cold in NY!

This is me today when I got to work - after walking 12 minutes in the icy winds hahhahahahah
:-p

this is beautiful!!!

Boy, 7, raises $240,000 for Haiti appeal

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/01/25/uk.boy.charity.haiti/index.html?hpt=T2

London, England -- He's no Wyclef Jean or George Clooney, but that hasn't stopped seven-year-old Charlie Simpson from raising more than £150,000 ($240,000) for the Haiti earthquake.
Simpson from Fulham, west London had hoped to raise just £500 for UNICEF's earthquake appeal by cycling eight kilometers (five miles)around a local park.
"My name is Charlie Simpson. I want to do a sponsored bike ride for Haiti because there was a big earthquake and loads of people have lost their lives," said Simpson on his JustGiving page, a fundraising site which launched his efforts.
"I want to make some money to buy food, water and tents for everyone in Haiti," he said.
Donate to Charlie Simpson's Haiti fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.com/CharlieSimpson-HAITI
And with that simple call, messages of support flooded the site.
"Such a big heart for a young boy, you're a little star!" wrote one supporter. "Well done Charlie. A real celebrity," said another.
More donations began pouring in after the story caught the attention of the British media -- with many cheering Simpson past the £100,000 mark.
Even British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is spreading the message. His "Downing Street" Twitter alias said: "Amazed by response to the great fundraising efforts of 7 yr old Charlie Simpson for the people of Haiti."
David Bull, UNICEF's UK executive director described Simpson's efforts as "very bold and innovative."
"It shows he connects with and not only understands what children his own age must be going through in Haiti," Bull said in a press statement.
"The little seed -- his idea -- that he has planted has grown rapidly and his is a place well deserved in the humanitarian world.
"On behalf of the many children in Haiti, I thank Charlie for his effort."
Money raised by Simpson will go towards UNICEF's Haiti Earthquake Children's Appeal which will provide water, sanitation, education, nutrition as well as support child protection.

wow what a miracle!

Man Pulled Alive From Haiti Rubble 14 Days After Quake

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584013,00.html?test=latestnews

A crowd of Haitian looters called for help from U.S. soldiers on Tuesday after finding a man buried in the rubble of a building that had been repeatedly scavenged since the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince two weeks ago.

A witness told Reuters the man, covered in dust and wearing only underwear, was rescued by soldiers from the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division at a ruined building on Rue de Miracle in downtown Port-au-Prince.

The Americans treated Rico Dibrivell, 35, for a broken leg and severe dehydration. Dibrivell said he had been trapped under the building since the Jan. 12 quake.

The military provided no details about how he managed to survive, saying only in a statement late Tuesday that Dibrivell's family said he had been missing for two weeks.

"He got sent to the hospital. He’s going to make it," Specialist Andrew Pourak, one of the rescuers, said.

I love loving you

Watch the Video :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHsyevb3lC0

I love the way you are, what I'm not,
I love the way we fit together,
I love the end of every day with you,
For worse, or for better,
Oh, I love you,
Oh, I love you,
I love, loving you.
I love, loving you.

Hope for Haiti Now

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1630214/20100122/story.jhtml

Jan 22 2010 8:50 AM EST
'Hope For Haiti Now' Telethon Airs Tonight At 8 P.M.
George Clooney, Wyclef Jean and Hollywood's biggest names help raise money for earthquake relief.

On Friday (January 22) at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT), MTV's "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" will air across a number of networks, including MTV. Hollywood A-listers will join forces with some of music's biggest names to raise funds for Haiti after the devastating earthquake hit the nation last Tuesday.
Brad Pitt, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jon Stewart, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hanks and Will Smith are among the many participants joining George Clooney (in Los Angeles), Wyclef Jean (in New York) and CNN's Anderson Cooper (reporting from Haiti) for the event.

"You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television hosts, and they're all coming up not to be on TV, but simply to answer the phones," Clooney told MTV News on Thursday. He added that the telethon's main goal is to "raise money, period. That's it. ... Just first and foremost that we can raise a lot of money. If I thought that we could all pick up shovels and go in there and not be in the way, I think a lot of people would do that."

The musical performances will include ones by pop legend Madonna (in New York) and Haitian artist Emeline Michel (in Los Angeles) as well as Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira and Sting in New York. In L.A., Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder and Taylor Swift will take the stage, plus there will be a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. London will feature Beyoncé, Coldplay and a collaboration between Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna.

"It's gonna be historic," Jean said about his performance at the show. "I have my sister with me, Melky, my cousin with me, Jerry. I have [producer/musician] Papa Jube; he's in charge of those traditional horns that you see. It's definitely a family vibe you'll see tomorrow."

Beginning Friday, iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order the "Hope for Haiti Now" full-performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99). Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. Individual audio performances will also be available for purchase and download for 99 cents each in the days following the telethon. Apple, the record labels and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by "Hope for Haiti Now" charities, including the Red Cross and Wyclef's Yele Haiti foundation. Performances will also be available for purchase in the days following the event through Amazon's MP3 service and Rhapsody, through distribution provided by INgrooves.

Clooney thinks the opportunity to purchase the music afterward will help to extend the shelf life of the relief efforts beyond the one-night broadcast. "We're gonna have 18 songs, and you're gonna get to hear Jennifer Hudson sing a song you never heard her sing before," he said. "John Legend is singing 'Motherless Child'; it's just great. We're gonna have some amazing performances, and I think that's gonna make it last a little longer than just a telethon."

"Hope for Haiti Now" will begin accepting donations at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Friday. "Hope for Haiti Now" will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation and the newly formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from the telethon will be split among each organization's individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief. With the exception of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, each partner organization was selected for its history of operation and collaboration within the NGO community in Haiti.

"Hope for Haiti Now" will air across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino and Canadian networks, including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and Rhapsody, and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and FloTV. "Hope for Haiti Now" will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. "Hope for Haiti Now" will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and SIRIUS XM Radio as a one-time-only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.

"Hope for Haiti Now" is produced by Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions, in collaboration with Viacom's MTV Networks and George Clooney.

Learn more about what you can do to help with earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti, and for more information, see Think MTV. Join George Clooney and Wyclef Jean for MTV's "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon, airing commercial-free Friday, January 22, at 8 p.m. ET, and visit HopeForHaitiNow.org or call (877) 99-HAITI to make a donation now.

MBA begins!

and my MBA begins... day 1! :-) I'm learning how to juggle working full time, the gym, MBA, a relationship, friends, family, having time for myself also, and living a healthy and balanced lifestyle....good luck to me! ♥

I love my apt <3

Female director wins!

Tonight at the Critics Choice Awards, a female film director WON - for the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY - a woman director winner! I have been waiting to see this day for more than ten years - ever since I myself started making movies and videos, as a female director myself!
Im so happy and proud!
:-)

request

Hello to all my wonderful family and my friends and to all the people in my life,
I hope this email finds you well, safe, happy, healthy and at peace :-)

As you know, today our world is facing a crisis of huge proportion.
"On Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years - 7.0 in magnitude - struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks. It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able."

I hope that no one had any minor or major loss or personal connection to the people in this earthquake, but just as being a part of humanity, we are all connected and affected in many ways.
We are blessed to be able to donate and give our money to help others, to volunteer our time, give our prayers and lend our support to them. So let us share our fortunate blessings with those who have been directly affected by this horrible natural disaster, and anyone who has been affected in any way by it.

The world needs our help. I write to you today to ask you to join together in helping to save hundreds of people in their time of need.
And please share this message with your friends and family. The more people and support - the better.
You can donate money. You can volunteer your time. You can pray. Everything makes a difference. Every dollar. Every minute. Every prayer. You are making a difference and you will help to save lives.

Today I donated to help victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti through the United Nations website.
Please donate too - even a few dollars! Just a little bit of money can save tons of lives!

You can donate online at:
United Nations Foundation:
https://secure.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org/site/Donation2?idb=1649881960&df_id=1240&1240.donation=form1

or here:
Oxfam is providing providing clean water, shelter and sanitation to those affected by the Earthquake in Haiti.
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/index.php

"World leaders pledged hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of troops, but delivery was a logistical nightmare, and aid was arriving only in a trickle to the 3 million people thought to need assistance.
Power was still out and telecommunications rarely functioning. Most medical facilities had been severely damaged, if not leveled. Supplies of food and fresh water were dwindling. Ships could not bring their cargoes of supplies into Haiti's damaged port; the airport was functioning with severe limits; roads were blocked not only by debris but also by people who had no place to go for shelter. Search and rescue teams worked with the materials at hand, or waited, frustrated, for much-needed heavy equipment.
The Haitian Red Cross offered a cautious and rough estimate of the possible death toll.
"No one knows with precision, no one can confirm a figure," said Victor Jackson, an assistant national coordinator with Haiti's Red Cross, according to Reuters. "Our organization thinks between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died."
Former president Bill Clinton, who has partnered with former president George W. Bush to lead the country's long-term humanitarian and recovery efforts in Haiti, is urging Americans to donate money to relief groups to help bring aid to the devastated Caribbean nation.
"You've seen the pictures," Clinton said in an interview late Thursday with The Washington Post. "The streets are full of the wounded, the orphaned and the dead. It's a devastating, devastating thing."
Clinton, who also serves as the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, blitzed the network morning shows on Friday from his home in Chappaqua, N.Y., saying he and Bush are committed to helping earthquake-ravaged Haiti "build back better."
President Obama has tapped his two immediate predecessors to head the recovery, a partnership similar to one that Clinton and former president George H. W. Bush formed following the 2004 Asian tsunami.
Clinton and the younger Bush will help raise money in the United States, from their supporters and ordinary citizens alike, and funnel funds toward the most constructive rebuilding programs. They will be responsible for private-sector fundraising, which will supplement the $100 million in federal aid Obama announced Thursday. Clinton and Bush also plan to keep a spotlight on Haiti's recovery over the months and years to come.
"Once we get through this, the worst phase, and find the living and find the dead and try to preserve them so that their families can bury them, which is really important -- then we can start cleaning up the place and resume this development program," Clinton said in the interview, referencing projects that were launched before the earthquake by his charitable foundation and other groups in Haiti."

figuring out career options

What kind of job and career I want to have – my ideas and options:

1) work at non-profit or good for-profit that is in health related field or anything dealing with helping people and work as a director or coordinator of events, etc.

2) work as a director at a children's hospital or in a hospital but in the children's ward - same in management or event planning

3) work in fitness / health at a company and/or have my own company - something similar to camp - so either a camp or a after school program or work at some fitness company that is legit and real - on the management, coordination, etc

I want to have my own health and fitness company – similar to CCF – possible like overnight camp or day camp or after school program or going to companies to promote healthy lifestyle and fitness.

my life's purpose

CCF (Camp California Fitness) changed my life. Both when I was a camper there in 2005 and everything and I learned, and when I went back as a counselor in 2006 to help others. My life was changed and I helped to change others lives. There is nothing more rewarding or fulfilling. The closing of that camp is one of the most devastating things that I have experienced. I cannot imagine that program not existing and helping so many people each year. I think of all the girls it helped over the 5 summers that it was open, and throughout the year during the follow up program. It shared truth and information about living a well rounded and balanced healthy lifestyle in mind, body and spirit, and how to keep that throughout life. It was more than a weight loss camp. It was a healthy lifestyle camp for all aspects of one's life.
There is not one person who was not helped in at least one way, learned at least one new thing, and took away one thing that would better there life in some way. And for others, it helped them in countless ways and changed their entire life. Many campers returned as counselors. And even after camp closed, girls all remain friends with each other, as they continue to grow and keep a healthy and fit lifestyle, and remain a support system for each other. So many true friendships, bonds, best friends and lifetime friendships emerged and came from those summers at camp. Some of my best friends even today are people I met at camp, and they remain a positive, supportive, encouraging presence, friend, and influence in my life, and I know they are rocks that will stay for life.
I know I want to help people on a daily basis. More than just volunteering, I am happy that my career is going into Health Services Management now. While I have some ideas of where I could and would work for the first few years (non-profit in health and/or fitness, good for-profit in health and/or fitness, hospital in children's ward or children's hospital, company in health and/or fitness), I eventually want to have my own company, to start a camp like CCF, to share the same teachings and values, starting with children and moving to adults. The best is to start when they are young, so that they carry it with them throughout life, although many adults need help too. CCF was an all girls environment, which helped them to be comfortable and share openly, especially it being an overnight sleep away camp. So if I had a similar camp, I would keep it all girls, but if it was more of a day camp or after school program, I might make it co-ed for both boys and girls. Also I would like to have an adult fitness program also - maybe going to different companies to share about living a healthy lifestyle in mind, body, and spirit.

CCF was so well rounded. We ate healthy meals and snacks and still enjoyed treats and yummy food. We played different sports every morning, enjoyed afternoon activities from art to nutrition class to cooking class to exercise science where we gained knowledge about food, our bodies, and enjoyed expressing our talents and ourselves in different ways. And enjoyed evening activities like group games, movie night, group dance performances, and so much more.
I remember the counselors and friends who changed my life - many of whom are some of my best friends today. And I remember the girls who I helped when I was a counselor. You know you have done something big and forever changing when you see a girl grow up - even within the summer at camp - and then years after - and they hug you, crying when they are leaving on the last day, and telling you that you changed their life and how much they realize now and want to live a healthier lifestyle - whether they were overweight before or had an eating disorder and now ate properly.
This is the kind of difference that I want to - and have to - make in people's lives during this lifetime of mine, however long it may be. I want to help to change the world, and the most important thing is health. It is #1. Without it, we have nothing. Healthy lifestyle includes fitness, food, healthy and balanced in all aspects, in mind, body and spirit. I want to share this knowledge with the world, and helping one person at a time is how I will contribute to changing the world.
If I do this, and I can and will, this is how I feel that I will fulfill my life's purpose and my purpose for being here and this never ending feeling of wanting to help others and give to others. This is my life's purpose. And I have gained experience from CCF camp and knowledge through my MBA in Health Services Management and also experienced my own personal struggles and issues and self-destructive behavior with food and other things over the years. Having overcome that and moved past that with help and support from family and friends, going to a therapist, and my CCF experience, I now want to share the message of a healthy, balanced, fit and well rounded lifestyle with people of all walk of life - all ages, races, religions, backgrounds, genders, everything.
If I can do this in a small or big way on a daily basis, this will fulfill my life's purpose. In every single moment :-)

Whether I work for a small or big fitness and/or health company, or help to start a new company in fitness and/or health, or have my own company, or partner with someone to have my own company in fitness and/or health, but even if I work for a company, this is the kind of job, work and career I want to do and have, and help people on a daily basis in small and big ways, and this is how I want to give back and help to change the world, and share and spread knowledge and help others in a selfless and giving way. At least this will be my job on a daily basis - whether I work part-time or full time - it will be my job. Then I can volunteer in addition if I want to also, even a couple times a month. But work will be all the time - or at least most of the time - or a lot of the time.
This is my life's purpose :-)

party in the USA!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA&feature=related

So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah
Moving my hips like yeah,
And I got my hands up,

They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok

Something stops me everytime (everytime)
The DJ plays my song and I feel alright!

realizations

I am realizing more and more each day that the more I change, evolve and grow for the better and positive and more peaceful, that I relate less and less to most people in general, and also many of my close family and friends. I do not understand negative thinking anymore or being nitpicky or stressing over small things or micromanaging others. I want to just be, be me, be free and have peace, be positive, happy, love and be loved. Give to and share with others. :-) And I dont judge others, but for me in my life, I want to be good, do right and live a positive and peaceful life for me. And even if that means Im not so close to those people anymore or not relating to them, well there will be other family and friends with whom I do relate :-) old and new ones and people. Life and people are ever and always changing. And I choose that change for the better, in mind and body and spirit, even if I stand alone. I love my openminded view and positive outlook on life and knowing the big things that are important and what truly matters in life :-D and to feel happy and joy inside and out, to believe and pray and have faith and be thankful for health and life, and to want to help others, to give, share and love unconditionally :-) and I do not believe that Im wrong in any of all this. So even if I cannot relate to many close family and friends now because of how I think and feel, I wont change for them. I change for me, for good, for better, for more positive, for peace, for right, for strength, for faith. Amen! :-)

Avatar

Everyone go see Avatar, esp in 3D IMAX. The film is amazing, beautiful, and filled with about 50 different themes (especially about saving our planet and natural resources), feelings, meanings, symbolism, history, Hindu mythology, and lessons that we can and should all learn and live by in our own daily lives ♥

"The word “avatar” literally means reincarnation of Vishnu in Hinduism. He’s always depicted as being blue colored in paintings and temples, and all the characters in the avatar movie are blue."

"An important concept within Hinduism is that of avatar – meaning literally, "one who descends." Many Hindus believe that God does not adopt a material (carnal) body, but appears in spiritual form."

"The ancient Hindu scriptures have forever reiterated that whenever the world would be on the brink of disaster and mankind faces extinction, whenever the vessel of sin is about to spill over to create death and destruction, the divine Lord Vishnu would consider it his duty to manifest himself in mortal, palpable form to save mankind from the impeding doomsday....In the larger perspective the Avatar is meant to be the savior, the messiah of his own race and people. Cameron is alluding to that tenth avatar of Vishnu becoming manifest as the US marine (the character played by Sam Worthington) in Pandora's universe. The deliberate choice of the blue skin instantly, magically and metaphorically relates our protagonist to two previous avatar’s namely Rama and Krishna."

:-)