Consider this: the average American watches more than four hours of TV each day. In a 65 year life, that person will have spent nine years glued to the tube and seen 2 million commercials, with over 53 percent of viewing time focused on crime, disaster and war. Recent studies show that texting while driving makes people 8x more likely to suffer a serious car accident.
Sundays Church's bulletin was interesting and had to do with Saint Peters second reading which says "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." (Peter 3:15) In the days when most people could not read or write, storytellers kept the community connected with tales that were entertaining, thought provoking and informative. Nowadays, public story telling is almost a forgotten art.
Many us must "multi task" in an attempt to be more productive and efficient, but with the rise of the Internet, blogs, texting, Facebook, Twitter, something new is emerging, which has been called "continuous partial attention" paying partial attention or continuously scanning for the best opportunity, activities, and contacts at any given moment.
Multi tasking allows us to stay in face-to-face connection with people, but continuous partial attention can isolate us in our own little bubble, watching a screen, often with negative consequences.
Saint Peters reading just reinforced the loss of story telling and I loved how the father continued speaking on this. Even though every one multi tasks, I don't think we realize just how much we do it. "This is a clear indication of what should be the single more important thing in our lives, from which everything else flows- how we prioritize our daily life, how we spend our time, our relationships with other people, how we use our abilities, and how we use our resources."
Being Catholic is an important part of who I am and how I live my life. I love being able to write about this and how it connects important parts of my life, being catholic, day to day activities, multitasking, social media etc.
So get off the computer, Facebook, Twitter for an just an hour a day and go outside, call a friend, run outside, go to the dog park, volunteer- do something new and concentrate on just that one thing.
When was the last time you were multitasking? What's some advice you have for getting away from our social media habits?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Make it a Great Day!
Yesterday I went to work with a really positive attitude, which I usually try to do. I started my day off at the local coffee shop because I had some time to waste when my husband dropped me off. I sipped on my latte, did my usual social media and blogging and started to walk to work. Which is only about a 5 minute walk.
The weather was gorgeous. That's the beauty of living here on Maui. It's about 85 degrees everyday and I don't have to think about what I'm going to wear in the morning. Shorts it is! If it happens to be cold wear you live: use that as an excuse to wear (or buy) your boots your dying to wear. Or buy a new scarf and show it off! Every time I walk to work I always think about how lucky I am to be living here and to actually have a job. There are a lot of people unemployed, looking for work, in between jobs and not getting any results. About 54 percent of recent college graduates haven't found a job yet. When I hear that it just makes me thankful for the job that I have.
The rest of the day I was determined to make it a great day with a smile on my face. I love being able to spread that attitude anywhere I can. Because believe it or not, attitude and a smile are very contagious. Think about the last time you saw a random person on the street or at work and they smiled at you. What did you do- smile back right? At least I hope so! The rest of the day seemed to fly by.
Working in the hospataility industry you don't have any wriggle room to "have a bad day." These vacationers come to Maui and my hotel to have a great time and forget about what ever troubles they left behind. So I feel it's my duty to continue making them feel that way. I greet everyone with a smile, ask how they are and where they are from. If you havent noticed, people LOVE talking about themselves. That in turn, makes their day a little better because of one simple question you asked them. I hope they leave me thinking "yes I am going to have a great day and you helped."
I always believe that your day will be the way you want it to be. If you wake up thinking it's going to be a bad day, then yes, it is going to be a bad day. Try this next time, wake up and know that it is going to be a great day. I have days where I get frustrated with my job because it's not what I want to be doing. But there is a reason why I have this job and I am grateful to have it and have that extra income that a lot of people don't have.
Start your day with a good breakfast. Doctors time and time again say that it is the best thing to do to help maintain weight so you don't overeat during lunch. Eating breakfast also gives you and your body the energy it needs to begin the day. Smile at a random person. Ask your co workers how their day is. Call a friend you haven't talk to in awhile and catch up. Do something for YOURSELF. Dont concentrate on what you feel are the bad things in life because it will hold you bad. Put your daily medication on your psoriasis, keep them moisturized and go out knowing you can do anything and you know what "things could always be worse." Your problems don't define you - you define yourself and how you are going to live your life. Take a daily walk, and even though your problem of the day (not the job you want; snooty co-worker; unsupportive boss; hostile work environment; not enough money; car needs repairs; kids stressing you out) isn't going to disappear with in the day, know you are doing the things you need to take care of you, your body and your family. Everything else will fall into place.
So what's it going to be today? Make it a great day! What's something in your life you are thankful and grateful for?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The weather was gorgeous. That's the beauty of living here on Maui. It's about 85 degrees everyday and I don't have to think about what I'm going to wear in the morning. Shorts it is! If it happens to be cold wear you live: use that as an excuse to wear (or buy) your boots your dying to wear. Or buy a new scarf and show it off! Every time I walk to work I always think about how lucky I am to be living here and to actually have a job. There are a lot of people unemployed, looking for work, in between jobs and not getting any results. About 54 percent of recent college graduates haven't found a job yet. When I hear that it just makes me thankful for the job that I have.
The rest of the day I was determined to make it a great day with a smile on my face. I love being able to spread that attitude anywhere I can. Because believe it or not, attitude and a smile are very contagious. Think about the last time you saw a random person on the street or at work and they smiled at you. What did you do- smile back right? At least I hope so! The rest of the day seemed to fly by.
Working in the hospataility industry you don't have any wriggle room to "have a bad day." These vacationers come to Maui and my hotel to have a great time and forget about what ever troubles they left behind. So I feel it's my duty to continue making them feel that way. I greet everyone with a smile, ask how they are and where they are from. If you havent noticed, people LOVE talking about themselves. That in turn, makes their day a little better because of one simple question you asked them. I hope they leave me thinking "yes I am going to have a great day and you helped."
I always believe that your day will be the way you want it to be. If you wake up thinking it's going to be a bad day, then yes, it is going to be a bad day. Try this next time, wake up and know that it is going to be a great day. I have days where I get frustrated with my job because it's not what I want to be doing. But there is a reason why I have this job and I am grateful to have it and have that extra income that a lot of people don't have.
Start your day with a good breakfast. Doctors time and time again say that it is the best thing to do to help maintain weight so you don't overeat during lunch. Eating breakfast also gives you and your body the energy it needs to begin the day. Smile at a random person. Ask your co workers how their day is. Call a friend you haven't talk to in awhile and catch up. Do something for YOURSELF. Dont concentrate on what you feel are the bad things in life because it will hold you bad. Put your daily medication on your psoriasis, keep them moisturized and go out knowing you can do anything and you know what "things could always be worse." Your problems don't define you - you define yourself and how you are going to live your life. Take a daily walk, and even though your problem of the day (not the job you want; snooty co-worker; unsupportive boss; hostile work environment; not enough money; car needs repairs; kids stressing you out) isn't going to disappear with in the day, know you are doing the things you need to take care of you, your body and your family. Everything else will fall into place.
So what's it going to be today? Make it a great day! What's something in your life you are thankful and grateful for?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Final Score 0-0
There's a new place on the block called Scoreboards- yes, it is what it sounds like- a sports bar and grill.
For my Mauians, it's situated where the infamous Gian Dons and Bocalinos once sat. It has the the flat screens, the immaculate, open space and a well-stocked bar. PLUS What's that one ingredient it's missing? Well, it's the food.
It's pretty hard to mess up bar food right? Well that's what I thought too. I went with two boys who are pretty easy to please, but it didn't even meet their standards.
It was happy hour when we went so we tried their half-off appetizers: there three cheese dip (it's the closest thing to queso we've see!) but it sure didn't taste like it. The cheese was bland and kind of mushy and not creamy. The roasted peppers didn't add any hint of spice or taste for that matter. A big fail there. The boys also tried the potato skins. Which were exactly what they sounded like: greasy potatoes skins, filled with melted cheese and of course bacon. That didn't reach my taste buds but it seem to please the boys.
It's the first month your restaurant is open so you want the first impressions to do just that - impress. Thanks for not doing that, waitress. She actually greeted us but seemed to be annoyed when we asked if we could still order the half-price appetizers. As she looks at her watch(sign of annoyance and something I can't stand when a waitress does) as she proceeds to tells us "ya, you can but if you want to order any others I need to put it in now" no smile on her face or "would you like anything else" TWO MINUS's.
Whenever I go to a bar and actually eat the food, I always try to stay on the light side. I ended up going with the Chicken Casear Wrap. The Ceasar dressing and salad part were excellent but the chicken was not: the creaminess of the dressing balanced out how very dry and tasteless the chicken was. The (small) side macaroni salad had a very funny taste to it. Not sure if it was made with mayo or something else, as the menu didn't state that, our clueless waitress didn't seem to know either. ANOTHER MINUS.
My husband ordered the fish tacos. Come on, how are you a restaurant here on Maui and mess up fish? But that they managed to do. The salsa was bland and watery; and the fish tasted just like it looked. A little on the burned side, once again tasteless and with the after taste of it being FROZEN, not fresh. Boggles my mind! He ate two of the three. Normally he'll eat all three and then some more. That's how I knew it wasn't good. ANOTHER MINUS
His friend had the chicken sandwich. His opinion was "it's a chicken sandwich, not much to it" The sad piece of chicken was very skinny and seemed to get lost in the overload of lettuce, tomatoes and the white bun. Nothing spectacular there. ANOTHER MINUS.
The cocktail prices weren't that bad: $4 beers which put a smile back on the boys faces and my wine was $3.50 which was just ok. ILL GIVE YOU A PLUS ON THAT SIDE.
Back to our bi-polar waitress. And I say bi polar because she was friendly when she greeted us; very annoyed with the appetizers; annoyed again when something went down with the bartender and manager which she felt the urge to share with our table "I'm shaking now"; (rule 55 of working in a restaurant, don't discuss work or personal probs with your table!); and then back to being annoyed when the rest of the food came; and back to happy when it was check time. YOU, MY FRIEND, GET A MINUS.
I know you're not supposed to 'judge a book by it's cover' but this was an exception. You have to impress here on Maui. With tourists here, you don't have that chance and luxury of having mediocre food and terrible wait staff. You have one time to impress people here. If you don't, that will go down in their vacation stories as "the worst bar food restaurant ever" and I know any restaurant doesn't want that.
I never visited Gian Dons for obvious reasons; Bocalinos actually had a great food and service but couldn't handle the rent; and so Scoreboards, if you can handle the high-price and hack it in the neighborhood, then step it up in the food department or one, two, three strikes(if you're lucky) you're outta here too!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
For my Mauians, it's situated where the infamous Gian Dons and Bocalinos once sat. It has the the flat screens, the immaculate, open space and a well-stocked bar. PLUS What's that one ingredient it's missing? Well, it's the food.
It's pretty hard to mess up bar food right? Well that's what I thought too. I went with two boys who are pretty easy to please, but it didn't even meet their standards.
It was happy hour when we went so we tried their half-off appetizers: there three cheese dip (it's the closest thing to queso we've see!) but it sure didn't taste like it. The cheese was bland and kind of mushy and not creamy. The roasted peppers didn't add any hint of spice or taste for that matter. A big fail there. The boys also tried the potato skins. Which were exactly what they sounded like: greasy potatoes skins, filled with melted cheese and of course bacon. That didn't reach my taste buds but it seem to please the boys.
It's the first month your restaurant is open so you want the first impressions to do just that - impress. Thanks for not doing that, waitress. She actually greeted us but seemed to be annoyed when we asked if we could still order the half-price appetizers. As she looks at her watch(sign of annoyance and something I can't stand when a waitress does) as she proceeds to tells us "ya, you can but if you want to order any others I need to put it in now" no smile on her face or "would you like anything else" TWO MINUS's.
Whenever I go to a bar and actually eat the food, I always try to stay on the light side. I ended up going with the Chicken Casear Wrap. The Ceasar dressing and salad part were excellent but the chicken was not: the creaminess of the dressing balanced out how very dry and tasteless the chicken was. The (small) side macaroni salad had a very funny taste to it. Not sure if it was made with mayo or something else, as the menu didn't state that, our clueless waitress didn't seem to know either. ANOTHER MINUS.
My husband ordered the fish tacos. Come on, how are you a restaurant here on Maui and mess up fish? But that they managed to do. The salsa was bland and watery; and the fish tasted just like it looked. A little on the burned side, once again tasteless and with the after taste of it being FROZEN, not fresh. Boggles my mind! He ate two of the three. Normally he'll eat all three and then some more. That's how I knew it wasn't good. ANOTHER MINUS
His friend had the chicken sandwich. His opinion was "it's a chicken sandwich, not much to it" The sad piece of chicken was very skinny and seemed to get lost in the overload of lettuce, tomatoes and the white bun. Nothing spectacular there. ANOTHER MINUS.
The cocktail prices weren't that bad: $4 beers which put a smile back on the boys faces and my wine was $3.50 which was just ok. ILL GIVE YOU A PLUS ON THAT SIDE.
Back to our bi-polar waitress. And I say bi polar because she was friendly when she greeted us; very annoyed with the appetizers; annoyed again when something went down with the bartender and manager which she felt the urge to share with our table "I'm shaking now"; (rule 55 of working in a restaurant, don't discuss work or personal probs with your table!); and then back to being annoyed when the rest of the food came; and back to happy when it was check time. YOU, MY FRIEND, GET A MINUS.
I know you're not supposed to 'judge a book by it's cover' but this was an exception. You have to impress here on Maui. With tourists here, you don't have that chance and luxury of having mediocre food and terrible wait staff. You have one time to impress people here. If you don't, that will go down in their vacation stories as "the worst bar food restaurant ever" and I know any restaurant doesn't want that.
I never visited Gian Dons for obvious reasons; Bocalinos actually had a great food and service but couldn't handle the rent; and so Scoreboards, if you can handle the high-price and hack it in the neighborhood, then step it up in the food department or one, two, three strikes(if you're lucky) you're outta here too!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
2011 Pele Award Winner!
You can read the story from the Honolulu Star Advertiser here. Or read the MauiNow.com news story here. Or see the Coverjunkie.com post about it here.
You can also watch a video from the ceremony—including a message from the Head Design Judge Stefan Bucher of 344 Design—here.
Designed by Chris Skiles
Artwork by Brad Parker
On a side note: We made a whole weekend out of going to the ceremony because it was on Oahu. We have been on Maui for almost 2 years and hadn't visited any other island so it seemed like the perfect time. We were kind of missing the big city life BTW. We stayed in Waikiki; didn't rent a car; walked everywhere; visited the Honolulu Zoo(sooo much fun!); did a lot of shopping because that is one of the things Maui likes; ate some really good food (Wolfgang Puck Express; Epic Restaurant, local places and of course Chili's) and of course had our share of libations :) We had a great time and Christopher winning the Special Judges Award meant so much!
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