Cindy on May 21st, 2009
“Marriage is not just spiritual communion, it is also remembering to take out the trash.” — Dr. Joyce Brothers
Here comes the bride — and there goes the family’s life savings. Over the years, I’ve watched newly engaged couples spend months selecting elaborate floral arrangements, inspecting menus from caterers, auditioning professional musicians, and outfitting enough bridal attendants to cast a chorus line on Broadway. How much is too much? Is there such a thing as “over the top” when it comes to weddings and receptions? Click here to read more in today’s Midpoint column in The Oakland Press. –CL
Cindy on May 14th, 2009
“You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” — Dr. Seuss
It’s graduation season — the time of year when proud parents, teachers, and elected officials are compelled to pass along pithy words of wisdom to students who’ll be leaving home for college or launching new careers. In keeping with this tradition, I’m sharing a few of the “survival tips” I packed in my son’s suitcase when he left the state for college. Click here to read my tips in this week’s “Midpoint” column in The Oakland Press. –CL
Cindy on April 23rd, 2009
“It’s the first impression, and it will either open the door or close it. It’s that important, so don’t mess it up.” — Nicholas Sparks (on query letters)
While many of us “meet” new people through blogs and online social networks, our person-to-person social skills remain a key factor in our careers and personal lives. Psychologists have discovered, in fact, that first impressions are far more powerful than we realize.
âFor centuries, people stayed in the communities in which they were born,â note Ann Demarais, Ph.D., and Valerie White, Ph.D., authors of First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You ($12; Bantam). âNow, however, we live in an age in which people move to new houses and cities, change jobs, make new friends, and form new relationships at a rapid rate.â Whether you’re an unemployed mid-lifer or a new graduate preparing for job interviews, you don’t want to miss this book. It’s the topic of my Midpoint column today in The Oakland Press. –CL
Cindy on April 16th, 2009
“My father used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a good life.” — Lee Iacocca
By the time we turn 50, we’ve established a complex social network of neighbors, friends, relatives, coworkers, and colleagues. At some point during midlife, we begin to reconsider some of those relationships — and where we need to devote our attention. We might try to reconnect with friends from high school or college. Or discover that we’ve outgrown a few relationships we enjoyed in the past. While midlife is all about growth and change, cutting old ties is never easy. Read about it in this week’s “Midpoint” column in The Oakland Press, then share your thoughts on how friendship evolves over time. — CL
Previous “Midpoint” columns are archived under CATEGORIES in the panel at right.
Cindy on April 9th, 2009
“Reinterpreting what the younger generation is wearing leaves the margin for error wide open — and that may be the reason we are reluctant to change.” — Sherrie Mathieson, Steal This Style
Even if you’re not a card-carrying AARP member yet, you might be starting to think about “age-appropriate dressing.” But what does that really mean? If 40 is the new 30 (and 50 is the new 40) can we borrow from the closets of our twentysomething daughters or nieces? Are we too old for short skirts and platforms? Are tunics too frumpy? Sherrie Mathieson has some answers in Steal This Style: Moms and Daughters Swap Wardrobe Secrets, a fabulous new fashion manual for women of a certain age and beyond. I applaud Mathieson for using real-life moms and daughters to model the clothes — and I’m already stealing wardrobe secrets from her pages. Read more about the book and my spin on “dressing my age” in today’s Midpoint column in The Oakland Press. –CL
