What I found was interesting insight into the life of this comedian.  Sharing his story, from childhood through his early years in standup, it follows the life of a man who refused to give up.  Through trials and tribulations, bad reviews and rejections, Eddie Izzard never lost faith in himself.  He always knew what he wanted to do and worked towards his goal, even when it seemed the universe was working against him.

He speaks about the obstacles he encountered through his career, both outside and internal and how he found ways to overcome them.  Mostly he talks about the importance of believing in yourself.  "If you want to be a singer, you've got to believe you can sing, if you want to be a comedian you've got to believe you can be funny."  In dealing with hecklers and critics, he tells of lessons learned during his street performing days - on a unicycle.  If someone walked by and said "don't fall" the minute he thought "I'm not going to fall, I'm not going to fall" he would lose balance.  Letting those negative thoughts in altered his confidence.  Instead, he turned his mind blank and let the moment pass.

Eddie Izzard is just another shining example of someone who followed his passion.  He recognized his strengths and talents (in some cases through trial and error) and remained true to himself.  And that is truly inspirational.

I'm a little tired of talking about the things I'm planning to do.  This year, I decided to just do them.  And the key word there is "decide."  I decided that I will go to the gym regularly (after years of talking about it) and make plans with my friends more often (instead of saying I will).  Cooking dinner at home, rather than ordering take-out became a priority as well. A month and a half into the new year, I notice that my resolutions have stuck. 

So what's the difference?  The decision.  I chose one or two things that will be done at day - going to the gym, finishing a book, calling a friend, going to the grocery store, writing a blog post.  There's no bartering, arguing or putting things off.  In the mornings I pack my gym clothes because I decide to work out that day.  After work, I no longer think of excuses not to go; I have already spent the day knowing it will end with a trip to the gym.   I just don't give myself the opportunity to thin of the reasons why I don't want to do these things.  Because I have the follow-through, I no longer have remorse about what "I should have done."  Of course, there are never enough hours in the day; I would like to accomplish so much more than I do.  At the end of the day however, when my energy wanes and I just want to sit on the couch,  I have done what I set out to do.

And that's a good feeling.

Last week we experienced our biggest snow storm of the season.  We knew it was coming - schools were closed a day in advance, the sidewalks were salted the night before.  I was really excited about the prospect of a huge storm.  Like a kid, I still get very excited about snowstorms.  Though as an adult living in NYC, I don't get any snow days.  The subway always runs, even when the roads are impassible.

I took advantage of the commute and brought my camera.  Walking the blocks to and from the subway, I was able to capture the moments as the snow fell.  Families were out with their sleds. Few cars braved Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, which is normally heavily trafficked. By the next morning, the snow had stopped and we were back to business as usual.  I'm so glad I captured that day.  I have my own memories and am able to share what I saw with people (perhaps a bit saner than myself) who stayed warm and snug that day.

You can see one of them on the Ditmas Park blog.  You can find the whole set here.

1. Los Aterciopelados – El Album
2. Cabas – Mi Bombon
3. Sonaros de Verdad – A Buena Vista
4. Bebe – Malo
5. Elis Regina e Tom Jobim – Águas de Março
6. Rodrigo y Gabriela - Buster Voodoo
7. Cafe Tacuba - El Padre
8. Luciana Souza - Muita Bobeira
9. Manu Chao - Me Llaman Calle
10. Jeremias - Yo Solo Se Que Solo No Se Nada
11. Orquesta Riviera - Asi Es La Humanidad
12. Shakira y Alejandro Sanz - La Tortura
13. Carlos Vives - La Fuerza Del Amor
14. Maná - Oye Mi Amor
15. Juanes - Lo Que Me Gusta A Mi
16. Elvis Crespo - El Regalito
17. Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Mais Que Nada
18. Babasónicos – Carismatico
19. Julieta Venegas - A Tu Lado
20. Miranda! – Don
21. Caetano Veloso - Cucurrucú Paloma

Now as I prepare to trudge through the snow filled streets and head to work, I'll be a little bit warmer.

Yerba Mate: How to Use It

Yerba Mate is a tea, and can be used like any other tea. Its most popular form comes in 500 gram (17.6 oz.) bags of loose-leaf tea that is dried and ground. In some places it is available in tea bags, called Mate Cocido, but these do not provide the strength and full benefit of the more traditional methods for drinking it. Yerba Mate (literally, the "Mate Herb") gets its name from the traditional cup (called Mate as well) used to drink it. This cup, originally a dried and decorated gourd, can be made out of almost anything these days. In South America, where Maté was introduced to the world, Maté is still sipped from the Maté cup using a metal or wood decorative straw & filter called a bombilla. The modern Maté drinker can choose any number of ways to extract the beneficial tea from the herb. It can be brewed like normal loose-leaf tea and filtered before pouring into a cup. It can be use in a coffee press, where the herb is infused with hot water, and then the herb is pressed out of the way of the tea. It can be made into a flavorful iced tea to drink on a hot summer day. It can be made like coffee, in a standard automatic coffee maker (make sure you use a large amount of the herb). And, if you have a Maté cup and a bombilla, you can follow in the foot steps of the ancients by sipping Maté the traditional way. How to prepare a traditional Maté infusion To prepare the Maté infusion, the dried minced leaves of the Yerba Maté are placed inside the Maté cup and hot water (approx. 70 C) is added (this is called "cebar el Maté"). The infusion is sucked through a metal pipe called "bombilla," which has a strainer at its lower end to prevent the minced leaves from reaching the mouth. There are as many different techniques to prepare Maté as Maté drinkers, here is a fairly traditional method: Fill the Maté cup with Yerba Maté up to 3/4 of its capacity. A variation that will give you more tea per infusion and a less potent taste is to fill the Maté cup only half way, or even a little less than that. Pour some hot water in until it nearly fills the cup. Don't worry if some of the leaves remain dry, floating on the top. They will eventually absorb water in subsequent infusions. Let it stand a few seconds and replenish with hot water when the previous one is absorbed by the dry Maté leaves. When the water is not absorbed anymore, close the bombilla's "mouthpiece" with your thumb and insert it firmly into the Mat&eacute. Some people add sugar and/or some herbs (like mint, for example). Some replace the water with milk, specially for the children. You drink and replenish the Maté with hot water many times till the liquid comes out with almost no taste. The repetitive extraction with hot water seems to be an efficient way of extracting the beneficial properties of the herb. Enjoy! Although the first taste will be an unusual flavor for newcomers, it is a haunting taste that beckons you back time and time again. It's almost as if the body knows how good Maté is for you and calls out for you to take in more.

And I'm so glad I did.  It's not like I spent the time doing positively nothing.  I just spent the month and a half not pressuring myself to do things:  I did what I wanted, when I wanted.  And it's been glorious. In years past, January and February endlessly plodded along.  This year the days seem to pass a little too quickly.

What I have I been up to?  Oh, lots.  I've actually managed to hold to my New Year's resolutions.  I joined the local YMCA and work out regularly.  Contacts with friends have been strengthened, with a couple of long weekends away.  We're eating healthy and cut down on the booze (not that there was a lot to begin with),  I caught up on my reading lists and those movies I've been meaning to watch.

Not bad all around.  My haitus ended with a spectacular New Year's celebration on Sunday.  We celebrated the Year of the Tiger in Chinatown, something I've never done before.   You can see the photos here.  What a perfect way to start the new year - twice. 

Fortunately, Yu Dan's book Confucius from the Heart acts as a Confucius 101.  Written to make the philosophy and its teaching accessible, they also prove to be applicable in every day life.  Early on, the author explains that the reader "should not think that the wisdom of Confucius if lofty and out of reach..." The basic principles are easy to understand, and it's in their simplicity that they are most effective.

Confucius teaches how to achieve happiness by attaining balance and harmony.  This harmony exists not only within ourselves, but also with the world and the people in it.  Having balance with the world provides and inner strength.  This strength helps us deal with the changes and disappointments that may come in life with tranquility.

The philosophy bears a close resemblence to Buddhism.  You may have read these lessons before, they are filled with common sense.  I find that sometimes it's nice to have the positive reinforced; to restate what we know.  Being told that you are capable of harmony and happiness, that you control these aspects of your life,  adds fuel to my inner fire.