I got to tune into a recent episode of Modern Wisdom today, a discussion between Chris Wiliamson and comedian Whitney Cummings. Now, I don't know Whitney's comedy, I've only heard her on podcasts, but based on that, I think she's a very smart woman. This one was called something like "When did everyone get so fragile?".

There's good news and bad news. The good is life teaches you things as you go. Much like in a game, you get hints and "help" buttons. You may even get the occasional friendly wizard in your path, but that's not a given, so I wouldn't rely on it.

It occurrs to me we don't actually allow much time for listening to music. It's bizarre, but music seems to have become this accompanying element in our lives. We listen to music while working out, or while walking somewhere. You don't often hear people tell you "I'm listening to a song now", much less an entire album, and doing nothing else.

I'm a house-brand kind of girl in all respects save two: personal care and coffee. The first came as the result of a lot of trial and error and years of skimping thinking "I'm not gonna pay that for something as superficial as moisturizer". More often than not, with skincare items at least, you get what you pay for in that cheaper products are often made with more dangerous chemicals.

I've always been a sucker for period dramas. Ever since I watched The Tudors, I was hooked both on that type of show and more broadly on history. Last night, I finished watching one of the better period dramas to emerge out of recent years, The Serpent Queen which tells the story of Catherine de Medici as Queen and later (more importantly) Queen Regent of France during the 16th century.

Or, as that oft quoted Shakespearian speech put it,To thine own self, be true.This week, the Ladies of Hive community asked its members how they defined a meaningful life. What is meaning? I'm writing this before my philosophy class, so I'm trying not to wander off, and focus solely on what a meaningful existence looks like to me.