Endless media consumption, ethical dilemmas, what keeps life interesting, and remembering 2011’s best foodie weekend

#WEverb11

“Choose. What was the biggest choice you made in 2011? What caused you to choose what you chose?”

Earlier this year, an opportunity fell in my lap which would have benefited me financially, career-wise, stability-wise, and have just put me all around in a better spot. But after some initial research, I realized it involved an organization (and an industry) that while highly respected locally, I could not respect ethically and could not become involved with. Even though I know I made the right choice and it would have been hypocritical of me not to, it was still a very hard decision.

 

#reverb11 (via dontbeapicklebump.com/reverb/)

“Take a minute and think about what your biggest time wasters. What are they? What would happen if you took some of the time you were spending on these things and focused on pursuing your dreams and goals? Are there other areas in your day where you could work on your passions?”

My biggest time waster is definitely online media consumption. I get distracted and jump from thing to thing, trying to absorb as much information as possible, instead of concentrating on one thing at a time. Setting blocks of time to work on individual projects would undoubtedly be helpful.

 

#relish11

What flavor did you most relish this year? Perhaps it was a whole meal, but what can you say about the flavors of the last eleven months, what do you want to remember?

One weekend of endless vegan food will never be forgotten.

 

#resound11

“Catch Phrase. What’s your trademark phrase? Not sure? How about a quote or saying that you repeat often? Bonus points if it’s new for 2011, but we won’t be upset if it’s been around longer than that. Try to put it in context for us if it’s a little abstract. Whoa.

How will you resound?”

Life would be boring if we all agreed on everything, or if things always happened in the way we expected them to.

 

Truth be told

#reverb11, #weverb11, #resound11, #relish11.

Maybe I had an easier time with writing prompts last year because I actually tried some new things. Maybe there’s just nothing to report this year, nothing to see here, folks. Truth be told, (weird, I’ve been hearing and reading this phrase all over the place lately, I first started noticing it on a Canadian podcast, and now I hear it everywhere, even out of my own blog mouth). Truth be told, I’m not really putting the thought and time into Reverb this year, because with several Reverb sites instead of one, there isn’t one daily prompt that I’m pushing my boundaries to respond to. And I’m not leaving myself enough contemplation time to “reflect on this year and manifest what’s next.”

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. Falling asleep at the laptop now. Long day of SharePoint meetings and radio station edits.

Starting this book that somebody recommended on Facebook recently: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. Reading it old school style: No electronics involved.

Just another night with the um’s, you-knows, likes, I means, and-uhs, awkward pauses, stuttering, mumbling, heavy breathing, and lip smacks

#reverb11, #weverb11, #resound11, #relish11.

Well, this will be short and sweet tonight. None of today’s prompts really appeal to me. I can’t think of one thing I truly “relished” this year, I don’t have a favorite kind of play (pathetic), I didn’t have a favorite month in 2011 (none of them were all that hot), and I already blogged about my great partner in crime the other day.

Speaking of my co-host, we just spent another night editing out an amazing amount of um’s, you-knows, likes, I means, and-uhs, awkward pauses, stuttering, mumbling, heavy breathing, and lip smacks from yet another highly educated interviewee. Amazing how much people talk like that—it’s really noticeable when you record it and play it back. Our brains fill in so much and are so forgiving in everyday conversation.

Reverb11: (Resound11, Relish11) – The Brady Bunch and sweet kitty moments

#resound11

“If your life was a television show, what would its theme song be? What music would be cued at the start of the show or when you entered a scene?”

I got sucked into watching the entire 8:40 Brady Bunch video, and couldn’t think of a theme song for myself. Music hasn’t been a part of my life much this past year, which is a shame. Weird to think that now I am a part of a blended family, but in a very un-Brady-Bunch-like way.

#relish11

“A Moment Captured. Even in this innovative age we live in where we all seem to have our camera phones with us at all times, there are going to be moments that simply don’t get caught on film or pixel. What was one such moment, that you know lasts in your memory right now, but that will fade as time goes on? Describe it here, as if you have the photo right in front of you.”

My black and white and pink cat Isis, when she’s not sleeping on my face, likes to burrow under the covers on my left side. Once in place, she’ll press her slightly damp (and often chilly) nose into my side, along with all four paws; maximum contact, skin to skin. She falls swiftly to sleep. No photograph could capture that sweetness.

Reverb11, Resound11 – These things are useful: perseverance, frankness, critical thinking

#resound11

“Yesterday we got down and dirty and revealed our 2011 vices; today we’ll wipe the slate clean and talk about what personal virtues we discovered in 2011. What good have you done in 2011? Where do you really shine? What have you done that makes you proud of yourself? We know you’ve got it in you!

How will you resound?”

#reverb11 (via dontbeapicklebump.com/reverb/)

“Name someone in your life who has influenced you in a positive way this past year. How did they influence you? How did you pay it forward?”

This year was tough professionally, and I’ve been pretty hard on myself. Thank the gods for my All Things Vegan radio show, and the non-profit VegNet things that I’ve been involved with and made happen. I’m proud of the way that we jumped right into to creating the radio show from scratch, with no broadcasting, interviewing, or technical experience at a radio station. I’ve been able to use my perseverance, frankness, critical thinking, and computer and social media skills to continuously improve the show, even having a little fun along the way. It’s been very fulfilling, confidence building, and meaningful, and I’ve loved interviewing and meeting such interesting and compassionate people from around the world!  It wouldn’t be the same without my friend Judy, who is just as dedicated as I am, and always comes at things from a slightly different angle, keeping things from getting stale. And we are slowing seeing the vegan community in Bend blossom, after years of hard work (a couple of years on my end, many more years on Judy’s end).

In other news, today I watched three movies. Three! Very unusual for me. I’m a little under the weather and only had the energy to snooze, catch up on some Netflix, and of course, make food (I’m rarely too sick to eat). Loved Visioneers. It had a Brazil-like feel to it and had me laughing out loud in several places. I’d tell you what those were, but I might spoil it for you. Oh no, now the Brazil theme song is in my head! I also watched two documentaries: Cave of Forgotten Dreams, a Werner Herzog film about the Chauvet caves of Southern France, and Enlighten Up!, about a yoga quest. I was only partially paying attention to Cave, but I did appreciate the beautiful imagery, which included the context of the surrounding remote landscape and the interior of the multi-chambered cave itself, the close-ups of the paintings (still photographs are not the same), and all the various archaeologists and other experts expounding on the meaning of the drawings. It had a fitting soundtrack as well. I found it interesting that there are deliberate painted hand prints in the cave and they were able to identify one person’s repeated prints by their crooked finger. Enlighten Up! was OK, but not quite what I was hoping for.