transitions and tony hillerman

I have given myself two weeks to do nothing but sleep, eat, read and write. Ten days in, three out of four isn't bad. The writing will come. It always comes. And until then, I will continue to refill the well. I have plenty of books to read for class, but have found myself more drawn to one of the Southwest's most beloved and well known novelist: Tony Hillerman. I'm not a huge fan of mysteries, but I love his books. The care he takes with cultures and characters. His spare, accessible style.

I love the idea of picking an author who speaks to you and reading everything they've written. I've done it only twice (JD Salinger and Herman Hesse) and have several others I'm working on (Natalie Goldberg, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan and Mark Salzman). But here, in this place, Hillerman begs to take precedence. And so I have started collecting his books as I find them in used bookstores (of which Santa Fe has many) -- 18 Leaphorn & Chee mysteries, 4 other novels (including two for children),  12 works of non-fiction, and 5 books of photography. Five of his novels were made into films.


I've heard that Tony Hillerman considered Finding Moon his favorite and best book and it was definitely good, but for me it lacked the very things that I love so much about his Leaphorn & Chee mysteries -- his deep and compelling insights into the land and his characters. In those books it's like traveling with an anthropologist, not simply hearing a story about a friend's adventures. In Finding Moon, the primary character's growth (Moon Mathiason) was more about him realizing what everyone else knew about him -- it wasn't so much about change or growth as it was about accepting who he already was, which makes the title very apt, but the story slightly less engaging.

As always Hillerman's descriptions of the locations were gorgeous and his story had the ending the reader hopes for. But I am looking forward to getting back to the books that split open the soul of the southwest and the people who live here. I just need to find a copy of the first in the series: The Blessing Way. Because as with most series books, it's always best to start from the beginning.

fresh ink book review: old man and the sea

Okay, I'll admit it: I've never been a big fan of Hemingway. With the exception of one chapter from The Sun Also Rises, I've just never connected with anything he's written. Not so this book. It was spare and beautiful and free of so many of the things that make it hard to like Hemingway's work (especially as a woman). The story was so focused, so clean and so raw. I rooted for the man and the boy and the fish and the last line put me right over the edge. There was so much emotion in those 127 pages, all of it achieved without actually talking about it in the book. He merely showed the action and left the reaction up to the reader. Man, my writing teacher sure can choose a book.

bringing dreams to life

according to sonia choquette's book your heart's desire there are two key components to bringing your dreams to life: attention and intention. according to dictionary.com:

• attention is directing your mind to a specific object or goal (focusing your thoughts on your dream)
• intention is the act of determining mentally upon some action or result (basically deciding what the outcome will be and accepting it on faith that it will come to pass)

of course before you can do that you need to figure out what that dream is. here are a few basics, extrapolated from the book, to start you in the right direction:

• pick something that really matters to you: throw out the shoulds and the can'ts. look deep and really feel what would bring joy and satisfaction into your life. sure, i'd feel really good about myself if i could save the world but if i'm honest, maybe what i really want is to run a small bookstore or write poetry. that's okay. in fact, it's better than okay. and you never can tell what far-reaching impact these "small" dreams can have.
• start simple: it's easy to future-trip and spin elaborate fantasies, but you'll never get even close if you don't start with the here and now. dream of becoming a famous artist? start by finding more time in your life to practice your art. want to have more quality time with your family but are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with chores? maybe a cleaning service is just what you need. both may seem mundane, but they are achievable first steps that will help put you on your path.
• be specific, but not too specific: specific would be "i want to get married to a loving man and start a family." too specific would be "i want my current boyfriend to propose on valentines day, marry me on new year's eve and to have three kids named jonah, kaitlin and frankie, each two years apart." don't limit the gifts the universe can give you or you'll miss out on getting more than you ever dreamed of (often in exchange for something that turns out to be something you didn't really want).
• use your powers for good: whatever your path, this whole thing works best when you focus on spiritual and emotional not material gains and definitely steer clear of wishing for bad things to happen to other people. 

yes, it's easier said than done. way easier. then again, there are lots of tools to help you figure these things out. like this book, which has already helped a lot and i'm only at chapter one.

experience/skills

most of the items listed under interests are things that i have done, enjoy and am good at, but there are a bunch of other things related to my career history that aren't on that list. some of them i enjoy, others, not so much for a variety of reason. here they are in roughly chronological order:

• bookselling
• bookbuying
• product merchandising
• helping customers find the right books
• copywriting
• information architecture
• advertising writing
• creative brainstorming
• technical writing
• managing people
• doing budgets
• performance reviews
• staff discipline
• content strategy
• content planning
• editorial calendaring
• concepting website ideas
• social media marketing (still learning but enjoy what i know)
• search engine marketing and optimization (same as above)
• contract negotiations
• vendor relations
• agency management
• buisness planning
• networking (okay i lied, i'm not good at this)
• event planning
• event organizing
• event hosting

the items highlighted in dark grey are the ones i really, really don't like. the ones in lighter grey i don't totally enjoy, but don't hate. i guess some of it breaks down to this: i prefer to lead by example than through authority, i would rather dream up party ideas than have to make them happen (or even attend) and most things that have to do with budget or actions that i am responsible for but have no authority over make me want to run (which makes me better as my own boss than working as a cog). and as for what i enjoy with regards to work: creativity, autonomy, and peer-based connection.

before i go i also wanted to delve a little deeper into the arts and crafts sections of my interest list. i have been really interested in arts and crafts created by recycling old materials lately. take gnomeo for example, a twist on the whole sock monkey  thing. and the bird, below, made completely from the pages of a j. crew catalog and a little bit of scotch tape (if only i could figure out how to make him more durable). but there are a ton of other potential projects like these:

 

• sock creatures
• paper sculptures
• collage
• mosaic
• decoupage
• mixed media
• window farms
• remade clothes
• photo cards
• shadow boxes
• handmade paper
• lumieres
• quilts and pillows
• collaged notebooks
• found object jewelry
• metal garden decorations

and the list goes on...

 

the question then becomes, how do i make time for all of this inspiring activities and is there some way to create a career by combining the things i love in a way that can support me creatively, spiritually and financially?

 

i'm going to need more than a week to sort all this out, so it looks like "personal style" is going to get pushed out a bit. because let's face it, what i want to do with my life is way more important than how i look doing it no matter what billy crystal says. and yes, i think the whole spirituality think that i so coyly slid in there hoping you wouldn't notice is going to need a week of its own as well.

book review: the happiness project

i had planned to post today about eating right (the second part of the "good health" resolution) today, but instead, i'm going to tell you about the book The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun, which i just this minute finished reading.

when it comes to this book (and the associated blog and online toolkit), what's not to love? i mean, pretty much everyone could stand to be a little happier and the idea that we can take actionable steps to improve our happiness isn't a new one. but the systematic way the author chose to tackle it -- one topic per month for a year, complete with resolutions for and research to support each -- was completely inspired. and inspiring.

it was also reassuring to see that others a) felt the same way i did about wanting to build a happier, more fulfilling life and b) came to a number of the same conclusions i have (beginning with her first commandment "be gretchen" -- or in my case, layer).

while there are a number of commandments and resolutions i definitely plan to apply to my own life (her whole first chapter "boost energy" was already pretty much word-for-word the first items on my action plan), there was one thing that especially stood which i want to mention here.

secret of adulthood number eleven: you can choose what you do; you can't choose what you like to do. i especially love this because i have struggled with finding the balance between what i think i should enjoy and what i actually do enjoy. like collage. i love the idea of collage. but i find the act of collage too stressful. on the other hand, i absolutely love apocalypse fiction -- novels, movies, TV shows, you name it. by all accounts, reading or watching that kind of stuff should be a massive stress producer, but somehow the resonant themes of these stories -- banding together, overcoming unbelievable obstacles, surviving against all odds -- are extremely life-affirming for me. which leads to my first great truth: that which makes you happy makes you stronger, so embrace it with both arms.

book review: how did i get so busy?

i'm a busy girl. just juggling my job, my boyfriend and trying to keep myself fed pretty much takes up all my time, so i had to wonder just how i was going to fit anything more into my schedule. but given that a big part of the refabbing project will be making more time for things like hanging out with friends, exercising, actually cooking, making art and a whole host of other inspiration-focused activities, i knew i had to find a way.

enter the book: How Did I Get So Busy?: The 28-day Plan to Free Your Time, Reclaim Your Schedule, and Reconnect with What Matters Most, which i came upon randomly during a trip to my local library.

now, this is not a time management book. it doesn't tell you how to shave precious minutes off your daily chores or how to squeeze out pleasurable activities in tiny chunks between meetings or on your way to pick up the kids. instead, it asks you to really look at where you spend your time to help you re-prioritize what you do and how you do it.

each day serves up a topic, such as "hurrying up is slowing you down" then provides a discussion of that topic, a related challenge, a journal assignment and a one-minute meditation. going through the exercises helps reveal places we may have let shoulds overwhelm wishes and provides insight into how we can turn it around.

the chapter on creating daily rituals has already had a huge impact on my life. i already knew that i needed to make time to meditate, do stretching exercises and eat a real breakfast in the morning. but how? by looking at what i spend my time on in the morning i realized that by changing my before bed rituals to including pulling together my next day's clothes, pre-packing my lunch and by paring my morning journal writing from 10 pages to 3, i would have plenty of time to add what i needed. it was shocking to me how little i had to do to create time for things that have a huge impact on my health, productivity and happiness.

i definitely recommend it.

comfort food

When it comes to food, I'm a simple girl. I like bread. I like cheese. I like just about any combination of the two -- especially the mac & cheese variety. And I liked it that way. That is until the whole gluten allergy thing. Lucky for me, yesterday a friend came to my rescue with a sweet little book called the wheat-free cook.

Now, I have to be honest, I am a novice in the kitchen, so I am easily intimidated by creating food from scratch. Not so with this book. Each recipe has a reasonable number of everyday ingredients and clear, easy to follow steps to help you transform a pinch of this and a cup of that into a dish tasty enough to please even the staunchest gluten-lover. I tried the featured cover dish: Corn Macaroni & Cheese, which I managed to pull together for today's lunch in under an hour. And it tasted just like mac & cheese.

Having already pleased my well-honed mac & cheese-loving palate, I can hardly wait to try the next recipe... perhaps Quick Flaxseed and Chickpea Baguette, Goat Cheese Pizza, Spinach and Zucchini Frittata or Almond-Plum Rice Flour Coffee Cake. With nearly 200 pages of recipes, I'll have plenty chose from.