Tuesday Open Thread ~ Bonfires of Opportunity
'When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it. ” ~ Boris Pasternak
Pasternak had it right when he said that we often don’t hear when opportunity knocks. But sometimes opportunity knocks so loudly, you just can’t miss it. Which is basically what happened to me this week.
Pictured above is a gif I made when I set my termination notice from Trader Joe’s on fire. Yes, you heard that correctly. I was arbitrarily fired from my job last Thursday. An unmitigated disaster or an opportunity in the making? You decide. All I know is that after the shock wore off, I spent the next 24 hours reaching out to all my contacts and within days secured work to cover my rent and health insurance for the next six months. A project that has the potential to grow into something more and where I will not only be using my skills as a writer, but also my training in education.
In retrospect, Trader Joe’s was always suppose to have been a temporary gig for me. A job to augment my freelancing career. But then life happened, my freelancing work dried up, and I was too tired from shift work to change that. Apart from the firing being personally motivated, truth is I’ve been wanting to change my employment situation for a long time but was just too complacent with my circumstances to do anything about it. Then Covid-19 happened and my dissatisfaction with my situation came to a head. A week before I was fired, I was on the phone with a friend telling her something had to give. I could no longer just tread water anymore. Either I was going to drown, or a personal transformation needed to happen. Well, my friend said, personal transformation is fine but you need a plan. Indeed I did. So I started putting together an “elevator pitch”, reached out to some of my contacts in New York for feedback, and began imagining what I really wanted my financial future to look like, specifically. Well, guess what? A week later I found myself in a position to quote an hourly rate commensurate with my skills and negotiate an employment agreement on my terms.
What’s even more surprising is how not freaked out by all of this I am. I mean, yes, I lost a guaranteed income in the middle of a pandemic. Which any way you spin it, definitely sucks. But so far, I’ve been getting green lights in every direction I’ve set my sights on, that it’s difficult to see this as the disaster one might be tempted to call it. So, in the spirit of celebrating rather than nursing my fears, I have planned a get together tonight with some friends, a few bottles of champagne, a fire pit, and some of my last performance reviews from Trader Joe’s to burn.
Carpe Diem, baby.
Comments
I often knock the New York Times, but this piece from last June
actually gets a few things right enough to be useful for appreciating the storied tapestry of ancestry and race in Hawaii.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/opinion/sunday/racism-hawaii.html
@Anja: On the one hand, I’m sorry to hear that the Trader Joe’s “story arc” in your life has ended. On the other hand, despite the satisfaction you clearly derived from the fine food experiences on offer there and generously shared with us, it comes as no surprise that you’ve now set sail and compass on a course toward better things and bigger dreams.
Hi Lottie
Enjoyed your nautical metaphor. In fact I had a dream last night where I was on a boat with a bunch of really good looking guys. Not sure where that fits in with setting sail for new horizons, but it sure was a fun dream
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Let's hope this is a blessing in disguise
sometimes change can be good
wishing things work out for your benefit
good luck
question everything
Hey QMS
Thanks for your well wishes
Of course, I realize there are no guarantees in life but I was having a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine who started a cannabis business about two years ago after being miserable in the financial sector for years. It was the classic jumping off the cliff with an idea and hoping the net would catch you. And it did. Not only did his business do well on it’s own, it exploded during the pandemic in such growth, he had to open up another site and hire more and more people. When the subject of “security” came up in my conversation, as in him leaving a job that provided him security but no growth or enjoyment, he said, “Well, if you come to think of it, the idea of security for either animals and humans is basically an unnatural state”. Which I took to meaning that being static for too long in any part of our lives, robs us of experiencing true joy. A trade off or sure, but I’m kinda looking forward to seeing what I can “create” on my own.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
You are moving in a positive direction
as far as stasis is involved - some people need that security blanket more than others
me, I would suffocate if I was expected to be the same being twice in a row
have seen the spiritual destruction forced on people who thought 30 years and a good pension
would create an idyllic retirement, only to be tosseed and cheated in the end
have no illusions there. seems we are required to work until the juice is gone
trick is to find something enjoyable and manageable
which changes over time
I like your attitude
question everything
it is our nature to adapt to change
We don't always do that well, but sounds like you've managed to use your situation to an advantage. Good on you.
Hope all goes well on your new path!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thanks Lookout
It is indeed part of our nature to adapt and change. For those who don’t do it well, or at all, I’ve noticed they seem to approach life very differently that those who do. When a friend of mine heard that I was fired from Trader Joe’s, the first thing that went throught her mind was “Thank God”. When we got together for martini’s and lunch, her treat, she said I was practically glowing as I talked about my plans for the future. Later explaining that she felt I had “trapped” myself at Trader Joe’s in a job where I was not growing, she’s now become my cheerleader for creating something I can call my own.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Good morning, Anja ~~
I'm so happy for you, Anja! You could have let yourself drown in fear, but you resisted and rose above any flames. Congratulations on your forward motion!
You are a perfect example of the universe being in charge! In talking to your friend the week before your firing, you manifested your future! You made it happen, baby! The universe heard you and said - oh, yeah, I've got a plan for you and you're on the right track! It reminds me, when five years ago, MrRA and I were in a pickle. I needed a job and stated it to the universe. A couple months later, a friend asked me if I wanted a job. The universe shouted in my ear - ASK HER WHAT THE JOB IS - but I knew it didn't matter - I knew the universe was answering my call and everything has turned out for the better. Although he's not working now and I got reduced to 30hrs wk, we cut back a smidge and we'll be ok!
What a beautiful situation we are all in right now. The undisciplined Americans are learning that they are not exceptional - that our leaders have said we're exceptional until it is killing us. We must learn to live in the present, not live way outside of ourselves, live with love toward all, live in unity, not in division, live in community, not in isolation. You say we are in isolation now? Only physically until we learn the lessons. Love the covid and the change it is bringing to our world.
Lots of crazy energy flying around this month, so be aware, be kind, be grateful.
Enjoy the day!
"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
Thank you so much for your encouragement!
I was as surprised as anyone how things have developed so quickly. Truth is that while I was definitely shocked when it happened, since then, it’s almost as if a weight has been lifted. Weird, huh? Here I am in the middle of the great unknown and I’m happier than I can remember being in a very long time.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
It sounds like the job had become a greater stress then you
realized until it was gone. I am happy for you. Enjoy your new life.
Hawaiian “Oy”: Obama and the beach house loopholes (Pro Publica)
https://www.propublica.org/article/obama-and-the-beach-house-loopholes
Sand washes away from the shore and beaches and historic native ponds evanesce, like so many 2008 campaign promises.
Wow!
Anja! Have to agree with Lotilizard that I really enjoyed your recipes and wine pairings from Trader Joe's.
That being said the universe is always open to us asking for what we really want. Scary and exhilarating times ahead for you! Wishing you the best in your future.
Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.
This ain't no dress rehearsal!
Hello Jakkalbessie
I will definitely miss the friends I’ve made at Trader Joe’s, along with the food and wine tastings. What I won’t miss is working for a manager who did not seem to possess the depth or the imagination to see people beyond the pigeon holes he was prone to place everyone in.
Fast forward four days since my termination and the feedback I’m getting from everyone I’ve reached out to has indeed been exhilarating. Don’t get me wrong, the scary thoughts sneak in here and there too, but I try and tell fear to get in the backseat while creativity and I drive the car
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Good morning! Unsettling news...
The upside of the downside is that the world can open up a bit afterwards. There's always a bit of a thrill in working without a net, and it sounds like you have a good handle on it and are ready to get back to doing things that feed your soul a bit. Sometimes having a safe harbor gig for a while is just what you need to reset your drive to do the things that you derive more joy from. I know that I'd rather have my shingle out again than plug along at my current corporate gig that pays the bills, but I'm not quite ready to make that leap just now. Do the hell out of whatever you do, and we'll keep trading recipes as time might permit...
Actually, I have a recipe to contribute right now, specifically in honor of the dem "convention" hoo haw rah rah blech. It is a cocktail recipe that my then-girlfriend and I developed during a particularly intense post-hockey-game party. It features the singularly Scandahoovian spirit Aquavit (or Akavit), which tastes like licorice, caraway, and maybe dill had an ill-advised drunken cuddle session with some cough syrup, and an unexpected cordial was born some time later. It had to be tried.
1. Take a newly bought, clean cellulose kitchen sponge
2. Cut it into 1" squares
3. Put them into a bowl and saturate with Aquavit. Add some ice.
4. Drink by popping a chunk of the sponge in your mouth and sucking on it.
We named this drink "Face down in the gutter", because the odd sensation when the sponge gets dry is almost identical to how the drinker will actually feel the next morning. It's a time travel beverage. It is therefore the perfect beverage with which to celebrate the quadrennial dem granfalloon this time.
This was 30+ years ago: I married that girlfriend, and remarkably in that 30+ years we have somehow managed to never make these again...
Be safe, be well, and stay sane (within reason). And soon come!
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Good Afternoon Usefewersyllables
I definitely think you hit the nail on the head with this one:
Or as another friend said, “You’re right on time.”
Bigger picture, it’s all good. Appreciate the encouragement
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Good Afternoon Usefewersyllables
I definitely think you hit the nail on the head with this one:
Or as another friend said, “You’re right on time.”
Bigger picture, it’s all good. Appreciate the encouragement
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Thanks for the laugh and wild imagination, Ufs
Glad you didn't have to repeat that recipe.
Good on you
Anja. Best to you in your new endeavors.
Thank you Randa!
I feel so much lighter knowing I don’t have to go someplace where the boss is certain he knows everything there is to know about me and has deemed it unsatisfactory and am now free to build something much truer to who I am.
Sure makes a difference in your perspective, I’ll tell ya.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Great cover of 'blue skies',
thank you rand.
i knew this guy whose optimistic nature was, um, not
not exactly in tune with my own general outlook.
He was about 20 years older than me. He loved to tell people the story of how in his mid-40s he had found himself suddenly and unexpectedly divorced and jobless. "Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to me!" he would say, reveling in the inevitable disbelief. He had found a new job, moved to a different state, and -- on an adventure vacation he would not have otherwise taken -- met a woman whom he adored, and who adored him. That job, home, and partner anchored the remaining 25 years of his life.
It's a strange business we're all in.
[video:https://youtu.be/5Vq8BWGefvE]
or, alternatively:
[video:https://youtu.be/IX0YLW_4n08]
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.
BTW, any ideas on good uses for fresh spearmint,
some of which has popped up in a corner of my yard?
(Other than mint juleps. I drink whisky, neat.)
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.
Things you can do with spearmint
Wish I could take credit for all of these, but I found them online and I liked them so here ya go!
Salad Ingredient: Chop up a few leaves and add them to your salad along with some freshly grated ginger and lemon zest. The flavour combo is amazing and adds a great summery flare to your favourite salad.
Jazz Up Your Water: Flavour your water or lemonade with some smashed mint leaves.
Fancy Ice Cubes: Adding chopped mint leaves or even peppermint tea to your ice cube tray is super cute and makes for fun summer sipping. Pop these ice cubes into your guests' drinks at a party or into your blender for a minty smoothie.
Homemade Potpourri: Dry mint leaves in your dehydrator or oven at the lowest temperature. Once dried, chop slightly and put into a little sachet or piece of cheesecloth. Secure with a ribbon and hang on your doorknobs or tuck inside your drawers.
Add To Chocolate: I think many of us can agree that mint-chocolate is a match made in heaven. Take your raw cacao loving to a whole new level by adding a few mint leaves into recipes. My personal favourite is this Chocolate Avocado Pudding recipe with the addition of 4-5 mint leaves.
Chocolate Dip Them: What!? Yes! Take fresh mint leaves, one by one, and dip them in your favourite homemade or melted chocolate chips and let chill in the fridge until the chocolate has hardened. Amazing!
Juice It: Mint adds an amazing freshness to any pressed juice. Try it with some apple, cucumber and lemon. You might want to swap the apple for watermelon if you have some on hand. Serious refreshment.
Make A Tea: Fresh mint, chopped or even just mashed up a little and added to hot water makes a delicious digestive soothing tea.
Tincture It: Chop up your fresh mint, fill a jar and add some organic vodka to the jar and shake, shake, shake. Shake daily for at least 4 weeks, and then strain out the mint and you have a mint medicine tincture (or a mint-infused cocktail vodka!). More on tincture making here.
Pesto: Need I say more? It's a summer classic that you can use as a sauce, for dressing, dips and spreads.
***The only thing missing from the list: ICE CREAM.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
If you like cauliflower,
cut it in 3/4" slices, whole. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with s+p and roast, adding fresh mint before finished.
Thanks Rips
I appreciate the encouraging story. In fact, I’m actually asking people right now to send me their encouraging stories because I think it’d make for a good topic. So, you were on to something before you even knew you were on to something at the same time I was on to something. Or, er, something.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Good morning.
Oddly enough, I'm having the same reaction you did--that this is a good thing for you. It feels both unexpected and expected--like you're taking an intended next step. Sorry to get all woo-woo about it, but my gut says this will end up being a good thing.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Hello CStMS
No need to apologize about describing this as a bit “woo-woo”. It’s just as good a word as anything I could come up with when describing how a week before I was fired, I was already looking for another job when I had no idea I was going to be fired.
Here’s something even stranger. The last few days have been the first time in five months where I’m not struggling with acute anxiety. Go figure, eh?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
This seems right...
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I saved myself a couple hundred bucks last night
by not watching the convention.
I'm almost certain I would have hurled a pint glass at Steve Stills and broke the picture-box.
Wife went to get mayonnaise yesterday.
Trader Joe's was out, had to settle for Best Foods.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Oh, man.
That's sad. I'm sorry he's involved with them.
Always loved his work.
There's something about playing "For What It's Worth" at any major political party's convention--if it ain't the Black Panther Party or some such, just don't do it. It's a song about feeling afraid and suspicious of the establishment; the establishment shouldn't get to have it played at their annual champagne shindig.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Really
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDjmmCvTH7o width:400 height:240]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Sorry. These days I'm a bit obvious.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Oh, so *that’s* what this was about:
https://twitter.com/KyleKulinski/status/1295564262128132097
Yeah, I agree. Contradictions upon contradictions. Mixed messages upon mixed messages. A counterculture anthem, sullied, commercially repurposed, drained of meaning.
I guess a National Rifle Assn.–Elaine Brown duo wasn’t available
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4knmHAZjzsc]
Sang a real Black Panther, not a Hollywood comic-book fake.
Late to the party!
Zoom court intruded.
I got fired from a money making job back in the early 80's. I hated the profession, the career, the work place, but loved the pay check.
I immediately started law school, which I had been delaying because of those pay checks.
The lesson learned is the one my college advisor drilled into my head when I was 16 years old:" Do what you love. You will be good at it. If you are good at it, you will make money doing it whatever it might be."
Have a good one, chica!
Hope everyone is healthy and happy!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hey There Chica!
Love this:
Thanks, darlin’
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
1st night DNC reviews
WTF did I just watch?
pretty powerful message
shame to have been cut out of the stream
question everything
Oh, Mark Ruffalo.
Seems like a really good guy. Too bad he's letting himself be fooled by a bunch of heartless charlatans.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
How do you say “hoarding” (Dutch “hamsteren”) in sign language?
In Dutch and German, hoarding is associated with what hamsters do. So when signing the word, you grimace, bare your teeth, and make clawing motions with your hands like a rodent:
https://www.iamexpat.nl/expat-info/dutch-expat-news/sign-language-interp...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cuP6ntds4g]
Now, if it were up to me, that would also be the sign language expression for “banker” or “billionaire” …
There are a lot of German words
I love because of the way they sound, or what they mean, “schadenfreude’ being one of them. But one word that always amused when I was a kid was “Haferflocken“. Have no idea why the German word for oatmeal gave me the case of the giggles but it did.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Hasenpfeffer?
[video:https://youtu.be/m4UWdlfH86s]
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.
HaHaHaHa!!
Maybe that's what I thought of when I heard 'Haferflocken'.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
This is the perfect story for this moment.
By telling it, you are giving everyone a lift, Anja. (Which I personally believe is one of your many talents.) Coronatime is also an excellent time to be journaling your life as it happening. It's a thrilling exercise for everyone, guaranteed to open new vistas and bring deeper perspectives. At times like these, living an examined life, pulls many important things into your sphere of influence.
What if people everywhere woke up one day and started behaving as though they were free and living in a utopia? A week of that and we actually would be living in a utopia. At least that's what Buckminster Fuller believed.
You made a great discovery about yourself, about how you will instinctively martial your assets and come back stronger. You can trust that. But there's something bigger, I think. You will always attract abundance. You can't see it ahead of time, but when you leap into the unknown while leading with your inner strengths, you will find abundance. There will always be enough wherever you go. The bigger your dream, the more you will find.
You've inspired me, too. Onward....
Thanks Plutes
I enjoyed reading your comment so much, I came back for a second look
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Thank you Pluto for a wonderful comment, perfectly reflected
in the MLK quote in your sigline.
I wanted to hear more about his meaning of the ‘creatively maladjusted’. What an inspiring address. He knew what the only solution to ‘divine discontent’ is.
For anyone like myself, who has not read or remembered reading (or hearing) this address ...
https://www.madinamerica.com/2013/01/mlk-creative-maladjustment/
Thanks for looking that up.
Quite coincidently, I changed my sigline today. The one we are speaking of read:
.
I confess I never delved deeply into what Martin Luther King meant. When I saw "creatively maladjusted" I knew that he was right about the source of salvation. That's how salvation always arrives. That Left Wing radical, Jesus, serves as a good example. Julian Assange, too.
Enlightenment, exactly,
is what is needed all around. Since it's barely possible in politics, it's more critical anywhere else it can be found.
Thank you Anja, for your open-hearted expression.
I wish you the fulfilment of your talents and aspirations. I think aspirations are the fuel that motor us down the road, and I wish you a full tank ; ).
[video:https://youtu.be/7N5akOOlGTI]
Sorry not sorry
Sorry about the shock of the transition, but a hearty congratulations on all those green lights! That must feel amazing. Wherever you're going, may your ride be smooth and your compass true.
Good morning Anja. Congratulations, I hope! Good luck
in your new endeavor.
be well and have a good one.
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 --
Sometimes
Karma is very well behaved. 100% good luck your way.