Love Rules
My honey and I just celebrated our first anniversary. It took a full week and involved food that nearly made me cry, oversized martini glasses, and sunset views of Puget Sound. For most of my life I’ve been terrible at romantic relationships. I was the poster child for poor decisions, poor timing and poor…
Redefining Failure
My high school physics teacher was hot. He was young, handsome, brilliant and charming. The girls swooned, the guys admired. I’m not sure he could have gotten away with failing us all otherwise. We were the academic elite. The brainiacs, who were on our way to Ivy Leagues, and distinguished careers in…
Shocks and Resets
Just a few days ago, I went from the surprising heat wave in the Pacific Northwest to the surprising raininess of central New Jersey. It effectively shocked me into summer. I’ve been able to slow down, relish the extra time with my loved ones, and be nourished by all the goodies this season brings. I…
Are You Spiritual Enough?
Summer is sneaking into my room and tickling my feet. I’m feeling all giddy and giggly about it. I want to increase the amount of laughter in the world, and in my life. In that spirit, I’ve written something humorous (I hope.) If you are easily offended, PLEASE do not take the quiz below. It…
Love and Anger
I had a really bad experience recently. During a series of money hiccups, I called my bank’s customer service several times over the course of a week to straighten things out. An agent said to me, “Since Pascale is obviously a man’s name, I know you are committing fraud.” They put my accounts on a…
Silly Bird
For the past several days a bird has been flying into the windows of my house. It happens more than ten times a day, and startles me every time. It’s confusing. Hasn’t that bird figured it out by now? Doesn’t the sting of crashing into the window create enough negative reinforcement to prevent it from…
An Ode to June
June is my birthday month, and it’s right around the corner. It also includes my father’s birthday, my honey’s birthday and my best friend’s anniversary. It’s the summer solstice, the end of the school year, and month number 6 (my very favorite number). That might seem like more than enough for one 30-day stretch, but…
Bold Moves vs. Baby Steps
Bold moves are great. I’ve employed them in nearly every aspect of my life – career, relationships, health. They are declarative, attention-getting, powerful statements of being and arriving. I am reminded of the Star Trek episodes of my youth, where one could move from Point A to Point Z (without ever passing through B-Y) with…
The Pursuit of Unhappiness*
*No, that’s not a typo. Who would ever pursue UNhappiness?? You would. I would. Everyone we’ve ever known would. Perhaps that doesn’t make a stitch of sense. You’re right. Happiness has a whole lot of caché. It’s the hot thing, the hip thing, the new black. Even His Holiness The Dalai Lama says happiness…
Coffee and Course Correcting
I just recently started drinking coffee. You might find that unremarkable. Coffee is the most widely enjoyed beverage/drug/hobby in the world. What’s remarkable, or maybe just interesting, is that my behavior change comes after a lifetime of finding the smell, taste and effects of coffee completely unappealing. I grew up in a coffee household, a…