No matter your personal politics, this is going to be the most important election of your lifetime. Political HIVING, as it turns out, is something you can do to be more involved and have fun - around the debates, the get-out-the-vote efforts, and even in more formal “conversations” you might create around politics:

1) Throw a debate-watching party with friends, and print up BINGO cards with your favorite McCain phrases (”My friends”) or debate tactics (Obama shaking his head)  — and tack on a drinking game to make it more fun!

2) Get a group together and go canvass for your favorite candidate in a nearby swing state, like Nevada.

3) Or throw together a round table to talk about the issues most important to you.

All these politically-oriented things are HIVING, too — they are inventive get-togethers that help you connect with others AND give back. Get it?

But, most of all, don’t forget to register to vote! The California deadline is October 20!

“Workin’ nine to five, what a way to make a living;
barely getting by,it’s all taking and no giving.
They just use your mind, and they never give you
credit;
it’s enough to drive you crazy, if you let it!”

I don’t know about you, but today feels a lot more like Hump Day than Tuesday. And ever since I saw that great 1980 movie, “Nine to Five,” I knew (even at 10 years old!) that if I had to live my life in that boring, daily grind, women-objectifying world, I would end up hog-tying my boss and roasting him on a pit, just like Doralee.

So instead, I hive. And work as a freelance writer — making my own schedule and being my own boss.

Today feels like Hump Day, because I’m busy with a never-ending writing assignment and suffering a bit of ADD…because I can’t stop thinking about my evening plans to see the musical version of “Nine to Five” at the Ahmanson Theater! Dolly wrote the score, Allison Janney plays Lily Tomlin, and I’m attending with a fun group of friends who have been quoting the show all week long in rapid-fire emails. I can’t remember all those quotes, so in an effort to participate in theme, I downloaded the theme song and made a rockin’ ring tone out of it.

I’ll report back with my review - but know this: making a group purchase at the Ahmanson - and at every theater in the Center Theater Group - is a no brainer. So get a group together, make your reservations today, and hive/”Nine to Five” it!

I saw a fun play last night called “R.R.R.E.D.: The Redhead Musical Manifesto,” which was LA Weekly’s Pick of the Week, and created by a very talented singer/songwriter, Katie Thompson, who is a friend of my friend Steve Bauerfeind. Among other high points of the experience (including parts of the show, a celebrity sighting of Ryan Gosling, and a terrific catch-up with Steve) was the show’s intermission concession stand, which hand-picked items in the same “celebration of all things red”-theme of the show, with Big Red gum, and “Annie” DVDs, Skittles, Two Buck Chuck, and even Big Red soda - which I haven’t seen since Big D days.

I may have to copy the color theme for an upcoming party (Maybe I’ll have a PURPLE PARTY or a BLUE BASH? Green and Black & White are sooo last year.) — with the addition of customized M&Ms (so easy to do if you have even 2 days advance thought!) and a matching colored cocktail (you can find cocktail recipes stored this way from one brand here.)

(Red) Food for thought…

Curiosity can sometimes lead to compulsion, but that doesn’t stop me from being on the 24/7 lookout for cool new stuff to do, buy, and experience. I believe that maintaining a healthy interest in what’s around you is part and parcel of the hiving lifestyle, because who knows when you may come across the next cool venue for a party, your weekend date plan, that conversation-starting lapel pin…I could go on.  I do love the hunt.

Of course, it helps when you’re actually hunting with a purpose – which, in yesterday’s case, was the next hiving ::party with a purpose.  Michelle and I checked out the new rooftop of the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills, with the hope of coming up with a sexy, clever party idea to match our surroundings. Whether or not we stage something there, you should know about it for your own hiving plans – whether a sushi sampling dinner with a group of friends delivered from Bond St downstairs, or a cocktail klatch on a Wednesday night (when they reportedly have a new promoter on board), I highly recommend.

Today, my curious eye strayed from LA Mill in Silverlake, where I was having a meeting, to the windows of Yolk, a brilliant design store next door, so I just had to have a look afterwards. I loved these little silicone stem markers called Vinotagz – you can write on them and attach them to guest’s wine glasses so everyone knows whose is whose. AND afterwards they can be used as napkin rings. AND the nifty box it comes in fits over the top of a wine bottle to label it as a gift. That’s a lot of reuse for a mere $12.50. Love it.

Sometimes the hunt leads to just a straight up purchase without a purpose. While it may end up languishing in my gift closet, but this rocker wallet that says, “I’m sick of being an artist. I want to be a pop star” was too hysterical to pass up.

I Want to Be a Pop Star

That sentiment seems so applicable to life, really. Maybe I’ll become a pop star? Maybe I’ll keep the wallet myself.

Nothing like a bountiful hunt.

This is a story about practicing what I preach. Playing by my own rules. Specifically: the friendship rules outlined in the book I co-wrote with my Dad, The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections. You’d think, wouldn’t you, that if I took the time and energy to write a book about it, I’d have to be able to follow each and every rule at all times-– from #1 (“Reach Out to Someone You Don’t Know”) to #70 (“Let the Sunshine In”), right? As it turns out, that is much, much easier said than done.

So, I’m hiving in New York last week at a super chic fashion party on the roof of the Hotel on Rivington, where I feel about 20 years older than everyone there, 20 times less stylish, and 20 pounds fatter. My friend is 20 minutes late, so I am forced to stand in a corner with my glass of champagne and St-Germain Elderflower liquor (a cocktail I’ve been calling “The Sally” all summer, which the St-Germain folks call simply: “St-Germain avec Champagne”), staring at the gorgeous crowd. I think to myself, “Self? You’re supposed to be a friendship expert. Make some friends!” And with that, I head to a group of cute gals in the corner, who are the hired models for the evening, posing in retro bras and the “fine jeans” of the fabulous ADWA collection, which are meant to be worn as dress attire, fashioned after styles from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. They look really bored, cold, and in need of friends, too. So I say to one of them, “Are you guys the ‘60s era? I was told that the jeans on this floor were the ‘60s ones…”

I am met with blank stares.

It occurs to me that the models:
a) don’t speak English;
b) have been instructed not to speak or smile;
c) think I’m crazy, 20 years older, 20 times less stylish, and 20 pounds fatter than I should be to be talking to them; or
d) all of the above.

I repeat my question and elicit a shrug from the porcelain doll with the glossy red lips. The others turn and strike new poses.

But I tried, people. And guess what? This story provided my “in” to conversation with other folks at the party, who commiserated with my feeling old, laughed with me, and gave me their business cards. Rule #8 from the book says “Be Vulnerable” and suggests a little self-deprecation can go a long way. So, I guess I did follow one of my own rules successfully.

And I practiced what I preach.

What would happen if I tried to follow my own rules every day? Watch this space…