autumn's theme

well, it seems that it is Time to reveal to the world the magnificent theme for fall 2006. you read here earlier that the theme song will be SEXYBACK by the curly-headed crooner, justin timberlake. you spent the summer creating and seizing opportunities. so now, as we crack out our tights, tweeds, jackets, and wool slacks, welcome to the AUTUMN OF INITIATIVE, 2006. this season, it is time to get off your a$$ and take the initiative. i want everyone to look around, assess how your life could be improved socially, financially, emotionally, spiritually, and just do it. take action! engage in a difficult enterprise you've been considering. when asked to do something, do a little bit more. initiate conversations. meetings. dates. activities. talk to people. tell people what you think. be a critic. be a supporter. be a lover. be a teacher. be a critical thinker and ask the hard questions and then get the Thing done! go out there this season, and kick a$$! take the initiative! it's fall. GO!

teaser

autumn's theme will be revealed soon.

autumn will have a theme song:

justin timberlake's
SEXY BACK

take it to the bridge...

not over yet!

so labor day has passed, but the summer of opportunity is not yet over! thanks to input from a dear friend, we are now beginning the INDIAN SUMMER OF OPPORTUNITY! if this isn't pc, well, i'm sorry, but down south that's what we've always called the still-warm weeks of september before the official beginning of fall. no offense to any of my native american brothers and sisters intended, but get out there and trade up and seal the deal, people! you've been granted THREE EXTRA WEEKS to make the magic happen. the I.S.O.O. only lasts until the autumnal equinox on september 23. be brave. make friends. demand a raise. find a better job. call your grandma. buy new shoes. tell your friend those pants DO NOT look good on him/her. don't hesitate. don't sit around waiting for your next move--make your own destiny. be real. seize the day! seize the night! harness your inner rockstar and ride the big waves! go get 'em! RALLY!!

and prepare for autumn's theme. our lives are our own to with as we please. and we only get one shot so make the Business count, all...

vacation

i am back from vacation. my friend, kimberly, flew in from denver and we road-tripped it down to virginia to my family's summer house on smith mountain lake. except for a few outbursts from my father, the whole affair was very relaxing and very lovely--to be by the water, in a swimsuit, all lotioned up, listening to classic rock and cuban music. divine, really. i was a total rockstar on skis! however, i must also report that i've arrived back with the hell beat out of me. i burned my left ring finger on the oven rack one night, i fell getting out of the boat onto the dock and managed to bust both knees and put substantial bruises on both palms, and on the top of my left foot. (i've climbed in and out of that boat a million times in the last 25 years without as much as a scratch... well, i guess that was the second fall of the summer. the first was in a crosswalk back in june when i twisted my ankle in a pothole and went down in the middle of the street, so perhaps i'll get away with just two falls this season instead of the normal three i usually suffer. but i digress...) so i beat the bee-jezus out of myself getting out of the boat, then in my one skiing wipeout, which must have looked quite extraordinary from the boat, i fell forward and ran out of and over my skis but somehow managed to wallop myself in the head with one of them and hit the water hard enough to pull a muscle in my neck AND pull the ski belt against me in such a fashion as to leave a horizontal bruise about 6 inches long across my waistline. impressive, no? i bring a whole new meaning to "play hard." so that's it. i'm tan. and beat up. and there's just a week left in the summer of opportunity. get crackin', people!

time is waning

there is precious little time left in the Summer of Opportunity. it is mid-august, and that means two weeks until labor day. and although summer technically lasts a few weeks after that, the true summertime mentality of lazy days, vacation, plotting a few stolen hours in the sun or by the water, the laziness of a largely deserted washington, is replaced by the back-to-business buzz of september. so in case you didn't know, whereas July was all about TRADING UP, August has been the month to SEAL THE DEAL. and time is wasting. it is ticking by. whatever opportunity you started, whatever idea you've been trying to seize, whatever groundwork it is you've been laying, NOW, people, NOW is the time to be SEALING THE DEAL. romantic. professional. personal. financial. political. make your move! the summer of opportunity 2006 won't come around again. you will never again be the age you are now. you will never be in exactly this same place in your life. the gloves are off--get 'er done!

frame of reference

fyi, 58 is the new 38. the summer of opportunity is almost halfway over. i hope you are out there taking advantage, people, because opportunities arise EVERY DAY!

trading up

attention, everyone. as part of the summer of opportunity, there is now a special subcategory for the month of july: trading up. this month is all about doing things a bit better, a bit harder, a bit more gangsta, a bit higher. just take your normal life, take advantage of opportunities, and TRADE UP. if you are shopping and can't decide between the on-sale jeans and the full-price, just for this month, TRADE UP and treat yourself to the full-price pair. if you are ordering a martini, make it a grey goose martini. when dressing yourself for work or the grocery store, don't think "this will do," think, "i'm gonna look FIERCE today!" if you are thinking about giving your number to some drunk fool in a bar just because he told you he liked your shoes, eff that! march outta there in those fancy shoes to the NICE bar next door and give your number to a man in a suit on his second and last glass of wine for the night. just do yourself one better. take advantage of opportunities, but remember, july is all about TRADING UP!