human fry pan

I've had great intentions of posting here over the last week. Really. I have. I even have a post all worked out in my head - all that remains is relocating a photo and sitting down to write. But then yesterday happened. 102 degrees in Portland and no one here has AC. It's supposed to be even hotter today. Again, no AC. Typing a lengthy blog post is out of the question when I need to take a cold shower just so that I can climb into bed. I haven't been sleeping because it's too hot to sleep. It's too hot to do anything other than flop around moving from place to place tricking your mind into thinking one room of the house is cooler than the other. My cats are cranky, I'm cranky, it's hot.

Yesterday's only reprieve? A matinee movie and a beer and salad on a backyard patio with Rosie. It's hot!

Tomorrow I'm headed to Phoenix for the remainder of the week. My saving grace? At least they believe in AC in AZ.

angels and late nights

If angels really do have voices, I'm pretty sure they'd sound like Barbara Trentalange's. I believe I mentioned I'd met her several weeks ago and last night I had the opportunity to hear her sing with Eric Bachmann as they were opening for Calexico last night in Portland. As predicted, it was a fantastic time - between Eric, Barbara and Calexico it was totally worth the fact that I didn't get into bed until well past midnight last night and struggled to get up this morning for work. They're in Vancouver BC tonight and Seattle tomorrow - see them if you can.

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Not to turn this into a cat post, but I think most of you know by now that I have two little punks who share my abode. Daphne loves tulips and can't keep her face away from them when they are in the house, check her out:

Heros

After my post the other day, my dear friend, TX Mama, sent me the most beautiful email about her hero, her beautiful baby girl. She talked a lot about what her daughter teaches her everyday (both good and bad) and how she admired, more than anything, the fact that her daughter is completely real and fearless - a great reminder for all of us on the best approach to life. (note to self: work on being real and fearless that's a daunting task if I ever heard one).

All this talk got me thinking about my heros and where they fit into my life. I think a hero manifests itself in so many forms and I have both literal, real-life heros and figurative heros. So today, I thought I share a few of my heros.

1. My mom. For giving all that she can and could give regardless of what she had to give up for herself.

2. TX Mama. For fearlessly giving herself to her family taking both the good and bad; making a cross county move in support of her husband and their well-being as a couple and continuing to be a support to me no matter what kind of sh*t I bring to the table.

3. All three of the Charlie's Angels. Any girls that can kick that much a$$ deserve the Megan stamp of hero approval.

Let's just start with those three for today.


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Side note: I had a random weekend. Got some me time,went to a baseball game, was approached by two 15-year-old ish boys (complete with crazy bling teef) asking me to support their basketball league - my first thought? With teef like that you don't need my money. To my "no thanks" one of them responded "God bless you" then immediately did a double take and said "God already blessed you". Man those 15-year-olds...

A got a pedi this weekend, have a peek

living out loud

so the whole idea of this blog thing, at least for me anyway, is to live out loud; to put my life and my thoughts on paper; to give some of you an insight into the "real" me or something like that; and to give myself a place to vent when there are no open ears left.

last night, I was discussing the concept of living out loud with Rosie and the conclusion was that although living out loud is a great concept in theory, there are a lot of parameters and an inkling of self-preservation required to make this work. I work really hard to protect the innocent as much as possible, or when required, in this space. Going forward I'll likely give people code names where appropriate but the question of how much to reveal on this site still remains unanswered. If I truly live out loud, then this becomes somewhat of an online diary, a place to share all my inner thoughts, deepest secrets, misdoings, etc. and while this will likely never become that open of a forum (c'mon you guys don't need to know everything) I'm struggling with the cut-off point.

So here's my issue. You all know I'm a story teller by nature, giving you every detail of every story for added flavor and humor. Do you think that's possible to live that way, to share that way and still protect the innocent and myself? Obviously you'll figure out some of the characters in this story and some of you know the stories in real-time so the element of suspense is not necessary, but if I'm going to truly live out loud someone's bound to get hurt. Can you live with that? Can I live with that?

I think it's time to create the site disclaimer....anyone in the legal field? :)

end of fiscal year blues

A lot of people I work with are singing the blues this week, it's a tough time of year. The end of the fiscal year in the agency world means that funds and job duties are uncertain and that makes people uneasy. Everyone attempts to put on a happy face and power through, but we're out of money, out of energy and a little short on the inspiration.

I'm feeling the pain a bit myself, but on the up side I've been checking into some opportunities and continue to think what will be will be. I can certainly TPC about it all day long, but other than that I don't spend too much time worrying about it.

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On the flip side, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Ava (the four week old baby girl of some Seattle friends) and her parents on Sunday. A month into her life and she's a beauty. It's things like her that remind me that this is only a job...

technoworld

Over the course of the last couple days, I've been reminded again and again about the power of the internet as not only a way to connect people, but also as a way to make money. The internet has provided us with an opportunity to dream it and truly achieve it. It's not the "American Dream" anymore, it's the "Internet Dream" it still requires you to have some money or roots - you've got to have the infrastructure to achieve it, but if you've got that you're in. Take this blog for instance, a dreamed up way to get my thoughts and feelings out there - maybe you're reading it maybe you're not. Maybe you found this because I sent it to you, but maybe you found it through someone else, but for no fee I'm telling my story to anyone who will listen. It's a technoworld and I'm not talking music.

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Speaking of being connected, it's Saturday morning and I'm sitting in the living room of my most delightful Seattle hosts. We're sitting in the round all three of us with laptops open all looking at the same site on our own - it's amazing really. We're having a conversation in real-time, but each in our own worlds just the same. (Hi R & P if you're reading - yes, this happened while you were checking out online TV)Technology both connects and isolates...

This is what you get on a gloomy Seattle Saturday when I have a wee bit of a hangover.

I'm not missing, I just play the part

First off, let me apologize for not posting in a while - work has been slammed and I've been traveling most of this week. In and out of different offices and hotels with scattered internet access and busy evenings makes it difficult. However, you can rest assured that my work busy-ness has allowed me to throw around the corporate jargon like it's going out of style. My clients are getting ready to start their new fiscal year so budgets and the like have been the topic of the week. These conversations have allowed me to throw out every buzz word I know - trusted advisor, trending, cycles, etc. It's too much...At any rate, I'm staying in Seattle through Monday catching up with some friends and spending some time with my city.

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Speaking of my corporate kool-aid, days of meetings and client speak has caused some of the jargon to seep into my everyday life. Last night I was having dinner with the glamourous photographer friend, Renata, and over sushi and sake I was sharing some details of the goings on in my life right now. I'm sharing some issues and say to her "I started noticing that I was trending towards a certain behavior." Renata took one random look at me and promptly said, "So you mean you have a pattern?" WTF!? The kool-aid's being drunk via osmosis!

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For your Friday, thought I'd share a couple pics from the recent Sasquatch Festival - see post from a couple weeks ago.

Our mini tent city

The gang drinking some beers

Philipp and me pitching my tent

oh dear...

well this explains a lot. I just took this random quiz that another fellow blogger posted and check out the results:

The quiz: What are the Keys to Your Heart?

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is low. Even if you're tempted, you'd try hard not to do it. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as something you can get or discard anytime. You're feeling self centered.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

train wreck?

My heart's beating about a mile a minute, I can't sleep at night sometimes because of excitement sometimes because I'm filled with dread. So many things going on, none requiring decisions yet but many will require deicisions soon. random job interviews perhaps turning into job offers? (a nice problem to have, a friend said). Agreed, but change is scary especially when there's the potential for so much. A fellow blogger recently blogged about always looking for what's next - that's how I live my life, always looking to the next thing, never really satisfied with where I am now. Sometimes I'm looking forward, sometimes I'm looking back but always looking to something else. I have ideas in my head, dreams I need to discover and people I need to find. To do or not to do...that is the question. Stay where I am or forge into something new? Press send and open a can of worms that I maybe don't want to be open or always wonder?

My stomach. In knots. Confused. Wondering. Knowing. Train Wreck.