I work more now because at this time of my life I am not disturbed from my aim by outside pressures such as family, passionate relationships, dealing with 'who am I?' - those complications when one is searching for one's self.
My mom and dad are second-generation Greek-Americans who instilled in our middle-class family the values of hard work, self-reliance, and service, exemplified by my father's tenure as a U.S. Marine who was stationed at Camp David under President Truman.
You're in a combat zone one day. You come home, and then you have to readjust, and it takes a few days. We just sit in the house, hang with the family and then things get better.
When I'm at my grandparents', I know I literally have to do nothing but relax, enjoy myself, and enjoy my family members' company.
I realized that a lot of people in my family had sacrificed for me to have the opportunity to go to a place like Duke. I owed it to them to finish. I graduated with a 3.6.
The first pages of memory are like the old family Bible. The first leaves are wholly faded and somewhat soiled with handling. But, when we turn further, and come to the chapters where Adam and Eve were banished from Paradise, then, all begins to grow clear and legible.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. I actually feel like I come to work stronger when I've had a little time on the weekend to step away from it and enjoy my family and other things. I come back energized. If people think they're going to work 24/7, week in and week out, they're not bringing their full strength to the table.
After a hundred years the son of the King then reigning, who was of another family from that of the sleeping Princess, was a-hunting on that side of the country, and he asked what those towers were which he saw in the middle of a great thick wood.
Shortly after I was born he emigrated to Durban, where members of my mother's family had settled at the turn of the century, and the rest of the family followed soon thereafter.
And I think one of the tasks that I always feel is how to get that vision out of them. Not exactly what they want, but what they want to accomplish for themselves or their community or their family.
I love researching, whether it's old Western documentaries or old Western country singers or John Ford Westerns, which are heavily influenced by family values, which so many of these country songs are related to.
I would have hated to been locked into music for the last 20 years and not been able to have a family.
The other thing is quality of life; if you have a place where you can go and have a picnic with your family, it doesn't matter if it's a recession or not, you can include that in your quality of life.
The first time I'd ever had a go at production or recording, I just recorded in my room. I just put it on Soundcloud because I have family abroad, and I wanted to show them, 'Oh, hi, Uncle Carl, here's some music that I've done,' or whatever.
It is so difficult if nobody in the family will guide you.
I have some cops in my family. I understand the predicament that they're in. Sometimes they go into it just to pay the bills or because they don't have other choices, or sometimes they just want to get the gun.
When Nirvana became popular, you could very easily slip and get lost during that storm. I fortunately had really heavy anchors - old friends, family.
I'm really close to my family, and we talk through things. My parents are so amazing, they're brilliant. We try to take one step at a time and be wise about the decisions we make and keep our values and the things that are important.
Dr. Evil got shortchanged in the first one. The family dynamic between Scott and Dr. Evil - the adventures of being an evil single parent - needed to be explored.
I'm always going back to one thing - my family... It's my family, my religion, my fighters. Put them in any order you want.
My family kinda hit the skids. We were experiencing poverty at that point. We all got a job, where the whole family had to work as security guards and janitors. And I just got angry.
I think that 'Family Guy' and 'The Critic' come from some of the same kind of seed. I don't know what it is.
I also have a degree in marriage, family and child counseling - I'm a therapist.
The nations of the West hope that by means of steam communication all the world will become as one family.
At the beginning of my career as a writer, I felt I knew nothing of Chinese culture. I was writing about emotional confusion with my mother related to our different beliefs. Hers was based in family history, which I didn't know anything about. I always felt hesitant in talking about Chinese culture and American culture.
There's an assumption in many of these cultures that these children are mentally retarded, when in fact they're not at all. I saw how the operation affects the child, as well as the child's family and often the village.
I am simply the most conspicuous part of a large, thoroughly dedicated and professional staff that extends from just behind these cameras, across this country and around the world, in too many instances, in places of grave danger and personal hardship. They're family to me.
I never pushed to be a star. I didn't want to. I had my home, my family. Session work let you do the music and leave.
My mother moved abroad when I was 11, my dad wasn't around from the time that I was a baby, so I was not the product of a family, but a product of observation - of watching what went on around me, of watching who I liked, what I didn't like, what I thought was good behavior and what I thought was bad behavior and tailoring myself accordingly.
I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion.
Houses of worship can be the heart of a community. They can be the cradle of a family. They can be places where our children go to learn, not just faith, but to make friends. They build connections. They are essential to a healthy America. And every community deserves the right to have those houses of worship operate in safety and peace.
Any celebration meal to which guests are invited, be they family or friends, should be an occasion for generous hospitality.
I do seem to have a lot of family secrets in my novels. I guess I'm one of those writers who is often writing about the same sort of themes, but taking different angles on them.
I think the only consistent thing is that I like projects that explore different social themes. 'Our Family Wedding' is a comedy, but it deals with two different cultures coming together. It's also about people letting go.
It's not surprising to see in my own work, looking back, and in the work of some of my peers, an attention to family. It's nice to write a book that does tend toward significance and meaning, and where else are you sure of finding it?
The heavy hand of government and its rules are causing family businesses to shutter their doors.
