f|break: monday morn geek stuff

a cubeopolis offering ... last week, l.a.g. (aka ha gow), one of my fave cubesters, offered up a fun fiber break that combines math and pageant chicas!

enjoy this fiber break with pageant queens (over here)
for ~2:15 minutes

as a thank you, i offer ha gow the poetic table of elements (over here or click on image below, from everypoet.com)

and the elements song (over here or click on image below)

enjoy!

gave ya #improv ...

popcorn

photographer
elephant

first show on june 11 ... on a saturday evening in june, these three words were the opening suggestions for the level b improv show @madeuptheatre (on facebook, web, yelp, twitter, youtube) at made up theatre.

• part 1 of the show - channel surfing
• part 2 of the show - montage
  

it was 6 of us who've spent 16 monday evenings learning about improv. this was our first time on stage. and this was my first time on stage.

starting off the evening ... thanks so much to sean taylor. not only is sean a great host, he is a member of 5 play improv (on facebook, web) and laugh track city (on web). and thanks to gadgetman (aka joel) for several clips from the evening.

two clips from the show ... the first clip is simply the introduction to our show, so you get to see all six of us getting paired up for channel surfing. the second clip - is from the montage portion.

enjoy the intro while learning about the shows format,
meeting the level b group, and meeting the channel surfing pairs
(for ~ 4:30+ minutes)

here's a portion of the second half of the show's montage for ~ 6 minutes

lessons learned ... the various lessons learned (in a good way) as i reflect on the evening and as my friends remind me of ...

• shooting a rifle ... the trigger is the one close to your chest; it's not at the tip of the barrel.
• blow torch ... really? i chose to defrost elephant meat with a blow torch?!
• jumping up and down ... how to say this delicately? the gals were bouncy.
  
• apparel adjustment ... speaking of, be mindful of adjusting while on stage.
  
• alphabetical or numerical order ... absolutely love the cleverness of listing transgressions in such a way!
  

thanks to alejandro, joel, leslie, nicole, roberto, and scott -
for taking time out of their saturday evening
to support the show
with other level b friends & family!

i spy squalor over two weeks ...

i spy MORE STUFF
(see may '11 almost all-nighter tribute)
a must-clean-up-this-shit
now that i have relo-cube-alized.

cubeopolis ... since the last squalor moment, i have moved two cubes down the aisle. i am now sitting near windows. however, some things haven't quite changed. once again, squalor has evolved. on august 11, days of squalor accumulated over the course of approximately two weeks. granted, the pot-of-gold was realized (ultimately on august 12), however, remnants of the evolution of squalor remains

deconstructed cube-o-rama slice o' life ... time to play (AGAIN!) i spy STUFF as of august 11. let's i spy STUFF (roughly from left to right)...

• clock (with 3 time zones)
• programs from a cubeopolis event that ended on aug 4
  
• empty plastic container that once held pineapple slices from l.a.g. (from earlier in the aug 8 week)
  
• silver cylinder container with paper clips
• gift from a friend of "flower power" candies
• gift from a friend (same one who gave the flower power candies) - a yodelling pickle (yet to sing its virgin voyage yodel)
  
• green alien stuffed toy
  
• red gerber daisy vinyl wall sticker
• cylinder toy that makes the noise of a sheet
• cow candy dispenser that makes a moo sound when it "poops" out candy
• stimpy stuffed toy (of ren & stimpy fame - or infamy - created by john k)
• two coca-cola zero soda bottles with ~ 1.5 inches of liquid left in each bottle (from some time who-knows-when)
• java jacket (one of many)
  
• calculator (RPN, thank you very much)
• telephone headset hanging under the desk/credenza
  
• fiber one oats & chocolate wrapper
• water container
• large soy latte (or whatever is left of it)
• container of colored markers
• USB flash drive
  (that i often forget to take home with me when i plan on working at home)
• bejeweled computer screen with a "rear view mirror" that i use poorly
  
• stickers - little hearts in a box behind my computer screen
• document holder with documents
  
• keyboard
  (likely with crumbs of what once was in the fiber one oats and chocolate wrapper)
• pictures and paper galore, including niece+nephew, pigdog, malia+javier, guac monster, sculpture (once at laguna art museum), tim biskup mini-cards, picasso postcard (from de young exhibit museum store), artwork post cards from kelly paige standard and adolfo girala)
  
• crumpled, compostable napkin
• two containers - one for pens, one for white board/dry erase markers and erasers
  
• fiber one box with other fiber one chewy bars
• gold painted piggy bank
• blue polka dot bean bag
  
• panda bear stuffed tow
• tape dispenser
  
• macbook pro
  (that still needs to be upgraded from tiger to lion ... i know - skipped over snow leopard)
• buddha board (gift from secret valentine)
• federal budget wind-up toy
• stapler
• penguin (knitted) phone holder
  
• desk accessory holding yellow stickies
• stuff under desk

time to clean up
my part of cubeopolis

final class @greenleafcenter

our final class ... the certificate program of the foundations of servant leadership, which has lasted 5 months, has come to a close this morning. during class, i had a few references for participating in this morn's discussions, not to mention accessing the wiki, my blog posts, and my springpad.

30 seconds to describe servant leadership ... among other activities and readings in preparation for this morn's class, we were asked to prepare and share a 30-second description of servant leadership. toward the end of this blog post is my 30+ seconds of describing servant leadership. meanwhile, a quick overview of my journey through this class ...

the beginning ... we started in april (over here). our class has a variety of people, primarily u.s.a. based, with one gentleman in europe. we come from different walks of life. we share many different levels of interest about servant leadership as part of our life, our reality, and the reality of others. during the first two months of class, i shared several posts (over here) about my on-going greenleaf-inspired thoughts and feelings. i also was quite active on our class wiki.

and then ... cubeopolis happened, life happened, and something (or someone - me, perhaps) started to shift ...

prolific writing lull ... toward the end of may, i became very, VERY mindful of our class readings as i observed life around me and my own choices, behaviors, and actions. (also, my 8-week improv class was coming to an end with a first show on june 11.) while at cubeopolis, there were many times i observed the lack of (and the pleasant surprise of) those characteristics that have been used to describe servant leadership. and for whatever reason, i spent EACH DAY of june and july compelled to take note (on my springpad) of at least one quote, action, behavior, or observation that not only fed my interest in servant leadership but also fed my growing interest in improv. now it's august. and this morning's class has ignited a little flame.

lull no more for final class paper ... with my final paper due in a couple of weeks on saturday, august 27, our paper is -

... expected to reflect learning, knowledge and insights that merit the certificate

... while also being mindful that -

Greenleaf says that the journey to servant leadership begins with self, and reflection is part of that journey. The paper should reflect our journey through the class.

thoughts about paper ... with that said, i have had several ideas throughout the class about my approach for content development of the final paper -

• self-reflection to self-awareness journey
• evolution of ah-ha moments
  
• observations of those work-day behaviors and actions that are and are not supportive of servant-leadership characteristics
• generations (as shared in this previous blog post over here)
• the potential nexus of servant-leadership integrated as part of cross-boundary collaboration
  
• how a weekly improv class learnings has brought to life many of the key characteristics of servant leadership
• my 1994 epiphany and how this servant leadership class and journey continues to shape my mission, vision, values
  

one other inspiration ... yesterday, i took the opportunity to talk with a woman i met a couple of weeks ago through a cubeopolis effort. our chat was filled with mutual admiration and thankfulness for crossing paths. and for me, my brief experience with her has certainly shaped my contribution to this morn's class. here is what i shared/spoke for my 30-seconds description ...

(starting with the context of my core vision)

my '94 epiphany ... as part of my class/public journal, i shared part of what i felt led up to what' i've called my '94 epiphany during a very early morning -

There are BRIDGES yet to be constructed by those who live and

breathe in their ENVIRONMENT— AIR, LAND, and WATER. Egos stand firm

on the ground that they were born and choose not to acknowledge that

to get one step closer they must go one step FURTHER.

MY VISION IS TO CREATE THOSE BRIDGES. – (shirlnuktin)

my mariel-inspired share ... as part of helping summer interns refresh their resumes, i felt a nexus to servant leadership and described it this morning to the class ...

one can experience servant leadership when engaging with people by ...

• acknowledging each person's voice and story,
  
• connecting each person with his/her personal gifts and talents,
  
• seeking to understand each person's values, goals, and objectives,
  
• creating opportunities and tools to empower each person, and
  
• providing a framework for mutual follow-up through direct involvement with others.

it has been a wonderful experience and pleasure to be part of the foundations of servant leadership certificate program. i am looking forward to the next class - applying the key practices of servant leadership.

thank you isabel,
greenleaf center for servant leadership,
classmates,
and
life observed & experienced!

made up theatre + level b #improv class equals ...

june 11 show ... with shirlnutkin and 5 others (aka 12 eyes)! as shared in this blog post over here, the following is a repost and reminder of this saturday evening's show. short version -

• WHERE: fremont, at made up theatre - 3392 seldon court
  off of osgood, near fry's (which is in between 680 and 880 on automall parkway) - click the map image.
  
  
• WHEN: 8:00 pm until about 9:00 pm
  
  
• CONTRIBUTION: $5.00 per person (cash, preferred)
  

WANNA RSVP (firm or tentative)? ... please do so by letting us know the number of guests - because we'll want to make sure to put enough chairs out for our guests ... rsvp either of the following ways -

• email to sean (at) madeuptheatre (dot) com (you can see to whom you're emailing over here at the made up theatre cast)
  OR
  
• contact me

EARLY DINNER BEFORE-HAND? ... pho queen and i will be eating early (meeting ~ 5:30 pm) at maneki sushi. if you want to join us, let me know sooner than later, esp. if we change dinner venue. then you can kill an hour with leslie while i hang with 12 eyes before our 8 pm show starts.

(repost from 05/23/2011)


gimme fun ... @madeuptheatre (MUT on web, twitter, facebook, youtube, and yelp) is where i have spent my monday evenings. since the end of january, i have been taking improv classes for nearly 16 weeks - 8 weeks of class A and finishing up class B. (MUT classes over here.)

our instructors ... bobby and ben (over here) have been our instructors, and they are great. it has certainly been quite different from how i spend my day - in a cubeopolis setting of minding one's Ps and Qs, to say the very least. i'll just say that i am glad my colleagues in cubeopolis are curious about what i'm learning in class. it's great to have support!

WAIT?! ... what does that last bullet say? support ...

"perform in a show for family & friends"

SHOWTIME!!! ... YUP - SOON! i'll be in a show with my other improv classmates -

• saturday
• june 11
• 8:00 pm
• fremont
• enjoy an evening out!

hope to see you in a couple of weeks ...
come support us!

f|break: thursday late morn

pop culture leap frog ... thanks to the cubester who has continually demonstrated his prowess with, at, and about pop culture. he recently surpassed his personal best by incorporating pop culture into what will be likely a small chant (voluntary, of course) for some on a cubester team.

enjoy this late morn fiber break with heavyweights (over here)
for ~ 1:22 minutes at camp

watch out for salami sam

hey, don't pee in the water

oh dunt worry ...
i hahb dem on the bahhhdee sisstem

f|break: tues early morn

sid, the naughty bunny (on twitter @cussingbunny, facebook) + geoff peterson (on twitter @geofftherobot, facebook) ... means fun - well, at least i enjoy them. and as part of the robot skeleton army, i'm compelled to share this fiber break.

enjoy a morning fiber break with sid and geoff (over here)
for ~2:34 minutes on the late late show

apparently it was leaning to the left
i had to shunt his podium
soccer balls