The Three Necessities

"As I've gotten older," actor Jason Segel said in a speech. "The things I care about have whittled down to three things: my family, my friends, and being nice." He's one of my favorite actors and my admiration only grew. This is a concept I think a lot of us have lost somewhere along the way: being nice.

I think in a place like Los Angeles, where it can be very cutthroat and cruel, it's easy to lose sight of the important things in life. Instead, there are those who are so wrapped up in their own insecurities and are so twisted in trying to be "the best" that they cut others down in the worst possible ways. Now, as a girl from North Carolina, raised properly by a loving (albeit fabulously dysfunctional), I was taught that at the root of human existence is the characteristic of being kind. And lately, I've been questioning my need to "be nice" when it feels like the people who surround me are, in fact, bullies.

I talked to one of my closest friends today and she told me this: "We're nice to those who aren't because they're unhappy. They're hurting in some way, and whether they call you fat or talk about how they're going to exploit a weakness, they're insecure and cowardly, and those are the ones who need us the most."

She's a wise one, my friend.

I believe in this statement: "Always be kinder than you feel." Seriously. It'll bring a smile to your face. And I promise, whether you want to teach someone "a lesson in dumbass-ness," make a comment about how someone appears to be socially awkward, or even go to the point of jeering at the fact that if 2012 were to ever wipe out the human existence, certain individuals would be the first to go, not saying it may actually make you feel better. Being a bully? Not impressive. Not attractive. And not how we as human beings should conduct ourselves.

My three necessities parallel Segel's:

1) My family.

2) My friends.

3) Being kind.

Maybe it's something we should all look into.

Viva 23!

This year I came up with a catchphrase for turning 23: "Viva 23!" As in, HOORAH! Big Girl World is about be owned. Hilary always makes me laugh because she incorporates the good with the bad. For example: "Hilary, I have a pimple." "Well...VIVA 23!" And today, she joins me in 23-year-old Land.

Happy, happy birthday sweet pal of mine!

Love Never Dies: My Romance with Google

A very thoughtful life quandary. At least I thought so:

The Not-So-Sparkly List

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by famed producer, director, general "everything man" Mel Brooks:

"If you're quiet, you're not living. You've got to be noisy and colorful and lively."

I came across this quote randomly and felt it jump out at me, like someone had literally taken the three adjectives that I would want someone to describe me as being and made it real.

And then I started to cry. And bear in mind, I do not cry prettily. I actually suffer from the UCS (Ugly Crying Syndrome), where my eyes burn and get all red, my snuffles sound like a foghorn, and my throat starts to close, making me panic, and do the kind of breathing I imagine women going into labor do. I haven't felt 'noisy and colorful and lively' in awhile. I just felt like everything that I had been so hopeful about once the new year started, was starting to shrivel into nothingness. Oh, and it could also be because, yes, it is That Time of the Month. You know, the IT. Surfing the crimson wave of hell. So as I sit here with my heating pad and hot water and lemon (and as I re-read this sentence, I wonder if I've turned into a ninety-year-old woman), I am composing a new list. A Grumpy List.

Why 2012, A Seemingly Sparkly Year, Has Currently Turned Me Into A PMS-Y Cynic:

1) I have writer's block, in the worst possible way. I'll get an idea, I'll sketch something out in my notebook...but then when I sit down to type it out, I...can't. I don't know why, but everything that I write sounds horrible. And I erase every single thing I write because it isn't what I wanted and then there's nothing. Then I get cranky.

2) I feel like I'm still putting on an invisible jacket of, "Please don't swallow me" every time I step out of my apartment. I love LA. I do. But I get so antsy before I leave, mainly because I am convinced today is the day a truck is going to take my life as it barrels down a 40-MPH road. I get into these moods where if I have everything I need (food, water, various social media outlets, face wash, a full DVR, coffee maker, and a sushi takeout menu), I really don't have to leave my space. So the Kiran Cave goes into full effect, with me applying to more jobs, hating my writing, doing yoga in front of my lifted television, and not leaving. I am social. I love being social. I am not used to exploring on my own, especially when I feel like all I do is get lost and panic as my car shakes on the highway.

3) I can't find my chocolate-covered Cheerios. Also, our DVR is full of Criminal Minds. This is not good for my sleeping habits.

4) I can't find my CamCard. Duh, I'm not a student but I want it. And plus, there was a gift card to Target in there. Dammit, WHERE IS IT?

5) I still need to unpack.

6) I am really starting to see that in "the business," sometimes if you have a plan, it really doesn't matter. At all.

7) My Words With Friends account FORFEITED all of my games because I didn't play while I was at home. So now it says that I lost a bunch of games, when really, with the exception of my roommate, I was kicking everyone else's ass.

8) MY THIGHS TOUCH.

9) An old professor of mine told me I should think about doing stand-up, and all I can think about is having a panic attack on stage and having NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT.

10) I would just really like all of my friends to live in the same neighborhood. Because I miss them and the fact that they know me really well and that I don't have to start over.

11) My ex-boss has not paid me, yet I still have access to his social media accounts. Hmmm.

12) I think my dad snuck one of his shirts into my suitcase on purpose. Because now I miss home all over again. Stupid girly monthly visitor.

13) My next post will be positive. Perhaps I'll go out and take pictures of all of the hot men I see.