Floppy Tulips and Lopsided Smiles

What brings you up when you are down? What makes you happy?

I have been somewhat down this week because I am not a salesman by nature. You may be surprised to hear that I do not like selling. Hustling my book and my speaking wears me out. I even considered joining The Quitters Club.

Yes. That is a real thing. I read about it in The Washington Post recently. People who just wanted to give up whatever they were trying to do got together to help each other quit. Perhaps not surprisingly, they ended up giving each other support to keep trying.

Yes. Because those of us who think about giving up from time to time are also often plagued by thoughts like “winners never quit” and “persistence is the key.” Jeez, if you are also bugged constantly by some inner devil pushing you to do more and better, let me know. We can form the Why Oh Why Can’t We Just Sit on a Beach and Chillax Club.

And yes. Fortunately, many of us have found tried and true ways to cheer ourselves up and re-energize. Tell me yours!

If you are a loyal Noticer and read this blog (and The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing, plug, plug, sell, sell), you know that there are two tried and true ways I cheer myself up. One is roaming through the farmers’ market, and two is buying and admiring yellow flowers. Both of which I have done today, and I am now in a great energized mood.

Do you think these yellow tulips will ever stand up straight? Will they get their act together and reach for the ceiling?

On the other hand, they are so lovable flopping all over this way and that like some mixed breed dog with a lopsided smile. 

Whether they reach their full potential of strong tulips standing tall, or whether they just flop all over doing their own thing, I love them.

Perhaps I should think of myself as a floppy yellow tulip and be more tolerant of myself.

OMG! Get a grip, girl! Here’s a smack on the butt. Get yourself moving! Nobody ever got on The New York Times bestseller list by pretending to be a tulip!

Okay….Okay!

Dear NY Times: Please put The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing on your list. Sincerely, Margery

That’s not how it works? Oh.

Well you can’t win if you don’t try.

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Why It Doesn’t Matter That My Hair Frizzes in the Humidity

The orbiting Hubble Telescope has found evidence of a huge salt water ocean under the ice layer on Ganymede, Jupiter’s biggest moon! The ocean has more water than all the water on Earth. It is 60 miles thick, which is 10 times thicker than oceans on Earth, but it is buried beneath 95 miles of ice.

How do they know? Scientists know that Ganymede has a magnetic field because it produces aurorae (just like Earth), and it is also embedded in Jupiter’s magnetic field. So, by studying changes in the aurorae, they figured out the ocean thing. That’s all I can tell you. NASA’s website is awesome. You can read it yourself and then maybe explain to me how they know this. By the way, Ganymede is the only moon in the solar system known to have a magnetic field.

In any case, it is amazing.

Also quite amazing is that the four largest moons of Jupiter were discovered in 1610 by Galileo!

Another of these four moons is Europa, which is also thought to have an ocean – maybe twice as much water as Earth underneath a surface of water ice.

These moons have their own internal sources of heat. Heat sources and oceans….will we find life forms there? It’s entirely possible.

So when you look at the stars at night do you think….wow! We are on one planet in a solar system with many other planets and moons and asteroids and comets. And this solar system is in one galaxy with so many stars and planets and quasars and black holes. And this galaxy is only one among so many, many other galaxies. And all these galaxies make up the known universe…but are there other universes as well?

Go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U

This is a 6 minute video called The Known Universe produced by The American Museum of Natural History.  It really shows how vast the known universe is – and this is only what we know for sure right now – and what an extraordinarily tiny piece of real estate Earth is within this vastness.

So, realizing all this….does it make one iota of sense for me, or any of us, to be arrogant? Does it make any sense for me, or any of us, to indulge our prejudices?  Does it make any sense at all for me to worry that my hair frizzes on a humid day? 

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is now available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

Life is a Balagan

My life is currently one big balagan.

Isn’t that the most awesome word, and can’t you guess what it means? To me it is amazingly onomatopoetic. It sounds like what it is.

A balagan. A mess. A big mixed up, tangled up, riotous mess.

It can be good, as in, “I heard there is a balagan in Tel Aviv with free beer. Yala! (Let’s go!)

It can be bad, as in, “What a balagan the Middle East is.”

Or it can be what it is, as in, “My life is currently one big balagan.”

You remember my Noticing last week? I wrote about great words I discovered during my recent trip to Israel. I wrote about “haval al hazman” – a great compliment which means “a waste of time”. Well, balagan is another great word, which I will endeavor to use as much as possible now.

So about my life as a balagan. My day job, running a non-profit, now runneth over. At least my annual gala took place this past weekend. Yay! I love the past tense! Took place. As in, done, finished, over! However, I am still putting dishes away after hosting my Passover seder – 5 course meal for 12 – and that was a week and a half ago. Plus, I really need to get back to publicizing my future bestseller, The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing. Oh, and by the way, I sprained my ankle. And no, it wasn’t a result of skiing in the Alps…which would have been worth it. It was a result of falling off a curb in New Jersey.

Aaii! What a balagan!

But see, just saying that word cheers me way up. Try it. Life is a balagan!

Hey! Let’s have balagan parties! Have a mess of food and drink and lots of people and conversation and laughter and Noticings of all kinds.  I can see Chinese food mixed with Indian mixed with tacos. I can see people wearing cocktail dresses and sweatpants. I can see CDs piled up for playing - Beethoven, hip hop, and Mary Had a Little Lamb. Balagan parties!

C’mon over. Are you in?

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

NEW BOOK! The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

Here is a 50 second really cool video about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWMsUUPPeA

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

A Waste of Time

In the very diverse hip area of Jaffa at the south end of Tel Aviv where we just stayed for two weeks, sits the old, famous shop selling delicious pastries and a culinary invention called “toast”.  Toast is like a huge bagel-panini stuffed with whatever you want. The guys behind the counter, which is right on the street, wear teeshirts that say “Jews and Arabs Refuse to be Enemies”.

Ah, if it were only true throughout the Middle East rather than just in this small enclave of mosques abutting synagogues, neighboring churches.

But ignoring politics and embracing culture is much more fulfilling right now.

There is an expression used in Tel Aviv that I love: “Haval al hazman!” Literally it means ”a waste of time”. But the stupendous thing is that this phrase is used to mean “It’s fabulous!”

Suppose you bake someone a cake and bring it to their home. They might well say “Haval al hazman!”

Think about it. The idea of wasting time as the highest praise! Or, alternatively, you could interpret it as “such an honor that you would waste your precious time for me!”

The idea of putting a high value on wasting time is a new and radical concept for me. I need to really consider this.

I am quite neurotic about time. I do not “waste” it at all. I do not “waste time” in a somewhat extreme way. I’m beginning to think that how I go about living each day is very wrong.

I feel guilty if I am reading a book. I feel guilty if I am not eating lunch at my desk. Thankfully, I do not feel guilty when I am working out or taking long walks because, I reason neurotically, I need to keep my body in shape so that I can keep on “doing” stuff and not “waste time”.

I am an annoying person, am I not? Jeez, after reading this, I don’t even want to be my own friend.

One expression that I detest is when someone says “lighten up”. It is so condescending and dismissive of the other person’s thoughts. However, I have only one thing to say to myself at this point:

Lighten up, Margery!  

All right. Ok. I am going to try to live differently. I am off now to sit in a café and read a book.

How long do you think I need to stay? More than 5 minutes? Would 15 be enough?

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

NEW BOOK! The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

Here is a 50 second really cool video about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWMsUUPPeA 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

The Forces of the Universe

Did you ever have this kind of experience? Whenever I find a product that I really like, it is discontinued soon thereafter.

This has happened to me over the decades. I find a lipstick I like. When I use it up and want to buy another, it is no longer made. I find a comfortable bra that does its work well. The next time I am looking, I find the style has been discontinued. Even my favorite frozen yogurt shop has gone into bankruptcy.

It makes me think that my tastes are strange. Nobody else must like what I like since evidently the market for “my” products is not there.

Or is it simply that the forces of the universe are teasing me? “Haha. You like something? We will make it gone!”

Or maybe the forces of the universe are challenging me. “Ha. Don’t think things are so easy. You think you can go into a store and within minutes get what you want? I don’t think so.”

Or maybe it is a strategy of the manufacturers to sell more. I have learned that it is probably wise to buy more than one pair of the same shoes if they are comfortable.

Or maybe I am reading meaning into random events.

But it is a pattern, I assure you. Does this ever happen to you? Guys, I know you probably don’t have the bra and lipstick issue, but maybe you have others like this?

Are we being manipulated? Teased? Challenged?

Or should I just go with the flow and focus on more important things?  Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

NEW BOOK PUBLISHED! The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U

Here is a 50 second really cool video about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWMsUUPPeA

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

A Little Bit of Crankiness Makes the World Go ‘Round

The realization hit me this morning with all the power of a wet towel snap. (Which, being a well-mannered female, I have, thankfully, never actually experienced.)

But the point is this: I am way overdue for some cranky Noticings!

No fretting needed though, my fellow Noticers. I always have some crankiness to share.

1. At a minimum once a day, while at work, I want to check the news online and see what misery my fellow humans have unleashed on one another. All I want is a surreptitious quick check. But nooo. Nowadays as soon as you get on a website, a video starts blaring at you. No! I do not want the entire building to hear these annoying videos, and I do not want to take the time to watch them. I simply want 30 seconds of headline scanning. Get rid of the videos! We can read! We don’t need to be “entertained” by videos all the time! Bah!!!!
2. And why is buying dishwasher detergent so difficult?? How the heck am I supposed to know what power I want? 6x! 10x! 12x! What is the difference?! Why can’t they just make dishwasher detergent that works? If it works at 1, why would I need 12 times the working power? But, standing in the supermarket aisle, I had to decide. And then we had what could be a psychological research project. I finally chose 6x instead of 4x, which was the lowest. I thought 4x might make me seem cheap, and 12x seemed extravagantly useless. So after wasting way too much time, I chose 6x. Is that right? What is the right answer, my fellow Noticers??
3. Now for my final crank for today: Why are we all of a sudden talking all the time about the need to “hydrate?” We all carry around water bottles so we can “hydrate.” Well folks. I am not going to “hydrate.” I am simply going to take a “drink!” I drink, do you hear? Drink! A nice simple word that’s been used for a very long time, and is still good.  Hahahahaha! I am drinking water right now! Hydrate…..hah!

And there you have it. This Noticing will be filed under Annoying Things to Notice, one of the three parts of the world….along with, as you know, Amazing Things to Notice and Human Idiosyn-Crazies ™ to Notice. What can you add to the list of Annoying Things to Notice?

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

NEW BOOK PUBLISHED! The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here.  

Here is a 50 second really cool video about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWMsUUPPeA 

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”

The Music Mystery

I am quite special.

I must be because music is following me wherever I go. Not always, but often enough to have become a real mystery.

I walk down the street and it is uncanny. The music is not loud, but it is exactly the type I like. Where is it coming from? It is definitely behind me but when I turn around, I see nothing that would bring music to my ears.

There are a few people walking, but they are a couple of blocks behind me, so it couldn’t be coming from them. There are no cars passing with radios blaring.

Where is this music coming from? I don’t know so I just accept it and enjoy it like some Zen master, knowledgeable in the fact that not everything is knowable.

Suddenly, I hear a buzz and the music stops.

Wait a minute….

I reach into my back pocket for my phone and I see that I have a new text message…and I see also that somehow, some way…

Pandora has turned on.

Oh.

Yes, it seems that my own phone in my back pocket under my jacket was the source of the lovely music.

Hmmm. Sometimes the mystery is way more exciting than the truth, isn’t it?

©2015 Margery Leveen Sher

NEW BOOK PUBLISHED! The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing…..Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine is available on Amazon, Nook, and iTunes.  Read the reviews and purchase here. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZTM73U 

Here is a 50 second really cool video about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWMsUUPPeA

MARGERY IS AVAILABLE TO KEYNOTE YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE with a motivational talk filled with both startling wisdom and humongous laughs:

“Notice What You See and Be a Hero at Work”