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I think of education a lot. I didn’t follow the typical path to get where I am now.
I never had the opportunity to pursue college straight out of high school. Instead I got used to working. I’ve done a little bit of everything to earn a living. Or a lot of everything. I’ve had 24 jobs in the past 17 or so years. (For a fair amount of my misspent youth I worked 2-3 jobs while in school)

This means that I’m familiar with most business operations. I know what makes most companies tick, and have even how to rise in an organization. I’ve been on both sides of the interview table, I’ve hired people, reprimanded, trained, and fired people. **

This background makes me appreciate the digging in the dirt aspect of hands on classes.  I like experiential learning where I can dig my hands in to the process and pick something up by experiencing it. It also means I’m sometimes less then patient with my classmates who have had less experience. I know its not their fault, but I just can’t fathom coming this far in one’s education without at least some real world experience.

It’s pretty clear that the path I’ve taken has put me in a unique position. Because of my age people expect me to be educated, because of my status in education  it’s assumed that I don’t have experience. I realized this last night at the MSIM program info session last night. Since the executive program deadline has not passed for the year yet, and the age of these in the room, the presenter assumed we were all interested in that program. I clarified that I was interested in the day program, and the pendulum swung the other way, with an assumption that I don’t have the real world experience.

The combination of my experience and education mean I can take either program, the day or the evening. It means that I fit my own mold, that information on how business works is redundant, but that applying skills learned in those classes is a delight. I get to think about my desired path and customize my learning to match where I want to go.

How cool is that?

This is all a fabulous adventure for me, with ups and downs and twists and turns. Bring on the dirt!

**I’ve also made some horrid mistakes, that I can now see humor in.

So for the first time since I joined the NANOWRIMO site, I’m a winner. The flexible schedule  of being a student and the lack of employment gave me the time I needed to easily reach my goal.  Of course its pretty much a  freewrite novel, without a whole lot of direction and depth. But its written and since I still feel like I’m in recovery after a long period of not doing anyh real creative writing I’m glad to have reached the goal of 50,000 words.
What next? Well part of the story could be cut out and cleaned up into something that is more interesting fit for human consumption. Or i could take one of the other stories that is rattling around my brain and write that.

Anyway hooray! I’m a winner!

One Two Three

One table
Two chairs
Three hours
full of conversation.

One cup
Two stirrers
Three creamers
drained of their milk

One pastry
Two bites
Three pieces
left ignored

One hope
Two people
Three chances
to start again.

One sentence
Two words
Three concerns
shared for the future.

One lie
Two truths
Three  inconveniences
litter the floor.

Three years
Two hearts
One wish
forever swept into the dustbin.

————–

Written for my creative writing class. Note the poem the professor wants, but its what came out.

No worries, this does not mean that there is any distress in any of my relationships.

Welcome to Greenwood, a neighborhood north of the downtown core of Seattle. i live near 85th and Greenwood Ave, and have to admit that I feel a fair amount of possessive ownership of this neighborhood. it’s my stomping grounds.

it’s come to my attention that not everyone knows the area, and to be honest, i dont know everything about the area. So I decided i’d start at 85th and Greenwood ave, and explore the different shops so you know whats here for when you come visit. You are coming to visit right?

So Hi! Let’s get started on our tour.

I started today literally at the corner of 85th and Greenwood Ave and looked around at the businesses.

The four corners are thus :
Northwest : Greenwood Academy of Hair
Northeast : Washington Mutual Bank
Southeast: Sweet on You Gelato (no website)
Southwest :Antika’s Antiques (no website)

Greenwood Academy of Hair Yelp Reviews
Greenwood Academy of Hair is hair salon and cosmetology school. They are recently under new ownership and some small changes in decor and products used have happened. I’ve been going there for years and aside for a bum cut or two due to my wishy washyness , I’ve never had a problem. In fact when I turned the magical 30 , my girlfriend and I went there and availed ourselves of their spa treatments, each getting a facial, mudwrap and a waxing. We were truly pampered.

Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual is a bank. And as a nonmember of this bank, there is really little they can do for me. That said, my boyfriend banks there and has not run into any problems. They have an ATM, which does charge a small fee for usage.

Sweet on You Yelp Reviews
Sweet on you is a new gelato place, that just opened a few weeks ago. I get the feeling that they are still working out the kinks. They always seem to be out of what i’m looking for and they still dont take credit cards. (not a requirement mind you, but they keep claiming it will be soon.) I like the Gelato though, and will be stopping by occasionally to indulge.

Antika Yelp Reviews

Antika is a delightful Antique store. They are mainly furniture and  small decorative items.. They usually have vintage barware and a vintage bar in the window. As with all antique stores, they can be a little spendy, but the quality is fantastic. I’m always amazed by the nifty kitchen cabinets, the unique tables, and the ornate curios they have.  They are always friendly when I come even, even though I’ve never bought anything.

So thats the start. Lets see what else we can find for next time.

 It’s been a good holiday for me.  I’ve spent the day in the kitchen, doing lots of cooking. Homemade Jam, ice cream sandwiches grilled burgers and tea sandwiches. Yum. I’m about to head into thebedroom to do some knitting and watch an episode of Star Trek Voyager.

I’m going to share something I wrote a few years ago in relation to the Fourth of July.

Growing up, the 4th of July was a big deal to my family. We’d always be involved in a barbecue , parade watching, and some sort of fireworks the big day. Some years my brother and I were on the parade, clamoring onto the fire engine with a friend of the family. We threw candy, waved at our friends and family, and felt like stars of the show. Once the firetruck finished its run, we’d race over to where our family sat and join them for the remainder of the parade.

Pa (my grandfather) made sure to teach us kids right, we stood at attention and put a hand over our hearts as the flag passed by. We respected the veterans, ignored the politicians and danced to the marching bands. This was celebrating our country, celebrating being Americans.

After the parade, we’d head home and heat up the grill. We’d have burgers, hot dogs, potato salad , deviled eggs, baked beans , jello molds, and on and on. Any family celebration in our house meant food. The beer would come rolling out too. No fancy drinks for my folks. Dad drank Heineken(and fed it to the dog), the rest of the family drank Bud or coors , depending what else was on sale.

As it rolled to dusk we’d sit out in the back yard and wait for the fireworks. Sure we had our snakes , snappers, and smoke bombs, but we were waiting for the big fireworks. There were at least 4-6 different local fireworks shows we could see from our backyard. Then it was off to sleep, letting the excitement of the day fade away as we faced the rest of our summer vacation.

I’m a midwestern girl at heart. you all should know that already. Fireworks, parades and picnics are my celebration. The way you show affection is in the kitchen. And always respect the veterans, ignore the parading politicians and dance to the marching band

With the project work that I’m doing, preparing the Miss Thing project, preparing for Sekrit Project #2, I’m learning what tools I need to consolidae between my computers, and learning what computer is good for what. When do i need my web design software? My recipe software? My Photos?
Do I need excel as well as Big Oven to catagorize the recipes? What do I really need?

I’m also trying to streamline what I’m writing and trying to prioritize. LJ for the posts with the nitty gritty of my life, and blog posts at the appropriate places for the rest. Content instead of blabber. Polls , while fun and while they can lead to content are not content in and of themselves.

I’m also going to share my great ideas with the rest of the world. I’ve got events that want to be planned just burbling in my brain, things i want to do, but realistically i dont have the time or energy or money to do them all. Much better to share them with the world so you can use some of my grand ideas.

I swing back and forth so dramatically between the productive and non prodcutive, i’d like to encourage just a base level productivity instead. Not to say that breaks wont happen, but even a break can accomplish something.