Memorial Day

“In one of his last newsletters, Mike Ranney wrote: 

"In thinking back on the days of Easy Company, I treasure my remark to a grandson who asked, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?'

No,'" I answered, 'but I served in a company of heroes.”

 

-Major Dick Winters,

Commander of Easy Company

2nd Battalion

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment

101st Airborne Division

Goals for Now until June

1) Read at least 5 books; right now I'm reading "under the skin," but next will be "girls in white dresses" and after that there are a slew of books to choose from. Hopefully I can get some of my group together to do some type of book club. The 5 don't include my audiobooks; I should get through 2 or 3 of them as well.

I also went to a book club that meets monthly, although they all read different books and talk about them; they got me connected to two others though, so hopefully I can get involved there as well.

2) Take 10 minutes every morning to take a walk around the apartment- Mom pointed out that there are lots of little opportunities that may seem insignificant but can still be utilized. I want to make it a goal just to walk more, but since that isn't as measurable I want to say I will at least do a mini walk in the morning.

3) Finish my coursera class, and then take a second one. It isn't so much that they're difficult, but they're good exercises in self-discipline. It also wouldn't kill me to start back on my Spanish rosetta course. I'm using my trip to Costa Rica as motivation.

4) Go to my gym 4 days a week- Screw weight loss. I give up on that right now. But it's good for me to get out of the house, it's good to push your body, and I always feel better after a workout. So even if I go just to get the rest of my steps in, I need to go.

5) Watch smarter movies and television- Instead of getting sucked into what's already on, or something I've already seen, I need to watch something that makes me better for having seen it.

Rockin' the Suburbs

Happy Graduation, Friends!

I love these people. 

Rivers and Roads

It always makes me a little weepy, but in the best way, and it was in this season's finale of New Girl. Plus, it's the perfect graduation song.

When You are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris

David Sedaris is the reason I love audiobooks. He is the perfect example of that hilarious written genius that, if read poorly, would just be dull and long winded. I fell in love with him freshman year of college, when we listened to an excerpt from his book "Me talk pretty one day." It is 100% worth listening to the whole thing:

Anyway, I just finished another of his books, "When You Are Engulfed in Flames," which follows his journey with quitting smoking, his neighbors in France, and how he and his partner decided to move to Japan. His is one that can't be captured in a few quotes; he has perfected the craft of extending a story without making it dull. He's the anti-twitter. So with that in mind, here are some quotes that don't necessarily represent the comedy of the book, but I still loved anyway:


“Sometimes the sins you haven't committed are all you have left to hold onto.”

“The things I've bought from strangers in the dark would curl your hair.”

“The bow tie is like the pierced eyebrow of the Republican party.”

The important thing is that you go out and get an audiobook or a youtube video of him reading one of his stories, because the man is hilarious. 

Ryan Gosling Finally Eats his Cereal

I just find this so touching. If you haven't seen the original video, it was created by Ryan McHenry:

Ryan died on Sunday at the age of 27, and to honor him, Ryan Gosling sat down and had a bowl of cereal. It seems so trivial, but it's one of those little things that remind you how valuable we all are, and how easy it is to give someone their due props.