DIVYA BAHL

• Praveen: lol rawr!
• Me: did you really just say rawr?
• Me: as in a growl?
• Me: that a cat would make?
• Praveen: yes

• Raina: I just looked up palm reading and can't find the line of success on my palm. I dont think I'm going to be successful...oh and the line of marriage is broken into 2 lines. so I think I'm gonna get a divorce too
• Divya: Okay, I don't even have a marriage line...

Above is the link to my geeky Microsoft blog post on the non-geeky uses for Excel. I didn’t think it was that ingenious, but apparently The Seattle Times thinks so, which is (in my world) pretty exciting. =) 

Seattle, the only place to be. (Too bad I’m in New York)

The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else—the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Found circling Facebook. 

• Me: Hi!
• Raheem: whassup!
• Me: how's venice
• Raheem: haha it's great
• Raheem: beautiful
• Raheem: and NYC?
• Me: it's good
• Me: loud
• Me: messy
• Me: ugh its only 7:45 there
• Me: you could go to the beach right now if you wanted
• Raheem: hahaha i am at the beach
• Raheem: sitting on a beach chair
• Me: with your computer?
• Raheem: sipping a mojito
• Raheem: ipad
• Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Me: im so jealous
• Me: are you actually there?
• Raheem: hell yeah

money doesn’t make you rich. 

I LOVE the show Mad Men. It is well thought out and well written. It’s one of those shows that you can watch over and over again and learn and pick up on stuff that you didn’t realize the first time you watched it.

That is why I look forward to the Monday after Mad Men airs. Tracie Morrissey of Jezebel  (one of my favorite sites, sister site to Gawker) writes super insightful reviews. It’s kind of like in high school when you read a poem, took it for literal value and then had someone else really explain it to you. It makes the literature (or in this case the TV show) so much more interesting.

Anyways, if you’re a Mad Men fan as I am, you’ll probably like her reviews so I thought I’d share. The one above is for the last episode, Horror Stories. 

Famous NYC Apartments: The Pads of Mad Men
Infographic created by NakedApartments.com

In February I got invited to go to Boston University’s Annual Med School Formal. I was so excited because after high school there are few things that you glamorously get dressed up for (unless you’re a celebrity, socialite or making tons of money and going to benefit gala’s and dinners). Therefore, I told everyone I was going to “prom” again and went dress hunting.

I bought three different dresses (I’ve returned one out of the three, and now have to return the second) and settled on a French Connection, mid-length cream sweetheart strapless. 

I don’t have a ton of pictures (I forgot my camera, go figure) but here they are:

Vamshi and I 

One of the few pictures I found from the actual dance!

Awkward photos never go away, even when you’re older…

Arvind and I! He looks dapper, while me, not so much…

This is a better shot of my dress. I’ve known Praveen since freshmen year - He was one of my first Indian friends at BU! 

And of course, after med-school prom happened, it spurred my curiosity of my old prom and I had to dig up pictures. Let’s do a quick (and embarrassing) flashback to 2006: 

Circa 2006, 5 years ago, age 17.

Eeek. I’m CRINGING. My hair is a mess and I have too much make up on… though my pose has stayed the same and I picked my dress wisely, because I still do love it. Maybe I’ll wear it the next time I go to Med School Prom? 

Bloomingdales Prom 2012

It’s prom season and even though I’m well out of high school, it’s so fun to see my younger brother and his friend’s prom and tolo pictures. The closest I came to reliving another “prom,” (other than my high school prom in which I wore a gorgeous dark blue dress) was last month when I went to Arvind’s med-school formal… which I shamelessly told everyone in my office was med-school prom and begged Arvind to “ask” me in a cute way — that’s another post for later! 

Anyways, Bloomingdales did a gorgeous spread in their email newsletter which I of course felt obliged to share. The best part is you don’t have to still be in high school to wear the dresses they’ve featured. They are styled perfectly for any young woman. See the whole look book here. 

Which stereotype do you fit in? I chose prom queen for myself (of course) - the long baby blue dress is so cute, though I do love the yellow in ‘overachievers’ as well…

I’m a big fan of Kate Spade jewelry (though I don’t really own any) and saw that they now are selling these beautiful bracelet watches that are inspired by New York City!

They range from about $195-$250 each, (which is about the same price as a Michael Kors watch) and wear as a bracelet with an engraving inside. Also the blog is super cute and shows you which New York park, monument, or building inspired the time piece!

It’s so perfect because I actually do use a watch, now that I’m no longer a student and can’t be using my cell phone as a time-teller! It’s classy and functional!

My favorites are the “carousel” and the “cooper,” though I have to try it on before I decide I want to spend my money on it (the curse of small wrists makes it hard to buy bracelets that don’t look bulky!). Which one is your favorite?

The January Adventure Club activity took place at Brooklyn Boulders! We were all super excited for this because it’s hard to find places to rock climb in New York City (the Soho REI doesn’t have a climbing wall like the Redmond & Seattle REI!). 

Me getting ready to rock climb!! 

While you need to be certified to belay people at BB, they have three self belaying walls and several low free bouldering walls (no belaying). The self belaying walls were initially really scary (there is no security of someone pulling the pulley taut as you descend) but once we got the hang of it, we all had a great time climbing.

Jaselle, unprepared for the self-belay didn’t push her feet off the wall and landed like this! Don’t worry, she’s laughing - there were no broken bones and she kept rock climbing!

The low free bouldering walls were harder than we expected — probably because if you let go, you fell to the floor (it was padded, so it wasn’t bad)! However, the staff at BB were super nice and showed us some tricks and techniques. It was a definite full body work out! 

Action shot of me and Jaselle climbing to the top! 

All in all, I really enjoyed our trip and wish I could go every week! I really now can’t wait until I live on the West Coast and can go outdoor climbing on a regular basis (Sheryl Crow goes all the time, and look at her bod!). I’ll first need to get certified as someone who can belay first. BB actually has a class where they’ll teach you and certify you for $70!

Lastly, what was great was that Elizabeth, one of my best friends from high school (we’ve known each other since the 7th grade!) came to visit NYC before she flew out to Europe.  The last time we rock climbed together was senior year of high school in Mr. Bean’s outdoor leadership P.E. class! 

Elizabeth and I harnessing up! 

Here are a few more pictures from our visit to Brooklyn Boulders:

Our group! Elizabeth, me, Raina, Jaselle and Sumedha

Raina clearly posing on the wall

Elizabeth, Raina and Jaselle making funny faces!

• Me: happy international womens day
• Arvind: hahaha
• Arvind: to you too!!
• Arvind: especially to you
• Arvind: you epitomize the strength of a woman
• Arvind: and how a woman should never give in to a man
• Arvind: especially with regards to sartorial decisions

reallyfoxnews:

afternoonsnoozebutton:

presentinglilymars:

Appropriate

This is also how I feel about Meryl Streep.

Bet when you read Shakespeare in high school, you didn’t realize what an impact his writing had on what you say every day…

via teachingliteracy

Who knew a soda a day would impact your health in such a detrimental way! 

Via: Term Life Insurance

cheatsheet:

imwithkanye:

Illustrated Guide to Mad Men Bed-Hopping | Wired