Month: August 2016

A late summer toast to old friends, new books, and… Ragnarök?

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The Tricksters Lover

I’ve been friends with the hilarious, curious, adventurous, and all-around lovable Samantha MacLeod* since I think third grade. We grew up together, playing anthropomorphized tigers on the playground right up until adolescence, getting into some real questionable music in junior high, and eventually self-publishing a book of our high school poetry before parting ways at college-time.

In the years since then, we’ve both seen the world as WWOOFers (she in Italy and me in Belgium), held a few real questionable jobs (she was a barista at the University of Chicago Divinity School coffee shop, Grounds of Being; I threw my body and soul into many “healthy patient clinical trials” in Boston), and have now settled into pretty awesome lives in our respective climes: she’s a Maine-based mom of two with a kickass chemist husband; I’m a good-times Brooklyn girl who gets to work in my pajamas by day and plan my wedding with the world’s handsomest bass-playing vegan bicyclist at night.

I’m so tickled and happy that Samantha and I have stayed friends all these years. (The fact that I can’t find any e-photos of us together should be no comment on the quality of said friendship! I attribute that mostly to digital cameras’ nonexistence for the first 20-ish years of our knowing each other. To make up for this awful dearth, I am happy to present instead this adorable photo of Samantha’s daughter carrying their cat Maxwell Finnegan up the stairs in the summer of 2013.)

Toddler carrying cat

Girl with cat

Now, a new chapter (pun annoyingly intended) has begun in Samantha’s life, and I want to shout it from the rooftops: she’s a serious published author with a juicy new paranormal romance heating up the shelves!! You can find The Trickster’s Lover right here.

Classic Samantha, the book combines a grad student’s wavering commitment to a career in Norse mythology with a scandalous visitation from Loki, “the enigmatic and irresistibly sexy Norse trickster god.” Mayhem (and many steamy love scenes) ensue as protagonist Caroline wrestles with her choices, her sanity, and Ragnarök—the mythical apocalyptic battle that will ultimately submerge the world in water.

On the grounds that she is a fantastic human being and because capping your summer reading list with an unusual and super-hot book like this sounds like good advice, I hereby urge y’all to order a copy today! And check out Samatha’s blog. It’s also really hot, in the way that funny, clever, and endearing things are really hot.

*Not her real name! Who knows when this romance author might want to run for President?

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Voice on the Radio

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Well, “love” might be too strong a word, but I didn’t mind it—and that’s an improvement!

If you’ve never heard me talk, I suppose you wouldn’t know that I have a fairly deep voice. Sometimes people who called our house when I was growing up thought I was my brother; I was the lone mezzo-alto in the school choir (I come by it honestly—my mom’s a tenor!); and I had an easier time singing R.E.M. in my college dorm shower than I did Tori Amos. Etc.

But out of all the things I was teased about as a kid—wearing thrift store clothes, riding to school on the back of a tandem bike, liking to read!—I was oddly spared any comments about my voice. Which was great! But that didn’t mean I myself was super cool with it.

man playing stand up bass

Did I mention I also played stand-up bass as a kid? (Though probably not as well as this guy.) How appropriate!

Still, I’ve always loved hearing other people’s voices: listening to the radio in particular has long been one of my favorite pastimes. I even aspired for a while to become an on-air DJ, a dream that only went so far as a year of interning at WERS while I was at Emerson College, and (maybe this counts?) a stint of reading books out loud for Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (which is apparently now called Learning Ally). But I’ve been a proud public radio member-nerd here in NYC for 10 years, and “become an awesome radio DJ” remains somewhere on my to-do list.

Part of the issue, I think, was that I didn’t super-like the sound of my voice when I heard it on tape. I realize most DJs are probably not required to go back and listen to their own recordings after doing a show, but the idea of too many people hearing my low-low tones was perhaps a bit off-putting. Until now!

Enter Ken Kinard, a creativity coach and chief creative officer at the marketing agency Accent Interactive. Ken and I met last spring, during a team-building program he directed for my client Pilot Projects. A few months ago, he told me he was planning to produce a podcast or two about the freelance lifestyle and asked if he might interview me for material. I thought it sounded like a hoot, and hey, maybe it was a chance to see if I’d outgrown my aural awkwardness?

The result of Ken’s and my interesting afternoon conversation at the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in Manhattan is a two-part ‘cast—also featuring freelancer Meaghan Ritchey of Curator Magazine—that explores the ins and outs of today’s freelance species: what drove us to this marginal existence? how do we manage our time? do we miss having coworkers? Or, the podcast intros themselves put it this way: “As more people are going independent, the way work gets done is changing. We explore how freelancers are living the lives of executives and the impact it has on vacation, family, security, and the community.”

Workwise podcast #10: Nice lance. You free?

Workwise podcast #11: Lancers for the win

Ken’s questions to Meaghan and me are interspersed with reflections from the studio as he and his cohost, Mike Boyes (a leadership development consultant, coach, and president of Credo Consulting), listen to our answers and relate our work experiences to others’. I think (and I’m not biased at all here) that they did a really nice job of asking good questions, representing me (and Meaghan, I would imagine) accurately, and drawing some really interesting insights and further provocations from our conversations.

Plus, I was able to listen to both episodes from stem to stern and not cringe once at the sound of my voice! (Although I notice I did talk pretty fast.) Thanks for whatever magic you wrought there, Ken. Now I’m this much closer to chasing my dream of becoming an awesome radio DJ.

The next time you’re working it in the gym, chopping carrots in the kitchen, or toiling with the toilet brush, perhaps you’ll want to take a listen to these fun shows and let me know what you think? I hope my bass vibrato isn’t too much for your earbuds.

Writing about architecture is like… dancing about music?

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People wearing building costumes

I had no idea until this moment that there is a persistent mystery surrounding the origin of that famous quote (which of course I chopped and screwed above).

But whoever originally said it doesn’t really matter for the purposes of this blog post. What matters is that some words I wrote about architecture recently appeared in the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter‘s newsletter!

The Ways and Whys of Incorporating Social Science Methodologies into Architecture Curricula

What does all that mean? You’ll just have to read it to find out!

Many thanks to my very righteous clients Scott Francisco of Pilot Projects and Melissa Marsh of PLASTARC for hooking me up with this fun gig.

Now, let’s dance!

I got some kind of award!

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It’s called the Liebster Award, and the entirely-too-kind Pooja Gudka at lifesfinewhine nominated me. Thanks a ton, Pooja!

Liebster Award 2016

The certified seal of approval

For the uninitiated (which included me until this happened), here’s a little primer courtesy of Jen There Done That:

What is the Liebster Award?

“Liebster” is a German word meaning beloved or dearest. In the blogging world, the Liebster Award is online recognition given by bloggers to other new bloggers for enjoying or valuing their work. It is meant to highlight and credit favorite new up and coming blogs within our writing community.

Once nominated, a blogger is asked to answer 11 questions provided by the nominating blogger. They are then expected to nominate 11 other favorite new bloggers and come up with a list of 11 new questions for those nominees. This keeps the love going!

If I’m about one thing, it’s keeping the love going, so let’s do this!

Here are Pooja’s 11 questions for me, with my answers:

1. What is your greatest achievement in life?
Buying a studio apartment in New York City as a single 20-something lady. I hope this accomplishment will be usurped by the eventual production of my Magnum Opus.

2. What is your favourite movie?
The Big Lebowski.

3. Who is your biggest role model?
So many! Lately I’ve been super into Elizabeth Streb (whom I had the great good fortune to interview in 2008).

4. Where do you want to travel to most?
For perspective-upending culture shock, I’m intrigued with visiting more of Africa and the Middle East. For soul-breathing hikes and eye-expanding vistas, I’m drawn to the Bavarian Alps and Scandinavian coastlines. Oh, and a friend recently introduced me to these crazy mountains in China that positively beg a visit!

5. Who is your favourite musician and why?
Another stumper! I’ve been super into Beck lately, particularly the track “Beercan.” Also Bowie’s “Fame.” Because they’re so deeply good.

6. If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?
Hmm… Could we try… No more greed? Just for a day or two to start. Take ‘er for a test drive.

7. What is your favourite T.V show?
Since I haven’t watched much TV since the ’90s, I have to say The Simpsons. Though that answer might not be different even if I’d kept watching.

8. Who inspired you to start writing?
I don’t think it was a person as much as the desire to commune with my experience of the world in a (sort of) tangible way.

9. What is your favourite time of day to write?
Those reflective bookend times: morning and night. And any time the itch strikes in between.

10. What is your biggest goal in life?
To feel like I’ve met my potential creatively and altruistically.

11. What is your favourite quote?
I hate to pick just one! But here’s a beaut, I believe from A. S. Byatt: “The writer wrote alone, and the reader read alone, and they were alone together.”

Here is a non-inclusive montage of some of the people and things referenced above:

Elizabeth Streb
The Dude
Bowie Homer
Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park, China

Now, here are my 11 nominees!

Samantha MacLeod
Sarah Van Buren / Mototripping
Mirka Knaster / exploring the heART of it…
LJ Gormley / My Latin Notebook
Jem Arrowsmith Designs
Nicholas Peart / The Slider
Neil Scheinin / Yeah, Another Blogger
Wandering Wives
Masala Vegan
M.Funk : Photography
Amy Deneson

And my 11 questions for them:

  1. What’s the coolest award you’ve ever gotten? (You can say the Liebster Award if you want.)
  2. When did you last ride a public bus?
  3. Have you ever slipped when getting out of the shower and felt older than you actually are?
  4. Which of your childhood friends are you saddest to have lost touch with, and what you do think they’re doing now?
  5. Honestly: Do you really consider it the three-second rule? Have you ever extended it to more seconds? If so, how many?
  6. Why do you think all those houseplants have died under your care?
  7. Please describe the time you sung most humiliatingly in public.
  8. Best popcorn topping. Go.
  9. Would you rather dream of a spider infestation or a snake infestation? Why?
  10. What is your least favorite color? Explain.
  11. Should 7-Eleven have discontinued their Sour Patch Watermelon Slurpee flavor? Why or why not?

Lastly, I am obliged (and happy) to provide the rules of the award in this very post:

What are the rules for the Liebster Award?

Once you accept a nomination, you are expected to complete the following steps:
– Thank and link to the blogger who nominated you
– Create a post on your blog, displaying the Liebster Award logo
– Answer the 11 questions assigned by the blogger who nominated you
– Provide rules/instructions for accepting the award
– Nominate 11 new favorite bloggers for the Liebster Award
– Come up with a list of 11 new questions for your nominees
– Notify the nominees
– Post your Liebster Award blog post link in the comments of your nominator’s Liebster Award Post

That should cover it. Thanks again, y’all! I am proud to be among ye.