned, her computer is from 1999 and her home is not equipped with Wifi. Sigh. What’s a girl to do? How on earth was I going to keep up with Twitter updates and update my Facebook status?

We are an incredibly overstimulated society. There are far too many distractions for us. Family dinners are nearly non existent and the ones that are usually are drowned out by the garble on TV. Kids are being diagnosed left and right with ADD when they really are probably just overstimulated with all the Hannah Montana and Dora the Explorer going on. No one remembers how to pick up the phone anymore let alone pen a handwritten letter. We don’t even use full words anymore. “C U L8R!”

It’s so very easy to get caught up in our little social bubbles that we forget to just be totally quiet. When’s the last time you really had a moment to yourself? Complete peace and quiet?

I suggest taking an entire afternoon or even a weekend if you can muster up the courage to completely unplug and disconnect with the outside world so that you can re-connect with yourself. I’m willing to bet that the world will carry on as normal with or without your BBM’s.

xx,

WhyDid

Why Did You Date Him: Text in the City

By Kirsten|May 11th, 2010|Why Did You Date Him?|

Things have changed since Granny was going out on dates. While we think some of her dating advice is brilliant (a good man’s worth waiting for, why buy the cow when the milk’s free?, if you run, he’ll follow. if you follow, he’ll run), Nana doesn’t have a clue as to what we are up against in the age of the internet. Between social networking and cell phones…. we’ve got our work cut out for us.

I’m the first to admit that one of the first things I do when I meet someone new… is Google. Granted, I Google everything because I don’t like to not know the answer, but Googling love interests can be treacherous (curiosity did kill the cat, my friends). Once you’ve clicked “search” you’re bombarded with Linked In, Facebook, Friendster (WHO still uses that), Myspace (WHO still uses that), Twitter, photos, or perhaps, nothing. I can’t decide how I feel about finding “nothing” but in my experience, the more “Googleable” (made that up) a person is, the more heartache that can potentially ensue.

We all know Twitter was responsible for putting the final nail in the coffin of my last relationship and from time to time Twitter eff’s with my current situations. It really is a blessing and a curse. I mean, when you broadcast your whereabouts on the internet… Not to mention that people can now “@” you without permission… Someone’s bound to catch you in a lie. You call it stalking, I call it resourcefulness. Tomato, tomato.

I know people who have literally canceled dates after checking out their prospective suitor’s Facebook page. One too many photos at Bagatelle brunch with a magnum of rose turned me off from a gentleman who requested the pleasure of my company. No, thank you! You are now able to get a peak into people’s lives before you’ve even shared an appetizer. I know what your mom looks like, where you last went on vacation, and don’t worry, I’ve scouted out your ex before we’ve even checked our coats. So really, what is there left to talk about? Wanna make out?

Shit storms have started between couples who are both on Facebook. “Who the hell did is Samantha Brown?” “WTF is Tommy doing writing on your wall?” I no longer want to be Facebook friends with boys I’m dating. Why don’t you go ahead and not worry about what I’m doing and I’ll do the same. It’s unnecessary drama added with really no upside.

Texting has become a skill to be honed at this point. Are you reading the subtext of the text? I’ve received texts that I needed Cliffs Notes to decipher. When I re-read them later (because we all like to go back and overanalyze) I realized that I was having a completely different conversation than my counterpart. I thought we were talking about dancing. He thought we were talking pants off dance off. Woops. Obviously, I need to pick up a copy of Flirtexting STAT. This also leads to all the questions of when to text back, should you text back, NEVER double text. It’s virtually impossible to have a real conversation via text message. I can’t tell you the number of times things have been totally misconstrued over text. Obviously, my sense of humor is not conveyed well digitally.

Um, and shall I even proceed into BBM territory? Good word, those damn D’s and R’s are out to ruin my life. I actually try NOT to give out my PIN to guys I just start seeing because I really just can’t deal with the politics that are Blackberry Messenger. Yes, I “read” your message. No, I have no response. I can’t deal with the blinking red light forcing me to check all BBM’s (OCD much?) and therefore, forcing me to respond. Perhaps this is a strong argument for making the iPhone switch.

Wanna delve into FourSquare? Now you can alert the world as to where you are at every waking moment of your life. My apartment building is a check in point. That in and of itself is creepy. I’m not sure I need everyone to know where I am at all times… Why not implant yourself with a GPS? Might as well. Now you can “just happen” to show up where your crush is. What a coincidence!

While sitting at the pool at Soho House (berating the man next to me for having an iPad), he informed me of a new iPhone app that will allow all single people to identify all the other single people in the room. Looks like I better invest in a fake wedding ring ASAP.

I think I’d like to revert back to hand written notes (send me an E-card, I dare you) and telephone calls. Maybe there truly is such a thing as TMI.

P.S. since we are stuck with technology, you should probably follow WhyDid on Twitter, and join our Facebook page. If you can’t beat ’em…

xx,

WhyDid

Givin’ Him the Eye

By Kirsten|November 18th, 2009|Why Did You Date Him?, WhyDid Wisdom|

bbmessenger_intro_sh

As many of you are well aware, there is a serious BBM (Blackberry Messenger) obsession/sickness going on. Peronally, the only reason I like BBM is for the amazing emoticons (although, I have a few suggestions- Blackberry, have your people call my people). It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you can check whether or not your “friends” have read your message or not, stalkers. Big fan of the “thumbs up,” fyi.

Anyway, my point is being lost here. Let’s talk about emoticons. A while ago, I had an incredibly traumatic experience that involved none other than the dreaded “wink face.” Who knew a semi-colon and a half parentheses could wreak such havoc? Yeah, I wasn’t aware either. Thanks a lot, punctation marks.

A young lady (and I’m really stretching the word “lady” here) tweeted a little somethin’ somethin’ about my then bf. The statement wasn’t particularly racy… that is, until she added the “;-)” after it. Um, I think we all know what the wink face means. Oh no, you didn’t! I, myself have given the ol’ wink face a time or two in my day (i.e., the neverending facebook message romance, along with my epistolary BBM love story). I KNOW what the wink face means, biotch.

Now the smiley face, that is a safer emoticon. That just means you’re happy. I’m cool with you, smiley face. Smiley face can be used in many contexts and is even safe to use with family members. Do not over “smiley” though. For one, no one is that happy and also, you don’t want to dilute the effect of a smiley. Use it only when you really are happy.

Kiss face (:-*), you’re nothing but trouble. Please use this one wisely. I use it for my girlfriends who I adore madly. It is reserved only for very special people. I’m no “kiss face slut.” I suggest you not be one either.

Thumbs up and thumbs down, are certainly my favorites. I insert a thumbs down rather than my typical response of “ew” to texts that I don’t like.

In closing, I suggest thinking before you emoticon. I’m not sure if that is even proper English or if, in fact, “emoticon” can be used as a verb, but that’s fine. You get what I’m saying. A wink face (more like a wonk face) basically put the nail in the coffin of my last relationship, so this clearly is not a subject to be taken lightly. Use your emoticons wisely and give your thumbs a rest!

wink

wink wink,

WhyDid

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