The Weekly List - Why my Life is Awesome

1. I'm not Theon Greyjoy.

2. I have friends that think my decision to "bedazzle" my MLB hat to designate ballparks where I've seen a game live does not make me white trash.

3. This week I was a good friend to someone I care about.

4. The Hot Chicks and Smart Men Dig Reading Summer Reading Program begins in just 7 days. 

5. I have friends and family that "get" me. And they still love me.

6. I live in a world that contains soft carnitas tacos. With avocados.

7. This week I got to perform ACTUAL ENGINEERING WORK. For MONEY.

8. I was reminded that each of us has the power to affect the lives of others, for good or for ill.

9. I'm finally caught up on my podcasts.

10. Starting tomorrow, I get to wear Fluevogs every day for four days in a row.

An Open Letter to Sebastien de la Cruz

Dear Sebastien,

When you sang the National Anthem for game three of the NBA Finals, I was appalled at the reaction of the on-line community. To hurl such degrading and insulting rhetoric at anyone is simply beyond the pale, and the fact that you're a child made it that much worse, in my opinion. I thought, "How awful that these racist dirtbags should sully such an exciting and special event for this youngster. I hope he doesn't assume that everyone feels that way about his presence at the game."

But I underestimated you, and your parents, too. You, young sir, are a class act. You returned to the Spurs' Arena, and performed beautifully once again, wearing the cultural garb of your forefathers. You did so with pride, and with a poise I would not expect from a much older person. You did not allow the racists to silence your voice, and reacted in a way that shamed those who wanted to shame you for your pride in your heritage.

Keep singing, Sebastien. Sing for yourself, and your parents, and your community, and for all of us who believe that a diverse America is a strong America.

Sing.

Grow, Janiece, Grow

Count your blessings, you stabby bitch

I think the busier my life becomes, the more quickly I tend to go to a place where I'm not fully aware of just how fabulous my life is. When a plane is late, when I'm performing work and my colleagues do not meet my expectations, when I get poor customer service - these first world issues tend to overwhelm all the amazing and enviable aspects of my life and I get crankier and crankier.

This is not a recipe for living in joy.

For me, perspective is the key for this growth opportunity. Even if things aren't going as well as I hope, even if someone else's bad day is negatively impacting mine, that doesn't mean that ZOMG MY ENTIRE LIFE BLOWS. It means I'm in the middle of an unfortunate event, one that will almost certainly give me an opportunity to be a better person. I've been working on keeping this in my mind when things go wrong, and sometimes I even succeed.

Virtue unlocked: Perspective.

Shut up and listen

One of the things I've noticed about myself is that the more competent I feel in a specific situation, the smaller my tendency becomes to just shut the hell up and listen. I've noticed this specifically as it relates to my gig in the Military Industrial Complex - I'm learning many new technologies, and most of the folks on the calls and in the meetings I'm attending know more about what we're discussing than I do. Because I don't really consider my competence in this space to be equal to that of my peers, I tend to do a lot more listening rather than trying to put forth my own opinions and ideas.

This a good thing.

For one thing, it gives me a chance to learn about new technology from a variety of sources, whose understanding may differ from my own. For another, it helps me in my goal of understanding that I'm not the only competent person in the room. Actively listening to others gives me the chance to admire and respect them in their areas of expertise. And perhaps most importantly, it provides excellent practice in learning to value others, a Mr. Rogers-like virtue that has long been on my self-improvement list.

Virtue unlocked: Respect.

A slave to my ambition

I was having lunch with a friend the other day, and we were discussing how our professional ambitions have changed as we've gotten older. I'm no longer particularly interested in being THE VERY BEST SE ON THE PLANET, DON'T YOU THINK THAT I'M NOT. What I am interested in is being the very best SE I can be while still maintaining balance in my life, and providing good value for the compensation I receive. I can never do less than my best, but I no longer think my work needs to dominate and define my life.

I'm also more interested in my personal ambitions than in my professional ones, because working on the former will also provide benefits to the latter. My personal ambitions now include things like "Being a kind person," and "Living an authentic life," and "Being a good friend to those I care about." I think from the perspective of leaving this earth a better place than I found it, my personal ambitions are far more important than my professional ones.

Virtue unlocked: Balance.

Miscellaneous Monday

The plants, they're trying to kill me

I love Spring. Since I'm not a huge fan of the snow and the cold, I'm always so pleased and happy when things start to warm up and I'm able to get outside.

Except for the itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing, that is.

The plants here in Colorado have always been the enemy of my immune system. Over the years, I've lived and visited many other regions, in many other climates and geographies. But Colorado is the only place I've ever lived where I have hay fever, and Spring is when it's at its worst. SO ANNOYING.

In my mind I'm going to Carolina

Specifically, Charlotte. I'm leaving Friday for a conference, which means I get to have dinner with the erudite and always entertaining Eric while I'm there. Seeing people I wouldn't otherwise get a chance to see is one of the very best things about traveling for me, and I'm looking forward to it.

A poorer place

Today would have been Maurice Sendak's 85th birthday, and the Google Doodle commemorating this event is pretty great.

I always loved Mr. Sendak's books, and the world is a poorer place without him in it.

Miscellaneous Monday

Writer's Block

Or more precisely, writer's apathy. Lately I have been singularly unmotivated to write original, scintillating content for HCDSM.

I suspect the reason is twofold - I only have so much non-professional energy to go around, and I've been focusing on other things rather than writing. Things like running, and baseball, and my Awesome, Awesome Niece, and home improvement projects, and reading.

The second reason is that I think spaces like this tend to ebb and flow in terms of content. Because I don't use this space for self-promotion, it can basically be whatever I want, whenever I want. So when I'm feeling unmotivated content can become a little thin and I won't incur serious repercussions. It's true that I may lose casual readers during these periods, but my regulars have been pretty loyal in terms of waiting me out when my content goes through periods of meh.

I don't know when the meh will abate - hopefully soon, as I'm starting to bore myself.

Run, Janiece, run

I've been slowly increasing my once-weekly "long" run (as compared to my twice-weekly 10K training runs), and yesterday, for the first time, I ran nine miles. I'm hoping to get to thirteen miles before the end of the year, but I am in my late 40's, so we'll see how the body holds up to those demands.

I'm really happy that I've finally reached a point where I see my body as the amazing machine that it is, and take pleasure in its performance, but damn I wish I'd come to this realization when I was still young and strong. Gravity is indeed a spiteful bitch, not to mention aging joints.

Pimpin', yo

While I'm not a huge fan of the short story, I would like to recommend a couple of short stories written by Hot Chick, occasional commenter and all-around good egg Rachael Acks. She's published two Steampunk stories entitled Murder on the Titania and The Ugly Tin Orrery through Musa Publishing and available on Amazon. Rachael has a most amusing turn of phrase that made me snort through my nose more than once while enjoying these stories, so you should totally run right out and buy multiple copies. You know you want to.

Free Shit Friday - I Got Nothing Edition

I'm out of jam and shoes to give away, so for today's Free Shit Friday giveaway, I'm offering either my undying affection, or a made-by-me hat and scarf set in the colors of your choice. Yes, I realize it's almost June and you won't be able to use it until much later in the year. I told you - I GOT NOTHING.

The winner of the Pear Nutmeg Jam is Carol Elaine, with a random number of 8. CE, I'm not sure I have your new address, so please let me know where you want me to send the goods. Enjoy!

Things for Thursday

The sound of silence

But only here at HCDSM. The Smart Man and I have been visiting our Awesome, Awesome Niece and her staff for the last number of days. And households that include a 2-year-old do NOT, in fact, have an abundance of silence. Which is as it should be.

Bug is doing just fine, and thinks both her Auntie and her Uncle are the Cat's Pyjamas, which makes our visits exercises in the Mutual Admiration Society. The part that tickled me most: I ran several times while there, and when the Smart Man told her I was running, she proceeded to run laps around the house, saying she was "running like Aunt Janiece!"

Baseball has been very, very good to me

Bug's a big fan of baseball, and knows the lineup of her home team. We managed to catch a game at the Nationals Stadium while on the East Coast, and I taught Bug to say "He's outta there!" along with the appropriate hand motion. Because that's the kind of Auntie I am.

The Nationals Stadium is the fourth MLB stadium we've visited in support of our plan to see a game in every MLB stadium. Next up is the Kansas City Royals, which we're planning for August. We wanted to go see the Giants this year, but some unexpected expenses are going to keep us closer to home, methinks.

On the road again

I'm getting back on the road in the month of June, so far to Columbus, OH, and Charlotte, NC. The first is a customer visit (yay!) and the second is a professional conference (meh). The conference IS taking place in the home city of the Incomparable Eric, proprietor of the excellent Standing on the Shoulders of Giant Midgets and fellow UCFer, which means I get to meet him and his lady love for a meal while I'm there. I'll take it!