1000 places to see before you die - #3

The Golden Temple in Kyoto, Japan.

Perhaps even more impressive then the temple itself are the temple gardens. While there I was able to watch the gardeners as they meticulously removed ever stray pine needle and leaf from the moss carpets. Picture perfect doesn't even begin to describe this place.

ps - while in Kyoto, be sure to have Blow Fish. Blow Fish is not just an item on the menu, it is a true dinning experience - maybe I'll write on my experiences with Blow Fish in the future - look for... 7 ways to prepare Blow Fish without dying.

happy anniversary!

One year ago today I decided to get serious about my health and make some much needed changes in my diet and exercise (or lack thereof). Results? I am now 30 lbs lighter and more physically fit then I have probably ever been in my life.

The decision came while I was eating a bowl of pasta - a very very big bowl of pasta. I had just moved out on my own for the first time and was feeling stressed from the changes. On top of that, I had never really been in a position where what I ate was completely dependent upon the decisions I was making. My eating had always been somewhat influenced by roommates or other people in my life. (That may be just an excuse that I gave myself to not have to take responsibility for the weight and the poor choices I was making.) Anyhow, the first couple of weeks on my own I ate one thing - PASTA - and lots of it. Actually, come to think of it I ate two things - pasta and ICE CREAM. After finishing my pasta, I would drive the block and a half to the corner store for one of those "little" containers of Ben & Jerry's which I would proceed to finish off as soon as I got home. If I was being "good" that day I would only eat half of the container and save the rest for the next day. The thing was that because I was feeling like so much of my life was out of control, the fact that my eating was out of control did not register. Just prior to the night on the couch with the bowl of pasta, I had attended a reunion of old co-workers. Dressed all in black I thought I looked great! Unfortunately, the pictures told a different story. Photos of me dancing through the restaurant with the waiter (a different story) revealed that my belly was hanging outside my shirt and over my pants. Uck. While having a belly is not a bad thing, I am a firm believer that despite fashion, it is not a good idea to expose your belly if your belly rolls on its own. So, a week or so later I am sitting on my couch with a salad bowl of pasta (not the single serving salad bowls, the big ones in which you make the salad) eating away and feeling this pain growing in my stomach as I stretch it out to maximum capacity, when it occurs to me - what am I doing?

It is now 12 months later. I no longer eat pasta or bread and ice cream has, for the most part, become a fond memory. I know where the produce aisle is in the grocery store and while most of the time I still walk quickly through without stopping, occasionally I will pick up some fruits and vegetables. I enjoy walking and actually seek opportunities to be active, especially when I am stressed. And, my drivers license shows the correct weight for the first time ever.

The most important thing that I have learned is that life is about choices. This is my one life to spend. I can choose who I am going to be and how I am going to approach each aspect of life. .

yes virgina, there is summer in seattle

One day in the middle of April, after 180 straight days of rain and at the point in which I am convinced there has never been a day in which the sun actually made an appearance in Seattle, I will look at this photo and hopefully remember ... ahh yes, summer does eventually arrive in Seattle and when it does it is marvelous!

bessie's secret

lingerie for cows ...

is "deferred success" failure?

The Professional Association of Teachers, in England, is voting this week to replace F (fail) with the designation Deferred Success. The rationale behind the proposal is that repeated instances of failure set students up for … well… failure. It is true that the letter F has gained significant power in our society as a mark of ones ability. However, to shy away from the reality that everyone is not going succeed in academic achievements is unrealistic, and takes our attention away from the real problem which is that we do not have a good system for providing both the academic minded and the non-academic minded student with the education they need to succeed in life.

As an adult I know there are people who are significantly more intelligent with a higher aptitude to higher education then I. At the same time, there is also a group which is less inclined to succeed in academic pursuits. The fact that for the most part we are all educated together in the same classes sets up the scenario for students to fail at an early age. While I can’t advocate a system whereby students are separated out early based on their test scores, I do feel we need to expand the definition of education to provide opportunities for success rather then deferring it indefinitely. Certainly one area in which we could accomplish this is by ensuring that our schools receive enough funding to offer so called “electives” in addition to the basics. If we want to keep our students motivated and wanting to learn we have to provide them with opportunities to be passionate about learning. For many students, this passion may not come from math, science or literature. These students may find this passion in music, art, shop or language. Imagine a scenario in which a student discovers that he or she is a brilliant carpenter while in the school system. This student would have the opportunity to truly explore this area of study in a supported environment (much like the science student) while at the same time also being exposed to the “basic” skills he/she will need to be successful in life.

It sounds simple and cliché but it all comes down to MONEY. That our elementary and secondary teachers are paid less than a manager at a fast food restaurant is atrocious. That there are charity events held to collect school supplies similar to food drives, is a ridiculous. Our economy is build on commerce. Commerce is dependent upon buying power. Buying power is dependent upon earnings. Earnings are dependent upon skills – are you getting the picture. I am not here to preach “no child left behind” blah blah blah, but if we do not fix the ills of our education system we are going to end up in a society which will not have the financial diversification to support the level of domestic commerce necessary to keep all of us corporate types employed.

Unfortunately, we cannot wait for deferred success, we are already failing.

1000 places to see before you die - #2

If you find yourself in Mexico City with a free afternoon, it is worth taking a trip out to the Pyramids. You can usually find a guide who will be happy to share the history of the area with you.

50 non-essential pieces of information

The following is a list of 50 things you probably don't need to know about me. I did not create the list, but I did steal it (which is actually now 51 things you don't need to know)!

1. Your name spelled backwards: assilem
2. Where were your parents born? California
3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? iTunes
4. What's your favorite restaurant? Depends on the mood – El Gaucho or a burger at Red Door, tapas at Tango, Thai food in Freemont, La Valantine in Mexico City... I could go on...
5. Last time you swam in a pool? Last weekend
6. Have you ever been in a school play? Yes – Sound of Music
7. How many kids do you want? Not sure, I guess I will know when they come.
8. Type of music you dislike most? Rap
9. Are you registered to vote? yes
10. Do you have cable? yes
11. Have you ever ridden on a moped? No
12. Ever prank call anybody? Yes before caller ID
13. Ever get a parking ticket? yes
14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? Maybe, more likely to bungee jump.
15. Furthest place you ever traveled? Southern Argentina
16. Do you have a garden? No, I can’t even maintain house plants.
17. What's your favorite comic strip? The defunct Calvin and Hobbes.
18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Yes
19. Bath or Shower, morning or night? Morning shower… at night I prefer a soothing bubble bath.
20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? Not sure
21. Favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni
22. Chips or popcorn? chips
23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? Fosil by Aveda
24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? No
25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? No
26. Orange Juice or apple? Cranberry
27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine? Not the last place, but recently went to La Rustica in West Seattle – YUMMM
28. Favorite type chocolate bar? Snickers
29. When was the last time you voted at the polls? 2004
30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? Last Summer
31. Have you ever won a trophy? Yes
32. Are you a good cook? When I have to, which is rarely, I am a decent cook.
33. Do you know how to pump your own gas? Yes
34. Ever order an article from an infomercial? No
35. Sprite or 7-up? Diet 7-up but, only when I am sick
36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work? Yes, railroad overalls
37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy? FUSE softdrink.
39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love? Love
40. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes, but only after the fact
41. Ever call a 1-900 number? No
42. Can ex's be friends? Yes
43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital? My grandfather
44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby? No
45. What message is on your answering machine? “If you are leaving a message for Eduardo, he has moved on .” (I never actually met Eduardo, he had moved on before I got his old phone number)
46. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character? Church Lady
47. What was the name of your first pet? dog named Bowser, cat named Sam
48. What is in your purse? wallet, lipstick, pressed powder, cell phone, pen, Ipod, two sets of keys, my security badge, passport, and shades.
49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime? Read
50. What is one thing you are grateful for today? Everything

capisco l'italiano

I have been studying Spanish off and on for most of my adult life. Unfortunately, my commitment level has never been very high and as a result while my comprehension is good, my ability to speak freely is limited (unless there is tequila involved.)

I think the reason for this is that Spanish has never been a choice for me. In high school and college it was a requirement for graduation and throughout my working career it has been a necessity in order to conduct business. So, while I understood the need to learn the language it has not been a passion.

Enter Italian. Now this is a language I can get behind. The only reason for me to learn this language is to be able to speak with people in Italy. And, while I have learned the correct translation for Game Boy “Il Game Boy”, there is no chance that I will be doing anything even remotely related to work with this language.

In my first lesson I have learned how to say – I speak a little Italian – which is true. I can say that one sentence. The good news is that being Latin based, the root of the word in Italian is very similar to Spanish so all of those years studying Spanish are not lost in this new endeavor.

My goal is to be able to comprehend simple conversations and be able to speak enough to understand directions, order at a restaurant and of course… buy shoes. I envision a scene in which I am sitting in a small café ordering a cappuccino and admiring my new Giuseppe Zanotti heels. Ahh yes! Italian is the language for me.

home sweet home

Growing up I never understood why my parents would choose to live in such a remote location as Scott Valley . After all, it is not as though the area offered great shopping opportunities or easy access to an international airport ( a 6 hour drive is not easy access). And while, I agree that the views of the surrounding mountains are beautiful, it was impossible to understand how truly spectacular they are as a child waking up to them every morning.

This weekend I started to understand.

This small valley in Northern California is a hidden oasis in a world that seems to have lost control of time. None of the aspects of life that make me cringe exist in this small town. There are no traffic delays, unless of course you get stuck behind a cattle drive, there are not even any traffic lights. There are no lines to wait in, no hunting for parking and you don’t have to lock your car or even take out the keys when you are just running into the store for a carton of milk. And the view, the view is spectacular. The streets are lined with trees and dotted with majestic old homes, most in need of repair but still grand. The mountains surround the valley as if mother nature herself were wrapping her protective arms around the small community. The air has a constant smell of freshly cut hay, and the water that comes out of the tap is as cool and crisp as it would be if you hiked up the hill to the stream from which it originates. Everyone smiles and says hello on the street or waves at you as they pass in their pickup trucks. Church is cancelled on Sunday if there is a community event planned. Pancake breakfast is served in the park and bake sale treats include homemade (not from mix) brownies, cookies and blackberry pies. It takes five years to finish painting a house and when you are done, you start over again. The softball field has thick grass growing in right field and hand painted signs of local businesses along the fence. And, even though you moved away over a decade ago, people still greet you by name and ask about life in the city.

The life that I have chosen for myself is nearly 180 degrees from that in which I was raised. But, it is nice to know that when I am ready I can return home and be welcomed back like an adventurer returning from the new world.

give me that old time country music

The ad in the newspaper read:
Friday Night Block Party
All musicians welcome
Centrally located near restaurant and watering hole.
Bring your own lawn chairs.

linked!

Yippee - I've been linked! Thanks Dave I feel honored!

no more gum ...

20 years ago this summer I had my braces removed! I remember the feeling of my newly freed teeth and how relieved I was to be over with that part of my life. I truly believed that once my braces were removed my life would be perfect ... and it has been pretty good!

Speed forward. Today I sat in a dentist chair and had braces put back on my teeth. Apparently, a few of the techniques and procedures used in the dark ages of orthodontics were not the great ideas we thought the were.

It's not all bad. This time around there is a lot less pain, and my vanity is also being supported by my checkbook which means - goodbye wires, hello plastic!

o ha la! I guess no more gum for awhile!

sleeping outside in a bag as a kid ….

it seems like the best thing that I ever did....

Growing up one of my favorite summer activities was sleeping outside with my best friend. Looking back, I am not sure how often this adventure took place but I do remember with great clarity the way the air smelled like freshly cut hay and thunderstorms, the way the sky lit up with more stars than can be seen in every city in the world combined, and the silence of a small town at night.

When I went away to college, my friend and I spent our first night sleeping outside. Although most people would qualify my college town as being a small town, I remember the noise from the traffic, the sounds of the neighbors, and the buzz of the street lights as being deafening. Unfortunately, I think that was the last time I slept outside. While I have frequently considered pulling out the blankets and pillows onto the deck on a warm summer night – it just doesn’t seem to hold the same magic.

Last night I spoke with my niece on the phone. She too is growing up in a small town and enjoying all of the freedoms of summer. As we talked about my upcoming visit, she shared her excitement in having a “camp out” in the backyard – maybe even a sleep over. I think I’ll join her under the stars. We’ll head to our “camp” about 9pm, tell stories until 10 and then around 11:30 I am guessing it will be time to head inside, just like when I was a kid.
I can’t wait !

today was a good day

Some days are just plain and simple good days. Today was one of them.

Woke up and went to the store to buy more canvas – 2 for 1 sale! 48x48 is an awesome size. I can’t wait to see how it looks!

Worked in the studio for a few hours during the day and then returned in the evening to prep some canvas.

Got my first parking ticket – but it didn’t matter because today was a good day.

Locked my keys in the studio – but it didn’t matter because today was a good day.

Skipped out on going to see Star Wars 3 for the 3rd time – twice was enough.

Found a great parking spot near Palace Kitchen.

Finished reading this good book whose title I forget – something about being a wallflower.

Talked on the phone with a friend.

Went to sleep in my bed with clean crisp white sheets.

#9 - falling wall stuido

For my birthday last year I made a plan to do one “thing” that took me out of my comfort zone every month. I am now into month nine of this project and while some months have been less of a risk then others, every month has pushed me beyond the status quo and challenged how I view myself and the world. I may or may not share the previous month’s adventures (I guess maybe that could be my adventure for month 10) but, here is July.

Thing #9 – Rent art studio space in Pioneer Square and show paintings.

Last week I rented studio space in Pioneer Square and opened the Falling Wall Studio with my friend Sid. The time from signing the lease, to creating a name and logo, to holding our first show as about 72 hours!!! – No one ever accused me of moving slow once I made a decision. The experience of having my paintings on a wall and watching and listening as people came by was in a word – weird.

Aside from maybe entering things in the county fair, this was the first time in which my work was out in public for people to comment on without my direct participation in the conversation. One lady in particular stood in front of one of my pieces and ran her hands across the surface as if she was trying to receive something deeper from it then what could be seen by her eyes. I wanted to move her away and place her hands in the pockets of her coat where they would not be able to continue to explore. At the same time, I knew why she was searching the surface. This piece, along with the others in the series call to me in the same way. Even though I know that behind the colors and the crack lies a blank white canvas, I can’t help by try to pick away at the surface to see if I can discover what is hidden.

The next step on this adventure will be to create enough pieces to hold a more formal showing in September. Mark your calendars – September 1st 6pm. Hope to see you there.

i am not an animal

Whenever I see the Statue of Liberty’s head lying on a hillside the line “I am not an animal” screams through my mind. Unfortunately that is not the line from Planet of the Apes, but rather from the movie about the Elephant Man. Somehow however, when you consider the image of a dismantled statue of liberty against the backdrop of the continuation of the Patriot Act – screaming out – I AM NOT AN ANIMAL – does not seem that out of context.

when good things happen to bad marketing ideas ...

So, you're sitting around the table with a bunch of other marketing people sampling your latest product - a strawberry kiwi popsicle (Kiwi, by the way, is a fruit named by marketers to appeal to Joe America.) "What can we do to really launch this product and generate some excitement?" One of your buddies suggests bringing back the Snapple Lady - too controversial. Another person suggests doing product sampling on the streets of New York. Not a bad idea, but what is the hook, how do we involve the media. "I Know" you say. "Let's create the world's largest Popsicle!" "People love "world's largest" gimmicks." And thus... another marketing manger is back on the street (or moved into the head office).

You gotta to love it when an "ok" idea has disastrous execution. The only thing better would have been if people had run out to the truck to taste the popsicle as it melted away instead of running for higher ground... Makes me almost wish I was marketing popsicles.

disaster on a stick

hope you are not offended ...

As a general rule, if you have to say “I hope you won’t be offended” before you say something, it is best to not say it at all.

Yesterday I was in a meeting in which the comment “I hope you don’t find this offensive” was repeated numerous times in a business conversation. Truth be told, I don’t know that I would have found any of the comments offensive had they not been proceeded by the disclosure that they may be inappropriate for my female ears. What I did find offensive was the continued reminder that I was not a man. I found it offensive that I was brought into the conversation for my assumed “women’s perspective.” I found it offensive that my expertise had less to do with my career and more to do with my understanding of how households operate.

News Update! I have a career. I work on par with men everyday and the strategies I am responsible for developing are not thought of as “women’s strategies”. I have a home but no one would ever accuse me of knowing how to operate a household. I like the color pink but I can still operate a complex remote control. I read business publications, I listen to the news, I can name more foreign leaders than our current president can. I cook but not very often and usually not without burning myself. I own an iron but not an ironing board. I don’t use “the rules”, I actually believe that the key to a good relationship is to treat the other person with respect and honesty. I don’t believe that there is any woman I know (working, stay-at-home mom, single, married or other) that fits into a mold of what a woman is like. I also don’t think then men can be classified this way either. Guess what…. they don’t all like sports, they aren’t only in it for the sex and they don’t all belch the alphabet after drinking a beer.

So! I hope you are not offended but get over yourself and if you want to know how a household operates, maybe you should go home and tell your wife that you need a woman’s perspective on what is needed to improve the home. I am sure she has a few things she has been trying to tell you for years.

summer nights with lyle ...

Look I understand too little too late
I realize there are things you say and do
You can never take back
But what would you be if you didn't even try
You have to try
So after a lot of thought
I'd like to reconsider
Please
If it's not too late
Make it a cheeseburger

wanted: sm,ns,hwp ...

There used to be this section in the newspaper for "personal ads". I say "used to" because while it still exists, it is very limited in size and scope. I know this because I have been searching the papers to find some good ads to incorporate into an art project. The premise of the piece is that each of us is looking for a definition of a relationship. ( "single white woman, height weight proportional, looking for the same for long walks on a beach and possible long term relationship.") But, that by defining people and categories we become blind to the possibilities that exist outside of those definitions. Abstract. Anyhow, the piece is stuck in a work phase until I am able to actually find enough personal ads to move forward.

Maybe that is the problem for so many people - stuck in work phase until they are able to find enough personal ads to move forward...