Beautiful day in the snow at Wisp.

New year and things are falling apart. I mean this in the most constructive way possible. Some new opportunities have opened up in the road ahead but they leave other paths incomplete and abandoned. This is the price that we pay to embrace new chances — we have to let go of the other distractions.

On that note, it looks like I will have the opportunity to do some unexpected world travel — to Afghanistan of all places. For the first time in our lives, my sisters and I will be scattered across three continents–North America, Europe, and South Asia.

I’ll do my best to chronicle my journeys here, but for now, a thought for the new year that has been weighing on the mind: it is time to embrace the unexpected and see where it can lead.

There's the Dark Side and then there's the Carebear side...thanks @lpadgett (via Flickr)

Couldn’t resist posting this one either. Mini Darth demonstrates that cupcakes aren’t just for Carebears – they’re for real Jedi too!

The cupcakes in the shot were found at Something Sweet, a new cupcake/bakery/ice cream shop that just opened up in Glover Park. For the sake of full disclosure, I happen to be a big fan of pastry chef Katie who runs the joint, but the cupcakes are delicious nonetheless!

For more info, visit Something Sweet’s website.

Photo courtesy of @lpadgett (via Flickr)

Thought I’d put in a plug here for a friend’s new pet project: Mini Darth Travel. Follow Mini Darth on his many adventures around the globe, or else get ready made travel itineraries and visit recommendations, personalized to your interests and desires. It’s one of @lpadgett’s new pet projects and should hopefully keep her busy throughout the fall.

For more information, tweet Mini Darth Travel at @MiniDarthTravel.

Guest blogger Golden pictured middle, surrounded by his 'rents--appropriately Gen Y.

Happy Friday! Today I’m presenting you with a new guest blogger–a close friend of mine, former co-worker, and the current drummer for White Ford Bronco: Matt Golden. From time to time, I’ll be featuring spots like this one, with different themes and ideas. Today, Matt shares some advice on Gen Y, health, fitness, and just getting your day off to a good start! Enjoy!
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Golden Advice

Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first. ~Henry Wheeler Shaw

According to a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation more than half (55%) of America’s Gen Y population are waking up not feeling refreshed. Furthermore, one in 3 millenials admit to suffering from significant daytime sleepiness. In an unrelated study, a research group from the University of Sydney has found that Gen Y (study includes Americans) are exercising significantly less and becoming significantly more overweight than Gen X and Baby Boomers before. It wasn’t until I dug a little deeper into the sleep studies that I realized there could be an actual relationship between these two studies.

Shiftwork Solutions looked into it’s own database of 20,000 subjects and came to the conclusion that there is no noticeable difference between the amount of sleep between Generation Y workers and the generations before. If anything, Generation Y may actually steal an extra couple hours on the weekends, a luxury not common with previous generations. All of this information, when processed, leads me to believe that if lack of sleep is not the catalyst for the majority of young professions feeling excessively tired, then the fact that we are a less active generation would most likely be the key factor.

Exercise (being active) and diet (eating smart) are a symbiotic tandem that will not only lead to a rejuvenated feeling in the morning and a more productive work day, but will also make sure one does not fall into the overweight or worse, the obese category.

I think a good place to start with regards to Gen Y Wellness is to look at the way we start our day, and 3 small things that will make sure we stay alert and refreshed.

1. Start With a Smart Breakfast

No matter who you are, a smart breakfast is for you. If you argue that you are overweight and don’t need the calories, you should know that studies show eating a large breakfast will ultimately lead to less calorie consumption for the remainder of the day and provide continued long term weight loss. Furthermore, anyone on a diet to tone up for the beach should be aware that skipping a meal, especially breakfast, will trigger your body’s response to a lack of food: holding onto as much fat as possible to prevent starvation. Skipping meals is not healthy, and more importantly not smart. Worst case, have some yogurt, fruit, and an English muffin to kick start your metabolism so it can work for you in your weight loss campaign. (Sugar for the brain, protein for your muscles, and carbs to even out your body’s breakdown of the food.)

Giving the metabolism an early kickstart helps dieters lose weight, weight lifters burn away fat, and every one of us to stay active throughout the work day. To further boost your metabolism, enjoy a cup of green tea in the morning. With your body working for you, falling asleep at your desk an hour into the day will be a thing of the past.

2. Before You Start Work, Read Something New

Now that you have your body up, running, and working for you, it is time to get those neurons firing. Try reading for 15 minutes before work. I’m not suggesting that you pick up Grapes of Wrath; rather, I would encourage you to read an article or two out of the newspaper, or even go exploring through the blogosphere for a subject both new and foreign to your interests. Let’s be honest, you probably either ignore the Express newspaper guy at the metro or spend 15 minutes on Google Reader before you open your emails as it is. Take a few minutes and treat your brain to some knowledge that challenges a new part of your brain…here are some examples:

-Not Married? Find out the Secret Ingredient in any Marriage just for giggles
-Don’t care about Politics? Check out the latest Washington Post Headline
-Haven’t brushed up on alternative medicine? Learn a bit about the dark side of Homeopathy
-No Idea what you want? Hit the random article button on the left side of Wikipedia

3. Say Good Morning

This is the most important thing for me in the morning. I have a 45 minute public transportation commute. Each day, I start by saying “good morning” to the bus driver and people who sit next to me. I’m not fishing for conversation; I just want to smile and wish everyone a genuine “Good Morning.” Not only does this go a long way in terms of public transit karma, it opens the doors for communication throughout the day, feeding into a positive and active mood. Beyond saying “Good Morning” to a few strangers, make sure to say it to the people with whom you work. And not just mornin’…Everyone deserves a little bit of extra recognition—a full enunciated “Good Morning,” preferably with a first name attached. You’d be surprised how much good it will do the both of you.

So after getting a good night’s rest, start your day by waking up your body, your mind, and your social life. You just might find your work day a little more enjoyable and a lot more productive.

(For more, you can follow Golden on Twitter @matt_golden)

Courtesy of Flickr User MonteCristo Pictures

Wednesday at last. There’s a guest blog on the way, but before that, here’s a little bit of mini-Darth to cheer the afternoon! Flickr User MonteCristo Pictures brings us this photo of Mini-Darth set against an American flag tablecloth(?). Regardless, it’s good to know that Mini-Darth loves America too!

By the way, the amount of tweets surrounding Millennials/Gen Y and the corresponding growth in general interest on the topic is astounding. Looking forward to hearing more and more.

Classic wedding prank: how many terrible things can you do to the wedding couples' car before anyone notices?

Recently while browsing Twitter, I came across this intriguing tweet from @ideasbank: “Marriages will be less popular amongst the generation-Y, in favor of the informal domestic partnerships. Less demands for wedding photos.” The issue of wedding photos aside (we could go on all day about the wedding industrial complex, as it is referred to in some circles), the question of how Generation Y/Millennials will approach long-term commitment is an interesting one.

Based on my own personal experiences, it seems that I’ve reached that certain age when all of my free income and vacation time is diverted, year after year, to attending friends’ weddings. As much as I know this to be have been considered “normal” in the past, I wonder whether or not these kinds of patterns will be as pervasive for future generations. My own social circle is divided between those looking for the traditional comforts of marriage and others (myself included) who are more than content to sit back and enjoy the partnerships that we’ve developed without throwing a ring (or a $50,000 wedding) into the picture.

Practicality and pragmatism, me thinks, has a large part to do with this shift. Speaking for myself, there a big financial negatives to holding a wedding—namely, paying for the wedding itself. Coming from a very large extended family, coupled with being blessed with a large circle of friends, I sometimes shudder to think how much it would cost to fly, feed, and otherwise host such a large number of people. With the average wedding today costing somewhere between $21,000 to $29,000, it is no wonder that people in the early stages of their professional careers balk at the prospect of pricey nuptials.

This article from Liz Colville at Finding Dulcinea brings to light some interesting facts on Generation Y attitudes toward marriage. Citing a Greenberg Quinlan Rosner research survey “Coming of Age in America: Part II”, Colville points out that of the Generation Y survey participants, “Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed said that cohabitation without marriage was legitimate, and only half of them agreed that marriage is “one of the most important institutions in this country.”

Colville’s article also refers to the PBS series “Generation Next,” which two years ago posted an entry titled “Generation Next Women Changing the Path to Marriage and Childbearing.” As both Colville and the PBS article point out, it would seem that many members of Gen Y are postponing marriage to “take care of themselves” first—be this in the form of school, starting a career, or other pursuits. The PBS article also goes further, citing Professor Maria Kefalas from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Ms. Kefalas believes, that as Generation Y grows older, we will continue to see the “uncoupling” of marriage and childbearing, a trend that, simply from common knowledge, seems to ring true.

On the topic of non-traditional commitment, Generation Y has also demonstrated stronger support for same-sex marriage, as compared with previous generations. Referring back to Greenberg Quinlan Rosner’s “Coming of Age in America: Part II” study, the authors find that 58% of Generation Y supports same-sex marriage, as compared with 30 percent of the rest of the population. A Pew Research Center study on “Generation Next”–as featured in USA Today– found slightly less support for same-sex marriage in Generation Y: 47% favored, compared with 30% in the over-25 age group. At the same time, the study found that 58% of the Generation Nexters interviewed believed homosexuality should be accepted, compared with 50% in the over 25-years range.

Again, this is just a drop in the sea of research related to relationship trends with Generation Y. Any other leads or articles are welcome…I’d like to this topic more in the future…

Photo Courtesy of Flickr User neff1uk

Ah, Mr. Potato Head. What better way to celebrate the almost-arrival of a weekend than by celebrating the wonderful flexibility of the Potato Head Family? This mini-Darth from neffi1uk looks like a bit of a softie, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the other Darths could take him down with their light sabers pretty easily. Darth fries anyone?

Headed to Chicago for the weekend for a good friend’s wedding. While I’m there, I hope to have a chance to check out a few things, including the bar that was used in the movie Hi Fidelity. Hopefully there will be good Chicago pictures come Monday!

Have a great weekend!

See how he carefully judges where to make the first slice...

Good morning! Just in time for the beautiful summer weather in DC (I don’t want to jinx anything by asking where the humidity has disappeared to, but it has been a welcome change!), we have a picture of a Mini-Darth deciding how best to slice a watermelon (courtesy of Flickr User Snark Hunter). Note Mini-Darth’s lack of intimidation at the fact that the watermelon is ten times his size. If he has good taste, he’ll pull out the salt shaker to make his watermelon breakfast complete!

Using only the force, Mini Darth conquers the reptile kingdom (Photo courtesy of Flickr user lezuck)

Happy Monday! Mini Darth strikes again, this time by taming a wild crocodile. This picture hails from Flickr user lezuck who lives in Spain. Apparently, Mini Darth photos are a worldwide phenomenon.

Have any ideas for future Mini-Darth adventures? Send them my way!

Photo Courtesy of Flickr user Jamiriquai

As of late, there have been all sorts of postings on green design. Some of the ideas are absolutely fantastic. Of course, my significant other might kill me at this point if I started tearing up floorboards and knocking down walls so that I could have the indoor jungle I’ve always wanted. In the meantime, I’ll have to settle for ogling some of these incredible links, starting with today’s theme: Green Roofs.

First of all, there’s a definite trend in green rooftops. Just today, the Toronto City Council voted to require mandatory green roofs on all new buildings, starting in 2010 (link here via @svrdesign and @ECOCONSUMER). I love this quote from the Globe and Mail article by Toronto Council Member Norm Kelly, who “praised the decision as ‘a pretty darn good starting point…I would rather be first than last.” Well said.

Closer to home for me, Washington DC and Baltimore made the top ten list in Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ 2008 industry survey, with the former coming in second and the latter in sixth (via @CorridorInc). Chicago took first place and New York took third, for the record. Walking past the World Bank building on Pennsylvania avenue every night, it’s incredible to see how much a green roof can impact even the aesthetic beauty of the city. Beats glass windows anyday.

In New York City, Convert a prominent figure in the green roof movement(via Apartment Therapy). Self-described as a “NYC based green roof service,” Convert’s mission includes “implementing green roofs as sustainable strategies for storm water BMPs, energy efficiency, and urban heat island mitigation.” Looking at some of their projects, it’s amazing to see how much can be done.

Further west, the California Academy of Sciences just inaugurated its new building, complete with a 2.5 acre living green roof with over 1.7 million native plants (see photo above courtesy of Flickr user Jamiriquai; article via Scientific American). You can check out pictures of the building here. The building is amazing for more than just its roof—it’s now the largest public Platinum-rated building in the world, and also the world’s greenest museum (taken from the website). Check out the site for more incredible facts about this building!