#reverb10: ordinary joy

(what day 26 (soul food) was all about)

day 27 prompt ... Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of the your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

(Author: Brené Brown)

(my commitment to myself for stream-of-conscious writing ... excited to see what pops up as i type!)

that telephone call from an old friend ... hands down, my friend, sci-fi guy*, from college tracked me down and called to reconnect. just that phone call and chit-chat alone was absolute joy!

bonus post-call ordinary moment ... the conventional reunion/catch-up lunch that followed shortly from the telephone chit-chat was a bonus to the telephone call. aside from the what's been up and remember when these past 20 plus years, we talked about the here & now ... current events, books read, rants & raves, etc., talking because we truly were sharing in dialogue.

mega bonus ... after lunch, we toured the facility where he works. (i am a geek at heart and LOVE looking at processes for product development to product marketing!) and finally, mixed in with the ordinary joyful moment, the news of my friend's health circumstances - and for that, the movember challenge shall go beyond the little fun moustache picture and have a different and much deeper meaning for me.

joyful ordinary and life's reality ... i am glad to acknowledge how joyful a telephone call can be, how a quick lunch can open the door to old memories and memories to come, how appreciative i am for the goodies after the facility tour (heehee), and how thankful i am to be part of sci-fi guy's life. and i believe joyful ordinary moments that co-exist side-by-side with life's reality are those for which love is made.

be well, my sci-fi guy buddy,
and thanks for introducing me
to the nutty and zany IFC food party

*(i know my friend whom i've nick-named sci-fi guy
would prefer to be anonymous. thank you for sharing.)

why job fairs are like match (dot) com...

... or "you must be tired 'cuz you've been running through my mind all day."

a.k.a. ode to the bass player
tales of sub-dermal gps chips, dating, and jack* (of lord of the flies infamy)

(unfortunately, this post is NOT about sub-dermal gps chips, dating, or jack ... but it is from bass player. ideally, the other three topics may unfold - or not - in another blog post.)

breakfast buds yippity-yap ... this sunday morning a few breakfast buds met up at rudy's can't fail cafe, sans one of our buds, gadgetman. (alert: girlnutkin did not have grits today.)

one of the breakfast buds is someone i met in january at a career fair at cubeopolis - he, the prospective candidate intern. me, the cubeopolis-gatekeeper to determine whether he was worthy of an interview with cubeopolis.

during the job fair, after about a 5-min chat and a resume drop-off, i looked at his resume while he spoke a little more about his interest and noticed bass player as part of his hobbies. random thought popped into my head, so i asked a question, and go figure - he knew my friend in cubeopolis (and her boyfriend, who also played bass). aside from being qualified and a potential cubeopolis match, he knew someones that i knew.

welcome in to the gates of cubeopolis for a possible interview.

shortly after the job fair, he shared a quippy email in between lab runs. below, enjoy the creative juices of someone who, although is not part of cubeopolis (and it's not a pretty story), is part of breakfast buds. lucky are we to have ... bass player in our breakfast buds entourage.

BONUS ... he shared pete, the unemployed hedgehog comics (wiht a job fair - 3 parts - comic strip) with this (LOVE IT!)

(from a jan 14, 2010 email - unedited - between girlnutkin and bass player)

why job fairs are like match.com
interviews = internet dating
job fairs = match.com

sadly, most people in this modern world have had to endure the trials of going to a job fair, and i am no exception. however, with the advent of the internet, and dating sites like match.com , i have come to see the job fair for what it truly is, or has become.

typically, the first thing that you do when you walk into a job fair is to peruse the posted signs of the company profiles available and consider which ones immediately show the most promise, whether or not you want to come back to the others, and, finally, which ones that you would like to give a chance, just because you get a feeling about them.

much is the same in match.com, the first thing you do is log in and start looking around all the personal profiles. you look for the racy ones that just jump out to you, mark the secondary ones that you would like to connect with later, and relegate the leftovers to be considered, or ignored, later.

from this point, things get even more similar.

round 1 - approach: the booth/profile looks attractive, and they have some keywords posted up that all stand out to you. some you identify with, others you know you can ascribe towards. of course, everyone is hovering around the one that is judged "the best", so you have to wait your turn, and strive to set yourself apart from the masses. the odds are not that great that you will get chosen out of the hundreds of suitors, but you have to have faith! already, to you, it seems like you would be a perfect match, now you just have to strut your stuff and convince them of the truth of this assertion.

everyone likes confidence, and you are always judged on that first impression, so the first 5 sentences uttered out of your mouth had better be golden, and not some of the same diatribe that everyone else has been spitting out. if you catch their attention, you get that warm invite and you get to move to round 2 with a bonus.

round 2 - detail
now you have fired off your first volley! granted, you might get dismissed for any dumb thing that you say, but if you didn't put your foot into your mouth, the chances are that they are going to start to look at what you can bring to the table. your resume/profile, at this point is key. as soon as their eyes latch onto the details, they are looking for something that attracts them, and make you sound like a stellar candidate. everyone is looking for the same things: education, smarts, experience, communication skills, compatibility, and passion.

this is the place where sooooo many people embellish (read: lie their pants off) in hopes that they can pass off these virtues without a hitch, and if they don't ... well, they probably wouldn't have had a chance anyway, so they might as well take the chance. from their image (looking more dependable, clean cut, and professional than even they are comfortable with), to their experience (skills they really have, languages they really speak, why they have been separated for so long, etc...).
fortunately, if you did well in "round 1 - approach", you have the optional bonus that you will be given credit simply because you were creative, confident, and charming. they may even overlook detracting factors, or consider them areas where they can help you flourish. nothing like tempting the artistic with a medium of great potential.

round 3 - conversation
so, if you haven't gotten summarily dismissed already, now is your chance to stake your claim to fame. The conversation is all about giving enough information to make sure that the interviewer knows enough about you to remember, and think of you fondly. your main objective now is to get to the next level, such that they will call you (out of all the suitors!!!) and ask for that next one-on-one session.

(from bass player closing email: ok.... I'm running out of creative juice at the moment, AND i have to take care of these samples now that i have finished their digestion. Talk to you laters!)

and there you have the beginning of a friendship with the bass player, who probably does not have a sub-dermal gps chip, is conversant about dating, and made a reference to jack this morning.

(about jack at shmoop, sparknotes, and
about lord of the flies at wikipedia).

ssp|potb: sunday morning

shameless self-promotion | pat on the back (aka ssp|potb) back at ya' ... i am taking the gratitude thing a little farther by putting a stake in the cyber-ground just to say "thanks!" perhaps as part of the portfolio of narcissim - call it whatever - regardless, i have decided i will thank others (while thanking myself) for those two things i most enjoy - talking and blogging (and often over food with friends - like this morning, and i'm running late!)

"thank you" to yvette francino ... author of the laptop dancer diaries, whom you can facebook like at the laptop dancer diaries, and where you can visit her blog lessons of love from a laptop dancer. you have unknowingly reminded me of the fun dating stories and the importance of relationships. and i really appreciate the post-christmas mention of girlnutkin.

"thank me" ... for choosing the reverb10 experience over other priorities because i LOVE the random luck of coming across yvette's blog on day 24 among the many others i was reading, commenting, etc. i have posted reverb10 daily while visiting, commenting, and/or tweeting on at least thirteen other reverb10 participants' posts (my baker's dozen rule) - ALL PRIOR TO my one-hour-ish commute into cubeopolis - and/or into the wee hours after commuting home from cubeopolis.

"thank you, yvette" ... for sharing your story about your love for your friend craig dunham and for your lovely idea - giving the perfect gift - the gift of love - audio love to our loved ones! clearly you value relationships.

"thank me" ... for balling out my eye water, while reading yvette's day 24 reverb10 of everything's o.k. - that included a link to her final conversation with craig. i am speechless and humbled, as one should be - in a needed moment of silence and deep breaths.

thank you/me
for sharing and valuing relationships.

#reverb10: soul food

(what day 25 (photo) was all about)

day 26 prompt ... What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?

(Author: Elise Marie Collins)

(my commitment to myself for stream-of-conscious writing ... excited to see what pops up as i type!)

baked egg en cazuela ... period.
(keeping it short & sweet)

- what went into your mouth & touched your soul? ... (hold on. i have to wipe the drool off my keyboard.)

back story ... my first time touching myself in a restaurant experiencing this dish was at nibblers - unbelievably flavorful. velvety texture. i literally would have licked the little clay dish clean, although two things prevented me from doing so - 1) moaning loudly in ecstasy and 2) etiquette.

it was nibblers's mushroom and truffles theme month. when i told one of the nibblers's owners about how much i loved the dish, each of them were very excited to talk about the ingredients, preparation, and best way to experience the dish. my guess (partial recollection) is the mushroom ingredient was candy cap mushrooms (note to self: ask next time i visit.) and as always - LOTS of LOVING from the chefs.

i am certain that when all sorts of lovin' goes into a tasty dish, a soulful moment is one of the hidden ingredients.

nibblers feed me yes
oh baked egg en cazuela
get in my tummy

(thanks for letting me share.)

#reverb10: photo - a present to yourself

(what day 24 (everything's o.k.) was all about)

day 25 prompt ... Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

(Author: Tracey Clark)

(my commitment to myself for stream-of-conscious writing ... excited to see what pops up as i type!)

photos from 2010 ... go figure - this motivates me to consolidate my pics from my camera, my camera phone, and emails with pics from others' cameras.

thousand words picture ... i'm the one with the exposed belly (and i did land on my feet).

back story ... emma, my friend jen's daughter, asked if i would hang out with her flat traveler (via flat stanley fame), and therefore aka flat emma. "of course!" i told jen, my soul sistah.

trilogy of flat emma in the SF bay area ... what resulted was a 3 part jaunt around the bay area with flat emma - part 1 of where i live and some dim sum with a friend, part 2 of driving (and stopping here and there) around a portion of the 49-mile SF scenic drive, and part 3 of attempting to complete the remaining portion of the scenic drive with two other friends. for part 3, we started at golden gate park (which is where i left off at part 2 of my flat emma adventure), and we ended part 3 of the flat emma journey at an oakland brew pub (where there is a pic of flat emma "eating a french fry with a pint of pale ale in front of her") just after stopping for a quick jaunt to the berkeley hills.

- share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you. ...the picture i have shared was taken in the berkeley hills, above the uc berkeley campus, near the lawrence hall of science. i'm jumping with my friend nicknamed piragua, while my friend joel is playing photographer (and a great one at that!) - the three of us are the core of breakfast buds who party. and so the pic reveals with a little help from more back story ...

• fun, being alive, and enjoyment ... i can't imagine not having fun. and jumping is fun. it's hard not to enjoy jumping (presuming the knees don't fail you). absent jumping, i love the "weeee" moments in life - indoors and outdoors. i can feel it in the picture!
  
• belly ... yup, i carry extra weight. not in the optimal healthiest of ranges yet much better off compared to more than 5 years ago. i have been leading a much healthier lifestyle and am determined because my future self said so.
  
• friends near and far ... i like hanging out with friends near and far, virtually and in-person. smaller groups are my preferred, yet i'll venture into the masses, as well.
  (this little adder pic? breakfast buds (L to R) moi, joel, piragua - new year's day 2010)
  
• better late than never ... (back story) i was a bit on the tardy side getting flat emma back to vermont. admittedly, i can be a bit tardy, here and there. with that said, my emergency should not be someone else's problem. (i'm working on this and doing much better.)
• driving ... (back story) maybe it's the 15 years i spent in southern california or simply the many places i enjoy are not in my backyard (not within 5-miles), so i drive, and i don't mind it so much. diffuse as the points of interests and as the homes of friends around the greater bay area, i'm there.
  

there is much more i can say as far as back story, but i'll stop there and simply (re)thank jen for her (and emma's) patience and for the "weeee!" moments i so much enjoy.

WEEEE!

(thanks for letting me share.)

f|break: pre-holiday fiber break

more asylum's emily ... for a sure chuckle out loud this morning, i checked out what's up with emily. this little tidbit is her reader mailbag edition - fun shares!

enjoy a pre-holiday fiber break with emily (over here)
for ~ 2 minutes plus of PG-13+
(or maybe near R for some's taste ... no pun intended)

"{bleep}"
"{bleep} {bleep}"

happy christmas eve day!

*(emily on birth control & manscaping)

#reverb10: everything's o.k.

(what day 23 (new name) was all about)

day 24 prompt ... What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

(Author: Kate Inglis)

AND a bonus with the prompt - Future tool: Gwen Bell – How to Create Your Personal Manifesto. For the next 8 days as you round out your year, we’ll share one tool each day to help you plan your year ahead.

(my commitment to myself for stream-of-conscious writing ... excited to see what pops up as i type!)

several big and small moments came to mind ... which to choose? what came to mind were many life-events that have shaped me and others around me - directly or indirectly - moments prior to 2010, friends overcoming personal issues, current events (political, social) unfolding, and little memorable quotables - quips from friends and strangers whether intended to be words of wisdom or snarky commentaries.

emailing a stranger whom i saw in a video reminds me of connectedness ... i don't know if i would call this "... the best moment ...", but it is certainly a moment that has reminded me that when i say i should, need, or want do something, it is strides apart from whether i DO that something. and the outcome? always welcomed.

back story ... in february this year during black history month, i emailed a woman who was featured in a documentary. i was telling (and maybe more like emoting and raving to) my friends how moved i was and how i wanted to contact her. i obsessed; meanwhile, a friend said to me - "why bother?" and another said "whatever!" not deterred (although slightly saddened by some friends' remarks), here is the outcome of an email exchange between me and the woman.

- and how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead? ... two-fold - first - i look forward to continuing to be clear about what i will be DOING and DO IT. there is nothing wrong with shoulding, needing and wanting - for me, it's about being clear (to myself) about committing to those things in life that move me. and second - i am reminded of connectedness. as shared by the woman-who-moved-girlnutkin-to-tears ...

"Thanks again for having the courage to seek me out and email me. you are, actually, the first. I feel honored and privileged to know that my experience has created a universal connection between two "strangers" in theory, but not in heart.

Mahalo for taking the time to connect, ... "

p.s. needless to say, perhaps, i also am exploring how i can contribute to the issues of ignorance, etc.

(thanks for letting me share.)