The New Fear: Beware of FOPO

Posted on August 3, 2020August 4, 2020 by Deirdre Maloney

There’s a new kind of fear rearing its head these days. Actually, that’s not completely true. The fear has been around for...well, forever. But the acronym that describes it is new. Actually, that might not even be completely true. But I just recently learned about it, so it's new to me. And it’s really important. It’s FOPO. Fear of Other People’s ...

The Messy, Imperfect Blog Post

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Deirdre Maloney

Well, this stinks. With just a few days left in Paris and a blog post coming due, I desperately want to write something inspired…something that beautifully sums up my time in the City of Lights and the lessons that have come along the way. There have been a lot of them, believe me. Not only that, but I’ve got some recent photos to help me express what I’ve...

The Right Thing To Ask When Something Feels Wrong

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Deirdre Maloney

Today’s post begins with a tale regarding a beloved topic: food. Before arriving in Paris there was lots of dreamy anticipation about the pending French cuisine. Those decadent, creamy sauces…those exquisite pastries…that bread… Okay yes, the bread is pretty incredible. But now that I’m here I can say that the rest of it…well…I’m just not that into it. ...

How to Handle the Other B.S.

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Deirdre Maloney

Well, my current city of Paris and my beloved, Italian mother just collided. I invited her to visit after experiencing some of the best things Paris has to offer. While Mama was excited about exploring both the culinary and non-culinary wonders of the City of Lights, her enthusiasm was accompanied by another emotional phenomenon: the worries. Those of y...

How to Fit In…Without Being Put Out

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Deirdre Maloney

With a month of living in Paris now behind me, I can definitively say that this city has got a few things figured out. They know good art, they know good pastry, they know good coffee. It’s made fitting in not just fairly easy, but also a pretty great learning experience. I mean, who would have known that this… ...beats this? (Mon dieu - did I really...

How to Deal With People Who Irritate You

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Deirdre Maloney

There’s a guy at my gym who gets on my nerves. We’ll call him Keith. Keith isn’t a bad guy. He hasn’t hurt me or wronged me in any way. For reasons I’ll get to in a second, I just don’t really like him all that much. And I see him every single day. Every single day we’re in each other’s space. Every single day we circle each other as we use the same equi...