Stress Management

Life is full of stressful situations. As work, obligations, appointments, chores, and duties become a mountain of threatening doom, it is easy to despair and feel hopeless about the future. If you find yourself daydreaming about natural disasters ("ya know, if a tornado hit town right about now...") or personal injury ("no one could blame me for not finishing this if I just happened to accidentally break my leg right now...") or nationwide crises ("If the country broke into mass chaos right now, no one would care about this stupid..."), then I can relate. I try desperately not to worry too much about stuff. I mean after all, most of the things I stress about won't matter in 20 years (actually, besides marriage and kids, I'm not sure what WILL matter in 20 years). So, to deal with stress I've come up with some Temporary Stress Reducers, known as TSRs. Simply try one of these beauties and you will forget your stress in NO time! I've found these ten to be the most effective for me:

1. Eat Chocolate.

2. Watch TV (especially The Office, it's practically like being at work anyway!)

3. Eat Chocolate cookies.

4. Check Facebook (I'm keeping in touch with friends! that's important! What kind of inconsiderate friend would I be if I didn't even know which new bumper sticker my friend is using to express the passions of her heart?)

5. Eat Chocolate ice cream.

6. Type in (random word).blogspot.com and try to find anything amusing or interesting. (This is for really desperate situations. Like when you've been avoiding the dishes for so long that you don't look at them anymore. They're so creepy when they stare at you like that!..and start following you around...and wearing your clothes...and asking for money...and taking up too much room on the couch...and...)

7. Eat Chocolate cake.

8. Clean. Specifically organizing my sock drawer... or my paper clips...whichever need is most pressing at the time.

9. Drink Hot Chocolate.

10. Write inane blogs about absolutely nothing important.

These methods are sure-fire ways of forgetting about all that annoying stress in your life! Although, they do make the "reality crash" at the end feel a bit more weighty. And I can't say I've ever gotten any useful information out of a blog I found randomly online, or from any of those conversations with my dishes... maybe it's best just to take it like a man and deal with all the stressful things! Rub some dirt in it and get back in there! Grab the bull by the horns! Buy a plane ticket for Bermuda! Run away to white sandy beaches and warm sun! Never think about anything ever again except when to roll over to get the perfect tan!

Sigh... or maybe I could just get back to work!

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...Right?

For many people, communication can be stressful. For an introverted person, conversation can seem intrusive or simply exhausting. For an insecure person, conversations lead to worry and paranoia. For the average person, talking to a stranger tends to be at least a little awkward.

Although I definitely have an introverted/insecure/average side, I generally find that I can communicate without too much difficulty. However, a recent trip overseas showed me how difficult communication can be when you don't speak the same language. I don't think I've ever said, "Can you say that again?" so much in my life! It didn't take me long to learn that words are completely useless if the other person does not speak my language.

Pictures, on the other hand, are universal. When you show someone a picture of a mountain (generally speaking), they know it is a mountain, whether they call it that or not. That's why we invented stick figures and road sign symbols - so that everyone can understand them! At least... that's what I thought. After spending two weeks overseas, I learned that even pictures can sometimes be a mystery!

Example #1

At first glance, it appears this little man is stretching. Could this be a No Yoga Zone?

Maybe he's waving... this is a Friendly People Zone!

No... He's break dancing! or Disco! It's a Disco Dance Room!

Well, in context (the bathroom) it quickly became clear that this man is falling. It's a sign to warn you to be careful not to slip. Ok, that made sense, especially when we saw that the shower and bathroom were actually the same. (The shower head was on the wall next to the toilet) Under these circumstances your floor could get pretty slick. Plus, you might add, the picture is simply there to help. The words are there for a reason, I just couldn't understand them. So, ok. Maybe I was the only problem with this picture.

Example #2

This sign was a bit more difficult to decifer.

Clearly, it means ATTENTION! But why, I have no idea.

The context is this: a wall. a large wall with other walls nearby, in a park.

For some reason, it is necessary to pay attention to this wall.

Yet however long I looked I could not figure out why this wall was so important over the others.

Maybe it's structurally unstable, or maybe it's to help plows navigate in the winter.

Surely there is an explanation for this!

Maybe this is just a problem with interpretation...maybe I'm just not observant enough and I missed an obvious reason for this sign.

However, THIS one, I'm convinced, is an absolute mystery!
Example #3:

What is the meaning of this sign?!?!

After much deliberation and consultation with friends and family, these were the conclusions we came to:

No blowing up cars,

No making smores on the roof of your car,

No shooting flame throwers out your sunroof,

No firecrackers on the roof of your car,

OR

Blasting Zone: Wear a helmet

Clearly, sometimes words are just necessary!

P.S. This one isn't confusing, just amusing!

This was on the window of our tour bus:

ATTENTION Single College Men!

Tonight I witnessed one of the most beautiful sights in the world: a soon-to-be bride in her wedding dress. In the midst of my excitement for my friend and admiring the absolutely stunning dress I felt a slight pang of compassion for the single college male.
This is only my freshman year of college, but I have had the privilege of witnessing two girls on my floor get engaged (well, not witnessing, but hearing the stories right after it happened). The one girl is engaged to a Romanian man. For his proposal, he blindfolded her one night and led her to a place that his friends had prepared for the romantic occasion. In this large room, his friends had set up THOUSANDS of tea-lights in the shape of a giant heart and he carried her into the middle to propose. When she removed the blindfold, her eyes met with the most stunningly romantic sight a girl could want for her engagement. The girls on our dorm floor sighed for hours just at the thought of it!
However, I was not going to let my expectations be raised by a foreign proposal (as my friend claims, Romanians are the most romantic people in the world, but then again, I think she's a little biased). After all, in Romania an engagement is almost as binding a the marriage itself. in America, it's really awful if someone breaks off an engagement. In Romania, you just don't. So, naturally, you can't expect the same effort from an American guy, right?
Well, that brings me to the second engagement. This couple just started dating a few months ago, but they have been friends for a while. In addition, the guy is heading to Iraq for a year but got to see his lovely lady one last time before his departure. Naturally, they went sky diving!! Thousands of feet in the air, as they plummeted to the ground, he asked her to marry him. Maybe not classic romantic, but still AMAZING! I don't think she will ever meet another girl who can tell a story like that! Then, just to top off the amazing with a touch of sweetness, they went engagement ring shopping and picked out the ring together the next day. (They had never talked about marriage before then, so he didn't know what ring to get. Instead, when they landed he gave her a beautiful band that was inscribed in Hebrew, which has all sorts of adorable romantic significance that I do not have time to explain here).
All that to say, my thoughts begin to imagine what will happen when the next girl finds her man on one knee. Who knows what incredible feat he may attempt! This has stirred in my heart a compassion for single college guys who hope to marry someday. My word of advice is this: Guys, if you have a girl, PROPOSE! QUICK! Before she gets any more ideas! And if you don't have a girl, find one SOON! And be aware that you may have to build her a house, or take her to Hawaii, or mine the diamond with your bare hands BEFORE she says yes.



P.S. Picture from Syllipsi Photography - syllipsiphoto.com - They're awesome! Check them out!