Replica of the Statue of Liberty at the Brooklyn Museum

F:  What do you do to make yourself feel better when you are run down?

L:  Is this a veiled hint or just a well-timed question?!  When I feel run down, I try to make time to do nothing, though I often push it too long before forcing some downtime.  I’ve also thought of Dr. Junger’s, “No worry, no hurry” many times since you wrote about it.

F:  What is your favorite part about your morning routine?

L:  Coffee

F: How was your weekend? What did you do?

L:  The weekend was fun.  I went to Connecticut with a bunch if friends, then rented a car and drove to Ithaca to see another friend. I haven’t driven a long trip like that by myself in a long time & it was really nice.

F. What is your favorite poem?

L:  I’m not sure that it is all my all time favorite but the first poem that came into my head is this one by W.H. Auden.  I’ve seen it titled “Funeral Blues” as well as “Song IX” and “Song for Hedli Anderson.”

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

-- W H Auden

F: How are your plants doing? Take a pic for me to see.

L:  They are doing pretty well.  I still haven’t done a re-pot & I think I moved one into an area with too much light.  But I moved it back where it was and have been giving it some extra attention and I think it’s bouncing back.  I also bought a basil plant a the grocery store and it was dead within a week.  I think it’s about the third time I’ve done that; I don’t know why I can’t keep those alive.

L:  Do you have a personal mantra (in general or right now)?

F:  I have been reading Dr. Junger’s new book Clean Gut.  In it, he tells an ancedote that ends in a lesson of “Don’t worry. Don’t hurry.”  Ever since I read that, I find myself thinking it or saying it out loud. It is mostly a reminder to slow down.

L:  What have you learned after your first week on the job?

F:  I have learned a lot. Most importantly, I would say that I never truly realized the value of having a strong community of liked minded people around you. Everyone that I work with is more awesome than the next. It makes a huge difference to be around people who are nice and share your same goals.

L:  What’s the best meal you’ve eaten recently?

F:  When Julie was in town we made an intuitive meal which consisted of a shaved brussel sprout salad with lemon and avocado, sauteed red cabbage with balsalmic and homemade, gluten-free breaded chicken tenders. It was fantastic!  Honestly, I can not get enough of home cooked meals.

L:  What’s the last song you listened to?

F:  Oh man, Teddy and Kelley (our brother and soon to be sister-in-law) showed me this nutso video by Diplo. I used to listen to Diplo all the time and after seeing this crazy video I am hooked on the song.

L:  What do you do if you can’t sleep?

F:  I have started to sleep with a sleep mask. I feel like a reality tv star or something, but I try to have the room as dark as possible, not to eat close to my bedtime and have the best most, relaxing wind down – slowly easing into bed.