wihtlft: as i get older ...

thanks @jenimvt @billn6 for yesterday's (saturday's) messages. though i wish we were next door neighbors, the 3-hour time difference and text messaging was awesome! and as a result, i'll start my short series of posts about what i have to look forward to ... based on whatever random thoughts collide and connect as i spend time on the web, e.g., emails, facebook, twitter, blogs, tumblr, ... inspired by our text messages and/or chats!

(NOTE: if you choose to read on, this post has references 

to scatology and "the change" ... just sayin')

 

what i have to look forward to ... as i get older,  inspired by this morning's web troll -

• new facebook improv friend just had a prime number birthday (29)
• read blog post dear GOP: you do know how pregnancy works, right?
• contemplated pro-choice, pro-life, and just being a human being
• listened to my joints creak while i finished up stretches via my pep pads
• revisited my tiny habits for a refresher
• trolled through twitter and came across corporate rebels united (and their scoop.it)
• revisited my google reader for some minor differences at the oatmeal and came across being in love at ...
• and then started to clean out old email newsletters when i came across women to women (yup, really!)

result? ... choices and aging. i started thinking about what choices i have as i get older - i can choose ...

• to eat better, 
• to exercise regularly, 
• to decide how much social media to digest, 
• whom to date,
• when (and whether) i read my unread emails

... BUT i can NOT choose what perimenopausal / menopausal symptoms i have as i stroll into toward 50 years old next year. i fell down the interwebs menopausal rabbit-hole, curious about what choices i do NOT have. read on or don't read on, this is what i learned ...

• many(!) symptoms ... web site with 34 menopause symptoms including
  • beyond hot flashes, there are ember flashes
  • as part of digestive problems, i could get bloating and constipation
• what?! there is a website called poop doc, which includes a menopause blurb
• and when i think doctor, i think dr. oz (of course), and we ALL know dr. oz TOTALLY has poop info and episodes (just word search) and even a video clip on poop primer (shape, consistency, color)
• and to bring it back around, here's what dr. oz has to offer about a functional medicine approach to menopause and his menopause survival guide
• one more other doctor, christiane northrup of women's bodies, women's wisdom on the perimenopause transition 
• and yet another symptom - sleep disorders (ugh!)

. birthday . pro-choice . healthy habits . gathering information .  

. fiber . being a woman . menopause . symptoms . 

. hot flashes . poop . menopause . insomnia .

infographic me ... i looked for any infographics on my connecting the dots*. menopause? none. poop? yes, the facts about poop. sleep? yes, the secret to better sleep.


More Health and Fitness
News & Tips at Greatist. * CONTEXT: because thoughts are like dots ... i like to connect them. sometimes the dots/thoughts relate (in the conventional sense), sometimes they don't (simply because others may not see the relationship), and always they make sense, at least to me, at the time i connect the thoughts.

lois reconnected with clark ...

aka ... shirley reconnected with george on wednesday, february 9. more than a decade ago, i met george. (thanks to pete) how did i get the name lois? it was a result of the nickname i was given as a result of malcolm gladwell's ...

six degrees of lois weisberg
over here
(or the abstract over here)

and how did he get the name clark?
well, he's superman!

and one day, we may co-author something.

p|r10: craig ferguson + doctor who = pee my pants

oh, to be a talk show guest ... and if i was on craig's show many weeks ago with matt smith, i would have seen the actual doctor who intro musical. (see geeks of doom for blurb over here) (oh yeah, craig - you know, 'cuz craig and i, we are on a first name basis, right? uhm, not quite. but still, i shall call him craig.) it would have been a kind of double-whammy for my reverb10 day 28: achieve.

p|r10 (or post-reverb10) ... as i have been catching up on my dvr, squeezing in time to watch and/or listen to recorded shows, i realized the jan 7 late late show had 1.5 of my achieve items from reverb 10. (check out a little blurb about the formal airing of the doctor who musical intro over here at geeks of doom.) here they are from reverb10 day 28: achieve -

• talk show/fake news guest ... be asked to serve as a guest of shows like craig ferguson, conan o'brien, david letterman, chelsea handler, graham norton, ellen degeneres, or stephen colbert, jon stewart, ... (because they are fun! guess i gotta figure out a gig/shtick to get me on a show ...)
  
  
• doctor who ... get a phone call (yes, phone call) that a couple of friends and me can have a little role in a doctor who episode where we get to hang out in the tardis for a little while (because THAT would rock! guess i better make it known to the right people that can make it happen that my friends and me want to be on the show ...)

enjoy an awesome fiber break with craig ferguson (over here)
for ~ 4:12 minutes with a great(!) intro musical
with dancing and singing ... and even the rabbit, the crocodile-alligator, and geoff

"he's the doctor"
"... so beloved by geeks and nerds"
"... intellect and romance triumph
over brute force and cynicism, right doctor?"

music and paintings touch my soul ...

the love project ... the week 2 assignment (your love goals) of the love project has started, and i am playing catch-up. (i wrote a little about it over here, also.) for now, i feel like i am auditing the love project - just sitting in, taking notes, ready for when i jump in AND catch-up. (and i will jump in!) meanwhile, i want to share a connect-the-dots moment that happened on the last day of 2010. i wrote an email to my friend kelly.
side note ... when intense thought is needed, i listen to a special mix of music that seems to power me through (most of the time) any mental block or moments of procrastination. and it is a hard-pressed moment to steer me clear of whatever task i am doing while i am listening to that special mix. that hard-pressed moment came on december 31.

back story ... back in november, i shared (over here) about a friend, who is a wonderful artist (over here), who's husband and best friend died. and back in december, i shared about my new friend (over here), who also is the creator of the love project.

my little catharsis ... into the new year, i was sitting at my fave coffee house (paddy's coffee), doing some cubeopolis work, listening to my when i think music mix (which includes the late jeff buckley), and then ... bawling my eyes out. i found myself writing an email to an artist friend in san diego and a comment to a new-found-via-reverb10 friend in colorado. i realized my bawling was all for the connectedness with and love of those we meet in life - short-lived, fleeting, web buddies, life partners, family members, pets, ... - you name it.

my note to my artist friend, or shall i just say to my friend? ... here is the email i wrote to my artist friend throughout the december 31 morning after and during the initial (yes, there was more than one moment) bawling. i have edited it a bit here and there (mainly because i'm a dork and used ball rather than bawl - haha - go figure.) but have retained the feel and sentiment. kelly is actually an artist that i met while i was living in san diego. she's one of my "artist" friends who has touched my soul. (i wrote about another friend, adolfo, over here.)

hallelujah with love ... and after that email and the bawling of my eyes, i visited yvette's blog to catch-up and came across her december 30 post about hallelujah lyracist and her friend craig. bawling moment again. it was a cathartic morning - a good morning, that december 31st.

i continue to think and be reminded of you ...

... in a good way, kelly. and i'm bawling my eyes out - perhaps with you - albeit miles away.

you are a strong, feeling, forthright, and beautiful person. and it's all i can do from patting myself on the back the day i decided to call/email you after seeing your beautiful paintings at urban grind ... and it's all i can do from hugging you the day you agreed to meet for dinner at parkhouse eatery, and you shared an awesome triptych (... white trash? on black - cigs, and i forget the rest). it's all i can do from wanting to hug you now!

so i want to say ... i am humbled to be part of your life - even in a little corner of your life on facebook - for which you share with so many others your raw emotions.

i can't believe i'm sharing what i'm going to share with you, and so i hope you know it comes from a place i didn't know yet existed - and i am thankful. i know that if i was in san diego, i would have called you to just say "hey" and see how you are doing - good, bad, numb, loved, ... just to know you are being you. i wish i could hug you right now (and find some goddamn tissue!!!).

i'm tearing up while listening to a song. i hear another song and i tear up even more. (i'm lying - i'm not tearing up ... i am fucking bawling my eyes out.)

REWIND ...
i'm sitting in my friend's coffee shop (up here in union city) this morn - just catching up on facebook, blogging (writing and reading), and contemplating end of the year shit. and all i want to do is type this note (and call you). so i type the note - and continue to bawl.

i wake up every morning with the beauty of the painting from you that hangs in my bedroom. and as you may imagine, that painting has taken on so much more meaning for me, and rightfully so. i love it more than ever. this morning was no different ...

so here i am keyboarding and surfing ... listening to my itunes mix that i've titled "when i think ..." - a jeff buckley song comes on, last goodbye - and i just start to bawl.

i have NO IDEA why i am bawling and then ...

... you rush into my mind - amelie paintings, the coffee shop/urban grind, parkhouse eatery, artwalk, starbucks, (i'm still bawling), tidbits of conversations we've had flash in my head (your love for your brother, jeff buckley, dave's lighting and fashion, coping moments, happy pills, artwalk, stupid politics, ...) - - - i walk out of the coffee shop to compose myself and find a napkin or something other than my sleeves - - - and more tidbits of faux-conversations i imagine we are having through posts on your facebook, email reminders from you of fabulous things you are doing, (i'm STILL bawling) and just those little reaching out moments.

i call a friend, thinking i'll stop crying. i do. i walk back into the coffee shop. i continue to type this note. i start to tear up again.

i did not know dave very much at all, but i know you two very much love each other. i remember reading the unfolding updates of dave's health, the evolution of the memorial, the outpouring of love, and the absolutely immense community you have created among so many.

and perhaps, like many others, i know you only in that way that many have fallen in love with your paintings and the heart and soul that is clearly part of your paintings - and so like the many others, i feel so connected to you. i realize you don't have to take time out of your day when i have come to visit san diego, yet you have. (i am long past due.)

and then, my music mix continues ... lamb's song comes on my mix as i'm typing this - gorecki ... if you know the song, then you have likely figured out how this song reminds me of you and your love, dave.

(now i am bawling my eyes out again)

PRESENT TIME ...
napkins abound. soy latte spent. and hoping this note did not bum you out but allows you a little moment today to know that i love that your love of dave has touched my soul - and i love that you have touched my soul.

from the the girl bawling her eyes out at paddy's coffee shop ... and proud of it, dammit -
shirlnutkin

puffy heart to those i love

*connecting the dots shirlnutkin style ...
favorite coffee house in union city, music mix, jeff buckley,
last goodbye, kelly, lamb's gorecki, hallelujah, love project

f|break: sunday long whirlwind fiber break ...

i gots to reflect on my week for a personal fiber break ... because it has been a whirlwind of crazy fun and intense reflection and bonding with my new phone.

do you prefer a regular fiber break ... of video clips of comedy, nostalgika, and/or pop culture? choose from any of the posts over here.

do you prefer to sit with me ... through my extensively long fiber break this morning or afternoon? if so, read on. the whirlwind is great. and perhaps it started sometime last week. in no special order, here are the little whirlwinds of yesterday and today. i'm reflecting on ...

• reverb10
• new phone that is training me
• 750words
• healthmonth
• clean your closet change your life
• cubeopolis training
• AONC book tour
  
• coaching
• downtime with mom
• day date with breakfast buds
  

whirlwind 1 - reverb 10 ... a primary way i am spending my time is with the reverb10. mind you, sight unseen (or unheard of) i figured why not?! after reading about reverb10 and best09, i went heart-first and feet-(or fingertips-) forward ... count me in. i also figured i'd enjoy reading more, supporting people, and learning (yes, learning) how to use twitter on my blackberry. and because i often like to be a participant-plus, i volunteered to give the interactive crew a whirl.

Welcome to Reverb 10! from gwenbell on Vimeo.

really now, who wouldn't want to be part of this fabulous effort with such a fun HQ?! and y'don't have to be part of a crew. just check it out, reflect, write, share, ... whatever hits you. as the fairy godmother @whollyjeanne has reminded me - "just jump in when you can!" (love her tips over here)

whirlwind 2 - droid me ... because it has been a total fail on the blackberry to jump in on reverb10 readily (... yes, i had to reboot regularly by taking the battery out), i decided to finally get a new phone, it's a droid (motorola), and it's training me. still getting used to it since last sunday. (backstory: i've been on verizon (and it's precursors) since 1999, have rock-n-roll'd samsung, motorola, nokia, (re)motorola, and then became a crackblackberry enthusiast. yes, i know the iPhone is around the corner, however, wanting a keyboard and staying with verizon leaves me with droid options.) i am still discovering new things - because i'm not a pamphlet reader - so it's slow but coming. brute-force finding and using features to cheer on reverb10 fun makes poking around the droid all the worthwhile. patience.

whirlwind 3 - 750words ... after signing up for reverb10, i checked out the reverb10 resources and saw 750words. hooked immediately. i used to do the artist's way many years ago in the late '90s, so that was enough to get me hooked.

whirlwind 4 - healthmonth and fatbet ... so buster benson, who created 750words also created healthmonth. with an on-going goal of a healthier lifestyle, i joined, and two other friends also have joined. we formed a team, CDWL@edi. (that's our team pic to the right) we are looking forward to others joining us. it is AMAZINGLY fun, easy, self-motivating (really!), and since starting this month, i've lost 3 pounds. i was telling someone yesterday - i bounce out of bed, am more excited about starting my day, and appreciate completely the support from friends and others. on a separate note, i also am hanging out with a few friends at work who started on fatbet a couple of months ago. healthmonth and fatbet dovetail well!

whirlwind 5 - clean your closet, change your life ... i loves me my kit! the biweekly teleconference workshops (and next one this thursday evening, 12/16, from 6-7:30 pm, pacific) that she has created to support those transforming their lives through clean your closet, change your life (aka cyccyl) are exceptionally motivating, inspiring, and thought-provoking. a must check out. and don't forget to "LIKE" cyccyl to show your support. for me, i'm chipping away; i started small back in late october with my jewelry. i'm loving the results. it's not just about organizing, it is about creating space in my life to manifest my heart's desire. loving it!

whirlwind 6 - cubeopolis training ... i spent 4-days not at my workstation this week, so i could take some training. and thanks to my boss for accepting this time for training! two completely different courses - three days of 7 habits of highly effective people (via peggy leyden) and one intense day of presenting data and information (edward tufte). from contemplative, self-reflection, and introspection to essentially navigating the cognitive aspects for presenting (and really more so designing) how information can and should be received by the consumer - as well as how one engages in this visual dialogue! friday was a complete decompression day.

whirlwind 7 - AONC book tour ... after the first 3 days of training, i attended chris's unconventional book tour stop in SF. one of my team CDWL@edi mates, a new friend, and i spent wednesday evening with chris and others at the rockit room. i came across chris's message via tyler's advanced riskology message. i also had an opportunity to meet leo babatua of zen habits. wednesday evening was a fabulous continuation of inspiration and self-reflection.

whirlwind 8 - coaching ... i have a coach for up to 6 months, and he is essentially gratis, e.g., i am not paying a fee for his services because of how the system is set up. i wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. we met for our second session on my decompression friday. at the end of the coaching session - he definitely acknowledged how much energy and excitement i had coming in to our session. agreed. i am doing this ~ biweekly.

whirlwind 9 - downtime with mom ... when i had percy, my mom came by daily for nearly 3 weeks to help out with some of the "wound management" (all is fine now). every once in a while after the percy-ritual, she and i would hang out - dinner at home, dinner out, television, talking. several friday evenings ago, i was catching up on my dvr programs. we watched fashion police. she LOVED it. and turns out, my mom enjoys glee, chelsea lately, and craig ferguson (and his opening monologues). yup! mom enjoys laughing. and i enjoy spending time with mom.

whirlwind 10 - date day with breakfast buds ... just yesterday/saturday, we breakfast buds spent the whole day with each other - - at rudy's can't fail cafe (partying with grits), bazaar bizarre (with rock star parking and picked up ash & ember, monkey + seal, and great artwork from jaime zollars), mr. and mrs. miscellaneous (fabu organic ice cream and made a new friend), and nibblers eatery and wine bar (where we shared wonderful conversation with the owners trace and daniel). it was great to see what my friends also got at bazaar bizarre and great to have great energy among us.

new whirlwind week ... i have been up since 6 am, weaving in out and out of this post, bopping around my home, and will beheading to farmers market for some tasty produce and people watching, and just living life. one thing i am realizing - these are ALL part of the same continuum.

bring on the fun whirlwind!

#reverb10: party

(what day 8 (beautifully different) was all about)

day 9 prompt ... Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

(- Author: Shauna Reid)

i gots no major partyin' in 2010 ... if you asked me about this in 2009, i could put my finger on march 7, 8, and 9 when several of us from college celebrated - over the course of 3 days - the 40th anniversary of a college club we were part of nearly 20+ years earlier.

2010 partyin'? ... hmmm. (tick-tock-tick-tock cricket chirps tick-tock)

- ... describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

rockin' brunches ... first thing that came to mind when i saw this prompt (and the word shenanigans) are the breakfast/brunch buddies' social gatherings - albeit not a conventional party - that i consider little parties for a weekend morning of complete laughter and fun. typically there are 3 of us who meet for brunch. however, when there are at least 4 of us - we are having a party in our little breakfast booth world.

the location(s), music, food, and drink ... we'll typically gather somewhere on the san francisco east bay side (although we are looking to expand our brunchiness into other parts of the SF bay area). if they are serving up grits, i'm a happy camper. others look forward to great veggie options or pancakes or a liquid breakfast to calm the mind or hash - hash anything! our coffee cups are often refilled plenty of times. and when we are in the mood, we head to a few places where we know there will be fun music in the background, where we won't be kicked out of the booth-real-estate (with rudy's can't fail cafe as a fave) - for which we are thankful in spirit and as tippers!

our clothes ... for some, we may show up with the clothes on our back from the night before, which may not have ended until 5:30 AM. for others, if there is a college or other sporting event after brunch, someone is sporting team spirit garb. and of course, there is simply the roll-out-of-bed baseball-cap-morning look, with a t-shirt of choice (ideally right-side out, though we've seen the tags of some).

shenanigans of let's-connect-the-dots ... when i read the word shenanigans in today's prompt, i immediately thought of our breakfast/brunch buddies outings. we play i-connect-the-dots ... a kind of improv, patchwork storytelling around a general topic of choice. one of the more memorable breakfast buds moment was when we connected the dots for vajayjay tales of the week - the stories that we strung together were snippets about on-line dating, hair dye specifically for downtown, comedian mary lynn rajskub's perspective about the down-there eyebrow, the grooming of what sarah haskins termed alpaca, and vagazzling.

connecting the dots with breakfast buddies ...
our weekend party-in-the-morning storytelling.
go figure.

getting my design fix ...

vicariously ... on-line (and when i lived in san diego, thanks to tanya at artefact for my fix). just a few thoughts for now.

the art of the shiv (dangerous beauty) ... back in 2006, that's when my love affair with design observer (over here) started. after looking at eleven images of various shivs (slideshow) and bopping around design observer, i became hooked. i believe it was just that i could feed my interest in design - public space, home stuff, typography, non-engineery-geek-stuff.

side bar: sometimes when i think shiv (or shank), i am reminded of a friend who was in calipatria. (my friend? yes, he committed a crime or two.) you ask, "cali-wha ...?" the center for land use interpretation (over here) lists calipatria's maximum security prison (over here) and has this to say about visitor info:

"Like most prisons, it can be visited through proper channels, by either arranging a press tour, having relatives to visit there, or by commiting a crime. Public roads surround the facility, which is said to have a high-voltage electric perimeter fence. On Blair Road, northeast of downtown Calipatria."

the glass house conversations ... i suppose i came across the glass house conversations (over here) because of a @designobserver tweet some time before summertime '10. from the website's about seciton -

"The Conversations website extends this tradition. It investigates what makes a conversation. Blending the boundaries of inside versus outside, public versus intimate, and host versus guest, it’s intended to extend the Glass House conversations to a more public forum. Each Monday, a host posts a provocation. People have only five days to respond. The boundaries of the conversation are set to just one week, ending on Friday evenings. After comments have closed a “Final Word” is chosen from the replies."

provocative discussions, indeed ... i've enjoyed reading through the discussions. often, many discussions are not directly related to my cubeolopis, but every once in a while, there is a discussion that does have some cubeopolistic bent. this happened in august.

shortly after an "all hands" meeting to showcase accomplishments and recognize cubesters during an awards ceremony, one of the conversations - do you think it is more important for leadership to value transparency or clarity? - piqued my interest. and then are other conversations that cut across any discipline - if you had to choose between a pencil, a knife, or a hammer as the only tool you could ever own, which would you choose and why? and interestingly enough, this week's conversation is a topic that also has piqued my interest - are millennials forging a distinct new design ethos? will catch up with some cubesters and see what they think.

side bar: i am contemplating starting in cubeopolis a glass house conversation style group - enviromental-related discussions.

risd (rhode island school of design) ... for obvious reasons (over here). and the president of risd, john maeda, is tweeting @johnmaeda, and he blogs at creative leadership (over here).

ahhh ... fix is good.

(tweets, shiv, barney, calipatria, glass house, cubeopolis, creativity)

r|cubicle: pre-post for the post

(this post is a follow-up to yesterday's post over here)

the answer is: still cubeopolis.

the question is: the same question recast - where does a pre-meeting (preceded by a prep-meeting) occur for "the" meeting?

recap (from the real cubeopolis) ... i was in the prep meeting on monday afternoon. i was not in pre-meeting yesterday morning. what does this subjectively mean in cubeopolis? i am on a lower rung (figuratively speaking) in cubeopolis. objectively stated, i was not invited (directly or indirectly) to the pre-meeting. so as might be logically deduced - i am not invited to "the" meeting - which is occurring later this morning.

recap (from the real girlnutkin) ... monday morning i wrote a blog post which was my prep-meeting - brainstorming ideas, options, etc. and yesterday morning, i had my own pre-meeting during coffee/muffin time. the objective of the pre-meeting? to narrow the landscape of context for writing posts about willingly, knowingly, and surprisingly re-entering cubeopolis. some time today, i will have "my" meeting (given i will not be at "the" meeting). meanwhile, here's the shorter list culled from yesterday's girlnutkin pre-meeting - a kind of next steps precursor to today's effort ...

• i got some 'splainin' to do - my sept 2007 thoughts 2 weeks after i joined cubeopolis serves as a good framework for topics.
• what makes me a bit unique in cubeopolis - in the last week of october, i wrote a cover memo for a position within cubeopolis where i reminded myself about my mission, vision, and values established back in 1994.
• another book and blog to read - i came across pamela slim's "escape from cubicle nation" blog. when i mentioned it to my friend at work, she encouraged me to write about my perspective of re-entering what slim calls cubicle nation after having my own business for 13-years.
• brubaker - i do love the movie (also described here in imdb and rotten tomatoes). yesterday, during one of my elevator-survey-moments, i did learn that at least one of my co-workers has seen brubaker, and he (that would be my co-worker because brubaker is a fictional movie character played by robert redford who doesn't work with me in cubeopolis) and i chatted a bit. he has been with cubeopolis for more than 20 years, so he was ripe with perspectives and spoke in terms such as system, meat grinder, circular, frustration, etc., while also speaking in terms of patience, change, challenging, and rewarding.
• reawakening some ideas - earlier in october i mentioned a bit about my friend, kit, who is writing a book about her system, as well as some reawakened ideas to consider as part of this effort.
  
• dream zappers - still not a fan of them, but i have LOTS to choose from in cubeopolis.

and two other items came to mind during yesterday's collection of thoughts ...

• therapeutic coaching® (new item, kinda-sorta) ... no, this is not i want to become. however, during a recent emotional discussion with a friend (which actually may result in some level of unfriending, so to speak), i was told that i have this tendency to do therapeutic coaching, and she was having none of it (loosely stated). she did not need the whole positivity thing, and i cut her off during her share/stories. she's right, i did, and still thinking back, i do not know if i would have changed my choosing to interrupt her. needless to say, this has stuck in my head. maybe it is relevant to this or not; i shall see what happens today.
  
  
• remembering jengyee (special memories item) ... as i was thinking through this re-entering cubeopolis writing idea, yesterday afternoon i realized that today - 11/10/10 - would be two years since my friend jengyee liang died of complications from lupus. (her obituary is over here and her charity over here.) my friendship with jengyee began in 2004 when we were mentor/mentee - we shaped each other's lives. as part of her february 2009 memorial service, i shared with her friends and family the back-story to the book she wrote and the back-story to a blog i started about the internship experience at my former consulting practice. (side note: my foreward to her book over here and my memorial service sharing - "no telling when i would have sat down ..." over here.)
  

looks like i am taking the time to sit down
(thank you, jengyee, for continued inspiration)

r|cubicle: planning for the pre-post for the post

the answer is: cubeopolis.

the question is: where does a prep meeting for a meeting occur to plan for a pre-meeting for "the" meeting?

to celebrate this phenomena ... this post is the beginning of my thoughts about re-entering (and for now staying in) cubeopolis - after 13 years of self-employment/business ownership. i haven't quite (re)formed my thoughts, but here are a few thoughts that have been swirling and reswirling in my head ...

• in 2007 i joined cubeopolis, and within 2 weeks (after drying the tears that collected in the hollow of my neck) i was like "what the fuh... did i get myself into?! i got some 'splainin' to do."
• two weeks after joining cubeopolis, i took leave without pay and went leaf-peeping in VT where i made a new friend, jennifer, who i have come to learn is like a soul sister (prepping here, hanging here and there,and coming home for tail end mini-vacay) - it's about friendship like the one i have with jen!
  
• a month after joining cubeopolis, i took a few days off for a weekend training where i learned about reiki and then some.
  
• prior to joining cubeopolis, i had to eliminate conflicts of interest resulting in essentially putting my consulting practice into deep freeze - 8 active clients transitioned to other service providers.
  
• it has been 3 years, and recently, i reminded myself about my mission, vision, and values (established when i first left cubeopolis back in 1994) and what makes me a bit unique in cubeopolis.
• i came across the escape from cubicle nation blog - it's about being part of a corporation to becoming an entrepreneur
  
• i love the movie brubaker (described in wiki, imdb, and rotten tomatoes) - the concept of change from within
  
• i continue still to be interested in self-identity, ignorance, race, authenticity, and mutual fairness, so i read a variety of articles, blogs, books, yap with people, etc. absent classwork or others of whom i am unaware also as may have similar interest - my thoughts here and here, and an author, tim wise, whose books i'm currently reading.
• and i'm just doing my other "stuff" resulting in reawakening some ideas.
• i used to love PINK, the magazine for women, and now ... meh (but i'll still thumb through an issue)
  
• i do not want to write about being an interpreneur.
• i am not a fan of dream zappers as described by ashley.
  

i will work on a little more planning
for the (next) actual pre-post content

f|break: sunday morning

oh-two-one-three-four - send it to ZOOM! ... yesterday's fiber break with the electric company (over here) totally reminded me of bernadette and ZOOM!

bernadette and her arm thing ... my brother and i did that "arm thing", we loved singing the tune, and i remember thinking - "wow! there's an asian girl on t.v." and "zip codes can start with zero?!" who's bernadette and what was ZOOM all about when i was growing up (back in the 70's). (little crush on luis and david, and i wanted to jam with jay!)

enjoy this morn's fiber break

with the season 2 zoom cast (over here)

"... come on and zooma, zooma, zomma zoom ...

come on give it a try ... we are gonna teach you to fly high ..."

just a few dots connected but connected nonetheless ... facebook bliss, electric company, zoom, back-track south park ... and forward-track checkers & pogo (another fiber break)

hipmtfn: i am WAY hooked on AR ...

(i connect dots)

AR
advanced riskology

in late september '10, it started with ... a friend telling me about tyler's ebook over here. the book is a quick read for 70 pages. when i came across the section dealing with friends and family - SPOT ON! this was nearly a month ago. since then, i've been hooked and pushing sharing tyler's info to friends.

here's how i chose to connect the dots recently ... rennie . howl . tyler . percy. terry gross . website .

on tues 09/28, i caught up with my friend rennie who is settling in over in nyc. on wed 09/29, rennie sent over his review of eat, pray, love. (i'll pick up the book.) on thurs 09/30, i subscribed to rennie's movie reviews. on fri 10/01, rennie posted his review of howl (and i decided it was a must see for me - saw it sat, 10/09) before heading into work mon, 10/04, i read one of tyler's recent posts - every decision is life or death - something with which i totally relate. and interestingly enough, the day before (sun, 10/03) i spent nearly 25 minutes deciding which journal to buy bought a journal for AR brainstorms. the day of tyler's post, i shared it with a friend who had basically been faced with a just pick (yes/no) moment. the next day (tues, 10/05) i worked 1/2-day at home and spent the afternoon getting percy dealt with. on the way to percy-gate, i caught a part of npr's terry gross interview with james franco. and it dawned on me ... hey! time to leave tyler a comment on his website. so here is my comment to his post ...

hi tyler – haven’t checked the responses to this post – if anyone made the comment i’m about to make. nevertheless, i read your post monday and shared it with a friend at work who has felt “stuck”; he was inspired. then yesterday i was listening to the terry gross interview of james franco. during the “howl” movie discussion, there was as soundbite about j.franco (as a.ginsberg) and ginsberg’s dr. hicks (transcript over here). give it a quick read or listen. it reminded me of your post – all in a good way. for ease, i guess i’ll cut/paste the portion that caught my attention –

And Dr. Hicks kept saying, what do you want to do? What is your heart’s desire? So, finally I said, well, what I’d really like to do is to just quit all this and get a small room with Peter and devote myself to my writing and contemplation and fucking and smoking pot and doing whatever I wanted.

He said: Why don’t you do it, then? I mean, what’ll happen if I grow old and I have pee stains in my underwear, and I’m living in some furnished room, and nobody loves me, and I’m white-haired and I have no money and bread crumbs are falling on the floor? And he said, ah, don’t worry about that. You’re very charming and lovable, and people will always love you.

What a relief to hear that. I very soon realized that it was all a fear trap, just illusory.

thanks again for a wonderful post!

... and that is how i connected the dots last week!

time management and then some, eh?

80 20 ... while catching up on reading blogs that i've follow (aka blogs i have listed on my google reader), i realized i am a couple of months behind AND i am several blogs overloaded. i decided to whittle away at my list.

here's how i chose to connect the dots ... pete . k|kick . AR . blogging .

80 20 time ... is staying on my reading list. the best part is the blogger kind of ponders and challenges after skimming the titles of her september posts, i could NOT resist immediately reading this post (over here) with links several time management articles about time management and get a few chuckles!
it's interesting because recent chats i've had with colleagues at work and chats with friends on just catching up on "what's what" have touched upon many topics in several of 80 20 time's posts.

meanwhile, to check things out mentioned in 80 20 time, i signed up for Authentic Happiness and ChangeThis! looking forward to digging into the posts i've missed and sharing them with friends ... and enjoying new information!

i connect dots (and people) ...

i connect dots.
random? NO.
shuffling around of dots? ALWAYS.
including people? YES.

mindmapping in motion ... i often find myself connecting events, information, people, and activities that seem unrelated to some but are (or should be) related. back in 1995, i called it POE's Corner - People | Organizations | Events - where i brought people together. some called it a happy hour, i called it a way to get my friends to meet each other with the real intent of making authentic connections. i believe one thing fostered, fosters, or will foster another.

yippity-yap and random chatter ... and i spew about it. alot. always brainstorming. always idea generating. so admittedly, to some, i sound like i'm totally rambling - off-subject, on tangent, or just off. sometimes, people are dismissive or even react annoyed. nevertheless, that's my process - not leaving stuff swirling around in my head (because as far as i know, people can't read my mind).

connectedness ... as i am typing this post, an image popped up in my head - one from a book i picked up back in the early 2000s - the brand gap (current version over here). this is kind of what i see and hear when it comes to ideas, people, etc. (found this image at slideshare over here - a slide presentation of the brand gap).

gotta go connect some dots!