Thoughts Become Things

On the list of my favorite things- you'll find "Notes from the Universe" - which are daily inspirational emails from "the Universe." Much like The Secret, the basic idea of the notes is that thoughts become things. Here is an example of a quote I have received in the past:

Are you so sure it's not the dancer who creates the music she moves to? Or the painter who manifests the mountains he captures? Or the tycoon who builds the empire before there's a dime?

Whatever you want, Ashley, let it exist first in your mind, imagine every nuance and consideration, let the walls have substance, the halls have depth, and the money have weight in the palm of your hand, and then all that's necessary to bring it to pass will be drawn to you.
Sneaky, clever, foxy, wry
- The Universe

Friday the creater of these messages had a presentation in Tampa. My mom and I went- and although he didn't teach us anything new- it was a great reminder of how much power your thoughts have on your life. If you are curious click here to sign up for the daily notes or go to www.tut.com to learn more. I recommend it to everyone.

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Since the sound system was awful at the David Copperfield show, Abbie and I were able to get free tickets to see Sweeney Todd at the Barbara B. Mann on Tuesday. We were seriously upgraded with our seats for ST. This time we had floor seats about 7 rows in from the stage.

Even though we had amazing seats, we still couldn’t hear anything that was going on. Not because of the sound system this time, but rather the whole musical was told through song and we couldn’t comprehend what they were saying! I’ve seen musicals before and they’ve always been a mix of songs and acting- there were maybe three spoken words through the whole thing and no scene changes! By the end of the play Abbie and I had two completely different ideas of what it was actually was about.

We are going to rent the movie now so that #1- we can figure out what the hell was going on and #2- so we can be snobs and say things like “I saw the play it was sooo much better!”

Random thought- If Sweeney Todd wasn’t his real name why didn’t he choose to call himself Todd Sweeney instead? It makes more sense.

Some like it hot

Who would have thought that someone could take something I love so much and completely ruin it? Last week my friend asked me if I would take a class with her- and since I am now a “yes man” I accepted her invitation. For those who do not know- Bikram Yoga, also called hot yoga, is a type of yoga that is 90 minutes long and is preformed in a studio with a temperature of 105 degrees.


I‘ve been doing hatha yoga for about two years now - I walked into the studio ready to impress. Within the first 15 minutes I was ready to bolt. 20 minutes in and I was ready to pass out, throw up or both. The first thing they tell you is “no matter how you feel- never leave the studio” so instead of flying out the door ripping off my clothes, I obeyed and just laid there for the second half of the class. It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes of class that I even attempted to try the poses again. Finally the 90 minutes were over. I had survived. I think the heat must have gotten to head because for a brief second I thought “I should really try this again so that I am challenging myself with my workouts.” I immediately came to my senses and vowed to never take a Bikram class again. I’ll stick to my yoga classes- inside- with the AC on.

(notice the ruby red face and my enthusiasm for water)

Back on Tour- Sushi Tour 2009

Finally Sushi Tour (now 2009) is back on! I neglected to mention, on my birthday Abbie and I did a mini sushi tour of NYC and hit up every sushi bar we came across- totaling 5. We needed a sushi hiatus before picking up our local Sushi Tour .

Before going to David Copperfield (see last entry) we stopped by Asia Sushi. It had a decent atmosphere- filled with cheap framed pictures and lots and lots of blue accessories. (we blended well)There was no one in the restaurant so we receive our food and drinks quickly.

Our staple on the Sushi Tour – the Spicy Tuna Roll was about a 7 on a scale of 1-10. Sake was about a 7 as well. Our specialty roll was the QuePasa Roll -eel, fried grouper, cream cheese, smelt roe, cucumber & hot sauce. It was LOADED! 10! Overall I would give the restaurant an 8. We would definitely recommend it to a friend.

**Btw- this is Abbie being David Copperfield while having sushi**

Garble - Garble - Garble- Lights- Smoke- PRESTO!

For Christmas I bought Abbie and I tickets to go see David Copperfield in Fort Myers. As a guy who is constantly guessing what card I am holding while pulling quarters out of my ears- I thought it would be a fun thing to do.

I should have known that $80 tickets wouldn’t give us the best seats in the house. We were the third row from the back- on the 3rd balcony. We didn’t care though; we had 2 bottles of sake prior to seating and were ready for magic! The bright lights went low… overly dramatic music when high… and David in all of his silky shirt greatness sauntered onto the stage and said… “Swerekajouaogiudeiusa! Wekjowulkjf… Ixoughalij… ouuxzviududppsrr!”

WTF? My first thought was that he must be drunk- we can’t understand a word he says! But then we heard laughter from the floor level seats- they clearly knew what was going on.

Then I thought maybe WE were too drunk to understand David- but looking around at all of the other poor suckers on the 3rd balcony we quickly came to the conclusion that there was a sound system problem. So for the next hour we sat though “garble-garble- garble- *smoke* -*lights*-PRESTO!” It was too funny for words. The magic was still cool though- and because we didn’t receive “the full” experience Barbara B. Mann gave us tickets to see Sweeny Todd the musical! More to come on that one…

Quest for Kids

Going along with my New Year’s resolution of becoming a “yes (wo)Man” , I got my ass up at 8:00am to volunteer on Saturday. While getting ready, I did what I always do when I am about to do something I don’t want to- I listed reasons in my head why I couldn’t go:

I’m running late, I have nothing to wear, I have (fill in the blank) to do instead ...

Realizing that just saying “yes” doesn’t fulfill my goal- that follow-through is also necessary - I resisted the excuses and volunteered.

I worked with an organization called Quest for Kids- they help students prepare for college. My job as one of the volunteers was to work with a group on a business plan and teach them about what is involved with owning/starting a business.

I was beyond impressed with my group- how quickly they caught on, their ideas, and their presentation. What was even more impressive was their commitment to having a bright future. Their group meets once a month always on Saturdays and always at 8:00am with most of their sessions consisting of vocabulary lessons and other SAT prep work. I felt bad for having so many excuses not to go when all of them were so very driven.

I honestly had a great time teaching them about business and I resisted the urge to spout off any and all advice I had about high school and college (ie- date as many people as possible, take out loans, join a sorority, yadda, yadda, yadda)

So… my first YES experience was really good. I’m glad I did it. I hope all of my future yes’s prove to be as positive.

Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas

Ahhh yeeeahhh... my Florida Gators won the BCS Championship last night! Tim Tebow rocks. Abbie and I wondered if his teammates secretly hate him - as he is much like the sibling that can do no wrong. Case in point: 4th quarter - 3 minutes to go - Tebow threw a 4 yard jump pass for a touchdown, delivered a baby and cured cancer. Amazing.

(photobucket.com)


Bunks is a big Harvin fan.

Everyday I'm Hustlin'

Sometimes, when I'm working read hard at the job... I start singing Everyday I'm Hustlin' in my head.

Katt Williams knows what I'm talking about...