Cups and Ice #4: Five Ways to Eat a Corn Chip

Okay, so I'd just come home from boxing class (awesome), worn out, starving, and feeling a bit loopy from the exertion of the class. All of the above resulted in me sitting in my kitchen, eating corn chips, and messing around with my web cam. I've taken a few pictures with it but never recorded video. What better time? Nothing to do, nowhere to go-oh (yup, as in The Ramone's song)...

I did the following video in that spirit, just me screwing around in my kitchen, testing out the computer gear, intending to keep it solely private. But when I watched it, it made me laugh so hard that I dared myself to post it here--embarrassment isn't always a bad thing. I realize the following may permanently disqualify me from an honorable position in the cultural-discourse hall of fame. With that in mind, I present you with what was initially just a web-cam test (and you get to see some of what I tend to do to entertain myself when I'm completely alone):

Thirty Things I Love Tonight

I am copying my friend over at Beitel-Blog because I haven't felt like blogging at all and I read his post and I wanted to follow suit immediately.

So...30 things I heart on this night:

1. Lists like this one.
2. Days off—which I am about to have two of
3. Green & Black's 85% Dark Chocolate
4. TV
5. "I was married" by Tegan and Sara: "I was married in the sun (tell me where, tell me where) against the stone of buildings built before...."
6. Hilarious pictures of me and my sisters from our trip to Ithaca last month
7. My dad
8. Saying "labral tear" which is what my new physical therapist thinks might be what is ailing my hip...labral tear...labral tear...try it (saying it I mean)
9. Coconut Bliss!
10. That I signed up for a boxing class (Sunday, 10:00 am)
11. The sound of the man-made waterfall over by the paper mill
12. Being alone in my apartment!
13. Spreading myself throughout the place from bedroom (strewn shoes in the hallway) to living room (collage supplies and half-made postcard collage on the coffee table) to the kitchen to the laundry room (overflowing dirty laundry in a basket on the washer). ME everywhere!
14. "We Did Not Make Ourselves" by Michael Dickman: "I didn’t make my brain/but I’m helping to finish it//Carefully stacking up everything I made next to everything I ruined in broad/daylight in bright/brainlight"
15. My sisters
16. Striped socks (see above picture)
17. First issue of Wholphin, arrived today, 2.5 hours of short film extravaganza
18. Black pants, black scarf
19. Vito coconut water (with tangerine)
20. Green & Black's 85% dark chocolate (it's worth mentioning twice)
21. That people at work call me "LD," "LauraD," and variations thereof
22. My new green TheraBand that I will use, per my new physical therapist, to work the muscles of my right butt
23. Midnight
24. The dream world I am allowed into when I sleep
25. The hot air balloon in the collage I'm making, and the trio of working men standing on sand pointing up at it
26. A deep breath that's truly deep
27. "our deaths were mineral"
28. In the Eyes of Everyone: A Project for Everyday Visionaries
29. The number "29"
30. Closing my eyes.

Dream It: A Review by Laura Cococcia

First, a word from me, Laura Didyk. As an active member on the new online writer's community She Writes, I've had the opportunity through the blogger's discussion group I started on the site to meet a ton of groovy women active in the blogosphere. One of those women is Laura Cococcia, creator of the The Journal of Cultural Conversation.

Laura agreed to do a guest post for my blog (and I'll be doing one for TJCC very soon).

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Dream It. List It. Do It!
by Laura Cococcia

Last year, a dear friend gave me the book Dream It. List It. Do It!: How to Live a Bigger & Bolder Life, from the Life List Experts at 43Things.com.

The book's premise: To encourage readers to write ideas down to help answer the question "what do I want to do with my life?" It seems a timely and apropos cultural question—the more I read, the more I discover how individuals everywhere are digging deep to prioritize personal goals and clarify their life purpose.

Life is short, so why not get going?

Dream It. List It. Do It! helped me launch Laura Reviews and The Journal of Cultural Conversation. And it helped me make a very long list of practical projects I'd love to complete during my lifetime.

But it also inspired a number of ideas that actually have nothing to do with completing a project. These are just things you may have always wanted to do that you haven't yet. Like throw mashed potatoes at the person sitting next to you at a dinner party.

I thought I'd start the conversation by sharing my top 3 straight from the book:

1. Be silly: Dress like a penguin and slide in the snow.
(Hard to do in NYC, but I will find a way.)

2. Be famous: Host a talk show.
(I'd LOVE to do this, but I have no idea what to call it. Any thoughts?)

3. Cook more: Deep fry a pickle.
(I don't know how to cook anything besides toast and chocolate chip cookies, so the pickle might be a stretch, but I'll let you know how it goes.)

If you haven't yet read the book or visited 43Things.com, take a trip over and let us know a few of your life-list goals. Or, you can copy mine. I won't be offended.


Laura Cococcia works in global advertising and is the editor of The Journal of Cultural Conversation. An NYC resident, she is a voracious reader, obsessed traveler, committed foodie, and aspiring author. You can follow Laura and TJCC on Twitter.

Cups and Ice #3: A Thunderstorm

To read a short explantion of my "Cups and Ice" posts, go here.

Just watch, or close your eyes and listen.