Joseph Barth

Here's a first - this quote comes from an ophthalmologist! I should know something about THAT since I'm virtually blind, have been told I'm too blind for lasik surgery and had my first eye surgery when I was 3 years old!

"Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up." 

This one goes out to one of my oldest friend's, Tom, who married his love, Ben this weekend in NYC! Thank you, New York State for making marriage legal to ALL those who want it!

Tom will always be a goofy 14 year old to me, and yet we are somehow now in our 30's. So this particular quote struck me as funny, but also touching. He has grown up a lot. He is smart, driven, kind and dedicated to those around him. And, bonus, he's found himself a lovely man to spend his life with. A man worthy of him and an absolutely positive addition to his life.

Now if only I could grow up. . . .

Zen Saying

Here's what the web has to say about "zen" - A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition.

That being said, the following quote is listed as a "Zen Saying" in my quote book AND in the quotable magnet I have on my refrigerator:

"Leap, and the net will appear."

I love the simplicity of this statement.

I love the fear AND courage in this statement.

I love the faith in this statement. Faith is a tough one for me. A subject that will, I'm sure, continue to come up in this blog. But if I didn't have at least some faith in myself, I probably would have given up as an actor long ago. I had a successful few years and lately, it's been a bleaker forecast as an actor. In the last month, however, I've had not one, but two job offers. Crazy! I'm so grateful, but so confused by the shift in my life. I have been really happy with my "survival" jobs, for lack of a better term. And giving them up to once again jump into artist land seems risky at best, stupid at worst. And yet, even as I take those first steps, I am reminded constantly of new opportunities. New connections. New people that encourage me.

The change is the leap. Those reminders are the large, if unexpected, net. And I am so grateful for it. Here goes . . . . . . .

Russell Baker

Russell Baker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer known for his satirical commentary and self-critical prose. I only wish he were a Canadian because I write this while I'm in Canada, and playing a tourist myself!


"The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist."

This is SO true. I love doing touristy stuff when I'm on the road. I always try to see the things that are "not to be missed" or "once in a lifetime" opportunities. But I am very aware of wanting to blend in. In some circumstances, it's for safety reasons - it's the unaware tourists who often find themselves dealing with pick pockets and scams. But most of the time, it's just so that I don't stand out like a sore thumb. Though I have to say, even in my most casual garb here in Banff, Canada, there is NOTHING about me that looks like a local. Canadians look so natural - comfortable and a little bit hippie. I, on the other hand, even hiked in my lululemon yoga gear (which is happily a Canadian brand!), my big wrap sweater, my floppy hat and had a camera around my wrist. And that was just for a hike. Now imagine me walking around in my black trench coat and big brown hat, with my purse AND my bag of other stuff. I just look a New Yorker.

 . . . Though that might just be because I'm so frigging excited to see open space. Canadians look at me like "uh. . yeah. . . "

Satchel Paige

Satchel Paige was an American baseball player whose pitching, particularly of fastballs, in the Negro Leagues and the Major League Baseball made him a legend.

This seems appropriate because of Hurricane Irene, but it's also something I firmly believe.

"Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines."

I am not a religious person. I highly respect faith, but religion is tricky. Regardless though, my problem is with people who only seem to turn to faith and religion when times are tough. Call it religion. Call it faith. But call it not only when you NEED something from the universe, but all the time.

I have often been guilty of this over the years, so I realize I am a hypocrite here, but I think most of us probably are at some point. Since I started practicing yoga years ago though, I do try to at least repeat what I'm grateful for on a daily basis. So that's my prayer when the sun shines, I guess. 

That being said, let's all pray that Hurricane Irene isn't too horrible. 

P.S. I Love You Quote

I love the movie P.S. I Love You. It makes me laugh. It makes me cry. It makes me happy. I watched it the other night with one of my best friends and a particular line stood out to me. The movie is based on a book by Cecilia Ahern and the screenplay of the movie was written by Richard LaGravenese and Steven Rogers. I'm not sure whom to give credit to, so I'll just discuss both a bit.

Cecilia Ahern is an Irish novelist. She was also behind the recent TV series Samantha Who? that starred Christina Applegate. In addition to publishing several novels, she has also contributed a number of short stories to various anthologies, for which all her royalties go to charity. Pretty cool, huh?

Richard LaGravenese is a screen writer and an occasional film director. He directed P.S. I Love You and contributed to the screen play. I can't find anything about Steven Rogers. Sorry, Steven!

"If we're all alone, then we're all together in that too."

I make it no secret that I don't enjoy being single. It's boring to me. I have never been somebody who loses my identity as an individual when I'm in a couple. I always manage to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, and include my other half in my life, as well as eagerly enter theirs when I'm allowed to. I enjoy being with somebody. Obviously, the physical attention is always nice, but what I love is the emotional attention. The partnership. The teamwork aspect. The knowing that you have a cheerleader and challenger in your corner all at the same time. And being alone can be downright depressing. And it often feels like I am the only one who's alone. Though I know that's not true, it feels like that sometimes.

Well, these days that is no exception. I remain single after my devastating heartbreak this spring. But plenty of my friends, both old and new, are alone as well. Or at least not in a couple. We all have that in common.

So maybe alone isn't the right word. Maybe we should change the phrase to being "alone together." Let's make that happen, people!

Sarah Ban Breathnach

I can find very little information about this lady, but I know I love the quote of hers that I stumbled upon online, and that's enough for me. For more info on HER specifically, try googling her. Somebody who says something like this can't be all bad!

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do."

I'd like to think I am a dreamer and a doer. By definition of my chosen career, I think I am a dreamer. By the fact that I am still struggling to survive in NYC and trying to continue to pursue that career in spite of lack of work, hard economic times, and overall stress of emotion and finances, I think I am a doer.

I work my butt off. Running from one job to another. Staying up late to finish computer jobs for any of my various survival jobs. Picking up shifts from fellow waiters when I can at my restaurant jobs. Singing in non-paying concerts whenever I can. Auditioning whenever I can. It's an endless cycle of responsibilities, goals and dreams. Not necessarily in that order.

In short, I am a dreamer. I am a doer. Which often means I am a NON-sleeper! Sarah, did you mean that we should sleep too?

Jonathan Safran Foer

I'm currently reading a book by the Jonathan Safran Foer and came across a quote that I found to be so beautifully, and often sadly, true. Mr. Foer is an American author best known for his Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the latter of which I'm reading right now.


" . . . . She wants to know if I love her, that's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there."

I have read and reread that statement so many times since I first came across it this week in my nightly reading. How often do we all just want to hear the phrase "I love you" from whomever we are with? While actions do truly speak louder than words, we still crave the latter.

I know I like to hear it. Though I prefer the actions. The little things. . .