So, here goes – A Few Things I’ll Remember About 2011

Hiking the Grand Canyon

At the beginning of Day 2, on a bridge over the Colorado River.

This surely deserves its own post, but it’s a daunting thought, to be honest. In November, I hiked the Grand Canyon with 7 gals from church, carrying a giant pack for 3 days and camping 2 nights in the canyon. It was crazy hard. I cried. I cussed. I bled. I fell over about 20 minutes into the hike and had to be pulled up by a nice Swedish man because I was stuck under the weight of my pack. I ate oatmeal for the first time. I sang The Eyes of Texas when I felt like I wasn’t going to make it. (Loretta’s response:

Done!

“Wow, that is both aggressive and religious.” Welcome to Texas!) The other women literally carried my burden for me when my knees—bad from the fall and just because they are—were giving out at the bottom of the steep climb down and they took gear out of my pack to make the hike easier for me. I made new friends and got closer to the ones I already had. The Grand Canyon really is a magical place and one you have to see in person. You HAVE to see in person. As we reached the top, mentally, emotionally, physically exhausted, I burst into tears like an Olympic marathoner winning the gold. I was overcome by emotion and weakness and disbelief at what we had just accomplished. It’s one of the sweetest and most emotionally charged memories of my life, and I’m utterly grateful to have the experience with me forever. Also, praise Jesus for walking sticks and 500 mg Tylenol.

Living in Philadelphia

Shout-out to Rittenhouse Square! I already wrote about this, so I won’t rehash here. I don’t know if we’ll ever live there again, but we do find ourselves missing our little historic neighborhood, the parks, cafes, tree-lined streets and public transportation. It was a leap of faith that I’m very glad we took.

The Head and the Heart

Maybe my favorite album of the year, this little debut gem from the Seattle band of the same name is meaningful indie pop at its best. It also features a guy-girl lead singer combo, which I always love. Many of the songs are about being young and on the move, separated from friends and family and trying to figure out new roots. Big themes in my life right now. Rivers and Roads, Sounds Like Hallelujah, and Down in the Valley are especially good and are perfect for road trip sing-alongs.

I finally read Harry Potter

My friends were sort of disgusted/ashamed that I wasn’t interested in reading this series. I liked the movies but just didn’t care about the books. Travis even gave me the first one for my birthday one year, to force me to read it, but it didn’t hook me. Then after watching Deathly Hallows Part 1, I wanted to know what happened next, so decided to give in and read the whole thing. I never doubted that they were good, and I’m glad I finally made the plunge. Also, when coming out of the theater in Philly for seeing Deathly Hallows Part 2, we walked by that girl who sings and plays the ukulele on Raising Hope. Celebrity-sighting bonus!

Photo 365

In April of 2010, I decided to start a Photo 365 challenge to force myself to be creative and practice photography. Using my DSLR and iPhone I took a picture pretty much every day, with the exception of a two-month gap in the fall when some life stuff got in the way. I also took an intro digital photography class at Pima Community College in the spring, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I really enjoyed both endeavors, and I definitely feel more comfortable behind the camera now. Some people complain that taking photos takes you out of “the moment” but I’ve found that it helps me pay more attention. I’m still afraid of photographing people though.

Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Beautiful things don’t just happen …

… If you want something marvelous, you’ve got to make something marvelous. You know where I got that quote? From Pinterest. I wonder what percentage of my conversations this fall included, “I saw this thing on Pinterest.” A lot. A lot percent. Pinterest is a sort of online visual bookmarking/inspiration board/search engine/social community website thing that I love. I decided awhile ago that, as much as possible, I want everything in my house to be pretty. Even spatulas and staplers. I love beautiful things. They make me happy. I love seeing people’s creativity and care and heart. Pinterest is fun if you want a few minutes to drool at gorgeous kitchens or cute clothes, but the reason it earned a spot on this pliest is because it actually helped spur me to action. I have 19 things on my “I did this!” board on Pinterest—ideas I found there that I actually used or made in real life. From recipes to crafts to hairstyles. I made wedding and Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving and baby shower decorations and relished the creative opportunities I was creating.

It also got me thinking about some bigger things. About how I want to be more intentional and caring in general—as a wife, friend, daughter, employee, community member. In my relationship with God, my diet, exercise and *cough* housekeeping.

Hey, now that I think about it, that sounds an awful lot like some kind of resolution.

Think our landlord will notice?

In just 21 easy steps:

1. Move into a sublet for the summer so that you confuse your dog and she doesn’t know how to ask outside to go to the bathroom. Also this way you can lose money from your security deposit since the rug doesn’t belong to you.
2. Look away for two seconds so that your dog can pee on the rug.
3. Panic. The last time I tried to clean a jute rug, it just ended up looking worse than the stain itself.
4. Do a spot check with color safe whitening Tide. It won’t appear to have any effect.
5. Google! WikieHowFloorLady says to avoid getting the rug wet at all costs.
6. Run to the other room to remove the damp towel sitting on the stain.
7. Per WikiehHowFloorLady’s suggestions, pour baking soda on the stain to remove the moisture and odor. Let sit.
8. Vacuum up baking soda.
9. Why isn’t the $#%&*! baking soda coming up?? Dear god, it seems to have woven itself into the tiny fibers of the rug and is building a permanent settlement.
10. Since you’re not in your own home, you only have one dish towel, which you already used to blot the pee, so you’ll have to use paper towels now. Scrape the paper towel across the rug to pull up the pioneering baking soda. Be sure to do this hard enough so that the paper towel produces delicate flakes that join the baking soda’s settlement and open a school and general store.
    

    The demon baking soda and paper towel flakes together in their frontier jute settlement.

11. Attempt to scrape up the baking soda with a knife. It will not be intimidated out of its home.
12. Try WikeeHowFloorLady’s last resort – mix white vinegar and water and blot on the stain. For an added Russian roulette level of excitement, try to determine which corner of your dish towel doesn’t have pee on it and use that.
13. Hurrah! The fizzy vinegar is uprooting some of the baking soda settlers, forcing them to the suburbs. Unfortunately it doesn’t do anything for the stain.
14. Use your hair dryer to soak up the moisture of the vinegar mixture. Use high heat so that you can realize in a few minutes that you might actually be setting the stain instead of drying it.
15. Try the Tide again, but this time over the whole stain. Still nothing.
16. Sprinkle baby powder, with a less heavy hand than you used for the baking soda. It’s less hearty, so maybe it will flee after soaking up the moisture.
17. Vacuum up baby powder.
18. Why isn’t the $#%&*! baby powder coming up?? Dear god, it seems to be so lightweight as to be untouchable.
19. Glare at your dog while she gives you sad face.
20. Get dressed. (You were doing all this in your pajamas, right? Because it’s how you started your day?) Realize the Anthropologie cardigan your mom bought you has a hole in it, like many of your other tops recently. Cry just a little. Who is doing this to you?
    

    I may have overreacted.

21. Admit defeat. Go get a fountain drink.

Congratulations! You are a successful, graceful keeper of house.

Image credits:

Firetruck

Skulls

Toddler

Wife

It’s probably a safe bet that all that was swirling around when my coworkers and I took an improv class together last week as part of our staff retreat. I personally was a curious and willing participant with about 2 percent of ohmygoshwhatareweabouttodo mixed in.

Mike from Austin’s Cold Towne Theater kicked off our three-hour session by telling us that improv would change our lives. Um, ok. He didn’t say it an obnoxious way or anything, but that’s a pretty bold claim.

Well folks, I’m here to say that a.) it was a super fantastic experience, b.) I had so much fun, c.) everyone/team/office/group of friends should do it, and d.) it changed, well I won’t say it changed my life (at least not yet), but it absolutely made me think about some things in a new, refreshing way that I’m sure will improve my work and personal life.

Ease Up on Saying “No”

The title of this post, Yes, and… refers to one of the building blocks of improv comedy. It represents the mindset of building a scene together, piece by piece. I create something in the scene (“This is my 300th dog show to compete in.”) and my partner accepts that premise and then adds to it (“Yes, and I never would have guessed that by looking at your dog.”).

It’s a cycle of creation, agreement and growth where each person is contributing, listening and supporting. (Mike said improv actors always tell each other, “I got your back,” before a show. In other words, if you get stuck or throw out a curveball, I’ll work with it. Don’t worry.)

I love this as a mindset for approaching creativity and brainstorming, but I think it’s also a valuable perspective to have on life in general. We learned that a critical part of improv is to roll with what you’ve been given—don’t say “no” to anything. Mike challenged us to look at how often we say “no” to things and question what’s behind that rejection, which we often offer without much thought.

Other surprising applications from improv:

• Listening and eye contact – Mike kicked off the class by playing a bunch of games to warm us up. The premise was always very basic, but you could easily get tripped up if you weren’t really paying attention or if you didn’t make sure your teammates were connecting with you.

One game called Pass the Clap (and no, our team was not above constant giggling at the name) required you to stand in a circle and try to clap simultaneously with the person next to you. Of course the key to accomplishing this was to first make eye contact and sort of signal to the other person that you were about to clap. If you just quickly turned to someone and clapped at them before they were ready, they’d always be a beat behind you.

• Be in the moment – the quickest way to ensure you won’t be funny is to tell yourself that you have to be funny. If you’re too focused on the outcome, you’ll screw up the process that will eventually get you to that outcome. So many applications for this, and it’s important to keep in mind, especially at the start of any new project, creative or not.

• Rethink constraints – there was one game when Mike asked us to pick a celebrity, a place and a job in 10 seconds. It really didn’t matter what three things you chose, but I found myself trying to impose constraints on my choices. Well the first celebrity I thought of is Brad Pitt, but the other team just used Angelina Jolie, so I shouldn’t say that. Really? It literally had no bearing on the game, so why did I care?

It made me think about situations in which I assume certain boundaries or rules that probably don’t exist. When someone in the business school sends me an e-mail telling me about their cool new program, I sometimes assume they want a 2,500 word feature on the home page right away. But that’s a constraint I’m unnecessarily creating.

The inverse of this was also interesting, in that sometimes constraints are a blessing. In the Yes, and … game, we did one round where we just had to create scenes out the air. But in the second round, we were given a foundation—you’ve met via online dating, you’re neighbors, you work at a carnival together. That constraint actually felt liberating, in that it instantly gave us a direction and characters to work with. As a result, that second round produced much more creative exchanges.

I can’t say enough about what a wonderful experience this was. We had so much fun, and we even played one of the games at the start of our staff meeting today. Apparently we are now as hilarious as these guys:

Related link
My boss, David Wenger, blogged about the experience, too. BONUS: He found a very dramatic picture of our instructor Mike!

Jealous? Yeah, so am I. Because that’s what dream-Tracy was doing.

Meanwhile, real-Tracy was back in Austin for two months, working feverishly to get my house on the market, squeezing in as many visits with friends and family as possible, and going to the office every day, sitting in many many planning/strategy/brainstorm/ican’ttakemuchmoreofthis meetings to help launch two major projects early this fall.

All of those are good pursuits. But they are tiring pursuits. And doing it all while living outside my own home for so long just stretched me in a way I’ve never really been stretched before. I never really had any down time. Was always dependent on my mom or Travis or someone else for a ride. Never was bored and alone. And being bored and alone is important to me. I am an ISFJ after all. Being bored and alone refreshes me. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes.

But I think being bored and alone is important to all of us, even you extroverts who can’t sit still. Why? Because that’s often when we get new ideas, get inspired, notice things. It’s why this guy returned his iPad right after he bought it.

When I searched for "rut" on Flickr, a bunch of deer images came up. I learned this is because rut also refers to the mating season for "antlered ungulates" like deer, sheep and bison (above). Fun with words!

So I got in a rut. Was just sort of treading water, focusing on other stuff. I managed to keep up with my Photo 365 blog, but just barely.

I’m disappointed in myself for not keeping up my writing during this time. It might have made me feel better. And I know that writing even when you don’t feel like it can be an important exercise. But I didn’t. And that’s ok, too.  

Image from Flickr user NDomer73.

Don't be this guy. Of course if you're young enough to be an intern, it's entirely possible you don't who this guy is. Sigh.

I’ve now been through the internship hiring process four times and have noticed the same trends keep popping up. Despite all the career training and resources offered, some students still seem totally unprepared for the interview or even the application process. And others completely shine.

So in the interest of saving everyone a little time and heartache, my list of the cardinal rules of internship applications and interviews that, unfortunately, are broken quite often:

Proofread everything. Cover letter, resume, writing samples, e-mails. I had one applicant misspell “business” in the first paragraph of her cover letter. For a writing job. At a business school. It even had the MS Word spell-check red squiggly underline.

Talk about ME. Well not me, but my company, my position I’m hiring for. You need to show off your own skills and personality too, but if your cover letter and interview answers say nothing specific about my internship, it comes off as if you’re just going through the motions.

Provide context. Don’t just drop in random work experience without explaining why it’s relevant to this job. If you’re submitting writing samples, please oh please I beg you, tell me what they’re from! It’s ok if it’s a class assignment–I just need to know what I’m reading.

Do research on yourself. If, during the interview, I realize I know your resume better than you, that’s a bad sign. Bring a hard copy with you for reference if necessary. Spend time beforehand reviewing your work history, class assignments, past challenges and successes, etc. especially as they might relate to this job.

Do research on us! Our internship is a writing position that contributes to our news blog and alumni magazine. Both are easily found on our website, and I expect you to have looked at them.

Check your e-mail. I know that’s so old-fashioned, but you’re not going to get an interview request via text or Facebook, so check your e-mail regularly. If you haven’t responded to me within 2-3 days, I start to doubt your interest.

Read instructions carefully. If you don’t submit the proper application materials or complete the writing test as instructed, that’s pretty much a guaranteed ticket to the “no” pile.

Be interested and show a little effort. The intern we just hired had less experience than other applicants, but she displayed the most passion and enthusiasm for both the job and the organization. Her cover letter demonstrated she did her homework on the organization and paid attention to the job description. She was prompt, engaged and professional in all her communications with us. And of course she had the talent and skills to back everything up.

Finally, hang in there. Keep applying. Keep networking. Keep being amazingly talented and connected to your field. I know it’s tough looking for a job. I did it for a year and a half after graduating! I apologize for companies that never respond to you, even if it’s just to tell you thanks, but no thanks. But hang in there.

Oh, and don’t ask if the internship is going to be a waste of your time and then lecture the hiring manager about being unprofessional.

Also check out Todd Defren’s Open Letter to Millenials for more great tips.

Images from Facebook pages protesting Arizona's SB1070 immigration law.

Arizona’s controversial immigration bill, SB1070 was just signed into law last Friday, but its social media footprint has already been firmly established. 

Search “SB1070″ on Facebook, and you’ll find 37 Pages, 89 Groups and 55 events (each with their own branding, of course) dedicated to the new law, both for and against it. The term has its own Twitter hashtag. There are dozens of YouTube videos showing protests and news clips of politicians and pundits debating the bill. You can even buy a “Do I Look Illegal?” t-shirt on Cafe Press.

I expect to start seeing bumper stickers and front-yard picket signs pop up around Tucson soon, but it has been fascinating to see the speed at which social media protests and rallies are created and spread. I’m curious to see how it translates to offline behavior.

Will the online calls for boycott really hurt the Arizona economy? Will social media advocacy campaigns look for civil rights abuses or have an impact on efforts to overturn the law? Will state politicians or law enforcement agencies respond to social media comments or even start their own outreach online?

Social media protests didn’t save Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show job, but it did help sell out his comedy tour in a matter of hours and certainly played a big part in the court of public opinion. And as much as I love Conan, illegal immigration is a much more important issue, so theoretically the power of a social media movement is far greater here.

UPDATE: It looks like this is spilling over to higher ed, too. Lane Joplin tweeted this morning about the immigration debate landing on Arizona State University’s Facebook Page:

People started posting immigration-related messages on ASU’s wall on Sunday, many of them filled with profanity and name calling. No response yet from the university.

• Passion – if you can’t get excited about your subject, no one else will.
• Details – “…12,000 people jumped to their feet for 16 and one-half minutes of uninterrupted thunderous ovation as flames illuminated her tear-stained face.” Tell it, girl! The way Julia paints a picture, I almost felt like I was in the audience at that fictional Georgia beauty pageant.
• Narrative arc – Julia reels her listener in, steadily builds up, smacks you over the head with a dramatic climax and slams the door on your face with an unforgettable ending. A master storyteller, even when–or perhaps especially when–she’s not pleased with you.
• Plain language – Julia is an intelligent, wealthy business owner, but her vocabulary isn’t clouded with grandiose fluff. She chose her words carefully and uses them to maximum effect. She doesn’t try to sound impressive and powerful, she just is.

RIP, Dixie.

Anyway, I decided I wanted to remember these new experiences and lessons and feelings, but I’m too lazy to write about all of them. Instead I return to my dear friend, that little engine of writing–the list!

So, in no particular order, and to be updated regularly:

Out of the Ordinary Things I’ve Done Since Moving to Tucson

• Completed a 15-mile mountain bike ride on a desert (read: cactus-lined) course with a series of hills called The 7 Bitches
• Went salsa dancing. In a Halloween costume.
• Watched a bellydancer backed by a Middle Eastern band
• Adopted a dog named Maeby
• Played in the snow
• Attended a gallery opening of Andy Warhol photographs, complete with live go-go dancers
• Used my bike for transportation
• Learned about the horrendously unorganized adoption system in Ethiopia (via others – not our own experience!)
• Drove two hours just to go to IKEA
• Ate In-N-Out
• Tried a Sonoran hot dog
• Participated in a Moulin Rouge sing-along not at Alamo Drafthouse
• Saw a javelina
• Had tofu for the first time. And liked it.
• Started a photo blog
• Collected fall leaves
• Basically gave up shopping
• Realized UT’s football stadium is just insanely nice for a college facility
• Felt old
• Worked on a Habitat for Humanity home
• Got a tattoo
• Sold something on Etsy
• Experienced a dust storm
• Drooled over the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen

It’s the Photo 365 Project: My life in pictures. Every day.

And it’s exactly what it sounds like. Every day for the next year, I’ll take at least one photo and post it online. It’s a chance to practice photography, pay more attention to the world around me, force me to think and act creatively and chronicle my life. I know it will be a challenge, but it’s one I find exciting. And if you include my phone, I have 4 different cameras, so I really have no excuse to ever not take a picture. Visit my photo blog to track my progress.

Here’s today’s picture – a shot of my collection of vintage printing blocks. Aren’t they beautiful? I like that taking this photo reminded me of how much I love them.

I must give a plug to the wonderful WordPress theme I’m using for the project: AutoFocus. It’s free, gorgeous, super easy to use and built specifically for photo blogging. I highly recommend it!

Interested in starting your own Photo 365 project? Check out these blogs for great tips on how to make it work: Photojojo | Digital Photography School | Shutter Sisters

I used to think the first line of our national anthem was “Jose can you see,” because we sang it at Astros games and their star player was Jose Cruz.

1. Craig Biggio.
2. Singing. What other sport gets 30,000 people to stretch their legs in the middle of a game and join in chorus to sing about snacks, rooting for your team and never going home? Take me out to the ballgame, indeed.
3. Food. If it was important enough for the song, it’s important enough for my list. Nothing beats a beer and a hot dog on a sunny afternoon at the ballpark.
4. Wooden bats. I’m looking at you, college baseball.
5. Clapping for the fan who catches a foul ball.
6. Passing your money down the row. Passing the beer/hotdog/cotton candy back.
7. At-bat songs. Penetrating glimpse of a player’s psyche or just something he picked off his iPod?
8. Loyalty. Jeff Bagwell was with the Astros for about 57 years. Biggio for roughly 120. They are beyond beloved by the city of Houston. I know this is getting less common, but I feel like baseball has more long-term franchise players than other sports, and it makes a team feel very special for the fans.
9. The witty, snarky old men who hassle the umps and opposing players at UT games. 
10. Minor League shenanigans.
11. Friday night fireworks. This has become a post-game tradition at multiple ballparks, and next to the 4th of July, it’s about as Americana as you can get.
12. First-base chats between players on opposing teams.
13. The thrill of extra innings.
14. Spring Training. My mom and I went to Astros, Braves and Dodgers Spring Training games for spring break my senior year of college, and it was one of my favorite experiences ever.
15. Dozing off for a few innings when you’re watching a game on TV. It’s the perfect white noise.
16. A perfectly executed double play.
    

Photo by Matt McGee