My Last 8 Months: Visual Highlights

It has been a good long while. Three months have passed since my last post. And, we've been in the Pacific Northwest for eight months now. How would I describe this time, these moments? Urban exposure, profound darkness, new beginnings, stretch assignments, lush verdure, misty mornings, mountains meet clouds, home is where the heart is, the roads less travelled, learning my maps, public transportation, exploration, priorities, simple pleasures, loss of power, roughing it, green landscapes and . . . rain. Yep, plenty of rain.


While there have certainly been plenty of ups and downs, it has been a worthwhile endeavor and I don't regret it.  And now for some visual highlights:

    First ferry ride as WA residents.  Trip to the San Juan Islands.  An amazingly beautiful place.

                                                                  Plenty of fine libations

Mother Nature at her finest.  Snoqualmie Falls just a few miles from our home in Issaquah, WA.

Celebrating Halloween with Ozy the Vampire Bat.  

Exploring the urban jungle.  Sambar Lounge in Ballard.  So swank.

Work.  Coffee.  nuf said.

Wine tasting in Woodinville.  

Traveling back to North Dakota to visit family.  Spending time playing with my nephew, Elijah

Snow in the Issaquah Alps.  Ice storm caused widespread power outages.  We were without power for nearly 3 days. 

Culinary adventures.  On a quest to find the best weekend brunch spot.  

Spending time with visitors.  Our good friend Jess spent a lovely weekend here.

One of the perks of work travel back to the Midwest: catching up with friends!

Mr. Oz.  My partner in crime (sporting his new sweet specs!)

My puppy.  

The scenery.  Lake Union.

Did I mention cocktails?

Soul Pancake

Web site I enjoy these days:

Soul Pancake

From the Twitter description, Soul Pancake is a place to speak your mind, unload your questions, and figure out what it means to be human.  Divided into three parts, a would-be surfer can 1) ask and discuss various philosophical questions, 2) partake in some activities like snapping a photo of your feet standing still or write about the first time you head mind blowing music or 3) dive into perspectives by some interesting people.  

Refreshing.  Fun.  A great way to take your mind off of the mundane banality of everyday responsibilities and annoying stresses.   I mean we all need a little soul pancake once in awhile, right?  I prefer mine with real maple syrup and not that artificial HFCS crap.  Just saying.

Life in a Day

We measure our days in 24 hour increments.  A day can pass in an instant or drag on for, what feels like, forever.  We wake up, go about our tasks, work, move through the mundane and the exceptional with equal awareness or lack thereof.  In between, there are amusements and distractions.  If lucky, there are also moments of transcendent joy . . . time spent learning, growing, connecting with the world and those around us.  Then we sleep and it starts all over again.  In the grand scheme, a day is a blip.  You blink and time has moved on.  

But what is really in a day?  What if we could take one day, one random day, and document it from the vantage point of hundreds of people around the world?  What would we see?  

This is exactly what you will find in the documentary Life in a Day.  Incredibly rich and engaging, the film reveals the universal moments for all of humanity -- morning ritual of waking up and getting ready for the day, the tasks of acquiring food, going to work, etc.  Then there are births, deaths, accidents and surprises.  Video taken by so many was woven together to tell a story of us and who we are.  The story of a single day on this planet reveals how much we share while also illustrating our interesting differences.  From the very first scenes, I was pulled in.  For those who make a habit of studying society, culture and human behavior, Life in a Day provides enough thought starters to keep you busy for awhile.  Check it out and let me know what you think of it.  

The Past Versus the Future

I didn't attend my 20 year high school class reunion this weekend.  The timing of this event landed, most unfortunately, about six days after we moved to Seattle and 4 days after I started a new job.  With all of the driving, flying, packing, etc. it just ended up to be too much to justify yet another trip and all of the expenses that go along with it.  So, I did not RSVP and I did not go. 

Over the course of the weekend, I found myself thinking about my classmates, hometown and the reunion gathering with both sadness and a little regret.  Memories of fun times mingled with a certain odd and lingering melancholy.  Unable to put my finger on my nagging feelings, I've wrestled with a notion that stretches beyond mere interest in being part of the celebration and catching up with everyone.  Truth be told, many of the people from high school that I would want to keep in touch with, I already do via Facebook.  I don't like that I missed out, but this pain in my heart isn't really about that. 

No.  Mine seems to be much more of an existential angst.  A pull and tug between past and future and I'm living somewhere in the in-between.  My soul feels unsettled by all this new and different.  As humans, I'm convinced we are all moored to the familiar places and people we've grown close to and accustomed to.  Someone recently told me that it is our habits and routines that provide us with our self-identify.  What happens when we no longer have the known frame of reference and we have to carve a new set of rituals and routines?  An identity without an anchor is a tough, tough thing.  Then, it is followed by the pull of a history of who I once was.  The remembrances of past consciousness cuts jaggedly across the quest for a reinvention of sorts.  I'm not who I was.  I'm not yet who I want to be.  I am.  I'm not.  Who am I?

I realize this probably all reads like some crazy Nietzsche-type rambling.  I get it.  I also realize this too shall pass.  It is momentary and fleeting.  In two weeks, two months, two years, my ego will once again be intact, my soul once more anchored and my identity fully formed with fully ingrained habits and routines.  Ahh, relief.  To feel comfortable and whole.  But, with this wholeness comes the dull and itchy sense that discomfort leads to growth and self-discovery. Ok, and now I could pull in a whole Harry Potter reference of soul's in separation and cursed objects and well . . . I'll just end it there. 

Maybe this is the way it always goes.  The past remains in constant and continual battle with the future.  Both of them pull at you but is it possible to exist comfortably in both states at the same time?  

Enough Nietzschean angst for the night.  I need to go watch Entourage. 

My Bestest beyond all the Restest.

This is ghost/visiting writing Dee coming at you from the interwebs.....I know, I haven't written in a long, long while.

Ok, so this blog is supposed to be about "MY BESTS" and the truth is, I haven't even written about one of my BESTESTS BESTS!

My sister and I, like most siblings, have had our ups and downs. We have fought, made up, fought again, had differences of opinion, and had so many belly laughs along the way that it would be impossible to count them all...even if you had an abacus. It is hard to be a sister. I have surmised that it is probably the most complicated relationship in my life. We can be hard on eachother at times...but....there is so much love there. I don't think there is anyone in my family who has supported me more throughout my life than my sister has. She is the only one who has been with me through it all.

I was very sad to see her leave Minnesota. I don't think I told her that, but I should have. I should have sat her down and said that I didn't appreciate her enough when she was in close proximity to me. I should have told her that I wanted more laughs that make us pull over to the side of the road because we can't drive through the tears. I should have told her that the little things about her, like her nods of understanding during a long talk over a cup of coffee, mean the most to me. I guess I just always thought that she would be here ready to hang out whenever we could find a chance. Now that I have to hop a flight to see her and she is farther away from me....well, I get all welled up just thinking about what I haven't said to her.

Even though I will miss her, I am SO EXCITED for her next great adventure. She is doing what I want to do. She is doing what most people want to do in this life. She is throwing out her net into uncharted seas so she can discover what is there. She is taking a plunge (and she isn't even plugging her nose!) into the deep, looking for more. It is wonderful. It is brave. I am so very proud of her. I want her to find meaning and joy and adventure in this new life. I want everything for her that you can want for someone that you love so very much.

I want everything for her. EV-VER-EEEE-THING.

I am booking my ticket, Sweet Friend, for a long talk and a cup of coffee. I can't wait to see you again!

Road Trippin

Mr. Oz, lil doggy Ozy and I are road tripping to our new home this week.  We are taking a big step and moving to Seattle, WA.  Good-bye harsh Minnesota winters and hello drizzly and cloudy temperate climes.  The whole moving thing has been one interesting ride thus far and I'm sure it will only get more interesting as the days and weeks ahead.  But, as some of you can attest to given your personal proximity to me over the course of this past year . . . it was time for a change.  Life's far too short to live in "we should's" and "what if's."  Best to drink up life like water shooting out of a garden hose on full blast.  There have been several events in the recent months that have caused me to pause, take stock of my own happiness and reflect more deeply on who it is I am and who it is I want to be.  All of this soul searching has led me to a new path of exploration, personal growth and a strong desire to break out of my comfort zone.  While it will likely be challenging, I think it will also be liberating.  I think this quote/story from Wayne Dyer does a nice job of summing up some of my thoughts on the topic:

The Bushman in the Kalahari Desert talk about two "hungers."
There is the Great Hunger and there is the Little Hunger.
The Little Hunger wants food for the belly; but the Great Hunger,
the greatest hunger of all, is the hunger for meaning...
There's ultimately only one thing that makes human beings deeply and profoundly bitter,
and that is to have thrust upon them a life without meaning...
There is nothing wrong in searching for happiness...
But of far more comfort to the soul...is something greater than happiness
or unhappiness, and that is meaning. Because meaning transfigures all...
Once what you are doing has for you meaning, it is irrelevant whether you're happy
or unhappy. You are content—you are not alone in your Spirit—you belong.

— Sir Laurens van der Post from Hasten Slowly, a film by Mickey Lemle

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Wayne-Dyer-on-Ambition-with-Meaning#ixzz1TH9qSgJL

So, with that . . . off we go!  

The last few weeks have been crazy.  I left my job of 5+ years with a really awesome company and wonderful colleagues and friends.  I accepted a new job with another cool company working on a fun brand in a category that I absolutely love.  Mr. Oz and I got our home ready to put on the market, we took a house hunting trip and are in the midst of packing up for our journey to the Pacific Northwest.  Whew.  

As this blog is all about documenting My Bests, I guess I feel compelled to say that Minneapolis is certainly a big ole Best for me.  It is just a wonderful city filled with a relaxed and progressive vibe, great art, tasty food, beautiful scenery, hard-working and down to earth people and, well, I just love it.  It's tough to leave, but am hopeful that I will find another BEST in Seattle and can then lay claim to living in not one, but two, amazing cities.  Oh how I will miss this place.  Of course, I will continue my blogging adventures from my new locale and will include my new-found favorites and, if need be, my not so favorites.  

One really neat aspect of taking a long road trip is compiling the tunes and various audio books we plan to listen to on the 22 hour ride out.  Mr. Oz and I have sifted through many options for the perfect road trippin entertainment.  Here is what we have so far:

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan -- some fantasy yummy with mystical creatures thrown in for good measure

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell  -- Oh Sarah, you zany historian you.  

Unconditional Confidence: Instructions for Meeting Any Experience with Trust and Courage by Pema Chodron -- Pema is a Buddhist teacher who specializes in expanding consciousness through meditation and positive thought.  Seems perfect. 

Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson -- this is a sci-fi book that has been on my must read list for some time now but haven't gotten to it. 

I think we have plenty if you throw in a few podcasts here and there, but am open to other suggestions you might have.  Any others I should consider? 

Linchpin

I've been reading the book Linchpin by Seth Godin and find myself highlighting a lot of the passages.  So many pearls of wisdom . . . Seth writes a lot about the importance of being remarkable.  Work, he proclaims, should be the employee's "art."  It is about moving beyond mediocrity and investing more emotion.  It is about going well beyond just showing up and, instead, making waves.  Very inspiring stuff.  Here are just a few of the passages I've made not of so far:

"The cause of the suffering is the desire of organizations to turn employees into replaceable cogs in a vast machine.  The easier people are to replace, the less they need to be paid.  And so far, workers have been complicit in this commoditization.  This is your opportunity.  The indispensable employee brings humanity and connection and art to her organization.  She is the key player, the one who's difficult to live without, the person you can build something around."

"Consumers are not loyal to cheap commodities.  They crave the unique, the remarkable, and the human.  Sure, you can always succeed for a while with the cheapest, but you earn your place in the market with humanity and leadership.  It's certainly possible for a shopper to buy food more cheaply than they sell it at Trader Joe's.  But Trader's keeps growing, because the combination of engaged employees, cutting edge products and fun brings people back.  Even people trying to save a buck.  The cheap strategy doesn't scale very well, so the only way to succeed is to add value by amplifying the network and giving workers a platform, not by forcing them to pretend to be machines.  The fickle nature of price-shopping consumers is bad news for many companies, the companies that tried to be the cheap at all costs, because now they must figure out how to make a profit from expensive, unique disobedient employees.  Those are the only two choices.  Win by being more ordinary, more standard and cheaper.  Or win by being faster, more remarkable and more human."

I like the idea of our own humanity pushing us to deeper connection not only with those around us, but also with our own sense of purpose in our professional lives.  Thank you Seth.