It has only been 5 days. I have missed you, and yet been relieved not to HAVE to post anything (though granted it was my own idea to participate in NaBloPoMo). So much and so little has happened during our time apart!
I've been temporarily laid off my part time gig due to lack of funding. (so has everyone else, I haven't been singled out). Due to "the economy" as they say. It should pick up in January, there's lots of promising promises being made that I believe. So I'm not worried really. Just knowing I should make ends meet in the meantime, but without the same fire under my butt that not believing would ignite.
I also have some leads on some temporary part time work to fill in the gap, but none of that has really started quite yet, so I'm floating in limbo this week, not really getting anything done at all, not even my homework, and I'm very, very far behind in that. ARGH. Been visiting and talking and planning and having meals with people, which is very good, because I'm also alone. So I guess that's not nothing.
The sink totally backed up today, made a mess of making dinner for my brother and his gf. Embarrassing, but they seemed to take it well. I prattled on a lot, a little nervous, wanting them to be happy and comfortable. I managed to ask some questions towards the end, I hope I did alright. So silly, isn't she supposed to be the one nervous to meet me? Maybe she was. They are super cute together in any case, and the food was tasty, so yeah. It was an "extra Thanksgiving" theme, because I personally did not get enough Thanksgiving, because it was a potluck and I didn't bring home any leftovers other than stuffing.
G's friends and family have been chatting with me a lot more lately, wanting updates about him in Dubai. I honestly don't know much more than they do, but I AM impressed at how well my minimal Spanish is holding up so far with them. I was worried I'd totally lose it after focussing on music stuff to the exclusion of Spanish, but so much of it is still there. Thank goodness.
It's been rattling around, several people now have told me that I should write a book (maybe a whitepaper?) about about music social marketing and/or to start a service for musicians to help them with it. The thing I haven't figured out yet, is that a huge part of it is BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. And I can't do that for them, can I?
I mean, I guess big companies have evangelist/mouthpiece/marketing people, and if being a musician is running a small business, no reason they couldn't have someone doing that part for them, but it would be a delicate balance - how transparent would it be? Ghostwriting? Just a representative, openly doing the work/gatekeeping? Depends on the artist? Some like the social networking, some hate the idea of even turning on a computer. I have the patience to coach people through this stuff, but it's only as useful as you use it... You have to actively participate in the community to build a community. I can set up your accounts and show you around, but you oughta be the one maintaining them right?
The tricks are (and this is not necessarily the order of priority):
1. To get them to understand WHAT the tools are - explaining things (what's a widget? Twitter wha'?) from the ground up is tricky, need to find the common denominator things they DO know and build from there.
2. To get them to understand WHY the tools are useful and important (do I really have to do ANOTHER online thing?)
3. To get them over their fear/confusion/frustration with the internet/computers/technology in general (I just want to play my guitar!)
My brother suggests that I do my book with cartoons, people like comic books and they're more likely to pay attention. :-)
Writing a book is NOT ever something I thought I would ever, ever do. Books are what other people do. Books take too long to write. I want to write songs. Right? Hrm.
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Nutloaf (plus a lot of other food) Day!
I don't eat turkey, so calling it turkey day is kind of weird for me. Though I guess a bunch of other people DO eat turkey, so it's still a turkey day or something.
Had a nice big meal with the L family as we quite often do. B & R were back from Scotland and it was super nice to see them. Had a bit of a strange while where I felt like I was just sitting on the edge of the room and G was kind of napping next to me and it was all full of people talking and I wasn't part of any of it. But shortly after that I got up and moved a tray so I could sit next to B & A and then got to talk to them for a bit and felt more like I was part of things.
I made roasted veggies which went over really well. Seems funny to me because they are SO easy, just chop up the veggies and drizzle lots of olive oil, herbs, and some onions and garlic. But people liked 'em lots! I also made vegetarian stuffing that was barely touched since there was tons more, and some cranberry sauce that wasn't even opened since there was LOTS of that. Anyway, I like both those things so I'm sure they'll be eaten soon.
The other thing people liked that I brought were these little coconut cookies, that are also super easy to make - just sweetened flaked coconut, sugar, egg whites and chopped pistachios. I think that may have been the only dessert that was completely eaten! T didn't even get any because she was too full and by the time she wasn't, they were all gone! I made them last night because I wanted to offer something to G's soccer friends who were over and I figured I could bring the rest to Thanksgiving. :) Luckily I happened to have just the right amount of pistachios on hand to make them.
It was strange to see B & R and realize we really haven't been in touch much for the whole year and a 1/2 since we visited them and how much has happened since then! It's been nearly a year since I lost my job at AS and it's still such a big part of my story. Might be time to let it go? It WAS a rather life changing event though, and it's part of the explanation of how I got to where I am now. Interesting though, to really notice, that it was almost a year ago.
Right before Christmas, when we cleaned out the whole office, and it looked so sterile and bare. Granted, I stayed on to train people, but only for 1/2 days and only from home. I still have boxes full of crap that I brought home, sitting in my little home office, taking up space. I threw out a bunch of old notebooks last month as it was infinitely clear that I would no longer need them. Some of the stuff from the office was the little knick-knacks I'd collected over the 3 years working there, little things that brightened my day or helped me get through it. I really was pretty miserable at the end...
The worst part is when you have to sit there, when there's nothing to do. I mean, there's ALWAYS something to do I suppose, but you definitely don't have the freedom to say "ok, I've done enough for today, I'm going home." And then being so tired and drained that I couldn't do any of the things I wanted to. Such a waste.
G is heading to Dubai tomorrow, and Colombia directly after that. He'll be gone for 20 days! eeps! That's pretty long. Hopefully I'll be able to keep myself busy. It'll give me plenty of time to get used to the Prius. So strange not to need to use a key, just press a button and it's on, press a button to park it. Hard to TELL if it's on because it doesn't make any noise starting up!!
Anyhoo, I'm thankful for a year of transformation, growth and figuring out boundaries and desires, many adventures and getting to see lots of friends and make some new ones. Grateful to be building relationships with people in the music world and to recognize that it's a real and valid lifestyle, not something that's shameful or crazy. Thankful for the President Elect and all he seems to be doing already in preparation for taking office. (I read something the other day about how he's going to "green" the White House, loved that! Very thankful for my amazing and supportive G who has stood by and helped me up during all my crazy figuring out of things this year. I don't think it's quite over, but getting closer!
Had a nice big meal with the L family as we quite often do. B & R were back from Scotland and it was super nice to see them. Had a bit of a strange while where I felt like I was just sitting on the edge of the room and G was kind of napping next to me and it was all full of people talking and I wasn't part of any of it. But shortly after that I got up and moved a tray so I could sit next to B & A and then got to talk to them for a bit and felt more like I was part of things.
I made roasted veggies which went over really well. Seems funny to me because they are SO easy, just chop up the veggies and drizzle lots of olive oil, herbs, and some onions and garlic. But people liked 'em lots! I also made vegetarian stuffing that was barely touched since there was tons more, and some cranberry sauce that wasn't even opened since there was LOTS of that. Anyway, I like both those things so I'm sure they'll be eaten soon.
The other thing people liked that I brought were these little coconut cookies, that are also super easy to make - just sweetened flaked coconut, sugar, egg whites and chopped pistachios. I think that may have been the only dessert that was completely eaten! T didn't even get any because she was too full and by the time she wasn't, they were all gone! I made them last night because I wanted to offer something to G's soccer friends who were over and I figured I could bring the rest to Thanksgiving. :) Luckily I happened to have just the right amount of pistachios on hand to make them.
It was strange to see B & R and realize we really haven't been in touch much for the whole year and a 1/2 since we visited them and how much has happened since then! It's been nearly a year since I lost my job at AS and it's still such a big part of my story. Might be time to let it go? It WAS a rather life changing event though, and it's part of the explanation of how I got to where I am now. Interesting though, to really notice, that it was almost a year ago.
Right before Christmas, when we cleaned out the whole office, and it looked so sterile and bare. Granted, I stayed on to train people, but only for 1/2 days and only from home. I still have boxes full of crap that I brought home, sitting in my little home office, taking up space. I threw out a bunch of old notebooks last month as it was infinitely clear that I would no longer need them. Some of the stuff from the office was the little knick-knacks I'd collected over the 3 years working there, little things that brightened my day or helped me get through it. I really was pretty miserable at the end...
The worst part is when you have to sit there, when there's nothing to do. I mean, there's ALWAYS something to do I suppose, but you definitely don't have the freedom to say "ok, I've done enough for today, I'm going home." And then being so tired and drained that I couldn't do any of the things I wanted to. Such a waste.
G is heading to Dubai tomorrow, and Colombia directly after that. He'll be gone for 20 days! eeps! That's pretty long. Hopefully I'll be able to keep myself busy. It'll give me plenty of time to get used to the Prius. So strange not to need to use a key, just press a button and it's on, press a button to park it. Hard to TELL if it's on because it doesn't make any noise starting up!!
Anyhoo, I'm thankful for a year of transformation, growth and figuring out boundaries and desires, many adventures and getting to see lots of friends and make some new ones. Grateful to be building relationships with people in the music world and to recognize that it's a real and valid lifestyle, not something that's shameful or crazy. Thankful for the President Elect and all he seems to be doing already in preparation for taking office. (I read something the other day about how he's going to "green" the White House, loved that! Very thankful for my amazing and supportive G who has stood by and helped me up during all my crazy figuring out of things this year. I don't think it's quite over, but getting closer!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Whoo hoo!!
This is my current Facebook status, I think it pretty much sums things up: "Heather still smells like the swimming pool 12 hours later, is wearing sparkly pants and has a Prius in the driveway!"
Oh, also I had pizza for the third night in a row, SCORE! (we bought two boboli crusts a couple days ago, made the second one tonight.)
We gave my car to some of G's friends. I'm keeping the second key till they pay me. Not that that really means anything, but um, yeah, I'm keeping it. His wife has the money in Barranquilla, and she can give it to Gilberto's mom. But then how it gets to ME is the question. G is going to Colombia after his Dubai trip, so he could get it then (that's like 2 weeks from now). We cleaned all the stuff out but didn't actually clean the car or anything. Kind of weird to just let it go today, it was my first car that was MINE, that I paid for.
I'll get to drive the Prius while G is away. Funtimes. It's like a freakin spaceship or something. The whole turning it on with a button rather than a key takes a little getting used to, as does the whole camera thing for going in reverse.
TOMORROW IS THANKSGIVING!!! Gonna have dinner with old family friends. B is back from Scotland for a visit, so we've been reserved to have Thanksgiving there since forever. Several of my girl friends in the Pacific Northwest are getting together for Thanksgiving too, wish I could be in two places at once, or that there were at least transporters for quick teleportation. After all, with the 2 hour time difference, if I could be across the country in an instant, I could probably pull off 2 Thanksgivings! :D
Oh, also I had pizza for the third night in a row, SCORE! (we bought two boboli crusts a couple days ago, made the second one tonight.)
We gave my car to some of G's friends. I'm keeping the second key till they pay me. Not that that really means anything, but um, yeah, I'm keeping it. His wife has the money in Barranquilla, and she can give it to Gilberto's mom. But then how it gets to ME is the question. G is going to Colombia after his Dubai trip, so he could get it then (that's like 2 weeks from now). We cleaned all the stuff out but didn't actually clean the car or anything. Kind of weird to just let it go today, it was my first car that was MINE, that I paid for.
I'll get to drive the Prius while G is away. Funtimes. It's like a freakin spaceship or something. The whole turning it on with a button rather than a key takes a little getting used to, as does the whole camera thing for going in reverse.
TOMORROW IS THANKSGIVING!!! Gonna have dinner with old family friends. B is back from Scotland for a visit, so we've been reserved to have Thanksgiving there since forever. Several of my girl friends in the Pacific Northwest are getting together for Thanksgiving too, wish I could be in two places at once, or that there were at least transporters for quick teleportation. After all, with the 2 hour time difference, if I could be across the country in an instant, I could probably pull off 2 Thanksgivings! :D
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Yumness!
I've been having a lovely past three days off of work! And I've got today as well, wheeeeeeeee! Let's see, my long weekend...
Our Thanksgiving was nice, we had it at Jeffrey's house. They've been completely re-doing the kitchen and had finally gotten in all their cupboards and appliances and really wanted to have Thanksgiving there. It was sweet.
I made mashed potatos (one pot of garlic, one pot of plain butter & cream), vegetarian gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a pumpkin pie! Busy bee morning! Luckily G helped with the potatos, did most of them really, I wouldn't have been able to do it without him! Oh, and I made the cranberry sauce the night before. It was my first time on making the gravy and stuffing and pumpkin pie as well I think, and everything came out yum! We had lasagna (my family's tradition) and nutloaf as the main course, and there was also salad and bread and a corn casserole, and FIVE pies - pudding (Tommy's traditional contribution), Some sort of apple/berry thing, meatless mince pie, crustless squash pie and my pumpkin one.
My mom and brothers, Jeffrey and his mom and daughter were all there, and my dad and April came afterwards for pie, plus one of mom and Jeffrey's friends came over and hung out for most of the afternoon and evening. We stayed until about 10:30pm, just talking and grazing on the remains of the meal. heh. But there were still left over potatos and plenty of sparkling juice, so I accomplished my mission - there never seems to be enough of those, and this year we had extra. :-)
G and my brothers and I had another, less elaborate meal at my dad's on Friday and played Pictionary.
We went to see the new James Bond movie last night. It was good, a little intense for me in parts, but I'm good a closing my eyes. ;-) Long though! I kept thinking it was over, but no, another twist!
My days have been lazy late mornings, lots of Spanish lessons on my computer (I just got a cool new program online called Rocket Spanish that's really nice), making gift tags for Natural Selections, and helping my mom clear out the kitchen cabinets. Now that Tommy's kitchen is almost finished and the kitchen at Jeffrey's is almost finished she actually has places to put her stuff, so she's taking it out! As well as about 15-20 years worth of rubberbands, plastic bags, coupons and yogurt type containers and random soda bottles that were being saved for various reasons - our recycling bin and trash can are both bursting full. Now we get to figure out where we actually want to put OUR kitchen stuff! (a lot of it has been hiding in a cupboard in the living room)
We should be here in Fairfield between Christmas and New Years. At one point we were thinking of going to visit my Grandma in CA, but I talked with her yesterday and we decided it would be nicer to see her for her birthday in February - less craziness both in the airports and at her place. And if we wait till February my mom might even be able to come!
Our Thanksgiving was nice, we had it at Jeffrey's house. They've been completely re-doing the kitchen and had finally gotten in all their cupboards and appliances and really wanted to have Thanksgiving there. It was sweet.
I made mashed potatos (one pot of garlic, one pot of plain butter & cream), vegetarian gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a pumpkin pie! Busy bee morning! Luckily G helped with the potatos, did most of them really, I wouldn't have been able to do it without him! Oh, and I made the cranberry sauce the night before. It was my first time on making the gravy and stuffing and pumpkin pie as well I think, and everything came out yum! We had lasagna (my family's tradition) and nutloaf as the main course, and there was also salad and bread and a corn casserole, and FIVE pies - pudding (Tommy's traditional contribution), Some sort of apple/berry thing, meatless mince pie, crustless squash pie and my pumpkin one.
My mom and brothers, Jeffrey and his mom and daughter were all there, and my dad and April came afterwards for pie, plus one of mom and Jeffrey's friends came over and hung out for most of the afternoon and evening. We stayed until about 10:30pm, just talking and grazing on the remains of the meal. heh. But there were still left over potatos and plenty of sparkling juice, so I accomplished my mission - there never seems to be enough of those, and this year we had extra. :-)
G and my brothers and I had another, less elaborate meal at my dad's on Friday and played Pictionary.
We went to see the new James Bond movie last night. It was good, a little intense for me in parts, but I'm good a closing my eyes. ;-) Long though! I kept thinking it was over, but no, another twist!
My days have been lazy late mornings, lots of Spanish lessons on my computer (I just got a cool new program online called Rocket Spanish that's really nice), making gift tags for Natural Selections, and helping my mom clear out the kitchen cabinets. Now that Tommy's kitchen is almost finished and the kitchen at Jeffrey's is almost finished she actually has places to put her stuff, so she's taking it out! As well as about 15-20 years worth of rubberbands, plastic bags, coupons and yogurt type containers and random soda bottles that were being saved for various reasons - our recycling bin and trash can are both bursting full. Now we get to figure out where we actually want to put OUR kitchen stuff! (a lot of it has been hiding in a cupboard in the living room)
We should be here in Fairfield between Christmas and New Years. At one point we were thinking of going to visit my Grandma in CA, but I talked with her yesterday and we decided it would be nicer to see her for her birthday in February - less craziness both in the airports and at her place. And if we wait till February my mom might even be able to come!
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