Happy Friday. And what a beEEUtiful Friday it is. Sunny and 80 here in the Pacific Northwest.
As I'm pulling the trigger on the weekend, I reviewed my weekend plans and wondered where I'm going to get the rest one deserves on the weekend. While the week was a short week, it seemed shockingly long. Am I the only one who felt that?
Right, so this weekend. First it'll be sun, sun, sunnyROO...perfect weather for the busy.
Tomorrow night is another trip to the Rollerderby. Yay. Socket Wenches vs DLF and Throttle Rockets vs Grave Danger. BigBro and Wifeypoo will be joining with me. I've got my rule book in hand and am ready for a little body checking.
Sunday I'll be up bright and early to shoot runners/walkers at a local 5K fundraising run organized by non other than PhotoGirl. BigBro and I will be standing at the turn around point and snapping frantically to get all the runners/walkers we possibly can. Not overly photography esk in that I won't be putting any artsy flair to it, but it should be a challenge none the less. After the turn around point, BigBro and I will hand around and shoot other things at the fundraiser.
After that I've been asked to shoot a fashion show for Survivors at a Susan G. Komen sponsored event. Last minute request and I don't really have all the details, but it should be a ton of fun all the same.
Other than that, the weekend will be filled with cleaning. Have some guests visiting next weekend and so will need to clean a bathroom or two and make the Murphy Bed for guests.
In other news, the sesamoiditis "fix" has been, how do I say this...um challenging. The wearing of the pads has adjusted how I walk and consequently put my legs and hips in a bit of pain, and my feet a bit sore too, but in a different way. The contrast bath has been - um - well, let's just say I haven't quite made more than 5 minutes total in the ice water. It's so dang hard to sit in ice cold water. It actually hurts. But I'm doing what I can and trying to push through it. All in all though, my feet do feel a bit better at the end of the day, and WAY better in the morning. Dr. Foot must have really known what he was talking about. Whodathunk?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sesame Street of the Foot
Take a trip down memory lane with me, won't you?
8 months ago I walked in the 3 Day / 60 mile breast cancer walk. Best thing I've ever done in my life. And if you recall, during said walk I bruised the ball of my foot. Remember?
Well 8 months now I finally went to Dr. Foot to see what was wrong with said foot because they are numb and still sore. I know. I know. Really? It took me 8 months. I'm a chicken. That's all there is to it.
Dr's scare me. Period. I'm convinced that any Dr. visit will result in immanent death and or amputation. I just don't want the bad news. It never actually crosses my mind that the point of the dr. appt is to avoid future bad news, but that's neither here nor there.
So, finally, I made an appt to Dr. Foot. I got to the office early because I knew paperwork would be involved. It was a very pleasant office too, no elevator music playing which was a plus in my book. Paperwork filled out, co pay handed over, I was showed back to a room. Nice big chair in the room to hop up on and a few button pushings later and I'm 3 feet off the floor with my shoes off and my sparkling toes wiggling free.
The nurse entered to get the down low on why I was there. Before she could even ask, "So what are you in for?" I blurted out, "My feet are really ticklish!" Actually it was so much a blurt as it was a squeal. She just nodded and said they get that a lot. Which really didn't set my mind at ease. But I continued with my sordid tale. She excused herself and I waited...anxiously for Dr. Foot.
All the while I'm working myself up to amputation. Sure they're gonna have to take all 10 piggies and my two feet. The plus is I'd lose like 10 Lbs instantly and I'd never need a pedicure again. The downside is I wouldn't have any feet.
Dr. Foot softly knocked and entered. Now picture if you will a rather tall mad scientist with bow tie. That is Dr. Foot. Very soft spoken, intelligent looking man, but with a bow tie. Made me feel at ease immediately. I blurted again about my ticklish feet and he said it was noted in my chart.
Relaxed a little, he had me go through my job and what I do - making small talk while he was touching my feed. Distracting me really...he was good at it. I didn't flinch one time.
After the examination and whatnot, he handed down his diagnosis...Sesamoiditis. He threw out a bunch of other words too, and when I asked how I was to remember what this was he said to think of it as Sesame Street of the foot.
So what is sesamoiditis? The ball of your foot is made up of two smaller bones underneath a bigger bone. Those two bones aren't connected to anything and their job is much like the knee cap, they help flick your big toe. The inside of the two bones, I've bruised. Apparently I have high arches. He said that actually my arches are so high that it's almost like my foot is folded in half, but it's not obviously. The high arch coupled with the repetitive strain of long distance walking, caused the bone to bruise. And the left foot, he suspects, bruised because I was over compensating for the right.
My prescription is I have to wear these very sexy foot pads just under the ball of my foot. They are about 1/2 inch thick and their job is to alleviate the stress on the ball of my foot by adding to my arch so it's not so high. I get to wear this sexy little number for 3 weeks. And I gotta tell ya, just walking from the Dr. office to my car, my foot already felt better. The pads are going to annoy the hell out of me, but after a couple of days I'm hoping I don't even notice them.
AND on top of all that, the muscle around those bones is inflamed. So I am now on Feldene for 10 days to help with the inflammation.
AND finally, I get to do a contrast bath. Effectively once a day I get to soak my feet in ice cold water for 3 minutes, then hot water for 1 minute and repeat this for 12 minutes. He said very few people can stand the 3 minutes in ice cold water the first time...but it gets easier - he says.
The bottom line, in 3 weeks he expects my feet to feel 100% better and we can then discuss how to deal with the high arches.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
"The DMQ "Pretty In Pink" 80's Prom night is the perfect Jenn storm."
The fact that I have a headache this morning "should" be an indication of how great the Prom was last night. Sadly, I think the headache is lack of hydration. Stinks to get old, don't it.
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Though the fact that my ears are still ringing, and 80's tunes are still floating around in my head IS a TOTALLY AWESOME indication of the night we had last night. And I reached a whole new Stalker Level last night. Not only did the drummer recognize me at the door, waved and said, "Hey Jenn". But I totally got whacked by a microphone stand during the show and got a "Ooo Sorry" from the lead singer. And I have the bruise to prove the latter - though I can't show anyone because it whacked me on my chest bone. Ouch! Still you can see more photos here.
Right...so anyhow...
We got to Neumo's early as usual and found ourselves a perch in which we can watch the going's on's around us. With it being an 80's prom theme you can only imagine what we witnessed. When we approached the building my heart was already thumping as we listened to Walk Like an Egyptian blaring on the sidewalk. Entering the venue we were welcomed with open arms by pink and black crate paper streamers hanging from the ceiling. Pink and Black balloon bouquets were scattered here and there to give it the "not just your everyday dance" look and feel. In the far corner was a real life photographer with a real life Prom Picture Set up. (Side Note: even though we weren't dressed up Blueberry wouldn't play along and get a prom picture with me. She mumbled something about wanting a "real" prom date. Whatever.) We danced our way upstairs to the tune of Hungry Like the Wolf and planted ourselves on a second floor balcony to "watch" the crowd below. What ensued from there was a constant muttering of "OMG - look at that" to "I totally love this song" to "Wow, now that's some big hair!" ... and so on. You get my drift right. We stood there and gawked and gasped at what people brought out of their closets for this prom night.
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Then some poor, slightly inebriated, sap tried to pick up Blueberry. Mr. Volleyball and I were laughing hysterically at this guys opening line - Guys - I do not recommend this. It's lame and we can see right through you. Said Sap saunters up and says, "So I'm trying to determine which was the better 80's movie Back to the Future or Breakfast Club, what do you think?" as he points at Blueberry who promptly says, "What?". I swear the music was so loud we could barely think. So Sap says it again and we all, "Breakfast Club". It should be noted here that Breakfast Club and Back To the Future really can't be compared side by side. One's a guy's flick and one's clearly a chick flick...so the comparison is all wrong. If he had said the better of say Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club - us girls would have to seriously think that one over.
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But I digress. The Sap stayed with us for just a moment longer and sauntered off once he realized we were way too cool for him. We watched him throughout the night toss that old line out to a bunch of different women. I affectionately started calling him Blueberry's Boyfriend. All night I'd say, "Blue, there's your boyfriend." and I'd point in his direction.
And yes, you see flamingos on the stage. I had to have a quick thought as to why flamingos, then I realized it was a "Pretty in Pink" theme...one more blond moment in the books.
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They opened with the quintessential 80's tune, Don't you Forget About Me...I mean really? That song screams 80's. I snapped a shot of the set list so I wouldn't forget all the songs they sang (I'm old like that now...). They followed the Simple Minds with my ALL TIME FAVORITE Journey song: Anyway You Want It. Gawd that song makes me want to roll down my windows and drive fast. They didn't do The Promise and Summer of '69 which is too bad. But the Ugliest Prom Dress judging and the King/Queen spotlight dance took WAY too long. But still, it was a good solid set of Totally Radical 80's songs. And I've said it before and I'll say it again, DMQ sounds way different now and as a long time fan, they sounded Righteous last night!
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Kim Virant from Lazy Susan and Chris Ballew from The President's of the United States both were special guests. Kim sang Total Eclipse of the Heart (Do you not just LOVE that video?) and Betty Davis Eyes while Chris acted not only as the Sex Ed and Driver's Ed teacher (at the last prom he was the principle, but budget cuts had him demoted - he said), he sang "I ran" (Flock of Seagulls Hair...OMG...totally 80's) and "Cars" (Did Gary Newman ever do any other songs but this? Or was he one of the 80's famous one-hit wonders?). Chris is quite the character I must say.
All in all, it was an extremely memorable prom. I didn't witness any crying in the girls bathroom so I can't confirm it was a COMPLETELY successful prom (all girls know what I mean there). But the tunes were hot, the venue rocked, and I left there with ringing ears and an 80's tune blaring in my head. As PMDude said yesterday, "The DMQ "Pretty In Pink" 80's Prom night is the perfect Jenn storm."
Right...so anyhow...
We got to Neumo's early as usual and found ourselves a perch in which we can watch the going's on's around us. With it being an 80's prom theme you can only imagine what we witnessed. When we approached the building my heart was already thumping as we listened to Walk Like an Egyptian blaring on the sidewalk. Entering the venue we were welcomed with open arms by pink and black crate paper streamers hanging from the ceiling. Pink and Black balloon bouquets were scattered here and there to give it the "not just your everyday dance" look and feel. In the far corner was a real life photographer with a real life Prom Picture Set up. (Side Note: even though we weren't dressed up Blueberry wouldn't play along and get a prom picture with me. She mumbled something about wanting a "real" prom date. Whatever.) We danced our way upstairs to the tune of Hungry Like the Wolf and planted ourselves on a second floor balcony to "watch" the crowd below. What ensued from there was a constant muttering of "OMG - look at that" to "I totally love this song" to "Wow, now that's some big hair!" ... and so on. You get my drift right. We stood there and gawked and gasped at what people brought out of their closets for this prom night.
Then some poor, slightly inebriated, sap tried to pick up Blueberry. Mr. Volleyball and I were laughing hysterically at this guys opening line - Guys - I do not recommend this. It's lame and we can see right through you. Said Sap saunters up and says, "So I'm trying to determine which was the better 80's movie Back to the Future or Breakfast Club, what do you think?" as he points at Blueberry who promptly says, "What?". I swear the music was so loud we could barely think. So Sap says it again and we all, "Breakfast Club". It should be noted here that Breakfast Club and Back To the Future really can't be compared side by side. One's a guy's flick and one's clearly a chick flick...so the comparison is all wrong. If he had said the better of say Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club - us girls would have to seriously think that one over.
But I digress. The Sap stayed with us for just a moment longer and sauntered off once he realized we were way too cool for him. We watched him throughout the night toss that old line out to a bunch of different women. I affectionately started calling him Blueberry's Boyfriend. All night I'd say, "Blue, there's your boyfriend." and I'd point in his direction.
And yes, you see flamingos on the stage. I had to have a quick thought as to why flamingos, then I realized it was a "Pretty in Pink" theme...one more blond moment in the books.
They opened with the quintessential 80's tune, Don't you Forget About Me...I mean really? That song screams 80's. I snapped a shot of the set list so I wouldn't forget all the songs they sang (I'm old like that now...). They followed the Simple Minds with my ALL TIME FAVORITE Journey song: Anyway You Want It. Gawd that song makes me want to roll down my windows and drive fast. They didn't do The Promise and Summer of '69 which is too bad. But the Ugliest Prom Dress judging and the King/Queen spotlight dance took WAY too long. But still, it was a good solid set of Totally Radical 80's songs. And I've said it before and I'll say it again, DMQ sounds way different now and as a long time fan, they sounded Righteous last night!
Kim Virant from Lazy Susan and Chris Ballew from The President's of the United States both were special guests. Kim sang Total Eclipse of the Heart (Do you not just LOVE that video?) and Betty Davis Eyes while Chris acted not only as the Sex Ed and Driver's Ed teacher (at the last prom he was the principle, but budget cuts had him demoted - he said), he sang "I ran" (Flock of Seagulls Hair...OMG...totally 80's) and "Cars" (Did Gary Newman ever do any other songs but this? Or was he one of the 80's famous one-hit wonders?). Chris is quite the character I must say.
All in all, it was an extremely memorable prom. I didn't witness any crying in the girls bathroom so I can't confirm it was a COMPLETELY successful prom (all girls know what I mean there). But the tunes were hot, the venue rocked, and I left there with ringing ears and an 80's tune blaring in my head. As PMDude said yesterday, "The DMQ "Pretty In Pink" 80's Prom night is the perfect Jenn storm."
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Off Like a Prom Dress
This year's prom is for the year of 1986. That got me thinking about what 80's songs were out in 1986 and if I had any of them 1) on my POC (Pod of Crap) or 2) memories associated to them. It's almost certain that both will apply.
One of my favorite's was Holding Back the Years by Simply Read. It'd be nice to hear DMQ do this song. Who knows though.
Venus - DMQ already does this one. And yes one of the all time greatest songs to me. Guaranteed dancing in one's seat. Could that video GET any more 80's?
Rock me Amadeus - OMG...this song. So we had a drinking game (Hi Mom...move along. Nothing to read here) that you'd have to drink every time they said the world Amadeus. Do you KNOW how many times they say that damn name? Trust me...a drinking game is short lived with that song. (JC - the German language video is for you!)
Take my Breath Away - Top Gun. Groan. Two things about that movie: 1) the first time I saw it it was in Italian, and 2) Oh. My. God.
The volleyball scene. Hot Flash! Even though many of the plays they make in the game are illegal...I'll choose to ignore that in exchange for all the upper manflesh that's showed. ahem...moving on...
West End Girls - What's not to love? I did find some controversy as to whether this was 1985 or 1986. I fell for it in 1986 therefore it counts. So there.
Manic Monday - Who wouldn't want to kiss Valintino by a crystal blue Italian stream? I mean really. I'm just sayin... (that's for you Your Royal Geekness)
I Wanna Be A Cowboy - a song that belongs in the Top 10 Worst songs by far...I can say in all sincerity that it's not on the POC...yet.
Pretty in Pink - Psychedelic Furs - do the 80's get much better? I think not. I loved, loved, LOVED that movie. I had a wee crush on David Spader...and who didn't love Ducky or Andrew McCarthy.
Right so I promise my little 80's music lovers, that I'll bring home videos of tomorrow great 80's Prom. I can't wait. I so need a night out with the boys.
In other not so thrilling news, we are creeping up on a THREE DAY WEEKEND! I can't wait. So need that extra day off...especially since the ever so accurate Seattle weatherman (er ah person) said it was going to be sunny this weekend. Can you believe it? Me neither.
And with that...I'm gonna go Walk Like an Egyptian (you really didn't think I'd forget one of THE biggest hits of 1986 did you?).
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity
Blueberry is a season ticket holder for the 5th Avenue theater here in Seattle. Every season she's kind enough to let me pick from her shows the ones I want to attend with her. This year I chose Shrek (which was quite frankly AWESOME - which was weird to see Shrek as a musical, but whatever) and the other was Grease.
I'm a huge Grease fan in general. It's a "classic" in terms of movies that my generation loves. And like most classics, when someone messes with them they are doomed, usually. And so my thoughts loomed as we made our way to dinner and then to the theater. Very odd group of people go to the theater too I might add. If you ever go, just watch the people around you. There are truly all types. From way dressy to shorts and a t-shirt.
Anyhow, Grease is being advertised with Taylor Hicks as Teen Angel. Taylor Hicks, you may not know, won American Idol a couple years back. There's no doubt he's a good singer, but Franki Valli he ain't. I'm just sayin'.
TH sang ONE song. One. Beauty School Drop Out. That's it. The cast up to that point had been carrying the show, for obvious reasons, but the moment TH came on stage you would have thought Elvis had entered the building. The place erupted in harrahs. I just didn't get it.
He sings, they had a clever line regarding one of the pink ladies voting for him, and he leaves. Done. Grease goes on as planned.
The show itself was good. But as I said, I don't much like it when people mess with classics and so some of the adjustments they made didn't sit well with me. For example, Grease Lightning. Every woman in the world drools and loves John Travolta playing Danny Zuko singling Grease Lightning. And after you saw the movie originally when you were young, and realized what the lyrics said as you grew older, you really appreciated the song for all the cheese that it was. Yah, so not only did they change up some of the - um - rather risque lyrics, but Kenickie sang it. WTF? And I might add, the guy they had as Kenickie wasn't that great of a singer.
In fact, the first Sandy they had (I say "first" because after the intermission they "replaced" Sandy) was horrible. WAY too goody two shoes and not such a great singer. The replacement Sandy, on the other hand, could sing. Whoa!
The BEST female singer by far was the woman who played Jan. Jan was the rather geeky of the Pink Ladies and was the one who sang the commercial tune while they were having the slumber party - which wasn't in the show. The slumber party was, but Rizzo didn't sing "Look at me I'm Sandra Dee" then. Anyway, the Jan singer blew. me. away. She was fantabulous!
So then after the cast took their bows, out pops Taylor Hicks to sing Grease - that led into a medley with the cast. Then, the worst thing, IMHO, happened. The crowd cheered, the performers exited the stage, and they then announced that TH was going to perform a song for us. Oh goody! Talk about a gratuitous performance. Let's see, and entire cast of very talented singers perform very rigorously and get cheers. But then TH steps on stage to try to "steal the show"? I think not. I like him even less now. I mean really. If the only gig you can get is to do one, well one and a half songs during a Broadway performance, THEN sing a solo song...something is seriously wrong with your career.
I felt bad for the entire cast. I felt like their fantastic performance - and it was fantastic, just different - was over shadowed by Hick boy! Ugh. So to the performers of Grease, I liked you WAY more than Hick boy! Well done!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sticks and Stones
I've been called a lot of things in my life. Some good, some not so good. But there is one word that keeps popping up in rare, but way too familiar situations...the word snob.
I started wondering about the word and wondering if I was a snob. I mean I am particular about a few things, but does that make me a snob? Or just particular?
What started this disastrous thought process was my morning cuppa Joe. I was standing in line behind a woman who was dressed to the nines. She stood out because she was clearly not a Hotel CaliforniaSoft tech type which is what generally frequents my coffee watering hole. Anyhow she blurted out her order, which she had to repeat twice because of the enormity and complexity of it. Having been a barista for a couple of years, I knew the fear these types of drink orders produced. But that wasn't my first thought, my first thought was, "Man what a coffee snob." Then amused at myself I realized people had, recently, called me that as well. Funny that I put this woman with the complicated drink in that category, but not myself.
But am I a coffee snob? I think there's a distinct chance that I am.
I digress. I looked up "snob" in the dictionary. It's a noun, not too surprising. But the first definition is, "one who blatantly imitates, fawningly admires, or vulgarly seeks association with those regarded as social superiors". Eh, what's that? Well, I knew that wasn't me. So I read on.
Definition #2 (it was actually definition #3 as Definition #1 was Cobbler, which made no sense so I discounted it - ahem) "one who tends to rebuff, avoid, or ignore those regarded as inferior or one who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste". That sounds more like it.
So I got to wondering, is being a snob about such things as coffee or food (the other instance in which "snob" was thrown at me...as in "I'm a food snob.")? Isn't appreciating better quality stuff really about just that "appreciating" quality? By desiring higher standards in things like my coffee make me a snob? Maybe.
While I contemplated the fact that the woman in front of me wasn't likely to get the coffee she wanted the way she wanted it because it was so complex, (incidentally the order was for: one quarter-decaf, quad grande, three pumps of almond, extra-chocolate drizzle, nonfat, dense foam, 185 degree, latte - I know, right?) I stood very confident that my simple Venti Vanilla Americano with Xtra room drink would be perfect. And yet, day 2 with a new barista and day 2 my coffee wasn't right. I found it amusing I was miffed that I had to deal with a substandard coffee drink. And that realization meant I could most definitely be put into the coffee snob category.
I'll stand firm though, and defend myself until my caffiene-drenched blood runs no more, that there is such a thing as BAD coffee. There are very few things I hold sacred...but my coffee is one of them. And for all those people out there who think they can't tell the difference between good coffee and bad coffee, I'm going to choose to ignore you and your inferiority! teehee...
So yah, I most likely am a coffee snob. And I'm most likely a food snob - to some extent. But the best part about knowing that is knowing that I'm okay with that. I could be called worse things, and probably am - behind my back. But that's okay. I'd likely just ignore the ones who insult me, considering they're inferior beings and all.
What started this disastrous thought process was my morning cuppa Joe. I was standing in line behind a woman who was dressed to the nines. She stood out because she was clearly not a Hotel CaliforniaSoft tech type which is what generally frequents my coffee watering hole. Anyhow she blurted out her order, which she had to repeat twice because of the enormity and complexity of it. Having been a barista for a couple of years, I knew the fear these types of drink orders produced. But that wasn't my first thought, my first thought was, "Man what a coffee snob." Then amused at myself I realized people had, recently, called me that as well. Funny that I put this woman with the complicated drink in that category, but not myself.
But am I a coffee snob? I think there's a distinct chance that I am.
I digress. I looked up "snob" in the dictionary. It's a noun, not too surprising. But the first definition is, "one who blatantly imitates, fawningly admires, or vulgarly seeks association with those regarded as social superiors". Eh, what's that? Well, I knew that wasn't me. So I read on.
Definition #2 (it was actually definition #3 as Definition #1 was Cobbler, which made no sense so I discounted it - ahem) "one who tends to rebuff, avoid, or ignore those regarded as inferior or one who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste". That sounds more like it.
So I got to wondering, is being a snob about such things as coffee or food (the other instance in which "snob" was thrown at me...as in "I'm a food snob.")? Isn't appreciating better quality stuff really about just that "appreciating" quality? By desiring higher standards in things like my coffee make me a snob? Maybe.
While I contemplated the fact that the woman in front of me wasn't likely to get the coffee she wanted the way she wanted it because it was so complex, (incidentally the order was for: one quarter-decaf, quad grande, three pumps of almond, extra-chocolate drizzle, nonfat, dense foam, 185 degree, latte - I know, right?) I stood very confident that my simple Venti Vanilla Americano with Xtra room drink would be perfect. And yet, day 2 with a new barista and day 2 my coffee wasn't right. I found it amusing I was miffed that I had to deal with a substandard coffee drink. And that realization meant I could most definitely be put into the coffee snob category.
I'll stand firm though, and defend myself until my caffiene-drenched blood runs no more, that there is such a thing as BAD coffee. There are very few things I hold sacred...but my coffee is one of them. And for all those people out there who think they can't tell the difference between good coffee and bad coffee, I'm going to choose to ignore you and your inferiority! teehee...
So yah, I most likely am a coffee snob. And I'm most likely a food snob - to some extent. But the best part about knowing that is knowing that I'm okay with that. I could be called worse things, and probably am - behind my back. But that's okay. I'd likely just ignore the ones who insult me, considering they're inferior beings and all.
Monday, May 11, 2009
My lost cause...
I met a friend for lunch a week or so ago. We'll call her K. K told me of her recent dilemma about her closet and her clothing issue and how she needed to organize her closet. She had finally gotten so fed up that she was going to hire a professional organizer to the tune of hundreds of dollars to come in to "organize" her closet.
Stunned that someone could make that kind of $$ doing something I absolutely LOVED, I offered K my organizational skills to help her clean out her closet. All I asked for in return was dinner and maybe some wine. She was thrilled. She thought I was crazy to see this sort of thing as "fun", but whatever.
On my drive back from lunch I was surprised at how excited I was to be helping her clean out her closet. I've done this several times with Blueberry too and knew I had to come up with a plan and get a commitment from K regarding how to proceed. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I missed another calling in life.
I think because of all the moving I've done in my life, I'm an expert at purging. I'm not a keeper, a pack rat, a whatever you want to call a person who keeps stuff around. Don't get me wrong, I have kept sentimental items, and such, but overall, I'm not a pack rat.
I read somewhere, or heard or something, a long time ago about how people attached memories to things and so can't get rid of the thing. Our emotional side kicks in and we have to hold on to the old ratty sock with holes in because it was the sock your kid was wearing the day his first tooth came in. Know what I mean? This "expert" had said that people don't realize that even if you get rid of the item, you still have the memory. And suddenly it made sense. It is, however, a lot easier said then done...but still.
So in preparation to help K with her closet I started thinking about what I knew to be true to help organize the closet. The rules if you will. I had posted on FB that I was excited to help her and couldn't believe the number of people/friends who emailed me or left a comment asking me to help them when I was done.
So, for all of you who are ready, here are the rules of engagement:
1. Be ruthless. You have to willing to part with items in a logical, non emotional way, and you have to be ready to let go. You have to be willing to ask the hard questions and answer them honestly when it comes to 1) how long has it been since you've used/seen/worn an item, and 2) how realistically likely would it be that you'll need it in the next year?
2. Allow yourself three piles and stick to it. The two piles should be 1) Keep or 2) Goodwill or donation. There is some debate to have a third pile of items that might be worth selling or sending to consignment. If you're that type, then by all means - but that pile has to go too. There may be a need for a 3rd pile of "unsure". In that pile should be items you need to try on to make the determination.
3. Decide quickly. Don't hum and ha. Your initial gut decision should be the one you go with. Then no going back.
4. Once you've gone through the piles. Bag up the donation pile and put it in your car ASAP. Do not allow it to linger in the house. If you let it linger, you may how dumpers remorse and want to dig something out of there. In K's case, I took the bags (12 of them) with me so she couldn't go through them again.
5. Now, go through the pile to keep. Double check for stains, tears, anything that makes you think you should get rid of it.
Once you have your "keep stuff" now starts the harder part, what to do with it. In the case of the clothing, there are several "theories" on how best to organize a closet. Some people prefer Winter / Summer type of organization. I feel strongly that you should keep all your clothes together and separate by color. You'll be amazed to see how many new outfits you might come up with because now you can see all the brown shirts you have. The other benefit of sorting by colors is you now have a look at the spectrum of your clothes. Next time you're out shopping for a new shirt, you now may know that you have no purple shirts, or not as many as you want. If you're like most of us, you automatically drift toward a single color (mine is black because it's slimming). But now you're aware that you have 15 pairs of black slacks and you don't need any more. (I'm a minimalist and don't have 15 pairs of slacks in all my colors combined - I have 7 that's it.)
Now, that you've got room in your closet you can sit back and focus on more important things. I won't lie to you though, keeping it this way is a commitment. And it may require you to regroup in a couple of months again. I tend to go through my closets every 4 months give or take. My rule of thumb is if I've not worn it in a year, it goes. Chances are high I've purchased something I like more and wear more often, so get rid of the excess. I happen to have a huge closet with loads of room, and by loads of room, I mean LOADS of room. I'd say maybe, 1/3 is used right now with clothing - including all the fancy stuff you only wear once in a while.
So after helping K, on my way home I started thinking about a career in this sort of thing. Clearly there were people out there who did it already. But the key, to me is, not cramming something down someones throat, but rather figuring out what "process" works best for them. The way I organize my closet and or life works for me, but may not work for K or Blueberry or anyone else. So really being a professional organizer isn't about just organizing, it's about the psychology behind why people don't organize to begin with. Organization is NOT something you're born with like good hair or straight teeth, it can be learned.
And to K - good job. You were such a trooper as we went through every single piece of clothing you have. I so wish we would have taken a before and after shot...you know, for my portfolio should I decide a career change is in order.
Stunned that someone could make that kind of $$ doing something I absolutely LOVED, I offered K my organizational skills to help her clean out her closet. All I asked for in return was dinner and maybe some wine. She was thrilled. She thought I was crazy to see this sort of thing as "fun", but whatever.
On my drive back from lunch I was surprised at how excited I was to be helping her clean out her closet. I've done this several times with Blueberry too and knew I had to come up with a plan and get a commitment from K regarding how to proceed. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I missed another calling in life.
I think because of all the moving I've done in my life, I'm an expert at purging. I'm not a keeper, a pack rat, a whatever you want to call a person who keeps stuff around. Don't get me wrong, I have kept sentimental items, and such, but overall, I'm not a pack rat.
I read somewhere, or heard or something, a long time ago about how people attached memories to things and so can't get rid of the thing. Our emotional side kicks in and we have to hold on to the old ratty sock with holes in because it was the sock your kid was wearing the day his first tooth came in. Know what I mean? This "expert" had said that people don't realize that even if you get rid of the item, you still have the memory. And suddenly it made sense. It is, however, a lot easier said then done...but still.
So in preparation to help K with her closet I started thinking about what I knew to be true to help organize the closet. The rules if you will. I had posted on FB that I was excited to help her and couldn't believe the number of people/friends who emailed me or left a comment asking me to help them when I was done.
So, for all of you who are ready, here are the rules of engagement:
1. Be ruthless. You have to willing to part with items in a logical, non emotional way, and you have to be ready to let go. You have to be willing to ask the hard questions and answer them honestly when it comes to 1) how long has it been since you've used/seen/worn an item, and 2) how realistically likely would it be that you'll need it in the next year?
2. Allow yourself three piles and stick to it. The two piles should be 1) Keep or 2) Goodwill or donation. There is some debate to have a third pile of items that might be worth selling or sending to consignment. If you're that type, then by all means - but that pile has to go too. There may be a need for a 3rd pile of "unsure". In that pile should be items you need to try on to make the determination.
3. Decide quickly. Don't hum and ha. Your initial gut decision should be the one you go with. Then no going back.
4. Once you've gone through the piles. Bag up the donation pile and put it in your car ASAP. Do not allow it to linger in the house. If you let it linger, you may how dumpers remorse and want to dig something out of there. In K's case, I took the bags (12 of them) with me so she couldn't go through them again.
5. Now, go through the pile to keep. Double check for stains, tears, anything that makes you think you should get rid of it.
Once you have your "keep stuff" now starts the harder part, what to do with it. In the case of the clothing, there are several "theories" on how best to organize a closet. Some people prefer Winter / Summer type of organization. I feel strongly that you should keep all your clothes together and separate by color. You'll be amazed to see how many new outfits you might come up with because now you can see all the brown shirts you have. The other benefit of sorting by colors is you now have a look at the spectrum of your clothes. Next time you're out shopping for a new shirt, you now may know that you have no purple shirts, or not as many as you want. If you're like most of us, you automatically drift toward a single color (mine is black because it's slimming). But now you're aware that you have 15 pairs of black slacks and you don't need any more. (I'm a minimalist and don't have 15 pairs of slacks in all my colors combined - I have 7 that's it.)
Now, that you've got room in your closet you can sit back and focus on more important things. I won't lie to you though, keeping it this way is a commitment. And it may require you to regroup in a couple of months again. I tend to go through my closets every 4 months give or take. My rule of thumb is if I've not worn it in a year, it goes. Chances are high I've purchased something I like more and wear more often, so get rid of the excess. I happen to have a huge closet with loads of room, and by loads of room, I mean LOADS of room. I'd say maybe, 1/3 is used right now with clothing - including all the fancy stuff you only wear once in a while.
So after helping K, on my way home I started thinking about a career in this sort of thing. Clearly there were people out there who did it already. But the key, to me is, not cramming something down someones throat, but rather figuring out what "process" works best for them. The way I organize my closet and or life works for me, but may not work for K or Blueberry or anyone else. So really being a professional organizer isn't about just organizing, it's about the psychology behind why people don't organize to begin with. Organization is NOT something you're born with like good hair or straight teeth, it can be learned.
And to K - good job. You were such a trooper as we went through every single piece of clothing you have. I so wish we would have taken a before and after shot...you know, for my portfolio should I decide a career change is in order.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Most Embarrassing Moment of the Week!
Typically on weekends I make coffee at home. 5 days a week I stop at Bucky's (Starbucks that is) and I figure on the weekend, there's no reason since I do, after all, have a coffee maker. I know, I hear ya. Why am I not making coffee during the week? Because.
So Saturday morning, I realized I didn't have cream for my coffee. Off I went to Bucky's and figured I might as well do my grocery shopping too. I realize Bucky's and the grocery store is less than .1 of a mile from my place, but I had a lot of heavy stuff I was buying and I knew it wouldn't do my back good to carry it all home (cat littler, ice, cat food, etc). So I drove.
As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed almost immediately the fire truck. I've been in QFC before while the boys of the fire world were shopping. No, I don't stalk them. It just happens that they seem to almost always be there when I am. Weird, right? Maybe they're stalking me.
Anyhow, the Manager of the Bucky's by me knows me because she used to work at the Bucky's I frequent every morning. I walked in and scanned Bucky's and thought it was relatively quite for a Saturday morning (or course it was only 7:30 AM, but still). I chit chatted with the Manager as she took my order. I asked her, "So where are the hot firemen?" Her face went almost white and she grinned and said, "Right behind you."
I slowly turned my head to see 5 grinning guys...they all noddin and said, "mornin'." I smiled, waved embarrassingly and slithered back to my car and died.
In other non-Jenn-embarrassing-the-hell-out-of-herself news...we're having one helluva storm tonight. High winds sustained at 30-40 MPH with gusts to 55 mph and rain, lots and lots of rain. Weird weather for Seattle in the spring. But whatever. If my power goes out, I'll just call the firemen. They'll come running since we're BFFs now.
So Saturday morning, I realized I didn't have cream for my coffee. Off I went to Bucky's and figured I might as well do my grocery shopping too. I realize Bucky's and the grocery store is less than .1 of a mile from my place, but I had a lot of heavy stuff I was buying and I knew it wouldn't do my back good to carry it all home (cat littler, ice, cat food, etc). So I drove.
As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed almost immediately the fire truck. I've been in QFC before while the boys of the fire world were shopping. No, I don't stalk them. It just happens that they seem to almost always be there when I am. Weird, right? Maybe they're stalking me.
Anyhow, the Manager of the Bucky's by me knows me because she used to work at the Bucky's I frequent every morning. I walked in and scanned Bucky's and thought it was relatively quite for a Saturday morning (or course it was only 7:30 AM, but still). I chit chatted with the Manager as she took my order. I asked her, "So where are the hot firemen?" Her face went almost white and she grinned and said, "Right behind you."
I slowly turned my head to see 5 grinning guys...they all noddin and said, "mornin'." I smiled, waved embarrassingly and slithered back to my car and died.
In other non-Jenn-embarrassing-the-hell-out-of-herself news...we're having one helluva storm tonight. High winds sustained at 30-40 MPH with gusts to 55 mph and rain, lots and lots of rain. Weird weather for Seattle in the spring. But whatever. If my power goes out, I'll just call the firemen. They'll come running since we're BFFs now.