So this is the new year

There were some awesome moments in 2012. And then there were the not-so-awesome moments in 2012. But one without the other would transform into a rather unbalanced life. Don't you think? I embrace all the moments of the year, accentuate the positive and try my best (although my best varies from day to day) to be a better person. As I reflect on the richness of 2012 and look toward the wild unknown of 2013, here are few things I aspire to do in the new year. I won't call them resolutions, per se, but more of my ever-evolving manifesto for life.

Travel to new places. I was blessed to have the opportunity to travel to so many wonderful places this year: Minnesota, Boston, Belgium, France and Germany. I can't help but wonder where will 2013 take me. Maybe Greece, Ireland, England, China or Vietnam? I'm looking forward to meeting up with my friend Cindy in her travels around the world.

Run at least two 5Ks. This year I ran my first 5K, and I had so much fun doing it. Rather than just saying I will run more this year, I am committed to run at least two 5Ks. For me, this is a better assurance that I stay in shape. Just to be clear, this does not mean I'll be joining a gym. It means more Bikram yoga classes, sprints on the F&M track and intrepid trail runs. Who's with me?

Get more sleep. I generally operate on five hours of sleep or less. It's unhealthy, I know. We'll blame insomnia and overabundance of horror movies. Because of my unhealthy sleeping habits, this forced me into other bad habits like drinking lots of caffeine, working at odd hours and zombie-like stupors. Here's to conquering insomnia and moving mountains.

Cook or bake something new every week. I have acquired a lot of cookbooks lately. My most recent favorite is Smitten Kitchen for its drool-worthy photography. The joy of being single and living alone means one meal or recipe can last for an entire week (or even longer if frozen). And then, when I can't stomach another bite of cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread, my co-workers offer excellent assistance.

Give more warm greetings and farewells to the people I love. I love receiving hugs from my friend Matt. They're the most sincere, squeeze-the-stuffing-out-of-you, glad-you-are-my-friend, bear hugs. Even my aunt Gigi does the best greetings. Her smile and arms wrap you up in her joy to see you. If I can muster up at least half of this happiness in my acknowledgement of others, I will be happy.

My wish for you in the new year is to fully embrace the things you love. Travel. Not matter how outlandish, achieve your dreams. Feel beautiful. Act with kindness and brighten the world around you. Find inspiration in unexpected places. I'm closing the year with some joy in my heart and dance in my shoes. Here's hoping you are too. Salud!

Being grateful for the little moments

Envision the things you're most grateful for. Your mind instantly hurdles toward certain steadfast gratitudes, right? For me, it's easy to be bowled over with appreciation for my family, wonderful friends, my job and the enormous amount of love and support in my life. I'm already enveloped by the knee-jerk warm fuzzies as we speak.

But what about the often forgot little moments?

These sneaking moments get swallowed up by our more grandiose appreciations. The little moments of gratitude are the first things we discard on days when we can barely find anything to be grateful for. To counter some of these lower days, I actually have an erratic habit of jotting down the little moments I am most grateful for. Reading them over serves as panacea, crusading against feelings of anger, discouragement or sadness.

The little moments I'm most grateful for

I remember the moment my heart sang with delight when I stumbled on a man playing the saxophone in The Gallery at Market East in Philly. Or after my feeble attempts to teach my nephew to say "dog," the moment my brother told me Jace pointed to the Target dog and rapid-fire proclaimed "Dah! Dah!" Or even the moment I received an unsuspecting compliment from a stranger on a particularly bad day.

When you think about what you're most grateful for this year, force your mind to acknowledge the little moments too. What little moments are you most grateful for?

Anticipatory worrying vs. intelligent worrying

Excitement about the future is waning. Rather than projecting future advances in technology or imagining the next scientific discovery, people are predicting every circumstance that could lead to the end of the world. We just discovered a new monkey for goodness sake. How could the Mayan apocalypse more exciting than monkeys? This toxic anticipatory worrying can be debilitating and downright tiresome. You can't really just quit worrying cold turkey like smoking. But maybe you can start worrying better? Worrying can actually be a productive state, if managed correctly. Good or intelligent worrying allows for a constructive review of a problem. It's sort of like good stress. And yes, there is such a thing as good stress. Good worrying allows us to reflect on previous experiences and get ahead of whatever is causing you distress. Review the potential consequences of the situation - both good and bad. See how unlikely most of your potential consequences are? Note how to monitor them if they do arise. Now, stop worrying and move on to doing something else. Do anything. Just stop worrying.

Sill find it hard to manage your worrying or stress? Share your concerns with someone else. It usually helps me to get another perspective and just talk it out. Things like getting enough sleep, exercising and eating healthy also go a long way. No matter how much edamame or unprocessed food I eat or how many 5Ks I run, insomnia is my biggest crux. When all else fails, and I find myself wide awake at 3 a.m., there's nothing as quite comforting as a psychological study. Okay. It would be really comforting to fall sleep right now. But this recent study from SUNY Downstate Medical Center suggests excessive worrying correlates with high intelligence. Ignorance may be bliss, but at least my extreme state of worry (stress) means I'm smarter than the average bear. It sure beats worrying over why I'm worrying about not sleeping.

How to do you stop worrying? Better yet, have any tips for insomnia?

Image by Oy Photography

Recalibrating my creativity

When I was little, I loved the way brilliant colors would dance across a painting like a melodic song. Grandmom presented me with an easel for Christmas one year, and I became obsessed. I even proclaimed to my dad I wanted to become an illustrator when I grew up. He gently explained to me there wasn't much money in a career as an artist. Slightly deflated but generally undeterred, my six-year-old self pronounced I would become a writer instead. This was probably for the better as I would like to think I'm a better writer than artist. Know that I inwardly shivered at the thought of this embarrassing declaration. I'm actually melting into my couch as we speak. Embarrassment aside, being surrounded by such a blossoming arts community as Lancaster has recalibrated my love for art. If you've ever experienced the city come alive on a First Friday and meandered in and out of the galleries on Gallery Row, you might know the feeling. The walls of nearly every restaurant or bar downtown are adorned with local artwork. Even morning strolls through Lancaster Central Market are commanded by a vibrant buzz. While Lancaster may be considered a city, it still radiates the feeling of a tight-knit arts community. I particularly love that nearly everyone and everything is reachable on foot.

My reignited creative energy also has a bit to do with my talented friend Alax and her artistic passion. She has a contagious enthusiasm for life and art that makes it hard not being inspired around her. Even a simple visit to her apartment jump-starts my creativity. I've begun taking time out of my busy week to sketch and paint. I've even started to write again, something I've always loved but it got shoved in the trunk while my demanding career took a front seat.

Even if no one reads or cares what I have to say, it feels good to write. It's important to me. It functions somewhat like the physiological process of breathing. If you stop breathing, your oxygen level plummets and you die. Whenever I stop writing, my mind becomes cloudy and the buzzing thoughts, like the carbon dioxide, have no way to escape. It also serves as a panacea for stress, something that seems to have invaded my life more so than ever lately. So, I'm determined to devote more time to being creative and nurturing my right brain. If for no other reason than to maintain sanity.

25 things I haven't outgrown on my 25th birthday

Yesterday was my 25th birthday. Having thoroughly celebrated during my weekend-long birthday bash, I don’t mind at all that my gift was to sit on a train bound for New York City. I'm actually excited to escape the office and attend two Google seminars this week. The first one starts this morning. I thought of writing about 25 things I'm grateful for or 25 things I've learned to honor my birthday, but neither seemed quite fitting. Instead, I stumbled on this post by the Everywhereist. (After I wrote this, I went back to really read the rest of her post, and it turns out we have a bit in common.) Anyway, I figured I'd share 25 things I have yet to outgrow at the age of 25. One might argue I've barely had time to outgrow anything at the crisp age of 25. Well, go ahead and argue. I'm telling you anyway.

1. The Muppets.
2. Licking the cake batter off the mixer beaters.
3. Halloween.
4. Bond, James Bond. Looks like I'm not the only one.
5. Writing.
6. Cheesecake.
7. Everything and anything Bill Murray.
8. Getting lost in an unbelievably good book.
9. Eating popcorn for dinner. (Thank you mom for the deliciously unhealthy habit.)
10. Traveling everywhere and anywhere that's new and fascinating.
11. Tormenting my little brothers.
12. Staying up late and watching movies. (Except for the insomnia part.)
13. Card games.
14. The internet. (Let's hope I never grow tired of this.)
15. Eating my dad's pancakes on a Sunday morning.
16. Roasting marshmallows over a bonfire, especially while camping at the beach. Nothing beats moments like this.
17. Drawing things with sidewalk chalk.
18. Football.
19. Running. The feeling of all your stress melting away is amazing.
20. Music older than I am – think B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
21. Creations like X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and ThunderCats.
22. Laughing at inappropriate times, often at inappropriate things.
23. Hiking through the woods.
24. Playing Mario Kart on Super Nintendo.
25. The magic of Christmas.

And of course, I can't forget to mention my great friends and family! Thanks for putting up with me and being so wonderful.

A thing of beauty

I vividly remember receiving my cousin Becky's high school graduation announcement in the mail. Her picture sat on my grandmother's forest green Wurlitzer piano for at least four years. Natural enemies of photographs like sunlight, sulfur compounds and high humidity never managed to degrade her spirited smile. Even with an aggressive case of metastatic melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, biting at her ankles, she continued to  radiate strength and positivity. Recently, Becky received news that the cancer had spread to her brain. Her resolve is astonishing. To be faced with such adversity only to strike back with even more strength is downright inspiring. Her Facebook updates always include phrases equivalent to "but I'll keep fighting" - squashing any lingering notion of surrender. It certainly makes me take a step back and treasure life a little more.

I might not know her favorite flavor of ice cream. I might also live 2,784 miles away. But that's the thing about family. Those small details are insignificant. We share a familial connection - our paterfamilias. Two of the truest and most intelligent men I know. Plus, our moms? Together, they have a knack for beer pong. All of this is more than enough for me to support her as best as I can - through this post or simple encouraging comments on Facebook. We're family.

Do yourself a favor. Don't use tanning beds. Wear sunscreen. The nebulous threat of cancer isn't worth it. Seriously. Please send whatever positives thoughts and prayers you have to Becky and her family. We all appreciate it.