In my most recent post, I stressed the importance of taking a few moments every once in a while to mentally transport yourself back to a memorable time in your life -- whether it's your days in college or the first months into your relationship -- via pictures or music. Doing so stirs up positive feelings, especially if, for whatever reason, you want to mentally escape from the present. Another observation I've made is that our fondest memories seem to involve starting or ending something. This makes complete sense, as we often commemorate beginnings and endings: When babies are born (the start of life) Paying respects to someone who has passed (end of life) Starting grade school Leaving grade school  Starting college  Leaving college to enter the real world Starting a new relationship Marriage Your first sexual experience (losing your virginity) Your first kiss  Your first date Starting a job (especially your first one) Resigning and leaving a company af...

History is my second favorite subject to read and learn about (after psychology). While I love to delve into such topics as the Founding Fathers and Civil War, I also like looking back on key events and milestones in my own life -- my "life's history," if you will. I think it's important to take a little time every so often to reflect on your life and ponder the ways in which you've grown as a person over the last 2, 5, even 10 years. It's hard to believe that this year marks the 10-year anniversary of my wife and I hooking up. As a way to commemorate the milestone, I've been looking at albums that contain pictures taken in 2005, as well as listening to songs on my iPod that came out and were popular at that time. The early years of our relationship coincided with my final 2 years in college, so Iately I have been having flashes of myself walking to class and studying for exams. I think we're always more likely to reflect fondly on even...

In life, you can mourn the loss of a friend in two ways: 1. He or she passes away 2. He or she becomes a completely different person over time, diluting and possibly ending your once-fantastic friendship. (The friendship may also end as a result of simmering conflict or following a big argument between you two.) For this post, I'll focus only on #2. As I have noted in prior posts, with people, the only constant in life is change. Changing circumstances -- a new career, marriage, children, relocation -- redirect our energies and either leave us with limited time for friendships or prompt us to forge new ones. People like me, despite whatever life throws at us, make the effort to keep in touch with close friends. I'd like to think that I haven't changed much since high school, except for the obvious (married, full time job, mortgage, etc.). Unfortunately, some people are better than others at balancing the demands of work, family, and a social life. Several people ...

They say women are usually better at making and keeping friends than men are, and I have certainly found this to be the case in my own life -- with male friends and family members alike. In general (not always the case, but very often so), women seem to be more accessible, reliable, and consistent than men. Men tend to be a little more standoffish, usually off doing their own thing. Some of my male friends, on different occasions over the years, have used words like "emotional" and "dramatic" to describe me. To be completely honest, I can't exactly refute those claims. Once you're someone I care deeply about and have invested plenty of time in, I can become rather sensitive if I perceive I've been slighted or taken advantage of by you. In other words, I feel that I "keep score" and read into things a lot more than my male buddies. I don't take kindly to friends kicking me to the curb whenever they enter into a new relationship. Why? ...

You set yourself up for disappointment every time you expect someone to think and behave as you do. You may expect a person to act a certain way in a given situation, but it doesn't always pan out that way, unfortunately. How many times has someone done something to disappoint you, after which you expected an apology that never came to fruition? How many one-sided friendships or relationships have you been in where only you invested time and energy in them? While some people can be relied upon, others are only out for themselves -- all the time. Whether it's someone you call a close friend or a mere acquaintance, people can turn their backs on you at any moment. That's why it's important never to expect too much from anyone, as cynical as that may sound. The only one you can fully depend on is yourself. Over time, people change, as do their lives. While change can be for the better, it is sometimes for the worse, as far as our friendships and relationships go. ...

People will serve up all kinds of excuses for why they decide to cheat, among them: The passion in the relationship/marriage is gone Lack of an emotional connection One partner works too much or is always away on business Lack of sex Lack of excitement and spontaneity An inextinguishable attraction for someone else drove them to cheat The lover is providing something the cheater is currently lacking (money, affection, etc.) "It just happened" "I needed a break from marriage and kids" It sickens me that so many people try to get away with being unfaithful. Those who want the cake and want to eat it too -- having a relationship or affair on the side while pretending everything with his or her partner is hunky-dory -- are downright selfish and despicable in my book.   Both men and women do this, even though statistics show it's men who generally cheat more. Even if the person's modus operandi is to keep the cheating under wraps for fear of get...

In this day and age of such rapid technological change, anyone who still utters the words "I'm bored" deserves, at the very least, a slap on the wrists. I think our ancestors would be turning in their graves at such a pronouncement considering all that technology has made possible. In their lifetime, all they could really look forward to were leisurely pursuits like reading and writing (my personal favorite even now), knitting, and storytelling. Our generation, on the other hand, has the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Apple, Amazon -- you name it. Sometimes we definitely take what we have for granted. Back in colonial times, people had to ride a horse for days of not weeks just to reach another city -- let alone a different state. There's so much we can do nowadays, whether or not we avail of the latest technology. Charities could always use another pair of hands. Cities everywhere are teeming with parks, gyms, shopping centers, movie theater ...

We all have friends who do this, or perhaps you're guilty of having done it yourself. Some people have the unpleasant habit of abandoning their friends once they enter into a relationship. In fact, two of my high school buddies ditched our circle of friends once they hooked up with their now wives. And one of my closest friends only recently began dating a girl at work and has since fallen off the map. I take immense pride in the fact that even when my now-wife and I were in the so-called "honeymoon phase," we still made time for friends, whether mutual or otherwise. This same love-struck friend who is now too busy to even give me a call was often the third wheel on outings with my wife and I. Isn't it funny how some people can change so drastically? Moreover, certain people become so consumed with their new relationship that they lose sight of the fact that they have others in their life who also care about and wish to communicate -- at least occasionally -- wi...

Per www.the-numbers.com, here's a breakdown of gross revenues generated by movie genre from 1995 to 2015: Comedy - $39.4 billion (22.1% market share) Adventure - $38.9 billion (21.8% market share) Action - $30.6 billion (17.1% market share) Drama - $30.2 billion (16.9% market share) Thriller/Suspense - $15.2 billion (8.58% market share) Romantic Comedy - $9.2 billion (5.18% market share) Horror - $8.0 billion (4.50% market share) Musical - $1.9 billion (1.07% market share) Documentary - $1.8 billion (1.06% market share) I'm so glad to see Comedy atop the list, as it's far and away my favorite movie genre. My second choice would be Action, which sits comfortably in third place with a hefty $30 billion. What I found most surprising is that the Horror category has taken in $8 billion over the 20-year span.  "Why?" you might ask. Going back to my early childhood, I have never been a fan of gory movies, and that includes even the most popular ...