Just Chillin.

Today, I did what I have been wanting to do for months. Go to Top Pot, drink a coffee, eat a donut, and read the paper. Don't look at the time. I totally did that today. It was the best thing ever. Hooray for me. My spring break goal has been met. And I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole time. This brings me to a very important point. I tend to always plan for the next month, week, day, moment instead of soaking up the present one. It's a character flaw. I'm working on it. I'm a planner which makes me entirely incapable of basking in my current state-of-mind or situation. I get so uptight, I put so much pressure on myself to be "perfect" and to do what's "right" when, really, there is no such thing. The words "perfect," "right," and "wrong" do not exist. They are merely descriptive words for ideals, concepts, anything that's relative. There is no objective truth. There is no universal truth. (Though research shows that universal facial expressions do exist. Look up Paul Ekman's work and see for yourself.) This is where I plug a very insightful book by John Gottman (MY GOD) titled "Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work". I saw him lecture last night about this particular publication and I am in awe of how he can just whip out these amazing statistics about love, marriage, positive to negative interactions. Did you know that couples who end up staying together have five to one positive to negative interactions? Couples who end up divorcing have four to five positive to negative interactions. When couples are just "hanging out" (I don't know what this constitutes as) they need twenty to one positive to negative interactions. ISN'T THAT AMAZING? That means, for every negative interaction you have with your partner, FIVE positive interactions are needed to counter that. Incredible. I am telling you, this man has forever changed the way relationships are viewed. I HIGHLY recommend reading this book even if you 1) aren't married, 2) don't have a partner, 3) are completely skeptical. Basically, just read the book. You'll enjoy it (it's short and captivating). You'll learn about yourself. Trust me.

Okay, so I'm hoping not to spend the entire day on the computer (or on the phone!), so I'm gonna go. Ciao.