Yes, something has inspired me to do a better job of writing things down to share on my blog instead of just writing diatribes in my head. No, I’m not talking about being prompted by a New Year’s resolution, those are ridiculous, and I generally forget what I have pledged by day 12. Why do we need to wait for January 1st to pledge change in our lives? What’s so magical about that day? Let’s face it, January 1st is for hangovers and recovery, not promises we’re going to break.

Actually, if you think about it, you should make resolutions on your birthday, technically, that’s when your individual new year starts. And is also justification for me wishing people, “Shnorhavor Nor Tari” (Happy New Year) on their birthday, because for some reason I can never remember the proper greeting of “Tsnundt shnorhavor” (Happy Birthday). Which is not all that incorrect. And kind of sounds the same. However, that’s my personal challenge to overcome. And ooo, a resolution! I’ll need to add that to my Armenian conversation practice flash cards!  Soooo, expect me to continue wishing you Happy New Year twice a year.

What inspired me was a Ted talk. Those little snippets of wisdom espoused by random people and then broadcast around the world on YouTube. Isn’t the internet wonderful? I remember when I had my first job at a bank, we would get dragged to seminars being presented by motivational speakers all the time. Would-be Tony Robbins. If you don’t know who Tony Robbins is, google him, he’s the guru of motivational speakers with more teeth in his head than humanly possible. Fast forward to present day, and viola. A million dollar industry is born. I know, only a couple million. That doesn’t catch your eye all that much until you consider that a non-profit corporation owns and operates Ted, with the top 5 employees being “compensated” in excess of 1 million dollars each. I’d be motivated!

So, the video I watched was a comedian talking about how he answered a spam email on a “business” opportunity, and kept the email chain going for weeks. Something I’ve done for my own amusement many a times. My favorites are the ones that throw in a title or two, “Prince So-And-So died and left you a bazillion dollars”. Because, who doesn’t want a bazillion dollars.  Anyway, his adventures in email spamland are the reason I will try to write more.  Happy New Year!