zoebear saying goodbye and Anja saying hello!

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 3:12pm

Hello C99'ers!

As a crew member at Trader Joe's, I have dozens and dozens of conversations about food each day that have inevitably made their way back here as I promote C99 via the Tuesday Open Threads.

Recently, I had a conversation with a women who runs a dozen social media accounts for the film industry, as well as her own international projects. She was very excited about the topics I am writing here and expressed an interest in sharing them with her very large following.

While I am a little sad to let go of the nom de plume I've used since I've been here, writing under my own name and creating a body of work that I can conceivably use in an online portfolio, feels right. So, let me introduce myself before you see the name change above my little heart shaped tree, and take the time to say goodbye to zoebear and hello to Anja, the gal who loves to cook and write.

Thanks to everyone who has been following me on my foodie journey and giving me such encouragement!

Onward!

Tags:

Comments

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 3:27pm

{{{{zoebear}}}}

Is that really you?

Are you now Anja, for real?

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 3:30pm

Yes it's me!

@Raggedy Ann

zoebear aka Anja.

JtC is in the middle of changing the name on the account and I guess my name isn't recognizable yet. Lol.

Feels a little strange to be "anonymous"

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 3:37pm

Well, you're not anonymous to me!

@Anja Geitz
BTW - I've wanted to work at Trader Joe's for three years! I need to make it happen. I need a major change!!!

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 3:39pm

If you PM me with your digits

@Raggedy Ann

I'll call you and we can talk about how to make that happen.

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by dkmich on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:04pm

Congratulations on your good news.

I'm sure your new accounts will be a huge success. Happy to meet you.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:35pm

Feels a bit like an unmasking, lol

@dkmich

Thanks

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by smiley7 on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:32pm

Good news, congrats, Anja.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:38pm

Thanks Smiley

@smiley7

You guys have been great. A most welcoming port in the stormy sea of life.

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by QMS on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:36pm

Way to go Anja!

Good to see you coming out of the pantry.
Tastes good.
Will have to share my cooked bear recipe.

—

question everything

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:40pm

Hey QMS!

@QMS

Thanks so much! I guess I kinda did come out of the pantry. Tee hee.

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 4:41pm

Hmmm...cooked bear, eh?

@QMS

At first I thought I read cooked beer, and wondered how that worked. Hahaha!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by QMS on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 5:00pm

Yes, your bear is cooked

@Anja Geitz

—

question everything

Submitted by skod on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 6:17pm

Wow!

Short acquaintance, *mad* respect. Transformation is good (usually) though painful (usually). When it is voluntary, it is better (usually). I look forward to more discussion about, er, one topic or another.

But not lutefisk. Haggis, yes, anytime- I married a Scotswoman, and have managed for her not to airlock me for 30 years. But at lutefisk, I must regretfully draw a line.

Great to know you! Peace, and enjoy!

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 7:35pm

Thank you!

@skod

For your wise words. I left an entire life in New York City and started from scratch here in SoCal in an entirely different direction. It was voluntary, but only in terms of choosing to break out of four stone walls through a dark trap door. And here I am on the other side ready for a brand new adventure!

How unpredictable is life, eh?

P.S. Have never had lutefisk or haggis. But the Germans love their gooey smelly Limburger cheese and once I left home, I vowed to never look at it, or smell it again. Oy vey!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by mhagle on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:03pm

I love lutefisk!

@Anja Geitz

Anja is a lovely name. I like the switch. Wonderful!

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by UntimelyRippd on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:05pm

love lutefisk?

@mhagle
right.

clearly, you are part of a CIA psy-op.

—

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:40pm

Anyone want to clue me in

@UntimelyRippd

To controversy of lutefisk?

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by UntimelyRippd on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:45pm

it's the kind of food that would never have been invented

@Anja Geitz
other than from dire necessity.

disgusting in concept, disgusting in execution, disgusting in consumption.

bleargh.

—

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:51pm

Well, now I'm going to have to look it up

@UntimelyRippd

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by UntimelyRippd on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 9:04pm

google "lutefisk disgusting"

@Anja Geitz
you'll get a lot of hits.

—

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:06pm

This is pretty, er, descriptive

@UntimelyRippd

We've found six dishes that seemed to have sprung from Satan's own cookbook.

From Norway:

What the hell is it?
Ahhh, Lutefisk. After the larvae-ridden cheese, it's a blessed relief to sample a clean, down-to-earth Scandinavian recipe.

A little too clean.

Lutefisk is a traditional Norwegian dish featuring cod that has been steeped for many days in a solution of lye, until its flesh is caustic enough to dissolve silver cutlery.

Wait, it gets worse ...
For those of you who don't know, lye (potassium hydroxide/sodium hydroxide) is a powerful industrial chemical used for cleaning drains, killing plants, de-budding cow horns, powering batteries and manufacturing biodiesel. Contact with lye can cause chemical burns, permanent scarring, blindness or total deliciousness, depending on whether you pour it onto a herring or your own face. Or, so the lutefisk industry would have us believe.

Danger of this turning up in America:
IT'S ALREADY HERE! s**t!

It' true, lutefisk is more popular in the United States than in Norway. What the hell are they doing with it? They're not eating it are they? Is it because it' a cheap alternative to colonic irrigation? Seriously, how do you advertise this stuff?

As bad as that sounds, you should see what comes in first place.

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by skod on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:29pm

Oh, that is downright awesome.

@Anja Geitz Well played. I’ve had two of them, which means that I do indeed have blue mud for brains. If anyone has had more than two, you have my deepest sympathy, and drinks are on me should we ever meet...

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:39pm

Yeah, I can't make up my mind

@skod

If fermented newborn mice are worse than the unhatched quails boiled alive in their shells.

Now how about some lye to bleach out my brain after reading that!?!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by skod on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:49pm

The ant eggs

@Anja Geitz really aren’t bad... ish.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 11:11pm

If no one told me

@skod

I could see that, but the other stuff? Yikes! Satan's cookbook indeed!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by UntimelyRippd on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 11:17pm

and i'm impressed with myself for having eaten

@Anja Geitz
haggis with equanimity.

btw, in scotland you can buy it in a can -- kinda like buying corned beef hash here in the states.

—

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 9:00pm

Okay, I got as far as

@UntimelyRippd

"Re-hydrated with lye" and I stopped the video. Hmmmm....

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by skod on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 9:42pm

Damn-

@Anja Geitz don’t skip the fermentation part. Think raw fish kimchi on steroids with an additional year underground and a bad attitude.

Then go maybe two steps further...

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:23pm

So, is wearing a clothespin on your nose

@skod

While eating it a requirement?

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by skod on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:41pm

I wouldn’t say that, exactly,

@Anja Geitz but it goes down much better with three or four shots of 100 Stoli, 3 Percodans, a Thorazine drip in lactated Ringer’s, and Randy Mantooth hitting you from behind on the base of the skull with a slightly deceased manatee.

And I mean no disrespect to Mr. Mantooth; he was a great inspiration in my young adulthood. But frankly, only he could wield a slightly deceased manatee with the proper panache.

Limburger would be a refreshing aperitif- a palate cleanser, so to speak. Chase it with Akavit with just a dash of raw sewage and a toenail twist, and we’re good to go!

Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. But it is a hard eat, just the same.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:44pm

Colorfu descriptions :)

@skod

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:39pm

Thanks Marilyn

@mhagle

My Mother liked it

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Deja on Sat, 04/27/2019 - 2:16pm

Limburger cheese

@Anja Geitz
As my parents drove off, in their "Just Married" car (a Dodge Dart), that was all decorated up, they opened the air vents because North Texas is hot in June, and there was no a/c in the car. Soon, they noticed a wretched stench. They pulled over, my dad popped the hood and they found it.

My mom's older brother had placed a hunk of limberger on the engine.

I've never eaten it, but from that 50 year old story, I know that it has one hell of an odor -- especially when heated lol!

Bye zoe; and welcome Anja!

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Sat, 04/27/2019 - 3:28pm

Thank you Deja!

@Deja @Deja

You always have stories that make me laugh. What would the world be like without little brothers putting Limburger cheese under the hood of your car. Lol!

Nice to meet you!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by ggersh on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 6:33pm

Congrats Anja

more goodies coming yummee!

—

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 6:57pm

Lots more goodies coming

@ggersh

Thanks for the congrats!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by joe shikspack on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 7:05pm

congrats...

happy writing and portfolio building!

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 7:20pm

Thanks Joe!

@joe shikspack

I meant to PM you the other day and let you know about a referral I gave to a customer of mine who was very interested in getting political information from, er, sane people (lol). Apparently after spending some time here, she commented how informative your evening blues were. She said that she had not read about any of the news she's finding on our site and thanked me for the suggesting it.

Huzzah For C99 and the Evening Blues!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 7:20pm

Change by your own hand is always an important marker

...in life. A bold change is even better and more influential. Changing your name is always big!

Have fun with this.

Your friend,
Pluto

—

Carry a burning candle and share the light.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 7:27pm

Thanks Pluto!

@Pluto's Republic

It does feel like a BIG change. And I struggled with it for days. Do I out myself, or don't I? Not to mention feeling like I'm dissing the real zoebear whose out in the garden right now purring away oblivious that I just killed her online namesake. LOL.

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:08pm

You might consider keeping a journal about it.

@Anja Geitz

It would be interesting to know how your awareness changes and how you change, and what the inner processes are. Also, the different and unexpected types of change you may realize along the way — and the sense of any change in your audience. Goals and plans may change along the way, as well. It would be interesting to track that.

—

Carry a burning candle and share the light.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 10:20pm

That's a good idea!

@Pluto's Republic

I used to keep a journal but stopped because I got tired of hearing myself say the same things. Lol. But you brought up a good point. I'm in unchartered territory and while it will be interesting to look back at the progression, it might also be functional in organizing my thoughts and ideas.

High five to you Pluto!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by chambord on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 7:22pm

social

Good luck in your new venture.

—

It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. Carl Sagan

Submitted by janis b on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:04pm

At least your little heart shaped tree will always follow you ;

It's a wonderful image.

All the best growing the space reserved for doing what you love doing, and finding greater purpose and meaning in it, not to mention the pleasure it will bring.

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 8:43pm

Yes, I do love my little tree

@janis b

And we do need room to grow, just like trees.

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Sat, 04/27/2019 - 10:22am

Ain't much growing room in SoCal or NYC

@Anja Geitz But find yourself a good niche and move the the rest on over. Putting in a good word for c99 is mighty fine too.

Submitted by bobswern on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 9:22pm

Well...I've been away from this "online place"...

...for about 48+ hours, and there's this new "person" here, with the screen name: "Anja." I'm always busy when "the cool stuff" happens around here! LoL! (I'm writing this comment AFTER reading your note.)

Enjoying your online metamorphosis! But, you'll always be zoebear to me!

Bob

—

"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 9:52pm

Oh, gosh Bob

@bobswern

Ya made me laugh with that one. A new person. Lol.

Thanks, kindly

P.S. The furry zoebear thanks you for remembering

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by mimi on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 11:21pm

That is big change, as long as Anja's foodies are

as great as Zoebear's, all will work out wonderfully. But please, please, please, scratch those lutefisks. I had to watch an image about what lutefisks are and when I understood what was meant, I shook my head. Unless you are a hard drinking and working sailor type guy, who needs to get sober, you wouldn't want to eat that stuff. You can find them here in almost any store that sells food, but I hate to admit I am not a fan of nordish cold fermented fish.

Waiting for some hot spicy goodies from the Southern hemisphere of the globe.

Good luck to you. Brave woman.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by mimi on Fri, 04/26/2019 - 11:32pm

Uuh, I think I mixed up something about the lutefisks

@mimi
they are even worse than the things I was thinking about they were. Sorry.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Sat, 04/27/2019 - 12:22pm

Thanks Mimi

@mimi

You're sweet to say so. I will do my best!

—

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Sat, 04/27/2019 - 11:15am

Wow! Good morning and welcome Anja. Congrats as well.

Zoebear will be missed, but always with us hiding up in her tree, so that's all cool, I guess. Good luck with your portfolio. Do enjoy savor being Anja as I am sure we will all savor Anja's posts.

For the record, once, long ago in the wild craziness of youth I did partake of Lutefisk and Lefsa. I am here as living proof that it is not necessarily fatal, though I will surely never do so again. My sensory memory, poor as it is, recalls something far less palatable, though differently so, than raw peyote but without any of the beneficial after effects. The Lefsa, FWIW, wasn't all that bad though.

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by Anja Geitz on Sat, 04/27/2019 - 12:25pm