The Jen Diaries

Lately, I've wondered: am I happy? Fundamentally speaking, I am considered to be 75% wealthier than the world population: I keep my food in a fridge, my clothes in a closet, have a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. Add to that a healthy family and group of friends who love me, a relatively well-paid job with benefits, a car, and Enzo's unconditional love and affection. I'd say I'm at 100% satisfaction, yet I still feel I can't get any. So I took a happiness test (you can take it here ). My Strengths: I feel loved and supported by my social network. I am not a cynical individual (this one  must be erroneous) My Potential Strengths: I fall in the mid-range of optimism and pessimism. My outlook on life is fairly hopeful. I possess adequate coping skills My Limitations: I have none! I don't think this gave me anything substantial. I'd have to pay $5 to get a full report....how cheap of me. Here is my problem: I have high expectations and c...

This past weekend I was ranked in karate, was 41 feet in the air crossing 452 feet of trees, and squeezed in 4 hours of work in order to celebrate orbiting around the Sun for 26 years. I was up at 6:30am for Kyu testing, which is the opportunity to be ranked at kyu: white and brown belt ranking.  The rankings are as followed: White belt: 8th kyu, 7th kyu, 6th kyu, 5th kyu, 4th kyu Brown belt: 3rd kyu, 2nd kyu, 1st kyu Black belt: 1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree, 4th degree, 5th degree (highest degree). As of saturday I was not yet ranked since starting again in February. Obviously my goal is to become a black belt but we were reminded Saturday morning that it was not a Pass/Fail test and it is not as important what rank you are but how strong your mentality and spirit are. You are your own opponent. Shotokan founder Gichin Funakoshi has said that:  [...]mind and technique become one in true karate. We strive to make our physical techniques pur...

I got picked up at 3am for our drive down to Memphis. Tournament day had begun! Five of us in a car for seven and a half hours would be the first testament to how much our bodies could handle in the next couple of days. I slept most of the ride over, although very uncomfortably, but it was not bad and what better way than to get close with my fellow karatekas than by being stuck with them for more than 36 hours? We get there 5 minutes before practice begins. Just enough time to change into our kimonos (or guis) and for me to wrap up pretty much all of my toes to prevent blisters from emerging again (let me know if youd like to see those ) aaaaand I’m ready! We were close to 40 people. Some came all the way from Nebraska, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Georgia. The day was broken down into 4 parts: 10 am - 12 pm: practice drills, three time sparring, closing in on an opponent, counter attacks. After a quick warm up, the leader of the practice demonstrate...

After going back to practicing karate for two months, I decided to do something terrifying. Something I despised as a child: KARATE TOURNAMENTS! The thing is, tournaments are scary! Everybody has opponents they don’t like facing for fear of getting their ass whopped! I'm thinking the more I do it, the more I will get used to facing and controlling this fear which is basically what karate teaches you. Karate instills ethical principles and can have spiritual significance. It is also practiced for self-perfection, for cultural reasons, self-defense and as a sport (side note: In 2009, in the 121th International Olympic Committee voting, karate did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority vote to become an Olympic sport (see: IOC factsheet ). That would be amazing to watch! Also, did you know there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide?) The type of tournament I'm taking part of is called  Jiyu K...

I am bitter today. I should keep my chin up and take the high road. However that road is looking steep and my thighs are still sore from last night’s karate lesson so… this sour pickle I'm in needs to be converted into a sweet one with a side of silver lining! I read an article about a study that found that pessimists live longer healthier lives because, to make the story short, they live by the saying “don’t worry, be happy”. Basically they don’t have high expectations, so they are happy with their lives. My saying took form of a Jewish mother who has a hypochondriac mind so that won’t work. Nevertheless, there are benefits to being optimistic. One of them is better emotional health, which is what my bff and I need. This can be achieved in 5 simple steps: Step 1: Throw away these pickles Step 2: Book a trip (done!), or two. Maybe three   Step 3: Lift your head high and stay strong Step 5: Remember, what Karen Walker ( Will & Grace ) said: "I'm ...

Apparently the post was sent out without my knowledge...sorry I forgot there was an option for that! For those who do not wish to be disturbed, I investigated and removed the setting. If you do want to be diverted however, just visit the blog or I can add your email and be your newsletter! I am newsworthy clearly since I think I am important enough to have blog in the first place! Yeesh, are people narcissitc or what?!

Maybe I should start writing more...If not about sustainability, at least about something. Life. If not for the few people that might come across this blog, if any, at least for myself as I think I have been through a few obstacles. Not unsurmountable ones but I have come across some hurdles that impeded the course of my life which possibly resulted in me swerving in a different direction had they not occured. I think people should be more open and honest about themselves and with the people they choose to have in their lives instead of being closed off for fear of judgement, losing face, and possibility of being ridiculed. Although, I consider myself to be an honest person, I have not been completely honest with myself and haven't voiced my sentiments and wishes because I thought I was being silly or asking for too much when in reality nothing can be accomplished without speaking up. If I want something I should le...