As you can see, Alex and I are on our way to San Francisco - but right now, we're delayed in Phoenix. Boo. But then I discovered that I might actually be able to blog on my iPad - yay! So this is a test. Let's hope it works.
(And for those of you in San Francisco, don't forget that Al and I will be at the Alex and Ani store on Union Street tonight at 6 - we'd love to meet you!)
The image above represents the last of the tomatoes from my garden. Despite the fact that this summer hasn't been too brutal (I just jinxed it, didn't I ...), I suspect that the plants just had enough of the mid-90s Houston weather, and even though they were watered every day, they withered anyway. It was time. They've been pulled, the soil has been turned, and now the bed stands empty. I don't know if I'm going to research something to plant in it immediately, or if I'm just going to let the bed lie empty until September or so -- the humidity is getting pretty tough out there, not to mention the carnivorous mosquitos. (Dear God, is it me, or are the mosquitos Chernobyl-style this year? They are voracious, man.) I'm thinking the fact that my garden is smaller for now during the worst of the Houston summer might be a good thing.
Or I might start a pumpkin patch. You never know.
In other news, Wednesday morning Alex and I will wake up earlier than is reasonable to fly to San Francisco. We're both really excited: I get to see my sister and her family, and all of my good friends from the ONE Campaign, and Alex gets to attend her first business meeting. I've been talking with her about ONE's latest initiative focusing on girls and women, and why an initiative like this is necessary, and my girl is fired up. She has a new outfit and business cards and everything, and is really looking forward to meeting the folks at ONE.
(And we're both looking forward to meeting you, as well -- if you happen to be in the Bay Area, please join us at this event on Wednesday: there promises to be good company for a good cause, and Alex and I would love to see you.)
So, because of this travel and excitement, I'm going to take the rest of the week off, and will return next Monday. That said, as always, you can follow along with what Alex and I are up to by following me on Instagram and/or on Facebook -- and given my new little toy, I'm sure there will be tons of updating that happens on both. Also, in my absence, I invite you to check out what my sweet friend Andrea Scher is doing over on her blog -- leaving little voice memos in lieu of traditional blog posts. I love this idea. I've done these before when I've traveled, but perhaps I should do the same more often here on Chookooloonks as well. What do you think?
On that note, have an amazing week, friends. See you soon.
Song: Sittin' on the dock of the bay, as performed by Sara Bareilles
Preservons la creation. 1/1000 sec; f/1.8; ISO 125
Before I begin, let me just say something about getting really comfortable with using an SLR camera: you inevitably become very skeptical about point-and-shoots. Once you're used to adjusting things like apertures and shutters speeds, cameras that don't allow you to manage these aspects of your camera start to be really frustrating. Of course, Instagram and other photo app filters help; nonetheless, the fact is that when you allow a camera to do all of the adjusting automatically for you, it limits how creative you can be when you're composing a shot.
It's for this reason that for many years I haven't had a point-and-shoot camera (and honestly, the reason that I came late to Instagram) -- I've always found the inability to adjust all camera settings in a point-and-shoot incredibly frustrating. A few years ago, I was given one to review, one that purported to let you adjust all the sorts of things that you would adjust on an SLR camera. While the image quality was fine, I found it really unwieldy: using it manually required opening up menus, changing things, exiting menus and then opening up different menus ... and by the time I had everything set, the lighting had changed on me, or I looked up to find my subject had lost interest and walked away.
You think I'm kidding.
Anyway, the point is that for the most part, I've been using my dSLR to shoot everything. Admittedly, about 10 months ago I did go ahead and open up an Instagram account to use with my iPad Mini (and have been having fun looking for the light, as you know), but even so, while my little iPad Mini camera shoots well enough for what it is, I've found the disparity between the quality of images between the iPad and my Nikon frustrating. So as I mentioned last week, I told Marcus that I wanted a new point-and-shoot. My only requirements were:
1. I wanted the image quality to be strong, so that I could occasionally leave my hefty dSLR at home if I were going on a quick personal trip (or simply have the point-and-shoot constantly in my bag, so that if I stumble across a great shot during my day, I wouldn't lament the fact that I didn't have my big Nikon on me); and
2. I wanted the camera make it easy for me to post images to the internet on the fly -- but I preferred that it not be a Samsung (to date, the only camera I know of that actually allows you to install the Instagram app on it), mostly because Marcus already has the Samsung Galaxy camera.
So Marcus, the ultimate Gadget Guy, went off to do some research, and returned with his favourite: enter the Sony CyberShot RX100 III.
People.
First of all, let me just start by saying that if you're someone who doesn't care a whit about apertures and ISOs and shutter speeds, and you just want a point-and-shoot that automatically takes great shots without having to adjust anything, this little Sony definitely is able to do that beautifully. To wit:
1/160 sec; f/2.8; ISO 1250
1/500 sec; f/2.8; ISO 6400
Even better, it allows you to wirelessly connect to your smart phone or tablet so you can transfer your photographs there, and process and upload your photographs to Instagram or Facebook or Flickr or your photo sharing site of choice -- except now, the technical quality of your images will greatly exceed whatever you've been taking on your phone or tablet.
Shot with the Sony, processed on the iPad, uploaded to Instagram.
(Admission: while getting the photos to my iPad mini is dead simple once it's all set up, the extra step of having to do that before going to Instagram is a tad cumbersome. But I'm nitpicking here, and the fact that it's even able to transfer the shots wirelessly to the iPad is more than a lot of point-and-shoots do. Besides, when I'm on assignment, like traveling internationally for a commissioned gig, it will be handy to have the Sony to update Instagram on the road to keep you apprised of what I've been up to while I'm gone, and not have to worry about downloading and processing any shots from my Nikon until I get back in front of my big desktop screen.)
So yes, great, easy point-and-shoot.
But here's the best part.
I read an article somewhere (I'm afraid I forgot where, or I'd link to it), that this camera is "the point-and-shoot for experienced photographers." And I think that description is spot on. The lens (from Zeiss, no less!) has a dial on it that lets you easily adjust aperture, and there's a dial on the back of the camera that allows you to adjust shutter speed on the fly. This means you can shoot manually, without having to make your subject wait for eons for you to capture the image -- with a point-and-shoot, no less! It has a sexy viewfinder, so if you don't want to compose your shot using the screen on the back, you don't have to. There's barely any shutter lag -- you click and it shoots, just like a dSLR, without any perceptible delay. And this is awesome: open to its widest angle (24mm), the aperture goes to f/1.8; at its maximum telephoto (70mm) it goes to f/2.8. Which means that this point-and-shoot has a lens that has enough range to capture both decent scenery shots and decent portraits, and you can finally get some of those narrow depth-of-field shots that are so difficult with most point-and-shoots.
1/2000 sec; f/1.8, ISO 250
And ... get this ... the ISO starts at 125 and goes as high as 12,800. What? I don't know that I would recommend pushing the camera to that sort of ISO (and it does have an attached flash, if you need it), but the shot below of Rufus was taken in extremely low light: at about midnight, without a flash and with only my very dim lamp on the bedside table next to me, while he was lying at the foot of the bed.
1/25 sec; f/2.8; ISO 6400
Now, clearly, this is not the sharpest of photographs, but instead of grain or noise, notice that the image almost looks like a painting -- the camera did that, it's not a filter that I added. (Note also that the photograph of the wet leaf, 3 images above, was also shot at ISO 6400, and while there was clearly more light there, there's no noise in the image whatsoever.) Wild, right?
So yes, I can tell you that I'm loving playing with this camera -- to the point that I may not be carrying my dSLR with me as often as I used to. There are still things about my Nikon that completely outperform this little camera (as it should), and the Nikon will remain my camera of choice when shooting a commission, but I can tell you that this camera is going to live in my day bag, and will likely take many of the photographs you see on Chookooloonks going forward.
And in 10 years of sharing SLR photographs here on this site, I can't believe I'm saying that about a tiny little point-and-shoot.
So anyway, here are a few more shots that I took with the Sony on Saturday: Marcus, Alex and I walked around 19th Street in the Heights, checking out the small boutiques, the vintage stores, an art gallery or two before finally having a great lunch at the Heights General Store Restaurant.
1/2000 sec; f/4.0; ISO 200
1/100 sec; f/1.8; ISO 1250
1/100 sec; f/1.8; ISO 320
1/100 sec; f/1.8; ISO 4000
1/800 sec; f/1.8; ISO 125
1/500 sec; f/2.8; ISO 125
And finally, a little bonus bit of fun that this camera offers: you know how it can be sort of hard to take a selfie with a point-and-shoot, because you can't see what the image looks like? Well, the screen on this bad boy flips out and forward 180° so you can see what you're shooting when you take a selfie -- and even counts down 3 seconds, so you can get your smiles right before the shutter squeezes.
1/400 sec; f/1.8; ISO 2000
I always let you know when I'm doing a sponsored post, and as you can see here, I didn't mention anything. That's because this isn't sponsored -- Marcus bought this camera for me for my birthday, and I was blown away enough by it that I wanted to tell you guys about it. I love it that much.
Song: I turn my camera on by Spoon
This was an awesome week. Here's why:
• Good Lord, man, you guys are amazing. Thank you so much for all the birthday love -- the tweets, the Facebook messages, and the comments were absolutely overwhelming. I've been feeling well-loved this week. Thank you. Thank you.
• Speaking of birthdays, Marcus had been hounding me to tell him what I wanted for my birthday for weeks, and finally, two days before the actual day, I asked for a point-and-shoot. The thing is, for quick overnight trips (I have a few coming up), lugging my Nikon can be a bit wearying, but I've been a little frustrated with the way my iPad takes photographs. "I don't need anything fancy," I said. "The only thing I'd really like is a way to get my point-and-shoot photos onto Instagram easily."
Well, Marcus loves a high-tech toy, and so "nothing fancy" is not something that computes for him. And in this case, I'm glad he went full gadget guy on me: for my birthday, he bought me the Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 MIII, and dear heavens, what a beautiful little camera. I'm planning on doing a long review of this baby next week, but suffice to say two things: (1) the image above was taken with it, and can you believe the detail? and (2) this thing is a game-changer. I'm seriously blown away.
More on this very soon, friends. Game. Changer.
• I am generally skeptical about these drones that are popping up everywhere, but after seeing these photographs, I kinda want one.
• And check out these photographs of motherhood from 50 years ago. Not much has changed, man.
• There's a reason they say the eyes are the windows to the soul.
• I so love funny and clever graffiti.
• I love this map that details what different countries lead the world in. For example, Marcus is from the country that leads the world in fascist movements. But nowadays, we live in the country that leads in Nobel Laureates and lawnmower deaths, so there's that. (More detail about where the data came from here.)
• I didn't watch any of the World Cup (I know, I know), but thanks to this really awesome flip book, I sort of wish I did.
• My sweet friend Christine Koh invited me to do a marathon. When I told her that she might have gotten the wrong person, she assured me it was something I could handle, especially since I have 27 days to do it, and it's for a good cause. Since doing a mile a day is doable even for me (because, I'll be honest, there's a cupcake store about a mile away from me -- so I have a destination, baby), I'm proud be serving as a lead blogger for the Miracle Marathon to benefit Texas Children's Hospital right here in Houston. Want to join me? Join Team Chookooloonks and register to support Texas Children's -- or you can even register to support another Children's Miracle Network Hospital. The best part is you do it on your own time, in your own neighbourhood (to your own cupcake house, if that's your style). And if you do register, you can use the special code of MiracleKarenW to get 10% off of your registration fee. Let's do this.
• Don't forget, Alex and I are flying to San Francisco next week for a party. And we'd love for you to join us, if you're in town!
• And finally, in honour of our upcoming trip, my favourite San Francisco-based band, Pomplamoose, performing a mashup of Lorde, 2Pac and Beck (what?!). Click here or the image below to watch.
Have a fantastic weekend, friends. See you next week.
I'm forty-seven today. And I'm really, really excited about it.
I realize that this isn't what I'm supposed to say. I'm supposed to lament getting older. I'm supposed to crack wise about things like wrinkles and hot-flashes and the relentless pull of gravity. I'm supposed to be wistful about faded youth. Or something.
And full disclosure: offline, I do occasionally say and do those things -- except for the "wistful about faded youth" thing. I'm never wistful about "faded youth." Because here's the God's honest truth: I would no more like to be in my 30s or my 20s again than I would my teens or toddler years. And it's not because they were terrible or painful in any way -- I mean, obviously, I've had my challenges, but overall, so far my life has been really, really good. I don't want to be those younger years again because I've been there, done that. I've outgrown those years and experiences. And besides, there's so much awesome I'm grateful for going on in my life now, and I can only imagine what good there is to come. Why would I possibly want to wish any of that away, or delay it in any way?
Therefore, I'm celebrating today. I'm taking the day off, because why not? I'll spend the day hanging out with my Alex (mother-daughter manicures!), and I'm going out to dinner with my whole family tonight, including my parents and an aunt who's in town. I may even get myself a birthday cupcake, gravity-be-damned.
So happy birthday to me! And because it's my birthday, I get a birthday wish: my wish is that all of you are having a wonderful day as well -- and that you do something nice for yourself today. Have some chocolate, go out with friends, curl up with a good book. Whatever floats your boat -- do something awesome for yourself. You deserve it.
And now, for the most important part, the birthday gift! I'm feeling the need to give something away today, to celebrate properly. I went to Twitter and Facebook recently, to ask what people would want for their birthdays, and the most popular responses included things like "emerald earrings" and "exotic beach vacations" and "lots of alcohol."
(Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of cash to give those kinds of things away, or I totally would. Except for the booze. Bottles of booze are difficult to ship, especially internationally, for a variety of reasons.)
The second most common responses were related to "something handmade" and "connecting with friends." So, give this, let's do the following: leave me a comment below (as inspiration, you can tell me what good thing you're going to make happen for yourself today), and I'll pick a commenter at random to win the following birthday gifts:
• A George Frost unisex Morse Code "Love" Bracelet -- representing friendship and community (I actually bought one of these for myself for my birthday, and haven't taken it off);
• A selection of postcards made from Chookooloonks images, so you can connect with friends old-school; and
• A signed copy of The Beauty of Different, inscribed to whomever you'd like.
Keep them all for yourself, or share them among your friends -- whatever your pleasure.
So again, leave a comment below, sharing what good is happening for you today. I'll pick someone at random and announce the winner by updating this post on Friday.
Have an amazing day, friends.
UPDATE, July 18th, 2014: Oh man, you guys are amazing. Thank you so much for your birthday wishes! I had a wonderful day.
And now, for the birthday gift: according to Random.org, the winner of the book, the bracelet and the cards is Elan, who said, "Today was great. Aidan and I ate sandwiches in the car Ford gave us to drive for the last few days, and it was one of those moments where you're grinning at each other and life feels like play. I get to have that!" Congrats, Elan! Look for an email from me to get your snail-mail deets.
And thanks for sharing your great days, friends. It definitely helped make my birthday!
April 9th, 2014
I take thousands of photographs, and generally share my very favourites with you every day. But I rarely delete any of the photos I take from my hard drive, and there are always the images that for one reason or another, I didn't share with you the first time around. The reasons why vary: the image didn't move me at the time, or I figured the story it captured was too mundane, or I discarded it in favour of another photograph I took at the same time that I thought was technically better.
So every once in a while, I like to go back and see if I can breathe any life in them. These, therefore, are the outtakes from the past couple of months.
April 14th, 2014
May 6th, 2014
May 24th, 2014
May 27th, 2014
June 11th, 2014
June 30th, 2014
July 6th, 2014
July 8th, 2014
Strange how, shared as a group like this, they feel like an even more accurate story of what life tends to look like around here, despite the fact that I update this site with my thoughts and images every day. Or, at the very least, they feel like a slightly different story -- maybe cause I'm choosing them through the lens of memory, rather than current experience?
Hmm.
Song: Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. This was playing yesterday as I was processing these photos -- it seemed apt.
About a week ago, I learned of a relatively new exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston -- Penetrable, by the late artist Jesús Rafael Soto. The exhibit consists of 24,000 slender PVC tubes suspended from the ceiling, each one painted so that it looks like a bright yellow orb is floating in the air. The exhibit is intended to be a "fully immersive art experience," and visitors are invited to walk through the exhibit, take photographs, and share their experiences as much as possible.
Well, alrighty then.
When I saw photographs showing up on Instagram taken by friends of mine who had walked through the exhibit, I knew I wanted to visit myself, to see what sorts of photographs I could make of my own. So I convinced Marcus and Alex that we needed to go this weekend. Happily, I have a husband and daughter who are open to this sort of thing, and so off we went.
While I knew I'd have fun photographing the space, I didn't realize how intensely I would enjoy the exhibit itself. Walking through it is almost like walking through fog: when you step inside, your visibility is cut to just a few feet in front of you, and if you're standing right in the middle of the installation, it's not easy to tell where it begins and ends. To find your way out, you just trust that putting one foot in front of the other will get you there; as you do, other visitors slowly emerge into view and then vanish again. The effect is sort of mysterious, and surreal and ethereal.
You know how sometimes you're struggling with something, and then out of the blue, something completely unrelated happens to you, and everything sort of becomes clear? Well, that's what happened to me this weekend: I suddenly realized that the fear that has been keeping me from fully immersing myself in a big project I've been planning is sort of like being in the middle of the Penetrable -- that it might feel a bit overwhelming and "foggy," but all I have to do is put one foot in front of the other, and I'll navigate my way through it.
(My father calls this a Spirit Tap -- when you're struggling way too much with something, and God or Allah or Jehovah or the Universe smacks you upside the head with the obvious. I ain't gonna lie, it stings a bit.)
Anyway, if you happen to be anywhere in the Houston area between now and September 1st, I'd strongly recommend heading over to the MFA. It's a really amazing experience.
(And if you're not going to be in Houston, click here or on the image below to get a bit of an idea of what it was like to walk from one side of the exhibit to the other.)
This was a good week. Here's why:
• Marcus had some complications from his surgery two weeks ago, but this week the doctor confirmed that with the medication he's been taking, he's headed in the right direction. Also, despite these complications, he's feeling absolutely great (other than being cranky that he can't work out for a few more weeks), and his leg is healing beautifully. Big relief all round.
• This might me my favourite quote about starting a journaling practice I've ever read.
• I haven't taken my bike out in a while -- and I hate riding in the summer -- but come fall, when I'm wearing my skirts, this little hack is going to come in handy to make sure I remain a lady when I run to the store.
• Although, full disclosure, I can't really complain about the Houston summer yet -- it's been hot, but not as hot as it could be. I mean, it's not like we're seeing coyotes in bird baths around here, or anything.
• A few weeks ago I shared my friend Pam's pictures of people taking pictures of people at the Grand Canyon. Here's why she was actually there: her beautiful piece about taking your time when you visit this awesome place. (I've never been. I want to go even more, now.)
• I need more sparklers in my life.
• I'm convinced this photographer has the most badass job on the planet. (Not that I would want his job, you understand. Because of, you know, the incontinence that would most assuredly ensue.)
• The ONE Campaign has just launched its new initiative: ONE Girls & Women, focusing on how poverty affects girls & women disproportionately around the world, and what we can do to help. As ever, I'm thrilled to be a part of its advisory board. The ONE Campaign is amazing. Click here to see how you can get involved (remember ONE never asks for your money, just your voice).
And here's something else fun: the retailer Alex & Ani recently released a new bracelet to celebrate the launch of the ONE Girls & Women initiative, and to that end, they're throwing a party! So if you're in or around the San Francisco area on Wednesday July 23, come to an event at the the Alex & Ani store on Union Street to see their collection -- and meet my Alex and me! We're flying out special, and we'd love to meet and see you. And of course, there's no obligation to buy, but know that if you do, 15% of all sales will go to support the advocacy efforts of ONE.
You can find out more and RSVP here, if you'd like, or by clicking the image below (you can also RSVP by emailing my friend Jeannine at jeannine.harvey@one.org). And feel free to bring a friend. Hope we'll see you there.
• For the song of the day, the song Come With Me Now by Kongos. Suggested by my dear friend Kyran Pittman. Click here to listen.
• And finally, a friend once told me that she can never look at a sunflower without smiling. In that vein, here's a beauty for your smiling pleasure.
Have a great weekend, friends.
About a week ago, I created a short survey to get a little feedback on how Chookooloonks is going. It's been almost exactly a year since I did my latest, most radical redesign; also, it had been almost 3 years since my last survey, so I was long overdo.
God bless you, you guys came through for me -- and I can't tell you how grateful you are that you've shared your thoughts with me. As of this writing, I've got just under 280 individual responses, and as promised, I wanted to share the results with you, and how I'm processing them. I'll continue to keep the survey open, so if you'd still like to add your $0.02, I'm thrilled to have your feedback. I used Survey Monkey to conduct the survey, and the following are the results in graphical form that I exported from their site.
To those of you who are brand new, welcome, friends! I'm thrilled you're here: I think you'll find that there's a very kind, positive community at Chookooloonks. I was actually really surprised that more than half of you have been coming here between 1 to 5 years -- and I'm very flattered that you've hung around. Please keep me honest, and let me know what works for you, okay?
And for those of you who have been visiting me over 5 years -- thank you, old friends. You guys have seen so many changes in my life and my family's life, and that you've stuck with me is incredibly gratifying. I was particularly moved by the person who left this comment:
"I came on board way back when it was a story of Alex's adoption -- my son is about the same age ..."
That was about 10 years ago -- and I'm so touched that you've been with me for the ride. Thank you.
Back when I first started blogging, the only way to see what someone was sharing on their site was to bookmark it -- but nowadays, there are so many forms of social media out there to share information, it can be pretty overwhelming to know which platform works best. This question gave me a ton of insight into this, so I'm really grateful for these responses. I was also heartened that of the 64 folks who also left a comment on this question, an overwhelming majority of you (about 80%) visit by coming directly to Chookooloonks.com -- I work really hard to try to make Chookooloonks as aesthetically pleasing as possible, so I feel like it pays off. Thanks so much.
(Incidentally, if you'd like to be notified of new posts on Facebook, you can "like" my page here, or you can follow me on Twitter, or click here to have new post directly sent to your email inbox.)
(Under the "other (please specify)" heading, most responded "whenever you post.")
This is another really interesting result to me: for the most part, I post 5 days a week, with each post scheduled to go live at midnight central US time. But recently, there have been times when I want to skip a day -- or even post twice in one day. Knowing that almost 70% of people don't visit daily gives me some leeway to play with timing.
I don't know that I'm going to change my posting schedule, but this has given me food for thought. Thanks for that.
Really loved your responses here -- I love that you enjoy the photos, and that you stop by for a pick-me-up -- but the answers under "Other (please elaborate)" were what got me. Overwhelmingly, you said that you visit Chookooloonks because you find positivity here -- which is just the best thing ever. (In fact, one incredibly kind person said, "I think of your blog as yoga for my senses" -- that might be the most lovely thing anyone has ever said about Chookooloonks, and it's my new personal goal to ensure it continues to feel this way!) In social media, it would be very easy to start believing that positivity isn't popular anymore -- thanks so much for proving to me that it's still very much desired.
Not planning on changing my outlook here on Chookooloonks, not one little bit.
I'm so glad that so many of you are getting what you hope from Chookooloonks -- but I hear you on the request for more stories and technical photo stuff (in fact, most of the comments under the "anything you'd like to add" section requested more stories). I'll definitely see how I can work both in on a more frequent basis. Thanks for that feedback.
This was also really interesting to me -- lots of different subjects people want to see more of! Because this is a pretty widely spread distribution (and most of the comments related to having in-person workshops or speaking gigs), I'll focus on the top three: online courses, journaling workshops and photography retreats. I don't have anything in mind yet, but since you've expressed an interest, I'll definitely start brainstorming on how I can make one or more of them happen.
And finally, the last question invited any feedback that you might have felt wasn't covered in the previous 6 questions. I'm overwhelmed by the very sweet and positive sentiments you shared about me and my work -- I'm so seriously grateful. I've also read every single one of them, and will continue to as they come in. But I also wanted to share with you a few comments that definitely made me think:
"I would love it if Karen talked some more about vision and voice in both her writing and photography. I love it when artists tell us why they have made the choices they have, what they were going for, and whether they think they got it."
I do love this, and can certainly talk a bit more about my creative process. Thanks for the suggestion!
"Yes -- as a photographer, I enjoy following Karen and seeing how her photography has evolved over the years. The only thing I could as is for her to consider using the term 'make photographs' or 'make images' rather than 'shoot.' 'Make photographs' is much softer and is used by many photographers to describe what they do. It's a simple change that makes a big difference."
I had never even considered this language before -- isn't that funny? I'm sure I've always used the word "shoot" just as a shorthand for "make photographs," but I love the idea behind this bit of constructive feedback. Will definitely take it on board. Thanks for opening my mind!
"Would like to hear you speak again. Could you get on some lecture tour ... colleges and universities. Do some speaking at something other than conventions."
I actually do speak at colleges and universities, as well as corporations -- only a small part of my speaking is at workshops and conferences. If you'd like to get in touch with me to speak at your organization (you can learn more about what I do here), please feel free to contact me!
"This is totally random, but I love it when you take pictures of your coffee cup in a cafe. It's like a vicarious vacation for me, a small respite from work. For some reason, those images are so tactile, I can almost smell the coffee."
Thank you so much! I don't know that I'll post more coffee photos than I do (I feel like I overdo it, already!), but I take your point about "vicarious vacations." Perhaps I should figure out how to infuse my photos with more of that feeling. Good food for thought.
"Thank you and stay zaza."
Ha! You too, my friend.
Seriously, friends, thanks so much for such meaty feedback -- this definitely gives me a lot to focus on! I hope you enjoyed reading what everyone had to say. And again, I so love how kindly you shared your thoughts, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
And with that, I return you to your regularly scheduled Chookooloonks.
Song: Thank you (falettinme be mice elf agin) by Sly & the Family Stone
There's a small boutique hotel in Houston called Hotel Zaza. It has its charm, I suppose, and its restaurant is really good. But there's one thing about it that I've never understood: when you're leaving the hotel grounds, there's a sign in its driveway exit that says "drive safely and stay Zaza." I have no idea what this means -- is it telling me to stay cool? Stay awesome? Something tells me that if I have to ask what "zaza" means, then I probably am not It; nonetheless, it hasn't stopped my friend Laura and I from making clicking noises with our tongues, pointing at each other with both index fingers and with one eye closed, and murmuring "stay Zaza, babe" whenever we're saying goodbye to each other.
You know, because we're zaza like that.
Anyway, given this as a backdrop, whenever I'm visiting one of my favourite restaurants in Houston, Pondicheri,* I look askance at its indoor banner inviting people to "Live Spicy." Granted, "spicy" is actually a word in the English language, so that's something; and, of course I understand that the subtext is really "enjoy more Indian food -- preferably ours." But still, I felt like perhaps the restaurant was stretching the reference just a bit.
But, you know, I hate when I'm jaded, so finally yesterday, while I was there for breakfast (having their insanely awesome Railway omelet, sweet Mary Margaret, it's good), I decided to look up synonyms for "spicy." Apparently, "Live Spicy" can also mean:
Huh. Looks like "live spicy" is some advice I can get behind, after all.
(*Their cappuccinos are really delicious, too.)
P.S. I'll be going through the results of the 2014 Chookooloonks survey later today -- if you'd like to add your voice, please click here to share your opinion!
Song: Chasing pirates by Norah Jones