“it’s just me and my puppy
together were so very happy
and a bit of world won’t bring us down
i’m looking on the bright side of things”
  ~Lissie~

A study made by the University of Yale shows that optimism can grow your life expectancy with at least seven years. Optimism decreases the effects stress has on people and improves their balance, both physically and mentally. And changing your mood is not difficult at all!
1. Chat! Gossip can prove to be very useful in some situations. Chatting with your friends and family helps you create a “social web”. Studies show that sociable people are more likely to live happily ever after. Phone chats have useful effects on brain activity and blood circulation. A long-lasting friendship can worth as much as not smoking or being active. It’s also important to meet your friends in person. Phone calls are useful, but not enough!
2. Dear diary…The benefits of keeping a diary are well-known. It’s important not only to talk about what makes you unhappy, but also about the good moments, even about the small pleasures of life. Studies show that the people who are grateful for everything that happens to them are more satisfied and tend to be physically stronger. You can write in your diary once a week or just from time to time. What is important is not to regard this as another duty.
3. Be generous! Generosity increases the level of happiness hormones. You don’t have to give valuable items, just make unplanned surprises to acquaintances and to strangers. Offer your bus seat or give some food to a hungry homeless man. You will feel much better about yourself and the others’ gratefulness will make you feel appreciated. “Generosity has therapeutical effects” as scientists often claim. So why not help yourself by helping the others?
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Escaping from the routine can be quite a drag, but if your life is filled with monotony, then fear not! There are many things you can do, and quite easy to; here’s a list of useful tips. But still, what if you want more? If you want that adrenaline rush, or just the feeling that you’re doing something out of the ordinary, that’s nowhere near as hard as it seems, and it could just be what you need to spicen up your life. Finding a way to meet your adrenaline rush can also be very useful if you’re inclined towards gambling or other dangerous stuff, which you can avoid if you just do these things, as you will no longer fill the thrill need.

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Photo by disneymike
This is the easiest, ‘lightest’, and softest thing you can do, which can give you a certain special feeling and even the adrenaline rush you’re after! Sure, it’s not the most dangerous of things, but if you don’t wanna do any of the following, than this is for you!

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Photo by Paul Pagano
But make it a known one, because these ones are way more safe. You’re safer paragliding than you are driving your car. You can also bungee jump, parachute, skateboard, snowboard, biking, sky diving, surfing and even climbing. Chose what suits you better, find a professional where needed and just go with the flow.

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Photo by Tijflex2
Offroad driving is the bomb for more and more people all around the world, especially if they own a 4×4 car. If you don’t, you can just use your car or rent one or go to a special track. Just be sure you don’t wind up in some dump where nobody can help you. Also, although it’s really not cheap, a whole lot of people love to go to a circuit and drive a car or even a motorcycle there. But you have to know your way behind the wheel to do that. But it’s worth it; at those speeds, you definetly get what you paid for.

. The social activities are often underestimated when it comes to adrenaline rush. But sex is undoubtely the greatest thing you can do if you’re a thrill junkie; try with same or different person, in different places and even in public. Just be sure to be safe, otherwise it may turn into a really extreme sport. Until you get to that stage, flirting is the thing to do. Just get caught in the game you play.
There’s pretty much something for everybody in that list, you just need to chose what gets you going. Still, for a dose of alternative risk taking, just buy something at ebay

There are still many things we don’t know about our bodies, so in some cases it’s hard to say what makes us healthy or unhealthy. Still, it’s obvious that despite a good diet, and exercising and that kind of things, there are other factors which have to be taken into consideration. In fact, recent studies have made it clear that there has to be a balance between the body and the soul are at harmony. The five principles necesary to obtain this harmony are written below, and they are not as hard as you would expect.

1. Regenerate by sleeping

Photo by animefx
This is the first and most natural way of regenerating your energy and mantaining a mental balance, and it is the best way to help the body be prepared. Nowadays we sleep a whole lot less than ancient times; since the discovery of the light bulb, the time alocated to sleep has grown smaller and smaller. Among the effects of a long period of time with insufficient sleep are high amounts of sugar in the bloodstream, high arterial tension, higher colesterol level, neurosis and a general state of discomfort.

2. Use stress towards your advantage

Stress is one of the things that causes most damage to us, due to the constant go-go and insecurities, among others. Still, what if you could use this enemy towards your advantage? Sounds weird? Not really. Just think: if you could live your life in your bed, without doing anything, just sitting there, would it really fullfil your needs? You may be inclined to say it would, but if you thought about it really careful, you would realize that it won’t. Here’s what you have to do, in order to make stress your ally:

3. Set up a (very) loose routine

Routine is a two-way knife; it can either be helpful, in some cases, or it can make your life pretty unpleasant. As for myself, I’m the go with the flow and improvise kind of man; I’ve always been that way. But even so, I feel the need for some stability at some times.

4. Love 

Photo by Levana’s Cats =^..^=
Recent studies have shown that people who are in love don’t just feel better, they are better. The body works brilliantly and the brain has no problems. No need to talk about this… any kind of love will do!

5. Detach yourself from some things

Photo by Michael Mozzarella
After a long day, or just a stresful period, try to detach a bit from your problems; everybody has problems, but it’s up to you to deal with them in the best way you can. If you want to solve them, try to analyze the situation and be as objective as possible. If you just want to relax, then try to find a method to take your mind off them. Try to meditate, or jog, or do whatever you feel is good. Do what suits you best!

I hope you’ve realized by now that being healthy doesn’t reffer to just the body; the mind and soul have to be healthy too, even more than the body. Try to find a way to be happy with yourself, that’s the first step. Then, appreciate what you have!

Say something to me, anything at all
I want you to mean what you say

~Genesis~

When preparing an argumentation, you have to keep in mind some some very important points. Weather it’s a speech, an written essay or you’re simply thinking to discuss with your parents or friends and to sustain a point of view, respect the following rules and you’ll have more chances to be successful. Sure, for oral presentation is better to keep in mind what I’ve written here.

But first of all, what is an argumentation? An argumentation is a text or a speech that sustains an idea, that takes sides for something. So the first thing you have to do is to identify the idea you want to affirm. That may seem redundant but it’s a very important step. Write down the main idea and then when you’re building the argument verify if your arguments links with that idea.

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I won’t pay, I won’t pay ya, no way
why don’t you get a job
say no way, say no way, no way
why don’t you get a job
~The offspring~

BEFORE THE INTERVIEW
Information- get informed about he company-whether it is national or multinational, about its domains of activity, about the number of employees. The company’s website is one of the best sources so you would better take a look on it. One of the questions could actually be: “Have you seen our website?”
Practice- think about possible questions and practice with a friend until you are totally sure that you can handle it.
The clothes- if you are (more…)

I heard this old story before
Where the people keep on playing for their metaphors
But don’t leave much up to the imagination[…]
Never knowing
Shocking but we’re nothing
We’re just moments, we’re clever but we’re clueless
~Jack Johnson~

Photo by msoubhagya
One of my favorite quotes is (I’m not sure exactly how it is) “life is happening while you are too busy planning your future”. A whole lot of people get bored, or just miss out on some very important things just because they don’t know what to seek for in other activities. Let me put this in a different way: If you were to watch a movie, a very fascinating movie, and you are kept tense, you’re imagining varios possible scenarious, trying to find explications, the tension and imagining of scenarios will probably last a while after the movie. If you are trying to find motivations in the protagonists’ actions, you will probably stumble on to a piece of thought which will be useful, or at least interesting for you.

Even if the movie is not very serious, you can use your own mind to extrapolate the situations, to picture yourself as the main actor, and other things similar to those; this kind of activity will help you make 110% of that movie, literally. Have you ever wondered why some movies, or songs, or books are great, while others are just incredibly great? It’s because there is something about them which just makes you go to a certain place, they say something to you. If you listen to such a song, you almost certainly have a favorite lyric, which you just feel great saying, or the melodic line gets stuck in your head. This is the subconscious at work for you, sticking on to what it thinks is more important, even when you think you enjoy another tune more.

Photo by nicky’s_eye_view

Which takes us to the initial quote; while you’re expecting for a song to come next in the playlist, another just pops in and makes you feel better than the one you were expecting for would have. This could happen in some cases. You should stop and feel the moment; get caught in the music, just by listening to it! Stop thinking about your day to day problems, just try to make the most out of your relaxation time. Find your inspiration from a fragment of a lyric, from a line in a tv show, or from the plot of a cinematographic mastermind, or even from a character within a book. Also, inspiration doesn’t have to come from certain places, it could come from everywhere, even from reading this!

Let’s take the music of Jack Johnson, for example (if you haven’t listened to his stuff, you really should). I don’t know about you, but whenever I listen to it, it just takes me to a special place; it gives me a certain special feeling, and charges me with a positive energy, its effect is very calming and soothing. It may not do the same thing for you, but definetly there is some kind of music that has the same effect. Try to think and feel the music, don’t let it just pass through you! It’s very important, in virtually everything, from music and movies, to life itself. Feel life, instead of letting it feel you. Try to be aware about everything that happens to you, because if you do this, not only will you accumulate numerous ideas that will help you and feelings that will make you feel better, but just by paying attention to some small things in life, you will see things in a way that you probably never imagined before.

                                                               Photo by nature55

“I eat dinner at the kitchen table
By the light that switches on
I eat leftovers with mashed potatoes
No more candlelight
No more romance
No more small-talk
When the hunger’s gone”
~Rufus Wainwright feat Dido~

I am sure most of you were invited at a certain time for lunch or for dinner. It happened to me too and unfortunately I noticed that everyone at the table was staring at me. If you don’t want to find yourself in the same situation follow some simple rules:
-no one starts serving before the host. Take only from what you are served and don’t stare at dishes that are not offered to you. Moreover, try to keep your comments for yourself in order not to spoil everyone’s evening.
-don’t take the biggest piece of steak. Everyone will see that and will only think you are selfish. Take the piece in front of you no matter how it is. It’s just a matter of luck.
-don’t stare in anyone’s plate. Even if someone spilled something on the table pretend that you haven’t noticed that.
-don’t ask for food no matter how hungry you are. If the host forgets to ask you whether you want something…that’s it. You will get something to eat on your way home.
-don’t put your elbows on the table. Keep them close to your body. You can only put your wrists on the table, close to the plate. Try to stay close to the table in order not to drop anything on the floor. Sit on the whole chair not only on one of its edges.
-don’t stretch over the table to get bread. Ask the person next to you to give you some bread. When offering the bread, take the whole basket not just a slice. Don’t make supplies; take no more than two slices!
-never wipe your mouth with the bread. If you don’t have a napkin, ask one from your host.
-try to eat as silently as you can in order not to attract the others’ attention and not to be considered someone who doesn’t know how to behave.
-don’t spit the stones to your plate or in your hand. Put them in a spoon brought near the lips and then in the plate one by one
-eat everything from the plate. Don’t leave anything, but never use a piece of bread to clean your plate!
So this is how you can avoid unpleasant situations and create a good impression of an educated person. So what more could I say than “Bon apetit!”

Yo- could I get a cold beverage
I need some leverage
It’s sunny outside
Some lemonade would be nice
~G. Love & Special Sauce~

To drink or not to drink? That is the question on everybody’s lips today. Well, not really, but it’s still very important. Whether ’tis nobler in the thirst to suffer until you get the chance to drink something that’s good for you, or just to go to the nearest shop and get a soda? We’re gonna take a look at 3 things which are definetly good for you, and other 3 which are not so good, to say the least. If an angel and a devil would appear on your left and right shoulder, what would they each tell you to drink? That’s what this is about. Also, there’s a bonus!

You may find the taste better or worse, that’s relative. The thing is they’re really healthy, and (as so many healthy things are today) cheap.

1. Tea

Photo by dragonflysky
Tea has been around for thousands of years, and there’s a reason for that; it’s very good, it gives you a certain state of relaxation or freshness, depending on the tea. It’s very good with cookies, and other bakery products. Also, it’s very good in treating useful for treating tumors, abscesses, bladder ailments, lethargy, and so many other conditions. It comes in very numerous varieties, each with its own curative properties and with its own special flavour. You can drink it hot in the winter, or make ice tea in the summer. You can add lemon or many other things, it’s just up to you; and it’s very easy to make, and gives you an overall state of well-being. Some teas containe caffeine, but no reason to worry here.

2. Natural juice

Photo by VROG in Bristol
By natural juice I don’t mean wrapped juice which claims to be natural and that kind of stuff! No way! I’m talking about the juice made from fruit or vegetables by squeezing or using a machine yourself. Juice is probably the best source of vitamins and antioxidants and it gives you an abundance of good substances. You can make juice of so many fruits and veggies that it’s impossible not to find one you think is great; it can be apple, orange, prune, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple, tomato, carrot, grape, strawberry, cherry, cranberry, celery, and the list could go on for a lot more. You can also combine two or more fruits, and again use your imagination to make something really tasty!

3. Milk
Now you can’t drink milk all the time; but you don’t have to! You can use it for cereals and that kind of things, and it’s very good to drink at night, some time before you go to bed. It will help you sleep better. Also, it contains Iodine which is very important for thyroid function, Potassium, all sorts of vitamins, and a great deal of calcium. It’s also good for preventing diabetes and a number of conditions.

1. Soda
Most of us drink soda, some more, some less. There has been a lot of fuss about whether it’s bad for you or not and to cut a long story short, it’s bad. Of all the beverages in the world, it probably has the worst reputation; and the bad thing is that it lives up to its reputation. The basic ingredients are carbonated water, caramel color, natural flavors, caffeine, phosphoric acid and high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is one of the single most horrific ingredients in the food supply, but it’s cheap, so they use it. Even the sodas which claim to be natural use the same things! If you’re still not convinced, take a look at what happens to your body when you drink a coke!

2. Coffee
Coffee provides one of the most important and biggest business in the world. Recent studies have shown that in fact, coffee has a sum of beneficial effects, but in the long term, it does more harm then good. Also, the studies have had some contradictory results so it’s pretty hard to say for sure whether the benefits are that big. The thing is that coffee contains caffeine; and caffeine is a stimulent drug. It creates addictiveness, and the results could be magnesium deficiency or hypomagnesaemia, damage to the arterial walls, and increases the risk factor for heart diseases. But with some beneficial aspects, and with 1-2 cups per day bringing no serious threat, it’s definetly the least of evils.

3. Energy drinks

Photo by Lit’l C
Energy drinks are wicked! In a not so great kinda way. They’re specifically designed to give you energy and calories, and boost your short term physical abilities. An energy drink contains amino acids, a large dose of sugar and about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Also, they increase the risk factor of several diseases and when you combine them with alcohol… no matter how fun it is, it’s not gonna do you any good!

Bonus
Is alcohol good or bad?
First of all, when it’s in very large quantities, it’s bad; now I’m not quite the man to give you that kind of advice, but that’s just how it is. The more alcohol consumed, the greater the effect - speech becomes slurred, vision blurred, balance is lost and movements are clumsy; and that’s not the problem! But it does damage to you inside. Alcohol has been linked to a wide range of illnesses, such as the increased risk of mouth, pharyngeal and oesophageal cancers. That’s bad. But what about the French paradox? This reffers to the fact the alcohol moderated (!) intake combined with high intakes of fruit and vegetables leads to a very low incidence of coronary heart disease, even when the diet has a lot of fats. Then again, what would a party be without alcohol? Still, it’s up to you! Be careful with what you put in your body!

“And I stole you that ring
‘Cause I wanted you to have it
And it wasn’t about me, I just wanted you to have it”
~Bloc Party~

It doesn’t seem so difficult to offer o present to someone, it may even seem like it’s a piece of cake. Even though, if you want to see the person you are giving the present to smiling there are some simple rules to follow.

We talk about your work,
how your boss is such a jerk
We talk about your church
and your head when it hurts

~Toby Keith~

Sometimes we find ourselves in unpleasant situations because we’ve said something wrong or just in a wrong manner. Although the art of conversation looks quite simple, there are many rules to follow in order not to create a bad impression.

1. You shouldn’t be the only one to talk even if you are the greatest story-teller ever. Even if you’ve been to the North Pole and you’ve seen polar bears and whales that doesn’t mean that you should talk the entire evening. Avoid using “I” in everything you say because the others will think you are egocentric.

2. Avoid repeating the same idea even if it’s brilliant, don’t jump to a conclusion after every statement you hear from the others and don’t talk in general about people after just hearing one case. All these would only lead to one result:

-if you are the host, your guests will start finding excuses: they have children at home, a project to finish…

-if you are a guest the others will avoid you and you will find yourself in an uncomfortable position.

3. If you are not sure about the meaning of a word try not to use it just to impress. It’s not a shame to use a dictionary when necessary and this way you won’t make a fool out of yourself. Many times people discuss about personalities or about the international situation. If you don’t know how to pronounce a name you should ask because no one was born to know it all.

4. Even if you are right about something, not only once but a million times, let the other person finish and then tell your opinion about the subject. Express your opinions calmly and try not to be ironic and violent in order not to spoil everyone’s evening. Try to be respectful, especially in what involves the elderly. By being calm the others will be more interested in what you are saying.

5. When talking to someone try to look him or her in the eye so or else that person will think you are not sincere or that you are just not interested.

6. When supporting an idea try to use rational arguments; don’t approve an idea you are not sure of and don’t contradict everything just to be original. You won’t attract the others’ attention in a pleasant way.

If the “opponent” has had more arguments than you and proved to know more about the subject don’t leave looking offended or upset. Smile and put an end to the discussion in a polite way or even more let yourself convinced.

7. When meeting someone new, talk about yourself but seize the right moment to let the other person speak too. Don’t ask too personal questions especially questions that could affect the one you are talking to such as “So how come that you divorced after only a year?”

These are just a few rules but in fact there are many more to follow. What is the most important is to think about hoe the others feel and to respect them. And there is always something to learn in order to be successful, and this depends greatly on your ability to interact with other people; being able to carry a conversation is important for everybody.