Posted by Ellie Mirman on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 @ 07:23 AM
This weekend marks the start of the year 5770. Tonight we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year - also my favorite holiday.
I've never been really into New Year's (January 1), either because of when it falls (smack dab in the middle of the school year) or because of my lack of New Year's traditions. It's Rosh Hashanah that's full of traditions for me. Same situation with a lot of "American" holidays that, for me, have Jewish counterparts:
- Thanksgiving - Passover
- Halloween - Purim
- Valentine's Day - really?
It's this time of year that I really do stop and think about my life, the past year, and the new year ahead. It's a celebratory and reflective time and one of the (unfortunately) few times that really get me back to my Jewish roots.
This week also marks my two-year anniversary (or, the start of my third year!) at HubSpot. It's easy to lose track of time - in general, and especially at HubSpot - and forget where I am. What's great about the mark of a new year is that it gives you an opportunity to recognize how far you've come and think about where you want to go from here. A nice checkpoint to ground yourself.
Rosh Hashanah also gives me an excuse to eat delicious, sweet food, see family and friends, and generally be happy about life (cheesey, I know, but I'm a cheesey person from time to time). With all that said...
Shanah tovah u'metukah (a sweet and happy new year) to all!
Photo by chany14
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Sat, Jul 18, 2009 @ 08:52 AM
My worlds are colliding in a wonderful way - my very funny uncle, Eugene Mirman, made this video all about inbound marketing. Enjoy!
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Thu, Apr 30, 2009 @ 06:48 AM
As perhaps the unofficial official blogger of my family, and also a well-intentioned member of society, I feel it is my duty to share this wonderful read. The Will to Whatevs is the ultimate self-help book for dealing with all of life's twists and turns, from school to marriage to death. Perhaps in that order, but perhaps not.
This guidebook comes from the very funny Eugene Mirman. I won't dare try to compete with Eugene's hilarity, but instead will share some of my favorite bits from his book...
The purpose of this book is clear.
"Our grandparents may have had twelve-hour workdays in dangerous, filthy factories, and limited medicine, but they can't imagine how hard it is to list your favorite bands on a social networking site in a way that maximizes what strangers think of you. Some of our parents may have gone to college, but did they temp at a weird PR firm or software company?"
This book provides very practical tips, including ideas for college essay topics, including:
- How old people and young people are the same in so many ways, except age.
- A concert or reading you went to that had a powerful affect on you.
- How you overcame adversity (and tricking someone slightly older into having sex does not count).
- How people are animals, but shouldn't be hunted.
- Reasons it's wrong to be racist even though it makes sense to you.
- Pearl Jam.
- How your parents met their new spouses.
- The perfect murder.
- Your favorite places to throw up.
- An essay title, "If I Were Eric Clapton..."
On explaining family relations, these words of wisdom may have held true when I was younger...
Good Uncle, Bad Influence: "Being an uncle is like being a rock star no one but your niece or nephew has heard of."
If you plan on coming out as gay,
"The best place to tell your parents you are a homosexual person from now on (no changing your mind back after college, okay?) is at a fancy restaurant... In the middle of the meal, show them a Vogue magazine (if you're a guy) or a Popular Mechanics (if you're a lady) and go, 'This is me now, and you have to accept it.' If they are confused, whisper, 'I'm gay.' The point of this roundabout exercise is the joy of deduction. Giving your parents clues and making them figure out that you're gay will give them a sense of accomplishment that will balance their initial shock."
And, of course, some wise career counseling.
"A new job is like a new glove. You are excited, but it's just a glove. Still, maybe it will fit well?"
And I can't help but have a soft spot for this section:
The Internet: How to Harness the Power and Reach of New Media: "Make a music video of all your friends fighting in a forest with animals. Make sure the animals are dangerous, but not too dangerous. So no one gets seriously hurt. Put that footage to your catchiest song and post it on YouTube. Then just wait. I forgot to add that everyone (including the animals) should be in their underwear."
Also, a while back I went to New York for the book release party for The Will to Whatevs. Brooklyn Vegan had a good recap of the event.
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Mon, Mar 23, 2009 @ 07:55 AM
I love this joke from comedian Mike Birbiglia:
"I get really annoyed with technology. They don't make better technology, they just combine stuff. Like you go to buy something, everything's also a camera. They'll be like, 'It's also a camera!' I'm like, 'I just wanted a grapefruit.' They're like, 'It's a camera grapefruit. You take pictures of yourself eating the grapefruit, and then you eat the camera, and you shit the pictures!' Oh my god, that is the opposite of what I wanted."
- Mike Birbiglia, as heard on Invite Them Up
I was reminded of this last night, as I was at a family function talking to some family friends about cell phones. One family friend, who recently became a grandfather in fact, was talking about his old cell phone that he just loved. "It was just a phone. You turned it on, and it worked, and it never missed a call." He was ragging on all these PDAs and data plans -- he had no desire for such technology in his cell phone. I started to explain how valuable it is to have the Internet at your fingertips at all times. I tried to think of examples of how handy it would be, without giving the use cases of twitter or email, but didn't get far before getting stumped.
And so I started to think about how hyper-connected we all are with our iPhones and BlackBerries and how this can actually keep us from the living in the very moment we are in. I have not actually mastered mobile tweeting quite yet, and so still find it quite cumbersome to try to tweet while at a party or other event. Sparse tweets can actually mean that I'm just having too good a time to pull myself away to tweet. And while I'm a big believer in all this technology helping us extend our community and allow more people take part in our experiences, it may simultaneously serve as a distraction from that which we are experiencing at a given moment.
I was recently telling my friend of the "practical" reasons behind "observing the Sabbath." I grew up in a Reform Jewish household, and still consider myself Reform. Though I did have periods of my life where I became more observant, or was surrounded by those who were very observant. My friend couldn't imagine spending 24 whole hours not being online, not using technology. I told her how invigorating it can be - to put aside your cell phone, but aside your laptop, and just be with your friends and family. Spend the day talking or reading or playing games. Just be in the moment.
Isn't it still considered rude to be on your cell phone at the dinner table? That's at least partly because you're signaling to those around you that you'd rather be somewhere else, talking to someone else. Putting down the phone shows that you want to be right then and there.
It's also incredibly calming. That's what I love about traveling, especially out of the country, where my cell phone won't work and I rarely have access to the Internet. I'm disconnected, in a good way. I can just be where I am, doing whatever I'm doing. My brain isn't somewhere else and it doesn't need to be anywhere else. A little bit of the back to basics can be good from time to time. And that's exactly what I got last night, with the Russian music playing, and the happy couples dancing, and even with the camera phones snapping away... it was good to just laugh and dance in that very wholesome my-family-is-ridiculous sort of way.
Photo by pouwerkerk
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Sun, Dec 28, 2008 @ 06:25 PM
My Mom: "Why aren't you reading my child's blog?"
My 'Aunt': "Why didn't you tell me she had a blog? What kind of friend are you?"
My 'Grandmother': "I want to be in your blog!"
Um, welcome new readers.
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Mon, Dec 22, 2008 @ 06:49 PM
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Fri, Jul 18, 2008 @ 08:32 PM
This week I was in Austin, TX for a conference and one of the nights, I had a fabulous dinner with a client, that turned out to be a true heart-to-heart. Of course that was after two glasses of wine and a margarita. A good, Texan margarita.
We launched into a great discussion about life, politics, and (of course) marketing (but only a little of the latter). I have the problem that I become a chatterbox after a couple drinks and talk about who-knows-what. But apparently who-knows-what is actually my parents.
That's right. Two glasses of wine and a margarita later, I'm going on and on about how I admire my parents. Their whole story - their life in the Soviet Union, their immigration, how amazing it is that they did all this so their children could have a better life. And how they don't even talk about it. It is the classic American Dream story, except the somehow humble version of it...?
I guess the part that amazes me is the humble part. The part how they don't talk about how our family of four lived in one bedroom in a shared apartment for years. How people were persecuted at their offices, or even lost their jobs, if they applied for immigration. How it took four years of applying for immigration and getting denied each time (every six months I believe) before they finally got the go-ahead. It amazes me to know how they lived, how different our lives are now, and that they don't even relish in it (none of that "in my day, I had to walk to school uphill both ways barefoot in the snow"). They do, of course, have lives to live and I know they appreciate so much the difference in life in the US. That's the thing a lot of people don't realize (oh, here comes my tiny bit of personal politics) - immigrants are among the most grateful, appreciative residents of the US. People who have not known a different way of life just don't realize how damn good it is around here. But enough of my rant. I guess I really just wanted to state my pride and admiration for my parents. I think I'm old enough now for that not to be super uncool, right?