Death of Conversation – TOLT

I am linking up with Amanda today to celebrate Thursday and all of its gloriousness that is “almost the weekend”. 

1. I’m a huge Snoopy fan. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the Snoopy movie, i.e. The Peanuts movie, to come out (November 5th incase you were wondering). I like to think that Snoopy is my spirit animal, and I often times assimilate a Snoopy “dance” if I’m exceptionally happy. So it took great restraint on my behalf to not buy this shirt….

Unless I’m running. Then mornings are my happy place 🙂

2. Last night while I was channeling my inter 75 year-old cat lady, Alex Trebek kept referencing one of the contestants as “stay-at-home-dad”. I found that somewhat interesting since no one else was referred to by their “profession”. I also thought it was somewhat rude when Trebek asked Ben (the contestants real name) if being a stay-at-home dad was “deliberate“. Ask that to a woman and see what kind of response you’d receive Trebek. I’m going to go with not a positive one.  #EndRant

3. Just kidding, I’m going on another rant. I recently read this article on Huffington Post and got pretty irritated. In response, I listened to the TedTalk titled “The Death of Conversation” and sadly, I could not agree more. Our generation is so accustomed to accessing instant information, being involved in continuous conversation with multiple people, and compulsively checking in with social media. I don’t doubt that one day we will only communicate through technology. Why have social interaction when you can stare at your phone and have ENDLESS amounts of information literally at your finger tips. People now communicate solely in Emojis, GIFs, and through SnapChat…. why even bother talking anymore?

These pictures featured in the HuffPost article are all too familiar. Scenes we all see in our daily lives. One of the greatest messages I took away from this is although the internet and technology gives us the ability to “be connected”, we really are disconnected, interested in what else is out there as opposed to what is in front of us.

So please, next time you’re out out to dinner, on a date, spending time with friends and family, put the phone away. Stop checking your phone every 5 minutes. I promise you (99% of the time), whatever you will miss for those few hours is not important. Those Instagrams, FB statuses, tweets, and text messages will all still be there when the movies over. Please ask yourself, is this more important than what I’m doing right now? Should I prevent myself from appreciating the present?

We are all guilty of doing this. I know I check Instagram more than I’d like to admit… It’s like a super fun picture book… but I try to put my phone away at dinner and when I’m at the movies. Let’s all make it a goal to not look like this…

Okay… now I’m ending my Rant.

4. It’s official. I found my new favorite flavor. I thought it was Grapefruit. Then I thought it was Pear. But I tried this last night, and I am sold…

Target #ImpulseBuys are so great.

5. I love this blogging community. Becky sent me the cutest little note and a sample of Spark. She had been raving about it and I commented saying how much I’d like to try it. And guess what… this lovely lady sent me some! What an absolute doll : )

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Love. Love. Love.

So continuing with the blog love, Jessica over at Semi-Sweet Tooth me for “The Real Neat Blog” award.  So let’s see if I can get creative with some answers over here and entertain us all…

The rules are:
1) Put the award logo on your blog.
2) Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
3) Thank the person who nominated you, linking to their blog.
4) Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
5) Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog etc.)

1.)  If you weren’t happy with yesterday, what would you do to change it?

Hmmm.. why is the first question on a test always so hard! I have to say I was pretty happy with yesterday. I got a decent run in after a long day of work, I was pretty proud of myself for not bailing (it LOOKED like it could possibly rain – I’m a wuss).

2.)  What is your favorite book?

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. You can read this NYTimes review if you would like. My boyfriend recommended this book to me and at first I was questioning it big time. But 50 pages in I couldn’t put the book down. HIGHLY recommend.

But The Great Gatsby will always have a very special place in my heart. It was the first book I remember truly loving.

3.)  What has been your biggest success and your biggest challenge?

Biggest Success: Feeling independent. It was tough for me to truly feel like an adult after college. I matriculated directly into graduate school and was lucky enough to continue to have my parents financial (and probably more important emotional!) support. I graduated when I was 25 and I think moving back home was extremely humbling for me. Building my career and successfully living independently for the past year is something I am very, very proud of.

Biggest Challenge: Remembering to put myself first sometimes.

4.)  What does your perfect day look like? (April 25^th is void… 😉

A long run chased with a smoothie. Blue skies and a full beach day ahead of me. Throw in an Acai bowl, winning a free lifetime of SoulCycle classes, and lots of puppies… I think we’d have a winner!

5.)  What is your favorite memory?

This is one deep survey! I would have to say my favorite memory is galavanting around Sweden two summers ago. Totally unemployed. Totally carefree. Note to self: travel more.

6.)  What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

I’m so #Basic. Ugh. I think the craziest thing I’ve ever done (that I will publish for the internet to see) is to audition for Jeopardy. Got I’m embarrassing.

7.)  If your life were a movie title, what would it be?

“Wait, what?”

8.)  If you could do anything you wanted right now, what would it be?

I would travel the world for a year. I would eat all the things, drink all the drinks, and do like the locals do. I don’t think a lot of people would expect me to be able to “rough it”, but I would love nothing more than to see the world through the eyes of the people who live it. Anyone know the winning lotto numbers? #Dreamz

I tag…
Kaitlin @ For Love of Carrots
Gretchen @ Gretchruns
Becky @ Olivesnwine
Emily @ My Healthyish Life
Amanda @ SlimplifyLife
Kristen @ Glitter and Dust

Alright. If that’s not a ton of randomness I don’t know what is. And if you made it all the way through this post, you are officially the best. Have a fantastic Thursday and I’ll see ya’ll back here for some Friday Faves : )

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Answer one question from my survey!

What are your thoughts on the HuffingtonPost article? Do you ever find yourself missing out on important events because you were too pre-occupied on your phone?

Are you a morning person? If I had my way the day would start at 530AM and end at 3PM. Unless I’m sick. Then I’m all about my bed.