IN WHICH YOUR CAREER DEFINES YOU

When someone asks you, "What do you do for a living?" what is your response? Do you st-st-stutter looking for an appropriate response that lies between a truth and a lie? Something along the lines of, "I'm still doing some soul searching, but I am keeping very busy doing X, Y, and Z." Or perhaps you are one of those fortunate individuals who have "found their calling" for lack of a better description. Eager and booming with pride to tell others how your job changes lives, makes you enjoy waking up in the morning, integrates passion with ingenuity. Or maybe you lie somewhere in the middle; a little unsure about when your next job prospect will immerge, but hopeful, yes very hopeful.

See the problem with this scenario is not the answer you give, but the question itself. "What do you do for a living?" This question seems simple to us, but does not imply that the sender wants to know what your job is. Frankly, they would be better asking, "What do you do from 9am-5pm?" (If you're lucky enough to have full-time hours and in this economy who are we kidding?) The prying individual wants to know what you do and what you do is not always correlated with what you make or what you work as.

When did our career start to define us? Why does a career have to be an all-encompassing title? Why all the pressure? What about all the things people outside their job? The lives they change in their daily interactions, their causes and concerns, their adventures vast and small, who they are as GOOD people? That matters too.

Don't get me wrong. A rewarding career is a goal worth pursuing. In fact, it can act as the catalyst to finding a "living." But the trap, if we should fall into it, is the belief that a career is the only way to lead a meaningful life. The only thing we should take pride in. Reality is, we must learn to find purpose outside our employers, outside the Marxist world. Find what you do; no better, who you are. And yes there is a difference.

Make a list of things you do each day that are individualistic and unique to you. Things that bring you and the ones around you joy. Who said pastimes and hobbies don't make up who you are? When did we start being ashamed to say that bring a painter, reader, a good friend are things we love to do? Because ask anyone and yes, these take energy too. So when the next person asks you, "What do you do for a living?" you can hit them with a bunch of things you do to make life incredible. To make your life incredible.

In which a career defines you, well I don't believe in that.

B3. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

I feel foolish to admit but in all my years of reading I have never fully devoted myself to reading all the written books of one particular author. My routine usually consisted of finishing a given book and then jumping onto Goodreads to find out what was the latest buzz on what everyone else was reading. That is, until I picked up my first book from Khaled Hosseini.

I stumbled upon his first and most famous book "The Kite Runner" at my job. We were having a massive book exchange and his novel just happened to be on the top of the overflowing bin with countless others. My boss encouraged me to take whatever I liked and having heard that title somewhere before, I decided it might be worth a shot to read it. Of course, without my fellow expertise from Goodreads urging me to start the narrative, the book lay dormant on my shelf for a few weeks.

Until boredom struck. And then I was hooked.

Khaled Hosseini is not just an author, he is a storyteller (and yes, there is a difference). Hosseini writes as if he is telling you the story and it brings to light some of the significances of keeping oral storytelling alive. Reading his work is like floating on water, it's gentle and you ride the current with ease, following wherever the plot may take you. Now, that isn't to say that there aren't a few bumps along the journey. In fact, his book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" probably has its fair share of tidal waves...no better yet, tsunamis. But it is something in the way he writes, something in which he is able to connect words on a page together, that make his writing so alluring and artistic.

I will not dive into "A Thousand Splendid Suns" into full detail because I know I would not do it justice. All you need to know, is that you must read it. As a short introduction, the book primarily focuses on two characters, Mariam and Laila, who develop an unlikely mother-daughter bond after dealing with abandonment, domestic abuse, and a shift in women's rights during the war in Afghanistan. Their stories are of heartbreak and loss, but even more so, of finding a place in society and in the familial unit. If you are looking for a love story, you won't find one until the middle/end of the book. But it is a love story most needed after witnessing the horrifying events preceding it. And it was beautiful.

And so I will leave my review as that and let Hosseini do the rest. Because it is worth going through the storm to reach the calm shore at the end, or at least a gentle bob in the water. The book is worth the read.

B2. THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP

I was elated when my I unwrapped Marie Kondo's beautiful little hardcover book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing." Partly mystified that my boyfriend had listened to what I wanted for Christmas and had chosen the correct book, I could hardly hold in my excitement to delve into the art (yes art) of tidying and cleaning.

On the surface, the book seems to attract those who need to declutter their house. Perhaps you are the kind of person who holds on to everything, whether it be sentimental or not, although it may have lost its purpose of functionality. Perhaps you want to start the new year with a "fresh start" and so am drawn to the book in hopes that Kondo will help you check that one resolution off your list "Clean the house-CHECK." However, after reading about a quarter way through, the book inspires much more than that. I will touch on that later.



In order to help one move forward into the process of decluttering, Kondo offers a few pieces of advice. In fact, she tends to repeat herself throughout the entire book, reminding the reader of a few key strategies that will keep participants from relapsing. Part of the KonMari Method encourages the reader to:

1. Sort by category, not by rooms in the house. We tend to keep the same products in different places in the house and therefore can never really gauge how much stuff we actually have.
2. Clean in the order of: clothing, books, papers, miscellaneous things, and then sentimental keepsakes. Kondo also discusses each category in detail and how to handle almost every item you can think of.
3. Treat your objects with the respect they deserve. Kondo's writing is playful and funny but in fact at times can be quite enlightening. She advises greeting your house with a "Hunny, I'm home!" type of attitude and even recognizes the burden of the bottom sweater of a pile. She prompts you to think of that poor sweater that has been holding up the weight of its brothers and sisters time and time again. (Note: She emphasizes never piling your items on top of one another but instead arranging them vertically to maximize accessibility and care.)
4. Understand fancy storage items are deceiving. You are not actually cleaning but rather just "moving things around." Decluttering is the art of being selective and getting rid of unnecessary things, not simply hiding them away like a bad IKEA commercial.
5. Throw away things that have already filled their purpose. Kondo explains how many participants hold on to souvenirs, letters, and other gifts solely out of guilt. However, the true meaning behind these gifts were to convey to the receiver "I was thinking of you." So once you have read that letter or accepted that gift, the item has already filled its purpose. Throw it out.
6. And finally, possibly the most important thing Kondo encourages, only hold on to items that spark joy. Kondo explains that the pivotal solution to having a clean and happy home, is by only keeping items that make you happy. So how do you choose items that elicit joy? Search your whole house and take every categorical item, lay them out on the floor, and touch each item one by one. Joy is a physical sensation, she states. It is recognizable on a person's face, energy, and body. If the thing you hold fills you with happiness, keep it. This means no opening books to read the words or saying "I might use this later." In a sense, it is about choosing things that make you happy in the present moment; no persuasion needed. She ever goes so far as to say that if her book does not bring you happiness after reading it, toss it into the garbage.

To wrap things up, Kondo's book was very insightful and I have already recommended it to many of my friends and coworkers. Two of them have already received their orders from Amazon and I undoubtedly foresee a few nights of intensive cleaning. The only advice I have for buyers, is to stick with it. Kondo's method works only if you have the guts, ambition, and desire to be ready to part with a lot of things. And for some people, like my relentless mother, this may not be a book for everyone. However, I can see this book being opened again and used in the near future for my personal use. Yes, this book deserves a place on my bookshelf of joy.

M1. THE LUNCHBOX

Even though I technically watched this movie in the last few minutes of 2015, I did ring in the new year still reeling and discussing this movie with enthusiasm to my mother. Hence, I'd like to think this movie's charm and wit traveled through time and space, and stayed with me until 2016. And so commences my 25 Books and 25 Film list with "The Lunchbox."

I had scrolled past "The Lunchbox" countless of times on my Netflix account and had even pressed the play button once or twice to see if anything about the film would pique my interest. Of course, nothing did for at least the first 2-3 minutes. The pace was slow and tired and it felt like the director was stretching the opening scene of  the mundane, everyday life. A steam kettle blowing out too much steam, the sound of oil cracking in a pot, you wipe your hands on your apron; on-off, on-off.
But that is exactly what made the movie beautiful.

"The Lunchbox" does not need any superfluous themes, gadgets, or plot thickeners to make the movie interesting. It cleverly captures how a habitual task of making lunch for a neglecting spouse can turn in a heartwarming story of love, loss, and possibly love again (the movie does not provide us with an answer at the end, nor should it).

At time, the pace of the film will be painstakingly slow. But doesn't that hold true to life? Our life course is not a series of quick action shots, cropped and cut to the next scene, but rather events that lengthen, shape, sever and bind us. We do not simply just "get over" the death of a loved one, a betrayal, or our first true love. We feel it, second after second after second.

Overall, the film is full of cheek-hurting smiles, light laughs, and a few heart drops. The picture and cinematography are beautiful, and there are definitely instances of symbolism that can be explored (if you choose to). On the surface, however, it is a movie worth watching or at the very least, adding to your queue on Netflix.

B1. WOLF BY WOLF (25 BOOKS & 25 MOVIES)

A friend of mine had the ingenious idea of starting a new year's trend to read 25 books and watch 25 films all within the span of 365 days. Actually, the goal was 50 books and 50 films but in my own interest and personal enjoyment I thought it best to set a more attainable target. And so begins the year with book #1.



I actually began reading "Wolf by Wolf" just before the new year began, about the same time I came back from my trip to the Philippines in December. However, I finished it at 1am on January 1st, 2016 and therefore count it as my first book of the new year. I initially read Ryan Graudin's preceding novel "The Walled City" somewhat absently mindedly on my vacation, but quite enjoyed her deviation from the mainstream blonde hair, blue eyed, gender troped protagonists. In fact, "The Walled City", was much inspired by a real settlement in Hong Kong and its characters artistically reflected what life could have been like then and there.

But enough of that book.

"Wolf by Wolf" begins it story in the year 1956, and through a series of flashbacks, follows Yael through her journey to kill Hitler. Yes, you read that right, Hitler. The book again pulls inspiration from some of history's most impacting political figures and eras. Combined with shape shifting, and other elements you would expect to see from X-Men, you end up with an action packed yet sometimes hard-to-swallow novel. I can't deny that I wasn't totally thrown off with Yael's objective to assassinate such a leader, but it did keep my interest throughout the book. I mean, the only outcome plausible was "FAILURE" since I highly doubted Graudin would rewrite history itself. Hitler was eventually defeated, but not by a 17 year old girl, I assure you. But she made it work.
I can't say I didn't shyly maneuver my way around the 13+ reading section, but I can't surely say I will be back to pick up another one of her books. (In my defense "The Walled City" was placed on the front tables of Indigo under a different subtitle. Clever.) But for what it is, for what age group it is meant to target, it was a nice read. However, I didn't get truly invested into the story until the middle, when the plot finally quickened. The subtle romance was also a nice catalyst.
All in all, this was a great read to start my new year. I have a ton of books just piled on my "to-read" shelf that are just waiting to be opened. Who's game?