Anything Goes

Image c/o Stagezine.com

I went to see Anything Goes on Broadway tonight and, even from the last seat of the last row (the only seat that my measly $30 could get) it was incredible. I was determined to see it with Sutton Foster since I had missed her in The Drowsy Chaperone, and her performance alone was totally worth seeing. She's actually lankier than I had imagined (and therefore something of an awkward dancer) but her acting skills make the show. How often can you say that an actor is truly outstanding?

Of course, Cole Porter tunes never hurt, either.

Does God Want Us To Be Happy?

It feels like an offensive question. "Of course my God wants me to be happy!" one might hastily proclaim. "My God who sent his son to die on the cross. My God who forgives my sins. Of course my God wants me to be happy! Why else would He have done all of this?"

Frankly, it seems like God has ulterior motives. Happiness doesn't have much stage time in the bible: joy, peace, contentment, they're all there, as well as charity, patience, and kindness, which show up on the list of Seven Heavenly Virtues. Yet happiness is of a different flavor. Happiness is not necessarily synonymous with contentment or peacefulness. "Blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful," Matthew recounts in chapter 5 of his gospel, listing states of being that are far from happy.

Foodstuffs

For the first time in two years, I do not have a kitchen. In response, like a starving person, or perhaps just a procrastinating college student, I have taken to obsessively reading recipes/viewing food photography online. Thankfully, my ex-housemate Joe has a kitchen (ironic for a man who does not EVER cook!) and has invited me to use it as I wish. We've settled on this Thursday for the first what will hopefully become a series of dinners. But what to make!?!?!?

Photo c/o thelittleteochew.com

Put simply, I want something light and I want something fall. The cafeteria, where I now eat all of my meals, is pretty good at serving hefty meat-and-potatoes dishes every night, a gesture I generally appreciate since they seem to screw up anything more complicated than a slab of beef with a side of mash. Joe would be elated for me to serve some rendition of the latter, in fact, he'll probably request something "meaty" and specifically "non-ethnic."

Photo c/o greedygourmet.com

Luckily for him, I'm not going the 'ethnic' route. I don't even want to think about buying spices that are unheard of in the Belmont area of the Bronx, many of which used to fill my cupboard. Instead, I've decided on two recipes that caught my attention: mushroom risotto and butternut squash soup. My internship boss ordered butternut squash soup for lunch last week and I was salivating: so smooth! So sweet! So fall! Regarding Joe's impending "meat" concern, I'll sear some steak and throw it on top of the risotto just for him.

Photo c/o dessertsforbreakfast.com

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll get to the fig, mascarpone, and pistachio tart this week. I'm hoping to make it for my family when I have more time and ingredients at my disposal. When I told my mom of this plan, she responded, "Who will eat it?" Well, for one, me. Any other takers?

Business of Giving

Along with the back-to-school craziness, there comes, of course, awesome events. This past week, Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, visited Fordham and revealed how he molded TOMS shoes into a success. Like so many other "success" stories, TOMS came out of the blue. Mycoskie was working for an online driving school company when he had the idea in Argentina and, on impulse, he had an Argentine man named Jose produce a couple hundred shoes that he could sell back in America. By chance, the press got involved and, in Mycoskie's words, "made it seem like TOMS was a real company." The phenomenon basically took off from there.

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS
image c/o sarahslaundry.com

Now TOMS has sold over a million shoes and has given over a million away to shoe-less people in Argentina and Africa alike. And, while Mycoskie is proud of his accomplishments, he has his sights set on greater success. He's started an eyewear company and written a book, the proceeds from which will go to start other philanthropy-based grassroots campaigns. According to Mycoskie, his success lies in TOMS' foundation of giving. If more companies put giving at the core of their mission rather than writing large, tax-exempt checks at the end of the year, he claims they would attract invested customers who become advertising agents through word of mouth. As TOMS has exemplified, Mycoskie's logic works.

image c/o toms.com

I should mention, too, that Mycoskie began TOMS in L.A. with the help of three interns who were willing to stick around and work out of his boat-apartment. Sometimes, unpaid, grassroots work really is worth it.

Joy and Peace

School has started again. And, just like that, I'm back into it: the rush, the endless emails, the late nights, the piles of reading. It's like some kind of hurricane, building up from afar and then hitting hard all at once. Granted, this is the last time I'll be starting a fall semester for awhile, and, while that's consoling, it doesn't quite combat the knowledge that I still have to get through this semester and then another before the craziness finally ceases and I'm home-free. Needless to say, I'm needing a lot more than the hope of graduation to keep myself afloat right now.

I ran across part of this entry on pinterest the other day, and reading the whole chapter was pretty calming. For a few moments, unanswered texts and my long list of things to do stopped buzzing around, and I was granted silence. A pretty sweet gift in the midst of anxiety, huh?

Joy and Peace
Rejoice in the lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness shall be known to all. The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the peace of God will be with you.

-Philippians 4:4-9

"Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phew.