Becoming Recluse...

That's right you heard it here first. I'm going into hiding for the next few months. My social activities will basically be work and tennis and even then on the same strict regimen that I have been on for the past month or so. However, this time I'm going to be organized.

I realize now that the only way to get all the things I need done by June, I will have to put all my attention into work and working out (tennis). Then I will be out of the country for a little more than a month. I have definitely been slackin' on the org skills, so I'm going to make like a caterpillar and cocoon myself.



If we're friends, don't take it personally, I still love you all. I just really need to put some high focus on certain things for the time being. I need to put my priorities in check and return to the place where I was before. So unless you play tennis or work with me, you probably won't see me and if you do play tennis and work with me; you'll probably be sick of me when this is over.

Thanks B ahead of time for being there for me :)...Updates to come...on 'adventures of a chronic dieter'. Next time you all will see me you will all see me outside my larval stage and I will be better than evah and hopefully less stressed.

New Template, New Start?

Ok, maybe not so much. I do a new start every week. I'm all about rejuvenating the old but shit. It's not working. I had a deep discussion with the beau the other day about sticking to your guns and how the 'self' is really the only person that can motivate you to do things. Of course, he's feeling good because he just finished the LA Marathon a couple weekends ago.

I just played in my mixed doubles playoff game this past weekend. Lost both matches; granted EVERYone on my team lost their matches; but I'm not everyone and I HATE to lose! I hate losing more than I hate aimless driving and chapped lips.

I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do, I'm just going to do it and tell you all later. In the meantime, I'm getting things ready for my summer trip to Europe this year. I'm very excited. It will be my second (not consecutive) year working with Pueblo Ingles. This is a great program that gets you out of your element and into a different culture. It was a great experience the first time and I'm excited to work with the teens this time. The BF is going so it should be a memorable experience.

Right now, I'm working my a@@ off and trying to get everything into a routine, but it doesn't seem to be working. Clearly I'm doing something wrong. I've found myself to be with low energy lately, but getting back in the gym should help a lot. Morning workouts here I come! Oh...and I'm HIGHLY contemplating disconnecting my cable for a few months, thoughts?

How-To write AND keep your New Year's resolutions!

It's that time of year again and I love it because it means there's a whole year of new-ness ahead. Actually, I don't even know if that make sense ;). Anyway, I have a pretty good ritual of writing my new year's resolutions for the next year around this time. Nothing unique about that right? WRONG!!!

I'm one of the few people I know that KEEP my resolutions, yes...I actually check in with them throughout the year. I keep a copy of them in my planner or phone or wherever and I check in mid-year to see where I stand. Yes, that may be obnoxious to you...but when it comes the end of the year to write new ones; I'm excited about it because its more like a prediction of what i'm going to accomplish over the next year.

There are definitely some key tricks to writing good resolutions, so I thought I would share with you all; so that you can make 2010 your BEST year yet. Especially after the depressing 2009 we just went through.

1. Figure out what you want to accomplish! - Ok, this may be self-explanatory but it has to be said. Take some time for yourself one day, sit down and really think about where you would like to be by the end of 2010. Don't think about where you are today - that will just throw wrenches in your plan.

2. Be realistic - It may sound good to say you're gonna lose 50 pounds next year, but are you really going to do that? Make sure that your resolutions are something that you can stick with and really give effort to. If you think 20 is the realistic number then put down 20, you know your limits. If your goal is too ridiculous in any area, you'll be more likely to forget it or give up.

3. Give yourself measurable goals - Be sure that you are setting some expectation for yourself. Saying to yourself "I'm going to save money next year" doesn't really say much at all. Remember, these are for yourself for the most part. Put a number goal on things like; I'm going to save $1200 in 2010 or I'm going to lose 10 pounds by march. Putting dates and number give your nearer and farther goals and gives you some motivation to work towards things. You don't have to make it ridiculous, its not a competition. Resolutions are just things you feel will make you or your life better. (I promised myself I would play in 10 tennis tournaments next year!)

4. Tell people about it. - Does a tree make a sound when it falls in the woods if no one hears it? Tell someone about your goals/plans, this is probably someone close to you or maybe even a friend that you're writing resolutions with. That way, someone is a witness and possibly may ask you how your getting along at certain points. If you have someone to share it with, it's easier to keep your resolutions throughout the year.

5. Keep them close - Have your resolutions handy. I generally have mine on a half sheet of paper in my planner. Sometimes when i'm flipping through to check something else I run across and re-read them. This is a great reminder of what you have to accomplish and keeps them in your head. It's not surprising that you won't have them memorized. Another good place is your wallet.

6. Check-in mid year! - Right before summer hits, check in with yourself. If you check-in mid year and you kind of put some of the items by the way side, you still have about 6 months to accomplish some of your goals. Most of our goals won't take a whole year to get to, but we give ourselves that much because we've gotta live life. This is a great time to check things off your list (my favorite) so you can see what you have left and how much progress you have made!

7. Celebrate yourself - There's never a bad time to celebrate. I generally see new year's as a time of celebrating the past year and really seeing all that I have accomplished. But along the way, have small celebrations when you accomplish your goals.

8. Keep it short! - Last but not least. Having 100 resolutions for the year is a little out of range. Create as many as you think is important to really get to that year. I generally have about 10 main goals for the year, other stuff comes up; both those 10 I make sure to keep top of mind.

Well, I hope that you get a chance to plan for 2010 and I wish every one a very happy New Year! Good luck and god speed....2010 Here I come!

Getting social at BlogWorld - Day 1

First thing is first...WHY did I forget the camera? Was it because I left my place this morning at 4:30 a.m. to catch the first flight out to Vegas? Maybe so....Maybe that's also why I forgot to stock up on b.cards....DUMMMMMBBBB! That's ok, I should have enough to last me tomorrow night's Blogworld party.

If you don't know what that is, it's a party where a whole bunch of computer nerds that love to write and be heard go and consume a bunch of free alcohol at really cool places in Vegas (well...this year anyway). If you can't tell, I'm looking forward to it.

Now...back to our regularly scheduled programming...The Social Media Business Summit (Day 1)


Getting at the Las Vegas Convention Center at 7:30 a.m. is not my idea of fun and there was really not much fun involved, but the day was more eventful than I expected.

I started my day at the Keynote (which was awfully early for a conference). The first 5 minutes was full of apologies and thank you's for making it out so early on the day before the expo. The rest of it was really the speaker's recount of how she got started in social media and how it opened doors for her.

I really feel like social media should be able to do that for anyone who puts time and effort into it like most relationships. Something that started out as an annoying fad, has now been translated to an essential business and communication tool.

What I realized yesterday is that we are at a pinnacle of technology that may never be seen before. This generation is the one that was able to see the turning point of simple technology into advanced technologies. Our children will never have to look up anything in books if we don't make them. That said, I think that traditional learning is still very important.

Make time to learn and use new technologies but introduce your kids to the essential tools of learning (like how to write in cursive for example), how to look things up in the library, playing an instrument (like the piano or violin), reading novels, writing letters. Now that technology has 'simplified' everything, we have become simple and forgotten about the sophisticated and romantic cultural traits of years past.

I guess that's another topic. Recap for Day 1's poignant new media sessions......

Things I could care less for:
Disorganized badge distribution this morning
Me hauling around my suitcase all day
Not enough power outlets
Getting yelled at for networking at the luncheon (bad planning on their part)
The guy who was snoring in the back of the Internet Marketing panel

Major +'s:
Informative panels
Great discussions
Knowledgeable speakers
Super friendly social media people that like to network and learn

Follow me on Twitter to hear what's going on at the show @Ronjini

Neglect is an awful thing.

Neglect (definition from Wikipedia) - to leave uncared for or to leave undone.

While I pursue every other thing in the book, I've unfortunately neglected my beloved blog. This is how it starts, you start neglecting and then you forget alltogether. Kind of like how I generally start neglecting that I'm on a diet and then BAM! I'm ten pounds heavier in two weeks. Ahhh, the things we choose to remember. Actually, this blog is not just about self-neglect but also my rant about neglect of your social responsibility in the community.

Think about how much time you spend thinking about your personal and professional goals, how much time you spend achieving them and then how much time you spend just screwin' around and not doing very much for anyone (including yourself).

I have been working with United Way (on a professional level) on some of their initiatives to fight homelessness and discovered some heinous truths about homelessness. It costs taxpayers MORE money to keep a homeless man on the street that to help them into a stable living situation!!! Now...when someone starts talking about saving my taxpayer dollars I listen, because they are always trying to milk us for what we're worth. The truth is that homelessness is a huge problem and Los Angeles is ranked #2, there are more than 73,000 people living in homelessness in the Los Angeles County. Can you believe that? All of this makes me very sad, but what can we do as individuals?

It is scary to approach that guy who's screaming out profanities on the corner and ask him "hey do you want some help?", it's likely that he'll follow you home, screaming at you and then stand in front of your building every day waiting for you to come out. You dont' want that. That's not necessarily the answer anyway.

My suggestion would be to contact local organizations like LAMP or United Way that specialize in focusing on the homeless issue and find out ways that you can support and help them (I'm talking other than giving up the $$$). Often times, they organize ways (groups and events) to reach out and help the homeless. You can also go to your public library to help out, which is what I did.

I am thinking of also volunteering with United Way, but because my specialty was Journalism in college; I felt that adult literacy is an important issue and the Los Angeles Public Libraries offer free tutoring for anyone that is interested in improving their literacy level and living in the Los Angeles area. While these suggestions are just small pieces of a larger puzzle, it helps when we all do our part to help our community and show tolerance and understanding of others. It takes a while to figure out your place in the world and I feel that now that I have somewhat figured out a plan and my place here on earth, it would be nice to help others, who may not be able to figure out themselves. Face it! Most people don't care about being nice anymore.

I went to a networking event earlier this week, where the program coordinator talked about developing relationships and the time it takes. I think it's the American culture that forces us to want everything now, now, now! The problem is that many things take investment, time and care to develop into something truly profitable or worthwhile. He mentioned that you'll never receive anything worthwhile without giving.

Give, give, give and it is inevitable that you will receive in return. It may come in different forms; money, personal gratification, business leads, friendships, partners, anything really. I also think that being a nice person, you'll likely get screwed once or twice, but that comes with life. So get over it and move on! My new resolution of life is to have a nice balance of doing things for myself and my personal good and doing things to better the world (whether its local, national or at an International level).

If anyone knows how to become an ambassador please contact me! That is something I'd really like to pursue without going back to school for political science, joining the peace corps or becoming a famous celebrity. 'After all, what is it that we all want?......World Peace!'

The Transformation

I suck at updating my blog, but I guess that's no big deal. Lately, I have been so busy launching my networking group and keeping up with other social media, that my personal affects have suffered. But this isn't about that, it's about the transformation that you are about to encounter as readers of this blog. I would say about two weeks ago, I made the decision to reform my tennis skills and reach the next level of my game.

I am determined to become a 5.0 player and active in the USTA community, with that means practice and LOTS of training. I got back into my athletic training just this week, starting off at the stairs, swimming and playing a lot of tennis. What I realize however, is that I really need to work on my serve.

So for the next week, I think self-practice sessions at the court are going to be involved. It would help if I had a sponsor or something like that, but who knows what can happen. In the meantime, I am dedicating the next month to myself to really clear my priorities and focus my goals. A few of which are tennis, studying for the GMAT (again!!!), expanding my networking group (which I have done a lot of this past week) and working on business.

Oh I need to read and meditate too. I only have one question, how will I control my need to shop. The cutest boutique EM & Co. is having a summer sale on designer clothes, but I need to stay awayyyyy...